Designer Maria Pinto Grants First Interview After Filing for Bankruptcy, Closing Label

Back in February, we were one of the first to break the story that Maria Pinto, one of Michelle Obama‘s favorite designers, a recent inductee into the Council of Fashion Designers of America, and Olympic delegation uniform co-creator, had suddenly fallen on hard times and surprised everyone by filing for bankruptcy and closing up both her Chicago shop and her label entirely. Now, three months later, the NY Times asks, essentially, “So what happened?!” It’s the first major interview she’s done since the announcement and she sheds light on what led to her brand’s unexpected downfall.