A native of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Elena is a recent graduate of Parsons School of Design with a dual focus on fashion design and creative entrepreneurship. Recently named by i-D magazine as one of “five under-the-radar designers to discover at NYFW,” her thesis collection was shown in September of 2018 at both New York Fashion Week, under the mentorship of VFiles, and London Fashion Week as a guest of the Swedish Fashion Council. Featured in Vogue, Business of Fashion, WWD, Vice Media, Paper Magazine, and Dazed, her work has taken her around the world from Paris to Sydney, and finally New York where she currently resides.
Elena approaches conceptual fashion design through a fine art lens, placing authenticity of process before aesthetic: reflection above result. As a creative problem solver, Elena recognizes her ability as a designer to serve as pioneer of positive change, aspiring to one day lead a sustainably conscious fashion label that rejects the current conventions of excess, fast fashion, and ecological disregard, while stressing quality of design, community empowerment, and compelling storytelling as ultimate remedy.
Click here for the archive of Milwaukee Fashion Initiative Member Spotlights.