Maria Francesca Pepe

Born in Foggia, Italy, on March 5th 1979, Maria Francesca Pepe was destined to a life of design. Having studied Litera- ture and Philosophy at the “Universita’ degli Studi di Milano” between 1998 to 2000, she spent the following four years completing her BA in Fashion Design at the “Marangoni Institute”, Milano, which encompassed womenswear Fashion Design, Illustration, Pattern Cutting and Fashion Business.

Honing her fashion skills further Maria undertook several courses in London from Fine Drawing at the Royal College of Art to Styling, Experimental Fashion Design, Digital Fashion Design and Professional Sewing at Central Saint Martins. In 2003 she won the Tannan Fashion Award, Japan. Her links to Italy and in particular Milan have been crucial to her creative aesthetic and identity.

After graduating with the maximum grades and showing her first Collection at the “Marangoni Fashion Show” during Milan Fashion Week in 2003, she worked as a print designer for “Kookai” and eventually for “Luciano Soprani” as the creative director’s personal assistant and head designer of Womenswear and Accessories.

After two seasons at Soprani and having developed a Limited Edition line of deconstructed unisex range of sweatshirts called “Chicca”, her nickname, she relocates in London to complete the Masters in Fashion Womenswear at Central Saint Martins, under the guidance of Professor Louise Wilson. Maria Francesca’s Fall/Winter 2007/08 Womenswear Collection is shown at the Central Saint Mar- tins MA show at London Fashion Week, as the finale of the prestigious catwalk. It’s February 2007.

The Womenswear Collection, which includes jewellery and footwear, immediately receives a positive response from leading UK and International press and buyers including Vogue Italia, Elle US, Self Service, I-D, Dazed&Confused, Evening Stan- dard Fashion, Harpers Bazaar and many more.

Maria Francesca progression then sees her collaborate on designs alongside Jens Laugesen for his S/S 2008 while concurrently undertaking valuable work experience at Vivienne Westwood. Whilst working on these projects, Maria conceives and initiates her own brand and company “MFP- MariaFrancescaPepe”, focusing on fashion jewellery design.