Mara Callahan - Designer

My love for sewing and design began with Barbie and Halloween in my childhood and progressed to a near neurotic obsession with vintage in my teens that stays with me to this day.  In the early years, I developed my sewing skills from making tiny Barbie ensembles, silly Halloween costumes and strange, punky outfits to show off at school.  A short time later, I discovered vintage sewing patterns and began collecting and recreating the 40's and 50's clothes I loved so much.  Since then I have formally studied fashion at Alameda College and delved into projects of all types (dresses, evening gowns, wedding gowns, menswear, lingerie) for both fun and profit.

Around 2000 I began my first incarnation of Starlite Fashions, the name I use for my own designs.  I began with designing and producing vintage inspired dresses and progressed to lingerie for several years.  In 2006 I made the leap to the East Coast to immerse myself in the artistic influences and fashion industry of New York City.  As of today, I have been working as a designer, both freelance and full-time, as well as continuing to develop my own projects.  The brisk New York winters have inspired me to start knitting and crocheting and I am currently developing some of my own crochet designs.