In Spring 2006, Mother Maria presented it's first range of boutique clothing to stores across Australia. The range was a stepping stone for designer Katie Gannon from her re-worked vintage pieces that she had been selling to friends and at markets since 2002. Each garment displayed elements of her love for vintage fabrics, blending retro prints with bold new colours and timeless silhouettes of era’s gone by. The name "Mother Maria" was a dedication to Katie’s late polish grandmother, Maria Duchnicz.

Katie began her interest in the vintage clothing when she was a teenager, remodeling her own garments from retro pieces she picked up at local op shops. After high school, she went on to study Media at Canberra University. She spent alot of her study time researching mountains of historical fashion magazines, and based many of her assessments on the history of fashion in the media.

The immense demand from family, friends and strangers alike for Katie’s home sewn one off pieces pushed her into studying design at Brisbane North institute of Tafe, and then establishing her label in 2004.  From then Katie has gradually built the Mother Maria label from piecing together individual garments on her home sewing machine, to now producing seasonal ranges for stockist's Australia wide.

Inspired by op shopping, vintage magazines, and retro patterns, Mother Maria’s garments are alot different to any other on the market. Many of the garments include vintage fabrics Katie has been collecting for the past 15 years, which makes each piece both interesting and invaluable.

Katie celebrates her stand towards ethical and environmental issues in her label, with several aspects she brings into her production. One is that her clothing is always created under ethical work conditions. Another is consciously using environmentally sustainable fabrics, such as recycled vintage pieces, and organic cottons.

The Mother Maria label has grown from strength to strength and is in the midst of releasing its 6th range for Summer 2008, to retailers nation wide.

Katie’s keen eye for quality recycled materials, and love for new and old styles makes Mother Maria a very unique label in the competitive, mass produced market of today.

Any enquiries to stock the Mother Maria label are more than welcome by emailing:

enquiries@mothermaria.com.au