The long journey of Maria Francesca Pepe

14. June 2008 Accessories & Jewelry, Designers & Labels Judith

It was a long journey for Maria Francesca Pepe to build up her own successful and groundbreaking jewelry brand…
Born in Italy, the young designer started to study Literature and Philosophy - but somehow, while regarding her vita it´s pretty obvious that her heart was beating for art and creativity and fashion too.
It started with Fine drawing summer classes at the “Royal College of Art”, London and a switch from Literature Studies to Fashion Design, also in Milano. But this is not the end of the story.

Milano is one of THE world´s fashion spots, so you might think it was quite easy for Maria Francesca Pepe to develop a creative persona, to gain great contacts, to get excellent work experiences and to became a recognized independent designer.
It wasn´t.
Although being a prize and award-winning graduate, Milano gave Pepe a hard time and it didn´t seem like many people have been waiting for her.

Some might have given up at that point, Pepe didn´t.
Working in PR agencies, for Kookai and Soprani wasn´t the end of her career path. She went to London, of course, to legendary Central St. Martins, and completed her masters in Womenswear.
And, she did so great that her 2007/08 Womenswear Collection, was shown as the finale at the London Fashion Week “Central Saint Martins Ma” show.
The collection, including jewelry and footwear, got a great response from the press and Maria Francesca designs have been soon on sale at “Erickson Beamon” in London.
Other stockists include London based “Kabiri” and its concession at “Selfridges”, London.
Straight after the Ma, Maria Francesca designed alongside Jens Laugesen his S/S 2008 collection and built up her own brand and company “MariaFrancescaPepe LTD”, focusing on jewelry design.

Here begins MariaFrancescaPepe. And here, the story ends for now.
Maria Francesca pursued her commitment, she fighted, struggled, she obviously worked hard and changed and moved a lot. And it made sense. Her jewelry is one of a kind, Pepe developed a strong design language and is internationally recognized for that.