Marla Cotten A New York City transplant, Marla’s interest in fashion design began early when she was faced regularly with the challenge of finding suitable party dresses for various formal events. Marla began sketching out dress design ideas and using her mother’s excellent seamstress skills to create and construct various eveningwear ensembles.
Marla attended the University of Texas at Austin, studied abroad in Paris, and interned at the house of Guy Laroche. Following graduation Marla relocated to New York City to work for designer Cynthia Steffe, and realized that she was fascinated with the process of designing and developing knitwear. She enrolled at the Fashion Institute of Technology.
Marla held a series of knitwear design positions for U.S. retailers including The Gap, Banana Republic, and Victoria’s Secret, where she learned the inner workings of creating collections that are manufactured in both Europe and Asia. In 2007, she formed a consulting business, specializing in knitwear design, and worked with brands such as Alice + Olivia, Calvin Klein Collection, and Nautica. She established the design direction for her clients’ knitwear collections, and would manage the design, product development, and communication between yarn suppliers, knitwear manufacturers, and the brands themselves.
She spent eight years working for Ralph Lauren Collection, in which she traveled regularly to Italy to research, develop, and fit the seasonal collections. Marla is currently the knitwear design director for Carolina Herrera New York.