Locally made
Responsibly crafted
Alora is a New York based knitwear brand designed by Maria Ficalora. The collections are sold online and in our showroom by appointment.
The design reflects the way we enjoy life. They are modern, effortlessly sophisticated sweaters you'll want to wear everyday. Luxurious sweaters you have to have!
We hope you find your experience at Alora a happy discovery. Please let us know how you enjoy your sweaters.
MADE IN
NEW YORK
OUR SWEATERS
AND MORE...
Our sweaters are hand loomed in New York of the finest Italian yarns.
Each sweater is knit on a hand operated machine and the garments are shaped by hand, or full fashioned.
They are knit by longtime crafts people that have been working with Maria throughout her career.
It's a team effort of expert knitters, relying on each other to maintain the finest quality and timely deliveries.
ALL OF OUR YARNS ARE EUROPEAN IMPORT...
Cotton - Family-based business. Grown in Egypt, spun in Italy.
Wool - Fine Merino wool from the north of Italy
Cashmere - Made in Scotland, soft and luxurious
ENVISIONING
Our process begins each season with drawings and mood boards filling up with ideas.
The colors of the season are added to the new styles and hand written patterns are made for the knitters to follow.
When the sweaters are ready, knitters and designer come together for fittings to refine all the details of each garment.
The collection is then styled for our photo shoot, adding accessories to develop each look.
It's an exciting time, seeing the collections come together!
ABOUT MARIA
What strikes you, when you look at Maria Ficalora's work, is the intricacy of pattern and stitch, a painterly approach to color and minute attention to detail that project the vision, design aesthetic and skill of the true artist.
She attended the Rhode Island School of Design and shortly after college, began designing knitwear for private clients, went on to open stores in New York and on Nantucket and to sell via trunk shows across the country. Today she maintains her custom business from her New York studio, catering to a fiercely loyal coterie of women who know the importance of uncompromising quality and personal style.
That labor of love that is knitting is also reflected in the knit costumes Maria makes for broadway, film and TV. She began making costumes when the Muppets called and she knit sweaters for Bert and Ernie for many years. Her recent work can be seen on Broadway in Spongebob Squarepants, Kinky Boots, Mean Girls, The Radio City Christmas Show and the Metropolitan Opera for Rigoletto and on television in The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show.
She also teaches knitting at Parsons School of Fashion.
Maria has always loved to make beautiful things, and that, really, is the sum and substance of her life.