Welcome to the World of Saint Sintra
COURTESY OF SAINT SINTRA
Saint Sintra embodies what a stylish influencer is - comfortable, fashionable, unique, chaotic, youthful. Based in NYC, this ready-to-wear women’s fashion brand uses organic fabrics, deadstock, and recycled materials to produce each exclusive piece. Founded in 2018, the brand only started opening up to the public eye until recently. Saint Sintra showcased its collection during NYFW 2022.
Founded by Sintra Martins, her story begins in Los Angeles, where she was born and raised and discovered her love and passion for fashion by working in her high school’s costume department. Fresh out of high school, Martins moved to NYC for university, studying literature and sociology at the Eugene Lang College of Liberal Arts at Parsons The New School. "I think coming at it from the perspective of sociology, I was able to gain some insight into why [fashion] exists," she tells PAPER. "I was able to better understand why I like it so much and then I transferred to Parsons and I started gaining experience immediately." Following two successful internships at Thom Browne and Wiederhoeft, Martins started taking custom orders to expand her skillset and establish her name. Her work slowly started to gain attention and in early 2020, she was contacted by stylist Cody Allen about creating a look for the cover of pop singer’s Slayyyter’s debut album, Troubled Paradise. In an interview with PAPER Magazine, Martins says. "The Slayyyter dress was huge for me," she says. "It was a really big moment just having the trust of someone in that way, where I was given freedom to design. Then we moved forward in a collaborative way with that project that was really transformative for me. I had never designed anything with so much freedom and so much trust." Saint Sintra loosely came around in 2018 when she was accepting custom orders, but it wasn't until she acquired a Brooklyn studio in September of 2020 that the label became official. Her first full ready-to-wear collection for Fall 2021 was debuted in NYC, inspired by pop culture meets clown. "I think throughout history, there's always been a jester character, whether it's the trickster or a clown," she says. "I think the space culturally, the space for mocking, and the space for jesting, is a really interesting one to me. I really liked the idea that we can laugh about things that are difficult to talk about. I gravitated towards this idea of the clown in the circus as being this introduction to the Saint Sintra world, because it feels both personal and on a larger macroscopic scale, it feels very relatable culturally." (PAPER Magazine).
COURTESY OF SAINT SINTRA
COURTESY OF SAINT SINTRA
COURTESY OF SAINT SINTRA
Since her big breakthrough, Martins has dressed celebrities like Kim Petras, Olivia Rodrigo, and Sydney Sweeney. For her most recent collection, which was presented in February 2022 during NYFW. Inspired by a trip to Florence, the collection embodies old-world couture. All the shirting stripes in this collection, tied up into bows on button-downs, were custom-made by an Italian producer. Tweeds, laced with metallic silver ribbons, came from the same mill that produces for Chanel “We incorporated more luxury textiles, pushing forward quality over quantity, and stability over ephemerality. I have so much to be proud of right now… I think this season, much more than last, everyone involved [in Saint Sintra] is seeing a bright future for the brand, and that’s the most incredible outcome I could possibly have asked for!” (VMagaine). Standouts from the NYFW ‘22 Show include a coat with an articulated sleeve reminiscent of knitted armor, thick tartan jackets, cropped oxfords, and poplins with cascading oversized bows. Evening wear is introduced with new shapes and shades, like a gorgeous silk periwinkle cut dress.
