As a child, Mariana Corella grew up around the fashion and retail business. Born and raised in Costa Rica, she moved to the States to pursue an undergraduate degree in Business from the University of Southern California as a first-generation graduate. Her family owned a clothing company in Costa Rica, and growing up around different silhouettes, fabrics, categories, and designs, Corella picked up on everything it took to build a fashionable collection of clothing.
Her first internships were in the fashion industry, working for apparel companies like Vissla and Rip Curl, where she learned about the process leading up to putting a product out on the market. Now, Corella is collecting all her knowledge and experience working as Director of Product Design at Hype and Vice, a collegiate apparel company that sells licensed university clothing to bookstores, boutiques, and retailers.
Founded in 2015, Hype and Vice started out with two founders – Corella joined the team full-time in 2020 and became their very first full-time employee. Since then, the company has grown to a team of 50+ employees, where Corella manages her own team of 10, including designers, production managers, photographers, and developers. Together and under Corella’s leadership, the team creates catalogs and develops new styles, plans production with international teams, approves styles, quality, and fit checks, and coordinates product launches.
Working vigorously to remain caught up on fashion trends and current sports/university events, Corella and her team have committed themselves to the cultivation of fresh new releases from the company. Upcoming this summer, Hype and Vice are releasing their back-to-school product launches and pop-up shops, which will feature the designs that Corella and the team have been working on in recent months.
Corella’s instrumental role in the company’s growth can be attributed to her strong background in innovative fashion design and her forward-thinking as a businesswoman. With her help, Hype and Vice has been able to scale its operations and expand its reach, with the company now licensed by over 200 colleges, including prestigious institutions such as Harvard and Yale.
The incoming pop-up events will give students and alumni a chance to shop and see Hype and Vice’s brand new releases in person. The company has added new options to multiple different university collections, all of which can be shopped easily on its website. The events will take place at the following locations:
- Purdue University Bookstore
- The University of Alabama Bookstore
- University of Wisconsin Bookstore
- The Harvard Shop
- Cornell University Bookstore
- Aggieland Outfitters (Texas A&M)
- The University of Arizona Bookstore
Corella’s dedication to Hype and Vice’s marketing and business strategy has helped with the company’s success over the past few years, and this experience has added to her own arsenal of fashion and business expertise. “Success takes all different shapes and sizes, which is the beauty of it because it feels personal to you and what you care about,” says Corella when asked how she would characterize her own success. “Success is a process. It is not a one-and-done event. It is constantly evolving and is a constant process of growing and learning.”
Throughout her years of education and career building, Corella has learned that success can come at any time, so long as one is willing to work with continuous forward momentum. She is excited to continue sharing her skills with the world and defying typical molds that restrict the fashion industry and, in the case of her current occupation, the collegiate apparel industry.
Beginning in August until September, Hype and Vice’s product launches will feature new categories such as rompers, dresses, sets, and new silhouettes and styles for pants and jackets. Corella and the rest of the team have big ideas for expansion on the horizon, and she herself also hopes to continue building up her skill set and sharing her expertise with fashion lovers across the globe.
Having roots in the industry and a love for fashion that runs deep, Corella has proven time and time again that her skills as a businesswoman and innovator cannot be ignored. “There are so many ideas that circulate the industry every day, and it takes real drive to turn goals into tangible reality. Whether success to you is money or happiness, it takes overcoming hardships and obstacles along the way.”
