Female Founder Feature: Maria Serena Ceravolo

We are excited to interview Maria Serena Ceravolo, Stylist and Image Consultant. Maria is the founder of Spaghetti Wardrobe. Find out more about this Italian stylist and how she ended up where she is at today.

Ally Shoes: Tell us about yourself.

Maria: I was born and raised in a beautiful small city surrounded by the Mediterranean Sea in South of Italy. If you watched “The White Lotus", my hometown is not far from where they filmed the Italian season. As my father is an artist, I have been encouraged to paint, play with clay and create art installations since a very young age. My passion for fashion was well defined at a very early stage of my life, when I was spending my days mixing and matching Barbies’ looks and accessories. I have always been curious and I love studying. At 18 years old I moved to Milan to graduate in Business and completed a Master of Science in Marketing at Bocconi University. I started my work career working in Fashion and Luxury and then I moved to Tech. Thanks to my job I had the opportunity to live abroad most of my adult life between London, Los Angeles, Dublin, Paris and New York.

Ally Shoes: How did you get into personal styling?

Maria: In 2020 I started suffering from an autoimmune disease, it took me a while to adapt and find the right treatment to live a normal life. As I was fighting this, I started having different health issues, until one day I found myself in an ER in NYC and I had to go through an urgent surgery. Following this episode, I felt the need to go back to my creativity and fashion roots, so I started attending evening and weekend classes at the Fashion Institute of Technology in NYC. I proudly certified as a Stylist and Image Consultant, while working full time in my tech job. At the FIT I had the opportunity to meet incredible teachers, mentors, colleagues, designers and creative minds. Thanks to this network I started assisting editorial shootings and fashion show backstages. As I felt ready to launch my own business, I founded Spaghetti Wardrobe, which branding is based on my Italian heritage and style. Today I work as a Fashion Stylist for editorial shootings and Personal Stylist with a list of amazing clients. So far one of the top moments of my career was to dress an actress for a movie premiere! There is no better feeling in the world to see my clients happy, satisfied, feeling confident and gorgeous in the looks I chose for them! That’s the best rewarding sensation.

Ally Shoes: Where do you see your business in 5 years?

Maria: In 5 years I see Spaghetti Wardrobe reaching a broader audience. I can see a community of happy and loyal returning customers and a solid partnership in place with different compelling brands. In this new journey I am eager to meet and support new clients, designers, brands, photographers, hair and make-up artists and more stylists as well to learn from each other. I am based in NYC and open to opportunities and collaborations all over the world. I can’t wait to help more and more women and men find their style and elevate their days via sophisticated looks and smartly organized wardrobes!

Ally Shoes: You also hold a full time job at a major tech company. How do you balance your side hustle with your 9-5?

Maria: I learned that organization, prioritization and discipline are key! I consider myself very lucky as I am able to do two jobs that I love and to meet talented people everyday both in the tech world and in the fashion world. I would have never been able to create Spaghetti Wardrobe without my experience in digital marketing and sales. I strongly believe that where there’s a will there's a way. As long as the things you do help create positive energy and boost your mood, you are on the right path. An amazing mentor once told me that if you do things with passion, people will perceive your enthusiasm and you will find your success. I found this to be very true. I believe that being your true self and investing in building knowledge and skills around your real passions, pays off in the long term.

Ally Shoes: Who is your ally?

Maria: My first ally is my life partner, who helped me go through my disease and moved to NYC with me, the first supporter of Spaghetti Wardrobe. My dog Simba is an essential ally, he is always cheering me up and reminding me that little things are what matter in life! I have so many women allies that I am very thankful for, they are part of my family or of my closer network of friends and mentors that support me everyday. Finally my clients are the ally that I thank the most for trusting and choosing me!