Story & Lesson Highlights with Maria Krangel

Maria Krangel shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.

Maria, so good to connect and we’re excited to share your story and insights with our audience. There’s a ton to learn from your story, but let’s start with a warm up before we get into the heart of the interview. Who are you learning from right now?
I’m learning from my son.
He’s 10, on the spectrum, has ADHD, and has already faced more rejection than most adults. He’s earned seventeen belts on his path to a black belt, with four to go. Nothing has come easily—but he keeps showing up, keeps believing, and refuses to quit. Watching him has taught me what real resilience looks like: perseverance without bitterness, courage without cruelty, and strength that doesn’t need to be loud to be unshakable.

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
Some stories are not written — they are endured, refined, and reborn. Maria Krangel’s journey is one of survival transformed into purpose, where resilience becomes artistry and faith becomes form. From paralysis to runway, from immigrant beginnings to creative leadership, Maria’s life has been shaped by pressure — the kind that does not break, but creates something luminous. With her debut collection Precious Pearls, she steps fully into her truth as a woman, mother, and designer, offering the fashion world something rare: beauty rooted in meaning, strength wrapped in elegance, and a reminder that what is most precious is formed in the depths.

Appreciate your sharing that. Let’s talk about your life, growing up and some of topics and learnings around that. What’s a moment that really shaped how you see the world?
The moment that redefined how I see the world came in two parts. The first was surviving Guillain-Barré Syndrome. Losing control of my body, facing paralysis, and having to relearn how to walk and speak taught me that life can change without warning — and that strength is often quiet, internal, and built one step at a time.
The second was choosing to end cycles of unhealthy patterns. Becoming a mother made that choice unavoidable. I realized my children didn’t need to inherit my pain or normalize what I had survived. Protecting them meant finding the courage to say no, to walk away, and to choose healing over familiarity. Those experiences reshaped how I see the world — not as a place that breaks us, but as one that gives us the chance to rise and do better for the next generation.

When did you stop hiding your pain and start using it as power?
I stopped using my pain and started using it as power when I finally allowed myself to dream again. For nearly ten years, I put my own dreams aside to be present for my children and meet the needs of a neurodivergent household. Becoming that kind of mother changed me — it demanded strength, patience, and sacrifice, but it also quietly buried parts of me.
Creating Precious Pearls marked the moment I reclaimed those parts. This collection wasn’t just about fashion; it was about honoring the woman I was before survival took over and the woman I’ve become because of it. Turning my pain into purpose didn’t happen when life slowed down — it happened when I chose to believe that motherhood and my dreams could exist together

I think our readers would appreciate hearing more about your values and what you think matters in life and career, etc. So our next question is along those lines. Is the public version of you the real you?
10000000 percent!
The public version of me is real — because this is the version that survived, healed, and chose to rise. I am a woman who turned pain into power, not by hardening, but by transforming. Precious Pearls is proof of that. Every piece was created from years of pressure, sacrifice, faith, and becoming — just like a pearl itself.
I spent years shrinking, surviving, and protecting everyone else while hiding parts of myself to keep the peace. I don’t do that anymore. What people see now is a woman who has lived through pain, made hard choices, and chosen healing — not perfection. I’m still growing, but I’m no longer pretending. A queen doesn’t erase her past — she uses it to build her crown.

Thank you so much for all of your openness so far. Maybe we can close with a future oriented question. Could you give everything your best, even if no one ever praised you for it?
Yes. Precious Pearls is the answer to that question. This is my first collection, and when I created it earlier this year, around April, I wasn’t expecting recognition. I wasn’t creating for praise — I was creating to reconnect with myself and tell a story I had carried quietly for years.
In July, Simeon (stryke__a_pozephotography) invited me to present the collection on the Summer Madness runway. From there, the journey expanded to three more Los Angeles Fashion Week runways, including Lumiere in collaboration with Drisha Closet, and the collection was later showcased on Mañana Latina TV. Throughout it all, my focus remained the same: giving my best, staying faithful to my purpose, and giving all the glory to God. Everything that followed was confirmation, not the motivation.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/preciouspearlsbymariakrangel?igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
• Youtube: @Marveloushaus

Image Credits
Michael Bradley, BokehSharp
IG BokehSharp

IG Dutchak_photography