Cibeline Sariano (left) and model Tasa Kvistad at work promoting Cibeline’s holi- day collection.
At the age of 7, Cibeline Sariano dreamed of one day becoming a fashion designer. Twenty-nine years later, Cibeline is celebrating her ninth year at her eponymous designer boutique, as well as her second year on prestigious Charles Street in Beacon Hill.
Sariano credits her parents and grandparents, all professional artists, for nurturing her talent at a young age. They saw the spark of her fashion sense and cultivated it. While Sariano’s parents taught her to draw and think like a designer, her grandmother showed her the art of sewing custom dresses as her grandfather helped refine her respect for photography.
Sariano studied fashion design at Syracuse University before launching a career that has taken her around the world to Hong Kong, Italy and New York.
Since then, she has collaborated with several world-renowned designers, including Calvin Klein, Richard Tyler and Liz Claiborne.
“The time I spent pounding the pavement working for big name designers lit the fire in me to start my own business.” Sariano said. “After a decade of working day and night for other brands, I took a huge risk with the confidence of my business partner and husband, Tim Dillon and opened Cibeline.”
A hip fashion presence has been emerging on Beacon Hill, and Sariano, designer and owner of Cibeline Boston, is gaining a reputation for her success in designing locally produced clothes for women of all shapes and sizes.
Cibeline has worked hard to support local garment factories for nine years, producing her ready-to-wear collections in Fall River and New Bedford, Mass.
Clients have commissioned Cibeline to design dresses for the Grammy Awards, the Annual Academy Awards, the Emmys, “The Today Show,” “The Tonight Show,” HBO and, most recently, for an upcoming event at the White House.
“To have a guest attending a White House event in one of my designs is truly thrilling,” Sariano said. “I hope someday the First Lady will be wearing Cibeline.”
Since gaining a foothold in Boston’s growing fashion scene, Sariano has turned out spring and fall collections each year, with the trademark style that she calls “classic” and “tailored with a feminine twist.”
To expand her enterprise and strengthen her brand exposure in Boston, Sariano has produced three fashion shows at Beacon Hill’s Liberty Hotel in the “Fashionably Late Fashion Series.”
In spite of the many hats she wears as an entrepreneur, Sariano hasn’t lost sight of her Number One mission – to build wardrobes for the everyday woman while providing them with her personal attention to make sure every garment has a perfect fit. After nine years, she clearly loves designing tailor-made, ready-to-wear clothing with vibrance.
Cibeline Sariano’s boutique is located at 120 Charles St. She is online at cibelinesariano.com, and her blog can be found at cibeline.blogspot.com and she’s on Facebook and Twitter.