In a sunlit, plant-filled New York studio, Estefania Martinez-Aleman is directing a photoshoot, deciding how a model should move, how a garment should fall, and how the brand should feel. As Creative Director of a growing fashion line, Tyler McGillivray, visual detail passes through her hands. But before building a brand and leading a team of 12 employees, she was a Raider staying up late, experimenting with Photoshop and designing layouts for The Raider Voice.

“I was really interested in graphic and layout design, and I wanted to work at a magazine in New York in the future.
I was also in Mrs. Goldman’s art class so I feel like both experiences expanded my thinking and made me interested in visual design,” Martinez-Aleman said.

After graduating from Fordham University with two degrees, one in New Media and Digital Design and the other in American History, she explored a wide range of creative paths. From internships in media and fashion to jobs in nonprofit design and sustainability, each experience helped refine her interest in storytelling, both visually and conceptually.

“I was a studio assistant for this artist, Linda Stein, then I interned at a fashion dead stalk company, which sparked my interest in fashion and I ended up being the executive assistant there. After that, I interned at Discovery Channel, worked at the United Nations for a while, and then another nonprofit called Ad Council,” Martinez-Aleman said.

Following these experiences, Martinez-Aleman decided that she wanted to pursue a more creative path. This pursuit led her to a farm off the coast of Seattle, working as a freelance artist, which she described as life-changing.

“I started my artistic practice more seriously on the farm and had the most amazing, spiritual time there. It made me want to come back to New York and start fresh. When I came back, I found this job [Tyler McGillivray] on Instagram,” Martinez-Aleman said.

Founded in 2019, Tyler McGillivray is a New York-based designer brand established by designer Tyler McGillivray.

“It was just me and Tyler [McGillivray] at the beginning. We were both really young, 24 and 26, and I just believed in it,” Martinez-Aleman said.

Together, McGillivray and Martinez-Aleman built the brand from the ground up. Tyler McGillivray has blossomed into a label with a young, playful, and colorful identity, and has rattled the New York landscape. As Creative Director, Martinez-Aleman develops the creative direction across all platforms, creating the vision for photoshoots, model presentation, and how the clothing is represented.

Recently, the brand produced a mermaid-inspired photoshoot in Costa Rica to promote its newest collection, Mermaiden, highlighting the creativity and organization required to elevate a brand. Behind the scenes, Estefania organized the shoot. This involves building the visual direction for the shoot, contacting photographers, makeup artists, locations, models, and designing the set of the photo shoot. Through these shoots, Estefania expresses how she wants the clothes to be represented.

“I feel like my job is very special, and I think it is important that in whatever field you choose to go into, you love your job and are obsessed with your life,” Martinez-Aleman said.

From late nights designing in high school to leading a fashion brand in New York, Martinez-Aleman’s journey reflects the ambition and self-direction she first developed as a Raider; qualities that continue to shape her work today.