Alumnae Profile: Darby Corna Vinciguerra '99 | Art & Fashion Design

Darby Corna Vinciguerra ’99, comes from a family of artists and has made a successful career in art and fashion design in New York City.

Inspired by her family and her love of art classes at Magnificat, Vinciguerra pursued a Bachelor of Arts from New York University’s Gallatin School of Individualized Study, concentrating in studio art and fashion design, followed by a degree in fashion design from Parsons School of Design.

Today Vinciguerra works as an independent artist and designer, taking on custom commissions for clients in cities including New York, Cleveland, Denver, San Francisco, and Northern New Jersey. She specializes in creating multi-series pieces and custom palettes using house paint with finishes that range from high gloss to matte, a technique inspired by the traditional Ukrainian eggs she recalls from her heritage. Her current projects range from large-scale paintings to spiritwear designs for her children’s schools, and she recently created a piece for Machine Gun Kelly and presented it to him on Cleveland’s inaugural MGK Day. This piece incorporated the colors of his UNDN nail polish line.

Her artistic journey, however, didn’t start in the studio but rather in the world of high fashion. Drawn to design from an early age—she designed her own

First Communion, homecoming, and prom dresses— Vinciguerra quickly took to the New York fashion scene. During her time at NYU, she secured an internship with Polo Ralph Lauren, setting the stage for a career in accessories and handbags. After working at renowned brands like Eric Javits, Club Monaco, Tommy Hilfiger and Tory Burch, she was well-versed in all aspects of the industry, from showroom management to design and quality control.

Vinciguerra’s time at Calvin Klein proved particularly transformative.

“It was like boot camp for the fashion industry,” she said, reflecting on the intensive experience of relaunching the brand’s iconic white label handbags and her weeks spent in China learning the intricacies of global production. She also learned the importance of quality control, ethical sourcing, and the impact of supporting reputable brands—a value she still champions today.

In addition to her design work, Vinciguerra has left her mark through prominent media appearances. Her creations have appeared in Vogue, Elle, New York Magazine, Harper’s Bazaar, and more, and her accessories have been worn by style icons like Gigi Hadid, Tory Burch, Jordana Brewster, and Hannah Simone. Despite her success, Vinciguerra chose to step away from corporate life to prioritize raising her children and deepen her focus on her art.

Reflecting on her early experiences, Vinciguerra attributes much of her drive and creativity to her years at Magnificat. Her time there, particularly with teachers Mrs. Judy Collins, Mrs. Kathy DesForges, and Ms. Zoe Murphy, fostered a sense of discipline and ambition. She also found unexpected growth through sports: She and her classmates helped launch Magnificat’s first lacrosse and field hockey teams, and she has continued to coach throughout the years.

She credits her family as her biggest influence—her mother, an artist, and her father, an architect, instilled in her an appreciation for both creativity and structure. Now living in Glen Rock, New Jersey, with her husband and three children, Vinciguerra’s life continues to be a blend of family, art, and lacrosse.