Cendra Martel is an accomplished and talented multidisciplinary artist. Deeply inspired by colors, shapes, and textures, she has enjoyed a brilliant international career for several years as a costume and ready-to-wear designer, as well as an illustrator.
A graduate of Bauder Fashion College in Miami, Cendra was part of the creative team responsible for organizing fashion shows for prestigious international brands such as Chanel, Armani, Karl Lagerfeld, AX, and Harley Davidson.
At the same time, with her perfect mastery of all aspects of fashion design and her attention to details, she has specialized for over fifteen years in creating evening gowns, sportswear, and fashion accessories for men and women. Her innate talent for illustration, sketching, and drawing, combined with her sense of originality and her innovative and fresh take on fashion trends, led her to Los Angeles, where she became the assistant to the famous costume designer Marilyn Vance for over a dozen years.
Working alongside her, Cendra honed her craft by creating original costumes that transformed dozens of Hollywood stars into fully realized characters for film, television, and theater. True to herself, she mastered all types of costumes and distinguished herself through her expertise in original designs. Her professional portfolio showcases a wide range of styles, from period costumes to science fiction, including World War II, fantasy, contemporary fashion, and the wild 1960s, to name just a few.
In 2003, Cendra dressed Mila Jovovich for the Cirque du Soleil series Solstrom, which aired on the Bravo network. In 2014, again with Vance, their costume design for the Sony Pictures Television series Bonnie & Clyde was recognized by their peers for its exceptional design and craftsmanship, earning a nomination at the Costume Designers Guild Awards.
Two years later, the dynamic duo of Vance and Martel collaborated to design the outfits for Julia Roberts, Jennifer Aniston, and Kate Hudson in Garry Marshall’s feature film Mother’s Day. A pioneer constantly seeking new challenges, Cendra also ventured into the world of stage and music by designing, in the 1980s, the stage costumes for the Canadian pop group Platinum Blonde during their national tour. A few decades later, Cendra once again demonstrated her great versatility by creating all the custom stage outfits for Kiefer Sutherland during his 2019 European tour with his band, the Kiefer Sutherland Band.
A self-proclaimed epicurean and food lover, Cendra doesn’t just cook dishes. She brings them to life by skillfully combining the expertise of top chefs with the meticulous aesthetic that has already made her renowned in the design world, all infused with her traditional family culinary heritage and her Quebec roots.
Cendra is also a voting member of the Costume Designers Guild of the International Alliance of Theatrical and Stage Employees and serves on its awards juries every year.
The creation of this website represents for her a way to share her many years of passion for design, the culinary arts, her gastronomic and family influences, and to inspire through her original set designs straight from her ever-flourishing imagination.
