Every month, we open up the Heaven Girl jewelry box series and step inside the world of a woman we're genuinely obsessed with. How she dresses, what inspires her, and the way she actually moves through her life, not just the highlight reel. This month, we sat down with model and content creator Maia Cotton to talk New Zealand, New York, marriage, and why summer is the one season she lets herself have a little fun with color.
Meet Maia Cotton
Maia Cotton is from New Zealand, but New York has been home since 2018, when she moved to chase her modeling career and never looked back. "I love New York and I feel really lucky to do a job I love," she told us. Fashion has always been the throughline for her, from a childhood spent collecting magazines to a career built on getting to experience clothes in a completely different way. "Getting to experience clothes in a new way and be part of creating an image" is, in her words, one of the best parts of the job.
It's the kind of answer that tells you everything about why we wanted her for this series in the first place. Maia doesn't just wear clothes well, she thinks about them.
On Life Right Now
Maia has been married for a year and a half now, a chapter she describes as "fun and special," and she's noticed a real shift coming into her later twenties: more presence, more confidence, more clarity in what she does and who she is.
On the work front, she's staying tight-lipped for now, but there are campaigns coming later this year that she's clearly excited about. "I can't say anything just yet. Soon!" is as much as we could get out of her, so consider this your official heads up to keep an eye on her feed.
Summer Style, Her Way
Ask Maia what she's into this summer and the answer is simple: color. Not a trend everyone needs to adopt, just a personal one. She leans neutral most of the year, but summer is when she lets herself play. "Summer is FUN," she said, and right now that fun has a name: Dries Van Noten, a brand she's currently deep in.
It's a styling philosophy we can get behind. Build your everyday wardrobe on the pieces you trust, then let summer be the season where you take the swing. A print you wouldn't normally reach for. A color that feels a little louder than usual. That's the whole idea behind the Heaven on Holiday collection too, pieces designed for the moments that deserve something a little more.
Inside the Jewelry Box
No Heaven Girl feature is complete without an actual look inside the jewelry box, and Maia's did not disappoint. Think layered pendants, a stack of rings she clearly doesn't take off, a pair of sunglasses that do double duty as a personality trait, and a woven fan tucked in for good measure. It's a mix that feels lived-in, which is exactly the kind of jewelry box we want to be spotlighting in this series.
Maia's Heaven Picks
The one-piece Maia kept coming back to across every look: the Sloane Sunglasses. Structured, a statement, and the kind of frame that pulls an entire outfit into something intentional. If you've been following along with our community spotlights, you already know this is a recurring favorite, and Maia's edit is exactly why.
Want more of Maia? Follow along on her feed for the campaign news she's not quite ready to share yet and keep checking back here for next month's Heaven Girl.
