An upscale fashion designer allegedly stole approximately $54,000 in unpaid wages from nine employees at her Garment District atelier, according to a 16-count indictment unveiled by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg on Wednesday.
Andrea Mary Marshall, the founder of Salon 1884, was arraigned Wednesday morning in Manhattan Supreme Court, according to the district attorney’s office. Her company is also charged in the indictment.
Marshall, 44, allegedly made her employees work “exploitative” hours at her West 39th Street studio, with shifts lasting 12 to 17 hours without pay, according to the DA’s office. In at least two instances, her employees worked more than 100 hours in a single week.
Salon 1884 has been featured in Vogue and is sold at Neiman Marcus and other luxury retailers. Some of the items on Salon 1884’s website, which is currently having a sale, originally retailed for nearly $3,500. An asymmetric lambskin leather dress, also on sale, originally retailed for $8,990.
‘It’s For My Son’
At least one of the alleged victims repeatedly pleaded with Marshall to pay her in order for her to send money to her ailing son in Ecuador.
“Miss Andrea, please can you pay me half. I really need to send money to Ecuador for my children. I really need it, miss, please help me,” one of Marshall’s alleged victims wrote in a text dated March 19, 2025 and shared by the Manhattan DA’s office.
“It’s for my son. Please, I’m asking you. He’s sick,” the alleged victim wrote in a follow-up text nearly two months later on May 9.
In a statement, Bragg said his office’s investigation is ongoing and encouraged Marshall’s victims to come forward, regardless of their immigration status.
“She preyed on the significant power imbalance of her employees who relied on the promised wages for housing and basic living expenses, feared retaliation, and lacked the financial resources to pursue legal recourse,” Bragg said of Marshall. “Hard working New Yorkers deserve every dollar they earn.”
Marshall was not reachable for comment. Attorney information wasn’t immediately available. She entered a not guilty plea before Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Cori Weston on Wednesday.
The allegations date from August 2023 to June of this year. The Manhattan DA’s office carried out its probe in collaboration with the state labor department.
In a press release on Wednesday, prosecutors illustrated an environment in which Marshall exercised complete control over her employees, setting their schedules, requiring them to punch-in and punch-out and determining their pay rates. She paid them through Zelle, the online payment platform, checks, or cash.
The DA’s office alleges Marshall delayed payments through a series of “shifting explanations and instructions.” In some cases, Marshall offered small payments up-front, around $100, and bailed on paying the rest of the agreed-upon wages, sometimes offering her employees clothes instead of money.
Several of the employees, according to the DA’s office, secured judgments in small claims court that Marshall failed to honor.
“You are not allowed in my office. Give me your address and I will mail you a check,” Marshall wrote in a March 11, 2025, text to an employee who begged for her payment.
Marshall’s Garment District atelier was featured prominently in a September 2023 segment from a CBS News affiliate in Boston, near where she grew up. CBS Boston reported that since launching Salon 1884 the previous year, the company had $1 million in sales.
“I love being a designer. I’m very grateful to have this brand, and it’s just been a wonderful experience,” Marshall told CBS Boston.
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