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Cynthia Rowley

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Cynthia Rowley[1] (born 29 July 1958) is an American fashion designer based in the West Village of New York City.

Background

Rowley is a native of Barrington, Illinois (an affluent northwestern suburb of Chicago). She is one of three children born to Ed Rowley, a former science teacher, and his wife, Clementine.[2] She graduated from Barrington High School and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

Known for what The New York Times has called "flirty, vibrantly colored dresses and tops in wispy materials"[3] that have "a whiff of the carefree, simple spirit" of Claire McCardell,[4] Rowley launched her business with $3,000 in seed money from one of her grandmothers.[5] "Several months later, she held a fashion show in her apartment, inviting every important fashion editor in New York, as well as Andy Warhol and a smattering of movie stars."

Since then the Cynthia Rowley Collection, incorporated in 1988,[1] has grown to include women's wear, handbags, eyewear, legwear, color cosmetics, fragrance, wetsuits, swim, home furnishings, desktop and stationary. Rowley's fashions are presented bi-annually at New York Fashion Week and sold in signature Cynthia Rowley stores in New York City, Charleston, Chicago, Boston, Montauk, Japan, Hong Kong and Taiwan, as well as at the company's web store. Shops in Beijing and Shanghai are opening soon.[citation needed] The collection is also represented in better department and specialty stores both domestically and internationally.

The Council of Fashion Designers of America honored Rowley with a Perry Ellis Award for New Fashion Talent in 1994,[6][7].

The designer created a line of home accessories called Swell, which made its debut at Target in 2003.[5]

Television and books

Rowley has appeared as a judge on the reality television programs 24 Hour Catwalk, America's Next Top Model, Project Runway and Design Star and has been a guest on The Today Show, Good Morning America, The Oprah Winfrey Show, and the Late Show with David Letterman, among other programs.

She has written and co-written several books:

  • Slim: A Fantasy Memoir (Random House, 2007)
  • The Swell Dressed Party (with co-author Ilene Rosenzweig, Atria, 2005)
  • Swell Holiday (with Rosenzweig, Atria, 2003)
  • Home Swell Home (with Rosenzweig, Atria, 2002)

Personal life

She married William (Bill) Keenan, an interior designer, sculptor, and landscape architect, in 1996 (divorced); the officiant was Rudolph W. Giuliani, then the mayor of New York City.[8] They have a daughter, Kit [9] (born 1999).[1][10]

Rowley married William (Bill) Powers, an editor, gallery owner and writer, on 17 September 2005, at the home of photographer Peter Beard.[2] They have a daughter, Gigi Clementine (born 2005).[11][3]

References

  1. ^ a b Janette Goff Dixon and Whitney Blausen, "Contemporary Fashion," New York: The Gale Group, 2002.
  2. ^ Francine Parnes, "Business People; Mom, Dad, Size 14 Furs: Who Says Fashion Is Elitist?", The New York Times, 8 February 2004
  3. ^ Tracie Rozhon, "Fashion Designer Sticks to a Solo Course", The New York Times, 13 February 2003
  4. ^ Constance C.R. White, "Celebrating Claire McCardell", The New York Times, 17 November 1998
  5. ^ a b Robin Finn, "Public Lives: A Patron of the Arts, as Seen in a Sponge", The New York Times, 14 August 2003
  6. ^ Nadine Brozan, "Chronicle", The New York Times, 18 November 1994
  7. ^ Michelle Ingrassia, "Fashion: Dress for Success—Cynthia Rowley Moves To The Front Of The Pack", Newsweek, 13 November 1995
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference ReferenceA was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ "Designer Cynthia Rowley's Back-to-School Style", People Magazine, 1 September 2014
  10. ^ Julie I. Iovine, "Living in a Nutshell: Shangri-La in a Shack", The New York Times, 8 June 2000
  11. ^ "James Frey Brings His Daughter for a Playdate at Cynthia Rowley's Show". The New York Observer
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