MOJEH met American eveningwear designer Elizabeth Kennedy on her recent visit to Harvey Nichols – Dubai. Known for her modern and alluring approach to occasion dressing, Kennedy’s opulent gowns and separates have made her a firm favourite on the red carpet. Here, she tells us about her design aesthetic, her average working day and what she’d like to see on the red carpet this season. To find out more about Elizabeth, pick up a copy of our November issue, out now.
Why did you decide to become a fashion designer?
I have always wanted to be a designer since I was a young child. I don’t really know why, but I loved clothes, art, textiles and embellishment, so I started at a very young age. I don’t come from a creative family, my mother sews and so does my grandmother but my family is primarily in medicine – I’m definitely the black sheep.
You have some very impressive fashion brands and houses on your CV, what made you decide to go out on your own?
I always wanted to start my own brand, but when I graduated Parsons I wanted to have the experience of working for someone else. While I was in school I worked for Zac Posen for several years, and during that apprenticeship I realised there’s so much more that you need to learn on the job than you can learn in school. I saw that there was a lot of opportunity and a wide space in the market that I felt wasn’t being filled for a younger, more modern take on eveningwear. I thought eveningwear felt old and stagnant at the time and I couldn’t understand why things weren’t more fashion forward in the United States like they are in Europe. I finally felt ready after my last job at Donna Karan. I had helped them launch their Atelier which was a red carpet and celebrity dressing division. It was unrelated to her seasonal collections, so I was working very independently with my own team and I really enjoyed it. Eventually, I was like why don’t I just do this for myself already? I feel like I’m ready. I knew a lot of great people in the industry and had a great network – so I took the plunge.
Elizabeth Kennedy SS18
What did you learn from working on eveningwear at these really established brands?
Each brand was very different in their aesthetics and approaches. I probably learnt the most from Isaac Mizrahi. He had such a classical training in couture which taught me so much about construction and the quality of a garment, it’s like architecture. This was really eye opening for me to approach design from a technical perspective and building a garment from the inside out rather than just sketching a pretty dress – anyone can do that. With eveningwear it’s all about the fit and the silhouette and how it feels on the body and makes your body look. The technical component is very important. One of my bigger roles at the brand was doing custom couture for clients – we had a huge couture client business. People would come every season and buy their whole wardrobes from us, so that interaction and one-on-one experience with clients was very important for me and really shaped me as a designer in terms of the way I approach design and the way I think about my client in a garment. You see them in dresses and you see their concerns as well as the things that they really gravitate towards.
Is that what you love most about eveningwear?
It is. When I started my business in 2012 it was primarily custom and made to order for Bergdorf Goodman, my company was really small. An opportunity arose at Bergdorf’s to do couture. I knew them from my days at Isaac Mizrahi and Donna Karan and had worked with some of the clients for years. Clients were contacting me saying, ‘Hey can you make me a dress? I know you’re not at so and so anymore but I’d really love it as I have an event coming up.’ It all happened very organically with the timing of it. I also enjoy working on a collection and working with a team designing for a wider range of people that you don’t necessarily get to meet all the time.
Elizabeth Kennedy SS18
What’s an average working day like for you?
My working day starts from the minute I get up until the minute I go to sleep. I’m always on my phone on our social media and on email. Usually, I get to the office around 09:30am and have a meeting with my assistant designer and we go over what we are going to do for the day. Then I meet with my atelier and the production team and look at what all the pattern makers have been working on and what they’re going to be working on for the day. Depending on the day I also have fittings, meetings with press or with my CFO. There’s usually also some kind of fitting where we fit on a model and then we regroup at the end of the day and look at what everyone’s working on. I’m very hands on with my team so everything that they’re working on in the atelier I kind of oversee and check on throughout the day.
What’s events/awards show season like for you?
We had the Emmy’s last month, but now we’re ramping up for the award shows. We’re making our list of people we would like to work with and approaching them. I have a public relations firm in Los Angeles that handles my celebrity dressing for me. It really starts at the end of October and early November and continues right through till the end of February. It’s super hectic but it’s also really fun and exciting. It’s my favourite time of the year because you’re working on these really cool dresses and it’s very rewarding to see the finished product on the red carpet.
Elizabeth Kennedy SS18
What do you think women want from their eveningwear wardrobes today?
Women now want something really unique and special, particularly in the States, if you’re getting really dressed up, you’re going to a really important event such as a wedding – that’s where most of our clients are going but sometimes they’re going to benefits or a gala. I think when you get dressed up you want to feel amazing and that you’re wearing something that not everybody else has seen or can find. Our customers definitely want some level of exclusivity but they also want the escape of normal life and to get dressed up and wearing something that they wouldn’t normally have the chance to wear.
What’s your take on event dressing for season ahead? What silhouettes and looks do you consider to be on trend?
I think the suit trend is really fun and modern, but I would also like to see fewer understated looks a little bit more colour, volume, texture and drama. I want to see women taking more risks, as the last couple of seasons have been very safe, I think women are dressing for the critics. Everyone’s very timid and scared that they’re going to get on the worst dressed list.
The best go-to beauty looks for event dressing?
I always like the classical, slicked-back low bun, that Audrey Hepburn and Grace Kelly look, but recently I’ve been liking the Seventies influence in hair and makeup now with bangs, loose waves and shorter cuts which looks really fresh. I’m also a big fan of natural youthful makeup with a bright lip for contrast.
Elizabeth Kennedy SS18
What makes American design so unique?
I think American designers are very concerned with the consumer always, and how things are going to perform at retail which has its pluses and minuses. On the plus side when you go shopping you find something that’s really practical and fits that you want to wear is versatile. I think that’s something that American brands really have going for them. They’re very commercial but not in a negative way – they’re really concerned with the wearability and practicality of fashion. Most women in New York are career women so they have a busy day, they’re working during the day, and then they’re maybe going for drinks or dinner. So it really caters to those women that need a garment to function in different ways. In eveningwear now, there’s a huge trend with evening separates, even more so than cocktail dressing because you can wear them during the day or really dress them up if required. I think that’s something New York based brands have done very well.
What has been the most valuable lesson on your journey as a designer so far?
Just being true to yourself and your own voice. As a young designer you’re so influenced by anything that’s around you – you have your sales team and your finance team and every region you go to in the world has a different opinion and a different client so it’s hard to please everybody all the time. I think brands and young designers get lost because they don’t stay true to the brand DNA, they go with the trends or the way the market is stirring them or the way buyers and retailers are pressuring them to go. You need to be able to say this is what I am and this is what the brand is and you need to stick to it whether it’s on or off trend. Those are the brands that always do the best, the ones with a really clear or decisive voice and don’t waver from it. Obviously you need to evolve as trends evolve, but just shutting out all the noise and listening to yourself and your instincts as a designer is the most important lesson that I’ve learnt.
Elizabeth Kennedy SS18
What does glamour mean to you?
It means a sense of confidence. It doesn’t matter what a woman is wearing, but when she feels good and confident in it, I feel that’s like when she looks the best and is the most glamorous. When you feel comfortable and confident in what you’re wearing it radiates.
Where do you seek inspiration from?
It could be anywhere. Sometimes from art or a museum, for instance the spring collection was inspired by surrealist art – which was actually my husband’s art which was hanging in our living room as well as a Magritte exhibition that I saw in Houston. Sometimes it’s books, vintage clothing, films or going to vintage stores and being inspired by textiles.
If you weren’t a designer what would you be doing?
I maybe we would have ended up in medicine or something science related because I was really good at science and physics in school. But I probably would have done something in archeology because I really loved that as a kid and a teenager, it always fascinated me and I love history and old architecture. So I think I’d be digging up tombs somewhere.
