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When it comes to holiday dressing, Kennedy has two pieces of advice: First, “Use accessories to jazz up any outfit,” and second, “Find a good tailor who can make a dress hem shorter or add a neckline or sleeves” so that you can wear the same dress more than once in many different ways. (Photo by James Loving)
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Whether in books, film or art, Kennedy says she finds inspiration everywhere. For this '80s Rivera collection, you can see traces of the movie "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels" with the luxe fabrics and graphic black-and-white palette. (Photo by James Loving)
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“I became interested in design from a young age,” Kennedy says, and recalls being obsessed with a Crayola fashion-plate kit and spending her time designing clothes for her dolls. (Photo by James Loving)
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Kennedy partnered with Bergdorf Goodman in 2012 for her first line and expanded in 2015 to include a full collection. February 2016 marked the first time she presented during New York Fashion Week. (Photo by James Loving)
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“I saw a white space in the market for modern evening wear,” Kennedy says of her decision to start her own brand. She says while she appreciates and admires the “Old World couture method” of designing, she wanted to forge a new, fresh approach to evening dress. (Photo by James Loving)
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Kennedy describes her design aesthetic as “clean, graphic, minimal.” She’s most interested in “the architecture of the gown and creating a dramatic shape.” (Photo by James Loving)
On Nov. 11, Richmond-based World Pediatric Project (WPP) hosted its 12th Annual Treasures in Paradise fashion show and auction at its headquarters in Glen Allen. WPP “exists to bridge the gap in access to critical medical care for children in the developing world,” and this year, the gala raised $670,000 and attracted 570 guests supporting the organization's mission. With this money, WPP will send out 48 pediatric surgery teams to serve more than 2,400 children all over the world.
The fashion gala celebrates a different theme or designer each year; this year, the foundation was lucky enough to score rising New York City design star Elizabeth Kennedy. With over 10 years' experience working with design houses like Zac Posen, Donna Karan, Isaac Mizrahi, Max Mara and Jay Mendel, Kennedy has quickly become a go-to source for red-carpet looks since founding her own label in 2012. She’s dressed the likes of Mindy Kaling, Laverne Cox, Uzo Aduba and Malin Akerman, positioning the Parsons grad as a designer with a much-needed keen eye toward promoting the diverse beauty in Hollywood.
I was able to chat with Kennedy in advance of the fashion show, where she explained she got connected to WPP through her uncle, a Richmond physician involved with the foundation. While she’d never been to Richmond before, she said she was “excited to visit” and even more honored to be a part of the fundraiser.
Kennedy brought 36 looks from her Spring/Summer 2017 collection, which she just showed at New York Fashion Week in September. The inspiration behind the collection, Kennedy says, is “1980s French Rivera — heavy on bright color, sequins, embroidery and swimwear details. Think an American woman vacationing in the south of France.”
And that’s just what she delivered. The runway show was a lively, glamorous affair, bursting with joie de vivre from both models and guests alike. And speaking of models and guests, “Sir Frederick Ballantyne, governor general of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, was a guest at this year’s event and also a proud father to see his daughter Emma model in the fashion show,” says Sue Farley, WPP's senior vice president for development.
