Cynthia Rowley: Making Fashion Fun
By: Boyd Davis
Photo below: Cynthia Rowley on the runway, Fall 2005
Photo by Javier Mateo

Cynthia Rowley makes fashion fun! With a sense of humour like hers, she make it seems that creating a whole collection is easy as pie. But, that is farthest from the truth.

Cynthia Rowley knows hard work (she had to cut her patterns and fabrics using a glove at one time because her hands were so torn) and had worked from 9AM to 9PM to complete her collections.

A native of Barrington, Illinois, she studied at the Art of Institute of Chicago. Her break into the fashion business was due to a little luck and hard work. A buyer from Marshall Field saw her riding the L and asked her who made the outfit she was wearing. It was one of her own creations and Cynthia Rowley said so. Soon, Marshall Fields was selling her clothes.

After her graduation in 1983, she moved to New York with $3,000 (a gift from her grandmother) and with the help of a sales rep, she sold her 8-piece collection (her senior project) to the high-end stores in New York. A week later, she made $30,000, enough to start her business.

From there on, she worked and worked and worked, but without losing her sense of humour. And it showed on her creations which has always been fun and with a slant or quirk that can make you smile!

Fall 2005 (Photo by Javier Mateo)

Backstage Coverage:

Website: www.cynthiarowley.com

Address:
CYNTHIA ROWLEY
376 Bleeker St.
New York, NY 10014
Contact: Katie Shapiro
T: 212-242-0874
F: 212-242-4136

In House PR Firm:
Contact: David Nesmith
376 Bleecker St.
New York, NY 10014
T: 212-242-0847
F: 212-242-4136

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