Sometimes, lessons in fashion happen on the job.
Such is the case for singer Kelly Rowland, who, as co-host of Bravo’s The Fashion Show, quickly discovered that being a fashion designer requires passion — and hard work.
“We all forget how intense it can be as far as coming up with a line, thinking about the colors, the cut and all of that,” Rowland said by phone from Los Angeles. “It takes so much work.”
Rowland served as co-host, along with designer Isaac Mizrahi and Fern Mallis, senior vice president of IMG Fashion, which produces New York’s Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week.
The show, which debuted last year, challenges a team of aspiring designers to compete for prizes and a chance at a startup clothing line.
Rowland, who was raised in Houston, says Mizrahi showed her just how much passion goes into creating clothes.
“I told Isaac if I ever started a fashion line, I’d have to call someone to help me. I’d give them all the credit because, as much as I love fashion, being a designer is just a whole different animal. That’s why Isaac has been able to last for so long; he is so passionate.”
As much as she enjoyed her time on the show, Rowland said that with a new CD due out this fall and a subsequent tour, the show didn’t fit into her busy schedule.
Supermodel and entrepreneur Iman will take her place for the upcoming season.
Although the CD has yet to be titled, Rowland said it will reflect her feelings about being a woman.
“I’m excited to be a woman, and I’m feeling empowered at this time in my life. I’m in my own space.”
Part of Rowland’s motivation comes from her new charity, I Heart My Girlfriends, which she started earlier this year. The goal is to help boost self-esteem among young girls.
“It’s all about young women empowering each other,” she said. “I get a lot of fan mail from young girls talking about different things that are going on in their lives. I can relate to them. I’ve been there, but I want them to feel beautiful as they are.”
Rowland spent much of her childhood and early 20s as a member of the singing group Destiny’s Child. She learned as much about friendship as fashion during the years in the group.
Today, Rowland is often photographed on and off the red carpet wearing designer fashions, from Donna Karan to BCBG.
She hopes to inspire young girls to look at fashion runways, red carpets and magazines for inspiration, not validation.
“Fashion should be about self-expression,” she said.
“I tell girls to dress for their body type, what makes them feel comfortable and what makes them feel like they are expressing themselves.”
As for her own style, Rowland describes it as a mix of “classic, couture and funk.”
“I love to funk things up with accessories,” Rowland said. “But always I love to feel like a lady, like a woman.”
Via: Chron.com
