Kenny: Travel Stories
Lindsay Sternberg has a personal story for every fabric print and piece of clothing in her line, Kenny. The colorful shorts are hand-loomed in Mexico City and sewn by the parents and cousins of two of her sewers in Los Angeles. The original aqua and sienna print on a lace dress was inspired by the colors of the food, the sea and the cities of the Old World seen on trip to Greece with her mother.
“When I travel, I’m inspired by the people, fashion, fabrics and lifestyles of the countries I visit. Countless visits to Israel, my own family’s Jewish heritage and their personal style have also played a big part in my inspiration,” Sternberg said.
Every season Sternberg uses textiles to make a visual collage of her travels. She works with a family-owned textile printer in Korea that allows for small print runs and fabric development so that nearly all of her prints can be original. Spring 2012 is a Grecian tale, seen in painted batik prints on cotton, sparked by the color of berries and oats in breakfast ambrosia and blue hues surrounding the islands in the Mediterranean Sea.
Before Sternberg started Kenny, named after her father, she worked in all aspects of design, retail and wholesale at Foley + Corinna in New York in the early years of the brand’s birth. In Los Angeles, she worked at Madison as the regional manager and handed in-house PR. There she saw the big picture of Los Angeles women’s tastes, which informed the practicality of Kenny’s silhouettes.
“I was able to see how many different types of women in L.A. are shoppers [at Madison]. Here’s a company in L.A. that has multiple stores in multiple areas in one city. It was really good to learn because I think, at the end of the day, everyone wants to look good, wear wearable clothing and feel special in a sense. I had always been against the idea that Los Angeles women are just T-shirt and jeans,” Sternberg said.
Retail price points range from $250 to $315 for dresses, tops are $88 to $188 and shorts are $138 to $150. For more information, visit www.kennyclothes.com or call the Kenny Studio at (310) 295-1929 or Simon Showroom at (213) 593-1394.—Rhea Cortado
