Meet with Cynthia Rowley

Cynthia Rowley, fall 2008.

Cynthia Rowley (born 29 July 1958) is an American fashion designer based in the West Village of New York City.

A native of Barrington, Illinois (an affluent northwestern suburb of Chicago), she is one of three children born to Ed Rowley, a former science teacher, and his wife, Clementine. She graduated from Barrington High School (1976) and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (1981).

Known for what The New York Times has called "flirty, vibrantly colored dresses and tops in wispy materials" that have "a whiff of the carefree, simple spirit" of Claire McCardell, 

Since then the Cynthia Rowley Collection, incorporated in 1988, has grown to include women's wear, shoes, handbags, eyewear, belts, dishes, legwear, hats, color cosmetics, and fragrance. Rowley introduced menswear in 1998 as well as a women's secondary line, Rowley by Cynthia Rowley, both licensed to Italian sportswear manufacturer Stile Moda SpA. The menswear collections were later reduced to a smaller volume, and in 2011 Rowley presented the Mr. Powers collection, a limited menswear range named after her husband Bill Powers.The collection is also represented in better department and specialty stores both domestically and internationally.

Rowley has appeared as a judge on the reality television programs 24 Hour Catwalk, America's Next Top Model, Project Runway and Design Star and has been a guest on The Today Show, Good Morning America, The Oprah Winfrey Show, and the Late Show with David Letterman, among other programs.

Cynthia Rowley has partnered with Target, Band-Aid, Roxy, and Half Gallery.

She has written and co-written several books:

• Slim: A Fantasy Memoir (Random House, 2007)
• The Swell Dressed Party (with co-author Ilene Rosenzweig, Atria, 2005)
• Swell Holiday (with Rosenzweig, Atria, 2003)
• Home Swell Home (with Rosenzweig, Atria, 2002)She married William (Bill) Keenan, an interior designer and sculptor, in 1996 (divorced); the officiant was Rudolph W. Giuliani, then the mayor of New York City. They have a daughter(born 1999).

Rowley married William (Bill) Powers, an editor, gallery owner and writer, on 17 September 2005, at the home of photographer Peter Beard. They have a daughter, Gigi Clementine (born 2005).

Cynthis Rowley Collection 2012 New York