Meet Kit Keenan, Junior at NYU and Designer!
Kit Keenan - ambitious, aspiring, dedicated, hard-working and just cool. Kit is a true New Yorker so good taste in fashion and food is in her blood. Kit is well-versed in all things social media, fashion, design, health and everything in between. She’s had the entrepreneurial head on her shoulders from her mom, Cynthia Rowley. I had the privilege to discuss Kit’s start in designing and fashion (at only 19!), living in New York, traveling and college. Kit is a breath-of-fresh air; whether she’s posting a new recipe on her instagram story, podcasting, surfing in MTK or designing her own street-line, she’s worth watching.
Our Era: Age, where you live, and star sign
Kit: I am 20 years old. I am a Tarus, and I was born and raised in New York.
Our Era: How did growing up with your mom in the fashion industry influence your love for fashion and design?
Kit: So I started sewing when I was probably six or seven years old. If you’ve ever been to a design studio with a long design table, there’s always scraps of fabric on the floor and things they were using for the collection. I would pick up the scraps from the floor and the things they weren’t using, and I remember for my last day of sixth grade I made a pair of biker shorts that I wore to school that I was SO proud of. I guess I was pretty on trend for a sixth grader. Design has always been a part of my life. As I grew up a bit, I began to reject it because of course you don’t want to be in the family business. I was really adamant on doing my own thing and now I have come to a point that I have recognized my fashion privilege and I understand that there are ways that I can Imagine different journeys within the fashion industry that maybe weren't the traditional fashion route that my mom had taken.
Our Era: Why did you want to start your own brand?
Kit:I started with a mix of stuff and then we landed on only doing artist collaborations. That is actually because my dad is a gallerist and I saw that people my age wanted to learn about contemporary art but honestly it's not a very accessible world. Not many people my age can afford a Richard Prince painting but they can probably afford a sweatshirt.
Our Era: Where do you find inspiration?
Kit:There’s not really one place where I find creative inspiration. I don’t really sit down and look at instagram or pinterest and look at photos. I think it’s more of a culmination of what the culture is like at that moment that’s allowing us to create. So it's not so much one place rather just life and the culmination of that experience.
Our Era: When did you feel that you were ready to start a fashion line?
Kit: Honestly, I just started. I’ve listened to so many stories of founders where these people had a whole business plan and read a million books. I had a plan and I didn't do it that way. I definitely think for me I had to jump in the deep end and learn the hard way a lot of times. I have taken classes at NYU that have helped me with marketing and budgeting and finances and all that stuff and maybe if I took those classes sooner I would have started on a better note and been able to scale quickly. At the same time I have loved having this side project in college. I am at a pretty privileged time in my life where this does not have to be my full time job.
Our Era: How has being a younger designer made the process easier or harder?
Kit: It's really, really hard to start your own company. I think that because we see every influencer and their mother starting their own company and it seems like you drop something and it sells out the next day. In reality it's kind of a slow burn for most people and it's definitely been that way for me.
Our Era: What’s your biggest piece of advice to starting designers?
Kit: Take some sort of finance or economics class. Budgeting and knowing how to do my taxes was something that I learned my sophomore year of college. It is so important to know all of that legal stuff and how to create a LLC and the stuff that's kind of shitty and not that creative, or fun or glamorous. I suggest knowing how to do that kind of stuff before you jump in because you will get taken advantage of by accountants and legal people.
Our Era: What have you been doing in quarantine to stay inspired and stay motivated?
Kit: Honestly, my quarantine hasn't felt like too much of a pause. I’m still in school, I’m managing my mom and I’s podcast and social media. It hasn't felt like much of a break. Instagram is at such an interesting place and it’s been so cool to see how people are still creating content in these times.
Our Era: How has your brand/image changed in the past year?
Kit: My brand is very personal and changes as I do. A brand should always be changing according to what is currently relevant and what people care about, because that’s the only way it can be successful;. It totally has transformed. My clothing brand has gone from Women's Ready to wear to only streetwear artist collaborations. It's important to learn how to adapt your business for growth.
Our Era: Where do you see yourself in the next 5 years?
Kit: I’ll probably work in fashion after school, but I have also learned to really love the art world as well so I’ll just have to see where that takes me.
Our Era: Did you feel strongly going to college?
Kit: Definitely not. I started off at USC which is like a very classic football school. I realized the environment wasn't for me so I transferred to NYU halfway through my Sophomore year and NYU is very accomodating for that. College has become my plan because of how accommodating it is.
Our Era: Personally, I’m interested in both schools that you went to (USC, NYU) - what was your motivation to transfer?
Kit: The biggest reason was because I got into gallatin at NYU and the individualized plan of study was the perfect program for me and at the end of the day that is what college is for. I guess that was the primary reason I transfered. I am so grateful that I went to USC for the year and a half that I did. I grew up in New York and I think that I needed to get out of my comfort zone and curate my own life there.
Our Era: How did you refine your brand/audience?
Kit: I really make sure with my Instagram that I am creating a community and that is really putting in time to respond. At the end of the day people want someone to speak to, and relate to.
Our Era: How do you use your network/community to your benefit?
Kit: I am always asking questions about what people want to see and what their opinions are because I value their opinions so much. It really is like a little family and I am so proud of that.
Our Era: Top 5 travel destinations.
Kit: Fiji, Greece, Solomon Islands, Korea and Japan
Our Era: What’s your motto?
Kit: Only dream as big as you're willing to work.
As you can probably tell, Kit is wise beyond her years and has developed such a strong start for herself for her future in fashion. I find Kit so special because she seems to be doing everything; she always seems like she has it together. In these pressing times, it’s imperative to stay inspsired and motivated and I recommend following Kit to stay on top of both those things. Big thanks to Kit for sharing some of her insight with Our Era.
Follow Kit on IG: @kitkeenan
