{NM Daily}

Conversation With: Cynthia Steffe Designer Shaun Kearney

Cynthia Steffe Fall 2011

In 2007, after nearly two decades in the biz, Cynthia Steffe passed the reins of her contemporary women’s wear company to Shaun Kearney, a British designer trained both in London and New York at Donna Karan, Laundry, Max Mara and Randolph Duke.  Since joining Cynthia Steffe, Kearney, who serves as the brand’s executive vice president of design and creative director, has worked to maintain the label’s signature femininity and quality, while modernizing the brand with a look that is sophisticated with a fun twist.

Sean Kearney

NM: Who is the Cynthia Steffe girl?

SK: The Cynthia Steffe girl has fun with fashion and changes her look a bit from season to season, but she’s always sophisticated and feminine with a bit of downtown edge.

NM: What is your personal style?

SK: I like to mix classic tailored items with urban elements of style. I suppose being a Brit, the London-vibe is still very much alive in my wardrobe, but after living in NYC for 14 years it is now combined with a relaxed American sportswear style…Transatlantic chic!

Cynthia Steffe Fall 2011

NM: What should every woman have in her closet?

SK: A little black dress can go a long way and can avoid many fashion mistakes.

NM: What trend are you appreciating right now?

SK: The return to ladylike glamour. I love the fact girls are starting to dress up again.

Cynthia Steffe Fall 2011

NM: What’s your favorite part of the creative process?

SK: I love seeing a sketch translating into something three-dimensional. Sometimes the best designs happen by accident. For instance I may design a peacoat, then during fittings I may turn it into a cape! It’s about whatever just feels right.

NM: What’s your best styling advice?

SK: Let your personality shine through your style. Dress according to your body type. And if you love it, own it!

NM: Who’s your fashion icon?

SK: Sounds a little cliché, but it would have to be Kate Moss. She is a trendsetter more than a trend follower and so many girls have copied her style. I did also love the style of the late Carolyn Bessette Kennedy. Her sense of style was so innate and extremely chic.

NM: What’s your favorite fashion movie?

SK: There are so many, almost any movie by Alfred Hitchcock is beyond inspiring, but I did love the 30s costume designs for Atonement (2007) by Jacqueline Durran. She totally grasped that period and ran with it—languid, elegant, understated yet drop-dead gorgeous.

NM: What do you do in your free time?

SK: What free time? Ha! No, I love to travel to Upstate New York or go out East to the beach. Living in a concrete jungle, one needs to connect with nature and its beauty.

Cynthia Steffe Fall 2011

NM: What’s your secret place in NYC?

SK: Smith and Mills, an old carriage house turned bar/restaurant discreetly hidden on a cobblestone street in Tribeca.

NM: What do you consider your greatest achievement?

SK: Other than my daughter, my first show in Bryant Park. My dream was to show as part of New York Fashion Week and that first season will always be very special to me.

Kearney takes his bow at his most recent show.