Email
Print
FeedStyle: Talking with Local Fashion Designer Kendall K.
The San Diego-based designer discusses her latest collection...and her plans to expand the empire
San Diego clothing designer Kendall K. has something most local designers don’t: her clothing designs hanging on racks across the country.
After graduating from the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising (FIDM), K. worked on the design teams at BCBG and Arden B. for six and half years. “I learned about pricing, sales,and manufacturing," says the 31-year-old. "I work for myself now—as of 2 years ago—and I understand merchandising and how clothing works together as a collection to sell in a store."
Next month, K. will launch her Spring/Summer 2012 collection. The concept is based on a trip she took recently to Costa Rica. The colors are bold and bright, detailed with lots of embroidery, and all using natural fabrications of silks, cottons, and cotton blends. Not diverging much from her signature relaxed and youthful silhouettes, the line is modern and sophisticated, but easily paired with flip-flops or a great wedge.
Kendall K. can be found in 20 boutiques from Arizona to Washington. Locally, find her line in: Kyss Boutique in Carlsbad and Cielo in Leucadia. In LA, she’s in Fred Segal Girl, Red Balloon, Adrift, Twig And Willow in Long Beach, and the Montage in Laguna—to name a few.
“My goal is to grow my business as a business…not just to design for myself. I’d love to be in the big department stores like Bloomie’s or Nordie’s, and maybe even a little boutique all my own some day,” K. says.
For Fall 2012, K. carries us into the English countryside, with tweeds, dot prints in maxi dresses, wrap styling, and easy voluminous blouses.
While I was talking with K., she got the “hot off the presses” news that she’ll be opening a new territory in Dallas, Texas. “We're covering 10 states in the South….Yay,” K. says! Our little SD girl’s all grown up.
 |
Get the Print Edition
Get 12 issues of San Diego Magazine for just $18.00 a year! |
 |
Get the Digital Edition
San Diego Magazine is now on the iPad! |
Reader Comments:
Wow talk about burning bridges. Your first sentence was a big stab at all the other designers in San Diego. How do you now come up to other designers expecting them to talk to you?
I am proud of Kendall but found this article to be very disappointing. As an international designer myself I like to work with those who are positive and open to everyone's success.
San Diego Mag needs to reconsider publishing articles like this again.
This is an interesting article, except it tells me absolutely nothing about the clothing. It would have been nice to focus on the clothes, rather than the availability of the clothes...
I appreciate the aspirations of local designers, but what sets designers apart is not the scope of the operation, it is the quality of the clothing (which is the very thing missing from this article).