KENNY BONAVITACOLA Fashion Designer / Fashion Design Award by JANE ROSER
K
enny Bonavitacola always knew he was going to be a fashion designer. Growing up in South Philly, he would design clothing that his grandmother, a seamstress, then made. Bonavitacola was expected to take over the family business at a luncheonette but a trip to Italy in his teens changed all that. “I wanted to go to the boutiques – Gucci, Valentino, Yves St. Laurent... I decided when I got home that I’d go to design school and nothing was going to stop me.” Bonavitacola attended The Fashion Institute of Technology and has lived in New York City since 1975. He first apprenticed with Piero Dimitri at Dimitri Couture, then went on to become Director of Couture and Licensed Products at Giorgio di Sant’ Angelo. He launched an eponymous label, found his creations on three Women’s Wear Daily covers and acted as designer and/or consultant at Tahari, Kasper, Perry Ellis, Bill Blass and Tadashi Shoji, the latter seeing him work with 2012 Oscar and Academy Award winner for The Help, Octavia Spencer. Taking inspiration from designers such as Bob Mackie, Edith Head, Orry-Kelly and films like Gypsy, Auntie Mame and Imitation of Life, Bonavitacola mastered the art of haute couture. His draping, choice of fabrics, trimming and attention to detail is so precise and exquisite that the grand dame herself, Aretha (The Queen of Soul) Franklin, was a devoted client for more than 17 years. Bonavitacola attributes his work ethic to his mother Catherine who worked nights at the luncheonette while also running her own shop, Little Beth Boutique, for more than 60 years. “I was brought up by a woman who was incredibly successful. I don’t come from a background where we decide to retire at 65.” After leaving Terani Couture last August, Bonavitacola shows no signs of slowing
Q&A Q: What did you want to be when you grew up?
A: Fashion Designer. Q: What was your first job? A: I worked alongside a master couture tailor named Piero Dimitri. He was a menswear designer who wanted to introduce a women’s wear collection and he hired me to design the collection. On my first day there, the receptionist was out sick so Piero asked me to answer the phones. The first call I answered
down. He’s currently collaborating on a label with his sister Alexis called “I Love My Sister” which will incorporate her artwork into a design collection made in the United States. Besides writing his autobiography (tentatively titled Sew What), another project in the works is a musical Bonavitacola is executive producing about a group of Philadelphians who arrive in New York all hoping to find success in their individual careers, but then deeply affected by the AIDS crisis. The central character is based upon Kevin Boyce from Upper Darby, the first person to become a well-known cross-dresser. Bonavitacola met Boyce in 1977. When Boyce asked him to design a couture dress to wear to Truman Capote’s birthday party, Bonavitacola jumped at the chance. Boyce was such a fixture of Studio 54’s heyday that the Brooklyn Museum of Art is showcasing two of Bonavitacola’s dresses, including one worn by Boyce, in their Spring 2020 exhibit, “Studio 54: Night Magic.” Leading up to the exhibit, Bonavitacola will be posting 40 years of press (about 650 total posts) on Instagram and creating new couture pieces inspired by the exhibit. One of Bonavitacola’s top clients is two-time Oscar winner Kristen Anderson-Lopez who cowrote the songs for Frozen with husband Robert Lopez. She wore his designs to the Grammys and Golden Globes where she and her husband won Best Original Song awards for “Let It Go” from Frozen and “Remember Me” from Coco. Bonavitacola is currently working on a design she will wear to the premiere of Frozen 2 in Hollywood on November 7th. Reflecting on his long and successful career, Bonavitacola says, “I have to contemplate where I want to go from here and I don’t have the answer where I’ll wind up, but I know I’m not done.”
was from Faye Dunaway. I remember going out to lunch and calling my mother from a payphone and crying to her from the excitement.
Q: What was your favorite pastime as a kid?
A: Sketching in my grandparents B&G Luncheonette at 20th & Mifflin St., designing dresses for my father’s mother and sister.
Q: What’s the best advice anyone ever gave you?
A: I worked for designer Giorgio di Sant ‘Angelo. When it came to collection time, we sometimes worked
around the clock to finish. One day, with only a few more hours left until show time, I said to Giorgio ‘I bet you wish it was five hours from now.” He quickly retorted, “I do not. I wish it was yesterday. Never wish for less time. Always wish for more time!”
Q: What’s the best advice you ever gave?
A: Never compare your career to anyone else’s.
Q: Favorite song from back in the day that always makes you smile?
A: “Downtown” by
Petula Clark.
South Philadelphia with his wife and new baby.
Q: What is your best memory from summer 2018?
Q: What lesser-known land-
A: The birth of my great-
mark would you recommend a tourist visit in Philadelphia?
niece, Quinn Scarlett Smith.
Q: What do you consider
A: The Reading Terminal.
your happy place/your favorite place in the whole world?
Q: Tell us something not
A: In a movie theater with
A: I have absolutely
popcorn and a Diet Coke.
Q: Who are your Phil-
only one regret. Not having children.
Q: What’s your favorite
adelphia-based idols?
A: Jerry Blavat. He stayed
true to himself and devoted to his community through his entire life. Rob McClure. He has a successful Broadway career but resides in
October / November / December 2019
many people know about you.
home-cooked meal?
A: My friends Bil and
Ken make the best cheesesteak and French fries.
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