While Cynthia Rowley is a longtime New York designer, she hails from the small town of Barrington, Illinois. (Population: a little over 10,000.) Rowley hasn’t forgotten her roots and, in fact, has some hometown pride, too: She threw the opening pitch at a Chicago Cubs baseball game in 2015 and has held talks and pop-ups in Barrington. This season, she used her town as a destination to shoot her lookbook, which was styled by her daughter Kit Keenan. Here, Rowley’s New York–minded looks contrasted with suburban living, which, at times, was entertaining and allowed her clothes to stand out, like a bright wide-sleeved red dress juxtaposed against a quaint brick home. Some of the clothes sweetly recollected Rowley’s childhood, like a stretchy plaid T-shirt dress similar to one she wore growing up. The pattern also turned up on a pair of slightly flared trousers that nicely lengthened the body.
It wasn’t all straitlaced, though. Rowley has a bit of a rebel streak, which translates into her clothes. She did a great cowboy shirt with a glittering embroidery of train tracks, her smoke break stomping grounds when she was a teenager. Of course, there was no shortage of Rowley’s signature swimwear, a market that the designer has built much of her business on. She showed off some color-block one-pieces and highlighter hue rash guards that boasted a super-sexy ’80s high cut. Maybe they weren’t appropriate for family day at the suburban pool, but they were certainly head-turners.
