Cynthia Rowley and Daughter Kit Keenan Interview
Cynthia Rowley and Daughter Kit Keenan Share the 1 Tradition They Do as a Family Every Summer
When I spoke with veteran designer Cynthia Rowley and her 20-year-old daughter Kit Keenan, a budding business owner and designer in her own right, at this year's POPSUGAR Play/Ground, they had just touched down in New York City from Paris and were hours away from hopping over to the beaches of Montauk. A scroll through their Instagram accounts brought up family snaps at the Egyptian pyramids, the four of them — Rowley, Keenan, Rowley's husband Bill Powers, and their daughter, Gigi Powers — crammed in the back of a taxi in West Africa, and the crew all smiles before zip-lining in Puerto Rico.
So between work trips and family holidays, I had to know, what do a stylish, globetrotting mother-daughter duo like Rowley and Keenan always pack in their suitcase? What's on their travel bucket list? And, of course, what do they wear on a plane? See their answers to these questions below.
POPSUGAR: What's your go-to travel outfit?
Cynthia Rowley: It has to include a lot of layering.
Kit Keenan: My go-to plane outfit is just a vintage pair of jeans that I can wear the whole time there, dress them up with heels. Vintage jeans, sneakers, and a bunch of layers on top because I'm always freezing on the plane.
PS: What's the one thing you can't travel without?
CR: Can I say each other?
KK: OMG you're so corny.
CR: A swimsuit.
KK: A swimsuit, for sure, because you never know.
CR: Usually wherever you are you can get a little dip.
KK: And a wrap. Some sort of wrap so that if you have to sleep places you put it over your eyes.
CR: It can be a beach coverup.
KK: [Or used as a] scarf. It's very versatile.
PS: What's one tradition your family does every Summer?
CR: Surf.
KK: Surf.
CR: As much as possible. As a family, we all four go out. It's so much fun, and our friends are all out in the water.
KK: When we're in the water surfing we can't be doing anything else. We have to be focussed on being in the water, enjoying it, no technology. And just kind of being a tiny part of this huge ecosystem. It's like meditation.
CR: You're not in control. Mother's Nature's in control. And that's a nice feeling.
KK: It makes you feel small in a good way.
PS: What's next on your travel bucket list?
KK: I really want to go to Korea. One of my friends was there abroad for school, and she loved it. That's next on my bucket list.
CR: We might be doing some work there, so hopefully we'll have a good excuse.
KK: I also want to go to Japan for the Olympics for my 21st birthday. My mom used to do work there and have a few stores, so we would go once a year. And OMG, I love it so much.
PS: If you could invite three people (living or dead) to join you on a private island, who would they be?
KK: I would invite [Jean-Michel] Basquiat, David Bowie, and Rihanna.
CR: Somebody funny. I would do Maya Rudolph, Amy Poehler, and Kristen Wiig. Three funny ladies, because you know you'd have a good time.
See more cute photos and videos of Keenan and Rowley (including a great throwback shot) ahead!
Cynthia Rowley and Kit Keenan at Dorado Beach in Puerto Rico in 2019
Cynthia Rowley With Kit Keenan and Gigi Powers as Young Children
Cynthia Rowley and Kit Keenan Video in 2019
Cynthia Rowley, Kit Keenan, Bill Powers, and Gigi Powers in Rincón, Puerto Rico in 2019
Cynthia Rowley and Kit Keenan in 2018
Cynthia Rowley and Kit Keenan at POPSUGAR Play/Ground
Cynthia Rowley, Kit Keenan, and Gigi Powers in Miami in 2019
Cynthia Rowley and Kit Keenan at POPSUGAR Play/Ground
Cynthia Rowley and Kit Keenan Recording a Podcast in 2019
Cynthia Rowley and Kit Keenan at the 2019 CFDA Fashion Awards
Cynthia Rowley and Kit Keenan at Montauk Beach in 2018
Cynthia Rowley and Kit Keenan in 2018
Cynthia Rowley, Kit Keenan, Bill Powers, and Gigi Powers in Dakar, Senegal in 2018
Cynthia Rowley and Kit Keenan in 2019
Cynthia Rowley and Kit Keenan at POPSUGAR Play/Ground
Cynthia Rowley and Kit Keenan in 2018
Cynthia Rowley and Kit Keenan in 2017
Cynthia Rowley and Kit Keenan at POPSUGAR Play/Ground
Cynthia Rowley, Kit Keenan, and Gigi Powers in Puerto Rico in 2018
Cynthia Rowley and Kit Keenan at 2018 Screening of Mary Poppins Returns
Cynthia Rowley and Kit Keenan at Big Wave Bay, Hong Kong Island in 2017
Cynthia Rowley and Kit Keenan at 2017 Screening of An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power
Cynthia Rowley and Kit Keenan at Town & Country 2018 New Modern Swans Celebration
Cynthia Rowley, Kit Keenan, Bill Powers, and Gigi Powers in Egypt in 2019
Cynthia Rowley and Kit Keenan in 2018
Cynthia Rowley and Kit Keenan Harper's Bazaar 150th Anniversary Event in 2017
Cynthia Rowley and Kit Keenan in 2017
Cynthia Rowley and Kit Keenan in 2018
Cynthia Rowley and Kit Keenan in 2019
Cynthia Rowley and Kit Keenan in 2017
Cynthia Rowley and Kit Keenan in 2019
Cynthia Rowley and Kit Keenan at POPSUGAR Play/Ground
Cynthia Rowley and Kit Keenan Harper's Bazaar 150th Anniversary Event in 2017
Cynthia Rowley and Kit Keenan at POPSUGAR Play/Ground
Cynthia Rowley, Kit Keenan, Bill Powers, and Gigi Powers in Dakar, Senegal in 2018
Cynthia Rowley and Kit Keenan at POPSUGAR Play/Ground
