Colloquy Of A Southern LeBelle

- She looks gorg!...as she should. Great article!

DESIGNER TINA KNOWLES KNOWS WHAT WOMEN WANT AND HOW THEY CAN GET IT. RULE NUMBER ONE: GOOD LIGHTING WILL TAKE YOU FAR

Photography Catherine Servel
Text Derek Blasberg

Tina Knowles, the designer of hip hop high-fashion label House of Deréon and mother to pop icons Beyoncé and Solange Knowles, has a billion-dollar beauty idea: “I want to invent a little light that you can carry around your purse, and when someone asks to take your picture you can hold it over your head,” she laughs, only half joking. “At my age, I’m always looking for some good lighting.”

It’s endearing to hear that Knowles, glorious in her mid 50s, is so concerned with lighting. With a creamy caramel complexion, courtesy of her African and Creole heritage, she looks as stunning in fluorescent lighting as she does next to a candle. Now she is quietly building a fashion empire that trades on the success of her daughters’ music careers while marching to a hard-core stylistic beat.

Knowles’s mother was a seamstress and a designer, providing her with a firsthand fashion education. When her eldest daughter rounded up some friends and started a band called Destiny’s Child, she sewed the costumes. Today, Knowles considers herself an expert on the female form, both onstage and off.
Her biggest tip is to always use a tailor, “since no one is a perfect size anything.” The 1940s is her favorite period for fashion; she likes that it was the era of tough women. Knowles prefers pencil skirts and garments that are slimmed at the bottom, and she has learned the hard way what it means to make investment purchases. “I once spent an entire paycheck on a suede jumpsuit, which was not a good idea,” she admits. “But I have worn the same Chanel jackets for years.”

Concerned about her wardrobe becoming too basic—she is still a working woman, after all—Beyoncé and Solange readily give her sartorial tips. “They are always telling me to experiment and wear more color,” she explains, adding that they would be pleased with the python print she is wearing today. “I may be proud to be a grandmother, but I don’t want to look like one.”

Learn more about Tina Knowles at misstina.com.

Tina Knowles, 56, in New York, September 2010
Styling Catherine Newell-Hanson

Dress Michael Kors
Necklace Solange Azagury-Partridge
Earrings Kenneth Jay Lane

Makeup Nadine Vendryes using La Mer and Shu Uemura (Balan Inc.)
Hair Neal Farinah using Kérastase (Studio 709)
Photo assistants James Garrett and Angelo D’Agostino
Stylist assistant Will Iron
Digital technician Allesio (DTouch)
Location Sandbox Studio, New York

Via V Magazine