KCD
In the early ’80s, a family friend introduced Julie Mannion to former Vogue editor Kezia Keeble, who worked under the great Diana Vreeland and co-founded Keeble Cavaco & Duka, later KCD. Mannion started as a freelance stylist for Keeble and her first husband, Paul Cavaco. On her first day, she was handed a prop kit and sent to photographer Richard Avedon’s studio.
Over time, the St. Louis native came to know other famous photographers: Patrick Demarchelier, Arthur Elgort, Bill King, Steven Meisel, and Bruce Weber. “I worked on all of the editorial and advertising campaigns,” she says. “It was literally nonstop and fantastic training—a kind of baptism by fire!” She also helped with fashion shows, quickly recognizing the importance of styling.
Then, in a span of a year and a half, two of KCD’s founders died: Keeble’s second husband, former New York Times fashion writer John Duka, at age 39, then Keeble, at age 48. “Living through that tragedy and those hard periods was challenging,” Mannion says. “I had a new level of ownership and responsibility, which brought another level and layer to the work.”
Mannion and Ed Filipowski became co-presidents of KCD in 1991. They shaped the company into a luxury powerhouse, producing events and fashion shows globally for Tory Burch, Marc Jacobs, Calvin Klein, Alexander McQueen, Louis Vuitton… They also worked with magazines like ELLE and Vogue. “There was a whole different emergence,” Mannion says. “The globalization of fashion was beginning, and we were in the right place at the right time.”
Anna Wintour has compared you to a general running an army. Your role also seems to embody the talents of a film director. How do you see it? [She laughs.] It is a bit of both—being a general and a film director! It’s all about logistics, and you have to have that capability of first seeing the big picture. Each show brings its own challenges and elements… Each show is a live event. They all have a living, breathing aspect. They are time-sensitive, and there are thousands of factors that can present challenges: weather, delivery delays, fires even! And with the advent of technology, the shows are fast. You must hold their attention for long enough, but not too long.
What’s your personal style? Minimal, clean, modern—my proclivity is contemporary, but very simple and straightforward. I’m not high-fashion and edgy; I’m highly edited. The longer you do this, you realize there are just a few things you need each season. I’m an excellent packer and can travel for a week with one small duffel bag.
Do you have any cherished memories of St. Louis? There are many! I come back frequently to spend time with my family, most of whom are there. I loved growing up there, love that my family is still there. I have great memories of friends and school [at Villa Duchesne] and loved every part of it, but somehow always knew I wanted more exposure to other things and opportunities that didn’t exist in St. Louis at that time. It has great culture, and that helped get me interested in seeing more.
