To celebrate our 10 year anniversary, we’re celebrating the tastemakers, collaborators and like-minded business women who have championed & cherished the Lizzie Fortunato brand for over a decade. Friends for 10 is a series of short interviews that introduces you to these very women. They are our supporters and muses. Just like you, they are the people who’ve shaped our brand and made Lizzie Fortunato, well … Lizzie Fortunato. #LF10
Jenny Capano makes a lot of things look not only easy, but joyful. She is a master of fashion, food, and motherhood; she is a close friend to many and to say she understands style would be an understatement (she effortlessly shows up for work breakfasts in full runway looks!). Like a few other friends for 10 (Kate Towill and Taylor Patterson), she is a fellow Delaware gal who has paved her way in the big city, as a “mother, a hustler with many side projects, and a Sacai wholesale guru”. Jenny worked on Phillip Lim’s wholesale team during a time of explosive growth in the mid 2000’s (she became close friends with the designer who not only attended her Jamaica wedding, but also outfitted her and the entire wedding party), before relocating to Paris to co-found The Sporting Project, a creative agency that impressively hosted pop-up dinners (featuring star chefs in intimate settings) during many a fashion week. Upon her return stateside, she joined the wholesale team at Sacai (we’re mega fans of Chitose Abe’s label, with its experimental shapes and prints) and had two beautiful daughters (their style rivals yours), making it look easy all the while. She is a role model and BFF, balancing an incredible career in fashion (you can find her in Paris 4+ times a year hanging with some of the world’s top buyers), with her precious family life (weekends are spent at the farmers market with her husband and kids), and her deep and thoughtful friendships (she’s always the one to take you for a drink when you most need it). Thank you, Jenny, for being such a stylish, inspiring, and effortlessly chic friend for 10.
Q & A:
1. What is your first (or favorite!) memory of Lizzie / Kathryn / the brand?:
JC: I would have to say the first big party they threw in NYC with Timo in 2008. That was a moment! I was so impressed by them, I remember racing over with my old boss Phillip Lim and our style director Kim Bui Kollar and just being really excited to show Phillip what the girls were up to. Also, Alexander Wang was supposed to show up wearing one of Lizzie’s flower headbands ha!
2. Are you a Lizzie (creative) or a Kathryn (business)?:
JC: I’m more of a Kathryn, the business side. We tend to get stuck talking sales strategy and wholesale and stores a lot.
3. What is your favorite way to style statement jewelry?:
JC: I am into the statement earring, I like to go over the top and pair it with a strong print.
4. We’re all about original dressers…what’s the weirdest thing in your closet? How do you accessorize it?:
JC: There are a lot of weird items in my closet. I love clothes and like to shop vintage or pick out iconic pieces that the fashion houses are known for. I also love a costume and like to work on my own creations whenever there is a party for it. The most outrageous would probably be the headpiece and priestess collar I designed with Kate from Amaroq or the Lucky Star headpiece we did for last year’s Halloween.
5. What is the oldest accessory in your closet?:
JC: I have some beautiful jewelry passed down to me from my Nonna.
6. What is the most random thing in your purse right now?:
JC: A blue My Little Pony with rainbow hair.
7. I’M A ____ AND I’M PASSIONATE ABOUT ____:
JC: A mother, a hustler with many side projects, and a Sacai wholesale guru; and I am passionate about my family, my friends, and food.
8. Small but impactful advice for aspiring female entrepreneurs?:
JC: Way back, when Tara and I launched Sporting Project, one woman who we both really admired told us we had a lot of bravado! I never forgot it, so, have some bravado ladies! And pick yourself up and keep going if it doesn’t work out. You get many swings, and not every idea or venture will hit it out of the park.
Worlds Collide: Jenny Capano in Lizzie Fortunato Jewels
9. What gets you out of bed in the AM?:
JC: My two daughters screaming “wake up mommy!”
10. My first job was _____:
JC: Well, the first job that prepared me for surviving NYC fashion culture was in the costume shop of the University of Miami. Michiko Kitayama taught me some serious life skills.
11. Any secret talents?:
JC: I’m a pretty good party planner/organizer.
12. Favorite place you’ve ever traveled?:
JC: There’s a lot I still want to see, but I want to get back to Jose Ignacio, Uruguay!
13. Up Early or Up Late?:
JC: Up early, but sometimes the last one on the dance floor…
What Jenny Is Wearing:
