Mary Gonsalves Kinney is living proof that a woman can have it all! The mother of four has her styling and fashion consultancy company with high-end clients from the political, sports, entertainment, and tech arena. She jets from San Francisco to New York, D.C., Los Angeles, and Las Vegas and manages her home in Sacramento.
Mary has earned the top stylist’s reputation in the Bay Area and often graces red carpet events and charity galas with her presence and panache. If all that is not enough to impress you, she is an avid subscriber to feminist theory, supports the BLM movements, and advocates for many social causes.
Curating Wardrobes and Attending Fashion Shows Via Webcam
Usually, MGK would fly to Paris Fashion Week with her clients, and personally visit designer boutiques to pick up bespoke pieces. The 2020 coronavirus pandemic has changed the way she conducts business.
She now uses her meticulous eye to curate pieces through Zoom or Facetime. She goes through her client’s wardrobe for her personal styling duties and discusses their fashion inspirations in-depth via video link to get the full picture.
It is a challenge to design lookbooks, bestow advice and make wardrobe edits virtually, but Kinney makes it work. She has adapted to the new climate, and her digital front-row seat to fashion shows and product launches is never vacant.
Kinney’s online consultations allow her to provide a personal service in times of need. Since her clients are socialites or founders of Fortune 500 companies, she encourages them to continue to spend money on fashion even if it is for Zoom meetings. She argues that this is the time for the privileged few to give back, and businesses need their support now more than ever.
Kinney has many local designers, jewelry makers, and accessory stores on her list, and turns to them when all else fails. Her process now involves sending carefully selected outfits and fashion items to her clients’ residences, where they try everything out at their leisure. MGK conducts a mini showcase on FaceTime for the client to demonstrate their new look, and she offers styling tips from afar.
Introducing San Francisco to High-End Fashion
Mary Gonsalves Kinney remains approachable even though she works with noteworthy designers and rubs shoulders with the biggest stars. She has gained a magnanimous host’s repertoire and is the one to welcome designers and brands to the San Francisco Bay Area.
MGK has collaborated with Stella McCartney and they both hosted an event in San Francisco in 2019. The lunch was part of McCartney’s quarterly tour of the United States where she hits many towns and visits her stores around the country. MGK and Stella McCartney have a lot in common because they like to be present in the dressing room and dress clients themselves. Kinney is now in a partnership with McCartney, among many other designers around the world and uses her access to exclusive, chic designs to transform her clients.
Being a renowned stylist in the Bay Area and Silicon Valley continues to bring new and exciting opportunities her way. Kinney often gets to introduce new luxury brands to the local market. She uses her relationships and credibility to promote ideas, and Vogue realized that when they honored her with the opportunity to put together a shopping event and dinner for Marni.
The evening was a success, and Kinney pulled it off with the help of her trusted social circle. Many of her clients were in attendance, and since she was familiar with them, she made worthy recommendations and helped them make the right purchases.
MGK has the knack for putting together two different concepts and making them work. She encourages her clients and social media followers to make bold fashion choices too. Through her, many brands have more visibility in newer demographics because she can and does take risks.
Kinney is optimistic about the future of international brands and Haute fashion in San Francisco. The city is growing, and her Silicon Valley clients are evidence that Tech executives are concerned with their looks. With access to more choices, the city will make their entry into the world of style and compete with their New York and Paris counterparts.
What’s next for MGK?
Mary Gonsalves Kinney is no stranger to the world of modeling and recently had the chance to model for Maison Valentino’s label. She was selected among other global fashion influencers to help launch the RomanStud Valentino bag. MGK was photographed by famed photographer, German Larkin, via ClosApp, an app that allows photographers to work through their subject’s iPhone from thousands of miles away at times, and shared those images on her Instagram page with her 31 thousand followers.
The studs of the RomanStud bag are an iconic part of Valentino’s designs, and every collection is incomplete without a callback to the past. Valentino reimagined the studs using a more extensive embellishment, and Kinney styled two effortless looks, using her bold fashion sense and the newest collections from Valentino’s SS2020 Ready to Wear.
Mary Gonsalves Kinney continues to break barriers and explore uncharted territory with her visionary approach to fashion, styling, and hosting. She has repeatedly proved that she can take any challenge head-on and is an asset to the San Francisco elite. She expects to continue on her adventurous journey as a personal stylist and help many deserving businesses along the way.