Emily and Elizabeth Kennedy could be referred to as the up and coming “It” girls of the Kansas City fashion scene. The identical twins graduated from K-State and have turned their love for fashion into a successful style blog called the “Fashion Column Twins.”
Beyond this accomplishment, their background includes being spokeswomen for the Legends Outlets and doing styling segments on the local Kansas City news stations. They also write a freelance fashion column for the Lawrence-Journal World.
The twins are taking what they learned during their time in Manhattan and striving to do what they love on a daily basis.
“We had an amazing experience at K-State,” Emily said. “We were born into a family that bleeds purple, so it was a no-brainer that we would follow in those footsteps.”
The twins’ father, Bill Kennedy, played collegiate football at K-State, so they grew up as Wildcats travelling to bowl games and doing all things K-State.
“I was very pleased that Emily and Elizabeth decided to attend K-State because that’s my alma mater,” Bill said.
Elizabeth majored in apparel marketing while Emily pursued a degree in public relations. They didn’t know it then, but their specific majors prepped them for their current career endeavors.
“In regards to our fashion blog, we feel the two majors pair nicely together,” Emily said. “Having a PR background along with knowledge of the apparel industry helped us start our blog and has also helped us grow.”
During their time at K-State, the twins had to learn the importance of hard work and balancing their time. This understanding shows as in addition to the blog, the sisters work full-time. Emily is a women’s copywriter for Pacsun and Elizabeth is a licensed social worker in the mental health field.
The twins work on their blog primarily after work and the weekends.They don’t have a lot of down time and are always on the move, but Emily said it keeps things going which is something they love about their jobs.
“We usually meet two to three times per week with each other to discuss blog related things, current projects or brand collaborations, planning, etc.,” Emily said. “Saturdays and Sundays are when we typically we do all of our photo shoots with our photographer, Jerry Wang Photography.”
Like most college students, the twins went through a stage of uncertainty during their undergraduate.
“We didn’t have a set plan,” Emily said. “I think as you grow you change – not only as a person, but also your ideas and perspectives change.”
According to Emily, current students at K-State should work hard and not give up when working to reach their goals.
“You have to be willing to put in the hard work in order to achieve your dreams,” Emily said. “Nothing worth doing comes easy.”
The twins encouraged students to get as much hands-on experience as they can through internships or part-time positions, as well as to keep an eye out on social media for any job opportunities and have an online portfolio.
While they are not certain what the future holds for them, the sisters said they are confident that they can utilize their degrees to work together.
“If you would have asked us at 20 (years old) if we would have a fashion blog together, I think the first response would have been, ‘What is a blog?’ and the second would be ‘No,'” Emily said. “We grew up with parents’ who owned their own business and have entrepreneurial minds, so I think we always wanted to start something and work for ourselves – but in what capacity, we really had no idea.”
The Kennedys foresee the fashion world in the Kansas City growing in the coming years, and are determined to make a bigger name for themselves.
“Nationally recognized apparel and fashion brands have originated out of Kansas City,” Emily said. “Baldwin, Maddy Nash, Charlie Hustle, Sock 101 and Ocean & Sea to name a few. They have really helped to put Kansas City on the map as a fashion recognized region.”
With what they have accomplished so far, who knows what the sisters will do in the future.
