“New York Mami” are the words written across a simple black T-shirt designed and created by Dominican Keila Gonzalez, 26, for her business, KGNY. Gonzalez not only has a female clothing line that focuses on women empowerment, but also has a branding and design business called KGNY Designs.
Gonzalez grew up being creative,attending a performing arts school from middle school through high school. She recalls wanting to be an actress when she was growing up, but soon realized that it was her desire to be a business woman. “I just always knew the type of life I wanted and the fact that I wanted to create at all times. So I guess I always knew I wanted to become a businesswoman.”
Gonzalez attended college for about a year and studied liberal arts while trying to figure out what she wanted to actually focus on. “I ended up leaving college because I had to take on a full-time job to support myself.” She explains that she would love to go back to school and finish what she started but believes that in this generation, “We can learn anything we want on our own through the internet, courses, and hands on experience.”
“Me starting my clothing line took forever,” Gonzalez said. She explained having the idea of a streetwear brand that was as “cool and dope” as the male streetwear brands that have been out for years. Supreme, BAPE, and Obey were inspirations for Gonzalez when creating her KGNY Collection.
This collection ranges from T-shirts with the words “Afro Latina” plastered across them, to camouflage printed hats that spell out “L A T I N A S” with colorful letters on them. In addition to this, Gonzalez created a shirt with the simple word of “Woman” printed on it. When asked what the words “Latina” and “Woman” meant to her, especially on her designs, Gonzalez explained that the words “mean pride, strength, love, perseverance, creativity. The list can go on and on.” She said that because she is a Latina, it started with her using that word because she connected with it the most, but her line was created to represent all women. “Which is why I also have the ‘Women’ T-shirt.” She said, “I want people to feel confident and proud when they wear my designs. I want someone on the street to be curious and ask about their T-shirt so that someone has the chance to educate, or brag about how awesome women are,” Gonzalez said.
When asked about what advice she would give to any future Latina women who doubt their abilities, Gonzalez said, “We have been taught by our parents to just go to school and get a good job to take care of your family, and they mean well. They’re thinking of a better life that they never had and want us to have, but it’s our job to show them that there's so much more than just working for someone else.” She said. “Show them that we can appreciate what they have done for us and we want to take that and make them happy, but also make ourselves happy.”