Contrast highs prove once again that monochrome is a sartorial evergreen
Words by ANUSH J. BENLIYAN
Photography by AMANDA DEMME
Creative & Fashion Direction by ALISON EDMOND
In an age of the celebrity activist, Kenya Kinski-Jones is a thoughtful crusader. Soft-spoken by nature but compelled to go against type, the 27-year-old model — first discovered by fashion photographer Bruce Weber — and rising environmentalist understands the power of words, having spent the last couple of years advocating for animal rights, conservation and climate justice. “I think there’s something to say for us being conscious and aware of what our voices can accomplish and what our voices mean,” says Kinski-Jones, who sprinkles conversations with sage quotes by her idols, including Jane Goodall.
HERMÈS dress, $6,750. SOKO bracelet (sold as pair), $98. VINCE boots, $595. Stylist’s own turban.
The L.A. native’s nearly 53,000 Instagram followers tune in to see her behind the scenes at Chanel and Stella McCartney shows; to catch candid moments with her longtime boyfriend, actor Will Peltz; and to keep up with her dispatches on endangered species and environmental justice (#climatecrisis). Last year, she was tapped as an ambassador for Climate Futures, a company whose 1Planet digital platform aims to allow individuals and businesses to calculate their carbon footprint and then offset it by supporting global projects like forest conservation and renewable energy production.
PRADA dress, $2,540. DAVID YURMAN ring, $450. Stylist’s own scarf.
SALVATORE FERRAGAMO jacket, $3,300. SOKO earrings, $58.
As the youngest daughter of music legend Quincy Jones, Kinski-Jones is not the first in her family to champion a cause. Her father, for instance, has long been a philanthropist and social justice activist, and her half sister, actor Rashida Jones, is a founding member of the Time’s Up movement. But Kinski-Jones, whose mother is actor and former model Nastassja Kinski, notes it was the “connection and sense of protection to the natural world” she’s felt since she was a child that fueled her passion for environmental activism.
VERSACE dress, $1,225. JANESSA LEONE hat, $230. DAVID YURMAN ring, $2,900.
“I’ve been a vegetarian since I was 8 and was always very into recycling and turning the lights off in school, so that’s always been a part of me, but now it’s a completely different conversation. It’s so much more dire,” she says. It’s that dialogue, though, that Kinski-Jones asserts is the biggest factor of change. “Learning is the first step. … When you understand the issue, then you care, and when you care, you take action.”
MIU MIU coat, $4,490. EF COLLECTION earrings, $325. CAROLINA AMATO gloves, $312. TIBI boots, $795.
LONGCHAMP jacket, $1,965. EF COLLECTION earrings, $395. SOKO ring (sold as stack), $98.
MAX MARA dress, $2,050, and hat, price upon request. DAVID YURMAN ring, $450. Stylist’s own galoshes.
CHANEL top, $5,850. JANESSA LEONE hat, $281. EF COLLECTION earrings, $550.
TOM FORD dress, $3,750. SOKO earrings, $64, and ring (sold as stack), $98. Stylist’s own galoshes.
VERA WANG top, $590, corset, $850, skirt, $2,900, and gloves, prices upon request. EF COLLECTION earrings, $325.
Makeup: SERUCELL KFS Cellular Protein Complex serum, $225. IT COSMETICS Bye Bye Lines foundation, $38. DEAR DAHLIA Paradise Blooming lip balm, $34. JILLIAN DEMPSEY Lid Tint in Bronze, $28, and Cheek Tint in Sunny, $28.
Model KENYA KINSKI-JONES at Two Management
Hair by CHRISTIAN MARC at Forward Artists using Shu Uemura Art of Hair
Makeup by JO STRETTELL at Tracey Mattingly using Serucell
Manicure by EMI KUDO at Opus Beauty using Dior Vernis
Feature image: GUCCI dress, $5,500, and gloves, $530. SOKO earrings, $54, VINCE boots, $595.
This story originally appeared in the March 2020 issue of C Magazine.
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