W Magazine recently sat down with Kelly Rowland, mother, singer and Queen Bey’s childhood bestie to talk about her latest venture, her new docu-series Chasing Destiny her time as part of Destiny’s Child, her latest beauty line and doing Paris Fashion Week.
On Chasing Destiny- After Destiny’s Child wrapped the last tour [in 2006], I remember saying, “I want to do a girl group of my own.” And I never really got the time to dedicate myself fully to it. I didn’t want to be one of those artists who has artists, and you don’t really pay attention to them because you’re so busy being an artist. Of course, the time finally came, and I knew I wanted [choreographer and director] Frank Gatson [Jr.] on board with me, who has worked with every girl group under the sun. He gets it. And I feel like he has a knack for pulling out talent, pulling greatness out of people. And I didn’t want a reality show; I didn’t want a “making the band”; I didn’t want those things that other networks thought that it would be. I was like, “No, I just need a lot of money to have the cameras rolling.”
On creating a girl group- I knew we were going to take a hiatus from [Destiny’s Child], and we were all focused on our own projects. And I was just like, “Each generation should be better than the last.” That’s truly what I feel. I knew that I would have the girls’ support no matter what. And I do have their support in this whole venture. The girls are excited for me.
On the importance of girl groups- I think it affects culture in a way that it affects young women, their self-esteem, the way they view themselves. It’s a way for them to see their beauty. They see young girls from the Spice Girls and they say, “Ooh, I look like her,” or, “I have style like her,” or, “My ears are pierced like her.” It just helps with the culture of young women.
On doing Paris Fashion Week- I did it [for the first time] right after I had [my son] Titan last year, but I felt like I was just completely out of place! Because everybody was just so dressed to the nines and I was just trying to get my body intact. Meanwhile, I’m watching all these models and I’m like, “Aww, hell!” But that said, I had a blast. Each time I go to Paris Fashion Week I’m always inspired in some sort of way. And last year, it did inspire me creatively. Because I’d just had my son, putting all of my energy into my family life that I kind of forgot about the creative part, it kind of got pushed to the background for a second. It was so vivid and so amazing that I was fed creatively while I was there. This time, I just had a blast. Myself and my assistant Ashley, we took so many pictures, we ate everything, we went to parties and hung out with everybody. It was great.
On her style- Absolutely. I think when you first enter the industry, you kind of see what fits. People are kind of seeing what fits on you and if it’s going to work, or if you’re able to carry it off. You know, I was young. In Destiny’s Child, our little midriffs were out, we had rhinestones on everything, army fatigue on everything. We were new. And fashion was something that was really new. You could admire it, but you were always taught or told that it was very snooty. So it made me feel really weird; I remember the first time Donatella [Versace] was like, “Come to my house for lunch.” Or Mr. Armani was like, “Come over,” and he wanted to give you free clothes. It was like, “Oh, they’re really nice.” You know what I mean? So it’s really nice when it happens organically. And I like that, when you have a natural vibe with somebody.
On her beauty line- I’m going to do makeup and skincare. But myself and my partner [makeup artist] Sheika Daley, we’re starting with lashes. We’re really pushing to try in the next couple of months to have it out. We’re really excited about it. It’s called For All Created Equal. It’s actually broken down into the word “FACE.”
On her upcoming album- Forty-five tracks plus two different sounding records at that. I just need to finish! Like I said, I’ve been dedicating my time to Chasing Destiny. I didn’t want to cheat myself or the project at all. So I can’t spread myself so thin to where I have nothing left to give. Once [Chasing Destiny is] moving and I have a team to make sure the [girl] group is formed …
On her thoughts on Beyonce’s ‘Formation‘- You know what? I don’t know if I was surprised so much as I feel like everybody has their own opinion. My grandma always says, “Opinions are like assholes and everybody’s got one.” The truth is people are going to speak on it whether they like it or not. And some people will speak because they just want to be attached to you in some way, because they might need some publicity of their own. So I just feel like she is a person who has freedom of speech along with everybody else. She was speaking her mind and she felt a certain way in a place that she wanted to express. That’s what artists do. No one should stop you from that, I don’t care who they are.
Check out her full interview with the magazine here
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