Her Story
About Cynthia
Cynthia Hoey is a fashion designer, creative director, and entrepreneur with over 30 years of experience in the New York fashion industry. She holds three degrees: a Bachelor of Fine Arts and Fashion from Parsons, a bachelor's from Otis Art Institute, and a bachelor's in fine art from Parsons New School. After moving to New York, she worked at Liz Claiborne for nearly 15 years total across periods. She founded and owned her company CYN and LUCA for 15 years, traveling extensively even with children, and later worked 11 years at another company after selling her business. Her career emphasizes hands-on design from sketching to finished products, mentoring young women, and a commitment to empowerment and independence for women in the industry.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Cynthia
01What do you attribute your success to?
Being independent and having my own business. Having your own business and have it successful is really a challenge. ... Working for yourself is even harder, but it's so rewarding because you've learned You learn so much. What to do, and how to handle it. And it takes you That you can be you can do anything.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
To continue to do what I know how to do the best, which is art and design. That was the best career, because they said, you could, you know, just ma- it matters what door opens for you, because you have the skill level of doing it for so long. That, you know, that was the advice, to not give up.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
They probably should keep up with, of course, because technology has taken over, like, the AI, that if they're a creative. Person and love. design or inspiration in fashion or art that they have to, like, sort of, like, practice. They have to maintain. They know how to do. without, like, a computer. ... practice your art. Practice your and art means anything. Design, like I said, culinary. Anything. ... Along with technology, not solely dependent on technology.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
AI taking over, loss of hands-on skills in young people coming out of school. They rely on computers and can't match colors or do things manually. We lost that touch. Being communication. Community. Speaking with people.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Empowerment for women. Being real, natural, strong, independent. Women who can do those things. They don't need to be held back, they don't have to be they can be really strong. And be a mother, and be all those things, without having to be, like, mean. ... I like to see, like, women to be confident and real. Like, real, like So fake and rely on somebody else.
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