How the Queen of Hearts Mentored Kathy Ireland... by Jason Winters

How the Queen of Hearts mentored Kathy Ireland in beauty, fashion, jewelry, home decor and philanthropy. Ten years and one day ago, the incandescent miraculous human being that the world recognizes as Elizabeth Taylor, "slipped the surly bonds of earth and reached to touch The Face of God."

It's incomprehensible that our amazing Elizabeth walks among us no more to inspire, guide, teach, mentor and most of all, love. Yet we are all touched by Elizabeth's powerful presence every day. Elizabeth's artistry will be shining as long as films are shown anywhere in this universe. Multiple Academy Awards and countless other honors make her genius as an actress, on film and on stage, unquestionable. Elizabeth's final performance as an actress, was opposite James Earl Jones in "Love Letters" at Paramount Studios in Hollywood, California for a celebrity infused audience raising over 1 million dollars for the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation.

The public Elizbeth and the private woman who shared so much of her heart and soul with loved ones, as well as people whose lives she saved that will never know this angel, are incalculable. Some of you know that my relationship with Elizaeth was deeply personal and professional. We succeeded together in extraordinary ways. Laughter, fabulous holidays, conversations which lasted all night long, bonds of family and friendship that can never be broken. The private Elizabeth is so unlike, the icon Elizabeth Taylor, that you would be truly shocked if you don't know the private woman of how grounded, connected to reality and in a unique sort of way, deeply humble. The private Elizabeth was and always will be, to those of us fortunate enough, to know and love the person that Tim Mendelson, Elizabeth's loving Creative Director, Executive Assistant, Trustee and beyond all those things, loving family member, bestowed the title, Queen of Hearts on the woman we all adore. Tim & Jon Carrasco, kathy ireland Worldwide Creative Director, became friends and of course like everyone, our amazing and loving Kathy, wanted to meet the Queen... in fact Kathy wanted much more. Kathy wanted Elizabeth to become a personal mentor, for Kathy's meteorically rising business career and intense responsibilities as CEO, Wife, Mother and Woman of Faith. Tim suggested Kathy write Elizabeth a letter. Kathy never procrastinates and the letter was written and sent with beautiful flowers, that very day, to Elizabeth's home. Within hours, Kathy's phone was ringing. Queen summoned Kathy to tea and the journey began. 

The deepest memories are too private to share. I will relate some ironies: Kathy's first Forbes cover shares the date of Elizabeth's birthday, February 27. I believe the coincidence is one of God's amusing ways to remain anonymous thus, allowing us to choose between a Faithful life or an agnostic one. 

Elizabeth mentored Kathy on everything couture jewelry, fashion, home decor, philanthropy, motherhood and well...everything because Elizabeth was and is never without bold opinions vested in extraordinary education and unique life experience. How Elizabeth would hold a piece of fabric in her hands and teach Kathy about stitches, Egyptian cotton, Pima cotton, Asian and American cotton, Silk and all the things that make textiles terrific, was as encompassing as a university education. So it was no surprise that this year, 10 years after Elizabeth's ascension to heaven, that Kathy would embark on a glorious new adventure with one of the world's leading textile empires, Trident in India, whose USA CEO is Jeffrey Kambak.

We'll now bring kathy ireland Home towels to every corner of our world, truly escalating the availability of these kathy ireland Worldwide textiles. Many of the colors will be inspired by Elizabeth's priceless collection of exquisite jewels and their dazzling palette.

To learn more about kathy ireland Home by Trident, please enjoy the following feature which is appearing in every major textile publication. Not surprisingly, Trident's stock rose on the day of the announcement.

kathy ireland? Worldwide Partners With The Trident Group

March 22, 2021

NEW YORK CITY — March 22, 2021 — kathy ireland? Worldwide (kiWW?) has partnered with Trident Ltd., a global supplier of home textiles based India, and Trident Global Inc. (TGI) its U.S. subsidiary based in New York City. The announcement was made by Jeffrey Kambak, CEO of U.S. Operations for TGI. The new strategic relationship encompasses bath towels, kitchen towels and beach towels. The products will be marketed under the kathy ireland? Home brand with kitchen towels also marketed under the Sunday Dinner collection curated by Chef André Carthen for kathy ireland Home. The collection will also be included in Trident’s rapidly expanding e-commerce business, featured on many of the most recognizable platforms in the digital space, as well as at select major brick and mortar retailers. The agreement expands kiWW’s global reach, as the products will be available in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, the European Union, and Trident’s home country of India.

“As part of our ongoing growth strategy, we began looking for a strong, recognizable brand for the U.S., which would also have application in other countries where we enjoy a strong presence. kathy ireland Worldwide was the perfect opportunity for us, as both our companies’ missions were quite similar. Above and beyond our joint commitment to quality, we share a passion for the ethical treatment of people, the environment, and sustainable manufacturing initiatives,” Kambak said. “I have known Kathy and the team at kiWW for many years, having had the privilege of working with them earlier in my career. I have always found them to be insightful, collaborative, creative, brilliant at marketing, and focused on building sustainable businesses together. Trident is known not only as one of the world’s largest home textiles manufacturers, but also one of the most innovative manufacturers in the arena, and this is going to be a very exciting partnership.”

“We are delighted for this new collaboration with Trident and the opportunity to work with Jeff again,” said Kathy Ireland, chair, CEO and chief designer of kiWW, listed as the 26th most powerful global brand by License Global magazine. “Trident’s mission of bringing high quality products to market, while strictly adhering to its strong commitment of bettering the human condition around the world through ethical and sustainable practices, very much aligns with kiWW’s core values. We look forward to bringing our customers these lush and beautiful products.”

“We are delighted to Partner with the spectacular team at Trident, as we expand the textiles business unit at kathy ireland Home,” said Jon Carrasco, executive vice president and worldwide creative director, kathy ireland Wordwide and Stephen Roseberry, president and CMO kathy ireland Worldwide, respectively. “Our growth in the residential sector is exciting and Trident will make a powerful difference and give us a very specific worldwide advantage in kathy ireland Home products for all of our retailers and our individual clients, who purchase and make the success of kathy ireland Worldwide possible every day,”

John and Marilyn Moretz of Moretz Marketing in North Carolina; Rocco Ingemi, executive vice president, Fashion and Fine Jewelry, kathy ireland Worldwide; Larry Childers, Team Operations vice president, kathy ireland Worldwide; and Tommy Meharey, kiWW board member and vice president, are actively responsible for and co-managing the partnership.

The new kathy ireland Home collection from Trident will be available for purchase later this year.

Posted March 22, 2021

Source: Trident Ltd.