Fireside Chat with Tina Knowles
- Share via
-
Click here to listen to this article - Share via
Tina Knowles is a celebrated fashion designer, entrepreneur and philanthropist whose career seamlessly blends creativity and impactful community work. Launching her professional journey as a makeup artist, hairstylist and owner of one of the biggest hair salons in Houston, Knowles quickly became the visionary fashion stylist for the iconic music group Destiny’s Child. Her design expertise expanded to crafting stunning looks for Beyoncé’s world tours, television performances, movie roles and red-carpet events. As a designer, Tina successfully founded three clothing lines: House of Deréon, Deréon and Miss Tina, each reflecting her innovative approach, entrepreneurship and signature style.
Her philanthropic efforts are equally distinguished. Knowles co-founded The Knowles-Rowland Center for Youth in Houston and spearheaded the anti-hunger initiative Miss A Meal. Her commitment to supporting communities has extended to substantial work aiding hurricane victims and contributing to COVID-19 testing initiatives. She is also the driving force behind the WACO Theater Center in Los Angeles, a nonprofit organization dedicated to uplifting and empowering artists across diverse communities. The center serves as a platform for creative expression and cultural engagement. Central to her passion are their transformative mentorship programs, Tina’s Angels, which offers youth exposure to the arts, etiquette, travel, healthy living and inspiring role models.
Knowles is now a No. 1 New York Times best-selling author, after the release of her beautiful, authentic life story was released last April, “Matriarch: A Memoir” from Penguin Random House.
Knowles has built a legacy at the intersection of creativity, business and community. In this intimate fireside chat moderated by LA Times Studios president Anna Magzanyan, she shared stories from her bestselling memoir Matriarch, discussed her work to empower women. Knowles also reflected on the impact of decades of creative and cultural leadership, as a mother, a cheerleader for her daughter’s success and a leader in her community and for women everywhere. To a rapt dinner audience, she also reflected on her journey towards self-love after her divorce and how she built a unique salon brand that rose to prominence in Houston.
Insights from the Fireside Chat
ON THE ROLE OF A “MATRIARCH”
Tina Knowles, Entrepreneur, Philanthropist, Designer & New York Times No. 1 Best-Selling Author | CÉCRED & PARKWOOD ENTERTAINMENT: “I used to think being a matriarch was being a mother, but it’s two totally different things. I think in every family, there’s that person: that when you get your back up against the wall and you need somebody to think and figure things out and be there or just listen – there is that person in your family. And, it doesn’t necessarily have to be your mother. It could be a grandmother, it could be an aunt, it could be a friend of your mom’s, but they’re that person that you want them to have your back at that time.”
ON LEARNING FROM HER CHILDREN
Knowles: “I learned a lot from them. With my younger daughter, Solange, she was always saying, ‘Mom, you cannot be caught up in what people think about you’ – it’s not that I cared as much about what they thought of me, but I was always saying I just don’t want to embarrass my children. Up until maybe 10 years ago, I was just determined to be in the background and not to take up any space, and now I feel like it’s okay to do that. I feel like it’s okay to take up my space. Beyonce taught me how to take a compliment – sometimes we [as women] don’t know the difference between being humble and just being afraid to shine.”
ON BUILDING A UNIQUE BEAUTY SPACE
Knowles: “I decided I would open a salon for professional women … my thing is that I would get people in and out. So I started a salon where within 15 minutes, if you are not waited on, then the stylist had to do the service for free. Well, you don’t have to do that, but one time they don’t want to work for free. The service became really good. We did education, we did motivation. We took a lot of those corporate things and put it into the salon, and became a super successful salon – within a year, I had a 24-stylist salon; it was the biggest salon in Houston. It was just different because we focused on no gossip, which in a salon, that’s a big thing.”
ON BEING GRATEFUL FOR SUCCESS WHILE STAYING GROUNDED
Knowles: “You have to find joy in what you’re doing. You can choose to get up and say, ‘God, I got to go to this job, or I got to do this and complain.’ Or you can choose to get up and say, ‘I’m so blessed to have this job and to have the opportunities that I have.’”
