Kenny Bonavitacola, New York Fashion Designer, Dies at 71

Kenny Bonavitacola, a designer who worked for a dozen American brands, died Thursday at the age of 71.

Bonavitacola died at Tisch Hospital in New York City of pancreatic cancer, 13 days after he had been diagnosed, according to his sister Alexis.

Services are being planned in Philadelphia, the city of his birth, and a memorial in New York City may be held at a later date.

Growing up in south Philadelphia, Bonavitacola got a taste for fashion from his maternal grandmother, who was a seamstress, and his mother, who ran the children’s dress store called Little Beth Boutique until 2017. Two of his hometown friends also became style setters — the artist and fashion illustrator Bil Donovan and the designer Ralph Rucci. (The trio remained lifelong friends.)

Bonavitacola’s creative path started to formulate in his early teens, when he would drape a statue of the “’Blessed Mother’ in beautiful things,” during the month of May, which in the Catholic tradition is dedicated to honor her, Alexis Bonavitacola said. “He had his love of fashion from then on [laughs.] He was always drawing and drawing. Even if he got punished in school for not doing well, he didn’t care. He would just draw.”  

Donovan, the artist in residence at Christian Dior Beauty, recalled Thursday how years ago while delivering the Philadelphia Inquirer on his newspaper route, Bonavitacola answered the door of his family’s home, and the teenagers recognized each other from their freshmen lunch table at Bishop Neumann High School. Donovan said, “We spoke briefly, and he invited me to stop by his grandparents’ luncheonette, the B&G, for a cheesesteak after my route.”

That led to daily meetups that were more about their shared interest in fashion and drawing than they were about the cheesesteaks. Donovan said, “Kenny would draw tons of designs on the wrapping paper [for the cheesesteaks] — glamorous beaded Hollywood gowns with the requisite Barbra Streisand nose. I would then create illustrations of his designs. We were inseparable, championing each other, while sharing our dreams, successes, failures, humor, but always our love of each other, which is eternal.”

Before graduating with honors from the Fashion Institute of Technology, Bonavitacola apprenticed under the master tailor Piero Dimitri of Dimitri Couture. He later worked as director of licensed products at Sant’ Angelo, where he executed such product ranges as sportswear, lingerie, dresses, swimwear and accessories. It was there under Giorgio di Sant’ Angelo that his talent “ignited,” Rucci said. Bonavitacola also made sure that the label’s made-to-order designs were up to snuff quality-wise for the designer’s top-shelf clients like Mick Jagger and Lena Horne. He would go on to work with Aretha Franklin, Diana Ross, Jennifer Lopez, Cheryl Tiegs and other celebrities.

From 1975 to 1986, Bonavitacola designed a namesake label that garnered coverage in WWD, Harper’s Bazaar, Vogue and Town & Country. In fact, a design from his first collection landed on the cover of WWD — blouson sheer chiffon top with a red chiffon bra and sash worn with high-waisted white pique shorts. His collection was sold to Bergdorf Goodman, Barneys New York, Neiman Marcus and Saks Fifth Avenue among other retailers, and the designer had his own store in midtown in the late 1970s. Bonavitacola went on to hold design director posts at Kasper Dress, Tahari, Cassin and the Warren Group. In 2003, he opted not to renew his contract and stepped down as design director of Bill Bill Blass, the licensed bridge-priced dress division of BBS International. He also handled its private label program, which included J.C. Penney’s and Dillard’s. He had originally been appointed design director of another BBS International licensed entity, Perry Ellis Dress, until that license expired in 2002.

Rucci described Bonavitacola as “a true designer, who could not only draw beautiful sketches, but he could drape, do the toile, sew the pattern and he was so consistently filled with the joy of his work. There was never drudgery with him.”

From 2010 to 2014, Bonavitacola worked in design at Tadashi Shoji for ready-to-wear, plus-size and bridal. During his career, he also created products for Nordstrom, David’s Bridal, Anthropologie’s Bhldn, the Home Shopping Network and QVC.

Shoji said Thursday, “While I could speak at length about his couture expertise, his exquisite eye for design, his deep appreciation for craftsmanship, and his sketches that swept you away, what I’ll most remember is his infectious joy and his honest and true enthusiasm. Kenny was a person who radiated warmth and kindness, and his genuine spirit left a lasting impact on all, who had the privilege of knowing him. He celebrated everyone around him, and in doing so, made the world a better and brighter place.”

Before the LGBQTIA+ activism was more organized, Bonavitacola had hired Kevin Boyce, who preferred to dress in women’s clothing, to be his receptionist, Rucci said. He also wrote a play about the life and AIDS-related death of Boyce that was titled “In a word – Wow!”

Bonavitacola was known to make time for aspiring designers, or any friend-of-a-friend, who might like to speak with him about the prospect of working in the fashion industry. His sister said, “It just didn’t matter what they needed. Kenny was always, always there — no matter what. He always found the time to mentor. I think that’s what he loved the most,” she said.

She recalled how years ago he came to the New York City school, where she was the principal, to help the female students, “who were living in poverty,” get decked out for Halloween. “He got a few of his friends, and they put together racks and racks of clothes for these girls. He brought together a few other fashion people, and they dressed the girls, so they could look beautiful and fancy, ” Alexis Bonavitacola said.

At the time of his death, Bonavitacola was grooming the next generation of creatives by teaching at FIT and characteristically doubling up his efforts. His sister said Thursday that just a few days ago he told her how he had recently spent two weeks instead of the more standard 45 minutes to submit a lesson, as part of an evaluation, and was told that he would never have to worry about having a job again, due to his wisdom and talent. Whether helping students to find the best resources for stones for embellishment or for specific fabrics, the designer reveled in helping them, she said. An FIT spokesperson described him Thursday as “a treasured member of the FIT faculty in the Fashion department.”

Although he tried to impress upon them how designs need to be salable, that did not always resonate, according to his sister. “Kenny said, ‘I’m never going to tell them, ‘No.’ Let them dream and do what they really want to do. They’ll find out soon enough what is salable and what is not,” his sister said.

In addition to his sister, Bonavitacola is survived by his mother Catherine and a brother Joseph.