FRANKE Owner, Fashion Designer and Project Runway Finalist

Last night, Kendra Francis, fashion designer extraordinaire, saved my life.  

by Tanya Scholes

She didn’t exactly give me mouth-to-mouth, but the advice she gave me was just as good as an adrenaline shot to the heart, à la Mia Wallace, because it certainly woke me up. Her advice was this: under absolutely no circumstances should I perm my hair. Yes, I was actually considering it. Her reasons were simple: I am neither Halle Berry, nor an 80s soccer mom and Halle’s hair, though absolutely hot on her, could go drastically wrong on anyone else. When I woke up from my psychosis, I realized that I owed Kendra Francis big time and I would start by writing the loveliest things about her – which is not a difficult feat at all. 

I first got acquainted with Kendra from the comforts of my own living room, with a glass of red in hand, while watching Project Runway Canada. I immediately knew that she was someone that would ‘seamlessly’ fit into my gaggle of girls – I was an instant fan of her and her design style. In person, over wine at Faema Café (I know, I know, we drank wine at an Italian coffee shop!), Kendra proved to be everything I’d imagined my NBFF to be and more. First of all, she is gorgeous. Long, lithe, stunning and super stylish. Second, she just oozes cool. Third, if she could dress any celebrity, it would be Rihanna, Madonna or Cate Blanchett (three of my favs – see I knew that we were meant to be BFFs). Fourth, she has a Maltese that is called Louis Vuitton. Fifth, she’s lived all over the world – she’s got a gypsy spirit. And finally, to end this list of praise before I seem a little too ‘Single White Female-ish’, despite all of her coolness, she still manages to be completely down to earth and just so damn likeable. Oh yes, let’s also not forget because her style is just so French with that certain je ne sais quois flare and of course I’d like to think of myself as a bit more Parisian versus Milanese.  

I had so many details to ask my NBFF, that I didn’t know where to start. So I started at the beginning with the most basic question: had she always wanted to be a designer. And of course, the answer was yes. Kendra grew up in a very European neighborhood in Malton (she told me that she was the only black girl in her school and looked like Whitney Houston). She was born into a family of tailors and seamstresses. Although both her parents were very artistic and passed it on to Kendra, they were dead set against Kendra studying fashion – despite the fact that it seemed to be in her genes. When she was 13 years old, she made her first dress. In high school, because of her statuesque 5’11” figure and not wanting to dress like everyone else, Kendra continued to refine her sewing skills – even making her own prom dress (and if you’ve ever sewn before, you will know that this is quite commendable). She then went on to design and sew all of the dresses for a relative’s bridal party. Regardless of her young age, Kendra called herself a designer, without wavering, much to her parents chagrin.  

In the 90s, with her mile long legs in tact, Kendra headed to New York to model. She says that though she liked modeling, she didn’t love, love it and instead of saying she was a model, she told people she was a fashion student, continually reinforcing what seemed to be innate to her. Then, after her sisters traveled to Europe, they implored her to follow them because it was where they knew she was supposed to be. And her love affaire with everything French began. Eventually she made her way back to Toronto, which after NY she says was like ‘a day at the spa’, and was accepted into Ryerson University’s School of Fashion. After 4 years of study, Kendra launched her own fashion label, Franke, and opened her own boutique in Queen West, which she ran for 4 successful years until 2005. She has been one busy (sewing) bee.

Originally, Kendra’s designs followed the ‘less is more’ philosophy – less material and more skin. Her clothes were perfect for hitting the town and showing off a perfectly sculpted body. Over time, though, as she explored and expanded her design style, Kendra found her niche in elegantly polished ‘After 5’ wear. Her Spring 2008 collection is chic and modern with bold, gorgeous colour. Kendra says that she finds inspiration just about everywhere and once her creative juices get going, it’s like a mood that takes over. This past season’s inspiration came from a picture out of French Vogue, but next season it could stem from a bit of fabric, music, a smell, a place, a person. Of course, she also looks to her design icons such as Vivienne Westwood, Gianni Versace and Jean-Paul Gaultier amongst others. And of course, there’s her style icon, Carine Roitfeld, likely the most fashionable muse in the world, that influences her design. This season, feeling overly creative, Kendra has even shot a fashion film entitled ‘I am’, that evokes the spirit of her current design: intense, nomadic, sexual, and strong, yet vulnerable.  

With all of this on the go, not to mention shooting Project Runway Canada last summer, and doing all of Franke’s sewing herself, Kendra rarely has any down time. When she does, she relishes it. Her best weekend involves a bit of a lie-in, followed by a good brunch – and given her love of Italian food, she can often be found at Terroni – eating like an Italian, but looking like the quintessential Parisian. Bitch. Of course, she always finds time to wander the shops in her favourite neighbourhoods and hit some of her  favourite nighttime jaunts like Baby Huey, The Beaconsfield and for the best French martini, Lolita’s Lust. Sewing isn’t her only creative outlet. Kendra also enjoys course flexing her culinary skills in the kitchen, along  with a smooth glass of shiraz as sous chef. Other guilty pleasures include blueberry pie, chocolate and ice cream (every night! Again, I say double bitch!). 

When I asked Kendra if she had any advice to share, aside from whether or not she thought I could successfully morph myself into Halle Berry, she shared these three most excellent tips: 


  1. Showcase your best assets, not your worst
  2. For god’s sake get out of your track pants and flip flops (you would never catch a French woman lounging around in sweat pants, let alone leaving the house in them)
  3. Most importantly – own what you wear.


God bless her. 

I owe you one, Kendra. 

For more information about Kendra Francis’ designs, visit www.iamfranke.com