Kerry O’Brien is the designer, founder and CEO of commando, an intimate apparel, hosiery, and sleepwear brand that is known for its best-in-class products that are innovative, luxurious and make women look and feel fantastic. Commando uses the finest luxury technical fabrics, sourced from Europe and incorporates the latest technology in its designs. As a business owner, Kerry prides herself on Commando’s work with domestic factories by keeping all of the brand’s manufacturing within the USA. Today, Commando is the top intimates choice of celebrity stylists and is a staple both on the red carpet and the top designer runways at New York Fashion Week. Kerry was inducted into the Council of Fashion Designers of America in 2012, and is one of a handful of intimate apparel designers in the membership.
September 4, 2017
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R&S
Your current Netflix addiction:
Kerry
The Black List with James Spader. Does he just play himself in everything? Isn’t it obvious that she is his daughter? (Shh! Don’t tell me, I hope it’s much better than that!)
R&S
What do you love most about your work:
Kerry
Making garments that women love to wear! Women will stop me in the street and tell me how much my designs have changed the way they think and feel about underwear, hosiery, slips, etc.
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R&S
One piece of advice you would give your 18-year-old self:
Kerry
At any age, it’s important to know this simple fact: life is hard. Most things don’t come easy and you have to work hard for what you want. And that’s normal.
R&S
Your most recent culinary discovery and obsession:
Kerry
It’s not my latest, but it’s my passion: growing heirloom tomatoes. I have 37 plants and over twenty varieties. Each year, I host a family taste test, and we style-out the ones that don’t make the cut.
R&S
Midnight snack of choice:
Kerry
Lake Champlain dark chocolate and a glass of red wine.
R&S
Your motto in life:
Kerry
When in doubt, check it out. Have you ever felt lazy and decided to skip something? Don’t.
R&S
Your last great read and why you enjoyed it:
Kerry
The Ladies Paradise by Emilie Zola. It’s an old book and essentially a love story, but it’s set around the time in France when department stores were revolutionizing the way women shopped and were disrupting the retail industry. Sound familiar?
R&S
At 9 am each day, you are:
Kerry
Relieved that all the kids are out the door, lunches and snacks packed, dropped off (hopefully on time), and dressed weather-appropriate — I gave up on trying to style them years ago…
R&S
A secret talent we should know about:
Kerry
I think nothing of throwing and cooking a dinner for twenty people, even at the last minute. In fact, in the summer, family surrounds us and I will cook an average of one hundred meals throughout a long weekend. And yes, we have a dining hall that can seat twenty-five people.
R&S
On Sunday, we’ll find you wearing:
Kerry
In winter, Bogner Ski attire while skiing in Stowe, Vermont. In summer, a maxi or baby doll sundress by Lake Champlain in Grand Isle, Vermont. Of course, I will always be wearing commando.
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