A native of Illinois, she constructed her first dress at the age of seven. Her natural technical skill paired with a love of "making things" led her to an undergraduate degree from School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where she enrolled as a painter and left a fashion designer. Her first full collection was purchased while she was still in school, and gave her the leverage (read: courage) she needed to move to New York and establish her brand. Rowley was later honored by her alma matter to be the 2012 Legend of Fashion Award recipeint. Once in New York, she held a fashion show in her walk-up apartment, inviting every important fashion editor in New York, as well as Andy Warhol and a smattering of movie stars -- none of whom she knew, and none of whom attended. However it was not long thereafter that Rowley began showing at New York Fashion Week, where she continues to be a staple tastemaker each season. As a result, Cynthia is a popular style authority on "24 Hour Catwalk", "Project Runway", and "America’s Next Top Model" and other syndicated shows like "Oprah", "David Letterman", "The View" and "The Today Show". Rowley has been recognized within the fashion industry with a Perry Ellis Award for Womenswear Design Talent by the CFDA as well as a nomination for New Menswear Design Talent, and in the literary world as a best-selling author most recently penning "Slim: A Fantasy Memoir", a quasi-fictional memoir with over forty of Rowley's own illustrations. Rowley lives in New York City with her two daughters and husband, author and gallerist Bill Powers.