From theater to threads: 
alum Jonathan Parkey

FASHION FEATURE

University theater 

alum finds his footing 
in the fashion world

By CAROLINE FILIPS

Summer Senior Arts Editor

Most collegiate thespians set 

their sights on New York City after 
four years of classes, rehearsals 
and high-energy performances. 
And that’s just where Jonathan 
Parkey ended up after his SMDT 
undergraduate career, but rather 
than the Garden Theater, Par-
key found himself in a different 
Broadway bastion — fashion label 
Proenza Schouler’s showroom.

After graduating from the 

University in 2009, Parkey took 
the customary course of incipi-
ent actors — taking odd jobs 
to make ends meet in the city. 
Along with juggling auditions, 
shows and stints in children’s 
theater tours, he was a part-time 
personal assistant and waiter at 
Hillstone Restaurant. 

But his initial foray into fash-

ion 
occurred 
serendipitously, 

over dinner with an ex-coworker 
from the restaurant. Eight months 
prior, she had traded the wait-
ressing life to be the studio man-
ager at Proenza Schouler. She 
had recently been promoted and 
offered Parkey her old position at 
the womenswear brand.

“I was definitely hesitant to 

begin,” Parkey said. “The nice part 
about being an actor is you can 
always pick back up where you left 
off. That’s what I told myself when 
I started at Proenza — if I hate it in 
six months, I can go back to audi-
tioning, no harm done.’”

Parkey assumed the studio 

manager position while also serv-
ing as executive assistant to the 
CEO. He was almost immediately 
recognized for his auspicious 
work ethic.

“My boss quickly was like 

‘you’re really smart; you’re really 
talented; you just have to stick it 
out in this role for a year and then 
we’re going to find your way into 
the company,’ ” Parkey said.

The CEO was true to her 

word, and as Parkey spent the 
year taking on extra hours run-

ning the studio, making what he 
considered pennies, he eventu-
ally rose up in the company and 
became a collection coordina-
tor — his first experience on the 
wholesale account.

“With that I was sort of a brand 

ambassador to speak with clients,” 
he said. “I would bring in new 
samples for stores and say ‘here’s 
all of the collection your buyers 
bought for you, this is how you 
wear it, this is how you style it, 
this is what’s exciting about it.’ ”

Shortly after, when Proenza 

was opening their flagship New 
York store, Parkey was promoted 
to be retail operations manager. 
Last April, he bid a fond farewell 
to the company that gave him 
his fashion footing as he tran-
sitioned back into wholesale for 
Thom Browne. 

“When I told the CEO I was 

leaving for Thom Browne, I think 
she said it best when she said ‘It’s 
sort of like you’re graduating from 
high school,’ ” Parkey said. “Each 
office and working atmosphere is 
very different. I think that was 
the biggest shift for me, start-
ing fresh at a company where the 
familial atmosphere was some-

what missing.”

Parkey spent a mere eight 

months at Thom Browne, serving 
as the women’s wholesale man-
ager along with running women’s 
international wholesale distribu-
tion. During his short time with 
the brand, the Proenza CEO 
introduced him to Rosetta Getty, 
the LA-based socialite with a 
then-emerging fashion label. She 
offered him the position of wom-
en’s wholesale director, an offer 
he said he couldn’t refuse. The 
first Rosetta Getty collection he 
worked with was pre-fall 2015, 
which showed in December of 
last year. 

“Rosetta is one of the cool-

est people and bosses,” he said. 
“She provides a very LA energy 
to the team. She’s very laid back, 
very cerebral, super smart and 
one of the chicest people on the 
planet.”

Though the label has Califor-

nia roots, Parkey works from 
New York. He frequently trav-
els to Paris for work and consid-
ers it a home away from home. 
Along with the jetsetting life, 
Parkey loves being apart of the 
small, close-knit luxury fashion 
community. As far as his future 
plans go, nothing is for certain.

“I think the next part for me 

may be going back and getting 
my MBA, maybe going back 
and preparing myself for a little 
more high level executive posi-
tion,” he said.

Should Parkey return to the 

classroom, he’ll surely set the 
style curve.

‘Amy,’ exposed 

By CHRISTIAN KENNEDY

Summer Managing Arts Editor

We knew Amy Winehouse, musi-

cal artist; we knew Amy Winehouse, 
tabloid fixation; now, we have the 
immense pleasure 
of knowing Amy 
Winehouse 
— 

incredibly talented, 
incredibly troubled 
young woman.

“Amy” 
offers 

an unfettered look 
into 
the 
newest 

member of the “27 
Club.” It features 
footage of Wine-
house’s 
private 

life and interviews of friends, fam-
ily and coworkers interspersed 
with extraordinary musical mon-
tages in which Winehouse’s lyrics 
float across the screen — visually 
achieving the hauntedness which 
always saturated her sound. “Amy” 
achieves the single aspect that can 
make or break a documentary: bal-
ance. Director Asif Kapadia master-
fully balances Winehouse’s life: the 
public, the private, the professional 
and the personal.

Beneath the facade of addic-

tion, Winehouse was sweet. She 
ducks behind a pillow as her friend 
attempts to record her in the back 
seat of a car. Despite her seem-
ingly careless demeanor at perfor-
mances (during some of which she 
was booed off the stage), she cared 
— maybe too much — about her 
musical craft. She frustrates her-
self during a recording session with 
Tony Bennett, revealing her true 
youth and insecurity. These touch-
ing moments reveal the real Amy.

Possibly even more important 

than the subject herself, the film 
moves viewers into seeing the tox-
icity of modern society through the 
experience of “Amy.” It subtly criti-
cizes. It showcases how it became 
OK to joke about her eating disor-

ders and drug addiction. One of the 
most poignant moments occurs 
at the 2005 Grammy Nomination 
announcements 
where 
George 

Lopez announces Amy’s nomina-
tion for Record of the Year, after 
which he tells the audience to wake 
her up to let her know. 

Furthermore, it subtly touches 

on greed. The objectivity of the film 
upset Winehouse’s father, Mitch, 
as he believes he was painted to 
be a villain. However, “painted” is 
not fitting. “Woven” expresses the 
manner in which a viewer’s feelings 
toward Mitch Winehouse prog-
ress. The lyric “I ain’t got the time 
/ and if my daddy thinks I’m fine” 
fails to hold any of the lightness the 
chord progressions once presented. 
Now, after two hours of witness-
ing Winehouse’s struggle and four 
years after her death, it’s hard not 
to ask the obvious question: Why 
did you think she was fine? Maybe it 
was pride. Maybe he truly believed 
she was “fine.” Maybe his book deal, 
television show and constant push 
for a never-to-be third album tell a 
different story.

Ultimately, “Amy” is heart-

breaking. Despite containing a 
plethora of chill-inducing and 
heart-wrenching moments, one 
scene manages to encapsulate the 
film. Amy Winehouse has just won 
Best New Artist and she accepts 
her award from the UK (she failed 
a drug test, thus rejecting her visa 
application to attend the awards). 
Immediately after Tony Bennett 
announces her name, she looks up 
in awe — a moment so beautiful and 
pure it sends chills up your spine. 
Then, a friend recounts Amy stat-
ing later that night, “This isn’t fun 
without drugs.”

“Amy” isn’t an easy watch by any 

means, but it is certainly reward-
ing. In my mind, a documentary is 
meant to expose what hasn’t been 
known. I now know Amy Wine-
house … and miss her dearly.

6

Thursday, July 23, 2015
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
ARTS

A

Amy

On The 
Corner 
Films

State Theater

UNIVERSAL MUSIC

What kind of fuckery is this?

COURTESY OF JONATHAN PARKEY

It’s Dior Homme, not Dior, homie.

MOVIE REVIEW

As far as future 
plans, nothing 

is certain