Katie Holmes at the Style Awards on September 5 (Getty Images)Since Katie Holmes' sudden split from Tom Cruise in June, she's kept herself far away from any red carpets, and has instead settled into life as a full-time Manhattanite with her daughter Suri. However, all that changed last night when she made her first public appearance since her divorce, and it sounds like we're going to be a seeing a lot more of the newly single star in the near future.
Looking effortlessly stylish in a black button-down shirt and a shimmery gold skirt with beading around the waist, the 33-year-old was on hand at the Style Awards at Lincoln Center on Wednesday night to present Carolina Herrera with the designer of the year award. At the event, which helped kick off New York Fashion Week, Holmes happily posed for photos with Herrera, chatted up "Smash" star Katharine McPhee, and hugged actress Amy Adams. People magazine reported that Holmes "seemed like she was in a great mood" at the awards show. "Everybody knows she loves fashion, so she was happy to be here."
[Related: Katie Holmes vs. Anne Hathaway — fashion faceoff]
Holmes' presence at New York Fashion Week will be much greater this weekend when she and her longtime stylist, Jeanne Yang, hold their first formal presentation for their Holmes & Yang line. The event, which will take place Sunday, is expected to be quite a big deal and will be held at "the tents" in Lincoln Center, which are often reserved for the more seasoned designers. In a new interview with WWD, Holmes, who started the line with Yang in 2008, said the two decided to do a formal presentation this year "because the brand is growing and expanding … We thought we would have something a little more substantial." The now-single mom also appreciates that the job is family friendly. "When Jeanne and I decided to do this — we're both mothers; our daughters are very good friends — and I said, 'Jeanne, this has to be something that we enjoy, because we want to do it with our girls here,'" she told the paper.
Holmes greeting designer Carolina Herrera (Getty Images)
Holmes, who reportedly walked away from her marriage from Cruise with nothing other than "modest" child support, has also inked a lucrative new deal to be the first celebrity face of Bobbi Brown cosmetics, and in fall 2013 Holmes will have her own collection for the brand. The deal came about eight weeks ago — just after she was said to have "blindsided" Cruise by filing for divorce. Brown said they met and quickly bonded over afternoon tea. "It was, 'Oh, my God, you would be the perfect face for Bobbi,' Brown told WWD. "We weren't looking for a celebrity, just a cool, amazing woman who would fit with our brand. And she's just ridiculously naturally beautiful." Holmes, who will appear in ad campaigns as well as in-store displays for the line, joked: "I will be watching over every woman as she buys her lipstick."
[Related: Suri Cruise has two contrasting lifestyles following Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise's divorce]
Also on the horizon is the actress' return to Broadway. Four years after appearing in Arthur Miller's "All My Sons," her latest project, "Dead Accounts," opens November 29. "It's a medium I really enjoy," she told WWD of the rigorous world of theater, which will require her to perform nightly. "I'm a schedule person. I like to have a routine. You're also very in touch with your audience — they're very much a part of the show, which is obviously something you don't have in film. You get to know people in a different way. The matinee audience is obviously very different from the Saturday night audience. You learn about material — you really start to understand what works and what doesn't. I think both film and stage are so challenging, but in different ways. With film, yeah, you have another take, but a lot of the time you're losing the light, so you better nail it on that take. I haven't found any part of acting to be easy."
That said, Holmes sure does appear to be acting quite happy with her fun, full new life. And she won't allow the constant media attention following her divorce get her down. "There are a lot of people with much bigger problems and who are less fortunate," she told WWD. "I try to keep it all in perspective."
More celebrity features on Yahoo!:
LATEST BLOGS
