Throughout the run of “Project Runway” designers have come and gone, yet one seems to stay fresh and new in the mind of consumers as well as viewers, that one person being designer Kara Janx. Janx manages to mix her sense of tailored design with girly and Asian- inspired casualwear into a lucrative and fashionable product line that has stayed a perennial favorite with consumers as well as a staple to celebrities for years.
Janx was born in Johannesburg, South Africa, and attended school for architecture before deciding that fashion was her lifelong passion and beginning a series of classes that would lead her in that direction. She honed in her design eye and construction techniques in New York City, and eventually landed a spot on the hit show “Project Runway”, a move that was life changing for the designer and continues to affect her career to this day. “People do not know the power of the media, or how it can influence your career” says Janx during my interview with her when asked if she still sells dressed due to the popularity of the show. “I find it amazing that media has the ability to influence someone to go online and buy clothing after seeing a rerun of the show even this many years later”, says Janx as well, no doubt a perk to this quasi-reality boom in television that is going on today, which can either destroy or jumpstart your career depending on how the public perceives you.
Now that the show is over and the hype has died from her stint on the series, the designer still continues to work here in New York City, producing collections and designing her signature kimono dresses that put her on the map in the first place. The current collection is for sale both online as well as in stores, capitalizing on that wave that she stated was helping to drive her business through media outlets, and continuing the dream of a designer trying to make it in the city and express her vision through clothing.
Here is a look at Kara's signature kimono dress, as well as a more recent offering from her line
-- Stephen Fisher--
