Jen Kao

{{Short description|American fashion designer}} {{BLP sources|date=March 2017}} {{Use mdy dates|date=July 2023}} {{Infobox fashion designer | name = Jen Kao | caption = | birth_name = Jennifer Kao | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1981|7|15}} | birth_place = Los Angeles, California, U.S. | death_date = | death_place = | occupation = Fashion designer | education = New York University (BFA)<br>Parsons School of Design (MFA) | label_name = Jen Kao | spouse = | parents = Min Kao<br>Yu-Fan Kao | children = }}

'''Jennifer Kao''' ({{zh|t=高嘉旎|first=t|p=Gāo Jiānǐ}}; born July 15, 1981) is an American fashion designer of Taiwanese ancestry.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.247feature.com/2011/02/22/jen-kao-fallwinter-2011-collection/ |title=Archived copy |accessdate=2011-03-07 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110225191807/http://www.247feature.com/2011/02/22/jen-kao-fallwinter-2011-collection/ |archivedate=2011-02-25 }}</ref>

==Early life and education== Daughter of Garmin co-founder Min Kao, Jen Kao was born in Los Angeles and grew up on the Kansas side of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, where she graduated from the Pembroke Hill School in 1999.<ref name=mb>{{cite web|url=http://www.mbfashionweek.com/designers/jen_kao/ |title=Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week : Jen Kao |accessdate=2011-02-18 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110209093619/http://www.mbfashionweek.com/designers/jen_kao |archivedate=2011-02-09 }}</ref><ref name="elle"/> Thereafter, she received a degree in studio art from New York University and then a graduate degree from Parsons School of Design.<ref name=mb/><ref name="elle"/>

==Career== Kao's career began in 2007 when she debuted a spring collection at New York Fashion Week. ''Elle'' describes her designs as "art-inspired, intellectually approached, and meticulously executed."<ref name="elle">{{cite web|url=http://www.elle.com/Fashion/Fashion-Spotlight/Designer-Profile-Jen-Kao |title=Jen Kao - Fashion Designer Profile - Read More Fashion News on ELLE.com |accessdate=2011-02-18 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110414112331/http://www.elle.com/Fashion/Fashion-Spotlight/Designer-Profile-Jen-Kao |archivedate=2011-04-14 }}</ref> Her eponymous line is sold in New York City, Los Angeles, London, and Tokyo, in addition to various internet websites. M.I.A., Elettra Wiedemann, Taylor Momsen, Nicki Minaj, Fergie, Robin Wright, Harley Viera-Newton, and Rachel McAdams have worn her designs.<ref name="elle"/>

Kao was inducted into the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) in 2011.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.jenkao.com/about |title=Jen Kao |publisher=Jen Kao |date= |accessdate=2017-03-10 |archive-date=2020-01-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200116013639/http://jenkao.com/about |url-status=dead }}</ref>

In September 2013, a company spokeswoman announced that Kao would be closing her ready-to-wear line indefinitely due to unspecified health problems.<ref>{{cite web|author=Lisa Lockwood |url=http://www.wwd.com/markets-news/designer-luxury/jen-kao-to-shutter-rtw-company-7202575?src=nl/mornReport/20131001 |title=Jen Kao Shuttering Rtw Line |website=Wwd.com |date=2013-09-30 |accessdate=2017-03-10}}</ref>

==References== {{reflist}}

==External links== *{{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200203063014/http://jenkao.com/|title=Official website|date=February 3, 2020}}  *[http://www.style.com/fashionshows/designerdirectory/JKAO/seasons/ Style.com] reports on Jen Kao shows

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kao, Jen}} Category:1981 births Category:American people of Taiwanese descent Category:Living people Category:Artists from Los Angeles Category:People from Johnson County, Kansas Category:Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development alumni Category:Parsons School of Design alumni Category:American fashion designers Category:American fashion designers of Chinese descent Category:American women fashion designers Category:Pembroke Hill School alumni Category:21st-century American women Category:21st-century American designers