Born in Los Angeles and raised in Kansas, Kao moved to New York City in 1999 to study Studio Art at NYU. While pursuing her undergraduate degree, Kao interned at Twinkle by Wenlan. Building on her passion for fine art, and with a desire to explore three-dimensional design, Kao recognized her growing interest in textile construction. After graduating from NYU in 2003, she subsequently obtained her AAS in fashion design from Parsons in 2004 and was hired at Jill Stuart as an assistant designer. Kao then returned to Twinkle where she garnered not only further design expertise, but business acumen as well. By 2006 she was poised to launch her eponymous line. Jen Kao debuted her Spring 2008 Collection with a show dedicated to her peers; strong, modern, and complex individuals with a cultivated sense of personal style. She has established an identity as a designer known for innovative tailoring, intricately seamed leather pieces, and experimental knits.  For her Fall 2011 Collection, Kao pushed her artistry beyond ready-to-wear and launched footwear and jewelry. Jen Kao’s empowering sophistication has won her notable fans and multiple collaborations with some of today’s most influential artistic talents including Eddie Borgo and Alejandro Ingelmo. In 2011, Kao was invited to participate in The Vogue Talents Corner by Vogue Italia and thecorner.com to showcase and sell items from her collection in Milan, Italy. The Jen Kao AW 12 collection successfully blends the opulence of the Orient with the structured graphicism of the Occidental. Creating an entirely new visual language of her own with great skill and ease, she pairs impeccably tailored timeless classics like trench coats, tuxedo jackets, military-­‐inspired barn coats in mink with sumptuous floor length leather dresses, corseted evening gowns, draped laces. This season Jen Kao proposes delicate silks, high lacquered chiffons, laces, jacquards and cotton sateens in a palette of deep teal greens, midnight blues, vibrant fuschias and rich chocolates punctuated with black and white graphics. The Jen Kao collection is crafted in New York City and is carried at top specialty stores worldwide.