Kiniokahokuloa "Kini" Zamora has become the fourth Hawaii designer to make Lifetime’s "Project Runway" fashion competition. Season 13 of the popular TV show will premiere July 24, the cable network announced today.
The designer graduated from Honolulu Community College’s fashion technology program in 2005 with a passion for extravagant, over-the-top runway gowns.
Zamora, 30, who also spent a year at New York’s Fashion Institute of Technology to hone his skills, auditioned for the show four times previously, and in an earlier interview said that each time judges advised him to edit his work.
In a new interview with the designer that appears at www.mylifetime.com/shows/project-runway, Zamora said his weaknesses continue to be editing and overdesigning. On the plus side, he said, "I can sew fast, and I can drape and draft patterns with no book."
In the nine years since he left HCC, commercial realities led to forays into designing women’s resort, casual and streetwear, and most recently, menswear, resulting in versatility that may prove hard to beat.
Last year he partnered with Dean Satta to create a collaboration brand, KiRu, launching a fall 2013 military-inspired collection that drew a standing ovation when it debuted during a fashion show at Aloha Tower. He continues to design for his own label, KZ.
Past Hawaii designers who made the show are Jay Nicolas Sario (Season 7) and Ivy Higa and Ari South (Season 8).
On "Project Runway," Zamora will face competition from 17 other designers from the United States, Canada, Dominican Republic and New Zealand. Given the lengthy roster, not all the designers make the show’s final cut. In the premiere episode, the contestants will face a final audition, and three designers will be sent home before facing the first challenge.
