At her very core, Kai Milla is an artist first and foremost. Having earned a degree in fine arts from the Corcoran College of Art and Design in her native Washington DC, she went on to a successful stint as an art director in New York. It wasn’t until she attended a showing of Dior Couture in Paris when she felt irresistibly compelled to finally plunge into fashion. Inspired by modernist forerunners like Paul Poiret, who effectively freed women from the confines of corsetry, and Claire McCardell whose American fashions were revolutionary, Kai explored concepts of simplicity and draping without losing any of the romanticism of women’s dressing. Since the debut of her eponymous collection in 2005 during New York Fashion Week, she has been among the industry’s most esteemed designers. Her elegant designs inevitably drew A-List devotees such as first lady Michelle Obama, Oprah Winfrey, Academy Award winner Halle Berry, pop superstar Rihanna, and actresses Olivia Wilde, Salma Hayek and Eva Mendes. Kai also became a contributing board member for NY Fashion Week’s Harlem’s Fashion Row, the premiere organization championing the careers and success of young black designers. And much like fashion itself, Kai too inevitably continued to evolve.
As both career woman and single mother raising two boys, Kai conceived CLEAR | Kai Milla to reflect not just her own but indeed every modern woman’s evolution. “Life is in constant flux and I want my line to be just as transformative. By stripping away the superfluous distractions that already crowd our lives, I tried to capture a neoteric clarity in design,” Kai says of her line’s brand name. “These pieces were designed to bring out a woman’s sense of self even as they become an essential part of who she is.” The result is an array of choices that enable women to look confidently alluring while affording them the flexibility to go through a hectic day of activities and shifting priorities without breaking stride. Clear | Kai Milla retails from $200 to about $1,000 and will be available at major department stores and online.
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