When Kara Janx was a young girl growing up in South Africa, she didn’t dream of being a fashion designer or a T.V. star for that matter. She didn’t plan on designing dresses for Sarah Jessica Parker or Julia Roberts. In fact, Janx received her undergraduate degree in architecture before moving to New York City. Upon arriving in the States, Janx realized her love of fashion saying it just felt right. She enrolled in fashion classes at the Fashion Institute of Technology as a part time student picking up a few night classes while still working in architecture.
Janx not only applied for Project Runway, she had to audition for it as well. She was accepted and cast on the second season of the show where she made it to the top four designers. Janx said she went into the show very naïve but it turned out to be a whirlwind marathon where she grew tremendously.
“The atmosphere is so intense. You are surrounded with these other people and fashion is all you think about, all day every day. You get to devote all your time to it. You are forced to learn and forced to think on your feet,” Janx said of her experience on the show.
It was weird for Janx to be thrown in to the spotlight. She said after the first couple episodes aired she walked out of a restaurant and was shocked when people recognized her. With the way media is growing, whether it be reality T.V. shows, blogs or social networking, people want instant gratification. They also feel as though they know people from reality shows and can go up and talk to them because the watcher views them as a friend.
“How you act on the show translates to your life and how people perceive you,” Janx said.
It wasn’t until she was seen wearing an original kimono dress on the show, that the public, media and other designers caught on. Michael Kors pointed out the dress then everyone wanted it. The press and the public jumped on board because they thought it was hot. Some people in the media, however, thought the dress would be a ‘one hit wonder’ for Janx but she proved them wrong by having a successful line, Kara Janx.
The media is a driving force behind the brand and Janx thinks the weekly circulations are the best because they show things that are more recent. She said that there could be 50 positive things said about her on blogs but it is the one anonymous commenter that says something negative that really gets to her. While bloggers find it hard to keep business and personal separate, the critics do a better job. When they dislike something, they say the collection lacks something rather than bashing the person in general.
Since the show ended, Janx has launched a successful brand whose fans include: Vanessa Hudgens, Rhianna, Selena Gomez and Bethenny Frankel to name a few. She currently resides in New York City, where her business is located, with her husband and daughter.
“My brand is fun but sophisticated. I give the pieces trendy names. When it comes to life, you have to be honest, sincere and true to yourself,” Janx said.
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