Meet Project Runway’s Chloe Dao

by Cindy Cummins, Education Director, SDTA

Chloe Dao was the winner of Project Runway Season 2. She still calls Houston, TX, home, and has a thriving design business and boutique there called Lot 8. On a recent trip to Houston, this past October, industry pro’s Janet Pray (Islander Sewing), Jessica Pray (American Sewing Expos), and Donna Babylon (More Splash than Cash Decorating) took a side trip to Lot 8. Not expecting Chloe to be there, she surprised them during their visit, and they were able to snap a few pics of their memorable field trip!

The three die-hard Project Runway fans were of course thrilled to meet Chloe, “talked sewing” with her, and became fascinated with her design and creative background. Chloe even asked Janet for some sewing tips (ala Islander Sewing techniques) and Jessica nabbed a couple of Chloe’s designer dresses. I was told later that they had a ton of fun, and that “Chloe is such an interesting and vibrant talented young woman” and that I should think about interviewing her. I contacted Chloe, she agreed to the interview, and the rest is below.

Meet Chloe Dao, who on March 8, 2006, was named the Project Runway winner of Season 2, beating out the last two finalists Santino Rice and Daniel Vosovic. Chloe won not only the judges’ votes, but the hearts of America with her mild honest demeanor, and her consistent display of technical skills, business savvy and creative talent. As the winner of Project Runway 2, she received $100,000 seed money to use toward her design business, a 2007 Saturn Sky Roadster, a spread in Elle magazine, and a mentorship with Banana Republic.

Chloe has a very interesting background. She comes from a family of eight sisters, immigrating to the U.S. from Pakse, Laos, in 1979. Enduring several hardships, including a week in a refugee camp, the family eventually settled in Houston. Chloe grew up with a mother who was a tailor, a father who is a shoemaker, and seven sisters who all needed clothes! Working at her family’s various businesses as a teen, Chloe fed her creative side by making jewelry in junior high, then turned her interests toward establishing her own sense of style by sewing her own clothes in high school. “I wanted something really different,” she says. After watching countless episodes of Style with Elsa Klensch on CNN, she was hooked on fashion, and knew that she wanted to make that her career. She graduated from FIT in New York with a degree in patternmaking and worked in New York for various design houses including, Finity, Melinda Eng, and Gregory Parkinson. In 2000 she moved back to Houston and opened Lot 8, a boutique featuring he
r designer collections, aptly named after the eight Dao sisters.

As you have certainly heard by now, the “Project Runway phenomenon” is getting a lot of DIY’ers (do-it-yourself’ers) interested in sewing and creating their own clothes. Chloe has the attention of Generation Y and many loyal followers of the Project Runway show. I’m certain you will be as charmed with her as I was. Chloe is an inspiration for all young people interested in designing and sewing!

Cindy: How did you decide to enter to be a contestant on Project Runway?
Chloe: I was totally hooked on watching every episode of Season 1 of Project Runway. I thought, “How can they sew that stuff in such a short time?” Then one of my sisters said, “You sit and sew three outfits in a day! You already do this!” So, when they had auditions in Houston for Season 2, I decided to enter. If the casting call had not been in Houston, I doubt that I would have ever entered. It was totally unplanned.

Cindy: When did you learn to sew?
Chloe: I was always surrounded by sewing. My mom is a tailor, sewed for a living and for all eight girls. I didn’t have much interest in sewing when I was very young (my mom was fast, and I was slow!), but I started getting more interested in learning how as I got into my teens. By high school I was designing and making clothes.

Cindy: Do you still sew?
Chloe: Oh my gosh, every day! I do everything to make all the samples for my collections, before they go into production. That includes the designing, patternmaking, and sewing the sample garment. I still do some of the production sewing myself too, but now I have a cutter to do all the fabric.

Cindy: I know many of the industry folks reading this will be curious to know how many sewing machines you have. How many do you own?
Chloe: Let’s see, I have three industrial sewing machines, one industrial serger, one blind hemmer, and two home sergers. One has a coverstitch that I just can’t figure out. Can you help me with that?

Cindy: I think I can hook you up with the right people! Let’s talk after the interview!
Chloe: Really? I sure could use some help.

Cindy: No problem. Tell me a bit about your Project Runway experience. Do you keep in touch with any of the group?
Chloe: I just did my thing. This was a journey of design, and the designers are really good people. Lot’s of different personalities though. We really had a community amongst ourselves, sharing in our difficulties. I still keep in touch with several of the designers from Season 2, including Emmett McCarthy, Daniel Vovosic, Kara Janx, Diana Eng, and Nick Verreos. I sell my clothes at Emmett’s boutique, EMC2 in NYC, and I sell his at Lot 8. Several of us talk regularly, it is our own world of designers.

Cindy: What inspired you to become a fashion designer?
Chloe: I used to watch Style with Elsa Klensch on CNN and was so inspired by what I saw, I just knew I wanted to make this my career. I have always been creative. I felt that I really needed to do this. Sometimes though it is my own solitary agony! Lots of lost sleep too.

Cindy: As you probably know, Project Runway has gotten the attention of many young people and those interested in becoming a designer. How do you think Project Runway has changed the DIY and sewing “set”?
Chloe: Project Runway became a kind of instructional documentary for sewing. The viewers got to see what is achieveable in an hour, even though it really took us 12 hours. This certainly got many interested in being able to produce their own designs, and learning how to sew. I think anyone can learn sewing, and anyone can learn how to draw. If there is one thing I would tell anyone starting out in sewing it’s “You can do it!”

Cindy: Do you think people will start sewing clothes again?
Chloe: Definitely, they are already. I have had several women come into Lot 8, and tell me that they are sewing or want to learn to sew because of Project Runway. Some people think it is really easy, until they start doing it. I tell them to find a good teacher, and learn how to sew properly. I feel technique is so important. Also, there is a lot of talk on the Blogging Project Runway Web blog about how sewing is becoming very popular again. It is very cool.

Cindy: What advice do you have for individuals starting their own creative business?
Chloe: I always ask them, do you want to design for yourself, or for another person? That’s a start, as many of them really just want to design their own clothes. Then, if they want to own their own company, I would tell them to work for a small design company or intern with them. In some of the businesses I worked for in NY I learned everything from patternmaking to sales, to sewing, to running the whole design house. It really is a business being a designer. Some think it is just like being the starving artist. I have to make a living at this.

Cindy: Any other advice for wanna-be designers?
Chloe: Make sure you love it. When I worked for Cynthia Rowley in NY, I was with another young designer hired in at the same time. At the end of her experience there she decided that she did not want to be in the business. By the time I left, I knew I loved it!

Cindy: What are you doing now?
Chloe: Trying to finish my Spring Collection for Lot 8. I also have several other projects in the works that I can’t talk about right now. Look for some new things from me in the next few months. I’m also looking for a space for production. All in all I’m just working to stay successful.

Cindy: How has Project Runway changed the direction of your career?
Chloe: A lot has changed. Now I sell my designs internationally, where I used to sell them only locally in Houston. I’m now also internationally known! Project Runway was aired in 37 countries. There have been a lot of opportunities as a result of winning Project Runway, especially being represented by the Designer Management Agency. They have assisted in business strategies and my future as a fashion designer.

Cindy: Any closing thoughts?
Chloe: I’d love to tell everyone to “Keep On Doing It!”, sewing that is. I’d also like to see the sewing industry be more visable to the general public. I think that the younger generation is hungry for more. People want to sew, but need to know where to go to do that. There are a lot of people who do not know how to begin. Maybe that can change.

Cindy: We’ll see what we can do! Thanks for spending some time with me today. You’ve been fun to talk to.
Chloe: It was great. Let’s talk again sometime.

Cindy: Soon. We have “sew” much to discuss!

You can e-mail Chloe Dao at info@lot8.com

Reprinted from SQE Professional, February 2007