{"id":47520,"date":"2014-12-30T00:01:25","date_gmt":"2014-12-30T10:01:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hawaii.carpentermediagroup.com\/midweekpro\/?p=47520"},"modified":"2014-12-30T08:18:21","modified_gmt":"2014-12-30T18:18:21","slug":"kini-zamora-surreal-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hawaii.carpentermediagroup.com\/midweekpro\/kini-zamora-surreal-year\/","title":{"rendered":"Kini’s Surreal Year"},"content":{"rendered":"

Kini Zamora came, in his own words, \u2018from nothing.’ But after starring on Project Runway, he and his fashion lines are taking off, with customers from Honolulu to Dubai<\/strong><\/p>\nngg_shortcode_0_placeholder\n

Looking back at 2014, Project Runway <\/em>star Kiniokahokuloa \u201cKini\u201d Zamora sums up the year as \u201csurreal, exciting and a dream come true.\u201d <\/p>\n

On his sixth try, the 31-year- old designer (his birthday was Dec. 29) finally made the cut, beating out thousands of appli- cants for a spot on the popular reality TV show. He spent six weeks of his summer in New York City, where the show is taped, and quickly became the favorite to win. But on the show’s finale, where the final four designers get to show their collections at the prestigious Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week plus take a trip to Rome, it’s finally revealed that Zamora \ufffc\ufffc\ufffc\ufffc\ufffc\ufffcfinishes in a respectable third.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe highlight was seeing my mom and dad at Fashion Week,\u201d recalls Zamora. \u201cIt was their first time to New York, and second time ever leaving the island. The first time they went to Vegas with my aunt, so this was their first time traveling by themselves.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust seeing them in the stands made my heart feel so full. That was my win right there. It didn’t matter what the outcome was. When I saw that, it put my mind into this set where I made it already, I won.\u201d<\/p>\n

Since appearing on Project Runway, Zamora says his life has changed for the better. His business is booming, and he’s become an inspiration to many.<\/p>\n

\u201cI’m still trying to get used to the fame of it all,\u201d he says. \u201cYou can’t read a book on how to be famous or how to take the popularity, you just have to take it as it comes, and I’m still trying to get used to it.<\/p>\n

\u201cI enjoy having fans come up to me and say how they watch the show and they loved my designs, and that I got to represent Hawaii the way that I did. Also, that I was a real local boy, from a low-income family, and look where I’m at now.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Project Runway<\/em> and entertainment news stories list Zamora’s hometown as Kapolei, where he and his family have lived for the past 13 years. But his childhood and teenage years were spent in Kauluwela, a small low-income housing project in Liliha.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s literally a rags to riches story,\u201d admits Zamora, who graduated from McKinley High School in 2001. \u201cIt gives a lot of people hope, especially for the younger generation who think they can’t do it. I’m a prime example that you can, if you put your mind to it…if you really want it and love it, then it will come. Don’t think of yourself small. Reach for the stars and you can make it. But watch what you wish for and be ready.\u201d<\/p>\n

The third of four siblings, Zamora learned to sew when he was just 10 years old from his aunty Delilah Patoc. She gave all the cousins sewing lessons, but Zamora says he was the only one who really took interest. He also credits his family, especially parents Valerie and Duke, for believing in him.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy family was the biggest push for me,\u201d says Zamora, whose ethnic background is Hawaiian and Filipino. \u201cHow many times I got knocked out and didn’t get onto the show, but it was my family who kept me going. I heard it numerous times, \u2018This is totally for you … we know you can do it …\ufffc\ufffcgo, go, go.’<\/p>\n

\u201cAs much as low-income (we were), and money we didn’t have, I think my family is rich in support. We’re rich in loving each other, and that’s something money can’t buy. It’s true, I came from pretty much nothing, and look where you can be with just dreams and a drive. It’ll take you far.\u201d<\/p>\n

Zamora also is proud to note his education from Honolulu Community College’s Fashion Technology Program, from which he graduated in 2004. The school welcomed its celebrity alum back to campus for Kini Zamora Day Oct. 16, celebrating his success on Project Runway. HCC fashion technology instructor Joy Nagaue described Zamora as hard-working, ambitious and humble.<\/p>\n

After HCC, Zamora continued his education with classes at Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) in Manhattan for about a year-and-a-half. He then returned home and worked in retail as a sales manager at Wet Seal and Pac-Sun in Pearlridge.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverything technical that I’ve learned was from HCC,\u201d shares Zamora. \u201cAnd it’s a community college. It goes to show how much a community college can teach you. There were things I learned at HCC that when I went to FIT, they were teaching the same things there.\u201d<\/p>\n

About a year ago, Zamora partnered with designer Dean \u201cDinko\u201d Satta to start their fashion company KINIandDINKO. The highly-anticipated release of their spring collection is expected in March, and available at kinianddinko.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Zamora also started his own lines, KZ Hawaii featuring casual aloha wear, and Kini Zamora which is his ready-to- wear and couture collection.<\/p>\n

Both will be available at kinizamora.com<\/a> starting in January.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Kini Zamora line is for women only, and will be a lot of formal wear,\u201d says Zamora, who lists Alexander McQueen as his favorite designer. \u201cSo, evening coats, cocktail dresses, long gowns \u2014 a lot of glamour, glitz and romance. And I don’t know why, but red is my color, hence my hair. That’s the color I’ve been dreaming about, so it’s majority red.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of people are seeing what I can do, and clients are already signing up for weddings and proms for next year. We also are launching our own Hawaiian designs (KZ Hawaii) and plan to go international to Japan. And for the Kini Zamora line, we’ve been getting a lot of response from Dubai and Saudi Arabia \u2014 retailers and personal clients. I’m not sure if maybe it’s because they’re only now seeing the show.\u201d<\/p>\n

A custom Kini Zamora dress starts at about $300 and can go up to \u201cwherever your imagination can take you.\u201d Zamora has turned his family’s home garage into his office, complete with multiple sewing machines, a large table, mannequins and more. He has a staff of about five people, all family, as well as two design interns.<\/p>\n

As for where he sees himself 10 years from now, Zamora envisions a full manufacturing company, with maybe two stores (one in Hawaii and the other in New York) and still designing collection after collection.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to build an empire,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Kini Zamora came, in his own words, \u2018from nothing.’ But after starring on Project Runway, he and his fashion lines..<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":32,"featured_media":47526,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[47],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-47520","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cover-story"],"yoast_head":"\nKini Zamora | Kini's Surreal Year<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/hawaii.carpentermediagroup.com\/midweekpro\/kini-zamora-surreal-year\/\" \/>\n<link rel=\"next\" href=\"https:\/\/hawaii.carpentermediagroup.com\/midweekpro\/kini-zamora-surreal-year\/2\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" 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