Cheryl Mia Kao, is a Taiwanese American designer raised in Taiwan, and the States. Kao developed an interest for fashion at the age of thirteen, when she coordinated a catwalk youth camp through her girl scout. Prior to college, she studied fine arts at Visual Art Center, a nationally renowned art program in Montgomery Country, Maryland, where she unlocked her artistic career.

Kao was a sportswear major, with minors in psychology and art history at Fashion Institute of Technology in New York. There she trained extensively in active sportswear, swimwear, tailoring, and leather work.  In 2014, she moved to Milan, Italy to attend Politecnico di Milano, a top design and engineering university in Italy.

As a student at Politecnico, Cheryl was sponsored by Cittadellarte, Fondazione Pistoletto, a creative art museum and laboratory in Biella to design her senior collection. It was through this experience she developed a passion for fabric manipulation and print design. Prior to returning to New York, Kao interned under Mantero Seta, an Italian textile manufacturer renowned for its impeccable craftsmanship in fabric printing for luxury goods. This experience stressed her creativity as a designer by pushing her to think outside the box in combining graphics and hand drawing.

In 2015, Kao was listed as one of the top 100 Threads Finalists for CFDA plus awards. She went on to collaborate with 15+ mass market brands Macy’s Home, Bloomingdale’s, Greg Norman, and Tommy Bahama in developing high quality textile designs, and hardware for fashion and home accessories. Her lucrative career paths has made her very knowledgeable of shifting trends, consumer lifestyles, cultures, and demographics. Her diverse background and training will allow her to make immediate and long-standing contributions to any role she takes on.