Letter From The Editor

The first time I saw Project Runway, two things struck me: How extremely tense the whole thing was — seriously, with the pressure of their strict time constraints, I felt like I was watching a thriller — and how genuine local boy Kini Zamora seemed. The first episode I happened to watch was during Zamora’s 2014 appearance, when he won third place.

In the time since his first appearance on Project Runway — he also just recently appeared on Project Runway All Stars and came in second — Zamora’s career has really taken off. But as he goes about building up his own brand, he also (and this won’t surprise anybody who has seen the show) is dedicated to helping other designers realize their own dreams. That’s apparent in his new storefront/workspace The Clique by KZ, where he houses a number of other professionals, and in his involvement in the annual Goodwill Goes GLAM! event. He returns to produce the event’s opening-night fashion show for the second year in a row — and this time, Zamora has chosen to involve a number of up-and-coming designers (including keiki as young as 10).

Read more about Zamora, the event and his efforts to help budding designers here. (He also dishes a bit on his time on Project Runway.)

This week, to go along with high fashion, we also do a little fine-dining, with food writer Jaimie Kim stopping in at Alan Wong’s. She sampled one of the restaurant’s tasting menus. See what she thinks.