'Project Runway' season 17: Why Karlie Kloss is more than just your average supermodel
There's a lot that people assume about supermodels, but how much do you really know about supermodel Karlie Kloss?
Who says supermodels can't be brainiacs?
Karlie Kloss, 'Project Runway's newest host and the judge has been breaking barriers in fashion, technology, and philanthropy for more than a decade now. After gracing almost every big runway show there is and being the muse for some huge names in the industry, she will now be mentoring some upcoming designers on Bravo's fashion competition. There's a lot that people assume about supermodels, but how much do you really know about Kloss?
Ever since she posed for her first editorial spread at the age of 14, all the way back in 2006, this 'Victoria's Secret' angel has not taken a break when it comes to being a resounding success. She has walked for the biggest names in the fashion world. From Chanel, Rebecca Taylor, Jean Paul Gaultier, and Nina Ricci to Chloé, Lacoste, Sportmax, Alexander McQueen, Yves Saint Laurent, Elie Saab, and Karl Lagerfeld. She's appeared on the cover of British Vogue, Numero, Japanese Vogue, Vanity Fair, Elle, and Allure to name a few and she's been the face for numerous designer ad campaigns. Yet, it isn't her these achievements that set her a class apart.
A trained ballet dancer, who holds a degree from both Harvard Business School and the New York University’s Gallatin School. In fact, in 2015, she decided to lay down her angel wings for two years as she pursued her NYU course. She's also a YouTuber and an entrepreneur. Kloss's work with Kode With Klossy is another shining example of just how amazing she is. Kode with Klossy is a program that the supermodel launched in 2014, that hosts free, two-week summer coding camps for girls ages 13 to 18 years old. The project holds camps in New York, Los Angeles, and her hometown St. Louis.
She herself discovered her love for coding about four years before she launched the project when she took her first coding class at the Flatiron School in New York and learned the basics of Ruby on Rails. Then, just a year later, she started #KodeWithKarlie, a scholarship program that would give 20 girls across the country free tuition to Flatiron School’s Introduction to Software Engineering course. As of 2018, the project has expanded the camps to 25 cities, serving 1,000 girls get a great education in computer science. Not the kind of work you'd expect from a woman who's always wearing designer clothes and perfect nails right? Well, that's who Karlie Kloss is - she's here to break every assumption you have had about her.
She's time and time again, also proved that she isn't the type of supermodel who doesn't voice her opinions in fear that she may ruffle some faux feathers. When Victoria's Secret was embroiled in controversy last year after ex-boss Ed Rezek's transphobic comments, there weren't may angels who spoke up about it, but guess who did? "Trans and GNC people are not a debate," Kloss wrote on her Instagram, letting her bosses know exactly what she thought.
Now with 'Project Runway', she is also stepping into the shoes of a producer, through which she would not only have the opportunity to oversee the budget and deadlines of the show, but also the artistic standards. While the Dallas foundation is reportedly collaborating with the show to bring 100 of their scientists to the forefront, one of the episodes in April will feature women coders and developers. Prepare for an excitingly Klossy season, is all we can say.
'Project Runway' returns with season 17 on Thursday, March 14 at 8 pm ET/PT.
