Chloe Dao

Chloe Dao
Chloe Dao at the BlogHer 2007 Chicago
Born	(1972-06-15) June 15, 1972 (age 44) Pakse, Laos
Residence	Houston, Texas, U.S.
Education	Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT)
Occupation	fashion designer
Television	Project Runway Season 2 (Winner)

Chloe Dao (born June 15, 1972) is an American fashion designer and television personality who lives and works in Houston, U.S. She was the winner of the second season of the reality show Project Runway with a collection of women's evening wear. Many of the pieces in her finale collection featured billowing, voluminous sleeves, removable shrugs and strong brocade prints.

Dao was born in Pakse, Laos to an ethnic Vietnamese (Kinh) family. During the Vietnamese civil war Dao's parents moved to Thailand to escape the conflict. The family, including Dao, her parents and seven sisters, emigrated to the United States in 1979. Growing up she redesigned vintage clothes; her first original was her senior prom dress.

Dao attended the University of Houston and studied marketing, dropping out after a year and a half. She then enrolled at Houston Community College's design program and at New York's Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT), graduating in 1994 with an associate's degree in pattern-making.

While still at FIT, Dao took a job with Madame Rossuel, a costume couture shop on the Upper East Side of New York City. After graduation, she worked at knit and sportswear company, Finity as a design assistant and patternmaker. Leaving Finity after one year, she took a job with Melinda Eng as a design assistant and production manager, where she stayed for six years. She then went to work for Catherine Dietlein as an assistant buyer before returning to Houston to open her own boutique, Lot 8. The name of the store is a reference to the eight Dao sisters in her family. Her clothes have been featured in Lucky magazine as well as in a variety of Texas publications including the Houston Chronicle and Texas Monthly.