Aya Kanai

About

Fashion editor known for her work with a number of major fashion magazines, including Marie Claire, Cosmopolitan, and Seventeen. She became Head of Editorial and Creative at Google Shopping in March 2022. She also serves as one of the original judges of the TV series Project Runway: Junior.

Before Fame

She studied East Asian studies and visual art at Oberlin College in Ohio. She also studied religion in college. 

Trivia

She considered a career in performance art and puppetry before making the switch to fashion. She studied puppet theater in Poland, France, and Japan and traveled internationally for over a year as part of the cast of Ping Chong's Obon. In college, she interned for the fashion department at New York Magazine.

Family Life

Her father was a graphic designer and her mother worked for the fashion designer Issey Miyake. She gave birth to her first child in late 2018.

Associated With

Christian Siriano and Kelly Osbourne also serve as judges on Project Runway: Junior. She has worked as a stylist for notable celebrities from Katy Perry and Gwen Stefani to Michelle Williams and Ashley Olsen.