Sarah Violi
Founder and President of KAZ

When Sara Violi started FIDM in 1993 she had no idea what twists and turns life had in store for her. Her education at FIDM would span over two majors and would ultimately lead her into owning her own children's clothing business, Kaz.

While attending high school Sara worked part-time for an interior designer. That experience lead her to enrolling in the Interior Design program at FIDM. Recognizing the economy at the time was changing, Sara changed her major to Merchandise Marketing. Sara explained,"People weren't interested in spending the money for an interior designer and I felt a merchandising degree from FIDM would expand my horizons in the fashion industry".

Sara took some time off from her studies to raise a family. She returned to FIDM to finish her education in 1997. It was during her last quarter that Sara had a vision to create outfits for her daughter when she performed at dance recitals. Without any prior knowledge of patterns, cutting, sewing or textiles, Sarah started to design and create her vision.

Using a leased sewing machine she created outfits that were soon coveted by other parents at the recitals. Sara realized that there was a market for her creations. She started Kasrum 4 Kicks which eventually evolved into Kaz. She started out small, but demands were so high that she had to outsource her patterns and sewing to keep up.

Sara designs all her clothing for a wide range of activities so parents won't have to worry about changing their children's outfits before each of their daily activities. Sara explained, "Kaz designs can be worn from school, to piano rehearsal, to dinner". Kaz has grown tremendously in a short amount of time with Nordstrom being the latest to pick up the line. Stores across the nation now carry the Kaz label.

Sara's future plans include launching a new boys line this year and having a Kaz store in Las Vegas by 2002. Sara's advice for students who want to break into the fashion industry is to find their niche. Sara believes that there is room for everyone in the industry and once you find the place where you can create and thrive you can be as successful as you want to be.

Please Note: The information contained herein was confirmed at the time of original publication