Influential Woman · Apparel
Karina Cardona
Designer & Celebrity Tailor, Shanti Creative
Los Angeles, CA 90021
Her Story
About Karina
Karina Cardona is a celebrity tailor and designer whose career in the apparel industry spans more than a decade, built on a foundation of formal training and hands-on experience. She holds an Associate of Arts in Fashion Product Development from FIDM, completed in 2009, and later returned to her roots in Colombia to take a fashion design refresher course at La Salle University in Barranquilla, where she also earned a CLO 3D certification in digital pattern-making. She further deepened her design education with an Associate of Arts in Fashion/Apparel Design from LCI Barranquilla. Fluent in both English and Spanish, Cardona draws on a wide skill set that includes alterations, pattern making, trend analysis, sketching, and fashion illustration.
Operating from her studio in the Arts District of downtown Los Angeles, Cardona has built a reputation for fitting and designing looks for talent, often working closely alongside stylists to produce polished, cohesive presentations for high-profile appearances — including a notable press run for the Oscars alongside client Wumi Musako and stylist Shanila Hicks. Central to her approach is a technique she calls body mapping, through which garments are shaped to fit the individual rather than requiring the individual to adapt to the clothing. This method, paired with her calm and attentive demeanor, allows her to tune into each client's unspoken preferences, habits, and body language, resulting in fittings that feel personal and considered.
Beyond her technical expertise, Cardona is driven by a deeper purpose: helping the people she dresses feel confident and empowered as they step into the public eye. She acknowledges that staying out of the spotlight has been her own quiet challenge in an industry built around visibility, but she embraces her role behind the scenes as essential to her clients' success. Looking ahead, she plans to open her studio to the public through hands-on workshops, inviting others to explore design and mending techniques firsthand — a reflection of the same philosophy she offers to newcomers in the field: move quickly, don't fear imperfection, and trust that everything can be refined with time.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Karina
01What do you attribute your success to?
I bring a calm, neutral energy to every client relationship, which allows people to feel at ease with me. A key part of my process is body mapping — designing garments to fit the body rather than forcing the body to conform to the clothes. I make it a priority to be intentional, paying close attention to each client's preferences, body language, and expressions so the final result truly reflects who they are.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
Early on, someone told me that what I was trying to do wasn't realistic and simply didn't exist. Rather than let that discourage me, I used it as fuel and pushed forward in the opposite direction, proving that it was possible.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
I encourage them to make mistakes, and to make them quickly. There's no need to fear creating something imperfect or even "ugly" at first, because every piece can be refined and perfected with time and practice.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
Above all, I want the people I work with to feel confident and empowered — to feel fully themselves in who they're presenting to the world.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Want people to feel confident and to feel empowered with themselves and who they're going to who we're bringing out in order for them to face the world
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