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Project Runway
The Show That Changed Fashion
Contributors
By Eila Mell
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Excerpt
INTRODUCTION BY HEIDI KLUM
Project Runway Season 10. Wow, I can’t believe it! Time has really flown! I’m so incredibly proud to be part of this show. Fans worldwide come up to me and are so passionate about it. I love that Project Runway is a platform for talented, aspiring designers. Fashion is so hard to break into and a show like ours that helps them get a little positive exposure is great—especially when they have big personalities like our fan favorites.
We have seen our designers create some amazing looks, and together we have had many, many memorable moments. It’s about time that we get some of these wonderful memories down in a book. To start things off, here are some of my favorite moments, on and off-camera:
HEIDI’S TOP 10 PROJECT RUNWAY MEMORIES
• Once the show was sold, knowing it would soon be on TV was amazing! We knew that designing is a really creative, interesting, inspiring process, and that it wouldn’t be a boring hour of watching people sew. I think ten seasons in, we’ve proven our point!
• Getting the show on air leads to another favorite memory—the very first challenge, set at the grocery store. I mean, people still talk about Austin Scarlett’s cornhusk dress. That’s when we knew this could really work for real and be fun for our audience . . . and for us! It was a revelation and a big sigh of relief.
• The other judges and I have a lot of fun together. Sometimes we’re like little kids; if something sets us off we’re like the naughty children in church who can’t stop laughing. During the WWE wrestling costume challenge, when the wrestlers came out we couldn’t help it. We started hysterically laughing! And it wasn’t because we were making fun of anyone or anything; it was just so completely different from what we were used to. With the exaggerated poses and the theatrical costumes, it was just too much. We tried for a good ten minutes to get ourselves under control. But first Michael giggled, then me, then Nina—we were goners. We had to stop shooting for a good half hour to wipe our tears and get ourselves under control!
• The past couple of seasons, I’ve done a challenge for my New Balance line. I’m pretty specific with the parameters, like fabrics, thinking about sales and manufacturing, and things like that. During Season 8, when I went into the workroom mid-point to check in on the designers, it was funny because Gretchen had picked all these strange fabrics that did not match the line at all and Mondo had started some garments that were technically all wrong. I tried to fit my head through one of his shirts and couldn’t do it! He got kind of huffy and upset. He must have thought I was mad at him but what he didn’t know was that I was actually rooting for him and was one of his biggest fans—as we all saw during the finale!
We used to do full open calls, but it got a little crazy. Too many people were coming in who were clearly less interested in design than they were interested in being on TV. It was becoming a waste of our time. You do need a certain level of technical proficiency to survive on the show, so we changed the process. We have retained a day or two of open calls in New York and Los Angeles, but we now have casting directors do outreach all over the country, to fashion academies, alumni associations, local retailers, past auditioners who have grown, etc. They pre-select a group of twenty to thirty people that the casting judging panel—made up of a Runway alum, retailer, magazine editor, Tim, and some of the producers—sees each day in five or six cities staggered over several weeks. The designers tell us about themselves, show their portfolios, and a few complete looks. Then for callbacks the designers have a longer, more involved interview with our casting directors. They also go home and shoot “about me” videos, which we view as part of the whole package before we decide on the cast. The cast chemistry is one of the absolute most important aspects of the show. We do our best in the casting process, and then it’s a bit up to serendipity. Sometimes designers we thought would behave a certain way or add to the group dynamic in a certain way end up being completely different, sometimes for better, sometimes for worse. In our fantasy version of Project Runway every designer had their own seamstress, their own showroom. Then Magical Elves told us one seamstress for seven days a week would cost $30,000—and we needed twelve! We realized we were going to have to find designers who could sketch, design, and sew. There are not many designers that can do all aspects of it. It’s not imperative for a lot of top designers to have each of those skills, but on Project Runway designers have to be able to sew for the show to make sense. That made it very difficult casting the first season. One of the most fun things about working on the show is coming up with the challenges. We all have ideas; they can come from our daily lives. In Season 1 there were a lot of people we spoke to along the way. We definitely had to do some research early on to make sure the designers were able to complete a garment within the timeframe we were giving them. We gave Parsons students some sample challenges. We had to make sure that we ended up with something presentable. Since none of us really knew how to sew or what went into cutting or pattern-making we definitely had to test it out. The challenges are about what we like and what we feel they will be able to accomplish in the time restraints; other times it’s about what is unexpected and what will push them. We’ve had them go to Michael Kors’ studio and talk about how he uses his mood board. They’ve designed for Nina. These are some of the real world challenges. The unconventional materials challenges test their creativity. We love makeover challenges when they work with clients. The wedding dress challenge was a big favorite too. All of the producers have contributed to create dozens of wonderfully inventive challenges. In the original pitch we gave an example challenge where the designers would be told they would be shopping for their materials at a store frequented by all of the top designers—the Duane Reade on 7th Avenue. This idea ultimately became the Gristedes supermarket challenge in the first episode. We only have eleven challenges during the season, so when you take out some of the ones that have become perennials, like our unconventional materials, prints, and uniforms, and take into account the sponsor-input challenges, there aren’t many slots left. We really think about what’s going on in pop culture, the environment, and what would make an interesting episode, visually and creatively. It’s a group effort that involves numerous meetings over a master list and many, many follow-up e-mails and conference calls. Often it’s a friendly fight for the producers to secure their personal favorites. For so long I wanted to do the Potato Sack challenge, taking off from that old saying “She’d look good in a potato sack.” The designers would use the sack burlap as a base material. That challenge took me quite a while to get through but it was fun when we finally did it. I’ll never forget the visual of Tim with his pants legs rolled up, standing in a Long Island potato field. My favorite call as a producer is talking about the challenges, and how we “up it” this season. For instance, the Suitcase challenge was my idea. When you’re at baggage claim in the airport and watch the luggage go by, you see all these beat-up suitcases and think, “Whose stuff is that?” But then your beat-up suitcase comes out and you think, “There’s my suitcase with all my favorite things in it!” I’ve always thought it’s so interesting to see what somebody else’s favorite things are in their suitcase. If you opened mine you’re certain to find my favorite sweatsocks from college! We have a history with the items we own. They bring back memories. So the idea of that challenge was, “How does the person next to you respect something—maybe a pair of pants—that are meaningful to you? How do you respect that? And hand over something meaningful of your own.” I love that.
FROM: LOS ANGELES, CA FROM: CHESHIRE, CT FROM: COTTAGE GROVE, OR FROM: PEMBROKE PINES, FL FROM: CORAL GABLES, FL FROM: DAYTON, OH FROM: CHARLOTTE, NC CORPORATE LAWYER FROM: NEW YORK, NY FROM: LOS ANGELES, CA FROM: LONDON, ENGLAND FROM: NEW YORK, NY FROM: DALLAS, PA
Project Runway’s very first challenge was all about innovation. The designers were told to design something glamorous and sexy for a night out on the town. They were shocked when Tim Gunn took them to get their fabric at Gristedes—a supermarket. While other designers scooped up items such as butcher paper, garbage bags, and wrapping paper, Austin grabbed twenty-eight ears of corn. He used the husks to make a dress. At midnight the designers had to leave the workroom. Austin didn’t refrigerate the husks, and when he returned in the morning he found that they had shrunk. He doubted his decision, but the judges thought what he created was fabulous. He won the challenge, and showed viewers what Project Runway would be all about. “He used something that you would never think you could use. The color was magnificent and the design of the dress was wonderful. That was the first challenge of the first season. We didn’t know what we were going to get since admittedly we were holding our breath until we saw the cornhusk dress. When we saw that we felt okay, we’re good.” “Having the show’s very first challenge be the supermarket challenge was a big back and forth between the producers. I thought this can go really, really wrong. If we do an unconventional challenge and they go to the supermarket and pick some weird stuff, it might look like a terrible Mardi Gras float. If they do some baloney stuff right off the bat we’re going to look really bad and no one is going to take us seriously. For me, it was always about being taken seriously. We wanted to have a place in the fashion world. We didn’t want all the people with their noses up in the sky say that we’re doing some crazy arts and crafts. Then we decided to go for it and take the risk with an unconventional challenge. It worked out because the designers were actually really talented and they came up with amazing things. Austin putting that cornhusk dress together. It was magical and it was real at the same time. There was also Nora, who made a futuristic dress out of plastic from a lawn chair. That was amazing. In retrospect I think we hit a home run leading off with this challenge.”
The designers donned postal uniforms for this challenge. Their job was to redesign the postal uniform. They were split into two groups and set out with an actual letter carrier to spend the day delivering mail. “The postal uniform challenge was definitely the funniest. Jay, Rob, and I had the best team and the best time. We had so much fun walking the streets, singing, greeting passersby. It was hilarious and I have a new appreciation for the job postal workers do. It’s a lot more complex than one would think.”
The beauty of nature and the world of organic things have always been one of the greatest sources of inspiration for me. Visions of the husks as petals or feathers began unfolding and layering themselves in my imagination. There is also something so iconic American about the idea of corn that I think everyone responded to. I saw the potential for something chic yet playful, imaginative yet classic, humble yet luxuriant. Of course not! At that time I didn’t even knew if the show would survive a full season. The art department hadn’t even finished stenciling the runway backdrop yet. Somehow, even with the passing of years, people just kept going back to my cornhusk dress as an example of the type of creativity that is the heart and soul of Project Runway. Back during the first season, I did feel the sense of taking part in something truly special. It was a pioneer program on so many levels. Watching how much the show has grown over the years, I think my intuition was right. Was a corn kernel the first seed of the show’s success? In its own little way, perhaps it was. FROM: REDLANDS, CA FROM: LOS ANGELES, CA FROM: NORTH HAVEN, CT FROM: SARDIS, AL FROM: LOS ANGELES, CA FROM: NEW YORK, NY FROM: NEAR BOSTON, MA FROM: ALLENTOWN, PA FROM: LOS ANGELES, CA FROM: MORELOS, MEXICO FROM: JACKSONVILLE, FL FROM: ST. LOUIS, MO FROM: JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA FROM: ST. CHARLES, MO FROM: GRAND RAPIDS, MI FROM: PAKSE, LAOS
It was very last minute. I woke up that morning and decided I wanted to try out for the show. The reason I waited so long was because I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to compete. I watched Season 1 and couldn’t imagine how they made garments so quickly. My sister reminded me that I make clothes quickly all the time. I definitely scouted my competition out in line. I felt like I had a strong portfolio. I made it through the first round and got to see Tim Gunn, Wendy Pepper, and two CFDA representatives. I was a bit scared when they asked me what I thought made me the next great American designer. I didn’t think that way at all. I said something, and I guess they liked it because they put me through. Emmett McCarthy. He’s 6’6”, but somehow it just worked that he and I were best friends. I was the shortest one on the show and he was one of the tallest. Dirty Diana was another close friend. I loved all of the designers, but they were the closest. I always thought my toughest competition was Andrae, an amazing designer. The piece that really blew me away was the Inspiration challenge. I always thought he should have won that one. He made a beautiful gown out of gutter inspiration; his inspiration was the sewer, the gutter. He was also very well informed about fashion history. My favorite guest judge was Diane von Furstenberg. She was a judge for the Clothes Off Your Back challenge. I love her as a person and as a designer. She’s very nurturing with young designers; she understands what we go through. It was from Diane von Furstenberg who said to follow your dream, be who you are, follow your own voice.
I always sort of expected to go into fashion, but I had come to New York because I was working in architecture. Then I realized there was a way that I could do this; I could go to night classes. We don’t have that luxury in South Africa. I tried it, and it just felt like it was my calling to do fashion. It made sense. It helps because you are so disciplined in a craft already. I think so. I don’t sketch, I just imagine it; I can see it. I think that’s something from architecture. You’re always drawing flat plans, but it has to be realized in a three-dimensional form. I kept my eyes and ears open. I was very determined that I was going to be on the next season. I just knew that it was going to happen. Months later my brother was getting married in Israel, and the show was actually starting the day after he got married. They phoned me in Israel to let me know that I was going to be on the show. It’s mind blowing. I’d just come from South Africa to New York. New York was the place I wanted to be a star in—in some capacity, especially in the design world. It was like a dream realized. I loved the Flower challenge. I really related to it. You grow so much in the process that at that point I was very comfortable with my skill and what I was doing, and sort of past the point of insecurity. I’m a Virgo, I have a lot of self- doubts. I think it’s inherent. A lot of the work I produce is a process of panic, panic, panic—beautiful work—panic, panic, panic—beautiful work. At that point I was less panicked so I loved the challenge. It gave me the strength to get through the next few. I loved the design I did for Santino, and I really thought those were two challenges I should’ve totally taken. Santino designed for me, too. He made me a jumpsuit.
The audition process for the second season was still being done “old school” and very American Idol-esque. As long as you had some knowledge of sketching, sewing and draping, you could just show up—whether you were a working designer or a mom who liked sewing her daughter’s cheerleading costumes. I almost didn’t come because I was scared that I would run into some of the students I was then teaching at FIDM (Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising). I thought they would look down at me and say, “Mr. Verreos, what are you doing here?!” When I did decide to go to the casting (what did I have to lose?), I called a model friend of mine who was my muse at the time—a 6’ tall African American beauty by the name of Amara. I knew that my designs did not have “hanger appeal” and therefore I needed to have them be worn on a real live mannequin. Not many people thought of bringing a live model to the castings back then. In fact, when I showed up to the castings I was the only one among hundreds with a model. I thought to myself, “Are these people for real? You only get one chance and you drag a dress form up in here? Call your tall, skinny cousin for goodness sakes!” Well, of course, what happened was that my model—who was wearing one of my “daywear” cocktail ensembles, was stopped by one of the production assistants working the castings. They asked, “Who are you?” She then told them, “Oh, I’m not the designer, but he is!” (pointing to me). We were immediately pulled up the front of the line and then I heard this: “Mr. Verreos! What are you doing here?” My heart just dropped. It was a former student of mine who happened to be working the casting audition. The next thing I heard was her talking into her walkie-talkie and saying, “We have Nick Verreos, a fabulously talented fashion designer and instructor. We’re sending him right up to the holding room to see the judges!” I went up with my model. She decided to change and put on one of my very dramatic silk charmeuse gowns and then we went in. I introduced myself, showed my design on Amara and the next thing I heard was Tim saying, “Well, we love you! You’re In!” Done and done, as they say. FROM: FOLSOM, CA FROM: DREXEL HILL, PA FROM: PENNSYLVANIA FROM: TAIPEI, TAIWAN
INTERVIEWS WITH THE STARS AND PRODUCERS OF PROJECT RUNWAY
CASTING
ON HEIDI KLUM
ON THE DESIGNERS
HOW ARE THE DESIGNERS CHOSEN?
JANE CHA:
WHAT WAS IT LIKE CASTING THE FIRST DESIGN CONTESTANTS?
DESIREE GRUBER:
MAKING IT WORK
HOW DO YOU COME UP WITH THE CHALLENGES?
BARBARA SCHNEEWEISS:
ELI HOLZMAN:
JANE CHA:
DESIREE GRUBER:
LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION
THE RUNWAY
SEASON 1
THE DESIGNERS
STUDIED: OTIS COLLEGE OF ART AND DESIGN
STUDIED: PRATT INSTITUTE
STUDIED: FASHION INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
STUDIED: THE ART INSTITUTE OF FORT LAUDERDALE
STUDIED: MIAMI INSTITUTE OF ART AND DESIGN, PARIS FASHION INSTITUTE
SELF-TAUGHT
STUDIED: ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO
SELF-TAUGHT
STUDIED: KENT COLLEGE OF ART AND DESIGN
STUDIED: FASHION INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY, POLIMODA INSTITUTE OF FASHION DESIGN AND MARKETING
STUDIED: PHILADELPHIA COLLEGE OF TEXTILES AND SCIENCE, LONDON COLLEGE OF FASHIONHIGHLIGHTS
UNCONVENTIONAL MATERIALS CHALLENGE
BARBARA SCHNEEWEISS:
HEIDI KLUM:
HIGHLIGHTS
POSTAL UNIFORM CHALLENGE
KARA SAUN:
WINNING LOOKS
WINNING LOOKS
MODELS
GUEST JUDGES
SNAPPED!
AUSTIN SCARLETT
YOU SET THE TONE FOR THE SHOW WITH YOUR INCREDIBLE CORNHUSK DRESS. WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO MAKE SUCH A BRAVE CHOICE OF MATERIALS, WHEN SO MANY OTHERS OPTED FOR FABRIC-LIKE ITEMS?
DID YOU HAVE ANY IDEA THAT DRESS WOULD BE THE MOST FAMOUS DRESS IN THE SHOW’S HISTORY?
SEASON 2
THE DESIGNERS
STUDIED: CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY NORTHRIDGE
STUDIED: OTIS COLLEGE OF ART AND DESIGN, FASHION INSTITUTE OF DESIGN AND MERCHANDISING
STUDIED: PARSONS THE NEW SCHOOL FOR DESIGN
STUDIED: SAVANNAH COLLEGE OF ART AND DESIGN
STUDIED: FASHION INSTITUTE OF DESIGN AND MERCHANDISING
STUDIED: PARSONS THE NEW SCHOOL FOR DESIGN
STUDIED: UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
STUDIED: THE CORCORAN SCHOOL OF ART
STUDIED: OTIS COLLEGE OF ART AND DESIGN
STUDIED: FASHION INSTITUTE OF DESIGN AND MERCHANDISING
STUDIED: RHODE ISLAND SCHOOL OF DESIGN
STUDIED: FASHION INSTITUTE OF DESIGN AND MERCHANDISING
STUDIED: UNIVERSITY OF CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA
STUDIED: FASHION INSTITUTE OF DESIGN AND MERCHANDISING
STUDIED: FASHION INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
STUDIED: FASHION INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGYHIGHLIGHTS
HIGHLIGHTS
HIGHLIGHTS
WINNING LOOKS
WINNING LOOKS
MODELS
GUEST JUDGES
SNAPPED!
CHLOE DAO
DID YOU PLAN ON AUDITIONING FOR THE SHOW FOR A LONG TIME?
WHO DID YOU BOND WITH MOST ON THE SHOW?
WHO DID YOU THINK WAS YOUR TOUGHEST COMPETITION?
WHO WAS YOUR FAVORITE GUEST JUDGE?
WHAT WAS THE BEST ADVICE YOU GOT ON THE SHOW?
KARA JANX
HAD YOU ALWAYS WANTED TO BE A DESIGNER?
DID THE ARCHITECTURE BACKGROUND HELP YOU AS A DESIGNER?
DO YOU THINK YOU ALSO HAVE A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF SHAPES?
HOW DID YOU FIND OUT WHEN AND WHERE THE AUDITION WAS FOR SEASON 2?
HOW EXCITING WAS THAT?
DID YOU HAVE ANY FAVORITE CHALLENGES?
NICK VERREOS
WHAT WAS YOUR PROJECT RUNWAY AUDITION LIKE?
SEASON 3
THE DESIGNERS
STUDIED: STANFORD UNIVERSITY, HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL
STUDIED: FASHION INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
STUDIED: CARNEGIE MELLON UNIVERSITY, PENN STATE UNIVERSITY
SELF-TAUGHT
Genre:
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"An inside look at all the glitz and glamour, blood, sweat, tears, and trends
that make fashion shows and fashion such a magic and mystical ride." -Phillip Bloch on author's previous book, New York Fashion Week
- On Sale
- Jul 10, 2012
- Page Count
- 296 pages
- Publisher
- Hachette Books
- ISBN-13
- 9781602861794
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