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"Project Runway" final four show collections in NY
2006-09-16
Model wears a dress by Laura Bennett at the Project Runway show during Spring 2007 Fashion Week in New York on Friday, Sept. 15, 2006. |
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The final four aspiring designers of television's "Project Runway" unveiled their collections on Friday for New York's Fashion Week, each hoping their style would earn them the winning role on the hit show. The winner of the reality series, now in its third season on Bravo, gets $100,000 to start a clothing line, a spread in Elle magazine, bragging rights and enviable media attention. After a season of competing in tasks from making a couture gown to an outfit from recycled materials, all under tense deadlines, the last four contestants each showed a dozen looks before a standing-room crowd of industry insiders, cheering fans and judges who included designer Michael Kors. The winner will be announced during the season finale on October 11. First up was Jeffrey Sebelia, an outspoken, tattooed Los Angeles designer who left behind the rock-and-roll aesthetic that marked his work during the season and surprised onlookers with gentle, youthful and casually sophisticated designs. Making heavy use of soft reds and golds, broad stripes and even polka dots, his lightweight skirts and party dresses seemed geared toward a California beach culture, with nary a whit of his signature black. Miami Beach's Uli Herzner kept to looks more emblematic of her designs during the show's run, heavy on prints and shimmering, soft fabrics in gold or silver. She produced beach sets of two-piece suits with matching cover-ups in yellow-and-brown or purple-and-gold animal-inspired stripes and softly glittering silver tops with leather skirts. A full-length tie-dyed dress in bright blue evoked her South Florida aesthetic. Laura Bennett, a Manhattan-based architect and mother of five who learned during the show's filming that she was expecting a sixth child, showed high-waisted outfits in black or soft gold. She used beading, fringe and shiny feathers to jazz up and stamp a look of elegance on her designs. Her dominant fabric was black lace, used extensively in tops and dresses, one of which she paired with a fake-fur shrug. The audience favorite clearly was Michael Knight, who throughout the season showed judges thoughtfully tailored designs, but took chances in this collection. Starting with an ivory and gold palette, the Atlanta-based designer showed lace-up tops and smock jackets, used strong colors such as deep fuchsia and metallic orange and went for the bold with a futuristic swimsuit that appeared to be made of shimmering liquid gold. Reuters/VNU
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