Project Runway is finally here, the television series that’ll inspire the words ‘passion’ and ‘fashion’ in more column inches than you can poke a knitting needle at!
Meet Alison, Brent, Deborah, Helen, Juli, Leigh, Mark, Oren, Petrova, Shane, Sophie and Lui. For these talented 12 designers, Project Runway is the chance of a lifetime, and the stakes are supermodel high.
After meeting host Kristy Hinze and mentor Henry Roth, the contestants were given their first challenge: to design a glamorous evening dress that reflects who they are as designers. Their time starts… NOW! It was full steam ahead to design HQ, Melbourne’s stately Whitehouse, where it was first in, best dressed. As puffing designers chose their swathes of material, all were feeling the pressure of having only three hours on the first day, and 11 on the second, to create something to impress the influential judges: designer Jason Brunsdon, top fashion buyer Sarah Gale and Karen Webster, director of Melbourne Fashion Festival.
After a second day of frantic sewing, stitching and bitching (Helen’s decision to help the struggling Brent raised a few eyebrows in the workroom), it was time up, tools down. The models transformed in hair and make-up under the watchful eyes of our nervous designers, and then, showtime! One by one beautiful girls lit up the catwalk with our designers’ glamorous, creative, innovative creations.
Leigh won the first challenge (and consequently immunity in next week’s show) with his Vivienne Westwood-inspired frothy cocktail number. Petrova and Shane also enjoyed being in the top three. Brent and Oren were in the bottom two, but it was 21-year-old Alison who was sent packing – her short bright party dress inspired comparisons to Miami retirees. Ouch!
Their passion is fashion. Don’t miss a minute!
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| A Day in the Life of A Fashion Buyer! With Sarah Gale, Fashion Buyer extraordinaire |
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| The role of a fashion buyer incorporates selecting, developing and buying stock to put into stores. | |
| On a daily basis, a buyer keeps track of the best and worst sellers and is constantly reviewing the current season to ensure they are meeting the market demands. A buyer will be working about 6 months ahead on developing product for the next season. | |
| In a typical day I might be forecasting fashion trends; consulting on product development and design; fitting garments; or researching Australian or overseas markets. | |
| When I am travelling on OS research trips, I do about six countries in 14 days and am in the stores about 10-12 hours a day! | |
| People tend to think that a buyer has a very glamorous job - but there are also a lot of financial and managerial accountabilities that goes with the job. | |
| The fashion business requires a very high energy level. You need to be very passionate about what you do and determined to achieve what you want. A buyer needs to be confident, tenacious, innovative, creative, commercial and very business savvy. It is also important to have a thick skin and loads of self belief, because you are constantly feeling exposed through the merchandise that you buy, and whether it sells or not. You can tell a great buyer not only by the winners they back, but also by how well they handle themselves through tough seasons. | |
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Glamour Boy |
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| Question: | Congratulations - you won the first challenge! Have you ever won anything before? |
| Answer: | I haven't really won anything, except for the Show Us Yer Bits grand final. It was kinda like Red Faces on Hey Hey It’s Saturday, only funnier, darker and weirder. There was one woman who did a bum dance and a singing Indian taxi driver. I just said a few funny things and sang a few songs! |
| Question: | Talk us through the experience of undertaking the first challenge. |
| Answer: | When we got to the Whitehouse Institute, all I needed was an ambulance. When Brent's shoe broke on the way, I took the opportunity to speed past, but due to my lack of fitness, after about ten metres nearly coughed up a lung! Not pleasant! Then it was so difficult finding fabrics that inspired me. Originally I had the beaded fabric that Petrova used, but decided to go with my Von Trappe curtaining fabric - and it paid off!! It’s a bonus to have immunity for the next challenge just in case it’s something horrific… |
| Question: | Which dresses made by the other designers did you dig, and why? |
| Answer: | I loved Petrova's evening gown; the subtle sparkle at the sides and back, as well as Shane’s dark velvet –like a silver screen goddess! I really loved Alison’s as well and thought it totally wrong that she was booted out!! |
