Top 5 Looks: 1st Place

One of the lessons we've learned over the years with Project Runway is that you don't necessarily have to win to end up a winner. Rodney Epperson, or simply Epperson as we came to know him is certainly a case in point. The elder statesman of Season 6 was a constant source of calm wisdom during his run and truly one of the nicest guys ever cast. He also showed that he was a pretty damn talented designer as well.

In "Lights, Camera, Sew!", the 11 remaining designers were asked to pick from five different film genres and invent a character that lives in that genre to design for. None of the designers wanted Western, including Epperson. But with his name drawn last out of the magic bag, he had to figure out a way to "make it work".

Many designers could have been foiled by the task at hand and boxed in by the constraints of the genre. But Epperson was able to let his creative spirit shine and came up with a character that had a modern parallel. "My concept is a beautiful lady, and her husband is off to war. She has to take care of the land and she has to become a lot tougher."

Epperson designed a denim dress with a large, seductive ruffled collar and neckline. A big highlight of the outfit was a wide leather belt and matching holster. "There's a gun under there, just in case", as he stated on the runway. The judges loved it and although he was a strong contender for the win, he lost out to Nicolas Putvinski's Ice Princess.

Then again, maybe it was all about Matar. Look at that photo up there. Do you want to mess with her? Me, neither! Matar owned this look and ended up modeling three of the Top 5 looks in our poll.

Congratulations Epperson, you designed the BPR Top Look from Season 6!

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BPR Interview with Epperson

The Scarlett talks to Epperson about his experience on Project Runway, his family and his plans for the future.

Click here for Epperson's website.

Click here for the podcast.

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Project Runway Season 6 Event on Long Island

Team BPR thanks Ali G for this excellent Field Report!

Hi, BPR!

It’s Ali Ghozati, reporting about a special Project Runway event.

On Saturday, August 8, from 12pm to 3pm, 6 designers from season 6 – Althea Harper, Epperson, Irina Shabayeva, Malvin Vien, Nicolas Putvinski, and Qristyl Frazier – appeared at Roosevelt Field Mall on Long Island in New York.





This event was very crowded – Long Island has many fans of Project Runway. The event featured members of the audience coming on the stage in rounds, taking plain white T-shirts and designing them using scissors, markers, and jewels.


Three of the designers served as judges, picking a winner in each round. The winner got a gift card. There were several rounds with various members of the audience competing and all of the designers getting to judge. It seemed like a lot of fun. The 3 designers who weren’t judging sat at a table, graciously agreeing to take pictures and sign autographs.


I spent most of the event at this table, chatting with the designers. All of them were so nice. They showed a lot of enthusiasm. Althea was a sweetheart. She mentioned that the models this season were, to quote her directly, “crazy good.” She highly recommended watching "Models of the Runway," the spin-off show. I told her that she herself looked like a model for the show since she really was stunning.


Epperson was so cool. He was much taller than I thought. Irina was lovely. When I was talking to her, she made me feel like the only human being on the planet despite the surrounding pandemonium.


Qristyl was gracious. My camera kept malfunctioning in taking a picture with her, but she was extremely patient, letting me continually try until I was finally successful. Malvin was very kind. His hair was pretty fierce. Nicolas thanked me for attending the event and supporting the show. I thanked him for coming to Long Island, making me and my fellow Long Islanders so happy.


At this event, there were a lot of signs for Project Runway and some monitors set up, showing clips of season 6. I walked away with a poster autographed by all of the designers and an official Project Runway audition kit (a cute container which had needles, thread, safety pins, and buttons in it). Overall, this event was superb. I had the time of my life at it. It made me look forward to season 6 of Project Runway even more. While I wish the best of luck to all of the designers, there are 6 of them that I’m especially rooting for! Enjoy!

Sincerely,
Ali

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Weekend News

Photo: Marion Curtis/Starpix

People.com's introduction to the season six designers includes a quote from Tim Gunn about each contestant.

Carol Hannah Whitfield, 24: "She's young, just out of design school," says Gunn of the South Carolina native, who currently resides in Brooklyn, N.Y. But "people will be disarmed by what they see her achieve."

Ra'mon-Lawrence Coleman, 31: "He's someone who in my view thinks entirely too much," Gunn says of the Chicago resident, whose favorite designer is Marc Jacobs. "I was constantly surprised in the workroom – suddenly, there's a new design."

Johnny Sakalis, 30: A graduate of the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in Los Angeles, Runway's new West Coast home, "Johnny will be polarizing," Gunn says of the L.A. resident. "People will love him, or hate him."

Irina Shabayeva, 27: A native of the Republic of Georgia, she counts Cleopatra as a style icon. And Gunn admires the designer's sense of proportion and fit. "Her models look as if they've been in for a dozen fittings," he says, "and they haven't."

Malvin Vien, 24: "When you see this guy, you won't believe he's from Colorado," Gunn says of Vein. Talk about an eclectic fashion palette: His style inspirations include rural Chinese farmers, Japanese ghost stories and insect anatomy.

Althea Harper, 25: "Everyone [thinks] she's only on the show because she's a tall blond beauty," admits Gunn. "But she's extremely talented. She's going to blow people away."

Qristyl Frazier, 42: Hailing from St. Louis, Mo., her style icons include Halle Berry, Whitney Houston and Gwyneth Paltrow. "Qristyl is a hoot," says Gunn. "She likes a lot of color, and print. She's entertaining to watch."

Logan Neitzel, 25: "Logan's from Seattle, and you get a crunch-granola feeling in what he does," Gunn says of the self-described "guys' guy" who likes snowboarding and cars as much as he likes John Galliano and Tom Ford.

Mitchell Hall, 26: "Mitchell looks like he just stepped out of Gossip Girl and I think that's who he'd like to design for," Gunn says of the Savannah, Ga., resident, who is a creative director for a Vera Wang bridal salon.

Ari Fish, 26: "She's deeply conceptual," Gunn says of the self-taught Kansas City, Mo., native, who doesn't sketch or drape her designs, but sews fast. Her influences include geometry, ergonomics, nomadic tribal wear and athletic apparel.

Nicolas Putvinski, 27: Born in Moscow, he's had designs commissioned for W and Vogue – and may be a bit of a fashion snob. "If you have such a bad taste in your mouth about American fashion," Gunn has wondered about the F.I.T. grad. "Why are you here?"

Shirin Askari, 25: "She's young, she's pretty, she's articulate," Gunn says of the Garland, Texas, resident whose style icon is Katharine Hepburn. "I'm not sure what is distinctive about her, other than the fact that she's good."

Christopher Straub, 30: "Christopher is very sensitive, very emotional. He wears his emotions on his sleeve," Gunn says of the Shakopee, Minn., resident, who appreciates volume, eye-catching fabrics and Victoria Beckham.

Louise Black, 32: Gunn describes the native Texan as "thoughtful, contemplative, and never a hair out of place." A fan of Christian Lacroix, the first garment the former clinical lab technician ever made was her own wedding dress.

Gordana Gehlhausen, 45: The Yugoslavia-born designer now owns a boutique in San Diego. Expect a lot of "textile development," says Gunn. "It wouldn't be a case of going shopping and using the fabric she brought back. She'd do things to it."

Epperson, 50: "He is the most senior in terms of design career and reputation," Gunn says of this self-taught designer who grew up in Harlem, N.Y. "He has a distinguished career. He's elder-statesmanlike."

Click here to read about Season Six designers Ra'mon-Lawrence Coleman and Christopher Straub in the Minnesota Star-Tribune. Christopher is an underwear designer who tried for Project Runway four times. Katy Gerdes calls Ra'mon-Lawrence "dramatic" and "interesting."

Click here for more about Ari Fish from pitch.com.

Project Runway season three designer, Kayne Gillaspie will be at Austin Fashion Week. Click here for details. We'd love a field report! Thanks Frank.

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Designer Bio - Rodney Epperson

Age: 50
Birthplace: New York, NY
Current Home: New York, NY
Favorite Designer: Yohji Yamamoto
Style Icon: None
Favorite Past Project Runway Designer: Christian Siriano, Season 4

Click here for more information.

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