You cheered (or booed) when they won, and maybe you've shelled out for their designs!
But with so many post-Runway careers to follow, you might have lost track. Here's where some
of our favorite winners of Project Runway are today.
Though he didn't win a single challenge before the finale, Jay McCarroll took it all home
on the very first season of Project Runway. Well, sort of. Even though he won, McCarroll
turned down both the prize money and associated mentorship, though as the Washington Post
noted, "he did appear in Elle ." Regarding turning down the cash, McCarroll told The
Washington Post in 2005:
"Use your imagination there, for I am not allowed to talk about it."
But a 2007 New York Magazine feature revealed that McCarroll walked away from the prize
money when he learned that the Weinstein Company, which produced Project Runway at the time,
quote, "would forever own a 10 percent stake in his brand."
“I was working on, like, 3 hours of sleep a night, because we just… They worked us
like it was a job. It wasn’t fun.”
The clause has since been dropped from the winners' contracts, but too late for McCarroll.
In 2010, he appeared on VH1's Celebrity Fit Club, losing 40 pounds for the win. Though
he's since designed an eco-friendly dress for Gabby Wild and did wardrobe and costumes
for a couple of short films, McCarroll doesn't recommend the fashion designer life for others.
He told The Delco Times in 2009, quote, "Go be an accountant...don't be in fashion."
Leanne Marshall dresses celebrities
Designer Leanne Marshall won Project Runway's fifth season, and even if you're not a Project
Runway superfan, you may know her name if you've shopped for designer wedding gowns
in the past several years. In the years following her win, Marshall introduced commercial collections
and counted celebs like Project Runway host Heidi Klum as private clients.
Thereafter, both Marshall's signature line and custom wedding gown business took off.
As she notes on her website, she's dressed stars like Ariana Grande , Danielle Bradbery,
and Betsy Wolfe.
Want a Leanne Marshall look of your own? The designer's ready-to-wear pieces range from
$500 to around $4,000, while pieces from her bridal collection will cost you at least $2,000
without additions.
“It’s a rush. It’s a frenzy. But it’s what I love to do. I wouldn’t want to be
doing anything else.”
On the second season of Project Runway, Chloe Dao wowed the judges, taking home the win
in 2006. After her victory, Dao debuted her line Simply Chloe Dao on QVC , telling WWD
at the time:
"This is an opportunity to sell mass market without producing it all myself."
As Houstonia Magazine noted, she then went on to judge and executive produce Project
Runway: Vietnam, but her home and fashion focus remains in Houston.
In April 2020, Houston’s KHOU reported that Dao was using her design efforts to help fight
the coronavirus pandemic, by sewing and donating masks. From March to April 2020, Dao, her
staff, and volunteers handed out 3,000 masks.
Helping during the coronavirus pandemic isn't Dao's first foray into philanthropy. Dao's
website notes that she has partnered with non-profits around Houston and beyond, including
Community Cloth, Crime Stoppers, and the Houston Area Women's Center, to name just a few.
“I think my biggest takeaway is to be grateful for what you have, but also if you can share
your skill or give something back to your community, you should.”
A much more recent Project Runway winner, Jhoan Sebastian Grey took home the Season
17 crown in 2019. And wow, Grey has hit the ground running. Just before the coronavirus
pandemic shut down much of the United States, Elle reported that Grey, quote, "presented
his Fall/Winter 2020 'Lineage' collection" at his first ever New York Fashion Week show.
Though the pandemic has been hard on the fashion industry, Grey has found ways to stay busy
since the debut of his Lineage collection.
“So this is the way we need to use the face mask, right? Remember, it came with two interchangeable
filters.”
In partnership with Disney+, Grey designed a dress to celebrate the release of Disney's
live action Mulan. While there's no doubt that the Disney partnership kept him busy,
he also spent lockdown working on his next line.
In December 2020, Grey announced his Spring/Summer 2021 womenswear collection. In a tweet about
the collection, Grey reported that the line
"is made predominantly out of renewed stock fabric."
If you watched the third season of Project Runway, you probably remember that edgy designer
Jeffrey Sebelia had quite the villain story, including being accused of cheating. Still,
Sebelia took home the Season 3 win, including the $100,000 prize, but his attitude was just
too much for his first gig after Project Runway.
“She felt it necessary to start quacking in my ear. Quack quack quack quack quack quack
quack quack quack quack quack quack quack quack quack.”
In an interview with New York Magazine shortly after his win, Sebelia made a comment that
many found to be distasteful, saying:
"I'm almost afraid to admit what I'm doing, but it's costumes for a movie. It's a live-action
movie for the Bratz. Yeah, those slutty dolls."
Let's just say the comment didn't go over well. According to LA Weekly, it, quote, "cost
him the job."
But Sebelia hasn't been resting on his laurels since then. According to his website, the
designer has created, quote, "4 different fashion brands distributed worldwide," including
a line for fashionable children. Let's just hope they aren't Bratz fans.
It wouldn't be a Project Runway discussion if we didn't talk about Christian Siriano
, who became the youngest Runway winner at just 21, in the show’s fourth season. Since
then, he's truly become one of the biggest names in fashion, not just because his designs
are amazing, but because he's dedicated to inclusivity. As Glamour put it, Siriano has
"smashed the mold" of what makes runway and red carpet looks.
Indeed, Siriano designs for all types of clients; as Glamour noted:
"No matter your age or body type, if Siriano likes your work, he'll want to dress you."
“I think when a woman puts on a dress, you can feel when she feels great about herself.
And I think that’s something that I love to see.”
When actress Leslie Jones had trouble finding a designer to dress her for the 2016 Ghostbusters
premiere, Siriano stepped in. Then, in a true testament to his ability and style, Siriano
dressed 17 women for the 2018 Oscars. That same year, the designer was named one of the
TIME 100 Most Influential People and in 2019, Siriano returned to Project Runway to take
over Tim Gunn's mentor duties.
In 2020, Siriano shifted from making gowns to making masks to help during the coronavirus
pandemic, making 2,000 masks per day according to TIME, all being donated not sold.
Designer Dom Streater won Season 12 of Project Runway in 2013, thanks in part to her custom
created prints. After her win, she employed the same vibrant style in a new womenswear
brand, while she continued to carve out her niche in fashion. Just a few short years later,
Streater returned to competition in 2016 for Season 5 of Project Runway All Stars, and
once again came out on top.
But after two wins and four New York Fashion Week collections, Streater told The Philadelphia
Inquirer in 2016 that runway fashion, quote, "wasn't worth the money." She explained:
"It's better to invest in social media, my line, and advertising to my customers."
“I see you’re working on a new project.”
“Yeah! Project ‘Baby Way’.”
Since then, Streater, now a mother, has mostly eschewed runway shows in favor of what she
told The News & Observer in 2018 is a focus on, quote, "slow fashion," including "limited-edition
pieces and capsule collections" for her Dom Streater brand. The online brand currently
features t-shirts, scarves, jackets, and artwork, all created by Streater.
A few years after she was named Miss Trinidad and Tobago , Anya Ayoung-Chee won the ninth
season of Project Runway with a Caribbean-inspired collection. After her win, she launched her
eponymous womenswear line that, according to her website, is produced in Trinidad and
Tobago. By producing the line in her home-country, Ayoung-Chee has, quote, "limited access to
large quantities" of supplies, so she's naturally moved into limited edition pieces and slow
fashion.
In early 2020, Ayoung-Chee premiered a new line, WYLD FLWR , at the Museum of Sex in
New York City. As noted on the WYLD FLWR site, the line is:
"inspired by Trinidad Carnival and Burning Man and aims to empower women to experience
true freedom and radical self expression, while affording financial independence to
the women who manufacture the line in Trinidad [and] Tobago."
“Hi, I’m Anya Ayoung-Chee. I’m a fashion designer and entrepreneur. And I’m a new
mom!”
Just before Season 10 of Project Runway in 2012, designer Dmitry Sholokhov was scraping
by after losing his lease and being forced to quit his job. He told The Hollywood Reporter
after winning the season:
"I was pretty much homeless for all the time I was on Project Runway."
“We bitch. We get angry. We’re beyond exhausted. But everything worth it.”
After his win, Sholokhov debuted a capsule collection exclusively with Lord & Taylor
before launching his Spring 2014 collection. Regarding his Lord & Taylor collection, he
told InStyle:
"It's my belief that each of my dresses offers something for everyone."
In 2014, Sholokhov returned for the fourth season of Project Runway All Stars, once again
walking with the win. He lost after trying for a third crown in the 2019 season of All
Stars – more on that in a moment! Still, it wasn't all bad news in 2019. In October
of that year, Sholokhov tied with Sue Wong for the Metropolitan Fashion Week Fashion
Designer of the Year award.
According to his website, Sholokhov now:
"focuses on private commissions and pursuit of partnerships with major retailers."
Michelle Lesniak competed on Season 11 of Project Runway in 2013, and, as the FashionNXT
website put it:
"Her lack of formal training gave her an edge."
Lesniak was one of the so-called "mean girls" of the season.
I don’t really want to be touched right now. Gimme some space.”
Despite the negative label, she was crowned the winner, and she went on to run a boutique
in her native Portland, Oregon.
In 2014, she competed on the fourth season of Project Runway All Stars, telling The Oregonian
that she knew it would be good for networking. Though she lost out to Dmitry Sholokhov in
that season, she got her turn in the spotlight when she and Sholokhov competed again on the
2019 season of Project Runway All Stars. This time, Lesniak came out on top.
In her offscreen career, Lesniak has focused on collections and collaborations. According
to her website, Lesniak's Portland studio is currently open by appointment only.
Designer Ashley Nell Tipton made Project Runway history in Season 14 when she was the first
designer to show a plus-size collection at New York Fashion Week. After her win, Tipton
became a brand ambassador and designer for JC Penney's plus-size collection, Boutique
Plus, launched in 2016.
But in 2020, Tipton admitted in an episode of the IGNTD Relationships podcast that her
Project Runway experience was, quote, "exhausting." She told the hosts:
"A lot of people don't know that I dealt with a lot of PTSD and I still deal with PTSD from
Project Runway. [...] You're blindfolded, mentally. I've never been to jail or rehab
or anything like that, but I almost feel like being on a reality TV show, being secluded,
having all your items taken away from you, being told when to eat, when to wake up, when
to go to sleep."
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Tipton pivoted to making and donating masks to those on the
front lines, but that experience led to an unexpected shift. Tipton announced in a September
2020 YouTube video that she's decided to stop designing and instead focus on teaching others
about, quote, "self-love, self-care, and self acceptance."
“I have spent the last three years working on the most important person in my life: Me!”
Shortly after her win, Massachusetts College of Art and Design graduate Erin Robertson
collaborated with MIT Media Lab to create coats made from 3D printed faux fur.
“It’s great cause you can have, like, this soft material but it doesn’t kill an
animal.”
Her approach to innovative, sustainable fashion led to another collaboration with MIT in 2020
as a judge of the Pandemic Response CoLab's "Re-imagining face coverings and PPE challenge".
Though you can be certain that her own design collections are still a priority, Robertson's
commitment to the marriage of science and fashion is ongoing. As she says on her website:
"Technology is the sustainable way forward."
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