Our chat with David Chum's chum pre-'Project Runway'

[David Chum, right, with Marilyn Riseman. Image via Dan Aguirre/ERIC LEVIN STUDIOS]

Do you know David Chum? Not yet? You will. The Arlington-based fashion women's wear designer behind the label Selahdor will be joining season nine of Project Runway. While he couldn't personally chat with us about his appearance on the reality-competition show just yet, we spoke with Joseph Gordon Cleveland, co-founder of the Emerging Designer Fund, about the designer's local roots. The Emerging Designer Fund is an annual award program for Boston-area fashion designers — and Chum is the current award recipient.

Chum, whose background is in fine arts, used to work as an installation artist. He grew up in Fall River, later snagged studio space in Arlington, and intends to keep his Boston roots no matter where his career takes him post reality TV-stardom, says Joseph Gordon Cleveland. (We like him more already.)

If you're curious if this Boston boy has what it takes to survive on a show where the competition is tough and thrives on New York savvy, Cleveland assured us that in a time crunch, Chum can deliver.

"One day he just decided he wanted to design a line and four months later, produced a collection and showed it," Joseph Gordon Cleveland says.

Watch Chum as he dukes it out on "Project Runway," beginning July 28 on Lifetime.