`Runway' is bringing fashion forward
``I'm not a religious person," says Kara Janx, the season two ``Project Runway" contestant who narrowly missed out on showing her frocks at Olympus Fashion Week. ``But all I can say is thank God, thank God, thank God."
Her rapture is the result of an insult lobbed by Michael Kors. The designer told Janx, just before she was eliminated from ``Runway," that the dress she was wearing was far more interesting than the plain evening gown she had just completed for Iman . The comment drew national attention to Janx's self-designed silk kimono wrap dress. A year later, Janx has sold 3,000 of the nouveau kimonos.
``I'm really fascinated by the power of TV," she says. ``People saw this dress on the show, and then there was this insane demand."
The show that has given Bravo its highest-ever ratings returns next week (a season early to capitalize on decreased competition from drowsy summer networks) with 15 new contestants.
Part of the show's success can be attributed to Santino Rice's scheming, Austin Scarlett's Donna Pescow flip, and Heidi Klum's leggy dresses. But beyond the catwalk breakdowns, ``Project Runway" is a show about fashion, and it appears to have altered the way many Americans think about clothes. Not only have viewers been snatching up Janx's kimono dresses, they've also bought all of Nick Verreos's Barbie dolls (some paying upwards of $500 on
``I don't think we realized that a segment of our viewers were going to listen so carefully to what we were saying," says Kors. ``But I think people are getting tips and clues about what's next in fashion and what works and what doesn't work. They're now thinking about things like proportion when they're shopping for clothes."
``Runway" is also creating a new market for designed couture. Most contestants sell their lines, usually through boutiques and online stores. Next Wednesday, former contestant Emmett McCarthy hosts a trunk show in his New York store with Verreos, Janx, and second season winner Chloe Dao.
``I think people are now more aware of the details of clothing," says Janx. ``People are paying more attention to the things that we're paying attention to, and just assessing design. It's surprising to me who is noticing fashion now."
When Daniel Vosovic, the willowy runner-up from last season, walked by a construction site and got noticed by the workers, he thought he was going to get mauled. Instead, the hard-hat workers profess ed their love of ``Project Runway."
``It's really interesting how broad the demographic is," says Vosovic. ``Whether it's the fashion or Heidi Klum's breasts that draw people in, I don't know, but for whatever reason, people are fascinated to see the inside process of fashion. And it's certainly given me opportunities I never would have had otherwise."
In addition to the attention from construction workers, investment bankers, and hedge fund managers, Vosovic and Kors have found that preteens and teens are a vociferous part of the show's audience. The two say teenagers continually ask them advice on how to break into fashion. The anecdotal information is backed by the none-too-surprising fact that applications for Parsons The New School for Design have risen dramatically in the past year.
``It's got to make people say `I want to do that.' There's no way that you can be halfway creative yourself and watch this fantastic process unfold without wanting to be a part of it," says 42-year-old Laura Bennett, a Manhattanite who summers in the Berkshires. The mother of five is a contest ant on the third season of the show. ``I didn't go to fashion school, " she says, `` but watching the show made me want to be involved in fashion."
It seems that those who don't want to go to school want to be an armchair Joan Rivers.
``I don't get stopped on the street because I'm a `Project Runway' judge," says Nina Garcia, fashion editor of Elle magazine. ``I get stopped because people want to tell me who they think should have won. Suddenly, everyone's a fashion expert."
TALK ABOUT ``PROJECT RUNWAY" To chat with ``Runway" alum Nick Verreos, visit www.boston.com at 11 a.m. today. To talk about the show with other readers, post to a message board at www.boston.com/yourlife/fashion.
