Project Runway: Fashion Is As Fashion Lives

I have been obsessed with Project Runway, Season 3, I'll admit it. I'm almost exhausted from reading blogs and anticipating who the winner would be. I expected that it would be Jeffrey Sebelia, and it was. I didn't personally care for his designs throughout the season, or on his website, but some of his designs on the final runway were fabulous. I love this show because, if you can get past the manufactured drama, it's about design, personal taste and a point of view, plus sewing skills. I do a lot of sewing for my businesses - mainly signature pillows and small accessories, and I have to say that I think about the sewing scenes in PR when I'm sewing away in my workroom. I have even come up with more original designs because of it. (WWLD=What Would Laura do?).

I do believe that all the fashion disciplines (clothing, interiors, jewelry, hair, etc.) walk together hand in hand. In that spirit, I got to thinking about the rooms that the women wearing these clothes would be see in and comfortable in. So, here is my Fashion Is as Fashion Lives comparison:



Laura Bennett is my new fashion icon and personal favorite. An architect by training, she's a woman who knows who she is and what she loves, and isn't afraid to show it. She's all about "Glamour" and I think she's aiming to be the Martha Stewart of the high glam world. Her fashions remind me of Barbara Barry for Baker Furniture. Elegant, classic and timeless. Pieces you would buy and keep forever.



Uli Herzner, a Miami-based designer is originally from East Germany. Growing up behind the Iron Curtain during the Cold War gave this girl a desire for warmth, and nothing but! Her collection was filled with tropical themed vacation wear. This bathing suit was beautifully crafted, with the sheer "dress" part easily removeable. Fittingly, the room scene from Roche-Bobois' "Les Voyages" Collection shows their "Sheherezade" sofa. Exotic, steamy and transformable, revealing all.




Michael Knight is a young Atlanta-based designer. His collection, entitled "Urban Safari" showed great promise and range. He went a little over the top, but he sure knows how to make clothes that are flattering and sexy. Famed furniture and interiors designer Phillipe Starke shows a broad range of styles - I think there isn't anything he can't do! From his Louis Ghost Chairs (featured in a previous post) to this stylish dining setting - he creates contemporary drama with historical notes.






And, of course, the winner, Jeffrey Sebelia. Throughout the season, his style was pretty all over the map. However, his runway show showed some pretty unexpected items, such as these two pieces. In general, his aesthetic is asymmetrical, youthful, and dark, but he sometimes surprises with colorful and 'light' looks. He's innovative and hard to pin down. I thought these chairs and sofas from Dutch design firms Leolux and Artifort had the same spirit of youthful engery. These furniture lines were shown at the 2006 New York Furniture Fair. I also loved these Akari paper lamps and sculptures designed by Isamu Noguchi.