Fashion forward

Lawrence teens tune in to 'Project Runway'

From left, Free State High School junior Amelia Firns-Hubert 16, and senior Lizz Maples, 17, are big fans of Project

Every Wednesday night you’ll know where to find Rose Naughtin and Amelia Firns-Hubert: on the couch texting each other wildly. It’s a back-and-forth of quotes, remarks and statements where few words are necessary.

“Ugly!” “Really funny.” “I love Chris!”

Then, Thursday in seminar at Free State High School, the two juniors will huddle and rehash the events from the night before.

“I can’t believe Rami did more draping!” Firns-Hubert complains, clearly annoyed, to which Naughtin just shakes her head: “No, I liked it!”

What’s all the fuss? It’s a little show on Bravo called “Project Runway,” which has given the fashion-minded teens a backstage pass into clothing designers’ creative processes, work habits and mind-sets, not to mention given the girls (and their parents, who watch with them) a chance to bond over the show.

“Amelia and I have always been like ‘kind of’ friends, but the first episode of ‘Project Runway,’ she texted me at one point,” Naughtin says. “We text every episode. It’s kind of tradition.”

“Project Runway,” now in its fourth season, follows the antics of a handful of clothing designers – each vying for a grand-prize package that can help catapult them from no-names and into stores. Wednesday’s season finale brings the finalists to New York Fashion Week, where each will show their own lines and one will be judged the show’s winner by a group of judges: supermodel Heidi Klum, fashion designer Michael Kors, Elle fashion director Nina Garcia and guest judge/Spice Girl Victoria Beckham.

As the show winds down, the contestants – and fans – have been through challenges ranging from making clothing out of Hershey’s items, outfits for female WWE wrestlers, custom prom dresses and other wacky quests on a limited amount of time (as little as half a day) and budget (this season, the designers had to create a two-piece outfit that retailed for $40).

“I didn’t think you could make clothes out of Twizzlers, and then they are forced to do it. Some of them come out with things that are amazing,” says Firns-Hubert, who takes a sewing class at Free State. “They have like 12 hours sometimes. I don’t think I could ever do that. They must have so much passion for it and skill because it’s so hard just to make a dress in a week. That was the first thing I’ve ever made, clotheswise, and it’s difficult. And I’m following a pattern – they don’t even have patterns to follow!”

All those things – crazy challenges, time constraints, skill and the designers’ personalities – have left the show’s teenage fans inspired, awed, and, well, addicted.

“I’m addicted. I watch it all the time. I’ve seen every single episode (of all the seasons),” says Lawrence High senior Cherin Russell, who plans to study fashion at Lindenwood University in St. Charles, Mo. “I know when I’ve watched it, I’ve drawn down a few sketches from something I’ve been inspired by. Oh my gosh, they’re so talented. How do they do that in one day?”

Eye-opening

For Russell, the show has been an important, if skewed look, into the fashion world of which she wants to join. Russell, who says she thinks she’ll be a commercial-minded designer with thoughts of couture, says the show has taught her about the business, the elements of clothes and clothing construction in general.

“I think I’ve become a better designer just watching the show,” says Russell, who watches with her mother. “A lot of elements help your clothing look sharp, things like construction, being a perfectionist, making sure your seams are right, making sure your hem is good.

“It’s kind of eye-opening, too, because you see people have to do these big auditions just to get on the show and you see so many people fail. You’re like, wow, if they’re that good, it’s going to be hard to (get to the) top.”

Hillary Wehmeyer is also learning what it takes to fulfill one of her dreams – opening a clothing store someday on Massachusetts Street. Though she’s only 16, the Lawrence High junior says that the show has solidified the idea for her that to make it, whether as a really big designer or a boutique owner in Lawrence, she’s got to start early.

Like, as in now.

She points to one of the show’s finalists, Christian Siriano, 21, who graduated from high school and immediately moved to London to study fashion, then ended up working for big-time designers Vivian Westwood and Alexander McQueen.

“He definitely knows what he wants – I keep having second thoughts about if this is really what I want to do,” Wehmeyer says. “I tell myself this is what I want to do and I know I’d really have to start now to get where I want. Using him as an example, he definitely had to start early and had to go for it.”

And it looks like it might pay off for Siriano, who all the teens say has the best chance to win out of the four finalists. Sums up Free State senior Lizz Maples: “The judges have liked everything he’s put out. And it all looks really, really good when it comes out. I think it’s kind of cool that the youngest one is doing well in it rather than getting eliminated right off the bat.”

From reality to real life

Lauren Ollila was inspired in a different way by the show – to get away from fashion as a career. The Lawrence High senior says though she’s not in college yet, she thinks she’ll study pre-med dermatology instead of fashion design, with a few other stops in between.

“I wish I could be a designer – I’m a creative person, I used to draw dresses when I was little,” Ollila says. “I think that would be something real cool to do – to make something so pretty and have people wear it. What if you saw somebody wearing something on the street and you’re like, ‘Oh, I made that!'”

But by watching the show, Ollila knows that’s not the way for her to go – not many people, even the show’s talented competitors, get to do so well they see their designs on the street.

“I want to work really hard, but I want a guarantee for the future,” Ollila says.

Naughton and Firns-Hubert agree, saying they would rather keep fashion as much of a hobby as the show is. But that said, the texting buddies think the “Project Runway” shows that anyone with passion and drive can have a place trying to make it in the fashion world.

“I think that some young kids who didn’t think they could make it in fashion could see the show, they could join sewing classes at school or sewing clubs or something like that and learn to make clothes and become a fashion designer,” Firns-Hubert says. “It gives them a hope that they can get far even if they’re from a small town.”