Project Runway Enters Season 19 on Bravo - I'm SO Happy. Here Are the Designers

I'm actually late for this post, so bad on me. Long-time readers of my blog know I'm a "Project Runway" fangirl, and Project Runway's 19th season started on October 14th. The lovely thing about this season is that episodes are rebroadcast on Peacock beginning the following day, so I caught up with the second episode while at work yesterday afternoon. It was a total delight to get into the spirit of fashion design under pressure and the interchanges of personality. 

Notice anyone missing from the above? Yes, we have 
returning judges Brandon Maxwell, Elaine Welteroth, and 
Nina Garcia, and mentor Christian Seriano, but where 
is Karlie Kloss? As it turns out, she had a baby about 
a week before filming was due to start (which never 
happened because Covid came along). She'll appear 
now and then this season, but she's not a regular part 
of the cast. 

This episode might have been subtitled "The lady both protest too much, methinks," a line from Shakespeare's "Hamlet". It was an episode tied up in pride of race and identification of race, with a bit of heavy-handed "thank me because I'm doing you a favor" attitude thrown in. I guess nobody ever taught people that silence is golden in Tulsa, Oklahoma, because the lynchpin, the "lady" in this instance, just couldn't shut up. 

I'm going to introduce you to the designers, and I'll try to do some outfits in a second post a bit later in the week. I'll catch up early next week and we'll be on-time. More or less - LOL. Being able to stream the episodes will make things a lot easier on me time-wise, and won't crunch me too much for photos. Let's meet the designers. 

Octavio Aguilar is from Miami, Florida. He 
has worked as a designer for many years and specializes 
in streetwear. Originally Puerto Rican, he was raised in New 
Jersey and works in Florida. His clothing lines are represented 
in New York City. 

Darren Apolonio is originally from the Philippines, raised by 
a single mother. He has three sisters. After graduation from 
SCAD, he moved to New York City where he has interned 
for several years. His designs are eponymous in nature. 

Kenneth Barlis (from San Diego, CA) is another person 
originally from the Philippines who is making good in 
the USA. He's a prolific designer who has never-ending 
energy and has trained and mentored hundreds of people 
within fashion over the past 10 years. 

Caycee Black is from Brooklyn, New York. 
Don't fall too much in love with her, she was the very 
first person voted off in what was a team competition 
(team competitions are always difficult for such 
individualized viewpoints). 

Coral Castillo is from Los Angeles. Originally from 
Mexico City, she's the daughter of a dressmaker, so she 
should be good at making things on the fly. She's a single 
mother with the determination to show her son how 
hard work can succeed. 

Meagan Ferguson is from Tulsa, Oklahoma. Both of her 
grandmothers were involved in design and clothing, one 
as a seamstress, one running a children's clothing store. 
She worked with Walt Disney World for a time, learning 
costuming, and traveled the world making unique 
costumes for multiple venues and groups. 

Prajje Oscar Jean-Baptists is originally from Haiti, 
currently residing in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He 
moved to the US when he was 14. He was known for 
gowns and evening dresses before Covid, but switched 
his designs to leisurewear. He has a daughter in Haiti. 

Brian 'Bones' Jones is a fascinatiing designer. A trained and 
successful professional dancer in jazz, modern and ballet, 
he worked in that profession for many years as a 
background dancer or even in the front lines of Broadway
and off-Broadway. But he was pulled back to his roots. 
His grandmother sewed for her church - fancy hats and
formal wear. She gave him his first sewing machine
when he was 16. He finally decided to concentrate
on fashion, launching his line HOB (House of Bones),
featuring unisex fashion. 

Kristina Kharlashkina grew up in Russia and currently 
lives in New York City. Her father was a Rocket Scientist 
and her mother, a teacher. She trained and competed as a 
ballroom dancer, so understands how costumes can 
be used to enhance a performance. She has a firm background 
in fashion, having worked for Carolina Herrera, Tom 
Ford, Celine and Dolce & Gabbana. I'm looking forward 
to what she created for the Runway. 

Katie Kortman is married to a military OB-GYN doctor
and has four children. She's lived in several places,
including Bahrain (where she honed her sewing skills). 
They are currently based in Japan.  

Shantall Lacayo calls Miami, Florida home. She's originally 
from Nicaragua, and was taught to sew at age 4 by her 
grandmother. She used to sew shirts that she sold for 
$2 to help her mother with the bills. Three years ago, 
her husband and her left Nicaragua because it had become 
dangerous to live there, and through great difficulties, 
ended up in Miami, Florida where they started over again. 
She was the runner-up in Project Runway Argentina 
in 2010 and is determined to pull off the win this time. 

Chastity Sereal calls Houston, Texas her home base. A lifelong 
Texan, she designed prom dresses as a Junior in High 
School. Her father died when she was 12 years old. Two 
of her collections have been shown at New York Fashion 
Week. She's a mother of two daughters. 

Zayden Skipper is from Atlanta, Georgia. He was raised 
in Chicago by a group of women who taught him to be 
strong and how to sew. After college, he moved to 
Atlanta where he started out as homeless and ended up 
as the only Black man to graduate from the Savannah 
College of Art and Design. His personal specialty is 
Urban Avant-Garde Streetwear. He's made quite a spash 
in fashion in a very short time. He's going to be fun 
to watch. 

Sabrina Spanta calls Bloomfield, Michigan home. Originally 
from Afghanistan, her family fled in the late 1990's to a 
refugee camp in Pakistan. Her mother died there, and her 
father cared for her and her siblings. In 2000, Sabrina 
and her sister were adopted by their great Aunt whom 
she refers to as her "true Mother". Her father had worked 
as a tailor, so she learned sewing and design from him 
as a child. She has a passion for patterns and embroidery. 

Aaron Michael Steach grew up in West Virginia but currently 
calls Jackson, Mississippi home. He was raised by his 
grandparents after his mother's death. He is a self-taught 
designer who mainly designed for drag shows and 
performers at the only gay bar in central Mississippi. He 
has designed for contestants on "Rupaul's Drag Race", various 
theatrical productions, and national pageant winners. 

Anna Zhou is from San Francisco, California. Her father 
was a sculptor, so she thinks she inherited his artistry. 
She grew up in Shanghai, China, but thinks she came 
into her own when she moved to the US where she 
received a degree in fashion design. She has had two 
collections featured in "Women's Wear Daily". 

So there you have it - the contestants for this year's Project Runway. I'm thrilled that it's back on the air, and even happier that I don't have to stay up late, but can catch it on replay on Peacock. It's so much easier to just watch it on my phone when I have a few minutes available. Call me happy! 

Have an excellent Monday and I'll be back tomorrow.