Two Rhode Island School of Design alums have taken their artistic prowess from College Hill in Providence to fashion avenue in New York City. Mila Hermanovski and Anna Lynett are both part of the cast of season seven of the popular Lifetime television show Project Runway.
Project Runway is a reality show that challenges contestants to design clothing with a limited amount of time and resources. Every episode focuses on one challenge, at the end of which models wear the designs. A panel of judges, including fashion designer Michael Kors, Marie Claire Fashion Director Nina Garcia and supermodel Heidi Klum, the show's host, then vote on the clothes. One contestant is eliminated at the end of each episode.
Eliminated during episode five, Lynett described the experience as "so intense the whole time." Though she said she would not do it again, she added, "it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience — I don't regret any part of it." Though no longer on the show, Lynett said she stands behind her designs for each challenge, even the one that ultimately eliminated her from the show.
Lynett, who graduated from RISD less than two years ago, said the show is popular on campus. "It's sort of a dream for all of us in some way. It's so exciting to see people create something out of nothing."
On the air
Creating something out of nothing is just what contestants are asked to do on the show. For example, Lynett said her favorite exercise was the burlap challenge because she "liked the material, and the fact that it was so raw and so plain left it up to us to make something unique and beautiful."
Though her interest in fashion developed after graduating from college, Lynett said her RISD education helped prepare her for success in the fashion world. "My experience at RISD taught me to be more industrious and have the attitude that if you can make something better than what's available, you should," she said.
Lynett's first exposure to fashion came when she had a hostess job at a trendy restaurant in Los Angeles that required her to wear fashion-forward clothes — most of which she designed on her own.
"I never thought I'd be the kind of person that would fit reality TV, and I'm still sort of surprised that that's true," Lynett said. But, she added, "a show like Project Runway is based on the physical production stuff, so it's not so much that you need to be a crazy person."
Lynett said living with the other contestants on the show was "kind of like being thrown into a dorm," except that everyone was older, and their interactions were public because of the camera crew. Though Lynett was pleased overall with how she was represented on the show, she said she was "kind of simplified." She added, "our most generalized qualities are portrayed on the show so viewers can understand who we are quickly. They use footage they have to serve the purpose of simplifying each of us into characters."
Lynett said working with Tim Gunn, an American fashion icon who mentors contestants, was "amazing because he really reminded me of some of my teachers at RISD — very personal and genuine."
One of Lynett's professors from RISD, Ken Horii, said she "was from the first day a very talented, bright, energetically curious, articulate and exceptionally hardworking student."
"I am not surprised she has gained early recognition, and I think she is only beginning to gather the fruits of her creative potential," he said.
Lynett said her creative potential has only grown because of the show. "The show has challenged me to leave my doors open and respond to anything that I think could fit," she said.
As a recent graduate, Lynett said Providence helped inspire some of her designs. Lynett said the city is "an urban underground environment that people can really draw from" if they want to be creative designers. Lynett said she would describe her own style as "kind of random" — inspired by vintage fashion, while adhering to a simple "hipstery" style.
Lynett even has some wardrobe advice for students just up the hill from RISD. In reference to Brown's annual Sex Power God party, she said she would design "something kind of small and leather."
Making connections
Lynett met fellow RISD alum Hermanovski after arriving in New York for the show. "We were chatting on the rooftop of our apartment during a champagne toast when we found out we both went to RISD," Hermanovski said.
Having two parents who are fashion designers, Hermanovski said "it was imminent that I was going to design school." Both Hermanovski and Lynett said they participated in summer programs at RISD, experiences that caused them to fall in love with the school.
After graduating, Hermanovski moved to New York City to pursue a career as a fashion designer. She worked in retail for almost a year and then worked for a few years as an assistant designer for Calvin Klein. Following that job, Hermanovski "did the opposite end of the spectrum," and worked for a startup company, Rob Meyer. She also did freelance for high-end New York City stores such as Barney's, Bergdorf Goodman and Henri Bendel, and worked for Forecast America, a fashion-trend forecasting publication. She also designed costumes for a New York University graduate thesis film.
This last job led her to pursue costuming, which brought her to Los Angeles. After working on costuming for a few years, Hermanovski said she applied to be on Project Runway because "the projects that come up these days in television and film are … not very challenging creatively, and I was just feeling unfulfilled by being a costumer." She added, "I had a really good run being a costumer, but I just wanted to design again, and I never stopped loving fashion, never wanted to stop being a designer."
As a fashion designer on Project Runway, Hermanovski has placed among the highest contestants in episodes two and four and won the challenge in episode three. In the third episode, the contestants were taken to the Metropolitan Museum of Art and asked to design an iconic look that would be worthy of being in a museum collection, she said.
"Since I have an art foundation, going to a museum like the Metropolitan Museum of Art is so dear and inspiring to me. I look to art all the time for inspiration in my work." Rather than design a gown, which is what most contestants did, Hermanovski designed a "stunning coat and pair of pants", she said, adding "you don't have to make a gown for it to be museum-worthy."
Hermanovski also thought Gunn was an inspirational mentor, finding him to be "absolutely wonderful, incredibly sincere, compassionate and intellectual." She added, "I have so much respect for him because he's been in the industry a long time, and I like that his foundation was art as well."
"Mila was a creative and dedicated student with a unique style," said Lorraine Howes, who was the head of RISD's apparel design department when Hermanovski attended. "It's great to watch her success and progress."
Hermanovski said RISD "fosters a designer's individuality and coming up with your own point of view."
Her own point of view for great style mixes high and low fashion. "Take a great piece from H&M and mix it with a designer piece — makes it more unique," she said.
This sense of individual style is essential for a contestant on Project Runway, because "you're really in this capsule where you can't look at magazines or watch TV, and it's almost better that way because you're forced to tap into your own creativity," Hermanovski said.
She sees parallels between that environment and being in Providence, adding "it's good not being in such a big city with a lot of distractions."
Being on Project Runway made Hermanovski realize that fashion design is what she is "meant to be doing" and that she missed it when she was working as a costume designer. She said the show has helped her a lot, and "boosts everyone's career no matter how short or lo
ng your time on the show is." She is already experiencing the upsides of the attention that comes with Project Runway — she has been approached to do a gown for a celebrity for the Oscars and is also working her own line.
