Project Runway Season 11 Contestant Tu Suthiwat Nakchat.
Project Runway is back for Season 11 tonight! Catch Thai contestant Tu Suthiwat Nakchat as he dukes it out with the other designers.
There’s one catch for this new season, however – every challenge is a team challenge, meaning all designers will compete in groups from beginning to end. One Project Runway winner will still be crowned.
Don’t schlep when traveling for business. Three stylish, entrepreneurial Asian American women offer chic carryalls for laptop, iPad and more.
ISSUE: Spring 2011
DEPT: DestinAsian
STORY: Anna M. Park
Plaid Doctrine
Suzanne Park appreciates a sturdy travel bag — she’s logged 300,000+ miles herself as a former corporate exec. Thank goodness she founded Plaid Doctrine, a line of cool, eco-friendly laptop bags. They’re made with recycled material from plastic bottles, but you’d never know it from the look and feel of it. The vintage-inspired designs of houndstooth and stripes trimmed with prime-grade, vegetable-tanned leather perfectly complement spring’s preppy-punk vibe. Continue Reading »
With the year winding down, Audrey Magazine has narrowed down some greats of 2010.
Aarti Sequeira: The Next Food Network Star [Season 6]
We already told you that Aarti Sequeira won season 6 of The Next Food Network Star. She already has her own cooking show of The Food Network and is doing very well. She struggled a little in the beginning with her confidence, stating in an interview with us that she “didn’t think [she] had the culinary chops to compete with these people and challenges that were requiring you to cook in 15 minutes or something.” However, the judges really liked her for her unique take in which she incorporated her knowledge of Indian cuisine into classic American dishes. We will always remember her as a bubbly star who is very passionate in cooking.
Alex Wong: So You Think You Can Dance [Season 7]
Alex Wong may be one of the best dancers to have graced the SYTYCD stage. His exit due to an injury to his Achilles tendon was definitely one of the saddest moments on the show. This classically trained ballet dancer was a potential front-runner who many predicted would’ve won the show if it wasn’t for his misfortune. He gave America a strong first impression with a heartfelt contemporary piece to Jeff Buckley’s “Hallelujah,” danced with Allison Holker and choreographed by Travis Wall. His best moment though, has to be his hip-hop routine with Twitch to “Outta Your Mind” by Lil Jon and LMFAO, choreographed by Tabitha and Napoleon. Best wishes to Alex to full recovery.
Left: Andy South. Right: His winning design (episode 3).
Andy South: Project Runway [Season 8]
I love a designer who designs edgy clothes, and Andy South was definitely one of them. His signature looks all have a warrior-women resemblance. I was in disbelief that he managed to just braid and fold ribbons together to create a beautiful little black dress. He made it into the finale this season, but unfortunately, lost himself a bit at the end. Nonetheless, I am proud of his successes and hope he makes it far.
Kevin Wu and Michael Wu: The Amazing Race [Season 17]
Kevin Wu is an established Youtube star, better known as KevJumba. He has over a million subscribers on Youtube for his comedic videos. Michael Wu is his father and they went into the competition knowing their personalities are not the most compatible. Nonetheless, they managed to place 7th on The Amazing Race. Their best placement was third in Leg 2 and Leg 6.
Poreotics: America’s Best Dance Crew [Season 5]
This all-male Asian-American dance crew is best known as the winners of ABDC. Their name is derived from their specialization in popping, choreography and robotics, hence Po-reo-tics. They’ve been safe almost all season long, landing in the bottom two only once the week before the finale. Since the show, they made an appearance on Justin Bieber’s “Somebody to Love” video. They also formed Miniotics after their victory, which is a second sector of their crew that consists of dancers ages 16 and under.
It’s down to the last two episodes of Project Runway season 8 and the stakes are high. Four of the contestants made collections in hopes of showing at fashion week, but one of them got eliminated just one week before the Mercedes Benz Fashion Show.
In last week’s episode (Finale Part 1), not only do we get a sneak peek of the contestants’ 10-piece collection, but we also learn a little more about their lives during Tim Gunn’s visit to their homes. Finally, the show revealed that Andy South’s family were first generation immigrants from Laos. Currently, he is living in Waianae, Hawaii, and part of why he loves going back is because it reminds him of the sacrifices that his mother made for him to have a better life and the struggles it has taken to get to where he is now.
South claimed that he’s “always wanted to do a collection that was inspired from home”, so his pieces are drawn from different aspects of Laos, including the Buddha Park. He even had his textiles and metals delivered to him from Laos, which delayed his progress, but two weeks later, he arrived to New York with ten completed looks. As a final challenge, the remaining four were asked to design an eleventh piece to be shown to the judges along with two other ones from the collection for the final cut before Fashion Week. Luckily South was presented with this opportunity since, from the judges’ critiques, it seemed it was his eleventh piece, a beautifully pleated green dress, which earned him the final spot to show at New York Fashion Week. From the few pieces we saw from South this episode, we can expect from him a collection that is still true to his aesthetics but without the usual toughness. I’m sure the “goodies” that he decided not to put on the runway today will be able to surprise us next week.
Tune in tonight for the season finale at 9pm on Lifetime!
For those who are still tuning in with Project Runway, I am sure you would agree that this season is filled with tension between the designers. But what makes this season exciting (at least for us!) is not only the drama but also the fact that there are two Asian-American contestants who both seem to be strong contenders. 
It was definitely disappointing to see Korean contestant Ivy Higa eliminated from PR just three weeks ago. Fortunately, Andy South from Hawaii still remained in the competition, so Asian-inspired pieces continue to be represented on the runway. Surely he’s had his ups and downs, but who could ever forget the winning dress he made for the party store challenge, or the avant-garde look for the L’Oreal Paris make-up challenge?
In this week’s episode, South stayed true to himself and his point of view as a designer is really shining through. It was a little nerve-wrecking when his fellow contestant, Gretchen Jones, stated his design ‘looks like the mistress you’d pay a high, high price for to have her spank you.’ He even played off the joke and said he translated his inspiration to ‘the head waitress at this tea house who does happy endings.’ But he managed to ‘make it work’ (in Tim Gunn’s words) at the end and made a little black dress with lines that really flatter a woman’s body. I was ecstatic when Heidi told him he was going to create a collection. However, he is among four who were given the opportunity, but only three can show at New York Fashion Week. As much as I love South’s edgy warrior-woman looks, I’m hoping he’ll surprise us with something new in his collection! The judges are waiting for him to design something different as well. It’s been a while (since Chloe Dao in season two) that an Asian-American landed in the top three of Project Runway. Go Andy!
Don’t forget to catch the next episode (Finale Part 1) on Thursday, October 21 at 9pm on Lifetime!
I remember religiously watching Project Runway with my fashion-forward friend and talking about it the following afternoon during our AP Art History class in high school. (In fact, Anthony, if you are reading this, this is dedicated to you). I’ve unfortunately been out of the loop with reality TV, but will be making time to tune in for the return of fashion divas and divos, Tim Gunn’s famous pursed-finger-tapping-on-lips, and the origin of East Coast fabulousity we call New York.
Project Runway returns to Lifetime on July 29 (that’s tonight!) for season 8!
From left: Nicholas D'Aurizio, Ivy Higa and Casanova, the next contestants on season 8 of Project Runway. Photo courtesy of Lifetime.
And this time, PR is featuring 30-year-old Ivy Higa. Originally from Seoul, and later relocated to New York via Hawaii (whew!), Higa has made it as a contestant for this season’s show. With Asian-inspired pieces, the collection she presented during the casting call was a wardrobe full of versatile, Japanese-inspired pieces and even a new print that was inspired by spattered blood. She says her inspirational designers, Issey Miyake and Consuelo Castiglioni, have had a significant impact in her work and is a self-proclaimed scarf, bag and pocket junkie.
She may seem soft-spoken but there’s a fierceness and coolness to her work. So for all you fashion-starved Heidi Klum-ites, be sure to tune in for the season premiere tonight!
