YMI Obsessed

Project Runway is only a couple months away! Everyone’s favorite fashion show has said aufwiedersehen to Bravo and hello to Lifetime – its new home. In case ya’ll haven’t heard, the network has just launched a website for the new season.  There’s a lot of information on the site and it can be a bit overwhelming, so we’ve decided to do the dirty work for you. We watched all the designer interviews and looked at all of their previous collections. After some serious research, we’ve hand-picked the top three contestants to watch. We’ve got our money on these designers to make it to Bryant Park:

Irina Shabayeva

Age: 27
Hometown: New York, NY
Favorite Designer: Jean Paul Gaultier

Style Icons: Sophia Loren, Cleopatra, Queen Elizabeth

Tim’s Take: “Her models look as if they’ve been in for a dozen fittings,” he says, “and they haven’t.”

Our Take: This sassy Parsons graduate is definitely one to watch. She designs ultra-feminine with an Eastern-European twist.  Her jackets are to die for. She sites Cleopatra as a style icon which is refreshing, considering most of this season’s contestants named “Victoria Beckham” as their inspiration. Seriously folks? Anyhoo, Irina’s tops in our book. Check out her previous work to see what we mean:

Malvin Vien

Age: 24

Hometown: New York, NY
Favorite Designer: Himself
Style Icon: The farmers of rural China

Tim’s Take: “When you see this guy, you won’t believe he’s from Colorado,” Gunn says of Vien, who gets inspiration from Japanese ghost stories and insect anatomy.

Our Take: This guy is definitely a weirdo, and we’re a little irked by the fact that he lists himself as his favorite designer… Vien’s so vain! But it looks like he’s got the skills to pay the bills. At just 24, Malvin has proven he’s serious about fashion. Have a gander at his pre-Project Runway work:

Christopher Straub

Age: 30
Hometown: Shakopee, MN
Favorite Designers: Valentino, Zac Posen
Style Icon: Victoria Beckham

Tim’s Take: “Christopher is very sensitive, very emotional. He wears his emotions on his sleeve.”

Our Take: Judging from Tim’s comment, this guy is gonna be a crier. We’re hoping he’s just as loveable as season 2’s Andre. It seems Christopher has more to give than a river of tears – we did some extensive research and found his past work to be quite stunning! It looks like he’s come a long way since designing his first garment (a pair of clown pants – we’re not joking) at age 14. Feast your eyes his previous work:

So there you have it. We’re pretty sure these three will come out on top, but we’ll have to wait until August 20^th at 10PM to see the designers in action. We can’t wait for season 6 to start! Which contestants do you have your eye on?