#michael costello

PFW’s ties to “Project Runway” are evident; in the last few years we’ve shown collections from Seth Aaron and Jay Nicolas Sario and this year added Becky Ross and Bryce Black to the lineup.  It’s no wonder we’ve had our eye on “Project Runway All Stars”, which, if you’re keeping track, PFW designer Michael Costello has been killin’ it with two wins under his belt. Take a look at the past two weeks winning and losing designs before tuning in this week.

Episode #3 challenged designers to create a cocktail dress for Miss Piggy.  This prompted such burning questions as “Can I sex up Miss Piggy?” and “How does a pig feel about wearing giraffe print?”.

Episode 3 Winner: Michael Costello  

Episode 4 most notably included Diane Von Furstenberg as judge and asked designers to create a gelato-inspired frock in under six hours

Episode 4 Winner: Michael Costello and his grapefruit dream

Tune in to Lifetime Thursday @9pm to watch the all-stars search for muses on the streets of NYC.

-Sarah Kiley  

I’ve been a Project Runway enthusiast since season 1, and though my interest waxes and wanes based on design talent, you can ALWAYS count on Heidi, Kors, Garcia and Tim Gunn to provide entertainment and wax philosophical on an otherwise uninspired episode. Doing prep for this past October’s Portland Fashion Week, I caught wind that Michael Costello would be featured on an upcoming “All Stars” edition of Project Runway– I was pumped! Maybe now some of the rightful winners will get another shot! Maybe some of the designers that were a hare too green would come back and flourish! Maybe a concentration of tried and true talent working alongside each other would translate into a creative commune uptopia of fashion!

Episode one billed the selected “all star” designers as “the most daring and controversial” and also “the best vs. the best”, though I think those descriptions may be mutually exclusive. I was relieved to see Michael Costello and Mondo Guerro revealed first– two designers that proved strong competiton in season 8. As the designers arrived one by one, each talked of bringing their A-game and being ready to prove themselves. I have to admit, I was shocked and a little disappointed to see that ALL judges and the host have been replaced. I can kind of buy their explanation that it’s to “clean the slate”, but theirs were the voices of alternating reason/comfort and disdain that we came to know and love!

Regardless of the hosts, the talent is definitely there this season. Check out the winning and losing looks from the first two episodes:

Tune in to Lifetime tonight @9pm to watch the all-stars outfit Miss Piggy. Really.

-Sarah Kiley 

Bryce Black

Cardiwrap

Helen Sharp

Jay Nicolas Sario

Michael Costello

-Sarah Kiley

Designer Michael Costello may be best known for being a finalist on Project Runway’s eighth season, but his path to Portland Fashion Week started long before that. Costello opened his own boutique at a mere fifteen years old and went on to intern for the legendary Bob Mackie. Having outfitted the likes of Toni Braxton, Mary J. Blidge and Selma Hayek, his next gig will be returning to Project Runway for their All-Star competition– a distinction he rightfully owns.

Before admiring his couture through your flatscreen, you can check out Michael Costello’s designs in person at Portland Fashion Week’s October 8th runway show.  Costello will be debuting his highly anticipated resort wear collection described as “effortlessly chic”– exactly what resort wear should be.

Michael Costello will launch his resort 2012 collection at Portland Fashion Week on Saturday, October 8 alongside fellow Project Runway alum, Jay Sario and Portland’s own Bryce Black.

Click here to purchase tickets 

Doors @ 6pm / Show seating @ 8pm
5555 N. Channel Ave., Swan Island
Portland, OR 97217

-Sarah Kiley