The Most Elegant Man in the Room
"A reality show about fashion?? That sounds horrible!"
Tim Gunn shared his famous last words with a packed auditorium last night at the Corcoran, a nostalgic homecoming for this former student and administrator of the school. I've yet to meet a Project Runway fan who doesn't adore Gunn and his witty mentoring of the show's designers, and his lecture did not disappoint.
Though some listeners may have been slightly disheartened to hear very few words on the Emmy-nominated Bravo series — even with the season three finale in two weeks! — Gunn still had the audience hanging on his every word, from his poignant description of himself as an anti-social child "who wasn't good at anything," to his mother's hilarious reaction when he was offered the role on Runway ("But you're so old!"). With self-deprecation, humor, and the wisdom that comes from playing many roles in life, he described the path that led to his position as the Chair of Fashion Design at Parsons The New School for Design and his newfound celebrity.
With his reverence for the Corcoran and the D.C. arts scene, and his successful career even before Runway, it's shocking that Gunn has never been asked back as a commencement speaker, because last night's lecture could have been a prime example of one of the great ones. Most of the turns in his life have been completely unexpected, such as discovering his skill at architectural sculpture (yes, he's a sculptor, too) through a senior project he initially resisted. Eventually he embraced the unpredictable nature of life and, later, as a teacher and mentor, encouraged his students to put aside their hesitations and take risks — the only way of discovering true talent and opportunity.
It was the confidence gained at the Corcoran that enabled him to transform Parsons from a "sleepy school" to the mecca of Fashion it is today. Gunn explained that the school had essentially become a dressmaking factory, holding over anachronistic lessons from fifty years ago. He wiped the slate clean, challenging faculty and eliminating the long-standing senior project, which was more-or-less a hand-holding internship designed to mold the students into a scene that already existed. Gunn gathered the juniors and told them they were no longer getting free walks to entry level jobs at Donna Karen, but would instead design their own line. Both shocked and excited, the students were told, naturally, to "make it work."
Though matriculation rates dropped to staggering lows, the students were finally challenged and some put forth amazing shows. The first year, Barneys bought a student's line right off the runway, and that was only a taste of things to come for future Parsons seniors.
Then the Bravo producers came a-callin'.
Gunn explains his fortuitous casting came about when the producers asked if he thought it was possible to make a wedding dress in two days. Unlike the other contenders, who gasped at the mere thought, he shrugged and said, if you tell them to do it, they'll just have to do it. Firmly believing that more constraints require more creativity, the Project Runway style challenges are right up Gunn's alley, and if you've seen the show, you know he's right.
One of Tim Gunn's most refreshing qualities is his firm grasp on reality. When asked if "celebrity is all it's cracked up to be," he humbly noted that he's enjoying every minute of it, but knows it will disappear as fast as it came to him. After the lecture, he happily signed autographs and posed for pictures, and gave some encouragement to the 13-year-old who's been interested in fashion since the womb ("read Vogue"). One thing's for sure, those of us who developed crushes on the poised, handsome mentor with the advice that's never wrong, have actually found a celebrity who's even more incredible in real life.