If you’re like most of America, and especially the South, you fell in love with Project Runway’s Season 3 contestant Mychael Knight. His sexy and feminine designs paired with his charming and genuine personality won him the honor of Season 3’s Fan Favorite, and a $10,000 prize. But now that Project Runway is in its 7th season, reality TV cameras are following other budding designers to Mood Designer Fabrics, making a place for other Fan Favorites in our hearts. So what has Mychael Knight been up to since 2007? Plenty.
Mychael has a new fragrance, a new website and a new collection – he’s been a very busy man. His new collection, which he will be debuting at Charleston Fashion Week in March, is for a woman who loves to celebrate her body. “You’ve heard the expression ‘a man’s man’? Well, my line is for a woman’s woman,” says Knight. He designed it for a sexy, confident woman who isn’t aggressive, but definitely takes charge. His inspiration? Mychael gives three words: Freedom, power, and authority. Mychael attests that he’s “eternally grateful” for the opportunities Project Runway afforded him, but admits that he kind of lost himself trying to be the same “Project Runway Mychael” that fans wanted when the show ended. Then one day while perusing the Internet, Mychael came across the phrase “carte blanche,” which means “blank check” in French. His first thought was “Man, I’d like to write myself a blank check!,” but found another meaning that stirred him. “Total authority to do what you want – that inspired me…complete control over my life, my career, completely and utterly Mychael Knight and where I am right now.”
As for Mychael’s fragrance, MajK, available on his website, the name stems from his initials. “It’s like a little bottle of magic,” he laughs. “It’s unisex – something for everyone,” adds Mychael. A self-professed fragrance collector, Mychael didn’t just slap his name on a bottle. He took the time to study notes and find out which ones go best with each other, which only furthered his passion. And here’s a tip from the scent’s creator that he discovered in his research: “Men like fruity notes on women, but they don’t go for floral, so remember that!”
Mychael’s passion for designing runs very deep as well. When asked what he’s influenced by, Mychael says his parents without a pause. “They encouraged me when I was younger,” adding they did whatever they could to help him reach his dreams. But with a dad in the military and a mom in the medical field, Mychael wasn’t exposed to fashion as a child. He had it within himself at a young age though – around age 8 he began sketching designs, adding “it was like I was pre-destined to do it.” He took classes in high school, majored in fashion design in college at Georgia Southern University, then moved to Atlanta to make his start. “I didn’t want to do retail, but Atlanta has a huge music industry,” said Knight. “So I thought ‘I’ll become a fashion stylist.’” Mychael would bring his own clothing designs to photo shoots for clients to wear - it was a great way for him to get celebrities wearing his clothes, and the public interested in them. R&B group Jagged Edge gave Mychael his first job in 2002, and he’s since worked with Queen Latifah and Ciara, to name a few.
Working in Atlanta as a stylist and designer has its advantages. “People think it’s easier in New York but I think it’s harder. You have the industry there, and the garment district, but you’re one in a sea of many – the competition is much greater,” says Knight. If you can stand out as a designer in a city like Atlanta, that isn’t a big fashion capital, you get noticed. However, “you can’t just take stuff to the garment district here…we have one good fabric store here in Atlanta,” adds Knight. His dream for Atlanta is to create a fashion industry for the city.
Mychael encounters more challenges as he does most of his business’ operation himself. “I’m a man of many hats,” he says. As a small company, Mychael is basically his own brand manager, financier, legal department, and assistant, along with cutting and sewing his designs. “Luckily, it’s complete effort, but it’s not a lot of thought,” he says. The past 3 months Mychael has been working on his 2010 collection, so a typical day entails waking up at 4:30, hitting the gym until around 6:00, getting a shower, dressing, and “basically sewing the whole day until midnight.” Some days he also has to consult with clients, go to the fabric store, lecture at schools or meet with celebrity clients. “It’s never the same,” he adds, “which is why I love what I do.”
Mychael’s new 20 piece collection should echo his favorite part of his job: “Making a woman look amazing!” He enjoys the way a woman just “melts into a gown,” letting you see her curves and lines. “I love when a woman wears a dress; it’s not wearing her,” he says. Mychael graciously shared some secrets of his new line, saying the only consistency with it was inconsistency. “It’s a harmonious set with a blank color palette – the first half of the movement is black on black, the second half of the movement is white on white,” he says. “I’ve been amazing myself…I didn’t know I could construct like that,” adds Knight. This new direction of his designs is sure to bring him and Charleston Fashion Week plenty of attention. He sites Gianni Versace as a big influence, for his philosophy of just making women feel and look sexy. More recently, he’s a fan of Donna Karan’s sexy and functional designs and Elie Saab’s mastery of modern, seductive and smart dresses. On whether Mychael’s seen Elie Saab’s latest couture show in Paris, he says he tends not to look at other designers when he’s doing a collection. “I have a bunch of podcasts from the shows to catch up on though, so I can’t wait.”
Mychael states he’s honored to be a part of Charleston Fashion Week this year. Come see his new line for yourself next month, March 16-20, 2010 in Charleston’s Marion Square.
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Comments
Great piece on Mychael! The links you included helped me with a story I wrote on SoulTrain.com :)
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