Interview with Project Runway season 7 designer Ben Chmura

Project Runway designer Ben Chmura is soothing. His voice sort of rumbles along like a a handful of purring tribbles. He has a manner to match. This is probably why we only just started to get enough screen time for us to have an idea of who he is. He's not a raucous character of the kind that feeds the camera with outlandish sound bites, charming or otherwise.

Back at the start of season 7 when I took a look at the new crop of designers, I fell in love with the robot lamps he showed in his home visit. With both of my design feet firmly planted in similar waters, I  was eager to see what this science fiction and comic book aficionado would bring to Project Runway.

Ben Chmura had been drawing since he was one, well before he began his career as a "sequential art major" — which is college code for comic book artist. What he found while immersed in this major was that he loved not actually the drawing, but the designing. College can be a time for huge discoveries for many of us. I know of only a handful of people that ended up with the degree they entered under. As with many comic book artists, Ben had costuming and fashion friends. It was through these folks that he realized he needed to join the ranks of those that changed majors.

He ended up with an BFA from Savannah College of Art and Design in 2001. He went on to win Creative Loafing's 'Best of the Bay' award in Tampa for Best Local Clothing Designer in 2007. His clothes still show his comic book roots. To be sure, for most people, this would not be a thing to aspire to. Ben's work, however, is not full of leotards and capes. It is full of interesting details and takes on things that would quite possibly never find their way into the looks from a more mainstream-inspired designer. "Once I got into my first intro to fashion class, with my professor Natalie, she was the one that really opened my eyes to it. I had a whole new, new-found love for fashion, and i wanted to do menswear initially, and later on, I started doing my women's collection." Ben's fashions lines have drawn from such varied sources as the cult classic Mad Max and venomous snakes, both belying his comic book and science fiction roots.

His 'Venom' collection was his most well-received. "I sold a couple of those. The hard part with that collection is that most of the dresses were made custom for the models because they had to fit well for the show. So that's been a little bit of a hard part. That's probably been one of the the collections that I have gotten the most notoriety from, though. Everyone seems to like the concept, and I have a lot of women that will come over to try them on just to see if they can, you know, wear it, and they always have their fingers crossed. That's exciting 'cause it is one of my favorite collections that I have done, and the fact that people are so responsive to it is incredible." Knowing this, one can see exactly where his losing 'Great White' look came from. It's kin to his snake collection.

This season was Ben's third bid to be on Project Runway. Most of his time was spent "safe," in the middle of the pack. It was his bid to not 'play it safe' that brought him to his auf. "I had a great run. I was really proud of myself with the Marie Claire challenge. Up to this point I feel that i did represent myself in a fair way and showed the world that I do have something to offer to the fashion community. We all make mistakes. That's the way I have to look at it, and I took a huge gamble, and sometimes it works. That's how I look at it,"

Certainly the gamble worked out, even if it did not win him the top prize. He was in the top three for the Marie Claire challenge, and he got the prize he that he was really aiming for. "The ultimate goal for me was to try to get the opportunity to show at Bryant Park. That's the opportunity of a lifetime. Winning the money and all that is great, and winning the competition is amazing, but for me the exposure of Bryant Park, it's timeless, for somebody who is just starting out in the industry."

It seems that the 10 decoy lines were not in Lifetime's original plan. It's a bit of good luck for Ben and a goodly portion of his cast mates that Lifetime made the decision to do such a massive cover. "Bryant Park was phenomenal. When i got the phone call I think it was September or October. We all started getting phone calls. They were saying 'we're pretty sure but we'll let you know in a couple of weeks.' I got the phone call, and they told me they were overnighting me a check."  I can't imagine the shock of such a lucky break. From the photos, all I can say is that I am glad that we got to see Ben's eclectic work. We certainly did not get to see it while he was on the show.

As for Mr. Chmura's future plans, he's still looking to move form Tampa to NYC, but he's decided to take it slow. He says that he "really wants the opportunity to work with an established designer again, and learn  more of the business aspect, and get more of a solid footing as far as how to run a business." Sounds like a good plan to me, but I hope we don't have to wait too long! We'd like to see more of his avant-guarde science fiction fashions! He's "planning to do something for fashion week in September in New York. We're kinda just seeing how it all plays out. More than likely I won't be showing at Fashion Week In Tampa Bay. I'll just be there in attendance as a guest for them."

Hopefully his new line for New York City will draw as firmly upon his comic book roots as his Project Runway line did. His unique fusion of media geek and fashionista is fresh and fun. It's a fashion point of view that, once seen and heard (like tribbles), is difficult to put down.