The New York Fashion Week is among the events to watch out for on the global fashion calendar, so for 28-year-old designer Sandhya Garg to showcase her collection there was a big deal indeed. Sandhya’s showing at NYFW was courtesy her participation in the Heidi Klum-anchored design reality show, Project Runway, and it is strongly believed that she will feature among the top four finalists when the show reaches the end of its 13th season in October.
Sandhya, a NIFT and London School of Design alumnus, had studios in Noida and London, and was a big fan of Project Runway even before she moved to the US. She applied for Season 12 of the show, and finally made it to the latest, 13th season.
“Being part of such a big show and getting positive feedback from leading fashion industry professionals is a dream come true. The experience is like this surreal event that every designer hopes for. It’s been really encouraging,” says Sandhya of her journey on Project Runway.
Once on the show, she quickly rose to be a favourite with Heidi and the other judges — celebrated designer Zac Posen and fashion critic Nina Garcia — and the mentor to all contestants on Project Runway, Tim Gunn. However, while the judges loved the work she put in for the challenges every week, the episodes broadcast so far show that her fellow contestants weren’t exactly thrilled to have her in their midst and many who viewed the show felt that she had been relegated to “outsider” status by her peers.
Ask Sandhya what she loved about being on the show, and she says, “I loved the thrill of it, the challenges, the time constraints, difficult situations — everything. Being mentored by Tim Gunn, getting feedback from amazing judging panel — there are so many positives.” And she admits, “The difficult part was dealing with immature cast members.”
However, she chooses not to dwell too much on the negatives of the experience. “Yes, I did expect people to have sportsmanship spirit, at least in the beginning of the competition. But I do understand their behaviour now,” she explains. “In fact, now most of them are good friends.”
Sandhya says that her selection process for the show wasn’t as long drawn out as that for most of the other contestants, and that may just have something to do with her previous laurels — she was a gold medallist at NIFT, won several prestigious awards while a student at London College of Design and worked at design houses like Alexander McQueen and Alice Temperly.
While the learning from these experiences held her in good stead during the competition, what also helped are the insights she gleaned from the judges on the show. “To get feedback from them (Zac, Nina, Tim, Heidi) and not take it in is impossible. For me, the design process is very organic and personal, but their polished eye has added to my skill level,” she says.
For Sandhya, who was stitching clothes for her dolls and even designing little outfits for herself by the time she was 10, it seems like this is what she was working towards all along. “Even as a little girl, I was very interested in everything creative. When I was 10, one of my cousins was studying at NIFT and when I saw her working on her assignments, I knew right then — this is what I want to do for life,” Sandhya says.
“I grew up in a very loving and supportive family and they have not only helped me in working towards my dreams, but also encouraged me in every way possible. A lot of effort has been collectively put towards my work.”
So what comes next after Project Runway and New York Fashion Week? “I want to have a global presence for my label… It’s going to be more of selling and making new collections! To connect with people at a personal level is what I want to do with every collection; I want to trigger a memory, a feeling, a sense of belonging with every piece… The real work begins now.”
