MEET THE DESIGNERS:
Who: AMANDA VALENTINE
Age: 31
Hometown: Lincoln, NE
Current: Nashville, TN
Favorite designers: Isabel Marant, Yves Saint Laurent, Balmain, Alexander Wang
Style icon: Cindy Crawford (1994 House of Style Cindy)
School: The University of Nebraska with a degree in clothing and textile design
Misc: brother is in Maroon 5
Who: BENJAMIN MACH
Age: 35
Hometown: Sydney, AUS
Current: London
Favorite designers: Madame Gres, Madeleine Vionnet, Cristobal Balenciaga
Style icon: The woman who appreciates his design and wears it well
School: Sydney Institute of Technology
Misc: worked with Marchesa in London
Who: CINDY MARLATT
Age: 59
Hometown: Kent, Wash.
Current: Kent, Wash.
Favorite designers: Joseph Altuzarra
Style icon: Michelle Obama
School: Art Institute of Seattle
Misc: funeral director for 20 years
Who: DANIEL ESQUIVEL
Age: 48
Hometown: Austin, Texas
Current: Austin, Texas
Favorite designers: Wes Gordon
Style icon: Sarah Jessica Parker
School: self-taught
Who: EMILY POLLARD
Age: 24
Hometown: Richfield, Ohio
Current: Falls Church, VA
Favorite designers: Gareth Pugh, Haider Ackermann, Ann Demeulemeester, Yoji Yamamoto
School: Savannah College of Art and Design – fashion and graphic design
Misc: likes to make her own fibers
Who: JAMES MARTINEZ
Age: 29
Hometown: Dallas, Texas
Current: Dallas, Texas
Favorite designers: Viktor & Rolf, Valentino
Style icon: Lenny Kravitz
School: unknown
Misc: fashion line called Barron & J
Who: JOSEPH AARON SEGAL
Age: 30
Hometown: Framingham, Mass.
Current: Providence, RI
Favorite designers: JC de Castelbajac, Walter Van Beirendonck, Lanvin
Style icon: Grace Jones, Leigh Bowery, Prince
School: UMass, Amherst—BFA in painting & art history; Rhode Island School of Design– MFA in textile design
Misc: teaches at RISD, clothing lines Pretty Snake and WORLD of JAS
Who: KATELYN PANKOKE
Age: 23
Hometown: Parkland, Fla.
Current: Chicago
Favorite designers: Alberta Feretti, Marchesa, Alexander McQueen
Style icon: Grace Kelly
School: Florida State University — Apparel Design and Technology program
Misc: owner and creative director of Elaya Vaughn Bridal
Who: LAYANA AGUILAR
Age: 28
Hometown: Valadares, Brazil
Current: New York
Favorite designers: Alexander McQueen, Givenchy, Balmain, Marchesa
Style icon: Kate Moss
School: Fashion Institute of Technology
Who: MAT ARTHUR
Age: 30
Hometown: Hammond, LA
Current: New Orleans
Favorite designers: Alexander McQueen, Nicolas Ghesquière, Marc Jacobs
Style icon: Kelly Bundy
School: college degree for journalism; self-taught designer
Who: MICHELLE LESNIAK FRANKLIN
Age: 34
Hometown: Portland, Ore.
Current: Portland, Ore.
Favorite designers: Bottega Venetta, Marc Jacobs, Alexader McQueen Derek Lam
Style icon: Auntie Mame
School: self-taught
Misc: worked in Oregon wine industry
Who: PATRICIA MICHAELS
Age: 46
Hometown: Taos, NM
Current: Taos, NM
Favorite designers: Tom Ford, Prada, Diesel, Balenciaga, Coco Channel
Style icon: Debbie Harry, Anna Wintour, Audrey Hepburn
School: Chicago Art Institute and the Institute of American Indian Arts
Misc: first Native American to appear on Project Runway
Who: RICHARD HALLMARQ
Age: 40
Hometown: Sacramento, Calif.
Current: Sacramento, Calif.
Favorite designers: Maison Martin Margiela
Style icon: Grace Jones
School: u/k—degree in Fashion Design and Marketing
Misc: works as Director of Marketing
Who: SAMANTHA BLACK
Age: 28
Hometown: Bronx, New York/ Fairfield, Conn.
Current: Brooklyn, New York
Favorite designers: Alexander McQueen, Balmain
Style icon: Lisa Bonet, Grace Jones, Madonna
School: first of her family to graduate from college
Who: TU NAKCHAT
Age: 26
Hometown: Chacheangsao, Thailand
Current: Springfield, Virginia
Favorite designers: Cristobal Balenciaga, Dries Van Noten, Maison Martin Margiela
Style icon: Queen Sirikit, Carine Roitfeld, Nicole Richie and Lady Gaga
School: Parsons School of Design and Paris American Academy
Who: STANLEY HUDSON
Age: 45
Hometown: Pomona, Calif.
Current: West Hollywood, Calif.
Favorite designers: Balenciaga, Alexander McQueen, Yves Saint Laurant, Halston
Style icon: Halston
School: OTIS and Parsons
Misc: eight siblings
Project Runway Season 11—Teams Edition
Premieres Thursday January 24 on Lifetime
Hosted by supermodel Heidi Klum
Mentored by Liz Claiborne Chief Creative Officer Tim Gunn
judges Nina Garcia and featured judge Zac Posen
