Jay McCarroll (born October 11, 1974) was the first designer to win the competitive reality show Project Runway in 2005. After winning he has appeared in Project Jay, Eleven Minutes, and VH1's Celebrity Fit Club. He has a blog and online fashion boutique, The Colony by Jay McCarroll.
Personality[]
Project Runway[]
Challenges Won[]
Jay became the first winner of Project Runway on February 23, 2005. He is also one of the few show winners to never win a challenge until the final runway show.
Challenges Lost[]
McCarroll obviously never lost a challenge but he was in the bottom on the final challenge (before the finale). The judges did not like the dress he made for Nancy O'Dell to wear to the Grammys, but luckily for Jay they sent Austin Scarlett home instead. Jay felt he didn't have enough time to create the dress he had originally envisioned and later revisited the concept which became the finale for his runway show.
Controversy[]
Jay is the only winner of Project Runway to decline the prize. He was awarded $100,000, a mentorship from Banana Republic, and a spot in the prestigious 2005 New York Fashion Week event. However, Jay turned down the money and the mentorship. He disagreed with a contractual clause that stipulated that the Project Runway production company would own a 10% stake of all his professional ventures in perpetuity.
Quotes[]
- "I didn't take the bitch's dye. That's fo' sho'!" - Vision
- "She bangs into like the room and she ARGHARGHARGHARGH!!!!!" - "Model" Clients
- "So now that I'm thinkin', I kinda want to sabotage her...no, if I was doing that, I'd be doing what Nora's making. (everyone laughs) Morgan, I covered your dress in roses..." - "Model" Clients
- "And you think, for the last challenge Wendy, you could've put lipstick on." - Design for the Red Carpet
- "I hope Tim has a fun time at Wendy's house...NOT! I wouldn't want to be trapped in Middleburg, Virginia with Wendy Pepper!" - Fashion Week
- "Oh listen honey, I've been there."
- "Take a Yoga class! My God!"
- "Vote for Jaysus!"
- "My cigarette is my savior. They should call them a pack of saviors."
- "When Tim said that we needed technical assistance and that he had someone to help us I instantly thought it was some like, Korean-speaking woman with like, eighteen fingers who was ready to just sew for us. But no, it was Rob...the monkey."
Career[]
Jay began his career in fashion in London, England. He moved to London to attend the London College of Fashion and after graduating sold his creations in the Camden Market. He then briefly moved to Amsterdam, where he sold his clothing, before moving back to the United States.
McCarroll struggled to get his name recognized, like many of the other designers before joining the first season of Project Runway. He eventually won and was awarded $100,000, a mentorship from Banana Republic, and a spot in the prestigious 2005 New York Fashion Week event. However, Jay turned down the money and the mentorship. He disagreed with a contractual clause that stipulated that the Project Runway production company would own a 10% stake of all his professional ventures in perpetuity.
In 2006, Bravo released a single hour long episode called Project Jay that reunited fans with the flamboyant designer. It features Jay, back in New York struggling to get financing for his next line. It ends abruptly with Jay in the hospital about to have surgery, leaving his line and his career up in the air.
McCarroll returned to Fashion Week on September 15, 2006, debuting his new collection, Transport. He said of the collection, "My new collection will take the fashion consumer to a higher plane of consciousness and encourage people to see fashion from a different perspective." The collection was sponsored by the Humane Society, reflecting his anti-fur stance. The The entire process of his designing, building, showing and attempts at selling his Transport line was documented in a feature film called Eleven Minutes, which debuted at the Philadelphia Film Festival on April 5, 2008.
Also in April of 2008, McCarroll launched his blog and online fashion boutique, The Colony by Jay McCarroll.
Jay now lives in Philadelphia where he teaches at Philadelphia University and has a fashion line on QVC. He has appeared on the PBS TV show, Quilting Arts, multiple times.
McCarroll also appeared in the VH1 series, Celebrity Fit Club, which he won on April 5, 2010. He had lost an amazing 40 pounds over the course of his time on the program. Jay's reaction to his huge weight drop, "I can wear Levi jeans! They didn't make my size before. And now I fit and I'm slowly going down in sizes."
Photo Gallery[]
- You can see photos of Jay here!
- You can see photos of Jay's Designs on Project Runway here!
- You can see photos of Jay's final runway show here!
- You can see photos of Jay's work after Project Runway here!
- You can see photos of Jay's line Transport here!