Jay McCarroll (born October 11, 1974) is a

fashion designer Fashion is a form of self-expression and autonomy at a particular period and place and in a specific context, of clothing, footwear, lifestyle, accessories, makeup, hairstyle, and body posture. The term implies a look defined by the fashion in ...

who gained fame after winning the debut season of the competitive

reality show Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 19 ...

Project Runway ''Project Runway'' is an American reality television series that premiered on Bravo on December 1, 2004. The series focuses on fashion design. The contestants compete with each other to create the best clothes and are restricted by time, mater ...

'' in 2005.

Career

McCarroll lists

Alexander McQueen Lee Alexander McQueen CBE (17 March 1969 – 11 February 2010) was a British fashion designer and couturier. He founded his own Alexander McQueen label in 1992, and was chief designer at Givenchy from 1996 to 2001. His achievements in fashion ...

as his favorite designer. He originally hailed from the Back Mountain, Pennsylvania, area before moving to

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

to study at the

London College of Fashion The London College of Fashion is a constituent college of the University of the Arts London, in London, England. It offers undergraduate, postgraduate, short courses, study abroad courses and business-training in fashion, make-up, beauty-therap ...

. He lived in London selling clothes in

Camden Market The Camden markets are a number of adjoining large retail markets, often collectively referred to as Camden Market or Camden Lock, located in the historic former Pickfords stables, in Camden Town, London. It is situated north of the Hampstead R ...

after he graduated, and he sold clothing in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

before moving back to the U.S. Like the show's other participants, McCarroll was struggling to get recognition as a fashion designer before the show began airing on December 1, 2004, on the

Bravo Bravo(s) or The Bravo(s) may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music Groups and labels *Bravo (band), a Russian rock band * Bravo (Spanish group), represented Spain at Eurovision 1984 *Bravo Music, an American concert band music publishing company ...

cable television Cable television is a system of delivering television programming to consumers via radio frequency (RF) signals transmitted through coaxial cables, or in more recent systems, light pulses through fibre-optic cables. This contrasts with broa ...

network. When McCarroll won the show's first season, becoming the only winner so far to never win a challenge, he was awarded $100,000, a mentorship from

Banana Republic In political science, the term banana republic describes a politically unstable country with an economy dependent upon the export of natural resources. In 1904, the American author O. Henry coined the term to describe Honduras and neighboring ...

, and a spot in the prestigious 2005

New York Fashion Week New York Fashion Week (NYFW), held in February and September of each year, is a semi-annual series of events in Manhattan typically spanning 7–9 days when international fashion collections are shown to buyers, the press, and the general publ ...

event. However, Jay turned down the money and the mentorship, citing a contractual clause stipulating that the Project Runway production company would own a 10% stake of all his professional ventures in perpetuity. The company has since dropped this clause. In April 2008 McCarroll launched his blog and designer fashion boutique, The Colony by Jay McCarroll. After leaving New York, McCarroll now teaches at

Philadelphia University Thomas Jefferson University is a private research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Established in its earliest form in 1824, the university officially combined with Philadelphia University in 2017. To signify its heritage, the univer ...

and has a fashion line on QVC. McCarroll is a designer for Field of View winter guard in

West Chester, Pennsylvania West Chester is a borough and the county seat of Chester County, Pennsylvania. Located within the Philadelphia metropolitan area, the borough had a population of 18,461 at the 2010 census. West Chester is the mailing address for most of its neighb ...

. McCarroll has appeared numerous times on the

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...

TV show '' Quilting Arts''. In an episode aired on 5 April 2010, McCarroll won the seventh season of ''

Celebrity Fit Club ''Celebrity Fit Club'' is a reality television series that follows eight overweight celebrities as they try to lose weight for charity. Split into two competing teams of four, each week teams are given different physical challenges, and weighed t ...

'' on VH1, having lost 40 pounds over the course of his time on the program. In February 2020 McCarroll was employed in the wardrobe department of the television series ''

Mare of Easttown ''Mare of Easttown'' is an American crime drama limited series created and written by Brad Ingelsby for HBO. Directed by Craig Zobel, the series premiered on April 18, 2021, and concluded on May 30, 2021, consisting of seven episodes. It stars ...

'', coordinating clothing for background extras.

In the media

Since winning ''Project Runway,'' McCarroll has been interviewed by various media outlets, such as
The Village Voice
'. He spends part of his time living in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, working on his new projects and trying to strengthen his position as a designer. He helped pick contestants for the second season of ''Project Runway'', and filmed a one-hour documentary, ''

Project Jay A project is any undertaking, carried out individually or collaboratively and possibly involving research or design, that is carefully planned to achieve a particular goal. An alternative view sees a project managerially as a sequence of even ...

'', which focused on his attempts to establish himself after his win. The special first aired February 22, 2006, on Bravo. McCarroll returned to Fashion Week on September 15, 2006, debuting his new collection, ''Transport'', with a show under the prestigious tents. He explained, "My new collection will take the fashion consumer to a higher plane of consciousness and encourage people to see fashion from a different perspective." His collection was sponsored by the

Humane Society of the United States The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) is an American nonprofit organization that focuses on animal welfare and opposes animal-related cruelties of national scope. It uses strategies that are beyond the abilities of local organizations. ...

, reflecting hi
anti-fur stance
He also mentioned that this was his first showing since the first-season finale of ''

''. He changed the theme of his collection, which was initially inspired by the

Pet Shop Boys The Pet Shop Boys are an English synth-pop duo formed in London in 1981. Consisting of primary vocalist Neil Tennant and keyboardist Chris Lowe, they have sold more than 50 million records worldwide, and were listed as the most successful duo i ...

' 1986 hit "

West End Girls "West End Girls" is a song by English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys. Written by Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe, the song was released twice as a single. The song's lyrics are concerned with class and the pressures of inner-city life which were in ...

." The collection featured more of a futuristic theme and had both men's and women's looks. 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. It was reported on August 6, 2007, by ''The Daily 10'' on E! that McCarroll was homeless and relying on the kindness of friends who are allowing him to stay at their apartments. The reports turned out to be in error.

References

External links

*
Olympus Fashion Week
Jay McCarroll's Spring 2007 Collection
Fashion Wire Daily
Jay McCarroll's Spring 2007 Collection Reviewed
Jay McCarroll
shares his favorite NY places a
ontheinside.infoEleven Minutes
��official website of feature documentary on the making of his Spring 2007 Collection

featuring Jay McCarroll's blog {{DEFAULTSORT:McCarroll, Jay 1974 births American fashion designers LGBT fashion designers Living people Project Runway (American series) participants People from the Scranton–Wilkes-Barre metropolitan area Reality show winners Artists from Philadelphia