Anne Eustis Pepper Stewart (August 23, 1964 – November 12, 2017), known as Wendy Pepper, was a
fashion designer who appeared on the first season of the
reality television
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 ...
show ''
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 ...
'', which aired on Bravo from December 2004 through February 2005. She was also a contestant on the second season of Project Runway All Stars.
Early life and education
Pepper was born in Dayton, Ohio and lived in the town of
Middleburg, Virginia
Middleburg is a town in Loudoun County, Virginia, United States, with a population of 673 as of the 2010 census. It is the southernmost town along Loudoun County's shared border with Fauquier County.
Middleburg is known as the "Nation's Horse ...
. She graduated from
The Madeira School
The Madeira School (simply referred to as Madeira School or Madeira) is an elite, private, day and boarding college-preparatory school for girls in McLean, Virginia, United States. It was established in 1906 by Lucy Madeira Wing.
History
Or ...
in 1982 and then attended the University of Washington in Seattle, earning a degree in anthropology. While in college, Pepper studied abroad in Nepal and began to sew carpets with local Nepali women. This sparked her interest in design and working with fabric. She returned home and continued to learn more about textiles, fabric-painting, and quilting.
''Project Runway''
Runway clothes
Pepper won two of the challenges, with her design for the
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 c ...
challenge and the Grammy dress for
Nancy O'Dell
Nancy O'Dell (born Nancy Evelyn Humphries; 1966) is an American television host and entertainment journalist. She served as co-anchor of the syndicated entertainment news show ''Entertainment Tonight'' from January 3, 2011, to August 2, 2019.
E ...
. Her win in the Banana Republic challenge allowed her dress to be sold in select Banana Republic stores in the United States as well as online. Her dress sold out within three hours online and within two days in stores. As a result of her win in the Grammy dress challenge, O'Dell wore an altered version
of Pepper's dress to the 2005
Grammy Awards, despite some expressed reservations from the judges. She also had noticeable failures, including her outfit for the Innovation challenge and her dress for the Envy challenge.
Fashion Week
As a finalist on Project Runway, Pepper was given the opportunity to display her "Thrill of the Hunt" fashion collection to a large audience at
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 ...
. She stated it was the second most important day of her life after the birth of her daughter. She came in third in the final competition, with
Jay McCarroll
Jay McCarroll (born October 11, 1974) is a fashion designer who gained fame after winning the debut season of the competitive reality show ''Project Runway'' in 2005.
Career
McCarroll lists Alexander McQueen as his favorite designer. He origin ...
winning.
Post-''Runway'' activities
After ''Project Runway'', Pepper opened her own store in Middleburg, Virginia and continued to work with individual clients. Soon after the show ended, Wendy and her second husband (Robert Downing) separated. She told the ''New York Post'' that her experience on television had changed her and "it was difficult for my husband to sort of come along for that step."
Pepper continued to garner media attention. She appeared on the front page of ''The Georgetowner'' magazine in Washington, D.C., in the ''New York Post'', ''The Washington Post'', ''Loudoun Magazine'', ''Middleburg Eccentric'', and ''Factio''. She took part in two other Bravo television shows: ''
Celebrity Poker Showdown
''Celebrity Poker Showdown'' is an American celebrity game show that aired on the cable network Bravo. It was a limited-run series in which celebrities played poker, with eight tournaments during its five-season run.
In each show, five celebrit ...
'' and ''
Battle of the Network Reality Stars
''Battle of the Network Reality Stars'' is an American television series that aired on the Bravo cable network from August 17 until September 21, 2005. Based on the popular 1970s and 1980s television competition ''Battle of the Network Stars'', t ...
''. She also took part in the interview process for contestants for
season two of ''Project Runway''. She had a brief cameo appearance in Bravo's ''Project Jay'', an hour-long documentary on the winner of the first season of ''Project Runway''.
Pepper showed her debut line, outside of Project Runway, on April 11, 2006 in Washington, D.C. Her ready-to-wear line was shown at the 2007 Cleveland Fashion Week in Cleveland, Ohio.
Death
Pepper died on November 12, 2017, aged 53, in Washington D.C. She died from complications of pneumonia after battling cancer for several months.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pepper, Wendy
1964 births
2017 deaths
American fashion designers
American women fashion designers
Burials at Oak Hill Cemetery (Washington, D.C.)
Deaths from cancer in Washington, D.C.
Deaths from pneumonia in Washington, D.C.
Madeira School alumni
People from Dayton, Ohio
People from Middleburg, Virginia
Project Runway (American series) participants