At first glance Matt Sarafa appears to be the typical college 19-year-old. Although this student sports a Kylie Jenner Caliber Matte lip with a Givenchy handbag slung across his arm. Surprisingly, for a Project Runway Junior Alum, he actually followed that up with a starring turn on Lifetime’s famed design competition.
Sarafa competed on the show along with eleven other young designers under the guidance of judges Kelly Osbourn, Christian Siriano, Aya Kanai and hosts Tim Gunn and Hannah Davis. Placing first would have meant a full scholarship to the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising, a complete home sewing and crafting studio provided by Brother, a feature in Seventeen Magazine and a $25,000 cash prize to help launch the winner’s line. Though he was eliminated in week five, his bright personality and edgy designs quickly earned him the spot of fan favorite. Currently recognized as the YouTube beauty guru, Sarafa’s engagement with the fashion industry began at the tender age of seven when he was inspired by the very shownon which he would later compete.
“I was sitting on the couch, my mom had just had surgery and I was flipping through channels. We watched a couple marathons of Project Runway and I just instantly thought ‘Wow’. I’ve always really loved art since I was little so I went downstairs to grab my sketchbook and I started sketching all of these crazy elaborate designs. Eventually I moved on to actually creating those ideas and bringing them to life. I started taking sewing classes and here I am today!”
Before landing that treasured spot on Project Runway Junior, Sarafa was cast on another franchise favorite, Project Runway Threads. The series follows a new crop of teen designers each episode as they compete for a $10,000 craft store shopping spree, fashion school scholarship and a top-of-the-line sewing and embroidery studio. Sarafa explained
“It was just a one episode kind of thing and definitely wasn’t on the same level as Project Runway Junior, but to me it was a really good learning experience. It really did get me a little bit more familiar with the challenges and stress of competition.”
His stint on Threads pushed him forward to the role he most longed for, the opportunity to star on Project Runway.
“I had a really fun time doing Threads but I wanted to do an entire season. I wanted to be in it for the long haul so when I got the call about Project Runway Junior I was so ecstatic. It’s what I’ve wanted to do ever since that day I watched my first episode. Being on Project Runway Junior was 100 percent the best experience of my life so far. Not only did I spend the entire summer doing what I love, which is fashion, but I also got to meet some really amazing people.”
Since wrapping the first season of Project Runway Junior Sarafa has remained close with the other eleven contestants, crediting both his on-screen competition and the judges for pushing him forward as a designer. Of his pre-Project Runway aesthetic he explained:
“Before, I really loved haute couture kind of stuff that the everyday woman couldn’t really wear. Since the show I feel like I’ve been doing a little bit more ready-to-wear and I’m trying to merge those two worlds, bringing the high fashion element together with everyday street wear.”
At the center of Sarafa’s brand is an experimental, risk-taking spirit. His voice was full of enthusiasm as we discussed his style inspirations. He was quick to cite his favorite “bad bitch” Rihanna and avant-garde icon Lady Gaga as dream clients. For Sarafa, design is much more than making clothes. His drive is to make and evolve fashion itself and The Hot Me$$ Collection” has already begun to achieve that. The Project Runway Junior “unconventional challenge” is what first inspired that new line. Following a criticism made by judge Aya Kanai, Sarafa designed the graphic that would later become the key influence behind his collection. He described the project as a kind of “athleisure and edgy street-wear”.
Sarafa is now in his second semester as a UCLA Design and Media Art major with quite the resume for a college freshman. His “Hot Me$$ Collection” was released in September of 2016 and he’s already working on his second line to be released in 2017. With his YouTube beauty channel booming, Matt Sarafa is building his own fashion empire.
Creative Credits
- Written by
- Megan Schaltegger
- Styling
- Rachel Jimenez
- Styling
- Matt Sarafa
- Makeup Artist
- Matt Sarafa
- Photography
- Alissa Pagels
- Retouching
- Brianna Kish
