Q&A: Project Runway Canada Season Two Winner Sunny Fong
Source: AOL
Posted: 04/15/09 10:16PM
Filed Under: Project Runway Canada
By CHRIS JANCELEWICZ
It seems that most people knew 32-year-old Sunny Fong was going to win this second season of Project Runway Canada right from the beginning – nearly everyone, at least, but Fong himself. Soft-spoken and seemingly shy, Fong was the frontrunner from day 1. He excelled in the zany challenges, floated above the occasional designer-house drama, and produced several beautiful, memorable garments.
As winner of Project Runway Canada, Fong wins $100,000 to start his own fashion line, a cover and feature spread in Elle Canada, a L'Oreal Paris professional portfolio photo shoot, and a business mentorship with Winners. AOL Canada sat down to talk with the up-and-coming designer, who was winding down from a long press day full of interviews.
So how does it feel to be the winner of 'PRC'?
I'm feeling really excited. I thought it would wear off in a couple of days, but no, I'm still excited.
What was the best part of the competition for you? What will you always remember about being part of the show?
Obviously winning is the best part. Other than that, I think when all the designers, earlier in the show, we actually had designer dinners – we would sit around in the designing room and chat and drink. That’s definitely one of the things I’ll remember most. We weren't all trying to compete against each other, we were more like friends.
Speaking of 'friends', how much of the animosity displayed on the show (Kim and Jessica, Jeff and Kim, etc.) was genuine, and what was edited in?
Whatever was shown on television is what happened. I mean, when some of that stuff came up on the show, nothing was a surprise to me...only when they showed the interviews, and I’d be like, 'Oh, I didn’t realize that happened so soon.’ Everything that happened was real. There was no acting involved.
Season 2 Contestants |
Oh, come on. You knew he was going to win this one from the beginning. Sunny was like the seasoned veteran in a competition of newbies. No one else's work held a candle to his - and it showed when he won a bazillion challenges in a row. Congrats, Sunny! You earned it. |
 1 of 14
PHOTOS |
You kind of stayed away from the various debacles that went on. Was that a deliberate strategy on your part?
Drama was starting to happen between the second and third challenge. I think I was friendly with everyone, mainly because I thought that no matter if I won or lost, I didn’t want to become an enemy. That was the last thing I wanted.
Was the drama the worst part of the competition to you? Or was it something else?
The worst part of the competition for me is finding out what other people thought about me. I’d be like, ‘Oh, I didn’t realize you thought that way about my designing.' You become friends with these people, so sometimes it’s hard to hear. It could be a shock.
Well, I think most of the things people said about you were about your consistency, and your ability to churn out a superior product. It was mainly jealousy, nothing about your personality. I mean, Jessica would say, ‘I hate you’, but you could tell it was just bitterness.
Yeah, Jessica was all playful and fun, but a few of the others – I didn’t realize it was such a big deal.
Was there any other contestant that you thought would make it to the top 3 but didn't?
I thought Baylor would. I mean, he left really soon. We won a challenge together, so I really didn’t think that would happen. He's really skilled, and he moves faster than I do. To see him go, that was a ‘wow’ moment for me. I was caught off-guard. After that, I realized that anything could happen.
Did you know on any level that you were going to win?
I had a feeling that I had a really good chance. Until it came out of Iman’s mouth, I wasn’t going to believe it.
Do you have a favourite garment from your final collection?
Oh, I love all the pieces. There are certain things about each one that I like, because I’ve learned technique from different garments. I wasn’t very familiar with draping, but I tried it out in one outfit for my final runway show. That piece, I started to play around with shapes and draping, and I’d never done it before. Another is the 'elephant dress' – that one turned out exactly the way I pictured it. That’s another one of my favourites.
Incidentally, is that real fur that you used?
Yes. [Laughs shamefully] It was some vintage fur that I picked up in Kensington Market. I know...it’s so borderline, I had never used fur before. I also wanted to add that luxury end to it, but still be nice to animals.
I guess, yeah, they were already dead.
Yeah, I gave them a second life.
On the show you came across as a nice, docile, friendly fellow. Is there another side to Sunny that we didn’t get to see?
I can be sort of wacky. Jessica and I get along with each other because we can be zany together. The one time I broke that persona was when I was impersonating Krusty the Clown to bug Jessica. I do a lot of that. I’m quiet when I’m working, but in terms of personality, I can party it up with everybody else.
What do you have planned for the near future? I’m thinking of planning a vacation. I want to go somewhere where I can be inspired. I have some places in mind. I was thinking Bora Bora, but then saw the prices. Somewhere warm.
Keep an eye out for Sunny Fong's new line in cities across Canada.
90 %
10 %
