Portland fashion designer Gretchen Jones was trying on something new Friday morning -- her public status as winner of the eighth season of "Project Runway."
In what host Heidi Klum called "the toughest decision in 'Project Runway' history" during Thursday night's season finale, Jones edged out fellow designer Mondo Guerra. The show's judges -- Klum, Michael Kors, Nina Garcia and guest judge Jessica Simpson -- split over who should win; Klum and Simpson supported Guerra's colorful collection, while Kors and Garcia argued for Jones' bohemian pieces.
Her success comes on the heels of Vancouver's Seth Aaron Henderson's victory last season, and a win by former Portlander Leanne Marshall in season five. Another Portland designer, Janeane Marie Ceccanti, competed on "Project Runway" the season Henderson won. Such visibility may be raising Portland's national fashion profile. But Jones says to get her career to the next level, she needs to move to New York.
"I've been struggling here for five years now," Jones said Friday morning. She's in Portland until Sunday, when she will travel on a media junket for her "Project Runway" win. While being in Portland has allowed Jones -- who grew up in rural Colorado -- to "cultivate my aesthetic and point of view as a designer, I've also found other limitations."
"I have high ambitions for myself," she says, adding that she needs to learn how to build a business. "I need mentors of the likes of Michael Kors. I'm not going to be able to learn the things I need to learn without a network to pull from."
This season of "Project Runway" has been one of the most talked-about. Jones, 28, made a strong early impression, winning the first two challenges. As the season continued, she encountered bumpier times, notably in a team challenge that prompted Tim Gunn -- the designers' typically supportive adviser -- to chide her teammates for allowing Jones to "manipulate, control and bully" them.
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