An Interview with Project Runway Contestant and Designer Jake Wall

September 6, 2015

[x_section style=”margin: 0px 0px 0px 0px; padding: 45px 0px 0px 0px; “][x_row inner_container=”true” marginless_columns=”false” bg_color=”” style=”margin: 0px auto 0px auto; padding: 0px 0px 0px 0px; “][x_column bg_color=”” type=”1/4″ style=”padding: 20px 20px 10px 20px; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 1px; “][x_text class=”center-text “]by Doris Hobbs, Contributing Style Editor[/x_text][/x_column][x_column bg_color=”” type=”3/4″ style=”padding: 0px 0px 0px 0px; “][x_text]Asking a designer such as Jake Wall to explain his experience from a prior episode of Project Runway may give you more than you expect.

Atop an urban shopping destination centrally located in San Francisco, fashion enthusiasts and leaders within the industry gathered to partake in a Bespoke demo event. Host Marybeth La Motte of RedCarpetSF seamlessly interviewed Jake Wall, Co-Founder & Creative Director of JAKE, one of this season’s contestants in the widely popular reality show, Project Runway. With the stage styled, which included Jake himself wearing a fashioned ensemble including his lounge-inspired tuxedo pants made from Japanese denim materials and a beloved thrift tee accented with a grey Lanvin sneaker – a marked departure from his tailored suit-sets, Jake set the tone around becoming inspired by your surroundings as one designs for his or her environment.

After the event, I had a chance to sit down with Jake and learn more about his experience and what the future holds for him.

[x_custom_headline type=”center” level=”h2″ looks_like=”h4″ accent=”true”]1-on-1 with Jake Wall [/x_custom_headline]

Jake Wall photo courtesy of Project Runway

In what could be considered as an event channeling a season of unexpected, defiant twists in character, from unjustified editing sequences, Season 14 of Project Runway has kept fashion mavens engaged and wanting more by using a dose of uncharted suspense. From an episode which portrays an unwilling, belittling persona, the truth of the matter was exposed as Jake explained, “We are now four episodes in, we’re still reeling from the episode three team challenge, with that said I think some people don’t work well together as the show didn’t help portray how difficult it was to work with Lindsay. I work in a team all the time, I love working with people and I will profoundly say that’s the beauty of a team – it works when you all work.” He is specifically referring to designer Lindsay Creel a recent team-challenge member. Despite what one may call a sudser episode, Jake takes stride from his oil and water experience without a forced weight.

While his design process hasn’t altered from its original tailored measure, the JAKE brand has however seen a vast amount of paper in the workroom — there is a lot you can do with paper. “We really do try to have different types of unconventional challenges around the office as a creative moment keeping things fresh,” said Jake. This being one of the fundamentals he has taken from Project Runway, his brand has stayed consistent from an entrepreneurial standpoint.

Project Runway may not be a new frontier for Jake. Before evolving as what many acknowledge him as today, a successful career in Internet marketing for what he quotes as a “destination unknown” played through in 2010. While exploring the lost art of bespoke tailoring, which was introduced during a trip to Hong Kong, a life altering apprenticeship evolved. “Before Project Runway, we were part of Artful Gentlemen, and after our emergence from Project Runway we are now the JAKE brand, where we are making our designs more welcoming to both men and women as we are sixty percent men and forty percent female as a clientele,” Jake states. While his collection may seem to consist robustly of menswear, you will discover a familiar array of athletic sparkle from episode four, the Mary Kay ‘City Modern’ challenge. Jake has brought to the website his sequin mini-dress entitled City Moderne, Sport Cocktail Capsule Collection.

From thoughts about those real-life design challenges that played through each week, it’s hard to not wonder where Jake might be without his business partner, Nathan Johnson. “We have really built this from the ground up together, as finding the right business partner is a very difficult thing,” he says. “I couldn’t have a better business partner to shoulder the weight.” Having met Nathan through one of their college professors in 2012, Artful Gentlemen was founded, which would later be known as JAKE. While Nathan and Jake possess two different style aesthetics, somehow they have learned a lot from one another.

As for the fate of Jake’s fame on Project Runway, it awaits the judges’ final word. But one thing will remain despite the outcome — Jake’s designs will continue to leave a lasting impression with his growing clientele, only leaving this experience to fuel the brand’s transformation for the upcoming 2016 year ahead.

[bctt tweet=”Get to know #DesignerJake, one of the talented designers from this season of @ProjectRunway”]

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I also had a chance to attend another Project Runway party for Jake. Here are some of the pictures from that lovely gathering.