The Sheepdogs Play First-Ever ‘Project Runway’ Rock Concert
Last night on Project Runway, Rolling Stone cover contest winners The Sheepdogs got custom looks created for them in the design competition’s often-feared menswear challenge. Host Heidi Klum teased the task by saying, “Image is everything,” and mentor Tim Gunn went on to explain, “No magazine has had more covers showcasing the iconic style of musicians than Rolling Stone magazine.” (Thanks, Tim!). Adam Lambert, who knows a thing or two about image-defining stage looks, joined Klum and designer Michael Kors and Marie Claire fashion director Nina Garcia on the judges’ panel.
With four Sheepdogs to design for, the eight designers split into two teams of four; each member of the team then designed a look for one band member, so Ryan Gullen, Leot Hanson, Sam Corbett and Ewan Currie each wound up with two looks. In addition to the complications designers usually encounter during the menswear challenge (“It’s a bit more involved because of the fit and the tailoring,” explained one designer), the eight competitors faced varying degrees of difficulty riffing on the band’s retro aesthetic and incorporating their penchant for 70s-influenced patterns into a contemporary look.
When it came time for the runway, The Sheepdogs performed in the outfits in the show’s first-ever runway rock concert, testing the authenticity of their new looks against the band’s sound. The losing look was worn by Ewan – his designer, Oliver, was a menswear designer before coming on the show but had trouble designing for a man who wasn’t a mannequin and left the lead singer in a pair of ill-fitting white pants and an unfinished shirt. The winning outfit was Leot’s. His designer, Viktor, dressed him in a fringe faux leather jacket that looked far more expensive than it was, a patterned shirt and well-fitting distressed dark jeans. Leot’s look went on to be featured in an advertorials in Marie Claire magazine and Rolling Stone, plus worn at a Rolling Stone event.