Posts Tagged ‘Ben Chmura’

After successfully making it to top 6 contestants on season 7 of “Project Runway”, former Massachusetts College of Art student Maya Luz opted to leave the competition on Thursday night’s show. The elegantly creative 22 year old student had been experiencing a largely successful run on the show, landing in the “best 3” designs 6 out of 10 weeks, including the last 4 weeks in row, though she never won any of the challenges outright. Citing her youthful inexperience as a reason for contributing to her feelings of being overwhelmed by the pressures of the competition, Luz, who is originally from Santa Fe, New Mexico, was in fact the youngest competitor on this year’s show.

Luz, a  2009 graduate with a degree in Fashion Design, received honors from Gen Art, as a finalist in the Avant-Garde category for a Styles 2009 competition. At the insistence of one of her professors, Luz applied for and was cast in the 7th season of “Project Runway”. Filmed in New York City and hosted by supermodel Heidi Klum on the Lifetime network, this season commenced with 16 designers, which also originally included New Englanders 30 year-old Ben Chmura of South Meriden, Connecticut, and 47 year-old Pamela Ptak from Pittsfield, Massachusetts. Remaining in the competition is 29 year-old Jonathan Peters, from Woonsocket, Rhode Island, though his designs have landed him in the bottom 3 for the past 3 challenges in a row.

Click here to check out Maya Luz’s audition tape for “Project Runway”, filmed at the MassArt campus.