Tim Gunn
Tim Gunn
Timothy MacKenzie "Tim" Gunnis an American fashion consultant, television personality, actor, and voice actor. He served on the faculty of Parsons The New School for Design from 1982 to 2007 and was chair of fashion design at the school from August 2000 to March 2007, after which he joined Liz Claiborne as its chief creative officer. He is well known as on-air mentor to designers on the reality television program Project Runway. Gunn's popularity on Project Runway led to 2...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionTV Show Host
Date of Birth29 July 1953
CountryUnited States of America
When someone new walks into a room, the first thing we notice about that person is probably their gender. And the second things is what they're wearing. And based on what they're wearing, we start making certain assumptions about them.
My manners also came from when I was in college and began participating in critiques. You have to speak with someone respectfully about their work and be honest and open, without hurting them.
I have a very Socratic approach - I pummel the designers with questions, so when I get them to step back from the work and look at it with me, they'll eventually see what I see, coming to it fresh and unencumbered. That's always very gratifying because they feel a responsibility and an ownership of a solution.
As I continue to mature and navigate the world, there are so many myths that are dispelled for me.
I want to say to anyone who works in a drone workplace, raise the bar! There's no reason why you have to dress to the lowest common denominator.
It was very challenging to mentor the mentors, and yes, you do see more sides of my personality.
I've been in situations where I've said to young people: "You're so personable, you're so articulate, you're clearly so bright, you're so good-looking - feel better about yourself!" But if at the core if you don't, all those words mean nothing. Absolutely nothing.
Being a student in an art & design school, that was the moment for me, that was when I began to develop a lot of self-confidence and really come into my own.
But if fashion were easy, wouldn't everybody look great ?
It's so important to reach out to people you trust, and who can give you honest feedback, and keep those people close to you. You don't want to surround yourself with enablers.
Success needs to be measured according to the ambitions and the resources of each designer. And many aren't interested in being a megabrand.
The clothes we wear send a message about how the world perceives us.
I've never said I'm a fashion designer.
I will say that the high road can get so high that you can get a nose bleed, in which case you have to get off the high road.