Finalista 22. sezone emisije Project Runway, Bi Pham, vratio se u Njujork tokom Nedelje mode, ovog puta u jednoj potpuno drugačijoj ulozi. Bio je deo editorijala koji je zabeležio trenutak u kojem se danas nalazi: iza takmičenja, okružen novom kreativnom zajednicom i potpuno fokusiran na izgradnju brenda Bi Element — imena i estetike koji će moći da se prepoznaju na prvi pogled.

Novinarka Brit Olivia, razgovarala je sa Bijeem o tome šta dolazi nakon Project Runway-a i, naravno, o njegovim aktivnostima tokom Njujorške nedelje mode.

Za Bi Phama moda nikada nije bila samo pitanje stvaranja nečeg lepog. Ona je način da naterate nekoga da zastane i pogleda još jednom. „Moda je za mene pripovedanje bez potrebe da izgovorite ijednu reč“, kaže Pham, dizajner iza brenda Bi Element (@bi_element). „To je način na koji komuniciram ideje, emocije, kulturu, humor, a ponekad i malo haosa.“

Taj instinkt odveo je Phama od Da Nanga u Vijetnamu, preko škole mode u Sjedinjenim Američkim Državama, do Diorovog njujorškog ateljea za vez, a zatim i do emisije Project Runway, gde je postao finalista 22. sezone.

Ovog septembra Pham se ponovo našao u Njujorku tokom NYFW-a. Ali ovog puta bio je s druge strane takmičenja — stvarao je editorijal sa modelima širom grada i ponovo se povezivao sa modnom zajednicom koja se oko njega proširila od njegovog učešća u emisiji.

Modeli Olivia Gear iz Irske, Brian Metcalf, filmski stvaralac iz Holivuda, i Kelly Arjen, producentkinja i model, udružili su se kako bi editorijal oživeli, dok je Paris Runway Official razgovarao sa Bijeem kako bi saznao više o finalisti 22. sezone.

Od Diorovog ateljea do Project Runway-a

Put Bi Phama do sveta mode nije bio nimalo pravolinijski.

Rođen u Da Nangu, preselio se u Sjedinjene Američke Države još tokom osnovne škole. U početku je planirao da se bavi naukom, sve dok nije shvatio da njegova budućnost ipak pripada svetu koji je mnogo kreativniji.

Studirao je modni dizajn na Art Institute of Portland, a zatim i na njujorškom Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT).

A onda je usledilo obrazovanje jedne sasvim druge vrste.

Dve godine Bi je radio u američkom ateljeu modne kuće Dior za izradu veza u Njujorku. To iskustvo dodatno je produbilo njegovo poštovanje prema strpljivom i zahtevnom zanatu koji stoji iza svakog odevnog predmeta.

„Posebno me privlače zanatske tehnike za čiju je izradu potrebno mnogo vremena“, kaže on. „To iskustvo je imalo ogroman uticaj na način na koji pristupam detaljima i konstrukciji. Volim da uzmem tradicionalne tehnike i pronađem način da ih učinim modernim i neočekivanim.“

Njegovi izvori inspiracije jednako su raznovrsni: vijetnamsko nasleđe, arhitektura, istorija mode, ljudi koji ga okružuju, pa čak i neočekivani predmeti i materijali mogu postati polazna tačka za novu ideju.

Pre nego što je televizija njegov rad predstavila široj publici, Bi je već godinama razvijao svoje veštine daleko od reflektora, između ostalog kreirajući komade i za njujorške dizajnere.

Project Runway promenio je vidljivost njegovog rada, ali ne i njegove temelje.

„To što sam postao finalista 22. sezone Project Runway-a omogućilo je ljudima da konačno vide ono što sam godinama tiho gradio“, kaže on. „Neizmerno sam zahvalan na tom iskustvu, ali još više me raduje ono što tek dolazi.“

Drugačiji doživljaj NYFW-a

To novo poglavlje vratilo je Bija u Njujork tokom Nedelje mode, ali sada iz potpuno drugačije perspektive.

Između revija, događaja i podrške kolegama dizajnerima, Bi je učestvovao u njujorškom editorijalu sa modelima tokom Fashion Week-a — u okruženju koje savršeno odgovara dizajneru čiji se rad sve više razvija izvan okvira Project Runway-a.

„Ovaj NYFW mi je bio posebno značajan jer sam mogao da ga doživim nakon Project Runway-a, sa toliko novih prijatelja i kontakata koje sam stekao kroz emisiju i modnu zajednicu“, kaže on.

Za Bija, međutim, Nedelja mode nije samo prilika da bude primećen.

„Jedna od mojih omiljenih stvari tokom Fashion Week-a jeste da gledam ljude do kojih mi je stalo kako doživljavaju svoj trenutak“, kaže on. „Moda može biti neverovatno takmičarski nastrojena, ali mislim da postoji nešto mnogo vrednije u tome da iskreno budete uz druge kreativce i slavite njihov uspeh.“

To je prilično prizeman i ljudski stav u industriji koja se često vrti oko pitanja ko je sledeći, ko sedi u prvom redu i ko dobija najviše pažnje.

Bi Element

Sada je pred njim novi izazov: da prepoznatljivost koju je stekao kroz Project Runway pretvori u prepoznatljivost samog brenda Bi Element.

Pham želi da njegov brend razvije sopstveni, nezamenljiv vizuelni jezik — zasnovan na tehnici i zanatu, ali bez straha od humora, drame i neočekivanog.

„Project Runway mi je pružio neverovatnu platformu, ali ja to zaista vidim kao početak, a ne kao odredište“, kaže on.

Njegova ambicija je vrlo konkretna.

„Želim da stvaram odeću koja je prelepo izrađena, ali koja i dalje ima ličnost, humor, dramu i element iznenađenja“, kaže Bi. „Na kraju, želim da neko vidi komad, a da mu niko ne kaže ko ga je dizajnirao, i da odmah kaže: ‘Ovo izgleda kao Bi.’“

Možda je upravo to najteža nagrada nakon jednog televizijskog modnog takmičenja: ne samo postati prepoznatljiv kao dizajner, već stvoriti odeću koja je prepoznatljiva kao vaša.

Za Phama, proces i dalje počinje istom stvari kojoj se svakodnevno raduje: stvaranjem.

Novom siluetom. Neobičnim materijalom. Konstrukcionim problemom koji čeka da bude rešen. Idejom koja iz njegove mašte prelazi u nešto opipljivo.

„Ta transformacija mi nikada ne dosadi“, kaže on.

I možda je upravo tu najzanimljiviji deo priče Bi Phama nakon Project Runway-a. Takmičenje mu je donelo publiku. Njujork mu je pružio novu scenu.

Sada gradi sopstveni modni jezik — onaj za koji se nada da će njegovo ime učiniti nepotrebnim, jer će jedan pogled na odeću biti dovoljan da znate: to je Bi.

---

English here:

Paris Runway Official Sits Down With Project Runway Finalist Bi Pham for His Next Chapter in Fashion  

Project Runway Season 22 finalist Bi Pham returned to New York during Fashion Week for an editorial moment that captured where the designer stands now: beyond the competition, surrounded by a new creative community and focused on building Bi Element into a name and an aesthetic that can be recognized on sight. 

Paris Runway Official, Brit Olivia, interviewed Bi to explore what is beyond Project Runway… and of course, what he was up to at New York Fashion Week.

For Bi Pham, fashion has never been simply about making something beautiful.

It is about making someone look twice.

“Fashion, to me, is storytelling without having to say a word,” says Pham, the designer behind Bi Element (@bi_element). “It’s how I communicate ideas, emotions, culture, humor, and sometimes even a little bit of chaos.”

That instinct has taken Pham from Da Nang, Vietnam, to fashion school in the United States, into the embroidery atelier at Dior in New York, and eventually onto Project Runway, where he became a Season 22 finalist.

This September, Pham was back in New York during NYFW. But this time, he was on the other side of the competition, creating an editorial with models in the city while reconnecting with the fashion community that has expanded around him since the show.

Models Olivia Gear from Ireland, Brian Metcalf (Filmmaker from Hollywood), and Kelly Arjen (Producer and Model) all came together to bring the editorial to life, while Paris Runway Official interviewed Bi to learn more about the Season 22 Finalist.  

From Dior’s Atelier to Project Runway

Bi Pham’s route into fashion was hardly linear.

Born in Da Nang, he moved to the United States while in middle school and initially pursued science before realizing that his future belonged somewhere considerably more creative. He went on to study fashion design at the Art Institute of Portland and New York’s Fashion Institute of Technology.

Then came an education of a different kind.

For two years, Bi worked inside Dior’s U.S. embroidery atelier in New York, an experience that sharpened his appreciation for the painstaking craftsmanship behind a garment.

“I’m especially drawn to craftsmanship and techniques that take time,” he says. “That experience had a huge influence on the way I approach details and construction. I love taking those traditional techniques and finding ways to make them feel modern and unexpected.”

His inspiration is equally expansive: Vietnamese heritage, architecture, fashion history, the people around him and even unexpected objects and materials can become starting points.

Before television introduced his work to a larger audience, Bi had already spent years developing those skills behind the scenes, including creating pieces for New York designers.

Project Runway changed the visibility, but not the foundation.

“Becoming a finalist on Season 22 of Project Runway gave people the opportunity to finally see what I had been quietly building for years,” he says. “I’m incredibly grateful for that experience, but I’m even more excited about what comes next.”

A Different Kind of NYFW

That next chapter brought Bi back to New York Fashion Week with a very different perspective.

Between shows, events and supporting fellow designers, Bi participated in a New York editorial with models during Fashion Week – a fitting setting for a designer whose work is increasingly about establishing an identity beyond Project Runway.

“This NYFW felt especially meaningful because I was able to experience it after Project Runway with so many new friends and connections I made through the show and the fashion community,” he says.

For Bi, however, Fashion Week wasn’t simply an opportunity to be seen.

“One of my favorite parts of Fashion Week is seeing people I care about having their moment,” he says. “Fashion can be incredibly competitive, but I think there’s something much more rewarding about genuinely showing up for other creatives and celebrating their success.”

It is a surprisingly grounded philosophy for an industry so frequently structured around who’s next, who’s front row and who’s getting attention.

The Bi Element

Now the challenge is turning recognition from Project Runway into recognition for Bi Element itself.

Pham wants the label to have its own unmistakable visual vocabulary… one grounded in technique but unafraid of humor, drama and the unexpected.

“Project Runway gave me an incredible platform, but I really see it as the beginning rather than the destination,” he says.

His ambition is refreshingly specific.

“I want to create clothes that are beautifully made but still have personality, humor, drama, and surprise,” Bi says. “Eventually, I want someone to see a piece without being told who designed it and immediately say, ‘That looks like Bi.’”

That may be the more difficult prize to win after a television competition: not simply becoming recognizable as a designer, but creating clothes recognizable as yours.

For Pham, the process still begins with the same thing he looks forward to every day: creating something.

A new silhouette. An unusual material. A construction problem waiting to be solved. An idea moving from his imagination into something tangible.

“That transformation never gets old for me,” he says.

And perhaps that is where Bi Pham’s post-Project Runway story becomes most interesting. The competition gave him an audience. New York gave him another stage.

Now, he is building the fashion language he hopes will make the name unnecessary because one look at the clothes will already tell you it’s Bi.

Credits:

Writer/Journalist: Brit Olivia @onceuponatimebrit

PR: Paris Runway Official @parisrunwayofficial

Designer: Bi Pham @bi_element

Models: Olivia Gear @oliviagearr Brian Metcalf @bametcalf1 Kelly Arjen @kellyarjen

PRO Photos: Christian Mercado @christianmercadophotography