What an absolute delight to see an Indian face on Project Runway, the American reality TV show that has launched the careers of designers like Chloe Dao, Christian Sirano and Jeffrey Sebelia. Kovid Kapoor, now in week five of the reality show, has won fans all over the world for his grit, tenacity and heartwarming story.
Here are 10 facts about the designer who’s currently competing in the holy grail of fashion reality TV:
He was born in Dehradun.
He grew up in a military family, and has lived in various Indian states, before he moved to the United States of America. He is currently based in Brooklyn.
He has a BFA in Apparel Design from NIFT, Hyderabad as well as an MFA in Fashion Design from the Academy Of Art University in San Francisco.
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He has previously worked with acclaimed Indian designer, Gaurav Gupta.
He was paired with transgender model, Mimi Tao on the first episode of Project Runway season 17. An emotional moment, Kapoor went down on his knees and told Tao, “You’re the real goddess.” Kovid said he instantly connected with Tao since they both have “stories of oppression”.
According to his bio for Project Runway, “He continues to be inspired by women, either from his childhood or from fantasy and mythological tales, and his designs celebrate these great figures and feminine wisdom.”
His personal brand is influenced both by fashion in India and America, and is a coming-together-of two different sartorial languages.
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He was forced to leave India when his neighbours called the cops on him and his boyfriend of eight years. A teary-eyed Kapoor recounted, ““Me and my boyfriend have been together for eight years. We are from the Himalayan highlands of India and homosexuality was still a crime in the country. One day our neighbours called the cops on us and we had to leave our home the very next day.”
He is the only other Indian designer to be on Project Runway apart from Swapnil Shinde who was a part of the show in 2015.
He is already a fan-favourite; Twitterverse is full of support and love for the Indian designer who’s living his dream.
