Wong, seen here on the Lifetime network show, was very popular with the judges, other contestants and viewers because of his ebullient personality and candid emotions.

by Len Lear

A talented young East Falls resident, Mah-Jing Wong, was one of the six contestants (out of 16) in the running last week to become the 15th season’s winner of "Project Runway," the popular Lifetime network TV show (Thursdays, 9 p.m.) that gives the nation’s top budding designers a chance to launch their fashion careers each season.

“I applied four times to be on the show,” Wong, 28, a West Philly native who attended P.E.T Charter High School and The Art Institute of Philadelphia, told us last week.

When he got the call saying he made it to the show this season, “I was super happy because each year I would get closer and closer. This year they called me in!”

Instead of an audition, “I just filled out the application and sent in my video. Right after I submitted my information, they emailed me (saying he had been accepted). So it was in The Lord's plan for me!”

In the show, which debuted in December, 2004, on the Bravo network (it moved to Lifetime in 2009), mentor Tim Gunn guides the contestants through a series of  challenges as they try to win over judges Heidi Klum, Nina Garcia and Zac Posen.

Gunn, former Chair of the Fashion School at Parsons The New School for Design and now Chief Creative Officer for Liz Claiborne Inc., does not participate in the judging. Instead, he visits the designers midway through each challenge to comment and suggest improvements for each design.

Gunn also usually announces the design challenges along with Klum and accompanies the designers during their fabric shopping or on field trips related to a particular challenge.

Guest judges this season included actress Nina Dobrev, journalist Savannah Guthrie and "Project Runway Junior" judge Kelly Osbourne. When asked his feelings about the judges and the celebrity guest judges, Wong replied, “I loved them all (the regular judges),” but the celebrity guest judges “were really cool to me.”

The prize package for this year's winner includes $100,000 to launch a business, $25,000 cash, a car and a fashion spread in Marie Claire magazine.

Project Runway is hosted by model Heidi Klum. The contestants compete with each other to create the best clothes and are restricted in time, materials and theme. Their designs are judged, and one or more designers are eliminated each week. When just a few contestants remain, they prepare a complete fashion collection for New York Fashion Week, from which a winner is determined. The show won a Peabody Award in 2007 "for using the 'television reality contest' genre to engage, inform, enlighten and entertain."

Wong, who is African American and has wanted to be a fashion designer since he was a child, has a Chinese name because his great-grandfather is Chinese. When taping the show in New York this past summer, he was put up in the Henry Norman Hotel in Brooklyn. “It was a super nice hotel!”

What was Wong’s hardest challenge on the show? “The black light challenge because I feel like I should have gone with my first design. I should have completed the look. Plus, it was not even a full design when Tim walked up for my talk.”

His favorite challenge, on the other hand, was the "AARP" challenge “because I finally got a chance to create a look for my mom and have her step into my world.”

Wong’s ultimate goal as a designer is “to expand my business and have a flagship store around the globe. Doing more TV work is also a dream.

“I want to create a platform for other indie designers who don't have the resources and just need that little push. I feel like the sky is the limit.”

Who are Wong’s own favorite designers and why? “I love Zac Posen. I was once an intern for him, and I love the hard work that he and his team produce. Also Isaac Mizrahi. I like how he created a lane for himself in the TV world, and he has staying power in fashion.”

In his spare time, Mah-Jing spends a lot of time watching fashion documentaries! “It inspires me to continue creating!”

But Wong’s most impressive characteristic is “my sense of humor! I really enjoy making others laugh and have a great time!”

On the show that was telecast last Thursday, Dec. 1, six of the 16 contestants were left. Their challenge was to use unconventional metal materials from a warehouse “to create a bold and innovative piece of wearable art.” Mah-Jing chose denim to make as the base of his dress. Then he sculpted copper fencing around his model’s bust and hips to make what he called a "mermaid from space." The copper fencing was heavy, though, and he was worried that it would pull on the strapless dress so much that the dress would not stay up.

At the end of the show, the judges decided that Mah-Jing and another contestant, Cornelius “Corey” Ortiz, 24, of Boston, were the bottom two. Heidi Klum said that Mah-Jing's use of the unconventional materials was “random and not polished,” and although the decision was extremely difficult, Mah-Jing was eliminated from the competition.

“You did a great job,” said Heidi, who was clearly very fond of Mah-Jing, “We loved having you here. You did come very far, and you will be a very successful designer!”

“I came here with 16 cents in my pocket,” replied Mah-Jing, “ but I’ve done things here I never thought I would do. I won ‘me’ back, and I got my relationship back with my mom.

“I started sewing at age 11. My grandmom taught me how. She passed away of ovarian cancer, but I told her I would never give up. This is not the last you will hear of me. I am a star. I know I am!”

For more information, visit www.mylifetime.com/shows/project-runway and/or www.mahjingwong.com.