Project Runway's Steven Rosengard

Read our interview with Project Runway's Steven Rosengard

Moreno: What was your favorite movie growing up?

Rosengard: I was hooked on E.T. like any other kid, but until I was in my early teens, Amadeus was true addiction. While it was still in theaters, I would beg and whine and plead to go and see it, "just one more time." Finally, I was put on rotation with any cousin, aunt, sibling or neighbor who could handle seeing the movie again. The blood dripping from Salieri's throat made me cringe and cover my eyes, but the music combined with the costumes would just carry me away after that. Odd behavior for a seven year old, no? But then in junior high, Gone With the Wind took over my life and I wanted to see everyone in hoopskirts.

Moreno: What did you parents do?

Rosengard: My father worked in railroad marketing and logistics. My mother was a homemaker most of the time, but from time-to-time, she took little odd jobs for fun.

Moreno: What was your first job?

Rosengard: It was bagging groceries for a couple of months before moving on to working at a Jamaican chicken rotisserie restaurant.

Moreno: At what age did you encounter your interest in fashion?

Rosengard: I was probably 11 or so. We were on a house-hunting trip in Waterloo, and my sister brought her classmate along to keep her company. This friend could draw quite well and so I asked her to show me how to draw people. It took about an hour but then I thought, "this isn't so hard. But now they need different clothes all the time." It just so happened that we took a house next door to the town seamstress. I already had a good collection of Barbie and Jem dolls to work with, so I took scraps from the seamstress and started making miniature dresses.

Read the entire interview HERE