Daniel Feld made quite an impression from the very get-go on Project Runway 5. Many viewers felt that his innovative dress fashioned from blue plastic cups should have won the first episode of this season. The design showed bravado and ingenuity and it was perhaps due to those factors that readers of fansite Blogging Project Runway voted him as one of the likely final four.
It was not to be, though, as a more restrained offering for the drag queen challenge resulted in Daniel being auf’d in the sixth episode of Project Runway 5. It was surely a disappointment, but it appears that he might have still come away from the competition with an exciting new development for the future. But first, what brought the 25-year-old designer to Project Runway originally?
-25Daniel Feld made quite an impression from the very get-go on Project Runway 5. Many viewers felt that his innovative dress fashioned from blue plastic cupDaniel grew up in The Berkshires, Massachusetts, and developed an early love for nature and science. Originally, he wanted to be a zoologist, but the fashion bug took hold, and he headed off to New York to attend first Pratt and then the Fashion Institute of Technology.
He had an internship with Zac Posen and worked for Donna Karan, Melinda Eng Couture, and J. Crew. Daniel also did theatrical design for Sotu Productions and The Box.
Much has been made on Project Runway 5 of Daniel’s focus on his high taste level, and he does list the “great couturiers of Paris” as some of his greatest influences. But he appears to still have that love of nature and says he is “constantly incorporating it into [his] aesthetic.” His Bravo bio also notes that he finds nature an inspiration “to create innovative structures and creative textures in his work.”
Daniel did previously attempt to launch a luxury line, but had to shift gears due to a lack of investment. Since the show, he’s eager to try again, although this time, he’s not going at it alone. He and fellow auf’d contestant Wesley Nault became a couple during the show and are now collaborating after it.
The relationship between the two developed despite a need to occasionally bend the rules. He and Wesley sent notes to each other in defiance of the strict code of conduct outlined in the reality show contract. Daniel also notes it might have even impacted his performance in the competition, telling AfterElton.com, “Yeah, after he was eliminated I guess I was constantly thinking about him, too. I guess a lot of my motivation died out [after] that. I was definitely a little sad after he left. In fact, with the third challenge, the one right after he left, I really wanted to win so I could get immunity and exchange it with him to bring him back for a challenge. I did say that in interviews but I guess they didn’t show it. …I was worried about him the whole time. He’s so sensitive inside. I was just worried about him. I just felt broken-hearted for him. “
Since the show, their relationship appears to be going well, and the two have been very positive about each other and their personal partnership since the show. They are now looking for investors so that they can collaborate professionally as well, saying, “It’s definitely going to be kind of a bridge market — something that people can afford but that’s still high-end. Definitely want to appeal to department stores and have a really chic aesthetic.”
– Leslie Seaton, BuddyTV Staff Columnist
Source: AfterElton, Blogging Project Runway, People, Entertainment Weekly, BravoTV, Daniel Feld’s MySpace
(Images from Daniel Feld’s MySpace and BravoTV.com)
Staff Columnist, BuddyTV
