The fashion industry has lost a talent. Fashion designer and former Project Runway finalist Mychael Knight died Tuesday morning outside of Atlanta. He was 39.
Knight’s family have selected selected Obvious Mag as their official media source at this time of sadness.
In an official statement, the family said: “We are still processing the untimely death of our son, brother, friend and uncle. Mychael meant everything to us and we loved him dearly. He was generous and so full of life. This is how we choose to remember his legacy.”
Knight was born Michael Anthony Knight Jr. on April 11, 1978, in Nuremberg, Germany. He spent his childhood in Montgomery, Ala., but later moved to Washingtonville, N.Y., where he graduated from Washingtonville Senior High School.
After high school, Knight attended Georgia Southern University, from which he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in apparel design and merchandising in 2001.
After college, Knight spent time honing his skills, first as an intern with Wilbourn Executives in 2001 and then as a fashion stylist in the music industry in 2002.
In 2005 he auditioned for the second season of the Bravo series Project Runway but was not chosen. He tried again in 2006 and was chosen for the show’s third season, during which he won the Fan Favorite award and placed fourth in the overall competition.
His success continued to grow after that season on Project Runway. He introduced his clothing label, Mychael Knight, on BET’s Rip the Runway in 2007 and designed a line of custom tees for the Starbucks Corp. that same year.
In 2009 he participated in the Project Runway: All-Star Challenge on Lifetime Television, and he was also a contestant on the third season of Project Runway: All Stars in 2013.
Knight definitely left a mark, and he will be missed by many.
Rest in power.