Fans of the hit Bravo TV show “Project Runway” tuned in each season to watch aspiring fashion designers battle for a shot at stardom and bare their seamy sides in the process. But the real star of the show has been the show’s witty, sharp and fashion-savvy mentor, Tim Gunn (above). Bravo has tapped Gunn for his own show, “Tim Gunn’s Guide to Style,” which debuts Sept. 6. In each episode Gunn will step into the closet of a fashion-challenged woman and help find solutions to her wardrobe woes using advice from his book, “Tim Gunn: A Guide to Quality Taste and Style.”
Among his premises is that women need some new fashion mentors. In the chapter: “The Fashion Mentor: Beyond Audrey” he suggests we leave the likes of Audrey Hepburn and Jackie Kennedy to history and come up with some new inspirational icons. Here’s a sampling:
THE SIRENS Angelina Jolie, Nigella Lawson, Julie Christie: Sexy, yes, but in command, they wear well-cut clothes in rich fabrics like cashmere and leather, in simple, body-conscious silhouettes.
MASCULIN/FEMININ Katharine Hepburn, Coco Chanel: It takes a confident woman to wear man-tailored clothes and fabrics that weren’t traditionally for women, like wool flannel for jackets and trousers and crisp oxford for shirts.
LES GAMINES Sofia Coppola and Natalie Portman: Keeping it feminine, classic and young is the key to the style personalities of these entertainment icons. They dress simply, in ballet flats or a basic shift for summer and flat boots and wool tights for winter.
THE RISK TAKERS Kate Moss, Sarah Jessica Parker, Chloe Sevigny: They’re the first to wear skinny jeans tucked into boots, or formal shorts and stilettos. Wearing one big or striking item can be a way to up your fashion IQ without looking like an idiot, Gunn writes.
POWER BROKERS Martha Stewart, Oprah Winfrey: Gunn’s mantra is “own your look,” and these women do. They focus on quality rather than quantity in wearing well-structured, tailored clothes in sumptuous fabrics.
