My friend Tisha Nagel is a costume designer in Los Angeles and a friend of designer Mila Hermanovski who was a finalist in Season 7 of PROJECT RUNWAY.  When Mila was preparing her final collection for New York Fashion Week, she mentioned to Tisha in confidence that she was having difficulty finding music that gave her the emotional quality and energy she needed but also met the licensing requirements of the production.  Tisha suggested she talk to me.  Mila and I exchanged a few e-mails and I was able to tailor the piece to her tastes and specifications.  The producers required that it be no longer than 3:30 exactly, including any reverb tail at the end.

Mila mentioned that the collection would finish with a cocktail dress, which I took as an indication that it needed its own musical highlight.  This moment comes at 2:35 in the recording.  I was delighted the TV edit of the show used this for the moment Mila re-emerged to receive the applause of the crowd.

I didn’t have cable and, as such, wasn’t familiar with Project Runway beyond it being the favorite of my friends costume designer Rachel Healy and director Bill Brown.  I couldn’t tell them who I had written the music for until the moment the three finalists were known.  We were all working out of town together when the Season 7 finale aired so we had a viewing party with set designer Kevin Depinet and lighting designer Charlie Cooper.  Hearing something come out of the TV that I’d written, performed, and mixed in my bedroom was an odd but thrilling experience.  It was wonderful to share it with friends, and with my parents who called me immediately after it aired.

Thank you Mila.  And thank you Tisha.