Unlike most 23-year-olds, Jude Mikulencak mostly wears clothes he’s hand-sewn, measured and designed by himself at an antiquated tailor shop in Brooklyn. They’re sleek. Minimalist. Sharply tailored to fit.
For three to four days a week, 10-12 hours each, he’s hand-stitching suits and using century-old sewing machines, surrounded by shelves packed with rolls of fabric, practicing the trade of tailoring.
His dedication has paid off. Now the New Orleans native is one of the latest contestants on Disney’s “Project Runway,” which began a new season Wednesday.
A talent agency scout found his work on Instagram in November and pitched him to the long-running reality competition show. In April, a black van picked him up from his Brooklyn apartment. With little contact with family or friends and a nondisclosure agreement signed, he was in Season 22.
Jude Mikulencak sews a coat with a measuring tape around his neck on, competing against 22 other designers on an episode of “Project Runway.” Hosted by Heidi Klum, “Project Runway” makes a return July 9 at 9:30 p.m. EDT/PDT on Freeform and will stream shortly after on Hulu and Disney+, followed by weekly airings.
From painter to tailor
Mikulencak, whose Czech name was passed down by his grandfather, who immigrated to Houston, was born to the lullabies of Mazzy Star at Touro Infirmary in Uptown, during a lightning storm on Valentine’s Day 2003. He went to school at Holy Name of Jesus School and then a specialized arts program at The Willow High School.
Years of painting detailed portraits led him to the Art Institute of Chicago’s summer camp, where he had an epiphany as a high school sophomore.
Bogged down by long days of tedious wait-to-dries and uncontrollable liquid paints, he kept noticing the kids in the fashion department: They were dressing up and “having more fun,” Mikulencak said. A few weeks later, he dropped the paintbrushes entirely.
“I came home, I bought a home sewing machine and some fabric and just started making clothes. I think from that day I have not turned back.”
Georgia James models Jude Mikulencak’s custom-made black coat in 2022.
Initially, his mother, Carolyn Mikulencak, fretted over his decision to quit painting, she said. At 5 years old, he began drawing precise and defined pictures all the time, which were hung all over the house.
“He filled thousands of notebooks,” she said. “He’d make exact replicas of the dents on wooden floors, crumpled receipts.”
His mother, a writer and lover of 1930s fashion, said his style has a genteel and Edwardian character, as if out of a Merchant Ivory film. She calls her favorite piece a “gothic, Western, vampire coat dress,” ornamented with a frill.
Years as a visual artist helped mold his polished style. His colors tend toward muted grays, blues and blacks — like a clean, ink pad sketch.
His aptitude for detail may have paved the way for his svelte, androgynous design style.
It’s hard to pinpoint where he got his creative eye — art never had to be “hardwired” into him, Carolyn Mikulencak said. “Jude gives me faith that artists exist.”
As a teenager, Jude conducted research at home.
“It was a lot of looking through my mom’s closet and trying to work backwards and think, ‘How did they put this together?’”
For his senior prom, he made a pleated floral prom dress for his date, and for himself, a finely stitched button-down shirt to match. He even embroidered his brand’s logo, “Grim.” Not much later, he was commissioned to make a suit for local musician Anders Osborne.
Jude Mikulencak and Mary Grace wear outfits designed and made by Mikulencak for their 2020 prom. Their prom at The Willow High School was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but they still dressed up for the occasion.
Welcome to New York
In his senior year of high school, he visited tailor shops across New Orleans in hopes of finding a mentor, but the 16-year-old was often turned away at the door.
At 18, he moved to New York to attend Pratt Institute and picked up the search for a tailor. He landed a gig at Craig Robinson’s bespoke tailoring shop called Robinson Brooklyn.
“He taught me everything I know,” Mikulencak said. “He has a passion for teaching people the art of tailoring,” which is rare since the small community tends to protect its trade secrets.
Mikulencak was the youngest intern Robinson ever hired. He said he saw a sense of refinement that was unusual for a teenager. Two years later, Mikulencak was teaching classes with Pratt’s professors and training Robinson’s interns.
Robinson described him as shy, very taken by his work and precise; and as for his garments, “they are very romantic, and they’re high quality in comparison to something quick and easy. He makes things look very effortless, and that’s hard to do.”
Mikulencak’s process starts by envisioning the life of the garment, especially with big, heavy winter coats.
“I can imagine them growing old and then their kids wearing it.”
At school, it bugged him to know that, after a presentation, each piece would “lose its place in the world forever” and stay put under his bed. His goal now: functionality.
Over time, Mikulencak has collected clients for custom pieces. This summer, he’s working on a spunky suit for a friend and an avant-garde, multi-way drape coat dress, called “wings,” which could be the beginning of his next collection.
The decision to join “Project Runway” wasn’t an easy one, though. He and Robinson discussed it for weeks, as the mentor had watched designers go on the show only to abandon fashion later.
But Mikulencak is different, he said, perhaps a purist.
Slow craft meets reality TV
For over 20 years, “Project Runway” has been spotlighting potential fashion designers and pitting them against each other. After debuting in 2004 on Bravo, it became an international phenomenon with over 30 adaptations in other countries. It’s now owned by Disney, and still known for fast-paced challenges, sometimes with unusual materials, and each episode’s final judges’ critique.
This season has the most contestants it’s ever had, with 22 designers for Season 22 who will be evaluated by judges Nina Garcia, Law Roach, mentor Christian Siriano and host Heidi Klum.
Though Mikulencak could not share many details before the episodes air, he said one critique the contestants received was to edit and not throw everything at the mannequin to see what sticks.
“I think my minimalism can help me stand out in spaces where there’s just a lot going on,” he said.
But the quick timing was a challenge. “I have never made things that fast for that long. … There were times where I was worried that I wasn’t going to be able to finish and still did,” he said.
His pulse raced as he stood before the judges, wondering if he would return the next day. But his mantra was “all I can do is my best work, and that’s it.”
And it worked. One of his models even commented, “You’re really calm right now. You should be really stressed.” He responded, “I can be really chill during all this because New Orleans taught me how to be chill.”
Growing up with Southern humidity and laissez-faire attitudes slowed him down, to his advantage. “I’ve grown up with that and kept it my whole life.” His friends and family in New Orleans plan to host episode watch parties for the upcoming season starting this week.
Project Runway premieres at 9:30 p.m. July 9 on Freeform; episodes will stream weekly on Disney+ and Hulu.
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