During his childhood, AJ Thouvenot (pronounced TOO-venoh) was known to his family and friends as Andy. Andy was a kid who put on puppet shows for his family and acted in homemade movies with his friends. He was a kid who used cartoons he’d drawn to direct and act in his homemade films. He was a kid who grew up in St. Charles, MO and went to Francis Howell North. Back then, Andy was just being Andy.

Now, Andy is known to America as “AJ” from Lifetime’s eighth season of Project Runway. The little Andy that had drawn cartoons and put on home performances was now AJ, a 26-year-old fashion designer. He had made it.

AJ had realized his dream to be a fashion designer during his time at Lindenwood College. There, he began working hard on making garments for himself and his friends. All of his designs were original, inspired by what he thought was lacking at malls and department stores. Though AJ had never had any formal training in fashion design, he learned anything and everything he could on his own.

While AJ was attending Lindenwood, he went to New York for a summer to intern at Heatherette by Richie Rich and Traver Rains while it was still a fashion label. He quickly became saturated in the fashion culture and even got the opportunity to pick out clothes for celebrities. After getting back from New York, AJ decided to put his designs to the test by entering the Cincinnati Fashion Week and St. Louis Fashion Week under the design label Trashbiscuit, whose design is inspired by a clash of urban street wear and pop culture glamour.

“All those things made him think, ‘Well, it’s possible,’” AJ’s mom Rosemary Thouvenot said.

Having a strong fashion foothold in St. Louis, AJ was ready for something bigger. In the spring of 2010, AJ went to Chicago to audition for Project
Runway.

“It was something in the back of my mind that I always wanted to do,” AJ said.

That May, he found out that he’d been one of the 17 chosen nationwide to fly to NYC and design on Project Runway. All of it happened through his own work, every garment he had labored over, every model he had fitted, and everything he’d studied
about fashion had gotten him onto the show. It hadn’t mattered that he had only grown up in suburban Missouri.

“Some of the people who competed on the show had never been formally trained,” Rosemary said. “I don’t think you have to be from the big city in order to compete.”

AJ competed on the show until week five, when he sacrificed his originality on a group challenge and was sent home. If he wouldn’t have compromised his natural instinct, he might have survived that week of Project Runway.

“The biggest lesson he’s learned is to hold true to his integrity,” Rosemary said.

AJ thinks that having experience on Project Runway will help him develop as a designer. Many believe that AJ’s time on the show built an amazing fan base for him. AJ said that he learned a lot about himself during his time on the show.

“Project Runway definitely helped me grow as a designer,” AJ said. “It made me push myself to the limits. You get a clear understanding of what you need to do and what you need to work on. I’ve learned a lot about my strengths and weaknesses.”

According to Rosemary, AJ’s ability to take risks has taken him this far in his life.

“I think it’s important to follow your dreams and not take no for an answer,” said AJ. “The best way to achieve your goals is to be persistent.”

In the future, AJ hopes to have his own fashion line or design for a big label. Either way, many people believe he can be successful because of his ability to communicate and utilize his creativity, just like he did as little Andy.

“AJ’s smart and charismatic,” fellow Project Runway designer Michael Drummond said. “He’s got the world at his feet.”

By Aurora Blanchard