Kelli Martin is an American

fashion designer Fashion design is the Art (skill), art of applied arts, applying design, aesthetics, clothing construction, and natural beauty to clothing and its Fashion accessory, accessories. It is influenced by diverse cultures and different trends and has va ...

. She was a contestant on the fifth season of the

Bravo Bravo(s) or The Bravo(s) may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music Groups and labels * Bravo (band), a Russian rock band * Bravo (Spanish group), represented Spain at Eurovision 1984 * Bravo Music, an American concert band music publishing compa ...

television series ''

Project Runway ''Project Runway'' is an American reality television series that premiered on Bravo on December 1, 2004. The series focuses on fashion design. It was created by Eli Holzman and was hosted by Heidi Klum from 2004 to 2017. It has a varied airi ...

''.

Education and background

Martin, a native of

Columbus, Ohio Columbus (, ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Ohio, most populous city of the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 United States census, 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the List of United States ...

, graduated from

Westland High School Westland High School is a public high school located in Galloway, Ohio. It is one of 4 high schools in the South-Western City Schools District. SWCS is located in the southwestern portion of Franklin County in Columbus, Ohio. Westland High Sc ...

in 1998 and Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

in 2001. After finishing a degree in fashion design, Martin completed the Advanced Fashion Design program at FIDM on a scholarship from Bob Mackie in 2004.

Fashion design career

Martin created her Anti-Label fashion line in 1998,Kress, Brittany. "Kelli Martin: What are you wearing?" ''

Columbus Alive ''Columbus Alive'' (also presented as ''ALIVE''), was a free online news site serving Columbus, Ohio. The site focused on local music, art, dining, film and culture. Formerly distributed in print form each week on Thursdays, the final print vers ...

''. April 24, 200

/ref> and beginning in 2000 she sold a number of her original Anti-Label designs on the online auction site

eBay eBay Inc. ( , often stylized as ebay) is an American multinational e-commerce company based in San Jose, California, that allows users to buy or view items via retail sales through online marketplaces and websites in 190 markets worldwide. ...

. After leaving Los Angeles in 2006 and moving back to her hometown she opened her own storefront boutique, Black Market. In an April 2008 interview, Martin said of her aesthetic, "I like really feminine silhouettes and form-fitting throwbacks to, like, the vintage pinup girls, but I like raw edges..."

''Project Runway''

Season five of ''Project Runway'' began with " Let's Start from the Beginning," which first aired on July 16, 2008. Contestant designers were tasked with creating a sexy, glamorous outfit for a night on the town, but were only allowed to use materials purchased from a Manhattan supermarket called Gristedes. Martin won this challenge,DeVille, Chris. "Project Runway Columbus." ''Columbus Alive''. July 24, 2008

/ref> which was judged in part by guest judge Austin Scarlett. Martin was eliminated after the fifth challenge, "Welcome to the Jungle," when she and her teammate Daniel were assigned the task of designing a look for

Brooke Shields Brooke Christa Shields (born May 31, 1965) is an American actress. A child model starting at the age of 11 months, Shields gained widespread notoriety at age 12 for her leading role in Louis Malle's film ''Pretty Baby (1978 film), Pretty Baby ...

to wear on Season 2 of '' Lipstick Jungle''. The judges questioned her taste and made her the fifth person eliminated from the competition. She came back with other eliminated designers in the ninth challenge to assist the remaining contestants in creating an avant garde design inspired by their zodiac signs.

References

External links

Official website
for Anti-Label, Martin's fashion line, and Black Market, her Columbus, Ohio boutique

{{DEFAULTSORT:Martin, Kelli Living people American fashion designers American women fashion designers Project Runway (American series) participants Artists from Columbus, Ohio Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century American women