'Project Runway' alum among black designers on the rise

'Project Runway' alum among black designers on the rise

By Becky Bratu, NBC News As his first New York Fashion Week show slides into the past, Mychael Knight, 33, is already contemplating how he can outdo himself in his next collection. "I always like to pick up where I left off," he said, on the rare occasion of a day off following New York's week-long fashion frenzy and a well-received collection inspired by dinosaurs. Knight says his fall/winter 2012 collection slated for February will be "super sexy and super feminine. "Bigger, badder, better. Hell yes." Grio slideshow: Mychael Knight's 'Lost World' collection, Spring/Summer 2012 Propelled to national fame after winning Project Runway's Fan Favorite award in season three, Atlanta-based Knight boasts a lingerie label and a unisex fragrance along with his flagship fashion label. He is part of a small but enterprising group of African-American independent designers who have understood that a brand cannot be built on creativity alone. Building a brand is like raising a child, Knight said. "I'm raising it and I want to make sure its integrity is maintained." Business acumen and long hours are essential ingredients - though not guarantees for success in the cutthroat fashion industry. "No matter who you are, this industry is a roll of the dice," Tim Gunn said in a recent article published in _Essence_ magazine. The former chair of the fashion design department at Parsons' New School For Design, Gunn now mentors budding designers on Bravo TV's _Project Runway_.