Simms fits Runway's recent formula, having debuted her women's collection Strangefruit - which layers tailored and draped silhouettes - at Philadelphia Fashion Week in October. Before that, Simms designed a line of graphic T's called Key Designs that she ran out of an East Falls studio.
"I'm an accidental designer," Simms says during the first episode. "I allow the mistakes I make to be a part of the final piece. They say, 'Oh, you can't have a crooked zipper like that.' Yes, you can. Embrace the crooked zipper."
But like other new designers, Simms' dreams of flashy runway shows and department-store exclusives have been curtailed by a tanking economy and exorbitant manufacturing costs. She's had to supplement her income by working as an adjunct professor of graphic art at Rowan University, Philadelphia University, and the University of Pennsylvania's School of Design.
After a fashionable yet formulaic seven seasons - including two lackluster ones on Lifetime Network - why would any aspiring designer still be interested in competing on predictable Project Runway?
The answer is exposure. Simms, like Philadelphia designers Jay McCarroll and Pamela Ptak before her, is hoping a Runway stint will boost her career and, more importantly, help her find investors to fund her dream. It won't be easy. McCarroll, the show's inaugural winner, saw his Transport collection tank, and now he sells less-than-inspiring pieces on QVC. And Ptak, although a talented tailor, was eliminated from Runway in the second episode last season.
I caught up with Simms last week while she was at the tail end of her vacation at Martha's Vineyard. Runway finished filming July 19, but Simms said she still had some "things to do." Could that be a sign that our local designer fares well this season? She isn't saying.
