Tim Gunn
Timothy MacKenzie Gunn (born July 29, 1953) is an American author, academic, and television personality. He served on the faculty of Parsons School of Design from 1982 to 2007 and was chair of fashion design at the school from August 2000 to March 2007, after which he joined Liz Claiborne (now Kate Spade & Company) as its chief creative officer. Over 16 seasons, Gunn has become well known as the on-air mentor to designers on the reality television program Project Runway. Gunn's popularity on Project Runway led to two spin-off shows; Bravo's Tim Gunn's Guide to Style and Lifetime's Under the Gunn, as well as five books. In addition to being an executive producer, Gunn has served as mentor for the teen designers on Project Runway: Junior. He also provides the voice of Baileywick, the castle steward in the Disney Junior television show Sofia the First and narrated the sitcom Mixology.
What Was Tim Gunn's Path to Becoming a Fashion Icon?
Gunn was born in Washington, D.C. His father worked in the FBI, initially as an agent and later as a ghostwriter and speechwriter for J. Edgar Hoover. Gunn attended the Corcoran College of Art and Design, earning a BFA in sculpture. Raised in an intensely homophobic household where homosexuality was viewed as predatory behavior, Gunn struggled with his own sexual orientation. He attempted suicide at 17 by swallowing over 100 pills, feeling hopeless about his situation. Despite this, he denied his sexuality until his early 20s, and didn't publicly acknowledge it until coming out to his sister when he was 29.
What's Next for Tim Gunn: A Look at His Post-"Project Runway" Career
After serving as director of admissions for the Corcoran, Gunn started working at Parsons in 1982, served as associate dean from 1989 to 2000, and then became Fashion Design Department chair in August 2000. He was credited with "retooling and invigorating the curriculum for the 21st century." Gunn began appearing on Project Runway during its first season in 2004, and is known for his catchphrase "Make it work." He received a Primetime Emmy Award in 2013 for Outstanding Host For A Reality Or Reality-Competition Program. Tim Gunn's Guide to Style, a reality show in which Gunn gives fashion advice, debuted in September 2007 on the Bravo television network. This show ran for a total of 16 episodes over two seasons. Then starting in January 2014 Gunn was the host on a single 13–episode season of Lifetime's Under the Gunn. Gunn is an executive producer for Project Runway: Junior and serves as the teen designers' mentor. He also played a version of himself as a reporter for the fictional Fashion TV in two episodes of ABC's Ugly Betty in February 2007 and later guest starred on Drop Dead Diva in August 2009 as himself. Gunn left Parsons in 2007 and joined Liz Claiborne, Inc. as the company's chief creative officer in March of that year. In April 2007, Abrams Image Publishers released Gunn's book A Guide to Quality, Taste and Style, co-written with Kate Moloney, cover photo by Markus Klinko & Indrani. Gunn published four additional books from 2010 to 2015. In May 2009, Gunn served as commencement speaker at the Corcoran College of Art and Design, and received an honorary doctorate from the institution. He made sporadic appearances on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson's "Dear Aquaman" segments, helping or standing in for Aquaman (Ferguson), answering letters and dispensing advice. He guest starred as Barney's personal tailor on several episodes of How I Met Your Mother. Gunn guest starred as himself on the 6th episode of CW's fourth season of Gossip Girl, "Easy J". On September 7, 2018, it was confirmed that Gunn, along with Heidi Klum would not be returning to Project Runway for a 17th season on Bravo as they both signed a deal to host a fashion competition show on Amazon Video titled Making the Cut.
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In August 2007, "Tim Gunn's Podcast (a reality chamber opera)" by Jeffrey Lependorf premiered at the Cornelia Street Cafe in Manhattan, with its first run one year later at New York International Fringe Festival. Gunn appeared in a backup story in the first issue of Models Inc., a fashion-themed comic book miniseries published by Marvel Comics that debuted in September 2009. He donned the Iron Man armor to foil an attack against the New York Fashion Museum, as illustrated by Phil Jimenez. Gunn styled Jimmy Fallon to look like Bruce Springsteen from his Born in the U.S.A. album during the opening skit on the 62nd Primetime Emmy Awards. He participated in Do I Sound Gay?, a documentary film about stereotypes of gay men's speech patterns, released in 2014. Tim Gunn also appears in Kate McKinnon's audio drama Heads Will Roll.
What's Behind the Elegance of Tim Gunn's Private Life?
Here is the rewritten article section: Gunn lives in Manhattan. In a 2010 interview with People magazine, he said, "For a long time, I didn't know what I was. I knew what I wasn't: I wasn't interested in boys, and I really wasn't interested in girls." He mentioned he has "always been kind of asexual." Gunn spoke about his celibacy in 2012. He later stated that he is unashamed of this fact saying, "Do I feel like less of a person for it? No... I'm a perfectly happy and fulfilled individual." He said he started his self-imposed celibacy as AIDS began ravaging the gay community, and that he and many other people simply retreated. Gunn is an outspoken critic of clothing designs using animal fur. In 2008, he narrated a video about rabbit fur farming in China for animal rights group PETA. He termed the treatment of animals used for fur as "egregiously irresponsible". Gunn endorsed Christine Quinn's candidacy for Mayor of New York City in the 2013 mayoral election.
What accolades has Tim Gunn received throughout his career?
In June 2020, in honor of the 50th anniversary of the first LGBTQ Pride parade, Queerty named Gunn among the fifty heroes "leading the nation toward equality, acceptance, and dignity for all people".
What is the Legacy of Tim Gunn's Published Works?
Gunn, Tim; Moloney, Kate (2007), Tim Gunn: A Guide to Quality, Taste & Style, Harry N. Abrams, Inc., ISBN 978-0-8109-9284-9 Gunn, Tim; Calhoun, Ada (September 2010), Gunn's Golden Rules: Life's Little Lessons for Making It Work, Gallery Books, ISBN 978-1-4391-7656-6 Gunn, Tim (May 2011), Shaken, Not Stirred, Tim Gunn, ASIN B004UN4L9E Gunn, Tim; Calhoun, Ada (September 2012), Tim Gunn's Fashion Bible: The Fascinating History of Everything in Your Closet, Gallery Books, ISBN 978-1-4516-4387-9 Gunn, Tim (March 2015), Tim Gunn: The Natty Professor: A Master Class on Mentoring, Motivating, and Making It Work!, Gallery Books, ISBN 978-1476780061