The Dirty Dozen

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Fashions by Gino Velardi.

Cat didn't think it was possible, but she is judged out. She has nothing snide or snarky left to say. At least for a few days.

It wasn't Fashion Week, a trip to Coyote Ugly or even her brother's upcoming nuptials that finally wore her down. It was the Fashion Project at Tamarac Square.

On Saturday, The Cat's Pajamas spent nine hours trapped in a room judging more than thirty applicants -- all of whom were dreaming of scoring the two tickets to fall Fashion Week in New York. Even if the winning designer won't be showing on those hallowed catwalks, it's a major prize since you can't just call up Ticketmaster and order seats. Oh no, those are more coveted than Denver Broncos season tickets.

New skirts by Mona Lucero.

A note for our city's aspiring fashionistas: focus on quality. Many of the hopefuls brought interesting designs for the judges to assess, but the construction was of such poor quality that we could only blanch. What woman wants rough, unfinished seams chaffing her skin? Or unclipped threads streaming off of her?

There were twelve, however, who impressed us and will move beyond the auditions and into the Project Runway-esque challenges portion of the event. You'll get to meet them here before you meet them on the runway. Starting tomorrow, Cat will post a profile of each of the finalists, probing their deepest fashion secrets.

Fashion illustration by Kandice Hudson.

Come see them in person on Wednesday, March 28, at Tamarac Square, when the first challenge will be issued. Stop back on April 4 to check out what confections they created and hear the next week's project be announced.

Eat your heart out, Heidi Klum!

Finalists:

Tricia Hoke Kandice Hudson Lisa Ramfjord Elstun Nancy Sherman Gino Velardi Mona Lucero Armando Thomas Guerra Jose Clark Alexander Smith Deb Henriksen Crystal Sharp Stephanie Ohnmacht