Before one designer sews up the competition for good, let’s get to know the talented Next in Fashion crew. 

Twelve up-and-coming designers from across the country will compete to become the next big name in fashion when the high-stakes competition returns on March 3. 

Under the watchful eye of co-hosts Gigi Hadid and Tan France — not to mention a legendary lineup of guest judges — the contestants will face off in a series of challenges testing their artistic abilities like never before. It takes a supremely skilled group to measure up, but these designers are ready to do whatever it takes to bring their unique vision to the runway.

And, remember, while every contestant will get the chance to showcase their work on a global stage, only one will walk away with a prize of $200,000 and launch their own collection with Rent the Runway. 

But we’ll let them a-tell-ier all about it. Ahead, the designers competing this season tell Tudum what they think they bring to the runway. 

Amari Carter

Hailing from a small suburb outside of Atlanta, Amari has always seen fashion as a means of self-discovery. Growing up, she used “clothing as a way to create an alter ego” in order to “feel sexy and powerful.” That idea is the ultimate inspiration behind Amari’s work, which features monochromatic, minimalist designs with lingerie detailing to strike a balance between sensuality and strength. With her looks, the London College of Fashion graduate intends to not only honor the women in her own life, but also make room for “creating and discovering [her] growth as a woman.”

As for the garment that she’s most proud of? It’s a “cloud look” fashioned out of a transparent fabric that hints at a deeper meaning about the “hiding of your own insecurities.” For Amari, design goes beyond just clothing: “It shows what my brand is all about, which is storytelling.”

You can follow Amari on Instagram.

Bao Tranchi

With clients like Jennifer Lopez, Nicki Minaj and Laverne Cox, Bao has designs you’ve probably already seen on the red carpet. Over the past 20 years, she’s also styled some of your favorite music videos, worked extensively as a costume designer on films like Charlie’s Angels and The Greatest Beer Run Ever and partnered with major brands in the industry.

The common thread through her designs, many of which feature her signature cutout patterns, is an “absolute love and passion for the woman’s body.” That’s why the gown Ashley Graham wore to the 2016 Vanity Fair Oscar Party ranks as one of her all-time favorite creations. Bao wanted to “celebrate [Graham’s] body in a way that was, up to then, only reserved for sample size bodies.” Consider it mission accomplished, given how she says the look sparked a dialogue about “what was appropriately sexy for a plus-sized woman” and became a “huge viral fashion moment.”

You can follow Bao on Instagram.

Courtney Smith

When it comes to fashion, Courtney is all about catering to “women who stand in their power and wear what they want.” From a young age, her sense of style was “shaped by the confident and expressive Black women” she was raised and surrounded by in the Bronx. As a kid, Courtney was taught to “love and have agency over [her] body” — and that’s exactly how she wants people to feel wearing her clothes. Whether it’s evening gowns, cocktail attire or activewear, Courtney designs for the “plus girls who want to show out every time they go out.”

So it was a match made in fashion heaven when she was asked to create a gown for Alex Newell as Ursula in The Little Mermaid. The outfit is the garment Courtney is most proud of because she loves “making gowns and special occasion dresses for clients, and who better to dress than a sea witch?”

You can follow Courtney on Instagram.

Danny Godoy

As a full-time drag queen and fashion designer, Danny is an original through and through. Born and raised in Inglewood, California, to Mexican immigrant parents, the designer developed a sense of style early in his life as “one of the many ways to show [his] creative side.” After graduating from fashion school, he launched his own collection of bold, eye-popping looks that are inspired by “key moments” in his own life featuring “loved ones, where [he] grew up and [his] Mexican culture.”

While he’s designed outfits for some of the world’s top drag talent, including Naomi Smalls, Kim Chi, Bob the Drag Queen, Raven and Monét X Change, Danny can’t narrow down one look as his favorite. When it comes to fashion, he falls “in love with every piece” he creates. But nothing compares to the looks he makes for himself in drag because clothes allow him to “experiment, let loose and not only focus on the garment but the entire look, head to toe.”

You can follow Danny on Instagram.

Deontré Hancock

Born and raised in Washington, Deontré is a self-taught designer with a lifelong passion for fashion. Watching his parents “dress up for church on Sundays and date nights” made him pay special attention to clothes and his own personal style from a young age. Inspired by the city around him, the designer developed an early affinity for street wear, pulling from “fashion trends in the surrounding area” and what he saw “everyone wearing at school.”

But he always makes sure to “put [his] spin” on fashion trends. Deontré has developed a following for his exaggerated menswear looks, especially his signature puffer coats. The garment has become something of a calling card for the designer and is what’s brought him “a lot of recognition in [his] career.”

You can follow Deontré on Instagram.

Desyrée Nicole

As a former basketball star, the Atlanta-based menswear designer Desyrée is used to competition. But she gave up the game for fashion, when she launched her brand Todd Patrick, which is named after her little brother. For Desyrée, “everything about [her] life” shaped her sense of style and the ”love for [her] family 100% drives the brand.” As a completely self-taught designer with no formal training, she is all about harnessing her individuality through clothes because “your life is your own, and through that, it brings a unique take to everything you do.”

With a focus on texture and relaxed silhouettes, Desyrée’s designs have become a favorite among professional athletes and beyond with many gravitating to the brand’s wool coats and pant curation. But a cashmere green overcoat embroidered with the places she grew up is a personal favorite, because it “set the tone for blending elevated wool with storytelling.”

You can follow Desyrée on Instagram. 

Eliana Batsakis

As one of the youngest contestants, Eliana didn’t grow up wanting to be a designer. But with a flair for theatrics and world building, fashion found her anyway. The Cincinnati-based designer and recent fashion school graduate began her journey in college, which shaped her personal sense of style around comfortability. Eliana draws inspiration from the imagined lives of the people wearing her clothes, as storytelling is a “huge part of [her] design process and often the biggest inspiration.” Known for her bold and voluminous garments, she’s driven to investigate interior worlds through her work, asking questions like, “Where do they live?” “How do they act?” What are they doing in this outfit?” 

Making a gown for a friend’s maternity shoot is the garment Eliana is most proud of. The designer wanted her friend to “feel beautiful and have a special fashion moment during her pregnancy that she could look back on and remember forever.”

You can follow Eliana on Instagram.

James Ford

Blending his love of athletics and formal wear, James is a master of custom suiting. But he doesn’t design “your uncle’s obligatory office suits.” Instead, James is focused on crafting suits that “stand for something very, very different” — particularly when it comes to sizing for female, trans and gender nonconforming bodies.  As a former four-sport athlete, the designer pulls inspiration from the “silhouettes, color palettes, construction techniques and practicality” of sportswear to inform his approach to suiting, “marrying dichotomies” of the two with every stitch. Ultimately, he’s dedicated to prioritizing his client’s needs to discover what “their suit will communicate to the world on behalf of them,” but never forgetting to strike a “balance of sophistication and fun.”

His current favorite garment is his Utility Grandma Vest because of how it blends “two things that don’t belong together.” The pocket-heavy garment, which James describes as a “fly-fishing vest meets a French Victorian couch,” is function-focused, but fashioned out of a burnt orange velvet upholstery fabric. 

You can follow James on Instagram.

Megan O’Cain

Prioritizing playfulness above everything, you absolutely know when you’ve seen one of Megan’s designs. The Brooklyn-based creator and Parsons School of Design graduate always gravitated toward “vintage clothes and dressing up” as a kid, when she would deconstruct clothes and experiment with her grandmother’s ’60s patterns. Designing “always felt like a way to escape” her struggles with anxiety and allowed her to “create a space for play and possibility." Megan’s designs “take the nostalgia of early childhood and the ’60s sewing techniques” to “create new exaggerated silhouettes” in womenswear rooted in “humor and fun rather than sophistication.”

That holds especially true for her signature garment, a piece called the Honey Bunny Dress. The look embodies the “ability for fashion to be playful and its power to change your reality” by mixing more traditional elements with an oversized bunny creature. The gown also happens to transform into a bag, underscoring how Megan’s work constantly subverts “expectations of womenswear in a playful way.”

You can follow Megan on Instagram.

Nigel Xavier

Call him the wizard of denim. Nigel is all about patchwork and textile manipulation — crafting one-of-a-kind creations that have become favorites among some of the biggest names in music. The Atlanta-based designer cites “fabrics, materials, culture and nostalgia” as his primary influences, as he puts his signature stamp on looks drawing heavily from the ’90s and early 2000s fashion. As a former high school football player who chose fashion over a career in sports, “adapting and observing all of the different cultures has made [him] versatile and open minded.” 

While he’s always focused on the next creation, the garment the designer is most proud of is an oversized pair of patchwork denim pants that can fit five to six people in them. The piece is “not only signature to [his] manipulation, but also has a message behind them, symbolizing togetherness.”

You can follow Nigel on Instagram.

Qaysean Williams

From a young age, fashion was how Qaysean found his voice. The New Jersey-based designer, who also dabbles in acting and rapping, never saw himself represented in popular media growing up due to his disability. “Fashion was the very thing that gave me a voice,” he says. “It made me feel like I was worthy enough, powerful enough, beautiful enough, it gave me a reason to love me for being me.” After experimenting with his style in high school, Qaysean went on to launch his own label, Manikin, which keeps accessibility at the forefront with adaptive garments that allow everybody to feel “amazing in their own skin.”

The warrior-style shirt dress he designed to wear to Vogue World Sept 2022 represents his signature style. With intricate sequin detailing and an opulent pattern inspired by the Byzantine Empire, the androgynous outfit dialed up the dramatics making the designer feel like the “emperor and the empress of the night.” 

You can follow Qaysean on Instagram.

Usama Ishtay

As long as he can remember, fashion has always been a part of Usama’s world. Raised in Venezuela and from a Syrian immigrant household, he was strongly influenced by the women in his family who studied and worked in fashion design. Owning a clothing store in Venezuela was his first step into the industry, which sparked an interest in making his own clothes. After moving to Los Angeles in 2015, he began studying fashion design and went on to launch his own company. His work is “inspired by Arabic and Latino culture” with the latter giving his designs “a slight beauty queen whiff with a rock and roll and mysticism.” He also counts legends like Gianni Versace, Thierry Mugler and Christian Dior as major influences. 

His signature garment is a blue laced-up dress he designed for the rapper Eve. He still “gets emotional” reflecting on that moment. The gown was donated to Autism Speaks, a cause close to his heart, and he says the experience “opened numerous opportunities” for him within the fashion industry.

You can follow Usama on Instagram.