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Oakwood designer hits TV

Contributed photo Althea Harper

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By Amelia Robinson, Staff Writer Updated 5:52 PM Thursday, August 20, 2009

An Oakwood native’s career will get a shot when her designs appear on “Project Runway.” The show airs at 10 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 20.

Althea Harper is among the 16 people selected for the wildly popular show, now airing on the Lifetime network.

The 25-year-old, who now lives in New York, said she screamed when she found out she had made the show.

“I just always like to take advantage of every experience,” she said. “It just gives you so much exposure.”

The show’s winner gets an editorial feature in “Elle” magazine, and $100,000.

The daughter of James and Christina Harper of Oakwood, Harper has worked with noted designers, including Vivienne Westwood and Alexander McQueen, to fulfill the University of Cincinnati’s School of Design cooperative education requirements.

Her education helped prepare her for challenges she faced on the show, which taped several months ago. Harper, who now works at Tory Burch, said the competitions was grueling.

“You really have to work the entire time. There is not time to second guess,” she said. “You’re so stressed all the time.”

Harper said she made friends on the show, but her objective was to win.

“You just try to stay focused,” she said. “You can’t lose faith in yourself. Tell yourself ‘I can do this, I can do this.’ ”

UC School of Design Professor Margaret Voelker-Ferrier will watch Harper, her school’s first grad to make the show, with pride.

“She’s very bright and she’s got a world of skills,” Voelker-Ferrier said. “She’s a very beautiful girl, she has great presence and she has good skills. There is no reason she should not do well.”

Voelker-Ferrier said many love the show partly because they have dreams of being in fashion or like critiquing the designer’s work.

Recent Beavercreek High School graduate and 19-year-old fashion lover Shayna Arnold said the show inspires and allows people to connect to those in the fashion industry.

“It’s good to see designers at work,” said Arnold, who will attend UC’s School of Design this fall. She now manages her mother’s boutique, Envy, at the Greene.