Meet the Only San Francisco Designer on Project Runway Season 13

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Project Runway Season 13 premiered Thursday night, and —as Season 12 contestant Alexander Pope observes— all of the designers are from Brooklyn. All of them. Okay, maybe not all of them, but one-third of the contestants call the NYC borough home. What's up with that?

This season, the sole Bay Area contender is Emily Payne, a Chinatown resident with awesome blue-purple (blurple?) hair. After auditioning for Seasons 1, 7, and 8, Emily finally made the cut to the Lifetime reality competition. Since we'll be collectively rooting for her, let's learn a little bit about this San Francisco designer.

According to the Project Runway page on MyLifetime.com: Emily is a 40-year-old, married, mother-of-one, who works at Britex Fabrics when she's not designing. Her lines, Leather Tongue (ready-to-wear) and DevonRose (children's clothing), are available online through her Etsy stores. Both stores, however, are temporarily closed while she works on a "special project." (Hmm…Secret's out now, isn't it?)

Emily says her influences are Helmut Lang, Gaultier, Thierry Mugler, and Pam Hogg, which seems consistent with the edgy, modern designs on her Leather Tongue website. Scrolling through her featured looks, we spotted texture, draping, and one sexy snood.

Though Emily isn't currently tweeting —her handle is@ilovedevonrose— you can cheer for her (or offer constructive criticism) on Twitter using the hashtag #DesignerEmily. And if you're looking for more of this talented SF-er's work, check out her most recent collection on Leather Tongue.
· Leather Tongue [Official Site]
· Alexandria von Bromssen: Project Runway Was Manipulative [Racked]