Althea Campbell Harper (born October 5, 1984) is an American fashion designer. She was a contestant on Season 6 of Project Runway

Project Runway

Project Runway is an American reality television series on Lifetime Television, previously on the Bravo network, which focuses on fashion design and is hosted by model Heidi Klum. The contestants compete with each other to create the best clothes and are restricted in time, materials and theme...

 in which she finished as the runner up. Harper was born in Dayton, Ohio

Dayton, Ohio

Dayton is the 6th largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County, the fifth most populous county in the state. The population was 141,527 at the 2010 census. The Dayton Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 841,502 in the 2010 census...

.
She graduated from Oakwood High School with honors, and attended the University of Cincinnati’s DAAP program.
While at University, Harper interned with notable fashion designers Anna Sui

Anna Sui

Anna Sui is an American fashion designer. Her luxury brand retails globally in the Americas, Europe, Asia and the Middle East. Her clothing, fragrance, cosmetic, and accessories lines sell at Anna Sui stores in over 50 countries and are also widely distributed at leading department stores...

, and Zac Posen

Zac Posen

- Early life :Posen was raised in the SoHo neighborhood of lower Manhattan, the son of artist Stephen Posen and corporate lawyer Susan Posen. His interest in fashion design started early, and as a child he would steal yarmulkes from his grandparents' synagogue to make ball dresses for dolls...

, in NYC, she also lived in London interning with Alexander McQueen

Alexander McQueen

Lee Alexander McQueen, CBE was a British fashion designer and couturier best known for his in-depth knowledge of bespoke British tailoring, his tendency to juxtapose strength with fragility in his collections, as well as the emotional power and raw energy of his provocative fashion shows...

, and Vivienne Westwood

Vivienne Westwood

Dame Vivienne Westwood, DBE, RDI is a British fashion designer and businesswoman, largely responsible for bringing modern punk and new wave fashions into the mainstream.-Early life:...

.
Harper was picked, as an intern at McQueen, to aid with the Paris Fashion Show which she did attend as staff.
While interning in London U.K. she also took classes at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design

Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design

Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design is a constituent college of the University of the Arts London. The school has an outstanding international reputation, and is considered one of the world's leading art and design institutions...

.

Project Runway

After graduation from college Harper tried out for Project Runway. On the show her designs have received much praise from industry leaders. According to Tim Gunn

Tim Gunn

Timothy M. "Tim" Gunn is an American fashion consultant and television personality. He was on the faculty of Parsons The New School for 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 as its chief creative...

, former chair of fashion design at Parsons The New School for Design and host of Project Runway, “Everyone [thinks] she’s only on the show because she’s a tall blond beauty. But she’s extremely talented. She’s going to blow people away.”
Harper won two challenges a.) What a Woman Wants: where she designed an outfit for her model Tanisha Harper. b.) The Best of the Best: where she designed a companion piece to her previous win.
Harper also had three highs during the season. In one episode, Fashion Headliners guest judge Tommy Hilfiger

Tommy Hilfiger

Thomas Jacob "Tommy" Hilfiger is an American fashion designer and founder of the premium lifestyle brand Tommy Hilfiger.-Early life:...

 praised her work as ‘genius‘.

After Project Runway

Since Project Runway Harper has continued to be a strong force in the fashion industry. Harper moved to New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

 and began working as a knitwear designer for Tory Burch

Tory Burch

Tory Burch is an American fashion designer, business woman and philanthropist who was born, raised and educated in the Philadelphia metropolitan area....

, while continuing to work on her self named line. In Sept. of 2009 she presented her 2010 Spring collection ’Assimilation’ during Fashion Week and in Feb. 2010 she presented her 2010 Fall collection to rave reviews. She has dressed Kourtney Kardashian

Kourtney Kardashian

Kourtney Mary Kardashian is an American businesswoman, socialite, model, actress and reality television personality who gained fame as a cast member of Keeping Up with the Kardashians, Kourtney and Kim Take New York, and Kourtney and Khloé Take Miami.She is the oldest child of Kris Jenner and...

 as well as Kim Kardashian

Kim Kardashian

Kimberly Noel "Kim" Kardashian is an American socialite, television personality, model, actress and businesswoman. She is known for the E! reality series that she shares with her family—Keeping Up with the Kardashians, and its spin-offs including Kourtney and Kim Take New York...

 for the promotional image of Season 5 of Keeping Up with the Kardashians

Keeping Up with the Kardashians

Keeping Up with the Kardashians is an American reality television series that airs on E!. The series premiered in October 2007. It focuses on the personal and professional lives of the members of the Kardashian and Jenner family. There will be a 7th Season to premiere in 2012.As of September 2011,...

. Harper now works full time on her eponymous collection.

External links

• http://www.altheaharper.com/