‘Project Runway’ Contestant Arrested

Project Runway alum Aaron Michael has been arrested.

The designer, who placed sixth during Season 19 of the fashion design competition show, was arrested Thursday in West Virginia on an out-of-state warrant, according to court documents obtained by TMZ.

While details as to why Michael’s arrest warrant was issued have yet to be made public, the designer did pose for a mugshot and is reportedly being held without bond at the North Central Regional Jail in Greenwood, West Virginia.

Michael was eliminated from Project Runway back in the penultimate episode of the 2022 season.

Prior to his time on Project Runway, Michael grew up in Moorefield, a small town in West Virginia, where he “always had a passion for fashion,” according to his Bravo bio.

After the death of his mother, Michael was raised by his grandparents, “who made sure he never felt less than others and would always be himself.”

As a self-taught designer, Michael cut his first pattern by tracing his body onto fabric while lying on his friend’s basement floor, and he would go on to embrace the drag scene during his 20-year stint as a designer and host of a weekly drag show. Michael also dressed numerous RuPaul’s Drag Race contestants, in addition to a number of university and regional theater actors.

Michael’s 2019 showing at New Orleans Fashion Week, “put him on the map” and was a “defining moment in his career.”

Michael also made his way onto the pageant scene as a designer, dressing multiple national pageant winners and contestants, including 2022’s Miss West Virginia, Elizabeth Lynch, who featured in one of Michael’s most recent Instagram posts.

“It was the first gown she tried on, and well…. The rest is history,” Michael captioned a post with Lynch shared in December 2022. “It’s been more than 50 years since Miss West Virginia has placed at Miss America. A huge congrats to Miss West Virginia Elizabeth Lynch! It was truly a privilege to be a small part of your journey.”