Dress to Impress
Nantucket's Madeline Malenfant competes on Project Runway
Interview by Brian Bushard
Madeline Malenfant did not start sewing until she had graduated from college, which might come as a surprise to anyone who’s seen her compete on the most recent season of Project Runway. But over the past few years, Malenfant—the daughter of retired Steamship Authority Captain Bruce Malenfant and Nantucket Town Moderator Sarah Alger—has made a fashion statement in a big way.
In 2021, she launched her own clothing brand, and is the head designer of the lifestyle brand Cult of Individuality. And as one of 12 contestants on Heidi Klum’s longtime fashion competition series Project Runway, she was competing this season for a grand prize of $200,000, a spread in Elle magazine and a six-month representation with Agentry PR.
N Magazine: You grew up surrounded by island clothing institutions and boutiques. Did they shape your fashion sense?
Malenfant: The thing that shaped me the most—more than the clothes I’m surrounded by—is the history of the place. It’s the preserved architecture and the beauty that we all try to maintain and work so tirelessly to do. Growing up with Sarah Alger as my mom, I spent lots of time that I probably shouldn’t have outside of school, very bored at [Historic District Commission] meetings. What I gathered from that was that this island really values history and beauty, and I think that those things are really integral to my design ethos.
N Magazine: Are there certain eras of Nantucket style that might be underappreciated or lost in time?
Malenfant: My brother and I do a lot of research on the fashion history of Nantucket, because we’ve often toyed with the idea of making our own brand here. There are a couple of things we’ve been trying to figure out via vintage photos—these pants that sailors used to wear, and I don’t know if they doctored the pants themselves but they have these red fabric as patches on their pants. They’re bright white deckhand pants with these red patches, probably to cover up holes from lots of work, and those seem to be forgotten. I would also say madras is definitely falling short these days. It’s such a crazy textile, it’s really hard to get right, and it’s really hard to get it to look good, but it’s a really cool idea.
N Magazine: Did you grow up watching Project Runway?
Malenfant: I indeed did. I had season two on DVD and probably watched it six times through.
N Magazine: Did you ever think you would compete on the show?
Malenfant: I definitely didn’t. I didn’t start sewing until I was 22 and I was in college. Until that point, resources felt limited on Nantucket—it felt like I couldn’t find a place to learn how to sew, and maybe I was limiting myself, and I think I carried that belief into my 20s. I would watch [the contestants] and be completely amazed at what they were doing on TV and think to myself, “How in the world are you capable of doing this in that short amount of time?”
N Magazine: What career did you initially pursue?
Malenfant: I studied visual arts with a focus in sculpture. The career was as an artist, always, not necessarily in the fashion industry. I felt that because fashion was a commodity, it was going to be a lot easier to go into that field. That’s what maybe initially made me pivot.
N Magazine: How do you define your approach to fashion? Is there a core philosophy you adhere to?
Malenfant: I think the core philosophy is quite simple. I try to work on it every day. I try to think about it every day. I truly believe that if you want to do something creative, you really, really have to work. You have to spend the time doing it. That’s not to say that I don’t spend a lot of time moping around. I take days off. It’s really hard to succeed as a creative. My goal is to just keep pushing and pushing, and if you end up putting enough time into it, something will work out. And thus far, at least, it’s worked out.
N Magazine: On Project Runway, you're always up against the clock. How does that compare to your usual work?
Malenfant: I talk a lot about trial and error, and I realized on the show that that’s a part of my process. Those are the things that you learn under a time crunch—your creative process doesn't necessarily work all the time.
N Magazine: What was your experience working with Heidi Klum, Nina Garcia and Law Roach, or celebrity guest judges like Tyra Banks, Sofia Vergara and Nikki Glaser?
Malenfant: Insane. I was definitely starstruck by Heidi Klum. But more than being starstruck, they were actually really valuable. I like to think that I really listened to them and took their feedback. There are moments when you feel like you’re on TV and you say, “Is this me and my real body?” Then you realize that they’re obviously real people giving you real advice and listening to you and taking the time to look at your work, critique it and give you a thoughtful response about it.
N Magazine: Tell us about your clothing brand you created.
Malenfant: My brand has a fascination with historical and vintage eras with a modern twist. There’s a big emphasis on the Renaissance era. I take a lot of inspiration from that era, mainly because I studied it a lot in costume design school [at the London College of Fashion], but I take inspiration from all eras. I worked on a collection that mainly focused on 1950s Dior silhouettes. Anything is fair game for me, but I definitely look toward the past in my brand.
N Magazine: Nantucket style is often thought of as preppy, but to you, what is Nantucket style?
Malenfant: Nantucket style, like anything Nantucket, lives in two worlds. There’s the year-round community, and there’s a summer community. They’re both doing very different things in tandem. It’s a two-part machine. I also appreciate the grunginess and the sort of outdoorsy nature of the year-round community. In general, all style is changing. At one point it was very Ralph Lauren, Murray’s and J. Crew. Now—I think because of Instagram—the island is changing quite a bit, but so is fashion. We’re almost homogenizing a little bit, and maybe not in a bad way. It seems like people have a lot of access to the same thing and similar things and dupes to things if you want to get them cheaper.
N Magazine: What is your take on Nantucket Reds?
Malenfant: I do love a Nantucket Red, and it must come from Murray’s if it comes from anywhere. To me, the idea is that you have something red that’s been sun-bleached, and I think that’s kind of a cool idea as an island textile. The things that you wear change over time, and the color may fade, but it impresses time and history into it.
N Magazine: Where do you see Nantucket fashion headed in the next five to 10 years?
Malenfant: I’ve always really loved the vintage, nautical side of things. I love sailor uniforms. I love uniforms in general. I would hope that things go toward heavy-duty canvas—things that you can wear for ages. As you wear them, age gives them a new life and a new meaning.
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