Guest Judge, Project Runway Canada

A poster boy for the new global voyager, the Saigon-born, Toronto-based Tu Ly is trans-cultural and international. At the 2006 XX Winter Olympic Games in Torino, Italy, where he served as HBC’s designer for Team Canada, he scored gold with his graphic red and white uniforms. Team Canada was subsequently awarded the title of “Best Dressed” in the Olympic Village in a vote by other international Olympians. Currently, Tu is hard at work creating the collection for Beijing 2008 Summer Games.

In April 2006, Tu inked a deal with Saks Fifth Avenue. As Creative Director of two key private label collections, Tu creates wearable fashion for 40 Saks locations. He also serves as creative director on all advertising campaigns for Ports 1961; celebrity-favorite fashion brand. Tu has engaged the talents of supermodels Claudia Schiffer and Kate Moss for their campaigns.

As Roots Canada’s Design Director in 2000, Tu developed The Roots Passport Collection. In 1999 he conceived the SAMPLE concept, a luxurious knitwear collection for all seasons with boutiques located in New York and Los Angeles. SAMPLE is a modern fashion philosophy that has found favour with Oprah Winfrey, Heather Mills McCartney and Jessica Alba.