Ra'mon-Lawrence Coleman

Age: 31.
Birthplace: Chicago.
Current residence: Milwaukee.
Training: Pre-med background; attended the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and SAGA Industries in Denmark.
Professional experience: Designer for Target's Mossimo Black line, International Fur Trade Federation, Linda Campisano, PriceWalton Couture, Gary Graham and his own label, ra'mon-lawrence.
Current gig: Designer for Kohl's, including Lauren Conrad's line.

Photos by Robb Long Although Ra'mon-Lawrence Coleman is a Chicago native and moved to Milwaukee last year to take a design position with Kohl's, he considers the Twin Cities the place where he came into his own as a fashion designer. "The great thing about Minneapolis is it's so raw and there is a very strong underground movement," Coleman says. "It's like electricity, it's so exciting."

Coleman moved to Minneapolis in 2004 to design for Target, and before long his solo work was being showcased at such popular events as Walker Art Center's Un-Prom. He debuted his first full collection at Voltage: Fashion Amplified at First Avenue in 2007, and finally staged his own 52-piece solo show, "Eluded Love," in 2008.

But Coleman's penchant for the highly conceptual was first revealed at the Art As Fashion/Fashion Art show in 2005, with a collection that merged textile innovation with iconic movie vixens. One piece was a Marlene Dietrich-inspired gown made from fur, pieced together with wire and suspended from the ceiling. "There was also the first piece I ever created," Coleman recalls, "a gown in which the sleeve of the dress was the hem and there were 52 layers of silk organza. It was very conceptual."

Coleman can just as deftly design clothing for mass retailers such as Target or Kohl's, and in his most recent designs for his ra'mon-lawrence label, he appears to have found a balance between the avant-garde and the wearable. "I think that anyone can say they're a couturier and design something that's $2,000 and really over the top," he says, "but to be able to take that idea and design it for $20, that's where it's a bit more of a challenge. If you're truly a designer, you should be able to do both ends of the gamut."

His most recent challenge has been a high-profile one -- co-designing Lauren Conrad's line for Kohl's. "He's great," Conrad said during a book signing at the Mall of America this summer. "It's so cool because he wants to make the line very wearable and very available, but he's still been really great about me having a voice in it."

While in Minneapolis, Coleman also drew attention for his personal fashion statements. For the photo shoot accompanying this story, Coleman showed up with a wild new hairstyle -- a look he fittingly coined a "fro-hawk." Couple his Kanye West-meets-Oscar Wilde personal style and his admitted penchant for drama (he mockingly calls himself a "divo"), and it's a combination made for reality TV.

Despite a busy schedule, the designer hasn't lost any drive. Regardless of the still-under-wraps outcome of "Project Runway," Coleman makes it clear he isn't about to sit still. His latest project: putting together his own show at New York Fashion Week in September, minus any assistance from "Runway."

"I just can't wait around for things to happen to me," he says. "I have to make them happen."

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