‘Mad Men’ Costume Designer to Headline Reality Show

Jon Hamm’s "Don Draper" character may be the poster boy of "Mad Men," but the show’s costume designer Janie Bryant is about to headline her own reality show. With the help of E.J. Johnston and James Deutch, co-cretaors of NBC’s "Fashion Star," she is developing a new design competition series that premiers next year. The program is tentatively being called Janie Bryant’s Hollywood.

Having seen her fame rise with Mad Men’s popularity, Bryant has enjoyed an assortment of commercial opportunities including a Mad Men Collection for Banana Republic, a signature line for QVC and ambassadorships with such brands as Maidenform and Downy Wrinkle Releaser. Early on in her career, she learned the ropes on Seventh Avenue working under the designer John Scher. But her career took a different turn, after meeting a costume designer at a cocktail party and learning about that line of work.

Her latest gig is a natural, according to Johnston. "Many of today’s viewers are obsessed with the costume design of their favorite screen characters. Now we can bring that art and process to the forefront with one of the best in the business," he said.