Another Rhode Islander is about to make her national television debut, and she is doing it with soda can tabs, bubble wrap and old newspapers.
Anna Molinari, 27, of New York City, spent part of her teenage years in Jamestown while her father served in the Navy. She is one of 22 designers competing on the 22nd season of “Project Runway,” which premieres tonight at 9:30 p.m. on Freeform.
Molinari, now based in New York City, has built her career and her brand on fully sustainable designs.
“I never really chose to push a sustainable narrative,” Molinari said in a recent interview. “To me, it’s just been ingrained in me, and I think we need more of that in the world and especially in the fashion industry, where it should just be instinctual to choose the more sustainable option.”
At 8 years old, after watching a “Project Runway” marathon, Molinari knew she wanted to become a fashion designer. She taught herself to sew using YouTube tutorials and whatever material she could find around the house, including old tablecloths and curtains. She also bought secondhand clothes using her babysitting money.
Her father was a career Naval officer who served for 28 years, which meant the family moved often. When Molinari was 15, he received orders to Naval Station Newport, and her parents began researching area schools. They happened upon St. George’s School, an elite Newport boarding school, and learned it had just launched a grant program for military families.
Molinari applied for and received a full scholarship, an opportunity that would have been financially out of reach given the school’s steep tuition.
Coming from public and military schools, she described the shift to an elite boarding school environment as somewhat of a culture shock, and it took time before she felt she truly belonged. Luckily, both she and her talent were welcomed with open arms.
“That support was something I had never felt in my education up until I lived in Rhode Island and went to St. George’s,” Molinari said. “It definitely gave me that motivation and that boost of confidence as I went to college.”
At St. George’s, Molinari discovered an environment that regarded her fashion ambitions as a serious enterprise rather than a hobby. The school gave her a fashion column in the student newspaper, allowed her to design costumes for school musicals, and awarded her its prize for artistic excellence at graduation.
Molinari’s family’s ties to Rhode Island extend beyond her school years. Her younger sister also received the same scholarship to St. George’s. Their parents, now retired from service, run the Orion Military Scholars. This Jamestown-based nonprofit funds the education of military children at boarding schools, enabling them to remain in one place for four years rather than move. The organization currently collaborates with 11 boarding schools across the country.
Molinari went on to study fashion design and entrepreneurship at Syracuse University, with a semester abroad at the London College of Fashion. She realized during college how harmful the fashion industry can be to the environment, an understanding that strengthened the sustainability practice she had been developing since childhood.
She founded Instinct Brand in 2022 with the motto “Make Sustainability Instinctual,” and has since built an audience of hundreds of thousands of followers across TikTok and Instagram, where she shares upcycling tutorials alongside her design work. Forbes named her to its 2025 30 Under 30 list in art and style, and she has designed custom pieces for public figures, including Julia Fox and Chloe Cherry of “Euphoria.”
On “Project Runway,” Molinari said the competitive format itself was the biggest adjustment, since her design process is usually solitary and collaborative.
“Getting to Project Runway, kind of the element of competition really shocked my system a bit,” she said. “I was in a room full of 22 insanely talented people — the most talent I’ve ever seen in one room.”
One of her signature techniques involves repetition, layering unconventional or uncomfortable materials so densely that they become wearable.
According to Molinari, the use of rigid, potentially sharp, or otherwise uncomfortable materials can be made wearable through dense layering or chainmailing. She explains that while a single nail would pierce and cause pain, a bed of nails does not, allowing these items to be successfully integrated into fashion.
“I think repetition makes things much more wearable,” she said.
In a recent lookbook, she revitalized damaged footwear sourced from Poshmark and eBay by applying specialized techniques, such as heat-shrinking trash bags over the shoes and hand-sewing soda can tabs into layered patterns.
Molinari says she plans to launch her first official professional lookbook this week alongside a redesigned website. She intends to begin regularly releasing one-of-one pieces for sale through instinct-brand.com by the end of the summer.
Asked what might draw Rhode Islanders to watch this season, Molinari said the show does not require a background in fashion to enjoy.
“I think what’s great about this season is that you don’t have to be a fashionista to be entertained by what happens in this competition,” she said. “I’m happy to represent our little but mighty state.”
Molinari will be the fifth Rhode Islander to appear on the show.
“Project Runway” Season 22 premieres tonight at 9:30 p.m. on Freeform, with streaming to follow on Hulu and Disney+.