Celeb: Fashion designer Mondo Guerra, “Project Runway” season 8 runner-up (conventional reality show wisdom says he was robbed), who publicly revealed his HIV positive status for the first time on the competition show.
Cause: HIV and Aids awareness and outreach at the 2015 U.S. Conference on AIDS.
Scene: Known for his love of bright colors, bold prints and big glasses, Guerra, 37, cut a decidedly less loud figure in platform sneakers and a pair of ripped gray jeans while strolling the exhibit booths at USCA recently but somehow still made a splash. Unlike in previous years, the Colorado native had no official role at the conference. He wasn’t speaking or signing. He was just showing up. And everyone noticed. Even the people who didn’t really know who he was.
Snippets from the crowd that buzzed around the semi-celeb: “Hey, Mondo, can I grab a selfie?” “You know who he is, right?” “No, I know who he is. I saw the episode.” “He has to be cool. He’s just like walking around here.”
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The team working the Cautionwear condoms booth was one of the few who don’t recognize the reality star. One woman asked Guerra to fill out an entry form to win 2,000 free condoms. What on Earth would he do with so many? A condom fashion show for charity, obviously. “I’ve done like three or four of them. It’s a big thing.” You can use the wrappers, the different-colored latex, even braiding the condoms together, anything, he explained. “It’s crazy.”
At another popular booth, he told a young man from Texas who designs tie-dyed tank tops for charity to definitely send him one — a medium — when the new line was ready. “If you need any help with anything,” said Mondo, leaving the rest open ended.
Sound bite: “I apply a lot of that truth and honesty that I shared within my story to my work. Working as an advocate has really improved my work as a designer. If you asked me 10 years ago what to expect I would never have expected all this.”
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