Sha’Vi Lewis, Project Runway Contestant, Dies at 39

Project Runway alum Sha’Vi Lewis (full name Franklin ‘ShaVi’ Lewis Frierson Jr.) has died. He was 39.

The season 18 contestant’s death was confirmed by his aunt Deidra DivaDoll Elkerson in a Tuesday, Feb. 25, Facebook post. The family did not reveal Lewis’ cause of death. TMZ reported he died on Monday, Feb. 24.

“My fabulous, talented nephew, Sha’Vi Lewis, is gone from this place. I won’t hear his greetings to me anymore, ‘Hey Auntie Diva,’ ” she began. Elkerson asked people to keep Lewis’ family in their prayers, including his mother, Joyce Solomon-Frierson, his father, Franklin Frierson, his brother, Troy Solomon Frierson, and his sister, Akira Frierson Wood.

“I know he is in a much better place. I can just imagine the welcome he received when he got to those pearly gates, with so many loved ones who had gone before,” she continued. “Oh what a time what a time he is having with his grandmothers, grandfather, uncles, aunts, cousins [and] good friends.”

“My, my, my, [I] rest in joy nephew knowing that you left a hell of a mark on this earth!!! You will be always loved and never forgotten,” she concluded the tribute. Elkerson included a photo collage of her nephew, including one photo of him working at a sewing machine.

“We are in a state of disbelief as we come to the reality that our star has been caste into eternity. As the days move forward we will continue to wrap our minds around a future without your presence,” his sister Akira told TMZ. “While the world is just catching on to the name Sha’vi we knew he was and is great! Continue to pray as we mourn the loss of our loved one, Franklin Shavi Lewis Frierson Jr.”

Lewis grew up in New Jersey and attended Clark Atlanta University. After graduating, he pursued fashion design and produced his own clothing line, served as creative director for menswear company Stephen F, and designed for Pose season 2, as well as for celebrities like Cynthia Bailey.

Lewis was notably a contestant on Project Runway season 18 in 2019. He came in 10th place after he was sent home during the sixth episode.

His fellow contestants Brittany Allen and Nancy Volpe Beringer mourned his loss on Tuesday.

“I don’t have the words. My heart aches. The world and this industry will be dim without your light in it,” she wrote via Instagram. “Your love, your laughter, and your continuous support no matter where we were in life was everything. Season 18 forever and ever. Rest in power @shavilewis. Love, your Brit Brat,” Allen wrote in her Instagram tribute.

Allen also added Instagram Stories of Lewis. “Hold your friends so tight. Sometimes you wonder WHEN you will see them again. Not IF you will see them again,” she captioned the Instagram Stories. “Just doesn’t feel real💔.”

Volpe Beringer also penned a heartfelt tribute to Lewis in a Tuesday Instagram post. “If you are lucky, you get to meet a person who instantly fills your heart and soul with a love and a bond so strong, you know will it will last forever. Shavi Lewis, you were that person in my life. Your family became my family.”

“And I simply don’t know how to make sense of it or navigate my life without your unconditional love, your infectious humor, and pure spirit,” she continued. “But Shavi, I do know that I am blessed to have had you my life and that you will forever be a shining star for your family, friends, and the fashion community. I will never stop missing you or loving you. Rest in peace.”