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'Project Runway' Designer Chris March Dead at 56

By Antoinette Bueno‍ 3:02 PM PDT, September 6, 2019

Project Runway designer Chris March had died, according to multiple reports.

TMZ reports that March had a heart attack and died on Thursday afternoon. He was 56 years old.

March was a finalist on season four of Project Runway and also appeared on season four of Project Runway All Stars. In 2011, he had his own show on Bravo called Mad Fashion about his work as a costume designer. His designs have been worn by A-list stars including Beyonce, Madonna, Lady Gaga and Meryl Streep.

Andy Cohen mourned his death on Friday.

The designer had been battling medical complications since he fell in his apartment two years ago and hit his head. March passed out and laid in his apartment for four days before he was able to get help, and was put in a medically induced coma and left partially paralyzed. Last March, Cohen tweeted a link to a Go Fund Me page for March, and said the Project Runway fan favorite was in "bad shape" and needed help with his medical care. According to the Go Fund Me page, March "nearly died" in June 2017 before he was hospitalized.

"We are grateful he pulled thru from a very difficult, delicate and demoralizing hospitalization," the page states. "As we all know Chris is an incredible human being -- funny, witty and a super talented designer. However, his road to recovery has not been an easy one, after being released from the hospital he was placed in a nursing facility. In this facility, he's had to deal with homophobia, shortage of rehab personnel and lack of funds."

The page also had a message from March to his fans, and the designer candidly talked about his money issues and being depressed.

"I have recently run into several setbacks in my recovery, the biggest one being that my medical insurance went up over 500 percent at the beginning of 2019," March said. "I am also in need of leg braces, specialized physical therapy, a hearing aid, and a new living arrangement. Where I am now is unbearable and makes me anxious and depressed every day. I have considered suicide many times. I have tried my best to make strides. There is a long road of physical therapy ahead of me. In December I was awarded disability, but California gives 95 percent of it to this facility, which leaves me with $52 per month."

"In the face of all my setbacks, I try to remain positive -- the leg braces are an exciting new tool on my road to recovery," he continued. "I am trying to get my tracheotomy removed, and I try my best to effect positive change in this facility for myself and all the residents here. I try to add humor, glamour, and a little glitter to my world."

Last July, March gave a positive update to ET about his health journey.

"I'm doing better and appreciate all the love from my fans, friends and family," he said.

A week prior, March had opened up on Facebook about the injury that upended his life.

"This has been a long and extremely difficult journey, physically and emotionally," he wrote. "And I have a long way to go, just like Dorothy. I could not have survived without my family and friends. I deeply appreciate everyone who has donated to the Go Fund Me page. I have good days and bad days and the worst days you can imagine, but I still have my brain, and for that miracle I am forever grateful."