He never had any formal training — though his mother was a seamstress for the Rockettes — but now Central Florida fashion designer Jeffrey Kelly Abess is creating couture for the likes of Cardi B and making a splash on TV’s “Project Runway.”

That means coming face-to-face with new judge Tyra Banks — whose fearsome reputation preceded her.

“100%. Yes. Absolutely. I got to stare down Tyra Banks,” Abess says with a laugh. “I got to give her a ‘smize’ right to her face.”

Abess, who lives in Davenport, Florida, with partner Eric Rivera, is a contestant on the latest season of the venerable reality-TV competition that starts July 9 on Freeform. “Project Runway” episodes can be streamed the following day on Disney+ and Hulu.

Banks, currently suing Netflix over a documentary that paints her in an unflattering light, coined the term “smize” — smiling with your eyes while your mouth remains neutral — on her own reality show, “America’s Next Top Model.” Her tough and controversial reputation made her surprise addition to the “Project Runway” judging panel unnerving.

“She was there in all her glory,” Abess said. “When we went out on the stage and saw her, we were dying.”

The addition of Banks is just one of the changes to the show, which sees fashion designers vie for the judges’ favor in various competitions.

“It’s a crazy, crazy season,” said Abess, noting there were more competitors than ever — 22 in honor of the show’s 22nd season.

“They could tell I was self-taught,” he said. “I’m the only one in the competition who didn’t go to school for it. I’m very different — in a good way.”

This season showcases the competitors even more than usual, Abess said.

“They structured it to really give more exposure to the designers,” he explained. Contestants also were given more chances to win prizes. But that didn’t reduce the stress.

“There’s a lot of pressure,” he said. “The judges are intimidating. They’re standing right in front of you deciding your future. There’s so much more they do than what the audience sees. They talk to us for 15-20 minutes.”

The pressure was exacerbated by the pace and length of the competition. Abess was sequestered in the cast accommodations for nearly three months. “Filming every day and barely sleeping … it gets to you,” he said.

One of the biggest adjustments: No cell phones allowed, except for a weekly supervised time allotted for business calls.

“You start talking to yourself,” Abess said with a laugh. “It’s like going crazy.”

Because Rivera was running his business in his absence, Abess was able to speak with him during the weekly phone call.

“But we would never be able to talk about personal things because they are sitting there watching you,” he recalled. “It is truly a mental game, and they have it down to a science.”

There were some perks: Food could be delivered from “the finest places,” Abess said, and a production assistant took him to the Broadway musical “Death Becomes Her.”

Of course, he can’t reveal the competition winner, but Abess drops this tantalizing preview: “I do very well, I can tell you that.”

TV personality and designer to the stars is a far cry from his beginnings in Dearborn, Michigan. His mother went to work for the Rockettes, and Abess would watch her. He learned to sew and found work in retail for brands such as Louis Vuitton and Lacoste.

“The biggest thing I took from that, though, is I got to know about working with people,” he said.

Moving to Central Florida in 2008, he entered the world of male pageants — which taught him how to handle pressure, a skill that proved critical on “Project Runway.”

In 2020, Abess started designing his own pageant costumes.

“I couldn’t find people to do it for me so I started making my own,” he said. “And I started winning.”

Soon, the holder of 20 pageant titles said, “people started commissioning me, and it became a business.”

Social media platforms such as TikTok and Instagram spread the word, and before long celebrity stylists began reaching out. Suddenly he was designing for record-setting female rapper Cardi B, singer-songwriter Latto, professional wrestlers, contestants on “RuPaul’s Drag Race” and award-winning alt-country singer Sierra Ferrell.

“She won four Grammys in my dress,” Abess said proudly.

Although business is booming, he has no plans to leave Orlando for a bigger city such as New York.

“It’s not built for fashion,” said Abess of Orlando, who takes buying trips elsewhere and peruses thrift shops to find interesting material. But his location is part of what sets him apart from other designers.

“My clients love that I live here,” he said. “We’ll go to the theme parks like they’re on vacation.”

Abess enjoys the parks, too, as well as kayaking and traveling.

“I’m a sucker for traveling and looking at architecture. It’s my thing,” he said. “I say to my friends, ‘Can I just walk around and look at the buildings, please? I’ll be happy.'”

He hopes viewers respond to his affection for Central Florida on “Project Runway.”

“I make some extraordinary, cool stuff. I hope they see the passion and determination I have,” he said. “I’m representing Orlando, and I want people to be proud. I love Central Florida.”

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