“I know he is in a much better place,” she wrote on Facebook Feb. 25. “I can just imagine the welcome he received when he got to those pearly gates, with so many loved ones who had gone before. Oh what a time what a time he is having with his grandmothers, grandfather, uncles, aunts, cousins [and] good friends.”

Elkerson continued, “You left a hell of a mark on this earth!!! You will be always loved and never forgotten.” 

Ahead of his time on the fashion competition series, Lewis designed looks for his self-titled clothing line and worked as a creative director for an Italian menswear company called Stephen F., according to Bravo’s Project Runway website. While competing on season 18 for judges Karlie Kloss and Christian Siriano, he became friends with fellow contestant Brittany Allen, who also shared a heartfelt tribute to Lewis.

“I don’t have the words. My heart aches,” she wrote in a Feb. 25 Instagram post alongside a picture of them together. “The world and this industry will be dim without your light in it. Your love, your laughter, and your continuous support no matter where we were in life was everything.”

Lewis, who grew up with a creative family in New Jersey, found his love for fashion at a young age, which then blossomed when he was in high school.

“This kid named Johnny would sketch out all the theatrical costumes for the plays and I would watch him every lunch break,” he told the Newark Museum of Art’s “Queer Newark” project, “and he would teach me how to sketch. And after he graduated, everyone came to me.”

He added, “My junior year I started by making two dresses. My senior year I did about 10. And from there I was doing about 30 a year.”

After finding a mentor during his high school years, Lewis was able to articulate what he wanted to do with his life.

“I want to be a designer,” he reflected proudly. “I love clothes and I love fashion.”