BPR: Your Mom was hilarious in your audition video, what was it like growing up in your house?Katy: She’s crazy, but in a fantastically good way! She’s very creative and owns a local toy store company called “Creative Kidstuff” which tries to focus more on art and learning toys. I grew up with tons of art projects and experiments. The two of us were starting new “hobbies” every other day! It was a great house to grow up in because my mom was the creative artsy lady and my dad was the computer programmer/math guy, so I think I got a good amount of each, which helps balance out my life!
BPR: Your leopard painted carwas the bomb! Did you do that yourself? It must have attracted a lot of attention!
Katy: Thanks! I loved that car! Sadly it died a few years ago. My mom always warned me that when I turned 16 I would get a car, but it was going to be a beater! She actually found an old, old, old hatchback that some local artist had painted like a tiger, so she bought it for me. That car ended up being SO old and beat up that it lasted for only a month! She felt bad for me so she got me a newer car and I actually met up with the artist and the two of us painted the new car leopard print! It was originally white and had some scratches which the dealer offered to repaint before we took it home… you should have seen his face when we said no thanks and told him what we had planned!
BPR: What was your reaction to getting the casting call from Tim, were you surprised?
Katy: I was so surprised! Every step of the audition process I would tell my family, well…I made it this far, but that’s probably it. My family was convinced I would make it, but I didn’t want to believe them and then be disappointed. When Tim calls you to say you’re in, he also says that you can’t tell anyone, even your family! It was so hard not to go running around Minneapolis and tell everyone I saw! My coworkers at Target actually guessed that I was on the show. I put in for a leave of absence and the email went around that I was leaving for a bit and the first thing people did was come up to me and say “Are you on Project Runway?!?” None of them even knew I was applying for it in the first place!
BPR: Did you watch Seasons 1 and 2? Who were your favorite designers?
Katy: Of course I did! Project Runway has been the only show I’ve ever said; “I need to be home at 9pm to watch.” I’ve never been so addicted to a show before. I actually watch is less this season because it’s weird to watch myself. Guess that won’t be a problem anymore! My favorite from season 1 was Jay hands down. I liked him from the beginning because you could tell that he had a different point of view than most designers. My favorite from season 2 ended up being Kara. I wasn’t a big fan of her garments for the challenges, but her final collection was hands down the best. I think Chloe, Daniel V and Santino all had great collections, but they are lucky Kara wasn’t in the running!
BPR: You were pegged this year as the young “student” designer. Did you feel that was a bit unfair considering the years of professional experience you have under your belt?
Katy: Yeah, I do find it unfair. I think that’s the one thing I’ve been really unhappy with through the whole experience. I understand that it’s TV, but I think every designer should have been given time in the first episode to talk about their experience and show what they’ve done. I believe that only Bradley and myself didn’t get to do that. I’m not a “veteran” of the industry, but I think that 3 years in a professional job and starting my own line should count for something!
BPR: Of the three challenges you participated in, which was your favorite?
Katy: Surprisingly enough, I think this was my favorite challenge! It was the first one where I got to work on my own, pick out fabrics that I wanted and got to work with the cutest dog ever! I am still very happy with my design and wouldn’t change it even knowing the outcome. I also thought the 1st challenge was a lot of fun and again I was very happy with what I made. To clear up some confusion on that one, the dress was not a trash bag! It was made out of these turquoise and green striped lunch bags and was actually woven together on the bodice. Yes, I understand that you normally wouldn’t wear a plastic dress, but for some reason I thought it was supposed to be an “innovative” challenge! Go figure… BPR: Was it strange to be followed around by cameras and microphones all the time?
Katy: Actually, not really. I know everyone says that you get used to the cameras and I never believed them before, but you really do start to forget that they are around! You are so focused on the challenge and trying to finish a great design that you don’t have time to worry about the cameras being around. The only time for me that got weird was when I had to use the bathroom. I think most of the cast was a little “gun shy” at first! The sound guys turn down your mike so they can’t hear, but it was still weird…I would always try to cover my mike with my hands, as if that would help!
BPR: Fans were very upset last week when Malan was sent home. The two of you seemed to work well together as a team. Do you feel Malan deserved his fate?
Katy: I don’t think Malan should have gone home. Malan and I actually spoke before the runway and I told him exactly what I would (and did) say on the runway if they asked me who should be out, it wasn’t a surprise to him. I still firmly believe that between the two of us he needed to take credit for the dress, which he did and I thank him for that, but I don’t think he should have gone home. I didn’t like the dress, but I didn’t really like Vincent’s either and between Malan and Vincent, Malan did a great job on the other half of the challenge, which was teamwork. I also think that Angela got the bad deal when it came to how they showed her teamwork with Vincent. I don’t think either of them worked well together and should have both been to blame for it.
BPR: You seemed very comfortable with your dog Tallulah. Do you own a dog or have one growing up?
Katy: I’ve actually never had a dog; I’ve always had cats. I am definitely an animal person, my whole family is. My mom, my brother and I actually went down to New Orleans last year to help out with the animal rescue. That was probably one of the most rewarding experiences I’ve ever had and got to work with many different animals (some of them not so nice), so Tallulah was a dream! She was the cutest thing and could do all these cool tricks. She also sat perfectly on my table and just seemed to want to watch me sketch. I think the two of us made a great pair because we are both so laid back!
BPR: The key for you seemed to be not having the matching hoodie for the model. You told Tim you would do it. Was it simply a matter of not having enough time?
Katy: I know you’re supposed to listen to Tim! I took his opinion and criticism much more to heart than any of the judges, but sometimes you’ve got to do what feels right as a designer. When Tim and I were talking, his main concern during the day was that the dress looked to “evening” because I hadn’t hemmed it and left it extra long. The hoodie conversation came around more because of that, rather than how simple it was. He wasn’t super excited about it, but he seemed to like the dress, he was just concerned that it wouldn’t be “sporty” enough. That’s why I offered up the suggestion of making a hoodie. I actually made a hoodie and just had a few trims left to finish when I tried it on with the dress the next morning. It just didn’t make sense to me… if it had been my intention from the beginning, the judges would question why I covered up all the details on the dress. I was happier without the hoodie and was concerned that if I showed it, they would say it looked like an afterthought. Yes, hindsight is 20-20 and I could have been more ambitious for this challenge from the beginning, but with what I designed, I wouldn’t have been happy with the hoodie and I stand by my decision to not send it down the runway. Bradley barely finished, Angela’s design was way out there and Keith didn’t do anything for his dog.
BPR: Did you agree with the judges decision?
Katy: Of course not! I didn’t want to go home! Without sounding bitter or mad, because I had a fantastic time on the show and loved being a part of it, I didn’t agree with the judges at all. I don’t think mine was a contender for the win, but I firmly believe that my dress was not the worst designed up there. Angela’s outfit got much harsher feedback then mine did, Keith didn’t even follow/finish the challenge and I just didn’t get what the judges were seeing in Bradley’s (although I’m glad he didn’t go home, what a crappy birthday that would be!). I also was pretty surprised that they called me out for being to simple, but they didn’t mention Vincent’s dress. It was about as simple as a black dress can be with leggings underneath. I also have to defend myself with what Heidi said at the end. If their opinion was that it was simple and lacked inspiration, then fine, that’s their opinion, but I do not agree with the comment that it was poorly constructed! Like I said on the runway, between the straight stitch machine and the serger that we had, the serger was the only good way for me to hem the stretch fabric. I did a bunch of tests with different hems and stitches and that was the cleanest. The hem was cut at different lengths to show the layers and was pretty even. I’m not sure if it was the angle or how it had fallen after Amanda walked that made it look uneven, but I was pretty upset when they said it was poorly constructed because that is something I pride myself on when making clothes! Anyways, that’s that. I just needed to get my opinion out there!
BPR: Anything that you said on the show that you wish you could take back?
Katy: No. Not at all. I went into the show with the intention of being myself and being honest. I’m sorry if that appeared boring on the show, but I’m proud of how I acted and treated the other designers. I would much rather go out the first challenge (or 3rd it turns out) and be remembered for being a designer, then go out towards the end and be remembered as a character. My hope is that anyone who would want to work with me or hire me will appreciate how professional and respectful I was, rather than be turned off because I talked crap about other people… and I AM a really fun person! I’m just sorry that didn’t come across on the show! ☺
BPR: Were you able to develop any relationships with the other designers? Do you still stay in touch?
Katy: You guys will never believe this, but 2 of my favorite people are Angela and Vincent! I know they are coming off in a bad light, but these 2 people are so sweet and nice to me I couldn’t possibly dislike them! They were both very supportive of me throughout the whole competition and even to this day they send me nice little notes here and there. Angela would even give me quick little back rubs in the elevator of while we were waiting! All in all though, there are only a few people in the cast I don’t care to keep in touch with. Most other people I honestly enjoyed.
BPR: What can we expect to see from Katherine Gerdes in the near future?
Katy: I’m not sure, but whatever it is, it’ll be awesome! Actually, I am planning a lot of stuff for my website. I’m looking into selling clothes (and maybe doggie hoodies) on the site and starting next week, I will be recreating each episode I missed out on for my website. We’re calling the web episodes (yes, there will be videos!) “AUF’D (from the) RUNWAY. Ha! Get it? Kind of like “Off Broadway,” “Auf’d Runway.” Well, I think it’s funny! ☺ I will be following each challenge’s rules and creating what I might have done for the show. The difference is that I will be focusing it more on the creative process of fashion design (like a design journal) and throwing in little “how to’s” and tutorials to show tips and tricks for sewing, draping, ect. That is unless I can figure out how to create lots of juicy drama between myself and, well… myself!
Good luck Katherine! We'll definitely be following along to see how you do.
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