It was surreal because she lives in England and you know I kind of have been sequestered with no sign or clue of what’s going [on] outside in the real world, and then suddenly you’re in the mix of the Project Runway bubble and your sort of involved in the challenges and you’ve got this like competition brain and you look up on the stage and it’s your sister, who you’re really close to and I love dearly ... And it was just crazy.
I felt like I was in a bizarre parallel universe.
The aspect of dressing a plus-size woman was a little bit more challenging than any other aspect of the challenges. Just because it’s not something I’ve done before and I really wasn’t sure where to begin or was sort of unfamiliar with some of the basic fundamentals of working in that.
I actually designed for Vincent’s sister so, but this experience is the same in that you want to respect the person you’re designing for. And also you know who their sibling or son or whoever happens to be is and you don’t want to sort of make a mockery of them or make them look horrible. You want to be considerate of their feelings so it kind of was this loaded situation from all angles.
In retrospect, I completely wish I had gone with my original plan for putting Patricia in just like a zebra print kimono wrap t-shirt whatever with the slogan that said “stop picking on me” because if you’re going to go out you may as well go out with a bang. As it were I just kind of fizzled out. So. Here’s the bang.
It felt like an episode with a lot of drama going on, certainly. And whether or not it was action-filled it was certainly loaded with a lot of just high and low points and ... action. There it is.
Robert’s Exit Interview, Part II
I find design inspiration in many things, in books, magazines, movies – primarily movies, I love film. Film is a great source of inspiration, especially classic films. Because classic films, or older movies, the movies were so carefully planned and thought out and the whole idea of these films being so powerful and evocative and the fact that movies that are classic still stay with us today and still resonate with younger people or whatever and touch generations of people. I think that’s something that really informs my sense of design.
I design very sort of classic, feminine, beautiful clothes. I think clothes should enhance and elevate people -- when they put them on they’re going to feel like a million dollars. Like you changed for the good.
I buy my own clothes all over the place. I like, I love Paul Smith clothes. I buy a lot of my clothes at Jeffrey and ... but I also just mix in that sort of basic t-shirts, and I buy Abercrombie and ... I don’t buy thrift store though because I’m not that cool or smart. I go into thrift stores and I just think ew, someone’s been wearing this. Yuck.
My favorite go-to outfit, well that depends. Like my favorite go-to outfit for getting laid is like tight jeans and like a t-shirt. My favorite go-to outfit for like looking dressy is like a Paul Smith shirt and jacket and you know clean jeans. I guess jeans for everything. My favorite go-to outfit for the gym is a wife-beater and shorts. Not ____ but like, gym shorts.
I loved being filmed all the time. I know everyone else hated it. I didn’t know what to do if there wasn’t a camera in my face. I just felt lost. So I think that’s because I didn’t get enough attention as a kid. Actually this is a total lie, I used to get tons of attention as a kid. I used to play the piano. So this must be an extension of loving attention once you’re used to getting it and I probably had an attention deficit for a while so this was kind of making up for it.
The most frustrating moment personally and professionally was when we would be given a challenge and we would be working towards doing it, and though it was part and parcel of the deal, where we would have to sort of stop everything we were doing and accommodate the filming schedule and it just, it ... ordinarily I was fine with it and everything was cool but there was one day where it all just got to me and I felt like gosh I just want to do something in a normal timeframe and be able to complete this instead of having all these interruptions and constantly waiting for something. And that’s when you kind of remember what life was like on the outside and you feel sort of frustrated and unable to do anything because you knew what you were getting into when you signed up for it, or I did certainly, and so you don’t want to blame the people who are facilitating getting it done and you don’t really have any other outlet of how to be frustrated in an appropriate way.
It was the fashion icon challenge and it was because the model had chosen the icon for us and Danielle was my model and they were like your models are coming in for a fitting but I didn’t really want the model because I had nothing to fit on her as of the time and I really just needed to work and get sh*t done and it just seemed like this huge inconvenience sort of. I know they were doing it for a reason and, but of course it happens and it all has to happen on film and so they have to stop everything and set up the shot and they need everyone in the workroom and I just was like ugh, I’m late and I f***ed up my first idea and I’m already behind and I just need to work. It was a little frustrating.
There were so many funny moments on the show. One of my favorites has to have been when Vincent was um ... Vincent is just, has hundreds of funny moments, but one of them was the dog falling off the runway. That was a classic, just, you can’t ask for a better moment. And my second favorite moment was when Jeffrey showed me the outfit that he had made for Angela’s mother and I said it looks like she belongs on the Starship Enterprise and Jeffrey said she is the Starship Enterprise and I just died laughing, I have to say.
Robert’s Exit Interview, Part III
It’s scary to think what’s gong to end up being shown when you know that like every minute of your life has been filmed and it all has to end up in the hands of some editor and they might hate you and splice it together in some unattractive way – which of course with me is impossible – but, on the chance that it might be I have this fear of seeing and just be like oh my God, that’s what I look like, horrors, blah.
I said all these stupid lines at the promo which were like I’m gonna win, and I’m the best person and all this sort of like shameless self-promoting lines which I didn’t really believe at the time but it’s just like you know I’m a ham so I’m going to say anything anyone tells me to. And I wish to God I had been a little bit more circumspect about saying any of those things.
If I could say one thing to one person on the show [thinks for a long time] ... that’s a loaded question. I can’t ... I’m perplexed, I’m dumbfounded, sorry. I should have a better answer. I would say Heidi, stop picking on me!
I would love to see Kayne, Michael, and Vincent just because they’re three people I really liked. I really like Jeffrey too though, Jeffrey’s super talented. And so it’s going to be a tough one, it’s going to be tough to see who ends up there. But I think Kayne, Vincent and Michael were really good friends to me and treated me well and supported me and I just wish the best for them.
Michael is a gem. Michael Knight is the last of a dying breed of gentlemen who is respectful and nice and cleans the bathroom when it’s filthy and tidy and just really a great guy. I’m rooting for Michael all the way.
Bradley was a trip without tickets as a roommate. He was like, totally marched to the tune of a different drummer, but he was a really nice guy too and very sort of like just to himself and sort of did his own thing. And sweet so it’s hard to not like someone like that.
I think, oddly, that I’m going to say this, that Jeffrey is the most talented. Because he the most, sort of true to his own vision, he has a very distinct visions. He’s pretty good at achieving that vision and knows a great deal about patternmaking, sewing, so on, so forth.
I think Jeffrey has a lot more to do to live up to his own expectations and I think he’s going to surprise everyone and I hope he does.
I like to just kind of keep fluid and free and whatever happens, happens. I’m probably going back to Barbie, if she’ll have me after this airs – I might be looking for a job as a PA at Magical Elves. I’m available.
I like to refer to it as Project Stunway now because I don’t’ think anything could have or would have prepared me for what I went through and I’ll look back on this with fond memories and at the same time sort of in disbelief that it ever happened. It feels like nothing I’ve known and I can’t imagine anything ever will be like this again.
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