Interview with "Project Runway"'s Steven Rosengard

“Call me crazy, but before the show aired, business was good,” says Project Runway’s Steven Rosengard with an audible sigh, “but now I’m having a bit of a dry spell. I actually had to fly to Paris to get laid!”

Rosengard’s dance card might not be full (yet!), but he’s positively glowing from all the positive attention he and his fellow designers have received on this season’s Project Runway. Best known for his pithy remarks (“The vibe in the room is one of, 'oh what was it that they had on the Titanic right before it sank?' Oh yeah, panic!"),

Rosengard, a textile preparatory for the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago, quickly became one of this season’s stand-out personalities. Summarily “auffed” from the show for a reinvented bridal gown that was more wake than wedding, Rosengard has nothing but genuine affection for his fellow designers, though he does have a choice word or two for judge and Elle magazine fashion director Nina Garcia.

AfterElton: You watched the season premiere at Crew (a Chicago gay sports pub). What was it like watching your self on TV for the first time in such a public venue?
Steven Rosengard: You know, it’s kind of funny. It wasn’t as creepy to watch myself on TV as I thought it would be. I hate listening to myself on voice mail, I hate the sound of my voice on voice mail, but oddly enough, watching myself on TV was kind of fun. It was kind of like watching well edited home movies. I was like, "There’s my friend Kit, and there’s Christian!" It was nice and familiar and normal. You never know how you are going to look on TV, but as far as these things go, I like the way I came across.

AE: How did knowing so much about the show, and how it’s shot and edited, change the way designers acted in front of the cameras?
SR: I felt we were all true to ourselves. I truly don’t think anyone acted out or acted one specific way or another for the camera. None of us had “The Real World Syndrome” where one of us was like, okay, I gotta act like this one and be the skank, or I’ve gotta be the jock.

No, I didn’t even tan prior to filming, which I regret greatly! I will be tan the next time America sees me damn it — and slightly more svelte.

AE: Tell me about the dress, Steven.
SR: The heinous dress that I should be shot down for? That crime against humanity — that dress?! Everyone said it was so “funeral” and so “morbid.” Those comments are coming from a panel of judges who sit there week to week in nothing but black! Interesting, hmm! Talk about funereal! Are you in perpetual mourning, Nina? I think even Queen Victoria has gone to purple now!

My model, by model standards, was plus-sized and she wanted something that was in black and sleek. And I wanted to give her something that could carry her through out the day. You know, I don’t know. It’s all about your own perception, I guess.