AE:
Are you one of the youngest siblings?
RL: I’m the last boy. There are seven girls and seven boys. And you’re expected to play football and wrestle — and I did — but when I decided to be myself and come out and be comfortable with who I am, it was a big leap of faith. And then to put myself on TV and say, “Here I am!” and to have my brothers and my family see this, and see who their brother really is, that’s part of the emotional part of my journey.
That’s why I think I was so emotional, because I really exposing myself to not only the world, but to my family. It was kind of like coming out to them and saying, “Hey, I’m here. Do you still love me?”
AE:
What was your favorite challenge from the show?
RL: My favorite challenge had to be the Levi’s challenge, only because I love denim. And my second favorite was the Hershey’s challenge, because that’s the moment I said to myself, “Just have fun. Win, lose or whatever, just have fun with this.” That allowed me to get to the Levi’s challenge and really enjoy it.
AE:
Who was your favorite guest you had to work with? There were high-school prom girls, there were wrestling divas, you had the women who’d lost all that weight…
RL: I have to say my two favorites were the prom challenge — Kitty was my girl — and also the women who had lost a lot of weight. Again, I’m an emotional person, and those were emotional moments to share with people, to give them something that makes them feel special, and makes them feel pretty, and makes them feel like a whole new person. That, to me, is what fashion’s all about.
And of course I loved it when Donna Karan came, and I loved it when Zac Posen was on. That was fun! Those were really special moments as a designer. But I think as a human and a designer, I really liked the ones with real people, because you were sort of touching them, and it was a big responsibility.
AE:
And didn’t you rock some heels in that episode with the women who had lost all the weight?
RL: Laughs] Well, my woman was about my height, and I was thinking, “Okay. These pants need to be the right length and I don’t have the time to wait and try them on her…” So yeah, I put the pants on and I put the heels on to try and make them work!
AE:
I know that Jack and Christian and Victorya and different groups of the designers seem to hang together. Did it get clique-y on the show? And do you stay in touch with any of the designers?
RL: The way I felt about my experience is that it was like high school. When you’re in high school, you sort of fit into one crowd or another, and I think that’s how any situation is. When you’re thrown in with 15 different people, you’re going to find the people you can relate to, or people whose personalities work well together, or you’re going to find that other people just aren’t so happy about who you are. It’s just that way. Some people like you, some people don’t.
The people who I met who were special to me are the people that I still keep in contact with. I talk to Chris March a lot; he was also my roommate, so we had a good time. And Sweet P — I love her. She was a rock. And I also had a great time with Kit. We had great moments together. So those are very special people to me, and the ones I related to.
Kathleen "Sweet P" Vaughn
AE:
I have to ask you about your hats. You’re always rocking those insane hats. Do you make them?
RL: I make my hats; all of them are mine. I’m currently working on a project to get them to the market, to get them sold. I just keep getting that question, so I’m like “I’ve got to do something with this, because if I like them and have fun them, I wonder how much other people will enjoy them.”
AE:
Are you wearing a hat right now?
RL: Actually, I’m not.
AE:
What? I can’t even picture it!
RL: I know! I have them all lined up, and depending on my mood or what I feel like, there’s a color and a fabric for everything. I’m always thinking, “What’s a new one I can create?”
AE:
Who was the scariest judge? Who was consistently the most intimidating?
RL: For me, and I don’t mean she was actually “scary,” but I really looked for Nina’s opinion and what she had to say. As an editor working in fashion, I really valued what she had to say. And I got the feeling right off the bat that she expected a lot from me. At times I was disappointed in myself for disappointing her, but again, you learn and go on.
Nina Garcia
AE:
Well as a viewer, when we’re watching and we see Nina grimace or something, it’s like “uh-oh.” And then you’re just waiting for the critique.
RL: Yeah, and when she smiles, you just go “Great! At least I touched her somehow.”
AE: I know you went to the big Project Runway finale show in Bryant Park this past Friday. What was your take on it?
RL: It was a great show. I enjoyed all of it. I think all of the designers did what they needed to do, and I think we’ll have to wait and see what happens.
AE:
Whose collection did you love the most?
RL: The person I think I responded to the most was Rami. I think he did a versatile collection. For me, it’ll be interesting to see what happens.
