"Project Runway"'s Keith Bryce: The show got to me

Keith Bryce

***Spoiler Alert***

This article discusses pivotal details of the most recent episode of Project Runway. 

Another week and another loss for Team Gay as last Wednesday night Project Runway cut Keith Bryce, a gay Mormon from Utah. The challenge was a toughie this week with the designers tasked to create an outfit from the raw, recyclable materials used to make Saturn Vues. Subtle product placement there, Bravo.

That's right, they had to make outfits out of seat belts, rubber floor mats, and headlights. While some designers found inspiration in these utilitarian objects, after weeks of receiving criticism for his edgy designs, Keith played it too safe in an effort to please the judges. We sat down the day after he was eliminated to talk about the challenges of the show, being an artistic designer, and why he wants to leave Utah.

AfterElton.com: Thanks so much for talking to us, Keith. Congratulations on making it on the show and getting so far.
Keith Bryce: Thanks.

AE: Let's talk about some of the challenges. What was your favorite?
KB: I'd have to say my favorite challenge when it came to what I was creating would have to be the New York Nightlife Challenge, because I was really inspired there. And as far as what the judges had to say I'd have to say the one that I won. [Laughs] The Brooke Shields, Lipstick Jungle Challenge.

Brooke Shields, Keith's winning dress

AE: What was your least favorite?
KB: My least favorite, due to how frustrating the materials were and how the equipment was reacting to it, I'd have to say the last challenge, the Saturn Vue Challenge.

AE: As you were leaving, you made a comment about how you were upset because you felt you were going out on a design that wasn’t you. Now that you've had time to think about it, what would you have done differently if you had it to do over?
KB: I think honestly I would have quit worrying about what the judges were going to say and made sure in the end that I was putting out a design that I was proud of. I would have made sure to stay inspired and conceptual, because I'm a very conceptual designer. I'd try not to lose myself so much in the game of Project Runway.

AE: Do you think the judges were fair?
KB: It's all relative, bro. It's all relative to what is fair to you. They're making a TV show.

AE: Do you feel like you let the show get to you? You seemed to be feeling like you couldn't do anything right. If you went one way they judged you harshly, if you went too far the other way, they judged you harshly. How were you feeling at that point?
KB: Oh, yeah. [Laughs] I'm such a mellow, down-to-earth guy, I think through the whole process of the show, I was just so happy to be working and creating with people that share a common passion. That was super motivating for me, but when it came down to the judging and everything, I just felt like I couldn't get things exactly right for them. It kind of became disheartening. I feel like I'm in the world of fashion, I have every confidence that I'll be at Fashion Week very soon, and the public will see something very conceptual and artistic. But when it came to the judges, I felt like it wasn't marketable enough for them.

For me, fashion is more about the art form, as well as creating beautiful, wearable fashion, but when you're creating runway fashion, I feel like runway fashion is supposed to push the envelope. It's about whatever the designer/artist, which I tried to present myself as, envisions. If that's how I want it to look, that's how I want it to look as an artist. I'm an artist, you know what I mean? I feel like sometimes my work wasn't received as well as it could have or should have been.

AE: Do you feel like you were able to represent yourself as an artist and designer on the show?
KB: Yeah, I definitely do. That's why whether they were like what's he doing by manipulating this fabric, or it looks like rock and roll, or this or that, it was what I wanted to present. It was only that last challenge that I don't feel like I was presenting something that inspired me. Instead, I felt like I was trying to present something that the judges wanted to see, something clean and simple.

I ran into a few things at the end with the skirt splitting and the top of the garment wasn't what I wanted. The skirt needed some finishing done to it. I was kind of losing inspiration at that point, after the Drag Queen Challenge. Being put up against Daniel, who was my roommate, I just kind of lost my inspiration. I tried to reach down inside and pull some more out, but it was challenging working under such conditions with lack of sleep and stuff. I just didn't know what else to do at that point.

Keith's Drag Queen challenge and Saturn Vue challenge outfits