BPR Interview With Sweet P

From the Hell's Belles motorcycle club through the underground club scene in LA, few have had a more improbable path to the cast of Project Runway than Sweet P. Our hearts melted when she congratulated Chris and Rami after being the last designer eliminated, but in the end she got to show in Bryant Park anyway. BPR checks in with the popular designer who truly lives up to her name.

BPR: Sweet P, we were thrilled when we saw you appear from behind the scrim at the Project Runway Finale. What was the inspiration for your collection?

Sweet P: My inspiration for the collection was Lee Miller (who I notice is beingwritten about a lot lately). Lee Miller was Man Rays model, muse and girlfriend. She was also a photographer. Lee was ahead of her time. I would call her a modern day Chloe Sevigny. She is a bold , strong woman who has her own sense of style. She is not afraid to wear color in a sea of black. My muse is a hip, pulled together downtown girl.

BPR: Did you receive the same amount of time and budget as the other designers?

Sweet P: Yes

BPR: What was the best thing about appearing on Project Runway?

Sweet P: Meeting and bonding with all the other designers.

BPR: The hardest?

Sweet P: Lack of sleep

Click here to continue reading our interview with Sweet P as she talks about Tim Gunn, Elisa Jimenez and gives her pick for the Season 4 win.

BPR Interview With Ricky Lizalde

Some thought he stayed far too long, but Ricky Lizalde fought through his tears and early struggles long enough to taste the winners circle in the Levi's challenge. As we learn in our recent chat, he's been able to keep his head high long after the lights have dimmed.

BPR: Hi Ricky - what an emotional ride this experience was for you. Do you have any regrets about letting it all hang out on the show?

RL: No regrets!! I know that some people may be sick of the crying.... me too!! but I am a stronger and better person and designer for the experience....

BPR: What was the reaction of your family and friends to your elimination?

RL: All my friends and family rooted for me to go all the way.... sorry guys... they are sad but hopeful of my future!!...Me too


BPR: You have been a successful lingerie designer for many years now. Why Project Runway at this stage of your career?

RL: I went on PR to show people who I am........ although I didn't realize you would get to know me so personally.... making it in a business like the fashion industry is hard enough I just thought w/ a little luck hard work and heart I could really do something on the show.......long story short to help my business...


Click here to continue reading our interview with Ricky Lizalde as he talks about Victorya, SJP and his pick for the winner of Season 4.

BPR Interview With Victorya Hong

Who says you have to be a finalist to show at Fashion Week? Certainly not Victorya Hong. The season 4 designer decided there was no better time to capitalize on her exposure from the show and managed to beat all of her cast mates to the catwalk with her Fall 2008 collection. Victorya tells us all about it as we resume our series of aufed interviews.

BPR: Hi Victorya! We were all happily surprised to see you showing on the opening day of Fashion Week. When did you decide to pursue this?

VH: I´ve been working on getting my line off the ground since we finished taping last summer. So, it was only natural that I work on a Fall collection. It really started coming together in December. Jackie, my model from the show, would come over to fit my samples. Of course, everything looks great on her, so I don´t know if it was an accurate barometer...but the line was looking really strong. With her encouragement, I started to really explore the possibility of showing.

BPR: What is the inspiration for your new collection?

VH: It was very 80s inspired. I am a voracious visual consumer when I begin to research a line. I watched movies, 80s sitcoms, and pored through magazines and images. It was actually pretty fun because the 80s is really my era.

Click here to continue reading our interview with Victorya as she talks about her experiences on the show and picks who she thinks will win Season 4.

BPR Interview With Elisa Jimenez

Elisa Jimenez is a Project Runway contestant like no other. Her sweet, gentle spirit and kindness never faltered in the pressure cooker of the Parsons workroom. Elisa took time out to give BPR a special glimpse into the world of this "Creative Maker":

BPR: Hi Elisa - you managed to captivate a legion of fans who are crushed by your departure. Do you have any message for them in the wake of your elimination?

EJ: Wow, I am truly grateful. "In the wake of my elimination" I must emphasize that I had a truly amazing time with Project Runway and I was vivified and inspired by my experience including the critiques and departure. My departure simply fortified my self identity as an avatar and an artist. Everyone has different ways of creating. I will still do my work, apply my new lessons, and make all my ideas come to fruition in various media.

Thank you so much for the support and belief. Listen to your heart allways and believe in yourself.

BPR: You mentioned the serious accident in London that you and your daughter Calliope were involved in. What was the biggest change in your life after this event?

EJ: The biggest change in my life after the near-death accident in London was multi-dimensional, but in a nutshell 3 most dramatic changes affected and still affect me today: (1.) I will never be able to take my body or life for granted, ever; (2.) Nothing is as important as the people you love and who entrust their love to you, humility and gratitude are paramount. (3.) I have a different kind of constant Innocence that must be protected. I get overwhelmed easily and therefore must keep a resource of meditations on hand to center and clear myself.

BPR: Does your daughter have artistic talent? Does she sew?

EJ: My daughter Calliope is extremely talented and very smart for her age, and I am not just being a biased mama. She is a writer and a Manga artist by devotion. Additionally, she is working on her first novel.

She feels she can not escape the generational heritage of her family, so is committed to the artistic life. However, to note, she is far more business and money smart than her mother. She is 11.

Click here for the rest of our interview with Elisa Jimenez as she offers more wisdom on parenthood, her collaboration with Sweet P, stunning lifefriends and the final destination of her grass imbued fabric!

BPR Interview With Jack Mackenroth

He didn't leave because of his design work. He wasn't asked to leave for breaking the rules. It was simply an unlucky break.

We have a special place in our hearts at BPR for Jack Mackenroth. Long before his casting on Season 4 he was a frequent commenter here and we cheered him on in his first attempt to make it onto the show. Now that he's gone, we can't help but what wonder what might have been. BPR chats with Jack in the wake of his emotional departure from PR:

BPR: Jack, we feel like we already know you! What would you like us to know that you are sure we haven't read before?

JM: Hmmm. Well actually I'm very sensitive and I'm a lot wackier than I was portrayed on TV. Christian, Kevin, Kit and I we're howling 24/7. I have NOT had a nose job! Lots of bloggers seem to think I have. I would admit it proudly if that were the case.

BPR: Do you have any dramatic training? We loved the Flashdance spoof. Any interest in pursuing an acting career?

JM: Possibly. I'm considering everything that comes my way. I'm not really an actor but I would love to do another reality show with some of the other contestants or with Top Chef Dale like you have suggested. I have no dramatic training-I just watched Flashdance about 200 times when it came out. And then I came out. Hee.

BPR: Would you, could you, will you try again for Season 5?

JM: I can audition again but there are no guarantees. Of course they can't promise me anything because a lot can happen between now and then. When the time comes I will have to think about it long and hard. The whole Project Runway thing has been amazing but it's also taken over my life. If I did do it next time I would be in it to win it.

Click here to continue reading our interview with Jack Mackenroth as he talks about that cameo in the SATC movie, his thoughts on some of the other designers and who his dream client would be!

BPR Interview With Steven Rosengard

Anyone who remembers Steven Rosengard's audition from the Season 3 Road To The Runway special would never guess that he posessed such incredibly crisp wit. He brought much needed levity to the Parsons workroom in Season 4 where he not only showed off his talent for design, but also his good nature. Steve checks in with BPR and shows us that he really is one of the good guys.

BPR: Hi Steven, we were sorry to see you go! Was it harder watching it on TV or living through it the first time?

SR: No, it was actually really funny watching it! My friends kept telling me every week, "You're giving me a heart attack every time you're up on that stage during the eliminations!" I had a lot of friends with me and they were all freaking out, and it was funny to watch. It gives you this odd God Complex to see all the people frightened and you know the outcome! i just roared when everyone said, "Oh, it's so sad!" Please...it happened a half-year ago!

BPR: If you could do it over again, what would you with that wedding dress?

SR: If I had the entire challenge to do over again, I would have gone into Heidi's bag of buttons and remixed them so that she wouldn't call my name first! But seriously, I know the fit wasn't the best on the dress and the collar was being just a bit wonky, but I stand by design. I don't think there were a lot of other things to design given all those variables:her lifestyle, her type of work, the original dress, and her personl style.

BPR: What did you think about Chris coming back?

SR: I was so glad to see him! We always made each other laugh and sometimes we'd say such foul things to each other and then laugh all over again.

BPR: What is the best advice that Tim Gunn gave you?

SR: The funny thing is that I don't remember getting a lot of advice, which might explain why I was on the chopping block so much! I just remember working on the wedding dress and him saying, "well, best of luck with that."

Click here to continue reading our interview with Steven Rosengard as he touches on his potential future as an interior designer, a housewife, or both!

BPR Interview With Simone LeBlanc

Like Tim said: someone had to go first. Simone LeBlanc didn't think it would be her, certainly not so soon. BPR checks in with her on the day after:

BPR: How long have you been designing your own clothing?

SL: I've been designing and making clothes since I was a kid. Cutting up clothes, experimenting,thrift re-tweaking, etc. I just started designing my own line TS Bloom(with my business partner) in July.

BPR: What was your favorite piece of clothing as a child?

SL: I love this question! Each stage of my life has significant pieces. As a child, however, the pieces mean something so different- they have a familiarity/comfort and a fantasy element as well. When I was about 5, I had a favorite outfit- a floppy,worn straw hat, a little denim jacket with flowers embroidered on the yoke, and scarlett red patent leather Mary Janes- which of course were always on the wrong foot.

BPR: We noticed in your audition video that you have written a series of personal manifestos. What's the current one about?

SL: Well, they're quite personal and they tend to build on each other- building blocks in a way. Currently, the focus is on innocence. It's about using life's knowledge and experience, but remembering to put them to the side as well. I've found that often times what we think we know, the roles we identify with, get in the way. It's also about wonderment, appreciation,and having a good laugh.

Click here to continue reading our interview with Simone Leblanc as she talks about 'going green', her hesitancy to join the cast and what she thought about the judging.