by Gina Scarpa

This week, on The Fashion Show, the designers were assigned a high school clique and had to come up with an outfit to represent it.  They were given everything from the goth kids to the drama club.  Angel was asked to design an outfit for a b-girl and she was at a loss for inspiration, having not known many b-girls in her small hometown.  The judges saw this as no excuse and her design landed in the bottom.  After being told by Kelly Rowland that she offended her with her design, she was eliminated from the competition. Today, she spoke to RealityWanted in an exclusive interview.

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: Tell us about your design experience prior to being part of The Fashion Show.
A. Angel: Before the show, I was doing my own collection.  I was doing that for the last two years.  Before that, I worked for Donna Karan and before that, I was in school and had internships in Amsterdam and with Marc Jacobs.

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: What made you want to showcase your work on a reality show?
A. Angel: Being on a reality show is not something I ever thought about.  Because of the economy, though, I was trying to think of other ways to market myself.

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: Which designers on the show impressed you?
A. Angel: I didn’t know anyone’s work before going on the show so this is strictly based on the challenges.  I loved James-Paul’s work.  We connected the most.  I really liked Laura, too.

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: What was the biggest challenge you faced during the competition?
A. Angel: For me, I think designing and sewing in 12 hours is a pretty impossible situation but it’s a competition and there are rules.  That was part of the fun.  It was a very liberating experience.  I never thought that I could create something in such a short amount of time.

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: I was a little surprised at how harsh your feedback was from the judges, especially Kelly saying that you offended her with your b-girl design.  What was your take on it?
A. Angel: I was surprised because they weren’t criticizing me as a designer.  It was something that I had no control over.  There was nothing I could say back.  I think the challenge was unfair in a way because each person was given a different clique.  Had we all been given the same clique, it would’ve been a different story.  I think they just needed a reason to eliminate me and they found one.

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: Obviously in a competition like this, you’re going to face some interesting characters full of drama.  How did you deal with that aspect of the competition?
A. Angel: It’s funny because I’ve worked in fashion for so many years.  People in the industry are crazy but you don’t find them all in the same room and the same time.  They also have the credentials to back it up.  They have a reason to act that way.  The contestants this season… we’re all really young.  To have that persona and drama is distracting for everyone and it doesn’t benefit anyone’s work.  Reco has a lot of experience.  He can draft a pattern in minutes, he’s like a robot.  His cockiness – he can get away with it.  Daniella, she’s only 23 and just out of school.  She’s never really worked and been put through the grind yet.  It’ll come back to bite her.

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: What’s in the future for you?
A. Angel: I’m working on my fall collection.  With my collection, I’ve been thinking about: How can I push the industry and think outside of the box?  I’m also going back to school and studying futures, which is predicting what people will wear.  James-Paul and I are also talking about creating a subcollection.
 

The Fashion Show airs Thursday nights at 10pm ET on Bravo.

(Image courtesy of Bravo)