by Gina Scarpa

Last week, on Project Runway, the designers were asked to create a companion piece to go with their best design to date.  Every designer had a piece that had won a challenge, with the exception of Logan.  In panel, the judges told him that it looked like a fashion student designed his outfit and he was eliminated from the competition.  Today, he spoke to RealityWanted in an exclusive interview about his experiences on the show.

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: How did you become a part of Project Runway this season?
A. Logan: It’s a long audition process and all 16 designers were selected out of thousands of contestants and the process took over two months to complete.
 
Q. Gina, RealityWanted: Were there any designers on the show that stood out to you immediately as your biggest competition or people you should look out for?
A. Logan: One of the most interesting parts of the process for me was working alongside 16 designers, all from different backgrounds. From challenge to challenge, each designer’s strengths and weaknesses emerged.
 
Q. Gina, RealityWanted: Several designers spoke this season about how mean Irina can be.  Has she apologized to people since?  Is all forgiven?
A. Logan: Irina has a very strong personality and has been very consistent throughout the duration of the show. I think it’s almost a cultural factor to have such a strong personality but, at the same time, I don’t think she did herself any service by being the way she was in interviews.
 
Q. Gina, RealityWanted: When do you feel like things started to shift for everyone, from having fun to getting a lot more competitive?
A. Logan: Challenge Seven. Once we were in the top ten, it felt like the designers who weren’t taking the challenges as seriously were weeded out. That was also when we all started to question trust – whether contestants were being genuine or playing up a character.
 
Q. Gina, RealityWanted: You were accused by Althea on last night's episode of stealing part of her design from the Christina Aguilera challenge.  What is your response after seeing that episode?
A. Logan: I have no response.
 
Q. Gina, RealityWanted: In the beginning of last night's episode, you expressed frustration that you hadn't won a challenge.  Was there a challenge that took place this season that you thought you should have won?
A. Logan: Challenge Three. It was one of my strongest looks and I think that if I had had the chance to explain it on the runway, we would have won. Tim Gunn would agree.
 
Q. Gina, RealityWanted: As you stood on the runway next to Gordana, did you feel like you might be the one to go home?
A. Logan: No. I felt like making an outfit that was over-inspired was better than making one that was ho-hum. I thought that taking a risk would be more rewarding than playing it safe.
 
Q. Gina, RealityWanted: Did Tim Gunn help you a lot this season with his critiques and feedback?
A. Logan: Yes. The opportunity to be critiqued by Tim was one of the main reasons that I auditioned for the show. I trust his judgment and I think he understands my creative process.
 
Q. Gina, RealityWanted: What's the biggest lesson you learned?
A. Logan: The biggest lesson that I learned was to stay true to your design aesthetic. Trust your instincts. Not knowing who the judges would be each challenge and aiming to please them made it easy to get lost.
 
Q. Gina, RealityWanted: What is happening for you now, as a designer?  Any big plans going forward?
A. Logan: I’m moving to New York, opening a studio, planning a fall collection and trusting the process. See LoganNeitzel.com for updates and an online store launching soon.

Project Runway airs Thursdays at 10pm ET on Lifetime.

(Image courtesy of Lifetime)

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