by Todd Betzold

 

It was yet another team challenge on Project Runway and this time the designers had to fundraise on the streets of NYC to raise money to buy their fabric for the challenge! That money would be used to make two cohesive looks for the fall. Team challenges drive me insane because it is more about the drama than it is about the actual designs! In the end, the judges were not impressed by Alicia Hardesty's outfit and she was sent home. Today she spoke to RealityWanted and other reporters in a conference call about her experiences on Project Runway.

 

Q. Todd, RealityWanted: When it was you and Fabio left on the runway, what was going through your mind at that time?
A. Alicia: It was a toss-up for me, but given what their feedback was for me and the group as a whole and my pieces that were part of that group I felt they were a little bit more through with me than they were with him. I was definitely worried it was going to be me. I had been on the bottom a couple times already and I kind of had a feeling it was going to be me. It's really just a shitty feeling being up there. It's crappy anyways, but then you realize it might be the last time. It's not fun.

 

Q. Todd, RealityWanted: During the season, what was your favorite challenge?
A. Alicia: The favorite one for me and it's just because I got to really showcase more of my point-of-view. It wasn't about I have to make a dress now or I have to do this for this client, but it was the first challenge where we did the Times Square runway. That was my favorite because it was a huge venue and was a huge deal and we got to put our stuff out there and our point-of-view.

 

 

 

Q. What made you try out for Project Runway?
A. Alicia: The biggest thing is the platform. You get into design to show what you can do, especially when you have a specific point-of-view that you are trying to offer to the industry. You know people will react to it, but Project Runway gives you an opportunity to really get it out there in a way that I haven't seen that I can do.

 

Q. Would you consider yourself shy? The judges commented that you didn't seem to fight for yourself that much.
A. Alicia: I stand up for myself. I'm just not loud and bitchy about it. Louder people always get the most camera time. The difference for me and being on the show is I'm quiet and when I'm working, I'm working and focused. I'm just trying to do the best and that's what happens and I come across as really quiet or shy. I used to be shy growing up, but I wouldn't consider myself shy anymore.

 

Q. What's the best piece of advice you received from the judges while you were on the show?
A. Alicia: Really just to go with what you do well. When Raul and I did the red carpet challenge, we decided to go way outside of our comfort zone because we are trying to prove ourselves way outside of what we do best and I think that is the biggest thing I learned. You don't really have to do that. Stick to what you know and do that really well instead of doing something you don't know well. With the time constraints we have, there is no time to do that.

 

Q. Do you think things would have been different had you not been paired with Dmitry and Elena?
A. Alicia: Honestly, probably. It can always go either kind of way, but I think what happened was I was paired with two people that obviously didn't get along from the very beginning. The big part of that challenge was making things to sell and we had to make money for our fabric and it added a whole other dynamic to the challenge and it was a team challenge. That part was okay. I felt like I was always in the middle and trying to keep the group together and that transitioned into trying to make a cohesive two-look collection and it was just very difficult. When you are that person and trying to keep the group together, there is something that is going to be lacking. From my point of view, we had two groups on the runway on the bottom. For our group, what they focused on the most was that it was in cohesive and we didn't really get along and this challenge was really about that and I didn't necessarily feel that was my problem. I did the best I could to help these people get along. Maybe if I was in a different group it might not have gone down like that.

 

Q. It seems like the girls all stuck together. Was that something you all discussed doing?
A. Alicia: For sure. Early on in the competition, the girls were dropping like flies and we were like what the hell? We gotta stick together and we know we are strong designers and I don't know what is happening, but we are going to do our best and help each other out if we have to. We live together and a good support system for each other and it was really important for us because we wanted to see us succeed in the competition.

 

Q. Who do you think is going to be the winner?
A. Alicia: From the beginning, Christopher has seemed to be a favorite. There is a lot of stuff that they seemed to like from Ven, but I don't know if that is going to stick because there are a lot of other designers that offer way more variety in my point of view, but Chris seems to be one of the favorites of the judges.

 

Q. In the last episode, if you could have picked two other designers to work with who would you have rather worked with?
A. Alicia: I always wanted to work with Sonjia and I also always wanted to work with Fabio. I thought we could have made a really interesting team.

 

Q. Elena seemed to be a little challenging to work with?
A. Alicia: That is one of the biggest questions I get is doesn't everyone hate Elena. No, I love Elena, I really do. When she gets into the workroom, she is very competitive and she can come off as harsh. I'm very easygoing and the opposite of her. What you have to do with her is take some of it and leave the rest of it. That way you can continue to get along and hopefully she comes up with something that you are both happy with. She is difficult to work with, but she is not an awful person and I like her a lot.

 

Q. What are your plans going forward?
A. Alicia: Before Project Runway started, I had just finished a sampling from my first line that I have been working on the past year. It's called Original Tomboy and we are starting with a fall collection this fall. It should be available to purchase in October. Right now, I've been getting the funding available to start production and as I get things rolling and more and more sponsorship, I'll be throwing more pieces into the mix for production. There is talk of Fred Segal carrying it and doing a launch, so it's exciting. I've been getting a lot of attention for the brand through my participation on Project Runway, which is awesome. I think too, that I am a brand of my own on the show. I look different, I'm represented different, my point-of-view is different. The whole thing is a different sort of package than what they normally have and that helps me. Original Tomboy is very similar in style to what I wear on the show.

 

Project Runway airs Thursdays at 9/8c on Lifetime.

 

(Image courtesy of Lifetime)

 

Follow Todd on Twitter @tbetzold