by Gina Scarpa and Allie Giffes

 

Last night on The Fashion Show: Ultimate Collection, Rolando, a 24-year-old designer, selflessly said that he felt as though he was letting down his House while he struggled to execute his 1960's inspired design. Until this week, Rolando consistently displayed strong designs to the judges whenever it was time for his House to hit the runway. Unfortunately, the one time that his design falls flat is the one time that the House of Nami has lost to the House of Emerald all season. He was unfortunately deemed "out of fashion" and eliminated. Today, we spoke to him in an exclusive interview about his experiences competing on The Fashion Show.

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: What made you want to try out for The Fashion Show? Did you watch the first season?
A. Rolando: I didn't get a chance to watch the first season. Before I tried out for the second season of The Fashion Show, I did a casting call for another show. I got through and it didn't feel like the right show for me. When I got through the casting for this one, it felt really right to me.

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: Were there any contestants whose work really stood out to you?
A. Rolando: I'm a really big fan of a lot of the construction that I saw from day one. I really like Eduardo's detail. His attention to detail is pretty crazy. The thing about Cesar is that you can give him some of the ugliest colors and he'll make something beautiful out of it.

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: You definitely seemed more concerned about letting your House down than being eliminated. What was going through your mind as you worked to execute your design?
A. Rolando: It was a very difficult challenge. Obviously, I wasn't born in that era. Between that and me not really wanting to work with plaid... you gotta keep on pushing. I'm always worried about my surroundings. I let myself down. I wanted everything to be cohesive in the collection.

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: Did you feel stuck when you saw that your time capsule was dated 1960?
A. Rolando: No, I didn't think so. I liked a lot of things about it. We had an idea that we wanted to stick with metallics but then plaid came into play and things got switched up. It is a challenge and it's very difficult but it's not like it's not very, very different from the actual reality.

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: You also said that being eliminated from this competition doesn't change anything about who you are but do you think that it's changed who you are as a designer?
A. Rolando: No, not at all. I definitely didn't change anything. I've always been kind of a stubborn person. I should've just designed the way I always wanted to. I'm very happy with every single dress I made. That last challenge really got me.

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: Do you feel that, if it weren't for this last challenge, you'd still be in the competition?
A. Rolando: Oh definitely. To me, I had no idea ... I don't know what the judges were really paying attention to. I was very happy with the look. I think that I should've stuck to what I wanted to do and I would've been fine.

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: What direction do you think you'll go in now that you've got some publicity from the show?
A. Rolando: Right now, I'm working with getting my website going because I want people to check out the gowns and the work that I do. I also want to do more wearable stuff.

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: Where do you get your hair done?
A. Rolando: I do it myself! I keep on trying to find a hairdresser and it's too much! I bought a razor a long time ago and learned to do it myself.

 

 

The Fashion Show airs Tuesdays at 10/9c on Bravo.

 

(Image courtesy of Bravo)

 

Follow Gina @ginascarpa and Allie @agiffes

 

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