by Todd Betzold

With the returning designers on Project Runway All Stars, you have to be at your best every week in order to survive this competition. Althea Harper was the runner-up during her initial season, but she was in the middle of the pack most of this season. She was left with a lousy fabric on the eco-friendly challenge last night, and the judges were left unimpressed with what she came up with and sent her home. Today, she spoke to RealityWanted and other reporters in a conference call about her experiences on Project Runway All Stars.

Q. Todd, RealityWanted: What celebrity would you love to work with?
A. Althea: I'm a really big fan of Keri Washington, Eva Longoria and I've done garments for them. Those are two women I look at and respect. One other I would like to work with is Eva Mendes. I really think she is a beautiful, sexy woman, but she comes across as having a lot of class and intelligence and that is really the type of woman that I want to design for. Women that don't only have that sex appeal, but at the same time are very tasteful and come across smart too and I think that is what makes a woman sexy is intelligence and how she holds herself.

Q. Todd, RealityWanted: What was the relationship like among all the designers this season?
A. Althea: I was really thrown off with this group of people. They were really different than my original season. There were a lot of people there to do designing and obviously that is what I did the show for. This season, I feel like there were people looking for fights and wanted to get in conflicts because they know that equals airtime. The overall feeling in the workroom was definitely not one that I enjoyed because that is not what I am all about. I was there to showcase designs and that was my goal. It was frustrating because there was a lot of backtalk and snide comments, but then you would see who they are and it was interesting.

Q. What made you want to return to Project Runway?
A. Althea: The first time I was on it was straight out of college and I really didn't have a brand or anything yet. Since then I have started my own brand and done a lot online. I have also matured as a person and as a designer and I wanted a chance to show that. It was to kind of show where I am now and show off my established brand.

Q. You seemed kind of resigned last night when they said it was your turn to go. Can you talk about what was going through your mind when they said it was your time to go?
A. Althea: To be honest, the whole time I was there it felt like I was trying to fit a round peg into a square hole. Obviously I had not been in the top before and at that point I just knew my designs just weren't fitting what they were looking for. It wouldn't have mattered if I would have stayed on another episode or two, clearly they weren't responding to the designs I was doing and that was my thought process at that time. I was a little frustrated, but at that time I was like okay, it's my time.

Q. Can you talk a little about your fabric selection last night. It seemed to be your downfall.
A. Althea: I was the last to select a fabric, so I got the last of the fabric that was available. I think that played a factor. The fact that it was double-sided was something interesting. It was a challenge, but I didn't come on the show to take the easy way. I wanted every pattern that I did, every design that I did to challenge myself. For me, when you say the word all star whatever you did on your first season of Project Runway is not going to cut it. We need to show growth and challenges should be harder and should be more complex. I saw something in that fabric. I could see something Marc Jacobsy, which is not the style that I did. It was a challenge and I wanted to see what I could do with it.

Q. What was it like working with Joanna Coles?
A. Althea: I really like Joanna Coles. Talk about intelligent women, she is definitely one. She was one of the main reasons why I did All Stars because I wanted the opportunity to get to know her and work with her. I think she comes across less than what she is. I have had a lot of one-on-ones with her and she is very supportive. I have had a lot better conversations with her one-on-one and I really respect her and I don't think that showed on the show. It seemed like she was trying to stir the pot to create drama versus giving real feedback, which is a shame because in person she is the complete opposite.

Q. What's next for you?
A. Althea: I have my own line and I'm continuing to work on that and growing. Every season we are getting more and more retail outlets, so that is going well. On top of that, launching a new line which is going to be hitting in the spring. I was just in Hawaii and we just the images for that line, so I'm really excited about that. Of course just maintaining and continue to grow my own line.

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

(Image courtesy of Lifetime)

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