T Lo Interviews the TFS Finalists

James-Paul

So, America wasn’t ready for you, huh?
Actually, I do think that America is ready for the collection I’ve done because it’s not mainstream. If they let me stay that long on the show and the judges believed in it...it just needed to be injected in the mainstream even if it’s a very slow process. It’s not something that American fashion is very used to, but it’s starting to build and develop. I do believe in pushing the envelope.

Were you surprised by the results?
I think the judges have really taken into consideration the show and its purpose, which was a mass-produced fashion that people can easily buy from a rack or from a mall or department store.

You said you have an appetite for experimentation and we saw a lot of that on the show.
Yes, I was trained to do American women’s wear, I got my Associate's from FIDM in Los Angeles and I thought that there had to be something else that could be developed from American sportswear or women’s wear. I’m always taking techniques and principles into consideration and developing them in different ways, in an upside-down manner. The development of experiments and ideas definitely drives the way that clothing is manufactured and produced.

You also said that you always try to incorporate ethnicity and minorities in your work.
For me, I was really inspired by what makes people different. I was researching a lot of sociology theories and I’ve discovered there’s a lot of sociology that is trying to study how people relate to each other; the relationship between two different worlds. So I try to incorporate both of those. I started researching different cultures in their pure form and when the Western world had its first contact with the Eastern world, when the first changes occurred and how they complement each other and I’m bringing that idea in today’s fashion. All my work is supported by research. Everything I do has a theoretical and a visual reason to it.

A lot of people were a little confused with your inspiration for your collection. Can you tell us exactly you had in mind?
I was inspired by a BBC show about aboriginals producing all these works of art for the Western market and how the creative agencies would take their work and pay them very little and sell those pieces for thousands of Australian dollars. I was interested in the interaction between these two worlds, and also on indigenous people wearing Western clothing. How some parts of the world have changed through colonization and how that influenced how they dress. I found all these recycled clothes that America or Europe donates to Africa and thought of using the same patterns and adding details or my take on these patterns. I also used fabrics that aren’t normally used with Western fashion.

Some people would consider your work way too conceptual. Do you agree with them?
I don’t agree that my pieces are too conceptual. With this collection, they are all separate pieces that people could wear with jeans or a more colorful item and they would look fantastic. I like my work to be personalized by the person who’s wearing it and really change the way clothes are put together. Mass-produced fashion has taken away so much of our creativity, especially the way we want to put the looks together. We’ve always been dictated…if you put this type of clothing together with this dress won’t work, so instead of that, I want people to really play with the clothes. Each piece and each garment is actually a basic piece of clothing.

Did you enjoy the experience on the show? Do you think that opened new doors for you?
This experience totally opened a new way of looking at fashion for me. I’m glad the show showcased small designers, we’re all supporting each other and we were there to really thrive as a creative community. It was very challenging. It definitely put me in a different thinking mode because now I try to incorporate not only a European perspective but an American one as well in my pieces. I’m trying to reach a much broader audience.

Daniella

You looked great on the last episode. Did you make that outfit?
No, I did not make the outfit but I did make the necklace, however. Thank you, though.

So, you’re making jewelry now?
You know what? Fern and Glenda told me during the taping of the finale that they were really impressed by my jewelry and that was something I should do and I got so inspired that I came home and went a little nuts.

You did the clothes, the jewelry, the music…you did it all, girl. Are you a controlling person?
No, I don’t think so, I’m just so inspired by all aspects of the arts and I grew up surrounded by so many artistic influences, I sort of grew up in the theater. Another passion of mine is musical theater. I wasn’t even planning on doing the music track, and honestly, I didn’t even take that seriously, I just wanted to do something fun.

The question that everybody asks, were you disappointed that you didn’t win?
Oh my god, no. To me the only difference is the money and honestly I couldn’t be more honored with the prize that was given to me. This is what I was trying to explain to some people when the last episode aired. We didn’t go into this knowing that there would be more than one prize. How lucky are we? This is exactly what the both of us need. Anna already has a line established that she’s been putting her own personal money into, so she already has a brand but needs funding and what I really want right now is to work for another designer so that I can be influenced by them before I try to be an influential designer.

Are you going to take Glenda Bailey up on her offer?
Am I ever! [laughs] In my wildest dreams, I could not have imagined that sort of feedback and offer, I am so honored and so happy.

Being the judges’ favorite is not a small thing.
It’s huge, and literally, I was speechless, and actually watching the episode I was listening to the whole thing very intently because I had completely blanked out during the actual thing, it felt like I was listening to Isaac for the first time. I was trying to hold back emotions and tears.

You were the youngest person on the show. How did you feel about that? Did you feel a lot of pressure?
I know that I mentioned it so many times during the show and you won’t believe me, but I never even saw it as an aspect of me in the competition until it was sort of pushed as such a factor when I was auditioning. I was just there to present my work and I thought that my work would speak for itself and then they kept mentioning to me that I was the youngest one on the show and the least experienced. And my reaction was, “wow, is everyone really that much older than me? That much more experienced?” And that sort of got me putting this armor up when I went into it.

You definitely had the trendiest collection. Do you think that’s an important element when designing a new collection?
Yes, I think that’s what fashion is all about. I don’t think that it’s necessarily me thinking that’s important to be trendy. To me the beauty in fashion and how fashion…your first reaction when you see it. The reason why we exist as fashion designers is to sort of to convince people that this is what they should be wearing next. You have amazing designers in this world like Balenciaga, Prada and you see their collection for the first time and you go, “Have they gone crazy?” That’s an amazing thing about fashion that if you can convince people you can get away with that.

Your collection had so many details, like the leather shoulders, for example.
I really enjoyed working on it. There was so much I put into it. I don’t think people realize how much of a craft I used to create it. For example, the bustier and the leather shoulders, I created clay molds and then baked the molds, and then shellacked the molds, and each pair of shoulders I soaked for a day, then stretched them for hours and hours, they took a week to dry, and then I would put the next set on, the bustier the same thing, I kept soaking it and re-stretching it all so that it could be completely seamless.

What did you want to convey most with your collection?
When I first started my research, the thing that inspired me the most about the armor was, like I said, the seamless factor. In typical fashion designing and pattern making you need seams to go with a woman’s curves. I was so inspired by these cast, metal armor plates and the way they were shaped like a chest or shoulder and I want to do that. I saw this hard but edgy inspiration in my head and hearing Isaac and Fern saying “why don’t you show more who you are? You are young and you are a girl.” You know, to show more youth, more of a feminine touch, so I wanted to find that balance.

Anna

Congratulations, Anna! We’re so happy for you. Were you surprised?
Thank you. I definitely was surprised, I was prepared for whatever outcome, so yeah, I was thrilled and surprised and it was great.

You kept a very low profile on the show. You even said you don’t have the TV personality.
I was just thinking in the back of my mind that no matter what happened I still would have to step out of it and be in the real world again and in my profession and in this industry you don’t want to lose respect from people because you did something stupid on a reality TV show. That was always there for me for sure.

Being the head designer of Dolce Vita, do you feel that helped you during the competition?
Oh, yeah, that was really challenging. They have a very successful shoe brand, but then we launched this clothing line to go with it. They’re all about selling, so that job really taught me how to make clothes that people want.

Your collection was inspired by Bosch’s Garden of Earthly Delights. What exactly did you take from the painting to your collection?
I was really struck by how fantastical the painting is, how surreal it is. It’s interesting how it was painted in the 1500s and yet it’s so modern. Especially the colors, for me, I love the colors in that painting, the nature, floral aspects…there was so much to take from it.

Some people thought that your collection was just a rehash of what you did on the show. Do you agree?
I think I did detailing that I used on the show, but I don’t think it’s a rehash. I definitely tried to push it forward and add new things. Do a detail but push it further, like the long blue gown, that was much harder than what I did on the show. I really had to think about the proportions and all of that.

Did it bother you that you weren’t the judges’ favorite?
No, it didn’t bother me. It was obvious to me that they loved Daniella’s collection. Actually, I love it too. Her collection is very current and it looks a lot like what is popular in high-fashion right now. It made sense to me that she was the judges’ favorite.

Not everything has to be high-fashion and we think you have a good eye for what women want to wear.
You really have to spend the time talking to people, getting their feedback, not to be afraid to hear it. It has helped me grow as a designer.

It was exciting watching your runway show. The crowd went crazy with every piece. Obviously people like what you produce. What was your reaction to that?
I was thrilled, I was backstage and I couldn’t really hear it, but I heard clapping and I was saying to myself “Why are they clapping? It’s not over yet.” [laughs] It was incredible seeing people have an emotional response to the pieces, that is so wonderful, that’s what I wanted.

What’s next for Anna?
I’m going to start immediately doing e-commerce on my website and I may open a store here in NY. I like the idea of having the face-to-face interaction with the public and taking my clothes straight to the customers. That’s definitely a possibility, I just need to see how the financials work out.


[Photos: BravoTV.com]


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TFS: T Lo Interviews Reco

You said you were very proud of your modest beginnings. How so?
Half my childhood I spent in the housing projects in Chattanooga and when you think about the projects you think about all the bad things that happen, but it wasn’t too bad, I guess. I did witness guns, violence, prostitution, drug deals and all that stuff. I think it made me who I am today, which I think is a strong person. After I moved out of the housing project, I moved to the suburbs, and of course, things were more expensive and all that. And there was two of us, me and my brother, and my mother, I guess that’s when she sort of went on hiatus with the drug thing for a couple of years, and I was picked up by my aunt, who basically raised me to be the wonderful, great, talented, and boisterous individual I am today.

When did you first experience fashion?
My whole fashion experience started when I was about eight years old living in the projects. I was watching Oprah and this guy was showing these fabulous dresses and all I remember is that he had orange skin and this dome-shaped, helmet hairdo sprayed to death, and it turned out it was Valentino.

When I was twenty-one, my first boyfriend gave me a sewing-machine because he was a designer as well. I just started playing around making dresses. I started getting orders here and there, and I thought I could really make money. I changed my major from architecture/engineer to fashion design. Ten years later, I’m on The Fashion Show.

On the first episode when you said you used to design for stripper we cheered. We thought it was such a bold move from you to admit that, and why not?
[Laughs] Well, with the power of editing. It was not only strippers. The strippers came about when I was an intern at a costume shop in Baltimore. When things got slower, a lot of strippers came in to shop for g-string swimsuits and they were sold all year long, so my mentor at the time said to me that that was guaranteed money, that it’s not about glitz and glamour, at the end of the day, it was about making money and that’s actually still stuck in my head.

This whole lovely industry that we call fashion, how we like to be glamorous…you can’t be glamorous and broke. When I got back to college I started making g-strings and swimsuits and I would go to the strip clubs at night at 2 or 3 in the morning, just a young boy, they would let me in and I would sell these costumes. Ten years ago, making about 150-200 dollars a night, that was actually good. It helped me pay the rest of my way through school. That was it.

You were the most popular designer on the show and based on your performance most people expected you to be in the finals. Did you feel disappointed that that was taken away from you at the last minute?
I was disappointed for about 30-45 minutes, but when I look at it, I got everything that I needed to get out of the show. I’ve learned and I’ve grown as an individual, I was adored by all of America and I had a platform to showcase my work and catch the hearts of all of America. So I was like, my time is over, I may not win $125,000, but to me, that has more longevity than the money prize.

Judging by the comments on our blog and other sites, many viewers felt a little disappointed with your collection. They saw you do so many intricate things on the show but they didn’t see much of that in your collection. Do you stand behind your collection? Do you sort of understand where they’re coming from?
I understand their concern, but I stand behind my collection 110%. I told Fern and Isaac…you know, what I did on the show it didn’t win. I always questioned that, so when it came down to my final collection I wanted to show a variety of work. What I’ll be known for, when they come to my store, there’s something for everyone in all price ranges. I’ll have something intricate such as the coat from the beginning, something avant-garde like the feather dress, something simple such as the ostrich skinny pants. One thing I can say for sure is that fashion is about trying something new and that’s what I was trying to do, something new, something different, I showed a whole rainbow of stuff.

OK, the finale dress, what happened?
Well,…[Laughs]

Tell us the truth.
OK, we didn’t get our models until we got there. We had to make things a certain size, and lo and behold, the last model I fitted was the model that could wear the dress. The dress was made out of silk organza, very delicate and detailed. She was able to walk up and down the runway the first go-around fine, but for the finale the dressers picked her and the dress up and all the blades snapped. When we put her back on stage, something was getting caught under there and she couldn’t walk. It was just something that happened. There was nothing I could do to prevent it. It showed on the runway great, it was just a mishap. It was a beautiful dress. Was it practical? No. Everybody knows that what’s shown on the runway and what’s in store is always the watered-down, modified version.

Did the judges say anything about what happened on the runway?
No, Glenda Bailey just said that the dress was like the bridal suite, the honeymoon or something like that…but in my defense, it’s OK when Christian Dior does it, but when I do it, it’s a problem. The judges kept saying that they wanted more out of me and I was the only designer that took a chance in creating something like the feather dress that still got bashed.

Speaking of the feather dress, people were comparing it to that other dress from that other show.
Well. I never heard the comparison. It was what it was. I can’t sit here and say “Oh, I wasn’t copying anybody” this and that, because I wasn’t. Every piece that came down that runway was strictly from my heart. That’s not even my style doing a knock-off, anyway.

You had very strong words in your exit interview about the other designers. What didn’t you like about Anna’s collection?
I wouldn’t say I didn’t like Anna’s collection, but as a designer, Isaac told us that you’re only as good as your next fashion show. All my research I’ve done over the whole ten years, every time you come to the runway you want to bring something new and exciting. I just felt that she took the safe route out. Everything that she did was from previous episodes. I took a chance, I did something new and did a couple of cornucopia stuff.

If had been too intricate, too over-the-top the judges would’ve said that I did too much, so I cut down a little and they said they expected more, so it’s like a double-edge sword, you’re going home regardless. To me Anna’s was more merchandising, it wasn’t fashion design. In that case, I should’ve just done everything I did on the show in a different color. That was my take on the whole Anna situation.

You also said that Daniella was more talented than James-Paul but her “character was horrible.” Really?
Definitely. I just feel that her attitude…well, let’s just compare me and Daniella. We’re both very egotistical and arrogant, but it’s a fine line when there’s joking involved that everybody in America saw. You know, 90% of the time I was joking, because my voice changes, my whole facial expression changes, but this is a person just being evil and vindictive trying to get people kicked off the show. Daniella is an extremely talented individual and I hope she grows and realizes that no matter how great you are in whatever, but if you have this horrible attitude nobody is going to buy your clothes. That’s a piece of advice I would give Daniella.

There was a lot of talk about you not knowing Halston and much fashion history. Do you feel that not knowing about fashion prevented you from doing better on the show?
No, to be honest, Halston was a designer that just never captured my design interest because of what he did. Not taking anything from him, he was a great designer for his era, for what he did, but it never caught my attention, I was more into Chanel, Dior, Gucci, even Mugler.

I remember the judges saying that I should work for another designer to learn more and so on, but once again, I think it’s a double-edge sword. If you noticed, I was the only designer in the top four that never worked for a huge design company. One thing I can say about my stuff, my pieces, my knowledge…you will never say that I was influenced by so and so designer. It always came from my heart. I’ve been in the industry for ten years and making money and never had one single job. I make decent money, don’t take me wrong, it’s not the best but I can’t complain.

Tell us about your line “House of Chapple.”
What I tried to convey on the show was that I wanted simple, beautiful clothing that’s timeless and that will last forever. Even Isaac gave me credit for making simple, sexy pieces that would make a woman feel extremely sexy, beautiful, and glamorous all at the same time. So that’s basically my whole design aesthetic.

You’re also working on a men’s line, right?
On my website, which will be up soon, and it’s called Reco Chapple Signature…all the suits I worn on the show, the final episode and the reunion show, those are part of my collection of suits.

There’s also a book coming up, we hear.
Yes, it’s actually two books. One is called “How to Make Money in the Fashion Biz,” a ghetto fabulous way of making your fashion business work for you whatever city you’re in. When I first started I was in Nashville, Tennesse. I was around a bunch of college queens, so I did a lot of pageant gowns, stripper clothes and I made it work for me, and when I moved to Atlanta, home of all the rappers and stuff, I’m making it work for me, that’s some of the stuff that I cover in the book. The second one is a coffee-table book called “Becoming Legendary – The All-American Dream” and it’s basically paying homage to all my ten years in the business up until now.

When is your site going to be up, Reco?
My site will be up on the 23rd. There will be a lot of novelty items. I’m also working on a fall collection, which will be coming soon. Things people can order, not a crazy price, especially for the fans who don’t have 200, 300 dollars to pay for an item of clothing. At least they can purchase something and have a piece of my work.

Thank you so much for answering our questions, Reco.
Thank YOU.


[Photos: BravoTV.com/Getty Images]


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TFS: T Lo Interviews Johnny (plus decoy collection)

You've worked developing private labels for several companies, such as Urban Outfitters and Macy’s, right? What’s that like?
Yes, and also Nordstrom. I actually developed a line for Nordstrom and in the first nine months it was like 1.4 million dollars. It was a huge order for us. I’ve been doing private labels for the last 5 and half years. The money is there, you know, doing high volume. It’s also a lot of work. You have to consider thousands of people wearing your stuff rather than just a few dozen. You have to consider the market, trends, silhouette…it’s definitely a lot of work.

Are you part of the creative process as well?
Completely, and in my position, what I do, I oversee most of the production, my samples, so it’s pattern makers, sewers, vendors, and the design. Design is pretty much 5% of my job, there’s so much more going on.

You also have your own lines.
I started a unisex line called Grandma's Glock, which was sold at Fred Segal, a few stores in NY, Puerto Rico, and we were also featured on the cover of Women’s Wear Daily for that line. The other line is called House of Bare, which is a men’s line, more flamboyant for sure.

Yeah, we saw some pieces and it's definitely more flamboyant and edgy.
It was just something for fun. I was making stuff for myself and I just decided to start selling it. It actually sold out; my first collection was completely sold out at the store. With the private labels I wanted to create an outlet to sustain myself, to have some sort of balance in my life. Starting other lines, I was trying to create a name for myself. I enjoy working for other companies, I just did that to create an outlet to do something different than my day job.

You’re also the creative director for Welcome Hunter’s, which sounds like a very interesting idea to support great, little-known designers.
I met them about a year ago, they started this really crazy avant-garde store, we started an amazing relationship, we have a similar aesthetic, they really wanted to bring me on board and create new projects, bring new designers to the store. Now we’re developing our own house label. I wanted to do really fun, avant-garde pieces, but also wearable and inexpensive.

The store features not only American designers, but also European newcomers, right?
Yes, actually, we only carry two US designers, the majority right now is Scandinavian. We really specialize in overseas designers, for sure, who need an exposure.

Moving on to the show, you said that “Fashion should be adventurous. You shouldn’t take it so seriously.” Is that how you approached this competition?
Yeah, definitely, I went there with a completely open mind. I had never tried out for any reality TV show ever. My friends really pushed me to do it, I had no interest. They kind of dragged me to the casting. Fashion for me is so not stuffy, it’s just fun, I just take it for what it is.

So how did you go from “I already have an investor, send me home, if you want,” to “I’m going to do anything to make it to the final four?” What made you change your mind?
I was so close. You’re so close you can feel it. Hey, might as well, you know what I’m saying? I also started to get some confidence. In the beginning of the show I didn’t feel I was on the same skill level just, as in sewing and pattern, because I hadn’t done that for such a long time.

In terms of experience in the industry, I felt I was far beyond a lot of them because they hadn’t worked in the industry, only had their own line. So, I just felt I was completely out of my element, for sure. And that’s why in the beginning I was kind of hesitant, and also, I was really upset how they portrayed me to be like someone who doesn’t know how to sew…they knew this from the casting process.

Towards the end, I was feeling confident in myself and I became so close to it. I felt I had a chance at it, I didn’t want to let my friends down and I was realizing what they saw in me. I definitely didn’t think I had a shot in the beginning.

About the last episode, you didn’t seem too happy to be paired with Angel. Why not?
I never really got close to Angel. She definitely had loyalty to Reco and to James-Paul. I just didn’t think that she was going to be – I didn’t feel her intentions were really to be there to help me, I guess in a sense. I wasn’t truthfully looking forward to working with her.

You said Angel should have told you were knocking somebody off. You sort of blamed her for that. Do you regret that or do you stand by what you said?
I don’t blame Angel for anything. I understood her position and it was really awkward for her because, like I said, she had loyalty to James-Paul and to Reco. I don’t know whether she knew it or not, I really felt uncomfortable working with her because I thought she was extremely envious of the position I was in. I thought in her mind she thought it should’ve been her.

I shouldn't have tried something new, I shouldn't have worked with silk chiffon. I never in my life had worked with it, but she tried to put me at ease with it, tried to make me feel better about it. I don’t blame her for anything whatsoever because at the end of the day it was my…it’s my product and she was just assisting me.

Is it fair to say that your dress is pretty much the same as the Lanvin worn by Maggie Gyllenhaal?
Yes, I totally agree. Looking back at the episode now, I’m like…fuck! How did I do that? I’m in complete awe with myself. It was like an out-of-body experience. How could you be so stupid, Johnny? How could you do this? I was definitely down on myself.

Isaac said they saw the similarity right away. Did he say anything to you in the workroom?
Not at all, the dress was actually really different in the beginning. That’s why Daniella, I think, stood up for me because she saw the progression of the dress. The final product wasn’t what it looked like in the beginning, and that’s why she was on my side saying that it wasn’t a knockoff. Isaac wasn't too fond of it, so I did a lot of alterations to kind of change it a bit and that was the final product. He never said anything about the dress looking like Lanvin.

Now, when you were making the dress, did you have the Lanvin dress in mind or it never occurred to you that what you were making was the exact same dress?
Actually, when we were at the fabric store I kept referencing Maggie Gyllenhaal, Chloe Sevigny, Jennifer Connelly, and even Gwen Stefani as inspiration for the red carpet. We looked at several fabrications, we saw the leopard [laughs]…I don’t remember referencing Maggie and the actual Lanvin dress altogether in one sentence.

It’s funny to me that I never caught it, I never caught myself saying it and actually realizing what I was doing it at the same time. Subconsciously I created this dress…I guess I thought it was a beautiful dress, not realizing what I was doing. I really don’t know what happened.

Reco mentioned that you used to brag in the workroom about knocking off several designers.
The funny thing is that Anna works for a company called Dolce Vita and I’ve seen a ton of her work and it was a running joke that we had because both Anna and I working in a contemporary market, we are constantly finding inspiration in other designers and having similar styles for the market.

It was a running joke throughout the competition; I kept telling Anna “Oh, my god, I’m going to totally knock off your dress, I’m just going to change it here and change it there…” It was definitely a joke, we got it, that's what we do in the industry, we look at all these designers. You know, realistically, we have H & M, Forever 21, we have all these stores that do stuff like that. It was obviously an inside joke that Anna and I had. Knocking off other designers' work in the competition? No, not at all.

Throughout the competition you said “I don’t sew,” “I don’t drape,” “I don’t do pretty;” for us as viewers of the show, it was very frustrating to hear that and try to figure you out. So what do you do?
That was definitely the hardest thing in the competition for me, you know, trying to find who I was as a designer because when I was cast, they liked all the mainstream private labels stuff I was doing for Nordstrom and Macy’s and they also loved the Grandma’s Glock and House of Bare stuff.

So, on the show I didn’t know if I was supposed to go crazy and avant-garde or pretty and contemporary. I was so caught up and didn’t know what they wanted of me and I didn’t know what I wanted, what I was going to present in the show. That was definitely the hardest thing, but in my day job I do pretty, I do feminine. Realistically, I don’t have time to be draping, doing patterns and all that stuff. I have other things I’m focusing on. I know how to do all that, but it’s been a very long time.

Tell us a little bit about your decoy collection. What was your inspiration?
I really wanted to have fun with it. Unfortunately, my skill level isn’t as high as the other designers, so I did have limitations. There was a lot of stuff that I would have loved to have done, but everything had to be done by us, all the patterns, all the sewing, everything. I had a lot of limitations. It was 90s inspired, I was thinking of all the fun stuff, all the things I liked, like Jody Watley, Paula Abdul, Janet Jackson. I didn’t take it too seriously, I really wanted to do something fun. I had this opportunity to be playful. I wasn’t going to be judged, so I was like, you know what? Let’s just go all balls out.

How much time did you guys have to fit the models and all that? We noticed some fitting issues, not just in your collection, but in some other collections too.
We had about anywhere from 10 to 20 minutes with each model and maybe about 4 days to do all the alterations. I think the most difficult thing for us was that each model had their own schedule and we couldn't go “Oh, this look should go with the first girl.” We couldn’t go back and switch, no time for final calls.

Who are you rooting for to win this competition? Our money is on Anna.
It’s so tough; definitely Anna and Daniella. Anna is amazing and her stuff is extremely commercial and can be sold starting tomorrow, everything in her collection was completely amazing and it just worked. It works for what’s happening right now in the industry.

Daniella is amazing, I just think it’s a little too forward, I don’t think America can relate to it too much right now. They’re both great, but I think Anna will be more America friendly, more fashion friendly I guess right now.

So, what’s next for Johnny?
Right now I’m developing a new label called Digital Heart. It’s a really edgy, contemporary line, downtown “it” girl. It’s going to be a lower-price line and we hope to have that in stores for spring/summer 2010. I also have a lot of other little projects.

Thank you so much, Johnny, and good luck to you.
Thanks, guys.


Johnny Rodriguez's decoy collection:

[Photos: BravoTV.com/Getty Images/WireImage]


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TFS: T Lo Interviews Merlin (plus decoy collection)

Tell us a little about your background and family in Honduras.
I was born at…how do you call it? A banana field where the Chiquita banana started, that’s where I was born. My family was a very typical one, they were farmers. I have six siblings. I was the only “coo-coo” one. I’m the black sheep in the family.

You once made a dress for your mother out of a tablecloth.
Yes, I did. It was for my graduation. She didn’t have anything to wear and she wanted to buy something and I said that I would buy the material. It was a material full of flowers, beautiful, and I had no idea it was a tablecloth.

Is that when you envisioned yourself as a fashion designer?
The moment I decided I wanted to be a fashion designer I was six or seven years old. I got sick and they had these missionaries from America in town at the hospital. I had an infection in my foot because I didn’t have shoes and it got infected because of the rain. I remember them taking me to the hospital to give me medicine and I was crying and this American lady gave me these magazines so that I could relax, and one of them was a Vogue magazine, and of course that’s the one I picked. I still have the magazine. I can show it to you. That's when I fell in love with fashion.

You went to school to be an architect.
Yes, I’m an architect. That’s what I studied, then, I moved to Mexico to study fashion. I got a scholarship and I went to Milan where I studied for two years. Well, actually it was eight months studying and the rest of time I was having fun [laughs]. Then I moved to the United States. That was my goal, to come here.

Did you think that you could fulfill your dreams here? Is that why you came here?
I knew I could never be a fashion designer in Honduras. In Mexico, they pretty much copy fashion from outside, and this is not my style. I also thought that Europe was very conservative. It’s more about legacy, you have to have a big name, you maybe have to come from a very rich, respectable family and even when I was there people kept telling me that I should be in America. America is a young country of young people, and the fashion is fresh. America is a rebel, baby.

Speaking of America, you’re so funny on the show. Are you always over the top like that?
[Laughs] Always, darling, always, and there’s a lot more.

We noticed that everything you made for the show was very well constructed. Take the yellow coat, for example, amazing work in such a short period of time. When did you learn to sew so well?
I was eleven years old when I learned how to sew. My family couldn’t afford to buy me clothes, so what I used to do was to buy vintage clothes. Something that I don’t like too much, so, I used to destroy the vintage clothes and copy the pattern and make something else for me in the materials and the color I wanted. I used to destroy all the garments and see how they were made and I learned how to do it myself. I’m not patient to wait for somebody to do something that I want.

Now, you said you didn’t know anything about Madame Grès and yet you made this great gown that was very much her style and aesthetic. Did anyone help you?
Nobody. I didn’t even know who she was and I was just trying to concentrate. I kept thinking, "Who is she?" It’s true. She came to me in the night and told me.

Most of our readers cannot believe the judges sent you home with that last outfit.
You know, everybody in this life has a destiny and it was my time to go. I could’ve done the best outfit, an outrageous dress, it doesn’t matter. I knew I was out. It was part of the plan [laughs]. You just have to accept it. I take everything that comes to my life, I take it and I transform it into something positive for me.

Did you think there were worse outfits?
Oh, yes, honey and I said so.

Were you and James-Paul close? It seemed that way, especially towards the end.
I like James-Paul because we’re both different. We try to experiment with fashion and that’s the way you grow, that’s how science and everything…that’s why we got aspirin, they experimented with everything. That’s how you grow as a designer, if you’re stuck in the same position you never grow and I see James-Paul trying to find his identity and I like that about him. The same with Reco, and the other contestants, they play safe. They just want to please the market, I don’t have any reason to be pleasing the market. People that can afford my clothes will buy them.

You have dressed many celebrities, such as Paula Abdul, Paris Hilton, and Marilyn Manson.
Yes, they like my clothes and that’s my niche. I have my niche, and I dress a lot of women from high society in my area here in Beverly Hills and Bel-Air. They are all very happy with my work because it’s unique, it’s different and they are collectors. Some say “I don’t even fit in that dress, but I’m buying it because I love it.”

One of the things that impressed us about you on the show it’s that you like to be challenged, play with fabrics you never used before, for example. To us, that’s the sign of a true creative designer.
Yes, the material itself doesn’t make you a good designer; it’s what you can do with it. I'm intrigued by new things, new materials I've never used before. I like to see what I can create with them. I was trying to expose a concept on the show. I’m not trying to be a cookie cutter. Honey, I have gotten so many offers to work for companies here in LA. Hell no, that’s not what I want to do in my life. You know, I have suffered so much in my life. I’ve slept in the street in Europe and here in America too just to survive and stay true to myself and do what I like.

You’ve been called the Latino John Galliano.
[Laughs] Yes, in the Latin market. They are very proud of me because they know my career, where I came from and I’m not ashamed at all. Everything I got it’s because of myself, just me, me, me, me.

How would you describe your style and aesthetic, Merlin?
I’m more experimental. I like to keep together the colors. It’s more theatrical, it’s very theatrical actually. I like to play with different patterns. I’m the shape shifter. I want to try to find a new shape that can accommodate a woman, to establish the new shape of the century, like Dior did in the 50s. He changed thoroughly the shape of the woman. I want to experiment with the new materials. I want to find out about new technologies.

Your decoy collection was an explosion of shapes and vibrant colors. What was your inspiration?
My inspiration was this painter, Max Ernst. He’s got this painting from the 40s called “The Robing of the Bride.” He’s amazing; he’s the master of the masters. I took all the colors from that painting and that was my inspiration.

Were you pleased with the way it turned out?
Yes, I was very happy and I named it “The Phoenix” because I’m like a Phoenix, I emerge from the ashes.

We’re glad you got to show your collection. We knew it would be quite a show. So, did you enjoy being on The Fashion Show?
That was an amazing experience. Now people aren’t going to be in shock when they see me, when they see the Phoenix walking. They’ll say “Oh, that’s Merlin.” You know, when you see me for the first time you are shocked. I don’t know why, I’m just a little mouse. My business partner says that I got presence wherever I go. I love it, I like to be like that.

Well, you’re very good at it. Never change, darling. What's next on your agenda?
I have a lot of plans for this year. I’m presenting a new collection in Miami for spring. I’m going to my country for a dinner with the president and everybody over there and present a collection there too. I’m also launching a new line.

You’re going to be busy. Thank you so much, Merlin.
Thank you, guys.



Merlin's decoy collection:

[Photos: BravoTV.com/WireImage/MetMuseum.org]


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