Home Again, Home Again

And I'm still walking on air! So let me tell you what happened yesterday. Emmett, Tom and Lorenzo of Project RunGay and I all went to the Bravo Project Runway Finale party. What. A. BLAST! I keep joking that I get invited because I was the yearbook photographer in high school and I have a cool camera. You know what they say, whatever works!

It was a zoo and a half, as you might imagine. And surprisingly, given the editing on the show, most of the designers were really, really nice. There's so much to talk about, where to begin? I'll start with some of the previous seasons designers. The first one I met was Nora Caliguri. What a sweetheart! She is just about to break out. Watch this space and I'll let you know when. She brought her sister to the party, and the two of them were a blast. They're both wearing Nora originals, and they were both gorgeous and the clothes were impeccably made. I loved Nora's dress, but I was gaga for her sister's outfit. That zipper was just such a great design feature. We got talking about Riri zippers (because I asked if that was one) and the problems of manufacturing and delivery schedules and slips with vendors.
1

Fierce boots, girl! (They're Miu Miu)

Next up, we saw Malan! Ah, I could listen to that boy talk for hours. He too is inking deals and will be making announcements shortly. When he saw me, he was so gracious. He actually remembered me from his show! "Oh well, hello hello again!" and he gave me a kiss. You know, for the most part, the b*tchy reputation that the fashion industry has is undeserved. Face it. It's all about networking, and most designers (and most professionals, for that matter) know that you get more flies and deals with honey. Yes, there are exceptions (and I'm not going to name names here), but almost every designer that I have talked to, Project Runway or no, are very gracious and anxious to do good business. Malan is one.

Malan, it's Hollywood on line 1. They're casting for the next James Bond film and they want you to read for 007!

Allison was talking with Victorya, and they were kind enough to let me get a picture. Then Allison and I got talking. She's from Massachusetts originally, so we got chatting about that, and she was wearing a super cute shorts-jumpsuit. She had just whipped it up that day, and was talking about how she wanted to tweak the fit. I told her, "Oh, but honey, just tell everyone it's a prototype!" I thought the collar treatment was really attractive. She liked that idea.

Kara Janx was there with her husband. She was so cute and very chatty. Of course, with Tom and Lorenzo, everyone is chatty - unless they're mad at TLo, in which case they avoid, avoid, avoid. Kara loves TLo, and she was just a dear. She also has quite the little sense of humor, as you can see in the second photo.

Nice face, Kara!

Next up? My dear Emmett with Kayne from last season. Kayne is an absolute hoot. He kept standing on tiptoe to get parity with Emmett. He's selling his super-sassy-sexy Jonathan Kayne Shoes in something like 200 stores and counting. His gowns are doing really well, and he is about to open a menswear store! I hope that's announced already and I'm not scooping him.

And Emmett? Well, you all know I love him like he was my brother. My better looking brother. The poor thing literally had just gotten off the plane from Paris and was running on fumes. Which really s*cks that he looks that good. Good thing I love him like he was my brother or I'd have to hate him for it.

Marla, from Season 2, was there. I didn't have a chance to talk to her after I took the picture because Lorenzo needed me to take some other pictures. She seemed very nice, though.

Gotta ask - Marla, are you wearing fleurchons???

And who did I get pulled away from talking with Marla to photograph? This guy!
Jay McCarroll - the Original Project Runway Winner! Jay is Hy-Sterical! OMG is he funny. Tom had warned me that, within moments of meeting him, Jay would say something offensive. Nope. Maybe it just takes a lot to offend me, but he had me in stitches. Here we are with Ted Allen of Queer Eye and Top Chef.

Jay - I want to party with YOU, cowboy!

And Tim? Ah, Tim! The man is every bit as peripatetic, urbane and charming as he comes across on TV. And his hair is perfect!

I'll leave you for now with two parting shots. One of my favorite pictures is this one of Emmett and Tim:
And of course, an encore of my absolute favorite picture of the evening...
Tomorrow I'll talk about the Season 4 designers and the show. Until then...
Happy sewing!