Mitchell Hall was spared elimination on Thursday night's Project Runway, but the designer was given a stern warning by Heidi Klum: Shape up, or pack up! Calling from his home in Savannah, Ga., Hall discussed his performance on the show this week -- and why he's disappointed that Malvin was auf'd for his conceptual design. --Brian Orloff
You've had sort of a rough start on the show.It was a really rough start, and I think what was so hard for watching the show to understand is that after the first show, the next day we're filming the second challenge. It's not like we get a week of breathing time to recover, so I was thrown off after the first challenge.
What happened with your shorts last night?I loved those damn shorts! But I think I could have stuck to something a little less obvious, a little less flashy and a little easier to make. I actually made very similar shorts for my audition in Atlanta and the judges there liked them.
Didn't you say you were trying to play it safe last night?I was a little overzealous in trying to put something together like that. I think I could have played it safe with a simple dress. Trying to get my aesthetic across, I think I overextended myself.
Did you think you were going to be kicked off?I was told that I looked like a sad little puppy dog on the runway. I think that I didn't go into the competition with enough knowledge about the actual show. I got there and went like, "Holy crap! All these I'm actually designing with, they're so serious about this. They spend everyday of their life sewing and I haven't sewn in three years." So, I was staring down the runway thinking, "Send me home. Just let me go home graciously. Let me surrender." The hardest part was Malvin being kicked off. He was such a talented, innovative designer that it was really hard for me to see him go.
Do you think the show has a bias against conceptual designers like Arie and Malvin?I think the first two challenges were the most commercial challenges you can have. People definitely have a definite idea of what a red carpet look is and what maternity wear is. It just sucks that the two most conceptual designers were eliminated first because of what their ideas about what maternity should be and what red carpet should be.
Are you happy with how you've been portrayed so far?Definitely. That was my biggest fear that when the producers are doing the editing. I'm glad they took me as the nice guy -- kind of a happy go lucky cheerleader for the other designers. I think that's the way I would have liked to be represented.
Mike Yarish/Lifetime
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