Today I drove a few miles from my home to Burlington Mall in Burlington, Massachusetts to meet Tim Gunn! I’ve met Tim on two other occasions: at the Kate Spade store in Boston in 2010 and at the Lucky Brand Jeans store in SoHo during Fashion’s Night Out, 2011. (I was also in the audience at Martha Stewart Show when he was a guest in 2007.) I couldn’t pass up another chance to meet Tim, especially when I didn’t have to travel so far!
When I got in line, Tim had not yet arrived. We were told he had quite an ordeal getting to the mall. We weren’t told why, but apparently he was on a plane for a couple of hours and then traveled four hours by car. Maybe he drove from NYC? Eventually, he did make it with his entourage, who consisted of a group of both male and female models dressed from head to toe in Lucky Brand Jeans outfits. One of the models was one who travels with him and the others were local. I spoke with her and asked her if she was Adair (who I saw at Kate Spade). She said Adair was her travel buddy but wasn't able to make this trip.
Prior to Tim’s arrival, the audience was asked for questions for Tim. One person asked who were Tim’s favorite Project Runway designers. He said it would be easier to state whom he didn’t like! There was quite a din, so I missed who he didn’t like in Season 1, so you’ll have to take your best guess: Mario, Vanessa or Wendy, perhaps?
In Season 2, his least favorite was Zulema (also known as Shatenge). She apparently was pulling some shenanigans off-camera. When Tim asked the other designers why they didn’t complain, Santino said in his deepest voice, “We were afraiiiiiiid!” Can you guess who was Tim’s least favorite designer in Season 3? No, Tim did not name Keith Michael, who was asked to leave early, but named none other than Vincent Libretti! Vincent’s designs did leave a bit to be desired, but he did make it long enough to go to Paris and did provide comedy relief.
Seasons 4 and 5 were Victorya Hong and Kenley Collins, respectively. Victorya had a really hard time adjusting to the rigorous schedule. When Tim and the producers asked her why, she thought the lack of sleep and food was just for the cameras! He couldn’t really name anyone in Season 6 (the dreaded LA season). Tim didn’t get a chance to name anyone in Season 7, as he was asked to move things along, but he did say his least favorite of Season 8 was the “both the villain and the winner” – Gretchen. When Tim asked how many in the crowd wanted Mondo to win, the cheers were louder than when Tim himself took the stage!
Click here to continue.
