CHRISTIAN SIRIANO: "Project Runway" season 19.
Oh, my God, we're back.
We're at the halfway point in the competition
where things get serious.
You are both out, and I'm so sorry.
CHRISTIAN SIRIANO: Oh, double elimination.
Cozy chic may have seemed like a simple challenge-- the modern
version of effortless luxury--
but when fabric choice can make or break you,
and there's only one day to work,
and girls don't even have time to have fun because there was
an invasion of Cyndi Lauper and Geoffrey Mac,
cozy suddenly got pretty uncomfortable,
especially for Octavio and Zayden, two truly talented
designers I am sad to lose, but I
am excited to talk to tonight.
OK, are we ready?
We have a lot to talk about.
Nothing on my cards.
Octavio, welcome to my first after show of the season.
Thank you.
I feel honored to be the first one.
This is a big deal.
Yeah, yeah, it totally is.
Let's toast.
Toast from afar. OK, we did it.
Cheers. Let's see.
I'm not a drinker.
You made this.
Yes, yeah.
Stunning.
Thank you.
Oversized sweatshirt, which is interesting.
Right, pretty interesting.
Yeah, because you went home for an oversized sweatshirt,
but I love this one.
Thank you.
I'm still trying to figure out what cozy chic is.
Me too.
Let me tell you.
Luxurious and fabulous to be in the windows
at Bergdorf, but still comfortable to be on the couch.
This is my after-show.
So I can say whatever I want.
Don't cut this out.
The cozy damn challenge, it was hard.
The judges loved the effortlessness
of Christina's, which was the winning look of the challenge.
But that was resort what she did.
I thought it was super resort.
I mean, like, Aaron's.
I feel like you can go by that in different price points.
You can go to Marshall's.
You can go to H&M.
She's Marshall's and H&M, honey.
You can buy that at Lane Bryant.
Oh.
It's stuff that was already made.
So I guess they were looking for that.
You're a little bit sassier than I thought.
Well, no, I'm just smart.
You're smart.
I'm a super nice guy.
You know that.
Obviously, maybe they felt like it
just looked so well done.
If it's too force and too rigid, what is the balance,
and I think that's the gamble of this game.
But I left for an oversized sweatshirt.
That's something that I do all the time.
Of course, I didn't pick the best fabric for it.
Yeah.
Why did you pick a brocade if it's a sweatshirt?
It's not going to look like a lamé jacket in silver?
No, no, it's going to look like a hoodie sweatshirt.
What is this?
So this is the fabric I bought from home.
For some reason, it feels cozier.
I think it was the fabrics.
It's so funny when, sometimes, in black, things just--
- Change. - --change.
Everything changes.
Why didn't you make this?
I did create this, but I created it a little smaller,
because I had MiMi.
I didn't want to bulk her up.
Avant-garde had just been the week before.
So I didn't want it to be like, OK, she's
wearing this oversized sweatshirt,
and I did the lingerie, which was fun.
That's something I never do.
Lingerie.
OCTAVIO AGUILAR: And you know my inspirations, they come from--
CHRISTIAN SIRIANO: I know.
OCTAVIO AGUILAR: --vintage, and Madonna, and this and that.
To be honest, I think, actually,
probably a lot of people are going to want
to wear that and buy that.
So I don't think it's the biggest miss.
That's why I went into every challenge saying,
I'm going to always do what I do for my brand, which is Octavio.
I took every challenge like that.
Take a drink.
Yeah, another sip.
CHRISTIAN SIRIANO: Little baby sips.
Who do you think is going to win?
I want Anna to win.
I think she just brought something to this competition
that we haven't seen.
I think this is her moment.
Listen, it's been lovely having you.
Thank you. It's been a pleasure.
I'm going to chat with Zayden now.
OK.
The double elim.
Yeah.
Let's cheers and toast.
OCTAVIO AGUILAR: Cheers.
One more.
Zayden, you're drinking without a toast.
I know. I'm sorry.
You just needed a drink that bad?
- Yes. - You look very nice.
Thank you.
You definitely, you yourself, brought lots of looks.
ZAYDEN SKIPPER: Of course. I always bring a look.
CHRISTIAN SIRIANO: You brought looks.
You brought little booty shorts.
You brought hair looks.
ZAYDEN SKIPPER: Of course.
I didn't think you noticed.
Of course.
I am my brand.
So I have to be the best representation of my brand
and who I am.
This is giving very, like, vampire.
It's giving very Black Karl Lagerfeld.
Oh, I love it.
What do you think?
Do you think it's easier or harder
when it's two people going out?
ZAYDEN SKIPPER: I've seen Octavio's work,
and it was an honor.
I think he's an amazing designer.
Mentally, I'm in a place to where
it's that I own up to what I do, and I own up to who I am,
and I'm proud of it.
For every Black kid like me who struggled.
I try to hold my head up, and I know
this is not the end for me.
I do want to talk about--
I came in to say goodbye.
You ran away.
ZAYDEN SKIPPER: I didn't ran away.
CHRISTIAN SIRIANO: You ran away.
ZAYDEN SKIPPER: So, yeah, I knew that that
was going to be the question.
Honestly--
CHRISTIAN SIRIANO: But why'd you'd do that?
I'm just curious.
I was just so relieved.
To leave?
You have to be in my shoes to understand.
That you are so relieved to leave?
That I came into this competition
not expecting anything.
Got it.
So the fact that I was able to get so far, I was happy.
So that was the relief?
That was a relief for me to just breathe it out and be
like, OK, now I've completed a task
that I was questioning about.
I'm at peace with my soul.
I have no regrets.
You literally needed fresh air, because you went outside.
Fresh air.
But you weren't really proud of that look were you?
Actually I was.
No, come on. ZAYDEN SKIPPER: I actually was.
For me, I'm always proud of the work that I do.
I looked at it as far as the client
that I dress and the type of girl that I dress.
Anything that I do, I love it because I
did it, because if I didn't, I wouldn't
have put it down the runway.
Maybe your customer would really still love it and want
it, but the little details and the things
that I think you love and are good at, sometimes
do get hidden.
And maybe, in this one, because it
was just this all gray thing.
Not one little thing you didn't like?
After looking at it, no.
Even the styling where the jacket was off the shoulder
and didn't really look like it perfectly fit?
Fashion is subjective.
So I felt like the judges critiques wasn't horrible.
It felt a little bit too tight in her hips.
And then, I don't know how to feel about these ankle straps.
I took it, and I fed it, and I embraced it.
Under the fashion industry, people are
going to critique everything.
If you don't have that tough skin,
then this is not the business for you.
CHRISTIAN SIRIANO: Yeah. Didn't you go to SCAD?
I absolutely did.
That's a really good fashion school.
- Amazing fashion school. - Right?
Yes.
I've been through worse critiques
than that to get me to here.
So I think that's why I built this tough skin to take it.
Got it. All right.
Let's take a drink.
We need it.
All right, I have a question.
What's the question?
Who do you think is going to win?
Oh.
Your guess is good as mine.
I really don't know. - Really?
You've got nothing?
Come on.
OK, take a guess.
Give me two, top two.
MiMi.
Give me a top two.
I kind of love it though.
MiMi's really fabulous.
All right, thank you so much for joining me.
Thank you for having me.
To MiMi, the next winner.
Hey, MiMi.
Lacy Redway.
Hi.
CHRISTIAN SIRIANO: TRESemme global stylist.
Lacy, it's your first challenge with us.
How did you like it?
So tell me what we're going to do.
So we want her hair up.
But I know you only have 30 minutes.
So let's get going.
I'm going to use a little bit of the TRESemme
extra hold hairspray.
Bye.
I feel like I'm in the competition.
Right, you are.
I'm like, am I about to be eliminated?
Why do I get a time limit?
I feel the same way.
It's intense.
Yeah, it is very fast paced.
You got to get it together, but luckily I've been trained
well to know how to work fast.
Was this the fastest you've ever had to do a look,
or have you had to do a red carpet a little quicker?
So I can't tell you who, but I've had to take out extensions
while on the massage table, put them
back in before [INAUDIBLE].
They're laid out and you're doing their hair.
And I'm like, girl, can you at least turn to the side.
That is insane.
LACY REDWAY: I've prepared for this moment.
CHRISTIAN SIRIANO: You did. You did.
You have.
I had one designer come in where I was like,
girl, slow down.
I need to understand what you need.
They're high-stress, the designers?
Yes.
Talk about what you did for Luz and Shantall.
LACY REDWAY: I gave her kind of like '70s inspired ponytail.
CHRISTIAN SIRIANO: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
LACY REDWAY: So mousse helped me get it a little grit,
like a little grit to the hair.
Mousse in the old school, like in the '70s, that's what
everybody was using.
But you know, everyone thinks mousse is still old school,
but it's still a great foundation, like prep tool,
because it really helps me build hair,
and for me, the foundation is the most
important part of hair.
What I really love is that TRESemme extra hold mousse,
it works for everything.
I kept a lot of her natural texture.
So I think it's great for the diversity in the cast
to celebrate everyone's natural textures
and really celebrate what their hair normally does.
For Coral's model Grace.
LACY REDWAY: I used a little bit of mousse there as well.
CHRISTIAN SIRIANO: Because you kind
of incorporated the macrame thing that Coral does so well.
LACY REDWAY: Yes, yes, yes.
Put it to the top and then incorporated the accessories
that she gave me to use.
It's nice to have something challenge you,
and push you, and push your ability.
That's what keeps you fresh.
Lacy, thank you so much for coming.
Oh, my God.
I'm so thrilled to be here.
Thank you so much for having me.
Guys, we did it.
Can we do a little, like--
Yeah.
OK, let's go. Yeah.
LACY REDWAY: Perfect.
CHRISTIAN SIRIANO: It's like a real show.