Yes, you will see Samantha Rei cry in the season of “Project Runway” that begins Thursday.
“I really tried not to but I did,” admits the Minneapolis designer, one of 16 contestants in the 16th season of the reality series that pits fashion designers against each other. “When you watch the show, you see interviews with people and they’re all like, ‘I don’t want to be the crying one,’ and I said it, too: ‘I’m not going to cry. I’m a badass.’ But I did.”
The stress of the New York-set show — not getting much sleep, being away from family, living with strangers, laboring around the clock on red-carpet looks — takes its toll on even the badassiest of contestants. But, tears or no, Rei says she has what it takes to be a “Project Runway” winner (this interview was conducted after Rei completed shooting most of the season, but she’s not allowed to reveal spoilers about how well she did).
She has several things going for her: This season specifically focuses on designing for all body types, which has always been a big part of Rei’s brand. Rei also designs clothing for men, which would help her if “Project Runway” does one of its occasional menswear challenges. And she has other skills that tend to help “PR” contestants succeed.
“My construction is really good. I’m also awesome at finding textiles that wouldn’t usually go together and then fitting them together,” says Rei, who uses her middle name professionally but whose full name is Samantha Crossland (her husband, Ryan Crossland, is bar manager at Minneapolis’ Club Jager). “But fitting all body types — at the end of the day, that’s what I’m best at. I have so many customers who come to me because they can’t find things that fit them.”
There’s a good reason for that.
“I have been that girl, crying in the dressing room because nothing fits, so many times, and I don’t think anyone else should have to go through that. It’s not fair,” says Rei, who has become adept at making sure others don’t have to cry. “They appreciate how much care I take in crafting something for them and I appreciate the joy they have when they realize they deserve to have nice things.”
As one of the season’s veteran designers, Rei — who is 36 — also hopes to stay above the catty remarks that can dominate “Project Runway’s” one-on-one interviews with its contestants, in which they often appear to be goaded to say nasty things about each other’s work.
“One thing that has always bothered me is, I understand that some people play a character, almost, but the thing that makes me want to stop watching is when people are needlessly, unnecessarily catty, like they’re trying to think of the meanest, quirkiest thing to say that will turn into a gif on Tumblr,” Rei says. “That has nothing to do with fashion.”
Rei likes the show best when the drama comes not from the contestants’ bickering about who host Tim Gunn likes best but from whether teams will be able to blend their aesthetics in group challenges or whether a designer will finish a cocktail dress just in the nick of time.
There’s a dark side to much of her work and the designer has had bad experiences — she says she was ostracized in Hastings when she was growing up — but she describes herself as a “Pollyanna” these days. And that Pollyanna attitude is reflected in her summing-up of her experience on “Project Runway,” which finally cast her after five or six unsuccessful attempts to get on the show.
“I really enjoyed it. It was such an amazing experience,” Rei says. “If I had to do it all over again, I would. Every single time.”Read more at:vintage formal dresses | backless formal dresses