Hive Q&A: First Project Runway Castoff "Disheartened." Uh... Yeah! - Stylehive

To begin season 5 of the hit show Project Runway, the 16 mega-talented contestants were taken back to the way beginning with a repeat of the infamous Gristedes challenge from the first episode of the very first season. The designers had their pick of raw materials from the aisles of the supermarket to construct a garment that would wow the judges. From plastic cups to coffee filters to garbage bags to diapers and so on, the designers all scrambled to take these unconventional materials and make it work.

In the end, the judges, with guest judge Season 1 winner Austin Scarlett, gave the win to Kelli for her super creative vacuum cleaner bag dress and sent Jerry packing.

I just spoke to the ousted designer to get the scoop on what went down. Read on to see what he had to say about his time on the show, this 'regurgitated' challenge, and what's up next.

Stylehive: Although it was shortlived, what was the overall Project Runway experience like?
Jerry: It was a once in a lifetime opportunity to be selected as one of the 16 designers on Season 5 is an opportunity that everyone around that world now knows about. In summation, I couldn't ask for anything more.

Stylehive: What were your thoughts on the Gristedes challenge?
Jerry: You know, I was really unimpressed with the unoriginality of that challenge, I mean it was good for the first season but there's a whole bunch of great challenges that could have been done. So to go back and just kind of regurgitate a challenge was kind of disheartening for me.

Stylehive: What was going through your mind when you were standing up there in the bottom two?
Jerry: Well I was standing next to a whip-stitched garbage sack and somewhat of a blown up diaper, so I was just dumbfounded. I actually made a trench coat- an actual, usable, wearable garment provided by supplies from Gristedes from the houseware and pharmaceutical sections.

Stylehive: Do you stand by your design?
Jerry: I stand by my design 110%. I had a concept, I followed the rules of the challenge, I went to the housewares and pharmaceuticals, I integrated 5 or 6 different elements from cheese cloth to shower curtains to tablecloth and all these things here and there to make a wearable look that I think normal people would wear.

Stylehive: What's next for you?
Jerry:I have a small little company called Form, we are in our 10th season and will be presenting during Fashion Week in September. We sell to a few boutiques around the world, places like H Lorenzo in California and locally we sell to boutiques around Soho. All the boutiques and listings of our stock can be found on Formnewyork.com.

(Flashback: You might remember Jerry from Make Me A Supermodel - the female contestants walked the runway for his show during Fashion Week!)