The Newest Project Runway Loser, to Movieline: 'Everything Bad Happens to Me'
Project Runway's newly eliminated contestant has a lot to say about failure. For one, our subject believes he/she failed, and hard. Secondly, the experience of Project Runway was so disorienting that he/she claims to need "six months to a year" to recover. The Disappointed Head-Tilt of Klum knows no mercy. Click ahead for our full interview with the exposed loser.
It's Janeane! Portland, Oregon designer Janeane Marie Ceccanti came in last during Thursday night's kid-oriented challenge, and even claims that when she first saw the tykes coming around the Runway scrim, she anticipated her elimination. Now, the 28-year-old designer, who once worked under fellow Portland designer (and season five champion) Leanne Marshall, speculates about her own future and her own disappointment.
You cried quite a bit on the show. Did you expect to react so emotionally, or was Project Runway just the horrible crucible of pain that I expect?
I really didn't know that I was going to react that way. I was hoping I would've been more in control of my emotions on national television. [Laughs.] That's just how I reacted, and like -- what happens with me is when I start crying, it's really hard for me to stop. It doesn't have to be about anything, really. It just gets triggered and just needs to run its course. The nerve issue is really severe with me. There is no quiet time, there is no alone time, there is no space to get away and think for five minutes. I was just running on a lot of nothing the whole time I was there. And I was mad at myself. I was so mad at myself the whole time I was on there. Like the Marie Claire challenge, whatever it was that I made for that one. The whole time I knew, "This is a mistake. What are you doing? This is the exact opposite of what you have been asked to design." And it was like, OK, I have eight hours. So, I'm sort of on this path right now and I have to do it, because I don't have time to change. When you're not in control of that -- or at least for me, when I'm not in control of that kind of situation, I get really mad at myself. And that's how it comes out, as crying.
On the plus side, you got to show in Bryant Park.
The Bryant Park collection. Um. Yeah. How do I say this? It was really nerve-wracking, yes. And I don't think it was up to my potential. The biggest fricking runway in the United States, and I fly in under again. I haven't had any time to stop and think and breathe and have a full idea in a long time, and that's what I want to do right now. I want to step back a little bit, get my thoughts together, come back in a year or six months, or something, and maybe start from there. I feel like I need to do that. I feel like I'm even further behind than I would've been [without Runway] anyway. As a good designer, it's hard to be functional, basically, coming up with two collections a year, sourcing everything, prototyping everything, selling, marketing, and all the stuff. It's just like, I don't have any industry experience. I'm just going with what feels right even though I don't know if it is right. I just want to maybe get a job for awhile. I just got back from New York, and New York is so inspiring for me. And I think maybe being there for awhile would be good for me, so I can sort of know what it takes to be a good designer. In Portland, we're really far away from the whole world, and I think it's a little bit hindering even though I want to be a Portland designer. I don't know. I'm sorry if I'm going off on all these tangents.
When did you find out you were showing in Bryant Park? Were you shocked?
That was totally shocking. I found out awhile ago, so we had a couple months. When I came back from the show, I decided that I needed to work really hard and have my line produced, and then I got into Portland fashion week, so I had this other collection I had to do. So I had a few commitments that I was already starting when I found out. Unfortunately, I couldn't put as much focus as I should have into the collection. That's no excuse for anything, because I should've just dropped anything. But, you know, looking back -- what are you going to do? But it knocked my socks off when I found out.
Now that you've absorbed the experience of being judged on the runway, does it make you rethink how you used to appreciate past seasons of the show? Is the show discolored for you?
That's another thing too, I didn't really watch other seasons. I watched season five because Leanne was on it. So I didn't really know that much about the other designers, and I probably should. I got to meet Korto [Momulu, season five's runner-up] the other day, I shook her hand. I was really excited about that because I really like her work. But I probably should've been more aware! That might've helped me going into it too. But I just have this thing, where if I see a movie, I don't like to read reviews beforehand because I just want it to be a fresh experience for me. I don't want to have any expectations. So that's kind of how I went into Project Runway. Let's see how you do blank. I probably should've done a little more research.
During one challenge, I think your garment fell into a bucket of water. Why was a bucket of water there in the first place? This did happen to you, right?
Yep, that's me! OK, so, we were joking, this last time in New York, when we were trying to shake with the tension of Bryant Park. It was going to be the Project Runway Amazing Race. Ben and I were going to be partners, and we'd be like, going around the world. I'd be carrying him around in a rickshaw, and the wheel would fall of the rickshaw. My bungee cord would break, and, like, we'd have a hole in our hot air balloon. Because like, everything bad happens to me. It's my luck, you know? I don't know why there was a bucket of water there -- well, I guess I know why, we were using it to refill the iron. The iron kept running out of water. But of course it fell right in that thing, and I had a nasty water stain, and it wasn't drying because it was this nasty cheap polyester satin.
Do you leave the show being a little afraid of the judges? You seemed heartbroken by their criticisms.
I don't know if I was ever afraid. You always wonder what the judges are going to say, because it's just so all over the place. It could be anything. I really like Nina Garcia. I think I trust what she thinks and what she has to say. I've not had the chance to, well -- I wasn't able to put anything great in front of her, or something that reflected me as a designer. I still think she's a good editor, but I admire the type of women she is. And Heidi, I was never really afraid of her. She doesn't seem like a mean-spirited person at all. You can tell that Heidi loves being Heidi. And, yeah.
What about Michael?
Um. I don't know. I don't think I'm going to say anything about Michael Kors.
Movieline's Previous Interviews With Project Runway's Eliminated Contestants
· Ping Wu
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