'Project Runway' Q&A: Elisa

After sewing up an unspectacular brown velvet dress that the judges described as ''boring,'' Elisa Jimenez was auf'd by Heidi Klum and Co. in a Project Runway challenge that found contestants constructing looks solely from materials taken from the Hershey's store in Times Square. It's a bittersweet goodbye: In addition to the level of quirk she brought to the show (using spit to mark her garments!), she was one of the sweetest contestants (how fitting for this week's candy-centric challenge). Now it's her turn to get in the last word.

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Did you watch the episode last night?
ELISA JIMENEZ: I have a confession — it's the truth. I don't have cable; I don't actually have a television. [So] I haven't been watching it. After February, I'm going to sit down with pizza and M&Ms and popcorn and I'm going to have a complete marathon.

Get out! I can't believe you didn't watch your big denouement.
Even so, I have been experiencing it: Every night that it's been on, all my friends and clients and collectors, they will text me what's going on or their responses to what's going on. The next day, they talk to me about it. I've been having this whole other layer of experience with the show that is really incredible and very beautiful because it's their responses to what they're seeing and how they saw me do what I did. I was there!

Have there been any surprised reactions about your techniques, like spitting on clothes?
Not by my clients. My clients have been there while I work. It's not just spitting! I'm not a linguist, but I'm definitely a word person, I love verbiage. Okay, spitting is like where you chuck a loogie. These are marking spots. It's a private thing and not a lot of people understand it, but it's very successful for me. With the spit-marking — it's gentle like, here's a point, here's a point — but has anyone done any research on what dry cleaning does? If you want to get into a big stink, let's talk about that.

I think people were just surprised by it. Were you anxious about putting those little idiosyncrasies on display?
I really appreciate that question. Every single moment before I would open my mouth or I would do something, I did do like a check-in to really see what was worth exposing. My intention was not to try to go in and change everybody else's perception of how everything was made. My intention was to go in and truly be a good example of someone who continues to try to do the right thing to themselves, to their heart.

Last night, you revealed more about your personal story — how the car hit you in London and the ensuing injuries. Did you make a conscious decision to reveal that?
I didn't feel I needed to explain myself, but there were two very important reasons that I wanted to go on Project Runway. The first was my daughter, because I was chosen as one of the original 14 on the first season of the show.

Wait — sorry to interrupt — you were asked to be on the first season?
Yes. I chose to turn it down. First, because my daughter was 8 years old, and you have to live with everyone, and I couldn't be with her. I went off to London instead, and I get hit, and I'm in a coma for five days. So then, okay, you come back and you're all banged up with a severe head trauma and a broken neck. People loved me back to life! For my daughter, she wanted me to try for Project Runway again because she wanted to see what the difference was. The other part was that I wanted to share my story. I wanted people to see that you can come back, that you can make it back.

NEXT PAGE: About that brown dress...

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