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RICKY LIZALDE ''No one really said, 'You don't deserve to be here,' but when you're on the bottom for so long it's hard not to doubt yourself.''

All About

Project Runway

Going into a tricky challenge on last week's Project Runway — creating a look for the diva-wrestlers of the WWE — lingerie designer Ricky Lizalde had mixed feelings: He'd just won the challenge the previous week (his first victory), but because of the show's rising stakes, wasn't granted immunity. Plus, he had the distinct feeling that no one wanted him on the show anyway. Alas, the judges did end up auf'ing him. We checked in with Runway's resident crier to get his side of the story.

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Heading onto the runway with your diva that evening, how were you feeling?
RICKY LIZALDE: Well, I was nervous. I was nervous to see how they were going to put it all together and what the outcome was going to be. And, of course, the outcome was what it was. I was sad to see myself go.

Do you think Sweet P should have gone before you?
In that challenge, yeah, I do think she should have gone before me. It's funny because I think she [thought that], too.

What do you think went wrong?
Maybe mine wasn't as sparkly as everyone else's. If it was, like, Hulk Hogan or somebody that told me that my outfit wasn't appropriate for the ring, then I can swallow that, but I just can't swallow it from a bunch of fashion designers. I gave my client what she wanted, and she loved it.

Yeah, that's the sense that I got.... Did she like that tunic overlay? It seems like the judges were harsh about that, in addition to the swimsuit.
She liked the whole idea — she doesn't like a lot of flash, so I was like, ''All right, let's just do something hot and sexy and sparkly, and show them who you are.'' She's gorgeous, and I wanted to accentuate her best parts. She was hot, and I would have loved to see her wrestle in that.

Did you think you'd be voted off going into it? You sort of alluded to that.
I was trying to balance the idea of fashion and costume and this weird challenge we had. I thought this challenge was kind of a joke.... I came on the show to do a runway show and things that dealt with fashion, and to be told you didn't make the right costume but you made something fashionable was a little bit of an oxymoron to me. That whole episode was...I just haven't swallowed it.

How do you go from winning one week to leaving the next? Because this was the first challenge where no one was safe — no immunity was granted last week.
[The denim challenge the week before] was such a great challenge to win and such a great opportunity, and to not be given immunity... It was so difficult that I think it warranted immunity, so to speak. But you know, it's Project Runway and the rules are...you never know.

I've got to ask about Spandex House, where you all bought fabrics for this challenge. We didn't see much of it on screen. Is there really an all-spandex store here in New York City?
It's a store [where] you buy any kind of fabric that stretches. A lot of drag queens go there. It's tailor-made for swimwear or costume-wear or tranny-wear, all that stuff. If you want anything that stretches, sparkly or not, it's there.

NEXT PAGE: ''I internalized a lot and I think by kind of doing that the frustration turned to tears. It's better tears than me blowing up and being an a--hole.''


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