Designer Jerell Scott loves himself some bling, whether it's jewel-encrusted breast cups on a dress or a ton of sequins. But that passion ultimately sent him home last night. In part 1 of the Project Runway season 5 finale, the judges cited him for creating a wedding gown — and an accompanying bridesmaid dress — that were just too adorned and opulent. How's he feeling about it? Read on for his thoughts on that, Kenley's outburst last week, and where you can buy his newest designs in just a few weeks.
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: It has been a little while since the episode was filmed, but how are you feeling now about how everything went down?
JERELL SCOTT: I'm totally fine with everything that went down. I really loved my wedding dress, and I thought my bridesmaid's dress was very appropriate for my wedding dress. I think for me to be able to go out on a note that I'm proud of made it a lot easier for me, and now I can see the bigger picture. I was able to go there and do what I set out to do. I showed at Bryant Park, and I showed in every episode, and the world is familiar with my work, which was the ultimate objective.
I saw the show at Bryant Park, and it was great — that's such a huge accomplishment. So, Heidi told you before it started that you had to create a wedding dress for that collection too. Did you start with that? What was your process like?
The way that I design is that I don't sketch anything first. I gather the materials and then let them inspire the pieces, and then one leads to the other.
So you literally go and buy a bunch of fabrics that you like?
Yes. I'm not a minimalist designer by any means, as you can see. [Laughs]
Yeah, you like your baubles and jewels. Would that be something you start with? You find a jewel or something that you like and then build a look around that?
Honestly, when I shop, I just find the materials that are appealing to me. So, I shopped in New York, I shopped in L.A., I put $8,000 worth of stuff on the table, and I said, ''Okay, well, I'll use this snakeskin and this.'' I'll start draping, and one piece will inspire the next, like ''Oh, this is cool.'' To be quite honest, the wedding dress was the third piece. I love my wedding dress, love love love love love it. So I'm totally fine with leaving. Honestly, fashion is so subjective anyway. It's all a matter of personal opinion. And nobody can please everybody. Not everybody wants to wear Calvin Klein, not everyone wants to wear Prada. Everyone has their own aesthetic. I think for me, I like opulence and s---.
NEXT PAGE: ''You wear one of my pieces, it's like a conversation piece. People will come up to you, and you will get complimented.''
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