Reality on Bravo

I was surfing the blog-o-sphere today and stumbled upon this post by Kate Goldwater. It’s an interesting read. Apparently, Kate has tried out for Project Runway and made it to Tim Gunn twice, where he then rejected her.

And she’s pissed.

At first, I thought this “letter” post was a bit ignorant. I mean, everyone thinks that their own work is great, but come on. Thousands of people try out for Project Runway and only 15 make it. They obviously were looking for someone other than you. Get over it.

Upon re-reading it again, I see her point as well. I’ve been rejected in the past and it’s totally a slap in the face. And why was she rejected? She notes that she has not been to design school and that her design philosophy is unusual, but I suspect that neither of those things were the problem…I suspect that the problem was that they are looking for a certain combination of contestants (x number of girls, x number of boys, the “villain,” the nice girl, the feminist, the weird one…) and that either she didn’t fit the bill or they had previously picked someone similar to her. When you get too many contestants that are similar, it’s not good reality tv because people can’t tell them apart.

And that’s not fair. If she deserved a place, she deserved a place.

I don’t know Kate. All I know of her work is the few pictures posted on the blog. I wasn’t blown away, but pictures are different than real life or even tv so it’s hard to tell. I was grossed out by the fact that she paints with her own blood. I was uplifted by her respect for the environment. Read the post if you haven’t already.

Kare Goldwater, you aren’t alone. Thousands of other hopefuls also failed to qualify for project runway, and it’s not personal. It’s a television show, and they’re looking for certain things. The quality of your work and your originality mean nothing if you don’t fit the stereotype of what they want that particular day. If you truly have the talent it takes to win the show, either keep applying or simply focus on your work. You’ll make it.

Project Runway, Kate Goldwater, Tim Gunn, reality television, television, tv, reality tv