Katy Caswell, a 21-year-old Alabama native, achieved her dream of making it to Fashion Week on Bravo's Make Me A Supermodel last week.  However, she continually received the critique that she doesn't look high fashion enough to make it as a supermodel, and as a result, found herself up for the vote four times.

Katy spoke to BuddyTV today and addressed the criticism she got from the judges and fellow models on Make Me A Supermodel concerning her weight and eating habits.  She also talked about the amazing experience she had at Fashion Week, and about which designers she would love to walk for if she got the chance.  Below you will find an audiofile and a complete transcript of the interview.

Hey everybody. This is Debbie at BuddyTV, and I'm taking to Katy from Make Me A Supermodel. Hey, Katy, how's it going?

Hey, Debbie. I'm good, how are you?


I'm great. First off, I wanted to ask you, in last week's episode, you were getting a lot of criticism from everybody, it seemed, about your eating and exercise habits, and I was just wondering how you respond to that?

Well, it's so weird because I've always been the athletic girl, the cheerleader, and I have two young brothers and they definitely keep me going all the time. I've never had a problem with my weight. I've always been toned and athletic. Of course, I've never been the girl with the waif body. That's just not in my genes to look like that ever.

So, when I got on the show, and they were like, "We need you to tone" and all this stuff, I spoke to Clay, our personal trainer, and he basically gave me an individualized plan just for me. He said, "I want you to do cardio, no weights." So, you know, on the treadmill and just whatever you can and things like that, and he's like, "I want you to have water." And, I was like, "Well, we were talking about eating carbs, and the one thing that of course I can give up, but my favorite food is cereal. I love cereal. And then, he's like, "Okay, yeah, that's great. Let's just switch it to this kind," and that would be like Raisin Bran or Honey Bunches of Oats or whatever. And I was like, "Yeah, that's great, and it's good too." And he's like, "Yeah, that's fine. If that's the worst you're doing, then you're not doing a bad job." And oatmeal is one of my favorites too. So he said, "Just have your cereal or your oatmeal in the morning, and get on the treadmill and do whatever, and you should be good to go."

Of course, he didn't expect me to look like some of the other girls in the house because that's not my body type. I'll never look that way. And I'm a grazer, so I'll be the first one to have an apple in my hand or a granola bar or something. Like, I eat all throughout the day, and I'm supposed to. So, I don't expect everybody to like me all the time. And I completely expect for my competition to not agree with the things I'm doing, but they weren't there, and my body type is different from theirs. Some people can have whatever food they want, and I can have certain things, and that's just what it is. It is what it is.


A lot of people criticize the fashion industry for creating an unrealistic body type that everyone should aspire to, and what do you think about that? Like, do you think that models have to stick thin all the time? What's your ideal?

Oh, of course I don't think that all models should be stick thin. You know, I think one of the most beautiful campaigns that I've ever seen is the Dove campaign, you know, with the women, and they really do look like average women. I mean, some of those models, I don't even look like them, you know? They have more curves than I do. Some of them are skinnier than me, and whatever. It's beautiful because it's every body type, and for that campaign, it's accepted. People, they look up to and admire and respect that. The way I look at it is, I have hips and I have curves, and my boobs are a 34B. Apparently, that's too big, but average America is bigger than me. But it's like, Heidi Klum and Tyra, they have hips just like mine, and they're proud of it, and I'm proud of it. If they can make it to Victoria's Secret, then I can too.


We also noticed that you hung out alone a lot, instead of with the other models. What were the dynamics like between you and the other models throughout the competition?

Me and the other models, we really did get along well. Of course, some of our opinions and views and things like that were different, just like the way it should be. We were together all the time. There was a lot of stuff that people don't see on camera. On camera, we're together all the time, 16 hours a day and things like that, and sometimes when we get home, I just really want to be by myself. You know, the boys get so loud and rowdy all the time. They're not singing that serenade all the time. They're just going, going, going, and that of course can wear you down. So sometimes, yeah, I would just like to just come home and be by myself. And sometimes the guys would be downstairs and playing games like Spin the Bottle, stuff like that, and I'm really not into that. I would rather be looked at as "Hey, she's off by herself" than "Why is she playing Spin the Bottle—this is not The Real World." I'm here for a reason and I was very determined, and I felt like I wanted to be very professional about it. Of course, I had fun with everybody, but some days, I just wanted to be by myself.


What part of the show did you enjoy the most?

Oh, what part did I enjoy the most? Probably, let's see, Fashion Week. Oh my God, I'll never forget it. That was the most amazing thing I have ever done. It was like, my dream as a little girl growing up has always been I wanted to make it to Fashion Week. I was like, I know I can do it one day. I never doubted myself. I never said, "Hey, these people, they can tell me, 'No, you're not good enough, you just can't do it,'" and I'm like, "No, I can do it. If somebody would just let me do it, I can do it." And when I got up there and we did the Form show, I killed it on the runway. Cory [Bautista] and Jennifer [Starr], they said I did a great job at the show, and I was so proud of myself. And my family's really proud. I knew that after that day, I was like, "I can go home happy. If I have to go home anytime soon, I know that I did the best that I can be, and I killed it on the runway at Fashion Week." I got better criticism than some of the other people did, and some people got better criticism than I did, but I was so proud of myself. I'll never forget it.


Yeah, it looked like it was a great experience. Before your Form show, you also got to watch another runway show. And what was that like?

Before the show, we got to see the Alexandre Herchcovitch show, and that, oh my God, it was dramatic and theatrical and powerful. We were on the second row and across from me, to my left, across the runway is Nigel Barker. And I'm sitting here, and I'm like, "Oh my God, I watch him all the time." I think he's fantastic. He's a brilliant photographer. I admire and respect him so much, and just to be sitting there and realizing I'm at Fashion Week, I had to keep kicking myself. I'm like, "Katy, you're at Fashion Week. What are you doing? Be happy all the time. Do everything you can so that next week, when this is over, you won't regret anything." And I'm watching the show and we're in the second row, and the music is so powerful. It's like, you can feel it throughout your body. But yet, we were so close to the runway that I could hear the girls' shoes clicking on the runway. And I just really sat there like a sponge and I watched the girls' faces and their eyes and their walks and how their knee is bent when they walk and just everything, I wanted to know all of it. I wanted to be as good as, if not better, because I want to come back and do it in the fall. I want to be back in the fall.


If you could walk in a runway show for any designer that you wanted to, what would be your dream show to do?

My dream show would be either—my favorite designer is Rachel Roy. I think she is brilliant. She embraces women with curves. The models are beautiful, her clothes are beautiful, so elegant, but yet, you know, I just love it. She's so chic. And Sass & Bide. I love that show. I would want to walk for them because they're so much fun. The show is fun and flirty and sexy. And then, of course, Victoria's Secret. I love Victoria's Secret. Those would be my top three. I just fell in love with everything all three of those have done.


Best of luck to you, Katy. I hope you'll have a lot of success in the future.

Thank you, Debbie. Thank you.

-Interview conducted by Debbie Chang