Project Runway

On last week's Project Runway finale, designer Rami Kashou was close to winning season 4 but the judges decided to give that honor to Christian Siriano instead.  Kashou has nothing to worry about, though.  He was an established designer within the fashion world before coming on the show.  He has worked with celebrity clients such as Jessica Alba and his designs have been seen in major magazines.  Last year, he showed his spring collection on The Tyra Banks Show.  Being on Project Runway has only helped Rami Kashou and he is grateful for the experience.  Today, he spoke to BuddyTV in an exclusive interview, dishing on everything from Fashion Week to his competitors.

Below, you will find the complete transcript and mp3 of the interview.

Hey everybody. This is Gina from BuddyTV, and today I'm talking to Rami Kashou from Bravo's Project Runway. Hey Rami, how are you?

Good. How are you?


I'm good. Thank you so much for doing the interview. The readers of BuddyTV are going to be so happy to hear from you.

It's a pleasure.


I loved being at Fashion Week and I got to see the final runway show, but I couldn't get within a mile of you. You got mobbed afterwards. It was madness down on the floor. What was it like for you?

It's bizarre. For like every other one of us, it's a bit overwhelming. You walk out and you think ooh, it's done, you're about to go, and suddenly there's like all these people out there who are dying to ask you questions and wanting to talk to you or take your picture. It's great, because it was definitely an exciting energy. I mean, being so tired definitely didn't help, because I just couldn't wait to find a bed to sleep on at that point. I was so exhausted. I felt like I was kind of there, but part of me wasn't there because I was so tired. But it was great. It felt really nice. It felt like this endless hike, and finally getting to the top of the mountain and finally seeing the view, and all these people were there. It was really cool.


Have you ever presented your work before at Fashion Week?

Yes I have. I've been in business for five years now, and I've been fortunate enough to receive many sponsorships and be able to show my collections through sponsorships. Through Gen Art or organizations that support emerging designers and so on. So it's great, yeah, I have.


I heard of all the designers this season that you were the most well known. When I talked to Chris March, he was wondering what you were doing there because you're so successful. How did you end up getting on this season of Project Runway?

Well, I recall Jeffrey Sebelia having his own business. As a matter of fact we were in the same showroom, so I would say we were in the same shoes. And Nick Verreos had his own line, so previous contestants have done just as much maybe. Having Jessica Alba as one of my celebrity supporters probably changed a lot of that, and a few others. In the end, I think it's really about being a small designer, a small business, having built a name and a line and worked so hard. Still, I think in the end people like me still need funding. I think people easily get misled by just seeing the press and think that whoa, they see an evening gown, or they see a celebrity wearing an evening gown of yours, or they see in People Magazine, your work, and they just instantly assume oh he’s set, or she's set, she doesn't need anything. Mind you, that anybody who knows the business would know that there are so many other ends that you have to meet.

I think, for me, it's been always a challenge. I've saved every cent and every penny in order to keep doing what I love and gotten to a point of recognition, yet at the same time still need backing and investment in order to continue to grow and so on. It's great being someone who is very established. I never thought of myself as being that established, but it's nice that when people look at my work they have that impression of it. But just like every other designer who wanted to gain recognition for their work, I was in the same shoes. I'm no different than anybody else. I bet you a lot of these other designers that you've seen probably make a lot more money than I do, considering the kind of jobs that they have. I've never had the opportunity to work for anyone and get a straight paycheck every two weeks. I've gone through my rough times, I have to say.


You're an established designer, you have a lot of experience, and you end up losing to Christian, this young 21-year-old designer. When you saw his work at Fashion Week what did you think of it?

First, I don't think of myself as losing. I think I won in my own way. I definitely try to have a very positive outlook. I think that Jillian's talented, Christian's talented, and I think I have my own point of view and I have my own talents as well. I thought that we each had different points of view. I'm not definitely one to be judging Christian's and Jillian's collections. It's not my place. But I think they're both wonderful, we learned a lot about each other, and we have our similarities and we also have our differences in personalities. That's been my experience.


How does being on the show change life for you? You're certainly a household name now. Lots of people know who you are, for sure.

It's a bit overwhelming, because the past two days I've been weeding through 260 e-mails just from my website. It's a lot to deal with, but I'm very grateful for it. A lot of people -- which again, that is a winning opportunity to me as well -- so many women have e-mailed me wanting to inquire how they can have things made for them or how they can buy things off my website. A lot of evening gowns. So far I've had 15 requests for evening gowns. This is since the day the show closed. People saw my gowns, and a lot of women are already trying to schedule appointments for this year, for two months from now, or for next year already. That's really rewarding. People recognizing you out there on the street or wherever you go -- that's also great. It's funny, because people are constantly asking about the show, so you feel like you're answering the same question over and over and over again. But it's really rewarding being recognized for what you do, and having women want to wear my clothes and want to have my work in their closet. That's the ultimate goal of the show, is to build that clientele, so it's great.


Well, we can't wait to see what's in your future. You're an amazing designer and a great guy too. I just wanted to thank you so much, Rami.

Anytime. Thank you very much.


- Gina Scarpa, BuddyTV Staff Writer
(Image courtesy of Bravo)