Just because you’re on “Project Runway” doesn’t mean you get an automatic invite to Heidi Klum’s famed Halloween party.
“Oh my gosh, did you get invited?” Kate Pankoke, a designer from Season 11 and 12, asked fellow Season 12 alumnus Justin LeBlanc.
“No! We didn’t!” LeBlanc replied, in that fake-annoyed voice that you know is kind of actually bummed.
“Tell Heidi that we would like to be invited,” Pankoke told me.
So Heidi, this is your official notice: LeBlanc and Pankoke, who you can see starting Thursday on Season 4 of “Project Runway All Stars” on Lifetime, are ready to rock this Halloween. LeBlanc, 28, who lives in Raleigh, N.C., but got master’s in fashion from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and Pankoke, 25, of Lakeview, stopped by RedEye to dish about the upcoming season—and the spooky holiday.
>>VIDEO: Justin LeBlanc and friends make cheap, fast Halloween costumes.
On what they learned on “Project Runway” in past seasons that they could apply to “All Stars”:
Justin LeBlanc: I mean, just managing the stress. That’s a big thing, and time management, and being smart.
Kate Pankoke: I learned the same things, but then I also learned that it’s not a life-or-death situation, from being eliminated once, you know. Like, the first time I was eliminated on Season 11, you’re scared to death, you don’t know what happens, like, where do you go? What happens when you’re eliminated? And once you finally find out, it’s not so scary, so the second time around you can really just have fun, because you know you’re not gonna die.
On whether there were other designers they were particularly excited about working with on “All Stars”:
JLB: I think we were both excited to see Helen [Castillo, from “Project Runway” Season 12] because I think we work very well together as a group, and Kate and Helen are, like, besties. They’re like the opposite of each other. It’s really entertaining to watch them.
KP: [Laughing.] Some people found it annoying …
JLB: I was entertained!
KP: I just think it was unique because we had so many people from Season 12 and I had so many people from Season 11, it’s just like a family reunion. There was only, I think like four people that I hadn’t met before, and they were all really cool, I had watched their seasons so I was excited to meet them. It’s like a weird summer camp that we go to.
On how their careers have been affected by the show:
JLB: The exposure is amazing and it just really put a stamp on your name in fashion, one way or another. Like, I know the fashion industry, even the wedding industry is more competitive I think, but it actually put our name out there and people will recognize that name and that really helps.
KP: I think for me, in addition to that, the show really has taught me to be myself as a designer. When you have to design something in 30 minutes, it’s like yourself but concentrated, and you have basically like this formula that is you as a designer that you have to be able to refer to on the spot. So for me, it really helped me just to find myself and it’s a lot easier for me to design a collection now, because I can do it in 30 minutes if I had to!
On their next big projects:
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JLB: I’m selling my collection in baby steps. The whole business side of it is really intimidating for me, but I’m starting to release small items. I just released a new collection of 3-D bow ties [Monday]. … I’m still teaching. I love teaching, it’s really inspiring for me to be working with my students and to see what they can come up with. I’m just staying busy, staying out of trouble …
KP: [Laughing.] He’s such a troublemaker, all the time on the show, getting yelled at. … I just got back from bridal fashion week in New York, so I’m really excited. This has been the best market for me so far … and I have now boutiques [carrying my designs] in Japan, I just picked up one in New York, and then a California one and hopefully an Australian one that I’m crossing my fingers for. And then today, I’m literally going to sign the lease on a new space, which I’m going to be able to entertain brides at and it’s in the Fine Arts Building on Michigan Ave. It’ll be my first time to have my own studio space that’s, like, not in my apartment.
On their all-time favorite Halloween costumes:
JLB: [Laughs.] That’s a tough one. … Oh, I have one now.
KP: What?
JLB: I was a drag pirate. I had a big black dress and high heels and a little parrot, with the beard, lady-slash-pirate. I just did that two years ago, I loved it. I wore those invisible wedge heels.
KP: Oh I love those! But was it hard to walk in?
JLB: No, it was comfortable. But it made me like 7 feet tall.
KP: I need to get some of those, oh my gosh. I think mine was when my husband and I , we were in college, and I did Juno and he was Bleeker. And that was a lot of fun except for I, it was too good, people just thought I was pregnant, but I wasn’t. I’m like, “Where do you think this came from?” I was definitely like an eight- or nine-month belly. I’m like, “You’ve seen me before Halloween.” But like, family friends are seeing Facebook pictures and they’re like, “Kate’s pregnant?” and I’m like, “No, I’m Juno for Halloween!”
On what to look forward to this season:
JLB: It’s going to be very competitive this time around, because everybody is equally talented, so it was challenging to see from episode to episode not knowing who’s going to be back. Everybody’s good.
KP: That was so weird, that was the weirdest thing about “All Stars.” And on regular “Project Runway,” you don’t know any of these people, so it’s like the first couple of people to get eliminated, I mean, you feel bad for them, but you haven’t made a friendship with them. Here, these are already your friends, and when people are eliminated, it’s a huge deal. And so it’s a lot more emotional, I think. There’s always crying on every episode, I’m sure.
JLB: Ugly crying.
KP: But what is “Project Runway” without a good ugly cry?
JLB: A good ugly cry. That should be the theme.
On the difference between Alyssa Milano and Heidi Klum’s style as hosts:
JLB: I love them both. I mean, Alyssa has more of the down-to-earth kind of vibe.
KP: Yeah, easier to talk to. Like she talked more with us in-between, which was nice.
JLP: We definitely got to know her. And with this seasons of “All Stars,” Alyssa is pregnant, so she had her big baby belly.
KP: And so cute! She sets the bar so high. I’m not gonna look like that when I’m pregnant.
JLB: And she’s wearing like, 4- or 5-inch heels.
KP: Yeah. All the time. For hours.
JLB: And she’s gonna have a baby a week later, in heels.
KP: She like, kept it in there too. I’m like, “Today is the day!” Nope. Maybe tomorrow. Nope. And she kept it in. I was surprised.
JLB: And then she had her baby, like, how many weeks after? Two?
KP: Two weeks. And she looks perfect already, she’s gorgeous.
Follow Justin and Kate
“Project Runway All-Stars” Season 4
8 p.m. Thursday, Lifetime
Justin LeBlanc
Website: jleblancdesign.com
Twitter: @JLeBlancDesign
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Kate Pankoke
Website: elayavaughn.com
Twitter: @KatePankoke