‘The Fashion Show’ Exit Interview: Andrew’s Not A Copycat, And Janice Dickinson Loves His Underwear!

Copycatting happens all the time in the fashion industry. Although usually a glossier term like “influenced by” is used to characterize the phenomenon. Unfortunately for The Fashion Show’s Andrew Christian, the word copycat is what was used by his fellow designers to describe his work in three separate challenges. Whether or not the copycat accusations led to his elimination on last night’s episode is still up for debate. What isn’t up for debate is that the judges just weren’t buying his shoe-inspired look, an average gold and black dress which Isaac Mizrahi called a “bore,” and Fern Mallis said required “more color.” In an interview this afternoon, the 35-year-old underwear designer opened up about the copycat allegations, why he thinks his shoes (Manolo’s) fit his garment, and why Janice Dickinson loves his butt-lifting panties. No, that’s not a joke.

What’s your take on the copycat accusations? I think it’s kind of funny that someone can accuse me of being a copycat when they’re the team captain. It’s ludicrous. The initial concept and the surprise function were mine. And then Anna’s accusation that I was copying her skirt. Did she patent the pleats? Was that her copyright? It’s just like get real girl.

What about Reco with the fringe on the shoes? I don’t know what to say about that. I wasn’t even looking in his direction. I was doing my own thing. I find it funny that he’s saying that I copied his design as well.

So bottom line you feel like everything you’ve done was original and these are false accusations? They’re definitely false accusations. It’s a competition. The best and worst in people is going to come out. People’s true colors show and you’re going to get snide and catty comments like that.

What was your reaction to Reco in general? He’s now become a pretty polarizing person. During the show we were very friendly towards each other. I was taken aback that he said that behind my back. I thought he would have said it to my face.

The comment about your muslin looking like a substitute school teacher? Yeah, a few comments he made. I think he was definitely polarizing to the other designers, and getting on their nerves.

How much time did he have left after he finished? It looked like he was taking a pretty substantial nap. He had a good chunk of extra time that he took his nap with. I think it got under people’s skin.

Was there tension between you and Anna or Daniella when all this stuff was going on? There was definitely a lot of tension. There were some alliances made. Danielle and Anna were talking behind my back.

How did you deal with that? I really don’t care. If I spend time worrying about what other people are saying about me, I’m not going to get anything done. I’m the most successful designer that was on the show. My underwear line is sold internationally. I sell on every continent except for Antarctica. I have nothing to prove to the other designers.

What’s the best underwear you’ve designed? I just came out with these underwear called Wonderwear. It has a built-in butt lifter in the underwear so it’s a support system. Not everybody is blessed with the perfect butt. I can attest to that. I also have them for men. They’re really cute and sexy, too.

What kind of construction technology is required for creating a butt lifter!? Ha! I actually gave a pair to Janice Dickinson and she loved them. She couldn’t stop raving about them.

What were the circumstances in which you gave them to her? We did a fashion show together a few weeks ago in Las Vegas. We had dinner together and I brought her a few pairs of underwear.

What would you have changed, looking back? The colors? The design? The shoes? I loved the shoes. I wouldn’t have changed my design. Maybe I would have added a splash of color somewhere. I really liked what I did. As George, the CEO of Manolo Blahnik said, he has customers that would wear this.

Did you think it was hypocritical of the judges to take into consideration Daniella’s comments about you being a copycat from the previous week when it seemed like they’d chided her for even mentioning it in the first place? I don’t think they should have taken that into consideration. I personally don’t think I should have been eliminated. My design was much better than Lidia’s. Hers was The Nightmare Before Christmas. I was taken aback that I was eliminated.

In your last confessional you said you thought Keith didn’t deserve to be there. Why? I thought his fabric choices weren’t the greatest. When we were working in groups his designs were towards the bottom. At least my designs there were positive comments made.

A lot of designers didn’t have a strong background in construction. Do you think they deserved to be there? They shouldn’t have been there. They knew they were coming into this competition. They knew they were going to have to create and execute their designs. So they should have been up to par. And if they weren’t they should have spent some time practicing.

Do you feel like you were portrayed accurately? I don’t think so. I’m a very honest person. I started my company in 1997. You don’t have a company for that long stealing things from people and cheating.

Alright, now time for the weekly question: what did you think of Merlin? He is just a kook job! I don’t even know what to say about him. Where do I start? His outfits are just so costumey. His designers are costumey, too. He’s like the court jester.

If you could use one word to describe your experience on the show, what would it be? Phenomenal.

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