On the most recent episode of Lifetime’s Project Runway, the remaining three designers showed their final collections at Bryant Park, and the winner was chosen by the judges. Tonight’s the night I promised to share my final collection for this season, but…I’m not presenting a runway collection.
To explain, I have to go back a few months and share a letter I received from my model muse, Summer. You know, the strawberry blonde who’s vexed me by being too busy to model any of my designs this season.
Dear Becks [Summer writes],
Almost two years ago, I was invited to a fun party at the Manhattan apartment of another Mattel Top Model, Figaro. You may not remember her. She modeled for Mark G. Harris. I’m kidding! No one forgets Figaro.
Figaro can be a little sketchy when she introduces people, so I wasn’t surprised when she shoved me toward a stranger and gave me only his first name–Walt. What did surprise me was the way Walt and I clicked from the start. I definitely wasn’t looking for a relationship. While trying to fit in or finish college classes among all the bookings I was getting, I didn’t have a lot of time for a boyfriend. But after we talked and flirted all night at Figaro’s party, I gave Walt my phone number, and every time I was in the city, we managed to get together.
Figaro knows the most diverse set of people, from princes to paupers, and I got the idea that since Walt is a freelance wildlife photographer, not a fashion photographer, that he didn’t make a lot of money. It didn’t matter to me. I thought he was funny, interesting, handsome, and sexy. I deliberately chose places to meet that would be casual (and cheap!), and I hoped that Figaro or one of their mutual friends wouldn’t tell him the kind of money a top model pulls in.
Imagine my surprise when I found out that “Walt” is Mason Walters Cabot IV. Even if a IV behind three last names isn’t daunting enough, who hasn’t heard of the New England tycoon Mason Walters Cabot III? Figaro actually knows Walt because Barbie–who’s also modeled for you–frequently dates Walt’s father (Walt’s mother died several years ago). Although Walt’s an only child, over time, I’ve met his extended family and his father, and they’re all more likely to be found in shorts and Topsiders on the deck of a boat–okay, a yacht–than flaunting an affluent lifestyle. They’re what my dad calls “just plain folk.” I adore them all and enjoyed being welcomed into their family.
Still, I’m glad Walt knows I fell in love with him when I thought he was an impoverished photographer. In fact, I’m so in love with him, when he asked me to marry him, I really wanted to say yes. But I explained to him that several of my fellow models and I made a promise about not getting married. We work with so many gay people in the industry, and have many gay and lesbian friends, and it seems wrong to get married when our friends and colleagues don’t have the right to make that same civil commitment and get the same legal protections.
Walt was disappointed, but he understood why this mattered to me. He not only respected my decision, he agreed with me. I graduated, and we started looking for a place to live together. This didn’t exactly thrill my parents, and believe it or not, they were the ones who came up with a solution. Why not get married in Iowa, a state that extends the right to marry without regard to the gender of the two adults involved?
It made perfect sense! We found out we didn’t have to be residents of Iowa to marry there. As anyone knows, weddings are costly–especially weddings between super models and sons of tycoons with family and friends who come from all over the country. We could thank Iowa for being fair and forward thinking by contributing our wedding dollars to the state’s economy!
So the wedding is on, and that means I need you! I know you have a friend in Iowa who can help us find the perfect spot for our wedding, which we want to have outside. And during the next Runway Monday season, you can help me feed misinformation about my whereabouts and social life to the press, so we don’t end up with a bunch of tabloids and paparazzi turning our wedding into a circus. And finally, there’s no one who I’d rather design my wedding dress and the dresses of my bridal party than you–since Runway Monday-winning designers Timothy J. Lambert and Mark G. Harris seem to have retired. Kidding again!
I promise not to turn into a bridezilla on you, but I do have some requests. No pastels, especially pink or peach. I like more autumnal colors. I’d prefer silks and maybe taffeta. I guess tulle is acceptable, but no lace. And no matchy-matchy dresses on my attendants. Here are a few specifics of what I want.
See the rest of Summer’s ideas for wedding attire and photos of my designs behind this cut.
