"So was your experience with Reality TV real at all?
Oh please, they changed my words... Oh my God, the only thing that happened that truly happened, I did tell Kara to 'Cry and cut.' And I did have the model walk off; everything else is some sort of re-edited rehashed reality they wanted to create."
57 comments:
what a pretty lady! the clothes are kind of . . . meh. first three left me cold, got better from there. loved that little short skirt with the shoulder top and holster thingies. i'm probably letting my kaynebow show ~ y'all tell me now how tacky that one is ;-)
GOOD MORNING PRGAYBOYS!!
Good morning, gentlemen! Is it me, or does the third photo in the collection look like the shoulders were lifted from one of Vincent's looks???
She is pretty.
But, sour grapes aren't pretty and she just comes across as bitter. I get that they edit things on reality tv, but no one would be interviewing her at all if she had not been on PR. Whatev!
I'm not crazy about the clothes, but I like Zulema. I think she's gorgeous. Didn't she use to be a model?
Same old Shatangi. Aggressive, full of excuses, and so-so on talent. Perhaps there's a market for those outfits but not in my closet.
Yeah, well...I don't think about the others, BUT THE NYTIMES said my collection was good and theirs wasnt....Subtle.
The only interesting thing she had to say was the way PR did pass on her private life while the men most obviously always get noted for being gay. Is it such an issue, a black gay woman - or maybe they didnt like her character, and they really just didnt think she was going to be around long enough to bother with anyway.
Pretty much looks like design school stuff to me. I think she's got a longer way to go than she thinks. Perhaps she has trouble seeing her way 'cause her huge ego is in the way. But I know, you have to be relentless in your drive and your vision to get where you want to be.
Bitterman party, table for one...
I looked at Z's collection. WTF? Is that a "collection" or a random mishmash of crap? None of it looks like it was even designed by the same person. I'm not a fashion designer, so maybe I'm not fit to judge, but that just looked horrible. IMHO.
I have to agree with her comment that Project Runway has yet to give us a "fashion star, a viable force in the industry." We've seen some beautiful collections, but a true trend setter... not yet.
JAY! Still the best
That huge chip on her shoulder is not an attractive accessory
It is weird how the editing chooses to highlight certain people's sexuality. However Zulema isn't the only one: they also did that to Santino. If PR is edited by bigots, as she suggests, then how come they didn't make Kara Saun into a villain? I suspect that she was shown as unpleasant and disliked by many others on PR (including Tim Gunn) not because she was a black woman but because she provided them with the material they could use.
"The producers edited my garments to make them look badly designed and badly sewn. They used computer graphics to make that model's butt look like it was hanging out the skirt and they CG'ed in loose threads on uneven hems and they overdubbed when I said I didn't believe in being fair as I took up the entire closet at the apartment with my clothes and shoes. Oh, and that was a stunt double yelling about someone taking my dress form. I actually won Project Runway Season 2 but they had to edit it out."
embeedubya:
I'm actually posting right after you, so I won't reprint your post. But GOD, thanks for saying what I was thinking!
All the editing in the world can't make your model's ass hang out the bottom of a dress.
All the editing in the world doesn't change the fact that you're a high-handed bitch who made the models "walk off" to see who was good enough to wear your designs.
And her stuff in the collection, just like her stuff on PR, completely lacks any kind of cohesive focus. And if she sewed any of that stuff, *I'm* a black lesbian with a pissy attitude!
I don't think they pay more attention to the PR guys being gay. They certainly never played up Tim Gunn. But how exactly would you edit Robert or Kayne to downplay their sexual orientation? Blue-screen out their hands and facial expressions? Those two were queening it all over the place all the time - yeah, there are going to be some editing choices that make you look gay when you do that. After this whole season, I actually have no idea what Michael or Uli's sexual orientation is. If you don't put something out there, it can't be edited to make you look one way or the other.
I always liked Zulema and was honestly surprised that so many people thought she was a bitch. I've seen WAAAAAY bitchier on PR.
I do think they play up the gay boys and completely ignore the lesbians (in terms of characterizing their sexuality).
actually, anonymous, in season two there was quite a lot of conversation about the gay boys' gayness -- coming out experiences, etc. which makes the erasure of Zulema's sexuality stand out.
Boy, this article is just FULL of little nuggets!
What I think happened is they wanted me to be this crazy, loud black girl, and I didn't give them that, so they made me the bitch.
Seriously, how did she NOT give them "crazy, loud black girl?"
I don't buy the whole "they edited out my sexuality" line of bull. I think she chose to keep it private and now regrets that. Just TELL me the producers would have glossed over a juicy little nugget like that. Puh-leeze!
Anne
Hello?? Would we even be talking about Zulema if it wasn't for Project Runway? Would we even be reading her interview from AOL Black Voices otherwise? If she has gottten ANY exposure is thanks to her reality TV antics. So easy to blame it all on editing... They must have dubbed somebody else's voice in to make her be the "loud black woman/evil bitch" of the season. Excuses, excuses...
I wouldn't be surprised if wasn't PR that parted ways with HER instead of the other way around, as she claims. Fashion is also about marketing and if it wasn't for TV she would simply be another (angry) face in the crowd.
I see Zulema's still loving the '80s! What turned me off of was the closet-hogging and the muslin-hogging. Tim Gunn said, in one of his podcasts, that he found out Zulema had been keeping the communal bolt of muslin for herself, refusing to share with the other designers. The way I see it, no one can portray you as a bitch unless you give them the material.
UGH.
'nuff said.
Zulema is NOT Santino. Santino was very humourous,funny,intelligent,cutting,mean, creative and talented. Zulema had just one side basically,she was "defensive" AND VERY INSECURE. Despite her braggadocio(is that a word?) I can see clearly that this ia a insecure young lady,"not-at- all" the confident woman she tries to project. The fashion world is not racist at all and neither is Project Runway. If you'll recall Santino's mother was black,his father white. Nick was Puerto Rican,Andre' too perhaps and the models cover the rainbow. TimGunn has never said a harsh word about an ethnic model if you look at the episodes(it was the white model who he said was like a Marshmellow or something)(that model did not call Tim racist for saying that) and I've been to Parsons there is no way that place is racist anywhere, from the classes made up of young people following the ethnic rannge of the 80's movie FAME to the range of sexuality in the students. ZULEMA is crying racism, editing,mis-understood, woe-is-me and there is no place for it in this show. Project Runway has the full circle and full spectrum of people in it's cast and most likely production crew. ZULEMA was just less talented than the other designers and she came off like a tacky woman sometimes, SHE did let that model walk on the runway with her arssss-cheeks hanging out. On another challenge,She was given a instruction to design something inspired by NY-streets. She chose a African woman in a African dress walking in the NY streets, she did not incorporate "NEW YORK" anywhere in her design and to top it off the dressed ended up looking tacky. SHE sent her model down the runway in a dress that looked "homesewn" by her mother who couldn't afford enough material(I think Michael Kors once told her) ZULEMA had a chip on her shoulder,(she doesn't have a big Ego,she's just tries to bitch,scream and bully) she's just plain insecure. ZULEMA did give us two of the best lines of PR..."I want a "WalkOff" and "Cry and Cut"..those were classic. I loved those lines.
What I think happened is they wanted me to be this crazy, loud black girl, and I didn't give them that, so they made me the bitch.
UH HUH. Sounds like she is trying to convince herself of that doesn't it?
I didn't like her clothes or her design style during season 2 and her runway show is just more of the same.....yuck. I love how she gets her inspiration from film; B movies are not known for their costume or photographic asthetic which explains her collection.
I really thought they played DOWN Shetangy. Viewers didn't even hear the nickname until the reunion show, but according to Tim she was there all along, keeping to herself, hoarding muslin and generally being unfriendly and mean. If the editors REALLY wanted to make her a villian, they had lots of material. I actually think they were afraid of being accused of racism if they showed the true Shetangy. You can't win for losing in the race wars in Amerika.
AND they took the high road in S2 and showed more of the fun and less of the drama. I can't wait for the S3 reunion because maybe we'll get to hear more Robert/Kayne quipping!
Zulema says that PR has not given us a fashion star.
Are they built overnight? Aren't most of the contestant's in the development stage of their career?
Zulema has said in other interviews that she took many a phone call from her wife while the cameras were rolling. They always show people talking to their wives or kids or husbands or whoevers. And all this Daniel came out when its so hard still....blah...blah...blah...yeah, lets keep our dykes in the closet unless they meet that L-word standard of lame, uniform, NYC milquetoast femme.
"The producers edited my garments to make them look badly designed and badly sewn. They used computer graphics to make that model's butt look like it was hanging out the skirt and they CG'ed in loose threads on uneven hems and they overdubbed when I said I didn't believe in being fair as I took up the entire closet at the apartment with my clothes and shoes. Oh, and that was a stunt double yelling about someone taking my dress form. I actually won Project Runway Season 2 but they had to edit it out."
"Yeah, it was all the editing that made me look like a bitch, which explains why I was so friendly and loveable at the reunion."
Why you lovely folks feel it necessary to analyse/critique the illogical, unfounded rantings of losers (no matter how comely-- wow, who knew?) I'll never know. Probably your kind, egalitarian attempt to give all humans the benefit of reasonable discourse. While I find the exercise not even remotely worth the time, I salute you all.
Why you lovely folks feel it necessary to analyse/critique the illogical, unfounded rantings of losers (no matter how comely-- wow, who knew?) I'll never know. Probably your kind, egalitarian attempt to give all humans the benefit of reasonable discourse. While I find the exercise not even remotely worth the time, I salute you all.
And yet, you found the time to write this. I salute you right back, anonymous person on the internet!
is it just me or doesn't this totally show the difference between someone like Laura Bennet (and doubtless many others, though they might not have verbalised it in interviews) who accept that editing happens and that everything these people do/say directly or indirectly affects how they are perceived by the cameras, producers and hence viewers of reality TV, and those like Zulema who apparently have no self awareness or the capacity to reflect on ones own behaviour and learn from it? perhaps the word I'm looking for is maturity (and thats not an age thing). That said, if her sexuality was indeed whitewashed from the show I have to agree that that is really disappointing.
Well, I did not like her collection either. It looked sloppy and unfocused. Only 2 garments looked as if they might flatter a woman (Pretty in Pink which I agree 'gorgeous things' has shoulders that looked "lifted from one of Vincent's looks"--my first thought when I saw it--and Peek a Boo, which needs a more substantial fabric, but looks derivative and a bit sloppy also.
So many quality comments have been made. So I'll only re-state one point: On PR, there is an editing booth but there are no hidden cameras.
"To tell you the honest truth 'Project Runway' still needs to prove it can create a fashion star, a person who is a viable force in the industry. So based on that -- the show still has a stigma, and I still have a lot to prove."
I have to agree with her. Jay is nothing but a joke, genius, but a joke, and Chloe apparently just wanted a bigger store in Texas.
Londonruss,
You mention Laura. She said explicitly that the editing was fair to her in her opinion... it was in an interview that the PRGays linked to somewhere.
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I gotta get down to business and get seasons 1 & 2 on DVD. No fun reading these references to seasons gone by.
A lot of folks posting to the Bravo board say that season 2 was far superior to this one; I haven't seen a whole lot of talk about season 1.
Now, I know this blog is all about the PRGays, and that is as it should be. But though I may risk the Wrath of Gaiety, I gotta extend mad props to all fellow commentators. You all make it fun as well. I'll be sure to recheck this post an it's comments after I see Zulema in action for myself.
Didn't they say something about plus size models? ... and then the slideshow shoes all regular size girls.
anonymous at 1:35 pm ~ BWAHAHAHAHAAA!!!! too freakin' funny. i salute YOU! Anonymous 1:35
Don't mess with Shatangi....she'll pull a shiv out of her weave and cut you....lol
Interestingly enough, the designer that seem to have had the most recognition so far is La Janx.
I can agree with that. All through season 2 I kept thinking that Kara was not designing up to her potential. The designs she wore herself were far and away better than anything she sent down the runway. Many of them were quite good. In fact, I think The Duchess even commented on that.
If she had ever truly gotten her feet under her in the competition Kara would have been a force to be reckonned with.
I liked the fact that she used different size models; good goin', Zulema.
But ohhhhhh, how I wish she had more of a sense of humor about it all--can you imagine how great it would have been if she'd called it "The Cry and Cut Collection"?!?
And what's with the "no comment" when they asked her if she'd design for Heidi? I don't care if you hate Heidi's guts...if you are a designer trying to make a name for yourself in the fashion world and Heidi Klum comes a-knocking, you need to design your ass off for her! ;-)
I agree. I think the ones who have done the best are the "4th Place" designers like Austin Scarlett and Kara Janx.
Zulema just wants to be thought of as relevant. Whatever. Her clothes are totally design school. No clear sense of vision at all.
I liked Zulema on the show, but my problem is that I believe she is very bitter about how things turned out for her. That is not to say that she does not have design talent, but everyone can't win. Also I think that is the chance that you take when you go on a reality TV show, you take the chance that people won't get you, and that how you want to be portrayed will be totally different from how you are portrayed. Furthermore, As a designer her clothing has a real STUDENT WORK look to it. Like You kind of get the direction but then again you really don't. I think thatshe is trying hard to distinguish herself from the masses of designers that produce the same things in the industry, but though her clothing is wearable it really isn't at the same time, and if I see a SIZE 18 WOMAN wearing some of that stuff she sent down the Ceilo runway, I will Fall Out...She still in my opinion has alot of work to do (as she said) but I think she needs to stop thinking about the cash register and start thinking about how she can truly create a BRAND. It is not about creating garments that are so highly original that they loss a perspective, it is about creating highly original garments that also have a clear perspective. I did't feel like her clothes had that wearable quality that people look for! But does anyone remember the Banana Republic Challenge when she whipped that dress up! That is what showed me that she's GOT TALENT!!!!
Also...Zulema hadn't showed ANYWHERE before PR2, so thanks be to the ehavens that she was on the show to obtain even a little celebrity in the industry!
I LOVE PRGAY!!!!!!
Interviewer to Zulema: "You think they went after you because you're a black woman?"
Zulema's Response: "Definitely! If you notice that half of the time I didn't say anything. What I think happened is they wanted me to be this crazy, loud black girl, and I didn't give them that, so they made me the bitch."
OHHH PLEASE ZULEMA! They edited out your other content because you weren't interesting enough in comparison to the others. No one put your words in your mouth but YOU. Get over yourself and learn how to sew. You can talk the talk, but you can't walk the walk.
I think this is pretty inaccurate. I didn't think she came across as a bitch, and the only two things that for me leaned in that direction were the two things she admits to doing, and on the "cry and cut" thing, I had to give her props. She pulled that whole thing together. But a "villian"? Come on. As far as the sexuality, did they ever mention on the show that Keith was gay? Or that Michael was straight? There have been plenty of people on PR who are not remotely in the closet but who's sexuality isn't mentioned, gay or straight, because it doesn't come up in a challenge about recycleables or dogs or postal uniforms or the Banana Republic. Well, maybe the Banana Republic. But seriously, lady, get over yourself.
So the only bitchy behavior by Zulema that really happened was the walk-off & the cut and cry.
Maybe everything else (e.g., "I don't believe in fair")was said or done by Shatangi, so it doesn't count.
I didn't really actually think of the race of any of the contestants, until Zulema started talking about it...really(I'm polyanna perhaps, but I just never think of race when I watch the show), I just thought everyone was on the same playing field and trying to "hack it out." I think no one who gets on Project Runway is a loser, THEY ALL WIN, but ZULEMA seems so focused on the Negative, that she can't see how positive the show has been for all designers. The show and the experience as well as guidance from Tim Gunn,Michael Kors, Nina G and the connections the fledging designers can make to REAL Working Moneymaking SuperStars in the Industry like Diana Von Furstenberg,Iman,Vera Wang,several other huge SuperStar designers.. the possibilities for making something positive out of the situation is endless. There are no losers there, only people who don't understand what a lucky-break the show has given them. Zulema doesn't realize the show was her good fortune.
Um, no thanks.
She should be thankful for the PR opportunity, but she's got to make some press for herself (since her fashion sense and current line won't).
You never rooted for her because of that chip on her should during S2. Seems that chip is the only thing that's gotten bigger, because her talent hasn't.
You just can't like her, regardless of her color, or her lesbionic ways.
People are asking why Zulema wasn't part of the conversation about coming out.
Here's why: She'd already been auf'd! That conversation was fairly late in the competition -- I vaguely recall it happening during the Makeover challenge. By then it was down to 5, and Uncle Nick got knocked off that time, leaving Kara, Santino, Chloe and Daniel V. Zulema was long gone.
To all of you who insist on trumping out the b-word for Zulema, Laura, Angela, & Wendy, let me remind you of a bumper sticker that was somewhat popular a few years ago: "You call me a bitch as if it were a bad thing". Could it be that you are too blindly worshipping the Gods of Reality TV? Do you also believe that priests don't like to do it with little boys and that American elections are honest? I always thought Zulema was cool & forthright. And is she ever hot! AIEEEEE!!! Zulie honey, anytime you want to come play on my team I promise to find a position you can play!! Heck, bring your girlfriend--the more the merrier!!
As much as I shouldn't, I'm going to dignify Miss Zulema's mud-flinging.
If you looked like a bitch, dearie, it's because that's what you gave them to use.
Then there was the bit about you always hiding out, doing your work in a room where a camera crew couldn't fit so you wouldn't have to deal with them.
Oh, and what was that bullshit you pulled with hoarding all the muslin?
Shady, shady, shady. And now you want to rehabilitate your image?
Girl, stick with what you got. You're farther along than, say, Starr Ilzhoefer.
twc, i wasn't asking why zulema wasn't part of the coming out conversation -- clearly she was already gone.
i was just pointing out that, in response to vera's comment***, that in the second season the other contestants' sexuality wasn't edited out.
***Come on. As far as the sexuality, did they ever mention on the show that Keith was gay? Or that Michael was straight? There have been plenty of people on PR who are not remotely in the closet but who's sexuality isn't mentioned, gay or straight, because it doesn't come up in a challenge about recycleables or dogs or postal uniforms or the Banana Republic.
Maybe Zulema's alter ego should be called SHE-TUGLY.
RoastDuckMangoSalsa
I don't understand why Zulema thinks she's rid of PR. She is still under contract like everyone else. That hasn't ended yet & I know that because I was talking with one of the sesason 2 contestants a few weeks ago & he ssaid he has o be careful what he said because he was still under contract. (Hint: we were talking about how so many of the designers in season 3 are so nasty & the producers obviously went for that rather than having the show be about the designs - as it was in season 1&2).
-Gotham Tomato
The bitch is back.
She's got as many excuses as Keith, whose sexuality also wasn't mentioned or exploited.
I'm not going to defend Zulema's bitchiness, but I do think that if there was footage of her talking to her wife as she claims, that it would have been refreshing--at least for the PR fans who happen to be queer women of color--to see that on the show. I don't think you can compare Zulema to Keith because there are plenty of white gay men on PR, Bravo, etc. The story's been told (not that all stories are the same). Whereas queer women and men of color are relatively invisible in mainstream media. It's that invisibility, that non-acknowledgment that allows social conversatives to say things like "no gay people ever sat on the back of the bus" as if only white people are gay. But if that's all you ever see on tv, you're more likely to believe such preposterous fiction.
You know, I could get behind her assertion that she was edited as the "black reality TV bitch" except for one thing -- the other two black contestants have been the heroes/fan favorites of their respective seasons. Kara Saun and Michael are like two of the best contestants in the history of Runway -- Zulema was just a bitch, and bitch's get depicted as bitchy. Period. I don't doubt there was footage of her talking to her wife, but really, that doesn't mean they HAVE to air it. I mean, we never saw Kara talking to her boyfriend, or Andrae or Nick talking to their men -- they may have talked about it among each other, but we didn't see any one-on-one phone covnersations. If Zulema isolated herself from the rest of the designers, as other cast members have asserted, then she probably wasn't part of any of the sexuality discussions (which all took place after she left, at least the scenes that were shown), I'm sure if she had participated, she would have been included. I mean, don't go calling the producers lesbophobic just because you weren't proudly outted. If she had been featured as a gay person, I bet she would now be bitching that that was all she was represented as...whatever, with people like her, you cannot win.
Well, Shetangi, deal with not believing in fair.
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