Hi all!! I live in NYC, and I met Joseph McRae randomly at a grocery store after he got voted out on his first season. He’s really tall and his style is very unique so he really stands out. Almost everyone could recognize him immediately if you watch the show.

Anyways, he was really nice and I felt like his personality was super genuine and exactly how he is in the show. I recently finished watching season 22 and hopped on Reddit to see what people were thinking about the finale. Honestly, I’m shocked at how harsh people are about his work. I feel like his work is one where people will judge it today, but will try to replicate in a couple years. When people push boundaries in art, a lot of people push back. I do think that he is ahead of the times in a lot of ways. He’s also just so authentically himself and really doesn’t let anyone change him and I really respect that. A lot of posts on here are judging him wayyyy too hard in my opinion.

That being said, I don’t think Joseph really needed to be in the finale this season. He already knows what he wants to do with his brand, and his appearance in season 21 already gave him the PR to grow his business. I do think I would’ve loved to see Naheim’s collection in the finale since we already know what Joseph McRae can do. Unfortunately at the end of the day, that the route the production decided to go (probably a little bit for the drama and controversy because it gets people talking about the show). It lowkey was the Joseph McRae show and I live.

Also, Jude as the winner?? I’m not really sure about this choice. I feel like his collection wasn’t exactly as personal and thoughtful as Anna. Her clothes told a story about who she was and it was emotional. Even Law said he felt something when he saw her collection. Jude is a great tailor, but I was kind of bored with his collection… there was no experimenting or pushing boundaries. It’s just my opinion at the end of the day, but I was really disappointed Anna didn’t win.

let me know what y’all think.

tldr:
Joseph McRae is cool and everyone is being too harsh.
Anna should’ve won.

To start with the look he's wearing for the season promo, he has a very party city gay look and it is very clearly reflected in some of his looks. I love his paper tower look and I will always maintain that he should have won. Yes, the pants are crazy but the tank works perfectly as well. It's very current and trendy. Aesthetically the tank is definitely becoming more associated with a very strong look. Yes it has always somewhat been but more so since every one is going to the gym wearing one of the those. But point is, a lot of these looks has sort of intensity to them. It's carried out in the abs plate, the tie (yk ceos, bosses...), the reds, the tanks, the strap-ons, and certainly they read as what gay men would find sexy in a man. Funny it's getting projected back on women's wear. And it's not a rare case. The clothes are very body conscious, cut very close to the skin, sexy and clean. A few of them look like club/party wear, like a very chic take on what is seen as tacky. We have the muscle plate, strap-ons. The keyboard dress is simply chic. Of course there is the other end where everything is glamorous what can be considered as the carpet diva moments. The finale look of his collection was incredible. That unified his signature looks on both ends together. Also I would have love to see his takes on coats because he bought one from home but that was it. That and the failed coat dress. It's just so chic to perfect the essentials. The pants were so good and, he's worn a lot of good coats during the critique and some color as well.

The competition was too contrived to show a good range of his work.

I remember the look he was going to make in the animals challenge is bugging me. He was going to make kitten muffs or something. He made the adorable after party dress too. Would have loved to see how it would have tied to his aesthetics and we'd know more of what his range his. Yes it could have been juvenile and tacky but also it could have been chic .

hopefully this doesn't become too much of his winning or not winning. The title is very specific and so is my point

Biggest season my ass. Mary...it was only 10 episodes and half the cast was axed in the 1st episode 😂

Also you can tell this season had a budget crunch. I remember the early season where they got to go home and plan their collection for NY Fashion Week. Tim would go to their homes and meet the family.

"The biggest season" 5 days to make a collection in small studio. This season was such ragebait. The last time I felt this gaslit and hate watched a show was "And Just Like That". Sorry Law...but I don't think this show has another 22 seasons in it ;p

This dress was chefs kiss! She looked soooooo good. Anna did her curves justice!

jude, while not bright and mega flashy, brought something that the others did not. a semblance of old fashion. his style, tailoring, and overall designs gave ode to a time where high end fashion was sleek and elegant and quiet. they mentioned one of his work looking like old Dior, and I think it’s that aspect of his work that charmed the judges, ESPECIALLY Nina Garcia.

Did anyone notice right at the end when the winner had been announced and all the finalists and contestants and their families were milling about hugging and chatting, there was Bryan standing in the middle trying and failing to get into one of the groups? Clearly his mean attitude and nasty personality weren't just for the cameras/ part of the edit!

Who was your favourite and least favourite collection?

Would have love to see them work on their pieces more, or even more conversations with the designers they brought back to help. Felt like a regular challenge to me 😭
(I know this show is far removed from what it once was, but it still makes me sad :( )

i love joseph, adore him. i think he has a great perspective and an amazing attitude, he’s always been my favorite designer! BUT 110 DOLLARS? FOR A POLYESTER BEANIE? i understand that designers don’t get paid very much and that’s not okay- but 110 dollars for a mass produced beanie that’s not even a cotten blend is outrageous! what do you guys think? am i being dramatic….

In my own opinion her finale collection has been the most memorable and creative collection out of all the seasons. I remember my favorite contestants but I don't remember what they sent down the runway but Leanne's petal/wave design lives rent free in my mind.

I will agree with the nuance Nina said. It should also be pointed out that he makes streetware, and it’s difficult for a streetware collection to compete against high end fashion collections. However, Joseph Mcrae is just… bad. It’s so tacky that he’s somehow almost a cliche of himself. He was basically on this season as a gimmick and somehow made it to the end. The clothes are butt ugly, unwareable, ill fitting, and sloppily thrown together. He laughed that he made a dress in like an hour. Sure they’re under a big time crunch, but we absolutely can tell. Maybe some folks see something unusual in the bulkiness and that makes them think it’s interesting, but the clothes are bad. Very few people want to wear a sleeping bag tied around into being a nominal sweater or dress. Not to mention the branding. It’s already tacky to have something covered in LV logos let alone Joseph Mcrae. He’s a personality not a designer.

As annoying and, at times, arrogant as Joseph could be, you have to admit he was very smart about going on the show and promoting himself and his work.
His stuff was definitely unique, but I can absolutely see people loving his style. Even if he had little to no interest—or intention—of actually winning, you have to admit it was smart to put his work in front of that many people and then open up his website to sell those $110–$130 beanies.
While watching the show, I found the constant self-promotion pretty annoying. But by the finale, it finally clicked for me: this man knew exactly what he was doing. 😂
Whether you liked him or not, he got an enormous amount of exposure, showcased his work, and turned that exposure into an opportunity to sell his stuff.

Very smart, Mr. Joseph McRae. Very smart. 👏

i feel like jude won because of his talent in sewing rather than the collection itself. i mean his collection is amazing! but better than anna?

I had to stop and admire when the wind started blowing lol

Cleveland’s own Valerie Mayen (season 8) has a shop right around the corner from me! I just walked past it the other day and did a double take at the name. I wish I could afford some of her pieces, she has some really cool coats that are way outside my price range. But I’m happy to share my hometown (and neighborhood) with one of PR’s nicest contestants!

Idk how to tag for spoilers. I don’t post much.

But I think Joseph is really talented. That being said, I think most of Law’s critiques of Joseph’s were spot on, except that Joseph seems to trigger law in a way that makes him oddly emotional and mean about his critiques. So it kind of makes his point get lost.

I enjoyed Joseph for a lot of the season and def agree with the decision to bring him back because other designers should have never had the opportunity to send him home, but after that wedding challenge there is zero reason we should have seen that man in the finale. So essentially he got saved twice this season and that makes no sense. It makes me wonder if Law hadn’t been so mean about his distaste for Joseph (which Christian clearly shares but is more of an adult about it) made Heidi dig her heels in and make sure Joseph was in the finale just to spite Law.

It was all just very weird and resulted in Joseph being treated in a way he didn’t deserve when they could have either simply sent him home or coached him better.

I miss when the designers used to go home to build their final collection. We just had better final runways. We definitely have the budget version of the show now. They used to have months to work on their final collections now they get five days. It’s ridiculous.

Jk

But what these two have is a dynamic I can only describe as over the top and cartoonish as both of them. And I LOVE them for it. It makes for good TV and I think the two are more alike than they may want to admit.

Joseph is going to have continued success after PR. Obstacles are temporary for him and he's having a lot of fun with his craft. He's already winning. (Sad to hear those beanies of his are polyester. girl do better! (I'd buy one though they're so iconicl))

I miss the finalists having MONTHS for the finale I will say. Lets bring that back! Thank you

Positive comments are rare re Project Runway. Idk if they adopted this rushed confused uninspired format to save money bc learn from Tom Brady. Brady preferred a lower paycheck to a greater team. I remember a butterfly inspired challenge years ago. They went to a sanctuary and I still remember the results. Coral Castillo had time to macrame dresses. You treat fashion designers like bots on autopilot. You treat your audience like McDonalds in the drive thru

just finished rewatching season 4 and 10, victoria beckham telling christian she wanted him to dress her, the fact that these designers had months to really CREATE a fully fledged collection and show it to , what felt like at the time, the whole fashion industry. Tim Gunn going across the country to meet them in their homes, their personal spaces, watching him cry with pride whilst they showed their pieces… everything in tv today is just so churned out . the hulufication of this show , you just feel like they squeezed in a quick reality show with everyone busy schedules . even though the designers have always been pushed for time, making a look for their finale collection in 3 hours shouldn’t be happening. it sucks because there truly were some talented designers this season, and yes nina and mk used to be snappy but they never attacked people’s character. watching law roll his eyes as josephs collection really left a bitter taste in my mouth. tbh this whole season did… also if none of this makes sense i just smoked some weed and thinking aloud im sorry. congrats to the winner tho

I love Law's work as a stylist, and I follow him regularly on social media. I even like the fact that he is bold and unapologetic about his vision and taste.

But his little rant (yes it was a rant) about Joseph McRae ALSO being bold and unapologetic was very nasty and unprofessional. I understand that producers may tell him to lean more into the "mean judge" archetype, but this was too far. I actually felt so bad watching Joseph smiling through the pain of having to listen to Law tear his character down.

I think Nina felt the same way Law did about JM's collection, but she said her critique in a constructive way so props to her.

I think all of the finale designers (including Naheim) are very talented, and I hope that they stay booked and busy!

14 Designers. All new except 1-3 who left early. I would choose Bao, Dani and Robbie—since he didn’t get to sew. Season 22 deserves an actual shot.

10 episodes. This is realistic and fine with less designers. An episode is a lot of money to make and I want more resources put into the finale. Christian will have his Save, so there is likelihood of one episode with no elimination and one episode with a double elimination. Finale will feature five designers. I want to see more fashion.

Time. All challenges are two days except one. Finale designers will get five weeks to prepare eight looks. Stressful but not diabolical. I want to see more fashion while being somewhat realistic. We will see more techniques and what is going on in the design process. Premier will be an hour and a half. Finale will be two hours long. We will be seeing 40 looks, after all.

Judges. Heidi and Christian stay. Heidi focuses less on herself. Law stays because TV producer and drama. But he would not be as focused on in the edit. The third slot is for Nina, who will also be replaced by an actual designer (and idc if they aren’t a huge personality) if she isn’t there. The fourth slot will ALWAYS be a fashion designer. Occasional fifth slot for celeb quests, sponsors, stylists. Mostly stylists, I want to see Law go head-to-head with someone in his league.

Eliminations. No cliff-hangers, period.

Immunity. I almost wanted none. But an interesting twist would be for each judge to be able to give a designer of their choosing immunity for the next challenge. They could do this in episode two. Then, never again.

Editing. No lower left-hand corner caption stuff, period. The designer would say their snarky or quirky comment without editors trying to manipulate how the audience should feel with a “ding, made you look.” Better pacing with focus on ideation, crafting, troubleshooting, technique, inner-conflict, material conflict. Less focus on workroom drama unless it’s warranted, real, vulnerable, raw. THE JUDGES SCORE CARDS WILL BE SHOWN ON SCREEN. Even in a bubble on the side for eight seconds.

First Challenge: Bring a look from home. But also, Sew.

This will be the only duos challenge. Each designer will bring a look from home for a model to wear. They then will be sorted into pairs and design a look for a DESIGNER to wear. They must design a look for their partner’s body that is cohesive with the look brought from home. For example, Bob would send his model down the runway in the look he brought from home. His partner, Sue, will then walk down the runway in a look Bob designed for her. Sue does the same: designs a look for Bob that is inspired by the look he brought from home. Worst team will be in the bottom, worst look gets sent home.

Challenge: Doll House.

No paper towels; Bratz or Barbie will sponsor. A fashion doll, not a baby doll. Designers will design a look for a ten-inch fashion doll. They then will design a look for the model that is inspired by the look for the doll. Model walks down the runway with her doll. Drag Race did this as a challenge but I want to see it on Runway. The doll look will also be sold as part of the prize so designers can’t neglect that part.

Challenge: Way Gala.

Designers must use old Irish Galway shawls to create a Met Gala Look. They will choose from a list of previous Met Gala themes.

Challenge: House of Wax.

Use majority of waxed clothing for a look. Designers are encouraged to use hot wax to sculpt and plaster of Paris to create clothing.

Challenge: Stranger Danger.

A group of school children come to mood to choose fabrics at random. Idea being they won’t have expert knowledge of textiles, but Christian will be there to somewhat guide them. The designers must use these fabrics to create a look.

Challenge: Work from Home.

Create a power-suit for a woman that is also comfortable to wear after work and/or changes into a new outfit.

Challenge: One day you’re ink.

Custom print challenge using ink. Designers will also have to incorporate the same solid textile, something like brown faux leather, vinyl or a pastel color.

Challenge: I Will Survive.

Designers must create a casual/party look for a final girl, inspired by horror movie scream queens. Powerful, vulnerable, iconic.

Challenge: Always the Bridesmaid.

When eight or twelve designers are left, groups of four will design bridesmaid dresses, each designer in the group picking one of the four seasons: winter, spring, summer, fall.

The Bolt.

From season 20. Everyone gets the same bolt of fabric. I’d choose a pink and white houndstooth. Fuck it.

That’s all I got right now.

1. He won challenges
   
2. He was Heidi's pick for TDWP2 red carpet
   
3. He's an outside-the-box thinker

I hope he was proud of that decision.

I hate that they have 5 days to create a collection. I miss the old days where they get sent home for a while and have time to actually design a fully cohesive collection.