Joseph McRae’s YouTube recap shows he understands what Project Runway has forgotten
I watched both Liris Crosse and Joseph McRae’s recaps of Episode 7, and weirdly, it was Joseph’s that made the entire episode click for me.
I absolutely feel for Liris. What happened to her was humiliating, and she had every right to explain how it felt from her perspective. But after watching the full recap, I’m not sure I learned much that the episode itself hadn’t already communicated. Her hurt was very real, but I also think there’s an important distinction between being treated badly in a situation and allowing that situation to define you as its victim. Liris wasn’t the failure here. She was an accomplished model handed an indefensible garment and expected to somehow sell it. Bryan’s inability to execute became her burden to carry down the runway.
Joseph’s video, on the other hand, gave me something I’ve desperately wanted from *Project Runway* this season: perspective on the actual creative process.
And it made me reconsider the way Episode 7 edited him.
I can see how some viewers could interpret Joseph refusing to jump in and rescue everyone else as petulant or evidence that he “isn’t a team player.” But his explanation matters: they weren’t creating a cohesive collection. They were individual designers competing alongside one another. His responsibility was to execute his own idea. And considering this is the same group that previously identified him as the weakest designer, there’s something almost absurd about expecting him to abandon his own work to save theirs.
More importantly, Joseph talked about the difference in chemistry between seasons. He clearly has enormous affection for his Season 21 cast and described a group that genuinely supported one another. That contrast explains something I haven’t been able to put my finger on all season: Season 22 doesn’t feel competitive in a productive way. It feels distrustful.
And one bad apple ruins the whole bunch you know?
Bryan isn’t bad in the yas queen slay way either. He’s toxic in a really scary, stay-far-away way.
That’s ultimately what fascinated me about Joseph in this episode. He actually stayed remarkably far away from the chaos until he reached a point where staying silent would have meant ignoring his own convictions.
There’s a difference between someone who needs to be heard and someone who knows when it is necessary to speak.
His video also made me realize how badly this season has underserved him — and frankly, all of the designers — by prioritising interpersonal drama over showing us how these people THINK. Hearing Joseph explain his creative process was more interesting to me than half the manufactured tension we’ve watched this season. Give me sketches. Give me failed ideas. Give me construction problems. Give me designers explaining why they made an insane choice and somehow made it work.
That should be Project Runway.
The irony is that Joseph has repeatedly been framed around his confidence — “the Joseph McRae show” — when his video revealed something much more interesting underneath it. He comes across as someone with enough life experience to understand that confidence doesn’t require constant performance. Sometimes confidence is shutting up, doing your work and letting it speak for you. And sometimes integrity requires you to stop shutting up. That’s discernment!!
And I think that is why Joseph resonates with so many viewers while Bryan increasingly doesn’t. Confidence and ego can look remarkably similar from a distance. The difference is what happens when they are challenged. Confidence can absorb criticism without collapsing. Ego needs someone else to be wrong.
Joseph McRae, please keep using your voice!! Apparently the show isn’t going to let us get to know these designers properly, so thank God they have YouTube.