Michael Drummond takes on the new bigger, better eighth season of Project Runway as a contestant and king of knitting!
Nightspots Magazine: Hi, Michael. You and your fellow gay A.J. Thouvenot on the show are both from St. Louis, correct?
Michael Drummond: Did you just say, "My fellow gay?" WERK! Yes, we both wound up on the show!
NM: Is that a big design area, Missouri?
MD: No, there is not really a big design school in my hometown. A.J. went to Lindenwood University. But there is a really nurturing underground design community here. I knew A.J. before this experience.
NM: Oh, you already knew him before the show? Was that weird? Did you get along with Peach from Chicago?
MD: No, it wasn't weird at all. I was actually proud of St. Louis because usually the designers are from LA or New York, never from a little Midwest town. I like A.J. He's a really sweet guy. I got along great with Peach, too.
NM: What led you audition for the show?
MD: I didn't want to audition for the show. I saw online that they were casting. I thought it might not be the best idea for me because I consider myself an independent designer. I was nervous about being edited in a way that wouldn't fair well for me. But like many designers I am poor and tired of that. I thought I could do a really good job on the show. I changed my mind and wanted the exposure.
NM: How did you afford the knitting machine that I saw on the preview?
MD: That's an awesome question. I didn't. Someone gave it to me. This woman called me and offered to give it to me from her garage. She wouldn't even take money for her favorite charity. It was a miracle.
NM: I just talked to Tim Gunn yesterday. He seems like the most polite person ever.
MD: He is! He was so great to meet and surpassed my expectations about who he might be. He is a really classy man.
NM: After watching the first episode, it seems like the judges are harsher this time around.
MD: I had only seen two episodes of the show before but Project Runway is one of the smarter shows on TV. I don't have a television so I don't watch and don't know. But I will say from being on the runway that they are very intense. I had to up the ante.
NM: Yes, no more Miss Nice Garcia. They had more contestants so let's weed them out!
MD: [ laughs ] They were over it and brutal! It makes for good TV.
NM: What are your goals after the show ends?
MD: I am certainly going to toss my portfolio to a few more places than I would normally send it to. I am going to continue my work in my own line. I am probably going to change it from Exquisite Corpse to my own name.
I am going to ride this little wave of fame until I get as much work as I can out of it!
Give a drum roll for Drummond as he makes it work on Project Runway on the Lifetime Channel. Visit mylifetime.com for details.
