Project Runway’s Cats-astrophe, Yoda Dig Can’t Trip Up Houston Designer

Alan Gonzalez was pretty sure he had survived the second episode of Project Runway’s 18th season when he saw the reaction of the show’s toughest judge to the look he created during Thursday night’s telecast on Bravo.

As his model walked the runway, the Houston designer noted, “I did see Nina Garcia do a small little smile. That’s how I knew my design is great. Y’all know I love a good twirl.”

Tying in with the upcoming premiere of the movie version of Cats, the Project Runway designers were asked to create a chic street look using animal prints. Gonzalez, who barely remained in the competition after a disastrous debut in the premiere episode last week, rebounded with a solid effort that placed him in the middle of the pack in the new season’s second episode.

The 25-year-old designer admitted he had stumbled in the earlier episode because he was overwhelmed by so many fabric choices at Mood, the gargantuan New York shop where designers have a short time to select materials for that week’s challenge. So when he remarked, “I’ve never been in the print section of Mood” at the start of the episode, his fans were worried that fashion history might repeat itself.

But Gonzalez apparently navigated the store with ease this time, picking a snakeskin print to whip up a V-neck blouse and matching below-the-knee boots, which he paired with a taupe layered mini-skirt lined in the same snakeskin fabric. However, he was momentarily perplexed by the wide array of buttons at the fabric shop.

“How do buttons work in this store,” he asked mentor Christian Siriano.

“You grab them,” Siriano replied.

In the manufactured drama that Project Runway specializes in, once back in the workroom, Gonzalez was admonished by Siriano for eating snacks instead of working on his design.

“Who has time for snacks? You have nothing. You have Yoda on the dress form,” Siriano told Gonzalez.

But the next day, when Gonzalez had nearly finished the look, and the model practiced her walk in the workroom, Siriano remarked that she resembled a certain Houston superstar in the outfit. “Girl, from Yoda to Beyonce in a day,” Gonzalez marveled.

Gonzalez, who majored in musical theater at the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts, said he loves Cats, so we were disappointed when he didn’t launch into a dramatic rendition of  “Memory.” But he revealed something much more important.

“I have a lot to show and a lot to prove. I am originally from Monterrey, Mexico and I came over (to the United States) at the age of 3. I’m under the Dream Act. If I leave, I can’t come back,” he told viewers in one of the episode’s most dramatic moments.

“I’m here as a dreamer, and I’m here living the dream. It’s just so good.”

Project Runway airs new episodes Thursdays at 8:30 pm on Bravo. Come back to PaperCity for Clifford Pugh’s weekly recaps for as long as Gonzalez stays on the show.