HiLo Review #013 — Project Runway S21: The Refreshing Voice of Law Roach
An Ode to Truth Tellers and Tastemakers
Project Runway is back, which means I’ll begin dropping the word construction several times in my group chat as I review my latest finds from TJ Maxx.
Project Runway is a reality competition show where fashion designers from around the world compete for a cash prize, mentorship with the CFDA, and a cover for Elle magazine. Most importantly, the show looks to elevate designers with a fresh take on fashion. In the universe of reality competition shows, Project Runway leans more Top Chef than The Voice. What stands out in this type of show is the audience's ability to look deep — well as deep as you can for an hour-long show — into the artist’s process.
We see designers’ sketches, fabric store runs, the cutting, the sewing, the mistakes, the victories, the panic, and every key moment leading up to the runway. Each episode has a theme or specific challenge, with an elimination of one (sometimes two) designers until we are left with one designer as the sole winner.
As a spectator, it’s thrilling.
Can they finish on time? Will their designs live up to their full potential? Will the judges like it? Will the judges get it?
For me, a fashion girlie in essence but a comfortable, casual, vintage baddie in practice, I tune in. I tune in not as an expert but as a fan — a fan of artists getting in their bag and creating something really beautiful in a short period of time.
After binging a few seasons, you may start to feel like a student of the game, sparking an audacity to speak on the execution of a craft that takes years to master.
Case in point: Me talking to my laptop, pausing the video, eyeing a look top to bottom, releasing a soft “hmmm” or GloRilla-inspired “eughh”.
I don’t dip into the pool of reality TV too often, but when I do I’m crossing my fingers that the real in reality stays intact enough for me to buy in. With that being said, producers have to keep the show on air, so the real has to believable enough to keep us watching, but not so real that it veers into dry documentary territory.
Here are my three ‘tenets’ of reality TV competition shows (I’d be curious if reality TV producers would agree):
At any and all costs, keep the dramatic people on as long as possible… it drives engagement. The drama both exhausts and intrigues the viewer. Sex sells, but negativity does too. For instance, Huda from Season 7 of Love Island USA.
Keep the most talented heavy hitters around long enough to hold onto a shred of integrity. You can’t eliminate the best designer, chef, etc., too early in the competition—everyone will question the taste and credibility of the judges, and that could lose the audience irrevocably. Think Tao from Season 1 of Drink Masters.
Cast a person with a strange, possibly unhealthy, attachment to the show and the outcome. Someone who may or may not be that talented, but whose sob story is forced upon us. Somehow their story is so unbelievably tragic, the audience feels like big trash if they don’t root for them and basically hand over the cash prize. In the case of Project Runway, that prize is a whopping $200,000.
Finding the sweet spot between what the producers need to, what the people know to be true, and spotlighting the best in show is not an easy task.
Lucky for us, this season we have a litmus test of sorts, a truth teller, someone who can keep it fair and keep it real — Law Roach.
Law Roach is the image architect (aka celebrity stylist) to Zendaya, Céline Dion and many more. This season, Law joins the judging table alongside Editor in Chief of Elle, Nina Garcia, and OG Project Runway host and forever baddie Heidi Klum. Welcome back Heidi!
And back for another season is the glue to it all, famed designer and Project Runway mentor Christian Siriano.
Note: Heidi Klum, Nina Garcia, and Christian Siriano all hold executive producer credits on the show.
Our contestants this season include returning designers and domestic and international talent. Overall, a solidly diverse cast both in background and design style.
Aside from that, what I immediately noticed is that this season’s designers have big personalities.
Hell, I’d have a big personality too if 200K was on the line — refer to tenet #1.
Almost immediately, we see big emotions, choice words, and intense yet justified clocking of bullshit within teams — or in this case — “houses”, a new addition for this season. Tbh, so far the show is feeling a bit too Bad Girls Club coded. I was hoping more champagne and chiffon vibes not a 40 and fleece.
The part of me that likes mess is thoroughly enjoying the quiet contestants with understated moments of wit. Madeline and Ms. Joan’s clear disinterest in loud, gaudy prints tickled me.
Yuchen’s mini crash-out made for some good TV. And the twins, which you’ll come to know, are entertaining but a bit of a handful.
So far, I’m looking forward to see more work by Madeline and Yuchen.
I’m also curious to see how Joseph will transform his signature design style into something new as he competition evolves. Joseph McRae makes a peculiar impression by insisting that we, the viewers, and his fellow contestants treat his full name as a moniker — JosephMcRae. The show’s editors humored his branding scheme by having his on-screen name match the movement.
This was ultimately short-lived.
When it comes to his judging feedback, Law is out here being capital H — honest — and I live for it. It’s refreshing to see someone actually tell the truth. We need it.
No wonder we were all smiling from ear to ear when Kendrick said, “You don’t know nothing about that.”
SN: In terms of the hate meter, Euphoria > Not Like Us.
We are TIRED of the fake shit. The world is crumbling, and we are aching for reminders that real ones still exist. Sometimes we got to be like Kendrick, and give them the ginger root.
Law Roach represents truth, exacting vision, and purpose.
When someone like that is around, you listen.
I am truly appreciative of his candor and frankly, hilarious commentary. I will say the Nigerian Auntie comment was wild — the rest, I could get with. Some may argue that his delivery is “too harsh”, but we’ve seen that in life (on and off screen), it pays to have a Simon Cowell-type on your sounding board.
Tough, real, and ultimately indispensable.
We all know a few people in our lives we only come to for advice when we’re ready to hear the truth. They will tell the truth and they will say it however the hell they want. It’s triggering and sometimes infuriating, but 99% of the time, the intention is to not have you out here looking stupid.
The fashion industry is quite brutal. A true mentor will get you together in private rather than release you to the wolves unaware. Yes, national television is exactly private, but it’s better to be embarrassed now than at next year’s fashion week.
With Law, I see something beyond shade and entertainment. I see someone who genuinely believes that he deserves it all, the designers deserve it all, and the consumers do too. If he calls contestants, fellow judges, and us viewers back home to sit in truth, so be it.
So I’ll end with some words to chew on.
The words of the reckless pierce like swords, but the tongue of the wise brings healing. - Proverbs 12:18
Let’s heal together.
Find a Law Roach in your life — words wise enough to last a lifetime and strong enough to fuck your ego.
For something light, fun, a bit chaotic, check out new episodes of Project Runway airing weekly Thursdays at 10 P.M. ET on Freeform, with episodes available to stream the next day on Hulu and Disney+. To learn more about Law, check out his new book How to Build a Fashion Icon: Notes on Confidence from the World's Only Image Architect.