I chatted with Project Runway’s Gretchen and found out that she is a smart, articulate businesswoman. Despite a reputation as the show’s “rhymes with witch”, Gretchen is adamant that she only talked about the other designers’ work, never attacking them on a personal level. Gretchen shared her thoughts about the final judging and why she was so happy to have Michael Kors in her corner. Above all else, it seems that Gretchen was a truly savvy reality-show contest.

What I really wanted to ask Gretchen is why does she design clothes that make 5’9″, beautiful, willowy, 20 year-old women look like pear-shaped, middle-aged women in mom jeans? But I couldn’t think of a non-confrontational way to phrase that.

So, this is what I asked her instead…