I’ve never made it a secret that Valerie Mayen was one of my favorite cast members for Project Runway season 8. What was baffling is that her designs started off as some of my favorites, and progressed to some of my least. But through all of that, the thing that remained the same was her sweet personality.

Valerie Mayen

That sweetness really came into play when we saw Valerie sit down and say a heartfelt, open goodbye to all of her other designers right after she was eliminated. She managed to be sweet, to admit she hadn’t mis-judged some people, not show overt favortism, and not insult any of the remaining designers. That’s a lot to do, considering some designers leave with a scowl, telling the camera that a lot of people left don’t deserve to be there.

It seems Valerie was suffering from some low self-esteem near the end of her run on the show. She had even suggested that she should have gone home in the previous challenge instead of Ivy (and no, Ivy was right to go home with those awful blue dresses.)

Innovative, charming, and talented, I truly doubt this will be the last we hear from Valerie if you keep your ear to the fashion ground.

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