Local fashion designer Mondo Guerra didn’t quite sew up “Project Runway,” to the dismay of fans watching tonight’s finale. Instead, he came in second to the often contentious Gretchen Jones, a result that stunned and disappointed fans gathered at Beauty Bar in Denver’s Capitol Hill neighborhood.
At the moment the Season 8 winner was announced, an overflow crowd erupted in jeers and groans.
“I don’t come out as a winner but I come out stronger,” Guerra said afterward.
The consensus in the bar: he was robbed. Many fans sported mustaches, black bowties, heavy black glasses and pompadours for a “Mondo lookalike” contest.
Michael Costello, another “Project Runway” contender knocked out in an earlier round, begged the Denver crowd not to hold a grudge against Jones (although in the process he managed to bring up her character flaws.)
Denver native Guerra, 32, has been a local favorite since the season’s start in July. His bold geometric patterns in black and white with dashes of color won the judges’ favor through three consecutive rounds. Heidi Klum praised the “little wink in his clothes” after the final runway show.
The popular Lifetime series, which has drawn an average 3.3 million viewers this season, took a turn for the serious weeks ago when Guerra disclosed that he has been HIV-positive for 10 years, a fact he referenced in a design. His struggle, coinciding with the spate of gay teen suicides, added a weighty dimension to the design spectacle.
After Thursday’s broadcast, Guerra admitted to being “shocked” by the ultimate decision, but added, “the whole experience has made me grow as a person.”
In particular, the experience of talking honestly and openly about himself “has been a revelation for me,” he said.
“Show yourselves to everybody!” he told fans. “The world wants to see you.”
Joanne Ostrow: 303-954-1830 or jostrow@denverpost.com
