The Un-Jay.

Gay rag Next Magazine has an interview with soon-to-be-PRGay-favorite Chris March:

"I see why people would make the comparison," March laughs, referencing the first season's winner, Jay McCarroll. "There are some physical similarities, and we're both kind of funny-outrageous types, but in truth, I think Jay and I are completely different people."

"My whole hook for the show is that I'm an outrageous costume designer and drag queen, so how could I possibly make it in fashion?"

"I think that my experience doesn't necessarily lend itself that well to fashion," he says, "but it does lend itself very well to being on Project Runway."

"Every client that I've worked for and all my friends have said, 'You should try to be on Project Runway.' I didn't really have time to audition, but he encouraged me to come and the rest is history. I've always wanted to be a fashion designer so when they offered me the opportunity I decided to take it."

"I can go way up or I can bring it down," says March, confident that his skills in costuming translate to wearable fashion. "You need to come up with your own individual style and you need to own it, even if it's a little crazy. People who take risks are the ones who change the world."

"It's almost like it didn't happen," he says, "but the show's going to remind me of exactly what really did happen. [Doing the show was] kind of like you stepped through the TV screen on to Project Runway, like Dorothy stepped into Oz...all of a sudden you're standing there, and there's Tim and there's Heidi and there's Michael and Nina, and there's the runway and you're one of the designers and you're going 'Is this really happening?' It's crazy!"

(Photo: Bradford Noble/NextMagazine)