Personality[]
Valerie is a very sweet, sensitive, and emotional designer. In the beginning, she can be seen talking with everyone is a kind and happy manner. She has made close friends with most designers, and those who she was not close to did not hold any grudge against her. She was best friends with Ivy and they can be seen comforting each other and joking around in their dorms. However, in the later episodes, she began to fall apart. She was producing less fashionable articles of clothing and became an emotional wreck. She began to miss her family and is seen crying in some episodes. In the end, she described her experience at Project Runway as "the most stressful, embarrassing, sad, frustrating, and the most fun experience" she's ever had.
Challenges Won[]
Valerie never won any challenges, but was in the top 3 for quite a few.
Valerie was close to winning the challenge in Episode 2, "Larger than Life," where the contestants must make a high-fashion look that describes the Marie Claire woman and do a photo shoot of their model in their outfits. The winner would then have their design on a 40 x 40 billboard displayed in Time Square. Valerie made a short, scarlet red dress with a deep V-neck and a frilly collar, all brought together with a zipper in the front.
Valerie was in the top 3 in the challenge in Episode 3, "It's a Party," where all contestants must make a trendy look out of only party supplies. The winner would gain immunity and would not be eliminated the next week. Valerie made an elegant, short, black and white dress made of napkins. The dress had a low neck and a delicate, layered skirt, accompanied with short, black boots and a black clutch.
Valerie, once again, made the top in Episode 4, "Hats Off to You," where all contestants were to make a dress to accompany a hat designed by Phillip Treacy. Valerie selected a black, masquerade mask, instead of a hat which the other contestants chose. She made a short, velvet dress with a small, white vest-coat to accessorize her dress along with simple, black pumps.
Challenges Lost[]
Although Valerie has been in the top, she has also been in the bottom for a few of the challenges. She was eliminated in Episode 10, "There's a Pattern Here."
In Episode 6, "You Can Totally Wear That Again," all contestants chose an ugly and generic bride's maids dress and remade it to be a beautiful look for their models. Valerie chose an unflattering, Jolly-Rancher colored dress that was horribly designed. She didn't edit it for the better and as a result ended up in the bottom.
In Episode 8, "A Rough Day on the Runway," the designers were told to make their own take on American sportswear using Jacqueline Kennedy's work as an inspiration. Valerie didn't design acceptable work, and once again ended in the bottom 3.
In Episode 9, "Race to the Finish," the designers must select a makeup line from L'Oreal and design an elaborate look, and another dress to accompany the original. The winner would win $20,000 and have their looks used in an ad in the L'Oreal magazine to advertise L'Oreal makeup. Valerie selected the Crystal line and designed a drab "fairy" dress that Michael Kors described, "could only be accessorized with by a wand." Her companion look was a boring and generic, short black dress with a crystal pinned to the chest. The judges said, "It was like she was in the office and oh! It was crystal wear today? I might as well glue a crystal to my chest and call it a day." Her boring and generic work resulted in her in the bottom.
In Episode 10, "There's a Pattern Here," Valerie was eliminated from Project Runway. In this challenge, all contestants were to design their own fabric that told a story about their personal lives. But first, they earned a surprise visit from their families. Valerie designed a beautiful fabric, that was not used in a beautiful way. Her fabric was inspired by her father, who was an architect and always used blueprints, so Valerie designed a fabric that had a black background with straight blue lines going in many different directions. However, Valerie made a dress too similar to her near-to-winning dress from Episode 3, "It's a Party" but this time, it looked like a poorly made figure-skater's outfit. After being saved too many times, the judges finally eliminated her.
Quotes[]
- "I'm very honored. I've had the time of my life here, and, I'm just really happy to work with you guys." -Valerie celebrating her birthday during Episode 10, "There's a Pattern Here," with Gretchen, Michael C., April, Christopher, and Andy
- "We made ourselves vulnerable to national television, which is probably why this season turned out to be so frickin' good." -Valerie in Episode 14, "Finale, Part 2 (Season 8)" during the reunion after the montage