'Project Runway' contestant shades Karlie Kloss' ties to Kushners

Karlie Kloss has a jaw-drop moment after ‘Project Runway’ contestant shades her

Jan. 3, 2020 11:54 AM PT

There are things a person simply doesn’t say out loud. Especially when speaking to Karlie Kloss, supermodel and host on “Project Runway.”

Contestant Tyler Neasloney clearly did not remember that during judging on Thursday’s episode of Bravo’s fashion-design competition.

The week’s one-day assignment had come from “powerful” guest stylist Karla Welch: Design something for her client Kloss to wear to a Council of Fashion Designers of America party in Paris, using only fabric “upcycled” from garments found at a Goodwill.

The goal was to create something super cool, wearable and chic. Welch would serve as a mentor. Easy-peasy.

Neasloney delivered a short dark pencil skirt and white halter-style blouse with a tuxedo-inspired ruffle down the front.

“I was going for a very traditional Montauk, Martha’s Vineyard, Cape Cod, Americana-type vibe,” he said as he explained his design.

Alas, he was served a rather icy critique by fashion designer and judge Brandon Maxwell, who noted that of the three criteria, the 29-year-old Wyoming native had hit only one.

“It’s definitely wearable — in some place that is neither Paris nor Montauk nor Martha’s Vineyard,” Maxwell said. “I cannot see Karlie wearing it anywhere, honestly.”

“Not even to dinner with the Kushners?,” Neasloney zinged back, a wee smirk on his face.

Kloss, you see, is married to Joshua Kushner, the brother of Jared Kushner. And Jared is married to Ivanka Trump, the first daughter of the United States.

Not. Even. To. Dinner. With. The. Kushners.

Kloss’ jaw dropped. She cocked her head quizzically. Time stretched.

“Oh, no, Tyler, don’t say that out loud,” a female contestant in an off-camera room said over the footage. Others watching backstage gasped and hid their eyes.

“That’s your husband,” Neasloney explained, needlessly.

I-am-speechless noises emerged from the 6-foot-2 supermodel.

“I was going to Paris. That was your challenge here,” she said tersely. “Keep it to the challenge.”

Neasloney kept digging. “I could see you wearing it at some point,” he insisted.

Kloss let loose.

“You may not know, but I know. I know that this is not what I asked for. The fabrics are poor choices. I think they look cheap. The pockets are kind of ill-placed, and if this is your aesthetic, then that’s that, but this was about my aesthetic and the influence of my stylist. You really missed the mark here on all accounts.”

Said journalist and judge Elaine Welteroth, “This is not what you wear to a party in Paris if you are a supermodel.”

“Good, Tyler. Literally make me sick,” contestant Geoffrey Mac sniped from backstage.

So, yeah, it was curtains for the part-time designer whose day job is at a nonprofit that houses LGBT youth. In “Runway” terms, he was out.

Later, in the follow-up show hosted by designer and Season 4 winner Christian Siriano, Neasloney said his time on “Runway” was a great learning experience, as he had no formal design training. He said it was “a struggle to survive” in the competition with so little experience, and he praised his newfound professional network.

Still, he was like a dog with a bone when it came to that final design. He just couldn’t let it go. He dissed the overwhelmingly negative feedback from the judges. “That’s five people,” he said.

“I still love my look,” Neasloney told Siriano. “It was cute. You can’t tell me you didn’t see that on a bougie white lady.”

Here’s hoping Kloss skipped the after-show.