Birmingham native Anthony L. Williams Jr. often has lively chats about his time on “Project Runway.”
Yes, Marie Claire fashion director Nina Garcia was his favorite judge.
No, he wasn’t paid for being on the cable design show, which ended last week.
Yes, that’s a Balenciaga designer bag on his arm; it was a gift.
Sometimes his colorful conversations take an unusual turn — right into Birmingham’s Elmwood Cemetery.
“Your goal in life should be to die empty,” he said recently. “If you pass by Elmwood Cemetery, you see plots and you see tombstones. But, what you don’t see are the dreams that didn’t come about because people couldn’t push past their self-esteem, they couldn’t push past the hurt, they couldn’t push past the damage that was done to them as children.”
“I encourage you, ... please die empty. Make sure that everything that you have in this lifetime, you give to this world,” he said.
Such enthusiasm is something Williams developed while growing up in the Titusville community, where women from his home, neighborhood, schools and Green Liberty Baptist Church encouraged him to go for his dreams. One woman he credits for showing him how to work with his hands was the late Edith Gilliam.
'I don't wear outfits. I wear ensembles.'
Anthony L. Williams Jr. loves a good bargain.
And when the fashions are gifts — like the designer wallet in his Balenciaga bag — it’s even better.
Recently, the “Project Runway” alum gave details about the story behind the clothes he wore to his home church, Green Liberty Baptist Church in Titusville.
Wearing: A dark Zara jacket, a rhinestone lapel pin, a white Ralph Lauren shirt, pants from a Birmingham thrift store and white Gucci patent leather shoes from DSW.
Gucci shoes from DSW? "Yes and they were only $35. I will not pay $500 for a pair of Gucci shoes. I only have them because they were $35."
How did you put together your Easter outfit today? "OK. Let's be very clear about this, Chanda. I don't wear outfits. I wear ensembles. I don't want people to be scared to hug me or to talk to me by wearing something that is too ostentatious and it's so much they can't deal with you. I wore something that I thought would be comfortable."
“But, let’s be very clear. This is a costume. As soon as I get to Mrs. (Edith) Gilliam’s house (for Easter dinner), this will be coming off.”
What will you be in, then? "My Prada flip flops and a T-shirt. And, for the record, the Prada flip flops were a gift as well."
Chanda Temple Guster
First, it was arts and crafts. Then, it was sewing.
“Mother was an inspiration,” said Gilliam’s daughter, Olivia G. Williamson of Titusville.
“She’d crochet and she did all these wonderful things with her hands. And, so when Anthony came around, he’d say, ‘Oh Mrs. Gilliam, I want to do that,’ ‘‘Willliamson said. “She’d encourage him all the time.”
Gilliam showed Williams, 29, how to upgrade clothes from the thrift store, and cheered him on when he sewed.
“Mrs. Gilliam taught me that no matter what happens, you have the responsibility to keep moving,” Williams said.
She died in 2005, but Williamson said Gilliam would be proud of everything Williams has accomplished.
He made it to the Top 5 on “Project Runway,” he’s opened an Atlanta showroom, he’s fielding requests from fans for evening gowns, a $25 canvas tote he designed this spring has been a hit with fans, and he’s talking to investors about designing evening bags.
“Although the money isn’t there, the vision is,” he said of funding for the evening bags. “So, I’m just walking into the vision right now.”
Williams has also been asked to blog for Lifetime’s second season of “Drop Dead Diva” in June, and will design clothing for a pilot sitcom for VH1 in the fall. “It’s about single ladies in Atlanta, Ga., celebrating money, power and respect, and obviously fashion, since I’m involved,” he said of the pilot.
As Williams reflects on his life, he said there are more dreams to pursue and thanks God for his losing on Lifetime’s “Project Runway.”
“Don’t get caught up on people walking out of your life ... on when you don’t get the job ... on when someone says, ‘auf Wierdersehen.’ That’s just one moment in time; it’s not your forever,” he said. “The saddest goodbye can lead to the greatest hello and that’s what ‘Project Runway’ did.”
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