Valerie Mayen

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.

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.

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

Photo Gallery

 * You can see photos of Valerie here!
 * You can see photos of Valerie's designs on Project Runway here!