We said farewell to Ashlie in this week’s episode of Stylista. It was ultimately getting knocked again for not editing down photos that led to her elimination. But we wanted to get her perspective on how things went down. Check out this exclusive interview as Ashlie tells it like it is.

SeenON!: How did you hear about Stylista?

Ashlie: My boss at Armani told me about it. He heard what they were looking for and said “This is you to a ‘T’.” Even though I had missed the auditions, I still got an opportunity to interview, and they liked me!

SO!: Who inspires you most fashion-wise?

A: From the show - Brett, the photo director, and Lina, an editor at Elle. Brett’s style is very rocker while Lina’s is very Sarah Jessica Parker. Also, I love Rihanna’s style - it’s so fun and definitely not cookie cutter pop star.

SO!: You were knocked for editing in the Model Behavior challenge with Kate, and we see it again here with Dyshaun. What gives?

A: I said from the start that I would only be responsible for the copy. Dyshaun was responsible for the photos and he added way too many. Sure there was a typo in the copy, but he used the excess photos as a strategy to put the poor editing on me.

SO!: If you can change one move you made in the competition, what would it be?

A: Going into that room, I wish the first thing I would have said is “I’m not responsible for the photos on this page.” Ha! Other than that, I don’t have a whole lot of regrets from the show.

SO!: In a conversation with Johanna, Kate said she refuses to dress like the other girls at Elle. What stereotypes do you think you’ve broken? What’s new that you bring to the table?

A: I think I broke the stereotype of the black girl being the diva. I am not Omarosa, I’m not confrontational and I think I represented myself well on the show.

SO!: What are you doing now? Do you keep in touch with anyone from the show?

A: I’m working for Calvin Klein in fabrics and production. I keep in touch with William, Cologne and Jason - a little with Johanna, but not Kate or Megan.

SO!: Who do you think will win and why?

A: It could be any of them - they’re all capable. But I think if she pulls her resources and knowledge together, it will be Johanna.

SO!: What’s next for you?

A: I’m writing for Elle’s blog and I’m getting ready to start my own business in fashion. I’ll be launching a headband line soon so make sure to look out for that!

SO!: Do you have any advice for those trying to break into the industry?

A: Get part-time internships and build up as much experience as you can. Take freelance work and focus on building up a portfolio.

We said goodbye to Jason this week on Stylista after admiring his street chic style ( even if Joe Zee warned of his Michael Jackson gloves) and following his harrowing anxiety attack. For those who took a liking to Jason, dont fret, this is not the last you will see of this Stylista. He has appaeared in Pink’s “So What” video, is modeling, and is currently working on his men’s and women’s collections and accessories and a frgrance line. We got a chance to speak to him and get his thoughts about his time on the show, his elimination, and what’s next. We totally heart him and we know you will too!

SeenON! : What did you expect to get out of the show before you arrived?

Jason : Anne Slowey and Joe Zee are such influential people in fashion I knew I would learn so much from them. I knew I would be able to take what I learned and use it in everyday life and for other projects that I am working on. I thought I would learn a lot and I definitely did.

SO! : What was the hardest challenge?

J: Honestly, the Chinatown challenge. I didn’t think were going to have a challenge like that. I was just talking to my friend Jackie about this. We go to Chinatown all the time in California for fun and we had talked about having a [similar] challenge, and then it happened. I love Chinese and Japanese culture. I can tell you the people there [Chinatown] were definitely not expecting us. I think they thought we were from Dateline and there to get them in trouble for something. Johanna knew how to speak Chinese and that really helped us. Without her we probably wouldn’t have had a page at all, we’d probably just be running around Chinatown from place, to place to place. I’d say the hardest thing about the challenge was definitely the language barrier.

SO! : Out of the two challenges what was your favorite group to work with?

J: The group from the H&M challenge. With the Chinatown challenge it was more of Megan trying to direct us on what to do. I think that [the H&M] challenge was more interesting and more fun with the fashion show. Devin and everyone were more pleasant to work with.

SO! : What was it like to watch the episode last night?

J: It was crazy. I didn’t want to see it. I was at an event for Project Ovc. My friends DVR’ed the episode. Once the event was over I watched it. I was embarrassed to see it and was holding my hands over my eyes and peeking through them. I mean I hardly ever cry and when I watched the episode I was crying every other minute. It was a scary time. It was scary for me to watch. [At the time] Ashlie and Danielle were at the house telling me “You need to go you need to persevere.” It was also Ashlie and Danielle that helped me with what I was going to say to Anne. If I wasn’t there they were going to stand up for me and say it on my behalf.

SO!:We were impressed that you still wanted to go present in front of Anne and the judges while you were having your anxiety attack

J: Thank You. Yeah, I was blacking out. You can even see that on the show. I don’t even remember what was happening. I didn’t even know that Ashlie and Danielle were there or what they were saying to me until they told me now. My main focus was to let Anne and & Joe Zee know what I did and show them that I could handle the job. I want to inspire people and to influence them and let them know no matter what happens or what they go through they can do anything.

SO!: Do You Still Speak to Anyone From the Cast?

J: I moved from California to New York and I just ran into Dyshaun the other day. I also talk to Cologne, Danielle, Ashlie, and Kate here and there.

SO! : But not Megan?

J: I don’t think anyone has talked to Megan. What most people didn’t see on the show was that there were two deaths that happened very close to each other in my family and I wanted to go to church and she went with me and held my arm and everything. On the steps outside we sat and talked and had the most amazing conversation about life and death and how to deal with it, and move on. I remember thinking to myself ‘Wow, this is Megan?’ I think people want to say “You’re the Omarosa of Stylista” There needs to be drama on the show, so people are going to continue to act like that. I think that Megan is a good person and even though she said she wanted to [get me eliminated] I don’t hold that against her. I wish her well.

OTHER MUSINGS

On how he picks friends

I don’t do the backstabbing and lying stuff. And I don’t want people in my life like that. I talk to Danielle everyday… everyday. I also talk to Ashlie. Those are good people. People I want in my life

About his feelings for Ashlie and Danielle

The World is going to love them. They already do. They are one of a kind genuinely good people.

His advice on following your dreams

My advice to everyone is that you can anything. Don’t ever stop. No matter what your sexual preference is, your race, your size, or whether you’re male or female. I also don’t think people should think of fashion in a negative way, like everyone is like Miranda Priestly. Because they’re not. Never give up we all can achieve great things.