Anthony Williams Dresses the 'Single Ladies'

Anthony Williams is ready to treat himself to an expensive dinner.

As he wraps his first season as costume designer for the VH1 dramedy Single Ladies, the former Project Runway contestant can finally reflect on all that he’s accomplished.

“This has been a very emotional week because I’m at the end,” Williams says from the show’s Atlanta set.   “I did it. And if I must say, I did a damn good job.”

The effervescent Birmingham, Alabama, native wanted fashion front and center on the series, which returns for its third season on January 6.

“Even before a character speaks, her wardrobe should tell you something about what’s going to happen,” he says. “I was very concerned about this show reading fashion — and fashion that would speak to all genres of life.”

Therefore he dressed leads LisaRaye McCoy, Charity Shea and Denise Vasi in everything from Zara to vintage Chanel to dramatic gowns of his own creation. He stayed under budget and earned the actresses’ trust.

“I think the ladies this season saw, ‘Oh, he’s trying to take us to the next level,’” he says.

Williams competed on Project Runway in 2010 (he came in fifth) and returned in 2012 to participate in an All-Stars season (coming in ninth).

The popular Lifetime series provided him with plenty of exposure and opportunities. But he knows it is imperative to distinguish himself from the show that launched him into the public eye.

“You don’t want to be known for the rest of your life as Anthony L. Williams from Project Runway,” he says. 

When Single Ladies returns, Williams will be seen in bonus clips on VH1.com about each episode’s fashion.

He’s also producing sewanthony, a series of YouTube videos that will offer advice on dressing fashionably for less.

If there’s a season 4 of Single Ladies, he’d love to be back, though ultimately he sees himself returning to an on-camera role.

“I know that I have a great television presence,” he says. “You don’t really see any representation of gay, black people on television. I want to put out a positive representation of who I am and what people who look like me are about.”