Welcome back to another season of Project Runway where sixteen new designers will be subjected to the stinging barbs of Nina Garcia, the tough, yet always kind coaching of uber-mentor Tim Gunn, the cackling lunacy of Michael Kors, and for most of them, the eventual auf’ing of Heidi Klum.
Heidi Klum and Tim Gunn have been interviewing designers all over the country and now their 20 favorites have come to New York. The nameless, rapid-fire intros of prospects begins:
- A young man from a small town in Kentucky.
- A woman who blew off her wedding in Iceland to try out.
Heidi announces, “This year, we’re going to shake things up a little bit.” Don’t they say this every year? So yes, there will be some new aspects to the game this season. Again… some more.
The twenty designers are to interview, and show their designs to the “toughest judges imaginable” Michael Kors, Nina Garcia, Heidi Klum, and Tim Gunn. This is shaking things up, how exactly? Although apparently Tim Gunn will be contributing to the judging panel for this preliminary bit, so that is a new and welcome change. Sixteen designers will be in, four will go home without ever having started. That would suck.
Contestant Interviews:
Kimberly – Shows canary yellow pants with flower embellishment on the waistband, she apparently works out in a sequined tank top, which the judges love.
Bryce – Shows a dramatic, black feathered cape.
Anya -Former Miss Trinidad Tobago contestant in the Miss Universe pageant, She tells the judges that she has only been sewing for four months. Some of the judges seem pretty skeptical about her.
Becky – 38 years old, has blonde bobbed hair with blue highlights.
Oliver – Shows a dress that Heidi likes, she points out that it has a “boob window.” Heidi asks if he has ever modeled
Josh – Heidi trills out his name and sings to him, as he comes in the interview space. Is she drunk?
Laura – From the Midwest, shows very colorful pieces. The judges wonder if they are maybe too colorful.
David – Is a teeny-tiny fella. The judges think he might be too one note.
Victor – Very little time spent on him, maybe we will find out more later.
Julie – Designs outerwear that isn’t meant to just be outerwear. The judges seem to like this idea, at least in theory.
Amanda – Shows a romper, that she has made like a dress.
Fallene – Loves to design menswear for women.
Gunnar – Shows a super-fussy Kentucky derby dress.
Danielle – From the Midwest, confident to the point of slightly scary intensity.
Joshua – Has a lot of “flair” and is very dramatic, which has the judges nonplussed. ” is my bronzed running”
Cecilia – Seems concerned, and thinks judges didn’t understand her.
Rafael – Total kook. Has decided that Nina is having sex with him, with her eyes. Ummm…okay.
Serena- Shows a collection that she has produced over the course of several years.
Bert – Chyron says he is 102 years old. (He’s actually 57.) He worked for big-name designers, but then left the field for almost two decades, and is now returning.
Anthony – Testicular cancer survivor, and color blind; which throws the judges for a loop. Heidi likes his scarf. (Really likes it; like he might want to check her bag, when it goes missing.)
Judge’s Decision
The judges deliberate, while the contestants sit in another room and fret. The judges do their usual back and forth. The judges come in and announce the names of the sixteen that will move on to actually compete. `Four people are let go – David, Gunnar, Amanda, Serena. They are all understandably sad, but vow to go on.
The Contest Begins
The contestants move into Atlas Apartments, everyone is terribly excited. Tim gives a cryptic message about never knowing what is going to happen on Project Runway
Laura (girl from the Midwest) says people think she looks like a Barbie. “She looks sweet, but look out I have quite a bite.” She then immediately offers to make breakfast for everyone. It’s really not her fault, it’s the Midwest in her, coming out. We’re very nice, we can’t help it.
At 5:00 AM, Tim Gunn comes to wake people up, they are completely surprised and kind of horrified to see him. He has people grab a sheet, for a Project Runway, “Come As You Are Party.”
They walk by a park with their sheets, trying to wake up. They walk through Times Square in their jammies, wondering what they have gotten themselves into, on this show.
They get to Parson’s School of Design. Everyone gets super excited, it finally hits them, that they are on Project Runway. Product placement time: Brother sewing machines, HP tablet, Piperlime accessory wall, L’Oreal Paris makeup room, Garnier styling center, etc.
Challenge: Create a look from your pajamas and one sheet from your bed.
Everyone is provided with scrubs, notions, sewing gear and dyeing gear, to work on their designs and add to their sheets design potential.
Everyone dives in to work. There is a huge variety of fabrics and styles they have to use as their “raw material.” Some examples include:
A decal of a clown puking a rainbow
Satin pajamas
Sweats and tankers
Gingham boxers
Bright-colored tacky pajama pants
Tidbits from the workroom
Anya has trouble with the machines.
Lots of jokes about underwear
Tim comes in to critique. He doesn’t like the slightly vulgar placement of Anthony’s feathers. He says that Josh’s sweats and tee shirt design, could be a knockout if done correctly. He expresses his usual mix of kudos and concerns.
Rafael doesn’t want to use his scarf as fabric, because his hair isn’t done. Tim tells him the judges will think that he didn’t use his resources, that he almost didn’t make the cut, and not to make the judges regret their decision.
Time to meet the models as they come in for a fitting. Most people are tickled pink with their models. Some have fitting issues, etc. Laura says to Oliver, who is speaking Italian to his model ” Are you speaking foreign?”
There is the potential for drama as Anya falls behind, and Josh needs to add extra fabric to get his garment to fit his model.
Everyone spends the next morning rushing around, trying to finish up their designs. They head off to the hair and makeup areas, to style their models. Designers ask for Brigitte Bardot and Judy Jetson hairstyles, and have very specific makeup requests. The models sit in the chairs and look stunning.
Runway Show
Judges: Michael Kors, Nina Garcia, Heidi Klum and actress Christina Ricci.
Oh boy, here we go. I will give basic descriptions of what comes down the runway, but I am not a fashionista in any sense of the word, so please bear with me. I tend to live in tanks, tees, skirts, and flip flops, so there will likely be very little technical knowledge, trend appraisals, or fashion savvy in these descriptions!
Joshua: tank and shorts become cropped tank, skirt and white vest
Laura: satin pajamas become wide legged trousers and short sleeved top and jacket
Danielle: brown sleeveless nightie and leggings become light/dark brown long sleeve top with robins egg blue shorts
Victor: black and white stripped tee shirt and Blake shorts become crisp white dress with black and striped accents
Becky: tee shirt and capris become an off the shoulder blue minidress with single wide vertical stripe running the length of the dress
Bryce: long black tank and Blake shorts become charcoal and Black shirt dress with wide sleeves
Anya: satin nightie become a colorful cropped halter tank with gray trousers
Julie: tee shirt and colorful pants become a blocked sleeveless top with gray pants
Olivier: black tee shirt and pants become brown skirt with fitted gray, long sleeved blouse, his model looks pretty grim
Kimberly: blue green nightie becomes a deconstructed jacket with white pants with a wide blue green waistband
Anthony yellow tank and green shorts become gray top with black feather accents, and a short green skirt
Rafael: white tee shirt and gray sweats become tight gray fitted riding pants, and a midriff baring blouse/vest with leopard print necklace
Fallene: puking clown tee shirt and pants become sleeveless summer dress with vertical stripe detailing And the puking clown emblazoned on the skirt and a drawstring hemline
Bert: teeshirt and gingham boxers become a really cute dress with a cinched waistline, part of the bodice made from the gingham boxers, and a two toned skirt
Josh: red tee shirt and gray sweats become a gray hoodie, red sleeveless top and white shorts
Cecilia: coral sleep shirt and shorts become jacket, tube top, and short coral skirt
Judges call out Bert, Julie, Rafael, Josh, Anya, Anthony, Josh. Everyone else is safe, and can leave the runway.
The remaining contestants represent the highest and lowest scores.
Top contestants
Anthony - Judges love his striped top, with the embellishments
Anya - Judges loved her pants, and are amazed by her novice sewing skills
Bert - Judges loved his dress, but disliked his dated styling of the model
Lowest contestants
Rafael – Judges thought his blouse/vest was terrible, and thought the pants were not flattering
Julie - Judges didn’t like the shoddy construction of her pants
Josh – Judges thought the top was terrible, and the shorts were not good.
Michael Kors Whackadoo Comment of the week: “She’s wearing some sort of Flintstone disco pouch”
Winner: Bert (LOVE HIM!)
Out: Rafael
Tracy Maher is a party planning guru and director of marketing for DiscountPartySupplies.com. She has a husband, three children, and a cat that should be registered as a lethal weapon. She throws many parties, mainly as an excuse to cook (and eat) a lot of food! She knows nothing about fashion, but adores Tim Gunn, with a love that is deep, abiding, and true.
