By Jen Smith
Fancast.com
Last week was an embarrassment to Project Runway. Having already decided that the producers all but gave up on this season, the judges decided to keep all four remaining contestants in the game until they saw their collections. Heidi tells the four of them that they have two months and $8000 to design 10 looks for their runway show. Since their evening gowns sucked so much, she decides that they must create a wedding dress to complete their collection. My heterosexual male roommate (who was in the room) had to be convinced that wedding gowns in fashion shows weren’t an unusual thing. Now, make it work!
A month later, Tim Gunn sets out to check on his little ones. First up is Korto who lives in Little Rock. She shows him her collection, which was inspired by her African heritage and the nature of Arkansas. Tim thinks her palate is stunning, but worries that one of her dresses looks like a va-jay-jay. He has qualms about her wedding dress, which doesn’t look very traditional. He suggests the addition of a train or veil or something so we all get the hint. She also introduces him to her whole family, who seems like a nice bunch.
Next up is Portland, Oregon to see Leanne. She was inspired by the water, both with the waves and the color. She chooses a lot of blues and whites for her collection and Tim worries that maybe her whites are too bright. He suggests she use a little tea stain. Her wedding dress, however, is lovely. It might be a little too structured though, but she says she still has a lot of work to do. Next, Leanne and Tim decide to hop on a bike to head down to the waterfront. Yup, it was tandem. Yup, Tim was in a suit. Nope, he didn’t call a cab. Leanne shares her story about when she first discovered at the age of 12 that she wanted to be a designer.
Next up was Jerell, who lives in Los Angeles. He grew a goatee for some reason. Anyway, he decided to make a lot of evening wear for his collection. He’s using a lot of different textures and asymmetrical swooping… whatever that means. Tim thinks it’s just a little too much and suggests he edits. Next, we meet his mom, sister, and boy toy! We hear about Jerell’s life growing up in South Central LA and how his parents worked their asses off to provide a better life for him.
Kenley is last. Of course. She’s currently residing in Brooklyn and working out of her tiny apartment (not as tiny as Christian Siriano’s) where she shows of her Alice in Wonderland inspired look. Tim totally digs it, but is worried about her noose-looking accessories. We also learn that her dad was a tug boat captain. Okie dokie. Once Tim shares how he’s impressed with her wedding gown, she starts crying again. Unlike the other designers, Kenley doesn’t have any friends or family to share with Tim.
Two months have just flown by, haven’t they? One by one, the constants file into the Presidential Suite of the Westin Hotel. Kenley sorta apologizes and they all sorta drink a lot of booze to forget she’s even there. The next day, they all go to their work spaces to finish up their looks before the big day. Since this was only about 20 minutes into the show, my roommate asked how they’re planning on filling the rest of the hour. This is where I say “Tim will tell them that they have to create another look in only one day. Because they’ve done this every season, the designers shouldn’t be surprised. Of course, they always are and run around like idiots trying to pull together another look that they all saw coming.” Naturally, I was right. Tim tells them they have make a bridesmaid gown to go with the wedding dress. Super duper. They get $150 for Mood and off they go. After most of the sewing is done on the dresses, Tim offers his critiques. None of them seem to really have major issues besides some sloppy puckering and a length issue. That sounds way dirty. Then, Tim takes a minute to congratulate the designers and starts to cry!! Aww! I heart TG!
The runway show is a little unfair, in my opinion. They’re deciding who to send home based on the wedding dress and the recently added bridesmaid dress. I thought they were supposed to judge the whole collection? Ugh, I hate this show sometimes. Jerell’s looks are up first. His wedding gown is a wee over the top. It’s champagne-colored with white tulle and a jeweled bust. It kind of reminded me of the dress that Carrie wore on her first attempt at marrying Big in the Sex and the City movie. The bridesmaid dress was kind of sloppy. It was an iridescent blue with a silk sash. Kenley’s dress was a dramatic ‘40s silhouette with lots of feathers covering it. Her bridesmaid dress was a cute little blue bubble dress. Korto chose an over-the-top pleated light brown design for her gown. Her bridesmaid dress was not so fancy, but perhaps a little too simple. It was also the same color. I hate to say it, but it was just yucky. Leanne’s dress was simply gorgeous. It was a double-tiered, structured white gown with impeccable tailoring. Her bridesmaid dress had the same structural feel, but she added color with some light blue and short hemline.
Leanne- Everyone had nothing but good things to say to Leanne. Michael Kors calls it chic and beautifully crafted and said that he instantly knew that it was her dress. Nina thought it was modern, dreaming, and interesting. Heidi says she did a fantastic job.
Jerell- Michael only loved his gown from the waist down, pointing out the wings and jewels on her boobs and the flower pot growing out of her head. Ouch. Heidi thinks it’s just messy and Nina worries about his collection.
Kenley- Michael thinks she totally stole her dress idea from the Alexander McQueen line. She denies it, of course. On the other hand, the say it was well made. They also think the bridesmaid dress is cute and the whole look is crazy good. (Blast! Damn!)
Korto- Heidi would not want to be the bride in this getup. There were way too many elements. Michael says it was overworked, while the bridesmaid dress was under worked.
As we all feared, Kenley didn’t suck royally. She and Leanne float into the top two while Jerell and Korto are left to duke it out. Personally, I think they should have chosen Jerell… especially after I cheated and looked up pics of his entire collection. His was way better than Korto’s. Yet, we can’t all get our way. Jerell was kicked out of the competition and the ladies are left standing to show their collections at Bryant Park. Next week, we have a winner!
