The Drama #1: Andrea
Yes, Andrea left in the middle of the night. And yes, she's been criticized by her fellow designers and numerous bloggers for "not setting a good example for her students." But if I may just defend her for a moment. A lot of former Project Runway contestants have PR Blogs (some are better than others) and many of them have insisted over and over just how difficult the pressure can be, so they understand why some contestants call it quits (which has certainly happened a lot in the past, not just with Andrea!). But Laura Bennett's blog made an excellent point about Andrea specifically. When a designer leaves, they aren't allowed to actually leave. Eliminated designers are held in limbo, sequestered by the show until all the episodes have been filmed, sometimes being made to attend public appearances with the other designers so no one can figure out who has been eliminated when. If Andrea wanted to go HOME, she couldn't. Or at least she couldn't be SURE they'd let her. The producers and crew are following the designers for nearly 22 hours a day. They're woken up, sometimes as early as 4am, and they are often in the work room until midnight, then they have to film their interviews (the talking heads that air throughout the show) until nearly 2am. The middle of the night is the only time Andrea could have snuck off without someone stopping her. Yes, it sucks. But I get it.
Okay, moving on.
The Drama #2: Kooan
Oh, Kooan. I feel bad for him. I'm not sure what happened in real life, but the editing of the show made it look like Irina from last week broke his soul. In show promos, it was implied that Kooan had previous mental health problems, but that just makes me feel worse for him. Will he have to stay in the "eliminated designer rooms" for several more weeks, just feeling more sad and isolated? Sigh. Probably. Poor guy.
Plus, it was really sad to see all the designers crying. Especially Nathan, who has been a bit of a non-personality so far.
And then this happened.
The Drama #3: Raul
They brought Raul back. Of course they did. It's no surprise, but the big surprise is that he wasn't immediately eliminated again. I loved watching the other designers quietly avoid his glance as he bragged that he "never should have been eliminated in the first place." I don't think anyone thought that was true. Whenever I see Raul I think, "he's the guy with the million affectations." A few years back on a Ricky Gervais & Stephen Merchant podcast, they were reading a viewer letter from someone who called himself "The Party Animal." Ricky and Steve just started making fun of him, saying they imagined he was the guy who kept insisting on his own coolness, wanting to be known by his "million affectations." Like, he's the guy who only ever wears bowling shoes. He's the guy who always carries a lunch box around. He's the guy with the Doctor Who scarf that his mom made him. That's how I see Raul. He wants to be known as the guy who always has the pointy bangs. He's the guy who always wears the Molly Ringwald hat. He's the guy in the vest. He's the guy with the unidentifiable accent. He's got a million affectations! But not much else.
Okay, finally:
The Challenge:
It's a pretty soft ball challenge this week, and thank goodness because I don't think the designers could have handled too much more than that. Basically they have to design versatile active wear for the woman on the go, a la Michael Kors. They're not required to make it specifically day-to-night, nor are they told to make sportswear separates. All they're told is to make sure it doesn't wrinkle. I was hoping there would be a twist like there was in Season 3 (Laura Bennett's season) when the designers had to prove how well their clothes would travel by literally getting on a plane while wearing them. But it's probably for the best. These designers are so very, very tired.
The Workroom:
I've said this before but I'll say it again. As a viewer, I adore Christopher. But if I were a fellow contestant on his season, I would spit in his food. He's WAY too nosy about everyone else's work! Trying to get Buffi to change her design and use some of his fabric instead? I get that Buffi's work was unsuccessful and she did ultimately go home for it, but in the moment she must have wanted to punch Christopher for all his "constructive criticism." And it wasn't just with Buffi! He had his nose in everyone's business! See, THIS is why every new crop of designers thinks that the challenges are longer than one day. Because when you watch the show the designers always seem to find time to sit around staring at each other's work! Why aren't they focusing on their own? I'm sure it's just the editing, but it looks like Christopher spent 60% of his time sitting around sucking his teeth at other people's designs (as did Nathan, Sonjia and Melissa--where did they even find the time for that?).
As annoying as it would be for other designers, Christopher's buttinskyism did result in the show's golden moment. When Fabio was fitting his model with his way-too-short and terribly made dress, Christopher quipped, "Oh, I can see her fish whistle from here!" Pure gold.
The Runway:
Uh-oh. Heidi is wearing a cheetah-print Flintstones dress. Is that a nod to Buffi? Since we already know that Buffi's the one that is eliminated, I'm going to go with yes. Yes it is. (I realize that's not possible, but I'm not above believing that Heidi is psychic.)
It really did look fantastic on the model, especially when she was walking. I did notice that it was a lot thinner and more see-through than I assumed it would be (I could see the model's legs through the fabric) but that would probably make it pretty comfortable too. It didn't look quite as good in still photos or when the model was standing before the judges (well, slouching before the judges). It kind of bunched up a bit on one side, which was weird. I think it's the kind of dress that would look good on a variety of body types, but not a wide variety, if that makes sense. Like, not everyone could wear this, but quite a few people could. And I think it would look great in different colours.
I actually loved this. I thought it really showed Alicia's point of view and was a more polished version of her signature "baby dyke" look. The "versatility" was really that it was middle-of-the-road casual, so I don't know if it completely fulfilled the challenge. You could wear this to work at most jobs, but could you wear this to a social event at night? I don't know. But you could go from the office to the grocery store for sure.
Melissa
"Salem, this is just the beginning..."
I feel like Melissa from Season 10 is living the dream of April from Season 8. She's older (but looks younger), prettier (sorry April, I know that's not relevant), and way better at what she does. She makes the witchy woman goth clothes that I think April left on her sketchbook. This look isn't for everyone, for sure, but I think it came out exactly how Melissa intended (which April's clothes almost never did).
Do you ever get the sense that Buffi is only a designer because if she wasn't, she wouldn't know what else to do with her life? Like she needs to legitimize her clubbing-every-night-in-her-30's lifestyle with a "job" that's not really a job? When this fails to work out, I'm sure she'll start saying she's a handbag or jewellery designer or perhaps a "stylist." If her father was famous, she'd probably have her own auto-tuned vanity pop single out by now.
Fabio
Oh geez. I think he might be this year's Jerrell Scott (Season 5). Remember Jerrell? He was beautiful and fabulous and oh-so-fashionable, yet his clothes were sort of sad and ugly. Then it turns out that Jerrell Scott (born: Scott Jerrell) was really an aspiring actor and model. Although, Nathan might also be vying to be this season's Jerrell, since his clothes are also sad and plain and use that weird ugly colour palette. And like Jerrell, Nathan can actually sew. I'm not sure what Fabio can do. His clothes have zero relationship with how he himself dresses. What is going on, Fabio?? Also, I don't know why the judges never said anything about the fact that he chose a print and then DIDN'T LINE IT UP IN THE BACK! They HATE that! Maybe they did say it but it didn't air. It's all I could see when the model turned around.
Gunnar
EEESH!! Okay, there are a few designers who might be vying for the role of "personally fabulous, professionally disastrous" (sorry, Jerrell, to keep using you as an example!). Gunnar seems to think of himself as the prettiest girl in the room, but this design is just a bunch of ugly, outdated colours thrown together. Yuck!
Nathan
Oh so sad. That colour is just awful, is terrible on the model's skin tone, and makes no sense with the purple bag. The worst thing is that Nathan seems to be racing for the middle, not caring if he ever impresses the judges. Perhaps he never will.
Dmitry
Was that really ONE seam? That's pretty cool. I'm not sure how it would look on someone who actually had breasts bigger than an AA cup, but then again the cutout in the back would make it hard for a busty girl to wear a proper bra (oh I sound like Joanna Coles). I like it okay, but I'm not sure about the placement of all that pleat detail, crossing between the breasts like that. I bet on me the pleats would be in all the wrong places and I'd look like someone had just drawn a giant 'X' across my boobs, like "no access" or something. Weird.
Ven
What happened Ven?? I know you love pleats (LOVE 'EM) but I think you may need a pleat intervention. Here it just looks like you made a saggy lunch bag into a dress by throwing a full body zipper on it. Yet it is "exactly the look" he was going for. Uh-oh.
Raul
Bahahahahahaha! Okay, that's just so awful that I have nothing to say about it because I'm too busy laughing my ass off. Yeah, you were too talented to be eliminated, Raul. Surrre, you were.
Okay, in Elena's portfolio and audition tape, all her "warrior inspired" clothes look like something Janet Jackson would wear in the video "Scream" (remember that? It was awesome). But week after week she's just been presenting larger and larger clothes that make her model look less like a warrior and more like an agoraphobic who's trying to make a house out of her clothes that she can hide in. Next week I expect her to make a neutral-coloured turtle shell and just have the model's eyes and hands poking out.
Oooh! Sharp! This was my favourite look this week. The only thing I didn't like was the length of the part that hangs down on the side. It's WAY too long! But if that were shorter, it would be fantastic! And that jacket is great. I wonder if it can actually close? But it reminds me of another jacket we've seen on the PR runway before, only I can't think of which one. Does anyone know?
The Judging:
The guest judges are Rachel Roy (awesome!) and Hayden Panettiere (careful, she'll date you and then try to get you kicked off the show!).
The Safe Words:
Gunnar, Melissa, Nathan, Ven, Alicia and Elena are all safe. Gunnar is "flabbergasted" because apparently he thought he would win (he's so delusional) and Melissa thinks Fabio will win (WHAT? Was she being sarcastic?)
The Tops:
Sonjia's model is stunning, but I wanted to tell her to stand up straight. Was she slouching? Or was it just the fabric of the dress that made her look like she had a mysterious third boob just above her waist? But the judges loved her dress (it was pretty good, except for the odd bunching). Plus, Sonjia is like a fashionable Tootie Ramsay from Facts of Life!
Christopher's dress and jacket look modern and expensive and the judges all love it. I wonder if he would have won if the side drape hadn't been so long. Tiny little Hayden Panettiere would have tripped on that and broken her tiny leg!
Dmitry can definitely sew and I think it'll keep him around for quite a few challenges, but he just couldn't grab the win this week.
The Bottoms:
The judges were understandably confused how someone as interesting as Fabio can make clothes that are so uninteresting. He's wearing a turban and ropes! Yet his model is wearing something you could get at Old Navy (but at Old Navy the pattern would line up in the back).
It was pretty obvious that Buffi was in trouble. Like Rachel Roy said, if your look only works when you add a belt, it's not really a garment. Like Michael Kors said, it's a hairdressing smock covering a badly made dress.
I think Raul really should have gone home. Not only was this his second chance, but it was also his "opportunity to make a suit," according to him. Since he's a menswear designer, he should be able to make a suit! But this is...I'm running out of synonyms for "awful." The t-shirt looks like it's broken, the pants are pieced together with a series of accidents and oopsies, and the vest is just an insult to the human body. I cannot stress enough how much I dislike this.
The Results:
Sonjia WINS! I was surprised it wasn't Christopher but it was a solid win. Besides, Hayden wanted to wear the winning dress to a red carpet event, so that tipped it in Sonjia's favour. Go Tootie!
Buffi is OUT. While it's legitimate that she was auf'd, I was sad to see Raul stay over her. I do think that whenever a designer comes back after being eliminated, they should have to prove themselves all the more because they've already been given a second chance that the others didn't get. So if a second chance designer is in the bottom three, I think they should usually be the one to go home. Plus, Buffi's so nice! I think the other designers will miss her, especially in the team challenge next week.
Next Week:
TEAM CHALLENGE! Plus, it looks like it's for Nina, which is always a nightmare for the designers. Looks like there will be tears. If only Buffi were there to keep everyone smiling!
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