Project Runway Recap: The Top 6 say "What, we're supposed to inspire ourselves??!!"


So, how'd that turn out?

Last night the Top 6 were asked to create a companion piece "inspired" by their "winning look", oh wait, no. We better call that their "best look", seeing as poor Logan, he of the hipster skinny jeans and disaffected voice, has never won. Or even been in the top.

A fact you'll hear quite a few times throughout the episode, not only from him, but from the other designers. Yes, folks, finally some claws (other than Irina's) start to come out. And the somewhat surprising source: Althea. She, the refugee from the 70s, has started to get her ego on.

At least, lucky for Logan, they do pick his early Red Carpet gown for the challenge, which was a very good effort.

They will have 30 minutes to sketch and $100 to spend at Moon, and it's a one-day challenge. (Which always really means one and a half days.)

What did we learn this week?

-That apparently Malvin's diaper pants can get rave reviews if...well, I'll be honest, I'm not sure what was better about Althea's diaper pants, other than that they were in black not white. Which is pretty significant, I guess. I mean nothing will make diaper pants look more like diapers than being diaper-colored, I guess.
-That Gordana's lack of self-confidence is pretty deep-rooted. I mean, listen to her talk about her humble roots and her parents who were "just farmers". ouch. No wonder her idea of "standing up for her design and herself" is to say, "Well, I like it." Oh. Well, in that case.
-That Irina's nickname is "Mean-a Irina", which is pretty funny.
-That Althea can be Mean-a too.
-That Althea's crossover to the dark side might be inspired by Mean-a Irina, given Irina was sitting next to her like a devil on her shoulder, egging her on, into some of her best catty work.
-That they're all getting a bit paranoid, which isn't surprising given they're in this high-pressure and isolated bubble of existence right now. Althea thinks Logan stole her zipper collar idea from her. Irina thinks Althea stole her oversize sweater idea from her. Because nobody has ever made oversize sweaters before. They were both similar drab colors, which made the resemblance more striking, but come on.

Let's move on to the show, where former contestant Nick Verreos is now a judge in MK's stead (and a teacher somewhere too), joined by ninagarcia and, randomly, actress Kerry Washington.

And if I may digress for a moment: They really shouldn't script Heidi to say, "This is the hardest decision we've ever had to make this season", when she's talking to a panel of judges for whom it's the only decision they've ever had to make this season. Because then it sounds like the royal "we", and that's just lame.

Moving on (and as always click on the designer's name to see a picture of their outfit):

1. Carol Hannah designed another cute dress, big surprise coming from the dressmaker. Actually, it's no surprise, btu what is a surprise is that no one said: Hey I think I've seen about 100 dresses exactly like this shorter, black version of the Marilyn Monroe Seven Year Itch silhouette. Sure, this one may use some sheer overlay on the skirt and some piping on the halter bodice, but this is not only the only thing Carol Hannah has ever done (dresses) it's something that's been done many many times before. In other words Bo. Ring. But no one said that.

2. Althea, I clearly just don't get her. I hated the "winning look" by which this look was to be inspired. So, nu surprise, I don't understand how Althea's look last night garnered the kudos. Totally unflattering black paperbag waist capri pants. I thought the combo of the volume around the stomach and the capri length was massively unflattering. Look at the back view! hideous. Then there was a white tank top with lots of stripy straps. We're back to no bra wearing, or maybe there's some construction going on in there, but it makes the model look floppy. Finally a big old gray kimono-sleeved cardigan. So what? Cannot believe this won. [Spoiler alert.]

3. Logan went overboard with a fairly good idea. This was basically a black mini halter dress that used zippers to create seams, hems, collars. I jot the judges' Judy Jetson references, but I actually didn't mind this that much. At least it was interesting, and not just a boring black dress or another ill-fitting tank top and diaper pants.

4. Irina was a little too literal for my taste. OK, I know the point was to be inspired by your winning outfit, but is it really OK to just create a Frankenstein love child out of it? Irina basically took the fabric of her cowl sweater and made it the shape of her vest, adding sleeves with the trim from that vest and voila!! Oh, and under it there was this short, tight, "The Real Housewives of Aspen" brocade dress. Which fit like a glove and was well-made, I'll certainly give her that. I just didn't think it was a very seamless connection between the pieces, nor that it was all that creative.

5. Gordana made an error in styling more than anything else. She created a black skirt with horizontal pleating and gray jacket with an unconstructed collar, rough seams and many, many darts and seams. I might actually wear these pieces. But the way she presented it made it look like she was thinking a little too hard about her drab, poor upbringing in the Soviet Bloc. No jewelry, no hair style, limited make-up. I didn't think the outfit itself was sad, so much as the utter lack of drama surrounding it.

6. Christopher should have stopped at the knees. He had a simple, elegant black halter dress that included some of his signature petals around the hem and across the back. And then he had a big, long petticoat underneath. He also had these rosettes hanging down the model's back like a pair of fuzzy dice. Take away the petticoat. Take away the fuzzy dice. You might have something there.

So, since there are only six, they all stayed on stage.

The judges praised:
Carol Hannah for a basic black cocktail dress
Althea for a hideous bunch of separates
Irina for copycatting herself

Althea got the win, but honestly last night's efforts were bad all the way around. This is not the most inspiring bunch. Not. At. All.

They ripped:
Logan for sending Judy Jetson down the runway
Gordana for sending a Eastern bloc prison matron down the runway
Christopher for sending someone who got dressed in bed and took the bed with her down the runway

And Logan was out. (I was a little surprised. I thought either Gordana would go. BUt it was all so bad, it was hard to predict.)

But. What did you think?

Posted: Fri - October 30, 2009 at 08:04 AM       EmailFeedback

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