Project Runway Fodder

Project Runway: Winner is Announced

2008-10-17T01:46:03Z

Well, after all of that hard work, it is finally over. I can't really say they went out with a bang. It was more of a ppfffffffttttt sound. The designers put their heart souls and $8000 into their collections, and in the end, I think they all had problems as a collection.

Jennifer Lopez was originally going to be the guest judge, but was injured and not able to make it. At the last minute they had to find a substitue judge. Guess who they asked? The incredibly elegant and dapper Tim Gunn! Yeah. I adore Tim. He is always encouraging and guiding, no matter what the desginers are putting together. The funniest part of the episode was when Kenley found out that Tim was going to be the judge, she said something to the effect of "Wow, if I would have known that I would have been nicer to him." Um, Kenley, dear, you should have been nice to him anyway. Youth is definitely wasted on the young.

Leanne's collection had some beautiful pieces that all used the wave motif her previous sketching inspired. Her wedding dress is truly lovely, as is the bridesmaid dress she made to accompany it. My biggest problem with Leanne's collection is the lack of color. The only colors we saw in the WHOLE collection were white, beige and the same light turquoise. Snore. It could have been so much more lively and exciting if there would have been some more color to look at. I will say this for Leanne, from her very first creation for Project Runway to her collection at Bryant Park, she matured a lot as a designer and learned very quickly how to edit and present her design concepts. Bravo Leanne!

Korto used brilliant color throughout her designs. Vivid greens, bright oranges, creamy yellows and tempered them all with a dark beige as well. The colors were breathtaking. Her garments were lovely. She decided to scrap her wedding dress and her bridesmaid dress and make two entirely new pieces in the two days she had left. Talk about ambition. In the end, I think she made the right decision. The alternate pieces she presented were much nicer than the overworked originals. The major criticism she got from the judges was that some of her pieces looked overworked. Her creations remind me of Uli's. Not in style or look, but the flow and ease. People can actually WEAR her clothes! What a concept. Can you tell who I think should have won?

Kenley also used lots of brilliant colors. She spent a lot of time painting the fabrics herself, which is commendable. My problem with her collection was that it was way too reminiscent of the 1980's. Big shoulders, garish colors (that didn't fit cohesively in a collection) and way too many outfits that had poofy hips. Who the hell wants their hips to look BIGGER. (and not just a little bigger). In the end, her collection inspired by Alice in Wonderland looked more costumey to me than anything else. I hope that this experience teaches her that she needs to learn to take constructive crisicism and input that into her work. No one is going to overlook her attitude when she goes to sell her designs.

All in all, I think that Korto should have won the prize. Of all of them, her collection was vivid and cohesive. Unfortunatley for me, (and Korto), the judges decided that Leanne would be the winner of Project Runway. Congratulations Leanne and good luck with your collection.

Project Runway: Down the Aisle

2008-10-10T02:07:07Z

As you may remember, last week the judges couldn't decide who should go home. So, instead, they decided to give all of th designers $8000 to go and create a collection for Bryant Park, but only three of them would acutally compete. The caveat? They had to include a wedding dress that would go with their collection. The wedding dress would be the piece they are getting judged on. They all go home to start their collections.

They have two months to get inspired and create their collections. The collections each need to have 10 pieces. (don't forget the wedding dress). Tim makes his seasonly pilgrimage to visit each of the designers at home and hang out with them and their families.

Korto -- has set up shop in an artist colony. She is using the woods and breathtaking view around her to gather inspiration. The collection we see uses lots of bold colors and beadwork. So far it looks quite nice. The wedding dress, however, needs a bit of work. It is a beige color that just doesn't do it for me.

Jerell -- is working at home. His collection is completely Jerell. Lots of layered looks with toooooooooooooooo much stuff. It looks to me like he is just layering fabric over fabric over fabric because he can. Tim advises him to take a serious editorial eye to the work. his wedding dress has waaaaaay to much fabric IMHO and the bodice is just too busy with beads and poof that come off te chest.

Leanne -- is working at home as well. She spent a few days by the sea (Mr. Todd, ooh, I know you'll love it) sketching and garnering inspiration. Waves have proven to be her theme. She is layering the fabric in wave patterns that look quite attractive. Her wedding dress is full of waves, but in a good way. Tim suggests that she take a critical eye and edit her design. She is the only one that I think took Tim's suggetion to heart. She edited her gown and it really turned out lovely.

Kenley -- also working at home. She seems to be on a rope theme according to Tim, she says it is because she grew up on ships. Well, OK. The wedding dress she comes up with has a VERY poofy tulle bottom with a fitted top made entirely of flowers. It was rather nice and interesting. (It turns out, that according to Michael Kors, a MUCH more fanous designer just put out a look very similar -- poor Kenley).But all in all, it was nice.

They all travel back to New York to take their wedding dresses down the runway for the last competition. But wait, it can't be that simple! There is another challenge waiting for them. They have 1 day to create a bridesmaid dress to go along with their wedding dress. ARGH! Aren't they done yet? So, they all run off to Mood to get fabric so they can start working. Here's my runway impressions of the bridesmaid outfits, as I already gave you my wedding dress impressions:

Jerell -- horrific. He chose a semi-glossy blue fabric that was not made at all well. It puckered and was wrinkled everywhere. He had flowers coming out of the side near the bodice. it just didn't work. He mentioned to Korto that bridesmaid dresses were supposed to be ugly, and he definitely hit the mark.

Korto - Meh. The bridesmaid dress was made from the same color fabric, which is the first big no-no. It was a short pleated halter top dress that was very un-inspiring. Sorry Korto, but this was a miss.

Kenley -- made a very cute short blue dress with a see-through mesh top that was made very well and complimented the wedding dress nicely.

Leanne -- adorable cream and light teal-blue short dress that used the wave pattern across the bodice with a lovely effect. Really nice. I liked it.

Bottom line, someone has to go. This week it was Jerell. He was my pick too. So the three designers that will be competing at Fashion Week are Leanne, Kenley and Korto. I am looking forward to seeing their collections come down the runway.

Project Runway: And Then There Were Three or Not

2008-10-03T00:42:35Z

There are only 4 designers left this week and they are all on pins and needles (sorry) anticipating Bryant Park and Fashion Week. Tim takes them on a fieldtrip to the New York Botanical Gardens. They are each given a camera and an hour to find inspriation in nature. The gardens are truly lovely, and I am definitely putting it on my need to see if I ever manage to get to New York.

The pressure is definitely getting to all of the designers. Tears, rants, and taunts are in huge evidence this time. No one seems to get along with Kenley, but I blame her for that more than anyone else. She has been nothing but combative and condescending to everyone. Including the judges! Get a grip! You are not all that Kenley, You ARE talented, but you need to learn to take criticism.

Alright, let's get to the outfits.

Leanne finds inspiration in a lavendar plant. She makes a lavender dress with lots of ruffles going along the bodice and all along the dress. It is a very different look for her, more soft and flowy. I was not terrible impressed.

Korto was inspired by a beautiful flower that had petals that were almost like elongated tear drops in beautiful orange and yellow colors. The dress she made had the same colors in the flower and she added some lace here and there. The dress was made very well and it fit the model perfectly, but it was rather static. Not my favorite of her designs.

Jerell was inspired by a beautiful purple rosebush. His dress had a bodice that had a lovely beaded pattern on it with a long skirt and lots and lots of layers. Again, it wasn't his finest work. All I wanted to do was reach through the TV and pull up the bodice. It was soooooo low!

Kenley found these textured leaves for her inspiration. The dress she created looked like it belonged in a bad Kung Fu movie. The dress is floor length with a dog collar like top and these hideous scale-like (that's what she wanted, Heidi!) things on the bottom. Yikes.

In my opinon, no one did a good job this time. They had two days to pull of their looks, but I was completely disappointed with all of them. Honestly, I cannot even pick a winner. It was just too sad. This was an unbelieveably disappointing last episode before Bryant Park. *sigh*

The Winner -- Jerell, barely.

Auf'd -- no one yet. Since they couldn't decide who to send home, they are letting them all create collections for Bryant Park, but only three of them will be able to show and compete. I certainly hope that they will do a better job on their collections than they did in this challenge. Make it work, people!

Project Runway -- Fashion and Music

2008-09-25T03:14:46Z

This week leaves 5 designers waiting to see who will make it to Bryant Park. Heidi meets the designers on the runway along with their models. It is once again time to choose new models. Most of the designers stay with their models, but Leanne chooses to steal Tia from Suede, much to the chagrin of the model she has been with this whole time. All is fair in love and fashion.

This week, Tim tells them that they will be designing for each other. What? Yup they will be the models for this week. Which begs the question, WHY did they have to choose new models this week? Couldn't it have waited for next week? Duh. Ah, well, who knows what things are in producers minds. Not only do they have to design for each other, but their inspiration must come from a music style. And not one of their choosing. The velvet bag is back and chooses their client as well as their music style.

It breaks down like this: Suede -- designing for Jerell with a music style of Rock N Roll. (not that unbelievable) Leanne -- designing for Korto with a music style of Country. Uh, yes, have some. Jerell -- designing for Kenley with a music style of Pop. Kenley Spears here we come. Kenley -- designing for Leanne with a music style of Hip Hop. Yup, you heard right dog! Korto -- designing for Suede with a music style of Punk. Edgy.

Everyone gives great lip service to the fact that they will not throw their fellow designers under the bus, yet they tell a different story to the cameras. It IS a competition after all. They get 1 hour to consult with their clients and then they all head off to Mood to but fabric.

Ok, I am just going to say it, Kenley needs to get laid. No really. She is so ridiculously uptight. Sorry. Had to be said. And she has NO IDEA what Hip Hop looks like. Even though the other designers and Tim try to tell her. Whatever -- they don't know what they're talking about.

OK Runway Impressions --

Korto -- really does look a little bit country. Leanne created a long black skirt with a fuschia colored blouse with "country" pocket embellishments and a wide gold belt with cowboy boots.

Jerell -- looks like Jerell. Suede's outfit of black form-fitting jeans, a black vest and a patterned tank was OK. Not great, but not extraordinary either.

Kenley -- looks exactly like Kenley Spears. The outfit Jerell designed is a short black skirt with a fishnet top that has silver cups to hide the, well, you know what. It has a high spangled collar with knee high go-go boots. Really a great job.

Leanne -- Very high waisted and fitted (albeit poorly) jeans with a flower patterned top and a ridiculously short jacket. This is the antithesis of Hip Hop. Tim tries in vain to steer her in another direction, but she won't have any of it.

Suede -- is the epitome of punk. Korto created a black jean that she bleached to create a new texture and color patern with a sleeveless shirt that has chains and a ripped-like pattern sewn in. Fantastic job Korto. And let me just say that Suede knows how to work a runway.

My Winner -- Korto, My Auf-- Kenley.

Judge's Winner -- Korto, Auf'd -- Suede.

I have to say that this was a totally unfair auf. Kenley's outfit was so much worse in scope and fit and style than Suede's was. I am really upset about it all. There is no way that Kenley embodied Hip Hop more than Suede did Rock N Roll. Boo Hoo Judges. I am crying FOUL. Sorry, Suede. You should not have gone home.

Oh, I forgot to mention that the guest judge was L L Cool J. No really, and Kenley still wasn't auf'd! Grrrrrrrrr. L L is promoting a new clothing line -- big surprise. I wonder if Lifetime will be as much of a sponsorship whore as Bravo is. Ah well, we shall see.

Project Runway -- News of the New Season

2008-09-23T13:25:16Z

According to OMG, Lindsay Lohan will be the special gvuest judge for the new season when it premeires on Lifetime next January.

The tentative date for the premiere is January 20th, 2009. Let's hope that Lindsay can stay out of trouble long enough to "make it work".

Project Runway -- And Then There Were 6...

2008-09-18T13:18:42Z

Heidi meets the designers on the runway and brings out a line of middle-aged women. Everyone assumes this is the mom challenge, but apparently no one is related to the women they bring out. Heidi explains that these are the moms of the clients they will be designing for. Then the "real" clients come out. Six young ladies all recent college graduates are here for a complete make-over. Hair, clothes, the works.

The designers are paired up via the glorious black velvet bag, Heidi just picked names and went down the list. They all get 30 minutes to talk with their clients and figure out what they are going to make. Some of the groups got along well with their designer, others were less cooperative. Leanne got the group that had the most opinions (and you know the phrase, opinions are like _____, everybody has one). There wasn't a whole lot of drama in the workroom this time, at least not that they aired. I mean no one was lableled lazy for not making sleeves or anything, so let's get right to the runway impressions.

1. Joe -- totally missed the mark. Created a 3 piece suit-like garment with pinstripes and a shirt that was also striped that just was not in the least flattering to his client. It was such an outdated view of women in the work world it was laughable.

2. Leanne -- Simple blue dress with a patterned top that you couldn't see because it was hidden by this gray jacket with huge fluffy buttons that cut the client in half and made her look very frumpy. It was better without the jacket.

3. Jerell -- Brown, brown, brown that is all I saw in this out fit. Short skirt, tank and jacket combo. To me boring and brown. Meh.

4. Korto -- Cute short green patterned dress with a very well made tailored jacket that fit absolutely perfectly. Nice job, as usual!

5. Suede -- Short dress with a purple, orange and brown print that was passable, but the jacket that he put over it was brown long sleeves with a ruffle-cuff and just plain bad.

6. Kenley -- floral print dress (what a surprise) with a brown vest and wide cream colored belt. Not my favorite by any means, but not as horrific as others.

My Winner -- Korto, My Auf -- Joe

Judges Favorites -- Kenley, Korto, Jerell

Judge's Winner -- Jerell

Auf'd -- Joe

As a side note, for those of you that don't know, Bryant Park has already happened this past weekend, of course we won't see it on the show for a few weeks, but if you just can't wait, you can do a search and be able to see some of the designs that went down the runway. See ya next week!

Two Designers Get Auf'd on Project Runway

2008-09-12T01:07:44Z

This week the designers are thrown quite a few curveballs. Heidi meets them on the runway and brings out the special helpers for this week. It turns out to be all of the designers that were previously eliminated. She tells them that they will be partnering up with one of them for this challenge, and she assures them that they will not have the opportunity to return. They do not get to choose the partner they have. Tim meets them in the workroom with the velvet bag. He goes by their zodiac signs when he chooses partners from the bag.

The challenge this week is to create an avant-garde look inspired by one of the team members zodiac sign. They chose among themselves which sign they wanted to use. The designers were paired up thusly: Jerell and Jennifer, Blayne and Stella, Terri and Keith, Joe and Daniel, Kenley and Wesley, Korto and Kelli, Leanne and Emily, Suede and Jerry (remember him first one gone with the horrendous horror-film lab assistant?)

Some of the teams get along very well. Others did not. Terri and Keith were worse than oil and water - no really! She didn't even let him cut the fabric. Honestly, I'm not sure what he did do. Mostly they just showed him asking her what he could do and Terri either ignoring him or telling him nothing. Way to use your resources Terri. Some of the creations really do look avant-garde. Some others look ridiculous. No, even more ridiculous than almost anything we have seen so far. Who woulda thunk it was possible.

They are told they will have 2 days to finish their creation. When they arrive on day two, there is an invite for them. Heidi wants them to showcase their designs that evening at 8:00! Four hours sooner than they thought and also, there will be TWO designers elimiated this week instead of just one. Remember the thing about curveballs. This was one low and inside.

They arrive at the Planetarium (where the reception was being held) and are greeted by Heidi and lots of designers from past seasons. They will be the judges and the judging will happen tonight at the party. They will still put their designs down the runway, but at that point the decision will already have been made. Interesting concept and curveball two.

Runway impressions:

Suede and Jerry -- chose Libra and they made a blue and gray pantsuit with these scale-like things hanging from the back. Really it just looked cheap. Suede is lucky that Suede's competition screwed up even more.

Leanne and Emily -- chose Scorpio (best sign ever) -- made a short red dress that had a black exoskeleton-like circles and curves that came over the top and wrapped around. It was nice and I definitely GOT the Scorpio part.

Korto and Kelli -- chose Aquarius and pulled it off really well. They created a blue flowy gown with scallop like shoulders it was lovely and flowy. Nice.

Kenley and Wesley -- chose Aquarius as well and didn't come up with any thing close. They made this HUGE poofy sleeves -- think costume, think the poofiest 80's sleeves prom dress and multiply it by about 10,000! No REALLY! It was made out of a purple plaid and it had a short flower patterned skirt. I cannot even fathom what she was thinking. Horrific!

Joe and Daniel -- chose Aries fire sign. They created a lovely dress using reds, golds and oranges. There were multiple ruffles and a cute short jacket. Definitely fire sign, absolutely adorable.

Terri and Keith -- Leo was their inspiration. At the Planetarium the night before, this dress had a huge faux-fir collar. The dress is long and golden and not spectacular. She gets bad vibes from the past season designers and removes the collar and adds this equally hideous red poofy sleeved thing (what is WITH the poofy sleeves) Yuck. The dress was bad, but her attitude toward her teammate was worse.

Blayne and Stella -- also chose Libra but did an even worse job than Suede and Jerry. They made this corset-like nude colored body suit with some leather bindings and unbelieveable swatches no, not swatches, bolts?, yes BOLTS of fabric coming out of one side only. Juvenile - my four year old could have made it. Michael Kors hit it right on the nail -- She looks like she's pooping fabric.

Jerell and Jennifer -- Sagttarius was their inspiration. They made a long check patterned skirt with a short spaghetti strapped sequinsed top and a jacket with a really out there outerspace like pattern and sleeves with lots of layers.

Judges Favorites -- Jerell, Korto and Joe. Judges Least Favorites -- Blayne, Kenley, Terri and Suede. My winner Jerell, my Auf's Blayne and Kenley.

Winner -- Jerell!

Auf'd -- Blayne and Terri.

It looks like next week will have even more drama than this week did. I can't wait to see what it turns out to be. See ya then.

News on Project Runway's Station Move

2008-09-08T13:10:46Z

Now, all of you project Runway fans know that the show is moving from Bravo! to Lifetime. We all thought is was happening this fall, but according to Hollywood Insider they will not be running the show until January! Also according to EW.com, there is major lawsuit involving both networks and the show itself.

It would appear that Bravo! was not happy with letting this show go to another network. NBC/Universal alleges that Weinstien Co. did not give them first refusal for the new season.

Lifetime says they just want more time to give Project Runway more advertising (as if they are not already advertising whores -- oops, did I say that?) to give them the best start possible. Also according to EW.com, this has nothing to do with advertising and everything to do with Lifetime being able to get all their ducks in a row to start production.

In truth, it doesn't really matter WHY they will not have a fall start. I mean, it's not like the writers' strike would have an effect on this show the way it devastated Lost and Heroes (I'm sure there are others, but those are my favorites). Ah, well, unfortunately it is us fans that have to deal with the repercussions of all this studio problems.

I hope that studios (movie and television) realize that they can only push the consumer so far before they encounter a backlash. I mean right now, I am still planning on seeing Harry Potter next June, but I am really angry about the start date change. I am more forgiving of Lifetime as they do not have the show "in the can" so to speak.

At least we can take comfort from the fact that we still have a few weeks to see what creations Korto, Suede, Kenley, Jerell, Leanne, Blayne and the rest will come up with. Hang in there!

A True Fashion Challenge on Project Runway!

2008-09-05T00:36:18Z

This week the contestants get to design for a true fashion icon! Tim takes the contestants into the Meat-packing district to get their challenge. They meet Diane Von Furstenberg. WOW! They are to create a look for her fall collection that goes along with her theme "Foreign Affair" -- no, silly the movie! She is basing her creations on Marlena Dietrich's character. The winning look will be produced and sold to American Express card holders with proceeds going to the CFDA. Finally! A real fashion challenge! (and REAL fashion judge)!

They get their fabrics from Diane's own storehouse. Amazing! They have 30 minutes to find what they need. There are fantastic looking fabrics everywhere you look. It was amazing. They are also given a Look Book of the new collection so that they can see what kind of look the collection has. The look book is filled with lots of layers and sheik spy/shanghai/woman about town.

There wasn't much drama in the episode this week, so let's get to the outfits!

Blayne -- short black capri-like pant with really really bad poofy legs. With a black jacket that is not bad and of course a bright colored shirt.

Jerell -- three piece outfit that is color-challenged. He put an electric blue belt with a long jacket and a short skirt. Bleech! Jerell for me is either right on or waaaaaaay off. Guess which one it was today?

Joe -- Shanghai inspired outfit that was badly made. Just badly made. The hood/cape he made was cute and the shirt with the frog buttons was a good color, but the seams didn't match up in the back. Yikes.

Kenley -- took a flowery print (who woulda thunk it?) and made a short dress with black lace to break up the print. It was a nice dress, but it had nothing to do with the challenge really.

Stella -- Pants with a halter top of the same fabric and a magician-like cape. No kidding. Poorly made too. Ouch.

Leanne -- Beautiful long blue gown with ruffles on the back and a short cropped trench coat. Lovely really quite beautiful.

Korto -- Long dress in a black and white print with a splash of yellow silk in the front and along the halter-like sleeves. The print is gorgeous! It also had a short black off the shoulder. Very nice!

Suede -- God awful print that is reminiscent of I don't know what. Just yuck and he made a floor length dress out of it with a short vest that was even worse if that is possible.

Terri -- Pant, Jacket, Shirt combo -- yet another surprise! At least it looked nice.

Judges favorites -- Leanne, Kenley and Korto. Judges least favorites -- Suede, Stella and Joe. My winner -- Korto, my Auf -- Suede.

Winner -- Leanne

Auf'd -- Stella

This was a true fashion challenge. Kudos Bravo TV!!! See ya next week!

Project Runway Hits a New Low

2008-08-29T00:57:30Z

Well, the issue of corporate sponsorship has always been prevalent in Project Runway -- Tresseme and Loreal salons, Blue Fly accessory wall etc. But this time they went too far! A car company (that I refuse to name) was promoting their new cars. The designers had to use car parts to make their outfits this week. Now, don't get me wrong I like difficult challenges, but this wasn't difficult it was ridiculous.

So, the designers all run to the cars that are stocked with extra things they could use to make their outfits -- lots and lots of seatbelts, car seats and rubber car mats. Woo Hoo (can you see the sarcasm dripping off your screen?

There were lots of struggles getting the material to work, of course, but not too many squabbles shown during the episode. They focused most on Kevin's self-destruction. He was paranoid about how poorly he did in the last challenge. He couldn't get it together at all. Spent lots of time wallowing in despair and gloom. I was so disgusted by this challenge, I will get right to the outfits.

Leanne -- makes a short black dress with these bizzare bumps on each hip. They are so huge, she actually has to stuff them with muslin to make them stay up. Yikes.

Keith -- skirt out of seatbelts that is so poorly made, he tells his model not to sit down in it. Of course, she does and is splits and he has to try and fix it at the last minute. There was also a sleeveless top to go with. Yuck.

Blayne -- When will he learn to fit a garment? Long shaggy dress from seatbelts with pieces of broken mirror glued to the bodice. It stuck out all over the place because he didn't fit it to his model right. Grrr.

Jerell -- he's back! Cute futuristic looking skirt and top. He actually used plastic parts from the car and molded them into the outfit. It looked great. Nice job

Joe -- Kinda sporty looking, racy-looking outfit with short short sleeves and a red panel down the middle. Passable.

Kenley -- was dealt a blow towards the end of the challenge. Her model had to leave the competition and she had to use someone else. This threw her into all sorts of fits. In truth I can't blame her because she spent all that time fitting it to one person to have to make it work on someone else -- who is bigger, so she needs to change everything. Mid length black skirt with air filters she designed a zebra-ish pattern on at the waist with a black vest. OK

Korto -- she took the time to weave the seatbelts together and made a really cool retro jacket out of it. fabulous 60's shape and the weave pattern looked stunning. Awesome.

Stella -- tried to step outside her box with no success. She tried to make a skirt and vest that really just looked sad. The skirt was from seatbelts and the vest was leather-esque. Just plain bad.

Suede -- made a dress from rubber car mats and cut up sun shades. It went over one shoulder and the top was the rubber part. There was fringe on the bottom from the sun shades. Probably the one that actually looked like he used car parts. Meh.

Terri -- made this really cool pants outfit. The pants were one color on the front and a different color on the back. The top has a cool woven pattern at the neck. It was a nice look.

My Winner -- Jerell, My Auf -- Blayne,

Judges Winner - Leanne (WHAT?)

Auf'd -- Keith

I certainly hope that next week will be better!

Drag Queens Take Over Project Runway

2008-08-21T02:25:32Z

I LOVE DRAG QUEENS! This has got to be one of the hardest challanges that PR has come up with. No really! You have to have just the right amount of "over the top" to design well for a Drag Queen. The designers find out about their challenge while they are seated near the runway. Heidi tells them that their next challenge will be told to them by a special guest. Flash to the silhouette of a gigantic Brunhilde (the opera singer with the horned helmet -- or Elmer Fudd with his spear and magic hewlmet). Enter designer Chris Marsh from PR season 4 decked out in full regalia! Chris makes a grand entrance and tells the designers that their next task is to design an outfit for a Drag Queen. Love it! Enter the Drag Queens:(as they describe themselves)

Farrah Moans -- if glamour and romance is your thing, then honey, I'm your queen.

Miss Understood -- I eat sequins for breakfast.

Sweetie -- Known as New York City's big titted honky soul momma.

Luisa Verde -- the first supermodel.

Hedda Lettuce -- If you don't make me look prettier than Heidi, I'll kill ya.

Sharon Needles -- Sometimes I'm good, sometimes I'm bad, but I'm always dangerous.

LeMay -- Definite love for vintage fashion. Annida Greenkard -- with a K and I'm your South American banquet.

Sherry Vine -- New York's sex Las Vegas Kitten.

Acid Betty -- Fiercest hybrid Drag Queen in New York City.

Varla Jean Merman -- a southern Ann Margaret on steroids.

They paired up the following way: Keith -- Sherry Vine, Daniel -- Annida Greenkard, Blayne -- Miss Understood, Kenley -- Farrah Moans, Joe -- Varla Jean Merman, Korto -- Sweetie, Suede -- Hedda Lettuce, Leanne -- Sharon Needles, Jerell - LeMay, Terri -- Acid Betty, Stella -- Lusia Verde. WOW! What a line up. THIS is going to be a show! The designers get time to meet them and get to know their style. They must portray the persona that their individual Drag Queen has, they will have $200 and two days to finish their designs that will all be auctioned off for Broadway Cares Equity Fights AIDS. I must say that is a cool idea.

The colors and sequins and fabrics that the designers come back with run the gamut. Bright, bold beautiful colors for everyone. Blayne's catch phrase (trying to be as Fierce as Christian last season) is not going over well with his comrades. If you haven't heard it, suffice to say he adds -licious to everything. I agree with Leanne barf-licious. And can I say that when the queens came back in their normal street clothes, Blayne appeared to be genuinely surprised that Miss Understood is male. Um, yeah get with it Blayne -- maybe all the tanning has seeped into his brain.

Watching the designers put their outfits together was a trip. Some got along well with their designers, others were super critical about everything. It will be very interesting to see what actually comes down the runway. Best quote of the night goes to Tim --It looks like a pterodactyl from a gay Jurrasic Park. HA! Alright, on with the runway descriptions:

Kenley -- Farrah has a flor length silver sequined dress with a slit all the way up one leg and a colar made out of huge black and white feathers. It was OK.

Blayne -- Miss Understood looks like a Drag Queen from outerspace and not in a good way. There are these appendages coming off the back of the outfit that first of all don't really go with the outfit and second aren't made well enough to stay where they are supposed to.

Joe -- Varla in a tight-fiting pink sequins suit that has a little bit of sailor and a little bit of stewardess. She looks great, and it appears that she loves her look. Nice job Joe!

Stella -- Leatha and plaid of all fabrics. Mostly black with striking swatches of this red and black plaid fabric. Meh

Suede -- Very short green dress with jacket and sleeves in Hedda's color green. Hedda definitely knows how to make an entrance. But I'm not convinced that she doesn't look a little godzillaish in this outfit. The material kind of has a scale-like pattern on it that lends itself to that look.

Daniel -- Long flowy dress with lots and lots of ruffles. It looks like she belongs on a beach or in a tropical commercial, but not on the runway.

Terri -- Now this is how you do over the top. She has these kimono like sleeves that Acid Betty comes out wearing with her arms outstretched to show them off. A red bustier with a short white skirt and lots of long fringe hanging everywhere. With the mohawk hair and geisha-esque make up, the outfit worked. Nice!

Jerell -- Sexy green and blue sequined outfit that had a colar that could pop up and around that face at the end for a great effect. Nice one.

Korto -- Red sequined form-fitting outfit with flame colored appendagesfrom one shoulder and a wrap around skirt that can be whipped off at the last minute for a look. It is just so-so.

Keith -- outift with fringe -- who woulda guessed? Only this one really looks more post-apocalyptic than drag queen. Not exciting at all.

Leanne -- Sharon does not look too happy to be in this outfit. It is a black short dress with all sorts of triangle shapes everywhere. (at least they are not half-circles). Again, more futurisic than truly drag queen.

The best part is that no matter what their outfit looked like, these ladies knew how to work a runway! They are all fabulous. I loved this challenge. It is important as an artist to step outside your comfort zone once in a while -- you never know what you might find.

My favorite --Terri, My Auf -- Keith

Judges Faves -- Terri, Joe, Korto

Judges lest Faves -- Keith, Jerell, Daniel

Winner -- Joe

Auf'd -- Daniel.

Tune in next week to see what they come up with!

Brooke Shields judges on Project Runway

2008-08-15T01:58:11Z

The excitement this week on Project Runway comes early on. Heidi tells the designers that they will be designing an outfit for a powerful corporate woman that they will meet later. Right away, their minds go to Hillary Clinton and they are scared to death. Now, come on, would Hillary really wear anything that a Project Runway designer would create? It is just not her style. The designers meet Tim in the workroom and he introduces the guest judge and client Brooke Shields. No, she is not looking for beachwear for Blue Lagoon 3. She is looking for an outfit for her character of Wendy on Lipstick Jungle.

It has to be a look that can go from office to evening easily. They are all given 30 minutes to sketch and then they will each present their ideas to Brooke. She will then choose 6 of the designs and the ones not chosen will partner with the "winners" to help them create their design. The desginers Brooke chose were Keith, Korto, Jerell, Kelli, Terri and Blayne. Tim choses their names randomly from a velvet bag --- what ELSE is in there? And they choose their partners thusly: Keith/Kenley, Terri/Suede, Korto/Joe, Kelli/Daniel, Jerell/Stella, Blayne/Leanne. Keith and Kenley have lots of spats about fabric, ultimately, Keith is able to asert his choices (with the help of Tim). Terri and Suede have difficulty with the cutting of the fabric, Suede cautions her that they may not have enough, but she doesn't listen and is unhappy with the results. Korto and Joe appear to get along well until Tim comes to check on them. Tim makes a comment about the shirt she has made which Joe echoes, yet he never bothered to say anything about it before. Korto then tells him -- I have immunity so if we loose, you are going to be the one going home, so speak up! Kelli and Daniel but heads everywhere. I think is stems from Daniel being upset that his design was not chosen and he's a bit upset. The skirt he makes is really hideous and Kelli makes him re-do it. Jerell and Stella do well together, she knows Letha and he uses it in the outfit. Blayne and Leanne are not given much camera time, so they must have worked well together.

Runway Impressions:

1. KortoJoe -- Short dress with a cute pumpkin colored jacket. The jacket is lovely, but the dress is sewn very poorly. Lots of gaps and wrinkles. It could have been very chic, if it would have been sewn better.

2. KelliDaniel -- Mid-length black skirt with a thin strapped bustier-type shirt with a jacket that had these (for lack of a better word) fins on the sides. Not interesting to me at all.

3.JerellStella -- Yeah! Jerell is back! I loved this outfit. Very fun print skirt with an interesting hem line and a very nice camel colored leather mid section with a fabulous belt and a short sleeved beige top. Really lovely. My fave so far. Nice to have you back Jerell!

4. KeithKenley -- Also a very nice dress with a high waist and brown skirt with lots of fringe-like things that give it some great movement. The top is a watercolored pattern that compliments it very nicely. Good job Keith!

5. TerriSuede -- Black Pants with flowy colorful blouse. Meh. That's my reaction -- Meh!

6. BlayneLeanne -- YIKES! This was supposed to be an office look that would translate to evening, it looks like she is ready to go to the beach with these clamdigger like skin tight pants and a blue almost bathing suit like top with what looks like it could be her boyfriends shirt thrown over it. Totally missed the mark.

Judges Favories: Jerell/Stella and Keith/Kenley

Judges Least Favorites: Kelli/Daniel and Blayne/Leanne

My favorite: Jerell

My Auf: Blayne

Winner: Keith

Auf'd: Kelli

It is always interesting to see how vaired the opinions of the judges are. Hmm. I can't wait for next week! Chris from last season is back in full costumed regalia! Their contest will be to design a look for a drag queen. Can't WAIT to see this episode. One clip has Tim describing something as "a pterodactyl out of a gay Jurrasic Park". See ya next week!

Project Runway: Olympic Challenge in Time for Bejing

2008-08-07T19:04:22Z

This week the designers are taken on another field trip by Tim. He escorts them to the Track and Field Museum. When they arrive, they are overwhelmed by the size of the arena. There is a lone figure roller-blading his way around the track. When he gets closer, we can see that it is the legendary Apolo Ohno, Olympic Winter Games star and winner of 5 medals, two of them gold. I remember watching his races. Apolo is awesome!

OK, back to the challenge! This week, the designers are to create a look for the opening ceremony of the summer Olympics for the women's team. How cool is that?!?!? They will have time to look at the memorabilia in the museum and then 1/2 hour at Mood to shop for their fabric. Some of the designers are truly inspired by the things they see in the museum. Others seem a bit lost. By the time they make it to Mood, most of them are settled in what they want to do and get. I am amazed that so many of the designers are not getting what I consider to be the traditional Olympic colors for the USA -- red, white and blue. Hmmmm.... we will see how this plays out on the runway.

1. Korto -- Striking white pantsuit very tailored and well-fitting with a sleeveless jacket that has red bands on the shoulder. Very nice

2. Suede -- Short dress with very poofy skirt and tulle underneath. Listen carefully Suede -- ENOUGH with the tulle! It had a white halter top and a skirt with red, white and blue stripes. Can Suede say Cheerleader?

3.Kelli -- Dark blue skirt with white outlines on the hips that I think were an extra piece of fabric and a red patterned top with a HUGE bow and no sleeves. Meh.

4. Joe -- the first one that looks sporty! Short white skort with blue and red accents along with USA printed on the skirt. Very adorable white jacket with a blue and red zipper. Very nice!

5. Leanne -- White tennis-dress-like shirt over white shorts with a funky half circle collar (again with the half circles!) Sporty but ugly.

6. Daniel -- Blue (almost purplish)cocktail-ish dress with red trim that is reminiscent of the Jackie-O period -- we needed the O-lympics.

7. Jerell -- Oh, how the mighty have fallen! Yikes! This was too insane to even think about, much less describe, but I'll try. Huge floppy hat, short cap sleeves blouse with ties and black pants and skirt with vertical and horizontal stripes and a belt that looked like a cummerbund. Oh, yeah don't forget the leggings too. Oh boy!

8. Stella -- Black leather pants and jacket with silver, red and blue stripes -- not Olympic, more futuristic biker chick. Missed the mark for me.

9. Keith -- where to begin? Poof short skirt with white sleeveless top with red and blue ties around the neck. The less said about it the better.

10. Terri- Long white pants with horizontal sriped mid-section and blue pinstriped jacket with a red ruffle-type thingy around the neck. Not bad, but not very Olymipc IMHO.

11. Jennifer -- Remember that this is for the Olymipcs. She had a gold striped skirt and blue jacket with gold embellishments. Hello -- Olympics?

12. Blayne -- White pantsuit with red and blue stripes here and there with one no-sleeve and one long sleeve. It was OK.

13. Kenley -- Again, this is supposed to be for the Olympics. Short skirt with blue plaid pattern and short white top. Cute dress, but not Olympic in any way.

Judges Favorites? Terry, Joe and Korto

Judges least Favorites? Jennifer, Daniel and Jerell

My Winner -- Joe

Judge's Winner -- Korto

My Auf -- Daniel

Judges' Auf -- Jennifer

Well, the best part of the episode was definitely seeing Apolo Ohno. He ROCKS! Tune in next week for what looks like some controversy, if the previews are to be believed.......

Project Runway Seeks Inspiration in New York

2008-07-31T13:09:12Z

This week Heidi tells the contestants that they are in for a night on the town. Now, if I had heard that, I would be concerned. For those of you that watch Top Chef, a night on the town means you are going somewhere to cook. Could the designers be going somewhere to sew? Sweat shop maybe? Whoever sews the most jeans in 3 hours wins? Lucliky for the contestants, they really did get a night out on the town. Well, sorta. It was raining so they were all given these hideous rain ponchos and wellington boots to wear. Tim then herded them all on a double decker tour bus for their night out.

The designers will be given cameras and let out at four different locations for an hour to "get inspired by New York". They are to make a dress for a night out on the town using New York at night for their inspiration. The first group gets dropped off at Columbus Circle. They are Suede, Daniel, Leanne and Jennifer. The group dropped off at Times Square is Blayne, Keith, Stella and Kenley. The New York Public Library is the destination for Korto, Kelli and Joe. Last, but not least, Greenwich Village will serve as inspiration for Terri, Emily and Jerell.

They all take tons of pictures and get back to their apartments around 1:15 a.m. The next morning, they must choose one picture as their inspiration. Once the choice is made, they travel to Mood to buy fabric. Yeah! They get to purchase their own fabrics this time. Woo Hoo.

Keith runs into a bit of bad luck when at the last minute his model drops out of the competition for personal reasons. Bummer. Suede needs to learn about pronouns. Blayne (that's an appliance, not a name) can be pretty scary. Alright, let's get back to the important stuff -- the designs!

The guest judge for this episode is Sanrda Bernhardt. Now, I am not sure what qualifies her as a fashion judge, but we do learn later that she has an up-coming show to promote. I guess conventional advertising doesn't work as well as getting on television. Now for the Runway Rundown.

1. Keith -- inspired by a picture of a wet piece of trash on the floor, produces a dress that to me looks like a piece of trash. No, really. The dress was ugly, but it definitely embodied trash.

2. Blayne -- inspired by a nice picture with great color makes a black dress with 3/4 sleeves that has a splash of color on mostly one side. At least the colors flowed well together.

3. Joe -- inspired by a chinese-esque lantern made a very cute black dress with a bodice that had a pattern very reminiscent of the picture. I really liked this one.

4. Emily -- Oh, Emily! Last week you did so well. Her inspiration was a long exposure shot of neon lights. Cool picture, not a cool dress. Black with these tropical colored ruffles. All her model needed was a big hat made of fruit. Yikes!

5. Leanne -- inspired by a grate of some kind that she said had a tree in it. She had a short black dress and she once again used those half-circle things all over the dress, but this time to her advantage. The skirt looked really quite lovely and she made a kind of tank top to go with it. Nice look.

6. Jennifer -- Inspired by a picture of a clock. Hmmmm....alrighty then. She made a blue and cream dress that screamed school marm to me, no way this was fit for a night on the town.

7. Jerell -- very nicely done olive colored long dress with ruffles done right! I thought it was quite lovely. Definitely my favorite so far.

8. Kelli -- had a very striking and original dress. It is very hard for me to describe because it is so untraditional. It is a short black/brown dress with a pattern sewn over the top, but the pattern was not congruous with the top. It was very striking, but hard to describe.

9. Daniel -- created a black and gold dress that was rather ho-hum. Boring and not remarkable at all. The good news is that it wasn't bad.

10. Kenley -- Well, uh this was a short dress with long sleeves in a garish pattern that to me was reminiscent of patio furniture -- no really! It also had a gauzy-tulle like poof on one side. Brrrrr. Yikes.

11. Suede -- Short length dress with a low v-neck and lots of work on the bodice in a lovely brown color. Nice, but not fabulous.

12. Stella -- Pant with halter top combo that was very well fitted. It was kind of biker chick chic. This is my new favorite so far. I thought it really captured the night life even though it was not a cocktail-like dress.

13. Korto -- Black Jumpsuit with halter top. It was Ok, but very plain, it could have used some color or a pattern.

14. Terri -- inspired by graffiti, she made a colorful backless dress with pants. Really flowy and lovely! The model looked fierce (there I said it). This one gets my vote!

My Favorite -- Terri

My Auf -- Emily

Judges Favorites -- Kenley(WHAT?), Terri and Leanne

Judges Hated -- Keith, Emily, Jennifer

Winner -- Kenley (again WHAT?)

Auf'd -- Emily

*sigh* I can't wait to see what turns up for next week! See you then!

Natalie Portman Guest Judges on "Project Runway"

2008-07-24T23:06:37Z

So, designers are always ready for new challanges. This one was very entertatining to watch too. The designers all got to choose new models. For those of you new to PR, it is kind of a contest for the models too. If they happen to be working with the winning designer, they will get a spread in Elle magazine. Although, I suppose that it really isn't so much a contest for them as it is dumb luck that they get picked by the winning designer. Some of the designers stayed with the models that they had and others went for a different look. They were all excited to find out that their clients for this week would be -- their newly chosen models! They were to design evening wear suited to their clients' taste. How EASY that would be for them!

There are, of course, a few catches. First, this is PR's first green challenge. No, not the color, but the fabric. They must choose environmentally concientious fabrics, hemps, cotton and such. The designers were all gung ho about that -- it's always good to be fashion forward. The big shocker was a little more upsetting. This week, the designers were not going to pick out their fabric or materials. The models were being sent to Mood to choose fabrics, colors, closures and the like. Dun dun dun! Another first for PR, models choosing fabrics. It was pretty funny watching the models go through the fabric store in 30 minuntes with their $75. There was a lot of "I don't know anything about fabric!" Truly it is a wonder that they could be models and not have any idea even what colors would look good together, or that jersey t-shirt style cotton was not appropriate for an evening look. Yikes! That is not even the worst of it. Admittedly, I have no idea how much fabric is needed for clothing, but I sure know that 2 yards is not nearly enough. I think that would have been my main concern as a designer -- telling the models how much fabric they needed. Wow. As you can imagine there were a lot of short dresses on the runway.

And it also need to be said -- if Suede keeps speaking in third person, I am going to start calling him Bob Dole! There I have gotten that off my chest. And I know that sponsorship makes or breaks a show, but do we constantly need to hear the names of the sponsors over and over and over? The prize this week is not immunity. The winning design will be produced and sold by one of the sponsors. I shy away from mentioning them because I think they get enough press, but suffice it to say they supply the accessories.

Now for the creations! Here they are in the order they came down the runway.

1. Keith -- Champagne colored short cocktail dress ith poofy bottom that is tied behind the neck. It was OK, no wow from me.

2. Terri -- navy fabric with black patterned bodice and navy ruffle around the neckline. Short and cute, but definitely did not scream eveningwear to me.

3. Wesley -- the first of the shiny brown fabric dresses. Very short dress, boring, extremely poorly sewn and did not fit the model at all.

4. Jerell -- blue fabrics with a halter-like top and fringe on the bottom. It was nicely patterned with a thick choker/collar. This was the first one I actually liked.

5. Jennifer -- knee length dress with lots of flow. The fabric was gray and orange which looked terrible to me. I think I would have liked this design if the colors would have been different.

6. Daniel -- short black cocktail dress with 1/2 cap sleeves. Cute, but not spectacular.

7. Joe -- again with the shiny brown fabric. Knee length dress with cute circle cut out of the bodice with sparkly spaghetti straps. Was the best use of the brown fabric.

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8. Suede -- short cocktail dress made with numerous fabric strips that he had sewn together in a pattern with tulle under the skirt for poof. This one was cuter on the runway than I thought it would be watching him make it.

9. Kenley-- champagne colored dress with a collar reminiscent of english choir boys. No really that was all I could think about when I saw it. For me, boring.

10. Kelli -- Short form fitting dress with ruffled colar in blue and champaign colors. It was OK, not great, but OK.

11. Leanne -- the last of the shiny brown fabric (thank God). This was a horrific short dress with all sorts of loops (even in the model's hair) and pockets on the bottom. YUCK I say YUCK!

12. Stella -- Champagne fabric short dress with angled neckline and one long sleeve with lacing and no sleeve on the other side. It was much better than her garbage bag of last week.

13. Blayne -- coral and black colored short dres with big loop over one shoulder. No sir, I didn't like it.

14. Emily -- strapless white bodice with woven bands around it. Flowing short black skirt that was longer in the back, Adorable! My favorite so far.

15. Korto -- gold dress with lots of flaps purposely sewn into the look. The problem is that she had sewn these fin-like things on the bottom of the dress right off the hips. It looked really weird. I think without the "fins" it would have looked much better.

My fave -- Emily

My auf -- Leanne

The judges favorites? Kenley, Stella and Suede.

The judges worst? Wesley, Korto and Leanne.

Winner -- Suede

Auf'd -- Wesley

Next week they all leave the hotel in ugly rain parkas to destinations unknown. Tune in to find out!