“Quite frankly, fashion is a tough, competitive business,” opined the ever-wise Michael Kors on last night’s Project Runway. And for the long (too long) 90 minutes, we saw this truism at work in the form of a highly backstabby team challenge to create a six-piece collection based on fall trends. Okay, so we’ve obviously watched enough (too much) reality TV to know that editing is responsible for our perception of certain characters. The producers want a clown, so they do montages of someone’s goofy laugh; they want a villain, and someone’s going to be forever labeled “that bitch on Project Runway.” So it was with a skeptical eye that we allowed our hatred of Gretchen to grow. She can’t be that bad, we thought, innocently, as she continually judged others, bossed weaker contestants around, and told people that they’re “just sensitive because [they’re] on the bottom.” Yet as this episode went on, and as her crimes against humanity piled up, we started to allow ourselves to believe that she is actually is a very, very, horribly bad person. And then — and then! — none other than Tim Gunn — sweet, real, darling Tim Gunn — called her out on her misbehavior in what was perhaps the most shocking moment in Project Runway history, like, ever.

It went down like this: Gretchen’s team lost; she proclaimed the judges were crazy — she still loved the collection — and that the team would stick together (“We stand united!”). And then she was the first to sell out Michael C.: “Michael’s technical skills were the weakest. So I had to work with him so much, that I had no time to focus on what makes me strong.” She then said that actually, having thought about it for 30 seconds, the collection was crap and “everybody sucked.” Then, after landing in the bottom two, she delivered this bomb: “I take responsibility for the things they called me out for.” OH MY GOD, SHE IS EVIL. We were prepared to end the episode on this very thought, until Tim swooped in and saved the day. He approached the group after A.J. was eliminated and said: “I don’t know why you allowed Gretchen to manipulate, control, and bully you. I don’t understand it. A.J., you’ve taken the bullet, and now I have to send you to the workroom to clean up your space.” Tim was fuming, his face was red, and Gretchen sat there (with her annoying bangs) in shock. He summed up our thoughts exactly, and delivered them better and more satisfyingly than we ever could have. Hurray for Tim! Gretchen responded lamely. “I’m not a manipulative person. And it really, really hurt my feelings to have Tim say that to me. I just wanted to help!” Um, yeah, sweetheart — help yourself. Best PR ending EVER!

Oh, right, the rest of the show. Well, there was the underdog team and the Gretchen team; the underdogs had to deal with Casanova’s “major major major diva moment,” according to Valerie. He needed a break after Tim said his lace top was matronly. “I’m even getting fat!” he wailed while lying on the couch. Fat he’s not, as far we can tell from the entire top half of his chest (nipples included!) exposed by his deep V-neck sweater. The underdogs were doing a lace/military inspired collection, while the Gretchens made a camel/menswear-as-womenswear line that was a total disaster. Also, everybody hates Michael C. Also, there is a scary, intense man named Peter Butler who works at Garnier and never blinks. Not once. Also, Georgina Chapman is really pretty. Duh. On to the runway!

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Filed Under: make it work, georgina chapman, heidi klum, marchesa, michael kors, nina garcia, overnights, project runway, tv, tv recaps

Who is the Marie Claire woman? That’s the question the designers must ponder this week as they’re asked to design a look for a Times Square billboard advertising the women’s magazine. According to editor-in-chief Joanna Coles, “she’s intelligent, practical, fashion-forward, confident, and sexy,” which is a whole lotta attributes to get across in an outfit that they have $150 and one day to create. We’d like to think that we are the Marie Claire woman, since that description sounds pretty rad; fashion-forward and practical? This lady blows our minds. It’s a good thing all the contestants are now “officially” on the show, since we were worried that last week (since the show hadn’t actually started), we’d maybe dreamed the whole thing. But here we are, in official Project Runway land, where everyone’s tired all the time and men have airbrush-makeup machines. How we’ve missed you!

So the designers have 30 minutes to run around Mood and pick their fabrics, and we think, due to the increased running time, we actually see the entire half-hour they’re there. Sigh. Back at the workshop, AJ works on his rocker dress and acts bitchy toward Casanova (who, to AJ’s credit, is really very annoying); Gretchen decides to make pants for the first time, which means she’s either going to win or lose; Peach is stuck with polka dots and is pretty prickly; and Jason freaks out when Tim says he’s “concerned” about his ugly silver wrap dress. “Don’t be so hard on me, man!” Jason sneers to the camera. Speaking negatively about Tim is our BIGGEST pet peeve, so as much as we disliked Jason before (bowler hat? really?), now he’s our least favorite of the bunch. LEAST FAVORITE! Do you hear that, Jason? Strong words, from us.

The twist this week is that the contestants each get to have their look photographed (a twist that makes sense in the scheme of the challenge? Amazing!), and it’s actually pretty painful to watch the models awkwardly pose for the camera. Where’s Tyra when you need her? Sashay away! Do these girls have any editorial experience at all? Peach’s girl looks like she’s about to faint from anxiety. And let’s talk about Mondo for a second, shall we? The poor guy is very lonely; he keeps to himself, and the other contestants think he’s “weird.” “I’ve never been loved for who I am and what I can give back — I feel like being an artist is a curse sometimes,” he cries to the camera. Aw, that’s sad, Mondo. But it’s also kind of egotistical. No one loves you because you’re a creative genius? Look, we know how you feel — people are sometimes scared to be our friends because of how amazingly entertaining our recaps are. But perhaps the way to get over that is to, you know, speak to someone once in a while. Anyway, let’s get to the runway, which saw the elimination of not one, but two aspiring designers. And it was way harsh, Tai.

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Filed Under: make it work, heidi klum, michael kors, nina garcia, overnights, project runway, tim gunn, tv, tv recaps

From left: Looks from Seth Aaron, Mila, and Emilo’s final collections.

“This year was a fantastic season,” Heidi announces as she steps out to introduce the three runway-show contenders: Seth Aaron, Mila, and Emilio. Well, for clothes, maybe, but not for personalities. Other than Anthony, we don’t think we’ll remember any of these contestants by the time they “conquer the fashion world,” evidenced by the fact that we couldn’t for the life of us recall the names of their co-designers in the audience. Jamie? Jason? Jessie! There wasn’t much drama leading up to the shows — Mila sees Seth Aaron’s collection as “glamorous Hot Topic,” Seth Aaron thinks Mila’s clothes are “older,” and Emilio thinks that Mila’s line is “demure” — just lots of plugs for Garnier and Lancôme, and everyone had to get up so early that it made us dizzy with exhaustion just watching them. Some models go missing (where the heck are these girls? You’d think they could show up for the one booking that’s going to be on TV), but they get replaced, and the three shows go as smoothly as possible.

First comes Seth Aaron, who says he was inspired by forties German military. Wait, like, Nazis? Hmmm. That’s a questionable choice to show to a judge whose love of Yiddish rivals only his love of old-timey garmento expressions. SA’s clothes are well-tailored, somewhat severe, and very Seth Aaron, with lots of red-and-black and stripes. Some of his looks, like the purple dress, remind us of very well dressed insects, but that’s perhaps because we’ve been watching too much Life. SA kisses his wife and kids after the show, which is sweet.

Next up is Mila, who calls her boyfriend her rock, and shows a collection that is just what you thought it would be: Black and white and mod. She plays with shine, uses patent leather, and has “roughed up” her styling enough to satisfy Heidi — but if you ask us, all her models still look like … Mila. Which is weird.

Emilio comes last, and his designs are somewhat different from what he was showing week by week. There are fewer dresses, more coats, and scant overt “showstoppers,” in Heidi’s words. He uses an E. Sosa print on his linings and dresses; it’s all very commercial, and we’d have rather gone on thinking that it was just a pretty design. After the show, a bevy of A-Listers (heh) share their thoughts on the three contestants, including Marie Claire’s Joanna Coles, who likes Mila, Raven-Symone, of That’s So Raven, who sides with Emilio, and Beth Ostrosky, who’s into Seth Aaron’s looks. On to the judges!

Emilio: “Why color me bad?” Heidi asks Emilio. He doesn’t really have a good answer, and neither do we. Faith Hill was “knocked out” by Emilio’s show, and loved the length of the sleeves on the coats. Michael points out that Emilio’s was the most commercial of the bunch, but his favorite thing was the least commercial: The gold gown. “I thought the gown was absolutely gorgeous,” he says. Nina calls the collection “quiet but sophisticated,” adding that it was “a little heavy on the suitings, with maybe too many coats.” Emilio loses and it’s kind of sad. Even though he can be a smug bastard at times, he’s a very talented designer, and obviously wanted this a lot.

Mila: Also a loser! Heidi liked Mila’s show, and was happy with the styling changes she’d made. “You made it look totally contemporary,” adds Michael, who loved the shiny miniskirt and the “mixed-media” dress. “Whenever you played with shine, it really turned me on.” Well, that’s just gross. “When you loosen up, it becomes a lot cooler,” says Heidi. Ultimately, Mila was too one-note for the judges’ taste, and so was eliminated first, presumably to happily return to her black-and-white house and black-and-white dog. Good luck, Mila! We won’t miss you.

Seth Aaron: The winner! The winner!
Okay, fine, Seth Aaron wins. Whatever. We agree with Michael when he says that SA’s collection “was so much more sophisticated than where he has been. This was polished and expensive looking.” Seth did step up his game after Tim Gunn’s visit, and we applaud him for that. While we’ve never been huge fans of Seth Aaron’s aesthetic, we see Heidi’s point about his “fearlessness.” But we’re more on Nina’s side — “It can borderline on costume-y.” His reaction to winning, however, is very endearing, and when he talked about making his kids proud, he won us over for good (aside from that whole Nazi-inspiration thing). So we wish Seth Aaron all the best! We’ll never buy his clothes, but we’ll certainly recognize them.

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Filed Under: make it work, overnights, project runway, tv

Last night’s episode of Project Runway delivered three things we never thought we’d see: Nina Garcia in a good mood; Jay going back into the closet; and Tim Gunn jumping on a trampoline. The action-packed episode included both home visits and a runway walk-off, from which Zoolander was sadly absent. Heidi tells the four remaining contestants that they all have $9,000 to create a collection for Bryant Park, and that between Mila and Jay, only one will show at Fashion Week. Heidi and Tim do a cute butt bump on the way out of the magic curtain — next time we see Heidi, she won’t be pregnant anymore … funny how that works. So everyone says good-bye and good luck to each other, and Seth Aaron pushes Jay back into the closet in a weird sort of flirty friendship ritual. Aw, it’s cute, they like each other. On to the home visits!

Tim is in his best Pacific Northwest–chic when he goes to see Seth Aaron in Washington, where he lives with his family in a cute gingerbread house. Tim’s impressed by the clothes SA has made thus far, but, unfortunately, thinks he should redo the entire collection. “If you want to win this, you’ve got to stretch!” Tim entreats SA, who looks appropriately crestfallen. We then segue to the most amusing segment in Project Runway history: First, Tim plays Pictionary with Seth Aaron’s family. “Eye glasses … balloon … fallopian tube!” Tim guesses of the picture Seth Aaron’s daughter draws (it’s a stethoscope, we later learn). Fallopian tube! Ha! Then Seth Aaron forces Tim to jump on his trampoline. “The Henderson’s are trying to kill me!” Tim laments as he collapses onto the bouncy surface. We have never laughed this hard at Project Runway, ever.

Next is Emilio, a total buzz kill after Tim on the trampoline. To understand the context of Emilio’s youth, we’re shown a Spike Lee–like montage of the South Bronx in the seventies, which feels really out of place. Since when does PR use stock footage? Emilio and Tim continue to hate on each other. “I see a serious absence of sophistication in this work, and I see clothes that look, frankly, old,” Tim concludes about Emilio’s collection. “As far as I know, Tim doesn’t wear women’s clothing,” snarks Emilio. Okay, we’re moving on, as it pains us to have to transcribe disses about Tim Gunn. Not cool, Emilio!

Mila lives in L.A. in a black-and-white house with a black-and-white dog — her life is a veritable children’s book. Tim thinks her clothes are kind of matronly, at which she balks, and then we see some pictures of Mila in her goth phase, which is pretty funny. “I don’t want to lose to that little fucker, I think I’m a better designer and I think he’s really annoying,” she says of Jay. Yeesh, take it easy, lady. Her boyfriend seems sweet, though.

Jay, little Jay, up in San Francisco, has created quite a crazy collection inspired by the Japanese Samurai. His sleeves aren’t sleeves — they’re rings! There’s also an insane coat that Tim dares him to apply to a real-world scenario. “Where would someone wear that?” Tim asks. “Nowhere?” replies Jay. Uh-oh. Jay takes Tim to his walk-up apartment — “Jay, you take these steps so spryly!” — and introduces him to his parents and boyfriend, Ronaldo. Jay’s mom makes a sweet toast, and they all cry. There’s something about Tim Gunn that makes moms emotional in a good way.

Back in New York, three months later, Jay and Mila pretend to make up, even though they really still hate each other. Heidi is without child! Amazing. Let’s get on with the runway walk-off, to see who’s going to join Emilio and Seth at Bryant Park.

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Filed Under: make it work, overnights, project runway, recaps, slideshow, tv, video

Noooooooooooo. Aaaaannnnthonyyyy! Yes, our dear friend Anthony was given the boot last night, and we’re very sad about it. We’ll try to take his parting advice to heart: “Don’t cry for Anthony, honey. As a matter of fact, toss one back for me.” He was the comic relief of an otherwise dullsville cast, and we fear the rest of the season will be one long Mila fest. Sigh. This week’s challenge involved designing a textile and creating a look out of it, and Vivienne Tam was there to shill for HP — she turned a butterfly into a fabric using the HP Touchsmart Desktop! Amazing!

So the designers get to play around with a cool computer for a while, and right away it’s clear who’s going to be in trouble: Anthony, who tells us he’s struggling, and Jonathan, who thinks it’s a good idea to create a fabric pattern so subtle that he can’t even see it on the printout. Much of the focus of the episode is on Anthony, which doesn’t bode well for our funny friend. “I don’t purposefully try to be entertaining, people just laugh at me for some reason,” he says, which isn’t completely true, but we really don’t care. Telling Jay that he looked like “a gay Christmas ornament” was one of the few laugh-out-loud moments of this season, and we’ll take what we can get. The designers receive their original fabric, and it’s actually pretty cool to see how quickly that can be done. Emilio makes a graffiti signature print with his initials; Tim is worried about it, and then Emilio rudely disregards Tim’s advice! Uh-oh, Emilio, we were on your side until the minute you turned on Tim Gunn. Mila creates a multicolored striped mess, and though her pattern is fugly, she proceeds to call both Emilio and Anthony’s taste “questionable.” Jonathan, still mourning the loss of Amy, seems off his game this week. Says Anthony of his look: “Everything is pale as hell.” (“Pale” and “hell” rhyming, of course.) So let’s move on to the runway, where Tam is the guest judge, and Michael Kors seems like he’s in a really bad mood.

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Filed Under: make it work, overnights, project runway, recaps, slideshow, tv, video