Black/White

Last evening’s Project Runway was…interesting. Maybe it was the lack of caffeine, but I was actually really ticked off while watching it. The challenge was to design a cocktail dress using only black and white fabrics…and they had to use all of the fabric, including scraps, that they purchased. The twist, however, was that two contestants that were auf’d were brought back and given another chance to make it to Fashion Week. Those two were the much loved (ha!) Angela and Vincent. The one stipulation to continuing on was that they had to actually win the challenge.

I did not like this surprise at all. True, Heidi had informed the designers that there would be added benefits to winning a challenge, but I feel that if you are auf’d you should remain that way. Yes, I would feel the same way even if they had brought my Alison back.

Most of the show was spent being too annoyed by this to focus much on the show. I will say that, not surprisingly, the two designers that were given second chances did not rise to the occasion. Angela was ambitious in her design, attempting to take risks. Ultimately, though, those risks did not result in a design that worked. She had this jacket (similar to her Macy win, but…) with this crazy collar. The look was supposed to be modern and Victorian/Edwardian, but, it was poorly executed. We initially thought that the model’s belly was protruding, but then quickly realized that it was just the design of the dress (since it is unlikely the model has much of a belly). And to top it off, she stuffed all the extra fabric in a purse and tried to call it lining. Thankfully, the judges asked her to open it and saw what she had really done. Angela was once again auf’d.

Vincent, as usual, had issues. First off, his design was far too basic. White on top, black on bottom. But there were bigger problems with the dress. For starters, it was poorly executed. The model he initially had was in an accident and was not able to make it to the runway, so he had a new model (w/ different proportions) that he had to make it work for at the last minute. The top was too small and the zipper broke, so he was forced to sew it on her. Since they had to use all of their material, he had a long, hideous wrap that the judges, thankfully, found revolting. Vincent, too, was auf’d again.

Kayne is a talented designer, well, at least he has potential. He just needs to work on his taste level if he expects to break from the pageant world. If he doesn’t plan on doing that, though, he really has nothing to worry about. Regardless of whether he wins or not, he is going to have so much business when all is said and done. I mean, he designed the friggin’ dress for Miss USA. Everyone in the pageant world is going to be beating down his door. As for this dress this challenge…well, his taste level was once again in question. In fact, it was initially veering too close to streetwalker territory until Michael intervened, but even that wasn’t enough to rescue it. The front ultimately turned out fairly decent, but it conflicted too much w/ the back. He had gone overboard with the black fabric and had to work in a white bow at the last minute since the challenge called for both black and white fabrics.

Michael, on the other hand, has proven to the most consistent among the designers. I never have to worry about seeing the same outfit in a different variation. You may know that it is a Michael design because of the hip hop influence, but he offers enough variety so that each garment seems like a fresh look. This challenge was no different. He may have faltered for the first time last week, but he bounced back this episode. He made a sleek white dress w/ an 80’s vibe, but still very modern. He used excess black fabric to make flowers that he adorned the black belt w/. And, as Nina noted, he knows how design the entire look – from head to toe. This was my favourite dress, but I may be a little biased since he’s now my favourite w/ Alison out of the picture. He’s just so darn nice that you can’t help but like him.

The remaining three designers are all stuck in a rut, with only one showing any signs of breaking out of the box. They tend to either produce variations of the same outfit or are incapable of veering from a certain style.

Jeffrey needs to stop with the whole rock n’ roll thing. I understand that this is what he does, but he needs to get it through his head that in order to win this competition that he entered into he has to show variety. The judges are looking for him to bring some elegance into his pieces, and he just isn’t delivering. Personally, I did enjoy his winning design from last week. I thought it was fun and interesting, and, even if you didn’t like it, it was still better than what everyone else produced. This week’s dress, though, was a wreck. One of the things the judges are impressed with is if they make the outfit look more expensive than what it cost to make, and this one really looked like it was cheap.

Uli is guilty of not being able to stop making an Uli dress. I’ve said it from almost the start – she knows how to make the same dress with different patterns. It’s grown very dull and I’ve lost almost all interest in her. I still like her personality and all that, but design-wise I’m pretty much over it. Oh, and what FUCK is up w/ those, what, sleeves? I don't know what you'd call them, but it just ain't right.


Laura, Laura, Laura. The hormones have taken over, and it was very evident when she broke down crying over an issue with her dress. I like Laura because she has never been afraid to speak her mind and not restrain herself. She very direct and tells it like it is. It was odd seeing this other side of her. Because the judges lambasted the last outfit because it wasn’t young enough, she was obsessing over making this outfit young. I think she got so caught up in it that she was having trouble realizing how amazing her dress was. Laura is the one out of the three that have a style you recognize as their work, but I feel she is trying to break out of that mold. The end result was a very elegant baby doll dress. It also became her very first win! Now, the make-up job is a whole other story...

And with every win, there is a loss. Kayne was sent home, and I had no problem with that decision. His taste level has been in question from the start and I never really felt that his talent was worthy enough for a runway show at Fashion Week. So the remaining four, who will all be presenting their stuff tomorrow, are: Jeffrey, Uli, Laura and Michael.

Auf Wiedersehen!

THE FINAL FOUR