ChelseaNH

Previously on Project Runway: The designers had to team up to make avant-garde looks inspired by hair. Chris built a cell phone tower. Rami and Sweet P clashed. Surprise -- they have to make another look! Christian wins. Nina wondered if Rami had more than draping in his bag o' tricks. Kit got the boot for a "cheap" calico hoop dress.

Morning. Victorya keeps calling Sweet P "Kit." I don't know if Sweet P is more upset by having her name forgotten or missing the departed Kit. Ricky tries to keep his spirits up despite living in the bottom three all the time. I instantly peg him as the winner or loser. Sadly, I fear the former. Off to Parsons!

Heidi brings out Marie and Lisa. Of course Christian stays with Lisa, his fashion doppelganger, so Marie gets the boot. Which is too bad, 'cause she's a cutie. I'm a little surprised Christian didn't grab Lea again, but perhaps he figures he can't hold onto her, so why bother. Heidi sends them off to Tim, who's taking them on a field trip. Rami figures it could be anything from trash to Paris. The designers climb in a van and ride. "Are we going to meet somebody fabulous today?" Christian wonders. "We are fabulous, we don't need to meet anybody fabulous," Tim declares. They go over a bridge and onto a pier, where a woman awaits outside a big garage/warehouse. Tim introduces Caroline Calvin of Levis. The designers have to gather up jeans and jackets and white cotton; they have to make "an iconic denim look" that "captures the spirit of originality and creativity that has lived in the heart of the Levis brand." They have three minutes to run around. And go! A denim feeding frenzy ensues.

Back at Parsons, the designers settle in. Levis has provided notions, so there's no shopping. They have 12 hours to finish. Ricky confesses that he sometimes makes his hats out of denim -- and now we know why he always wears one. He wants to make something that no one else can make. Oddly enough, he does not decide to make a hat. Instead, he'll be making a corset. Which Rami just made in the last challenge, so not exactly unique to Ricky. Speaking of Rami, he's not American -- he was born in Jerusalem. His non-American approach to denim is more "fashion forward." Sweet P asks Chris how to get the dirt out of her denim, but Christian horns in because he's a know-it-all. It's now time for the "Christian is so immature" portion of our program. "Somebody needs to give him a bottle and send him to bed," sighs Chris. This is also the part where Christian whines about the challenge: "Oh my God, I'm going to die of barfness."

Scandal! Victorya and Jillian are both making coats! Jillian is miffed that Victorya is stepping on her turf. Like she has a copyright on coats. I'm not seeing the big deal. People don't worry about everyone making dresses. Turns out Christian decides to make a female trucker jacket, so there are three coats, but nobody cares about his. Christian whines about how quiet it is, now that so many people have left. "And so many annoying people are still left," he gripes. Cut to Ricky walking in. He testifies that he has a great resume, which maybe the others don't know about. He's a good designer, really, he is! Fine. But he's not a good Project Runway contestant. Time ticks. We learn that Chris likes to talk to his work. If I were trapped in a workroom with him, I'd find that annoying. But I'm not, so I think it's cool.

Tim time! Ricky explains how he's playing to his strengths and Tim tells him to "deliver it." Chris has a frayed edge on a curving pocket piece that Tim finds "incongruous" but Chris likes it. Jillian, as usual, has a lot of work to do. Rami's outfit has wow potential. Victorya's coat is looking "patchwork-y" and she needs to fix it. Sweet P's wedding dress is scaring Tim -- "very happy hands at home granny circle." Sweet P proposes shortening it into a dress. "Resolve the skirt," Tim orders. The last few hours tick down and everyone is rushing. Jillian gripes about the shortness of time. Chris lectures, "If you don't understand the situation by now, you're refusing to learn." He questions the wisdom of doing something complicated with so little time. The last few minutes are winding down and Jillian stops sewing with a gasp -- she keeps sewing her fingertips. "I'm bleeding everywhere," she sobs. Rami can't find any blood. Sweet P urges her to put off the meltdown until the buzzer rings in ten minutes. Everyone looks done in as they head home.

Morning. Primping. Back to Parsons. Jillian starts gluing. Tim gives them only an hour, instead of the usual two, to deal with model business. Fittings. Hair. Makeup. Last-minute gluing. Tim rounds up the designers and Jillian, as usual, is the last one out the door. Heidi takes immunity off the table, but no one notices because they're waiting for her boobs to bust out of that deep-V neckline. Guest judge is Caroline Calvin of Levis, of course. Show time!

• Chris/Marcia: Sleeveless halter dress with a sweetheart bodice and thick straps angling in from the sides; the straps continue down the sides to form little pockets. I like the shape of the bodice and it definitely has that "little black dress" look he was going for, but it doesn't sing.
• Ricky/Amanda: Strapless sheath dress with buttons down the front and a little ruffled skirt. It's very basic, which makes me think of jeans.
• Sweet P/Lea: Color-blocked strapless sheath dress with a sweetheart neckline. The lines of the denim panels have a graceful curve and the color-blocking creates a nice, slimming effect. It's very pretty.
• Victorya/Jacqueline: Basic trench coat. Really, really basic -- it looks like a jean jacket with a skirt tacked on. And the skirt is kinda sad looking.
• Rami/Sam: Sleeveless top with a high, asymmetric ruffle collar; high-waisted skirt with sailor-like buttons on the front and a little pleated gladiator-like skirt. Zippers outline the seams, which looks sharp, but there's a narrow flat panel in the center of the pleated skirt that has an unfortunate jock strap effect. Otherwise, it's very cute.
• Christian/Lisa: Super-skinny jeans with the lower legs made from jacket sleeves; cropped puffy-sleeved jacket with a ruffled yoke over a white t-shirt. The short jacket and the white shirt make Lisa -- who usually looks like she has no waist -- look like she has a pot belly. It's typically Christian.
• Jillian/Lauren: High-collared coat rather like her avant-garde effort, but with a knee-length skirt. Since I loved her previous coat, I like this one, but it's definitely a lesser effort.

Everybody gets to stay and get grilled. Christian was going for a female motorcycle outfit. The judges like how he reinvented his source pieces. Nina thinks Chris's little blue dress is dated rather than timeless. The judges see two different ideas -- the little blue dress and the fraying -- that didn't meld together into one. Rami gets points for creativity; the zippers are a hit. The judges like Ricky's craftmanship. He cries. "What's up with you?" wonders Heidi. Ricky says it's a roller coaster ride. Jillian confesses to being too ambitious and the judges agree. The judges are ready to wear Sweet P's dress -- it has "the slimming voodoo." But Caroline doesn't get "Levis" from it. Victorya gets busted for just tacking a skirt on a jacket, and they don't blend.

The judges rehash. Ricky finally showed his lingerie background. Christian was very detailed and created a new jean. Sweet P made a great, versatile dress. Rami didn't drape, for a change. On the downside, Jillian had too many ideas, Chris was dated and sort of not finished, and Victorya was uninspired.

The designers return. Rami is safe. Ricky takes the win and his dress will be sold as a limited edition. Well, crap, he lives on. Sweet P is safe. Christian is safe. Chris is safe. Jillian was unfocused and Victorya was boring. Jillian is in. Victorya is out. She thinks she has shown only a little of who she is as a designer.

Right winner? Bleah. Ricky made a nice dress -- certainly not boot-worthy -- but it was pretty generic. Sweet P's dress was more beautiful and Rami's dress was more interesting. Christian was more creative. But Ricky got lucky; his generic quality is what the guest judge was looking for. Darn it.

Right loser? Yeah. Jillian's coat had a nice shape and Chris's dress had some sizzle. Victorya's coat was just boring. Which is too bad, because a real classic trench in denim could have been cool. She should have started from scratch instead of reusing the jacket.

Labels: Project Runway

# posted by ChelseaNH @ 9:26 PM