Project Runway: Finally, something to inspire me

So I haven't said much about PR this season, because honestly, it hasn't been that great. Before Thanksgiving you had Sarah Jessica Parker, which was fun to see on one hand, but very blah on the other. Victorya's win was deserved, but did anyone really remember the outside afterwards? Even the prize itself---to be included in Sara's line of clothing--isn't that great. Instead of letting these designers show some ingenuity and originality, the winner basically had to conform to the line's tone and style...it wasn't suppose to stand out, just fit in.

Last week was really dismal. The badly designed or boring elements weren't even showcased because too many others couldn't even complete their look. Carmen completely deserved to be kicked off for not producing a shirt.

This week, however, things are looking up. They had to take fashion trends of the past and modernize them, as well as blend three trends into an overall collection. I love these 'collection' challenges. You get to see everyone work together, which is always filled with crazy drama, but everyone still gets to make their own outfit, which I feel is important in judging.

My gal Jillian's team won:

They had overalls, 70's flare and poodle skirt. I think this was the perfect collection really, and it makes sense that they won outright, without discussion first, because they really rocked it. Each piece represents the individual trend, but the designers showed cohesion by selecting one fabric. What was genius about this collection was the subtle use of the other trends in each design. The dress is a great mix of poodle skirt and flare: you can't really tell from the photo, but it's poofy, while the tan lines help tone it down, and create great angles, while the denim relates it to overalls. The overalls I really just love. The skinny top combined with the flaring leg create a great silhouette, and the lacy shirt brings in the 50's style. It's a homage to the past, but still firmly designed in the present. Finally, the shorts are great. Would you actually wear flared shorts? Maybe not, but as a collection piece they were much better than creating another pants set, when Jillian's overalls took care of that look. Once again, the poofy collar brings in poodle skirts in an original way.

Whereas Jillian's team could have gone straight to a runway collection, Christian's team definitely had that 'Project Challenge' feel to it:

They were all well made, but the continuity wasn't there in the same way. Choosing black as a color to carry the collection was a mistake--everyone creates black outfits, so the color really doesn't pop in the way the denim does. These looks were zoot suit, plether, and fringe. I also didn't think they carried off these trends that well. I understand the lines acting as the zoot suit in all three pieces, but where is the plether? Where is the fringe? I remember Christian saying they would use those elements as accessories--but that wasn't the point of the challenge! I honestly can't tell you which one was suppose to be fringe...I see no fringe anywhere---unless they interpreted the pattern on the left dress as a fringe quality? Overall, I think these designs were just too separate from each other--they lacked the single dress that would connect the other two the way the overalls did.

Lucky for them, the other teams really got it wrong:

I was really scared for Ricky this week. He's been getting a bad rap, his dress was pretty hideous, and he had to work with the Queen of the Land of PassiveAggressiva (my shout out to Grey's). If you judged based on construction, he would have been gone--and I honestly thought the judges would 'auf him, as opposed to Chris. I think Victorya and Elisa actually stood up for him, unintentionally, but mentioning how much he helped their designs along. He stepped up as the team leader and took responsibility for his fabric choices by sharing his knowledge, and his own design suffered for it.

Compared to Chris, on the other hand, who would not listen to reason about his jacket. They knew on day 1 that jacket was not fitting, but he didn't have the energy to 'rethink' what a shoulder pad could be. Granted, it's a hard one, but he set himself up by designing a look that was better without the jacket than with it. His team also suffered because they chose not to combine all three trends into all three looks, hoping the fabric color would bring the cohesion. Compare Chris' group with Jillian's and you can see the difference those subtle little additions make. Even with the same, boring color, Chris' group still has no connection with itself. He deserved to go home based on his lack of originality, and his inability to take charge of his team and convince them to design one cohesive group. The team obviously was looking for an easy way out---hoping to pass under the radar--but when only four teams show looks, that's not as likely.

Here's hoping this episode is a trend, and the challenges get better from here.