Finally!

I can't believe it, but seven episodes in this season of Project Runway seems to have found it's feet, and so did the designers. All it took was horribly blatant product placement! I can't believe how good this episodes was, it was like I was in a completely different series. Maybe it was that Laura came back. If you follow my blog you'll know I'm not actually a huge fan of Laura, as much as I think she did impeccable clothes I also didn't really buy into her specific style. But she did know what she was doing and it almost made up for Rachel Zoe, who I really just can't stomach.

On to the showcase of this episode, since the challenge was just so dang weird, the clothes!



On the dress form and in the sketch this dress was amazing. It was so pretty looking, and I thought "Hey, Blayne is going to pull it out once again! When is he going to stop doing this to me?" But no, instead when the garment actually came out onto the runway it just...was fitted so wrong it was depressing. What in the world did he do to make the top fit that poorly and couldn't he have stuffed her bra or something to make it a little better? Heck, Leanne stuffed our model's hips!

The concept was great, the fit was terrible. And that seemed to be universal in the lower levels of this episodes.



I hate the styling of this outfit but I can see how it's "runway styling" and not "everyday styling." But the garment itself is really great. It had some problems with bunching, but I've started paying attention to other people's clothes lately and realized that fitted clothing just bunches strangely all the time, it's only flat when you just put it on or something.

But the ideas here are sound, the colors are great. It's a little on the micro side but I love it still.



This is a little too similar to his work in the Olympic challenge, IMHO, but I like that he incorporated the logo for the car. It's a really cute outfit that I could see on the girls that walk around race tracks for some reason (do they hold the flags? I'm not sure, I'm not that into racing). But it really looks like something you'd see around a track. Only, the cars were Saturn's and I'm sorry but race cars they are not.

I love the colors though, I'll say that. I'm a huge fan of that color palette.



This is the thing about Keith's downfall: he forgot what the judges are there for. It's kind of easy to do. See, I'm in film school right now and I know how it is to be in classes or be judged by people constantly who are critiquing your work and going on about what you're doing wrong. I know how easy it is to get down on yourself and assume they hate you.

But the other thing I know, and the thing that Keith lost sight of is that the judges aren't there to make you into somebody else, just like professors aren't (if they're good professors, I've had some that did seem to want to make me in their image). What they're trying to do is help you be a better you. Help you find your voice and use it to the best of your ability, to be the most effective.

Keith couldn't figure that out, and that's part of why he's gone. If he hadn't made those comments on the runway, I'm convinced Stella would have been eliminated instead. But he decided he was a victim, and I've been there so I can't make fun of him too much for it.

The dress itself was a pretty big failure, to be honest. Seatbelts are kind of horrible for stuff like this, I've seen them made into bags a lot and they're stiff and have very little give, and they very easily pucker and twist. Though I do think that them making his model sit down in hair and makeup was just wrong. If she walked in and said, "I can't sit in this, it'll split" then they should have worked around it. Maybe she didn't say that, maybe he shouldn't have let her leave the workroom in the skirt. But all the same, something smacks of "not his fault" while at the same time reminding us of "make it work."

The problem, I think, was completely in the top. Sure, the skirt was uninteresting but if it was countered with a truly fabulous top it could have been something, and instead it wasn't.



I love the handmade zebra print so much. That was such a creative use of air filters, and I think Kenley really made something that was creative and used interesting materials. My biggest problem with it is just that it's a little boring, and it's just so much like everything else that she's given us. Where's the thing that's supposed to make it memorable?



I like this coat, don't get me wrong. But the one thing that makes me not love it as much as some is that I've seen this woven seatbelt thing before. They sell these bags at the Hirschorn in different sizes, and they do some interesting patterns to. So that's not really something that is new.

That said, it's still very impressive. I think that Korto is absolutely a lock for the final three, there's no doubt in my mind about it. One of my friends said that everything she's made has been a kimono, and I do have to admit that she goes with similar styles often enough. But she's been strong in almost every single challenge and she's definitely got a handle on herself and her own style.



I am so in love with this garment. Leanne impresses me more and more every episode, and I'm so happy that she's also got a fabulous personality and great manners to go with a good aesthetic.

I just really love what she did, with taking the natural flow of the leather and letting it really just do what it wanted. Also, for me, this is an example of a garment that isn't something you would just wear to work but isn't' so over the top that you look at it and say "WHO would wear that?" It's just well made and well thought out so you look at it and you don't care who would wear it, the model is wearing it and she looks fabulous.

I love that she decided to fray the seatbelt too. I never really thought that much about seatbelts before, but the frayed ones I've seen haven't been nearly as attractive as she made this. You also can see pretty quickly how fast she learned how not to just pile things onto the dress because the trim is so understated and it's really a trim.

An absolutely deserved win.



Stella is the same story as Keith: she was on the bottom because instead of trying to be better at what she does she decided to be something else. But also, because it was a poorly fit, boring and drab little outfit. Not to mention the fact that the seatbelt skirt had this huge pucker in each layer going down the back. I know it's a horrible "fabric" to try to work with, and that puckering like that was probably their number one enemy. But the fact that it was so bad just speaks to how little Stella wanted to work on this challenge.

I'm really a little baffled about Stella suddenly deciding not to be herself. I don't like her garments or her style, but at least she was unapologetic for it up until now. Unlike others, she just said, "this is what I do, these are the clothes I make." Sure, I wanted to see her branch out, but there's a difference between branching out and wussing out.

If the top had been more fitted and the skirt hadn't had those puckers then I think she probably would have still been in the bottom for being a touch boring, and because so many of the dresses were so good. But I wouldn't be thinking she should have gone home.



This is a really fun little outfit, but it reminds me so much of most of the things that Suede has made up until this point. I do like that he was the only one that used some of these materials, but it's overall effect was really impressive, but would have been more so if we hadn't seen this dress from him before just in different fabric.



This is a fabulous outfit, it's absolutely wearable. I could see this model walking into a club right now. Some of the praise that was heaped on Terri's earlier inspiration design fits right here. The only thing for me is that it is a little plain and safe at the same time. And saying that makes me feel like a hypocrite because both things can't be true at the same time.

I wouldn't have replaced anybody that was in the top (except perhaps Jerell, I think that this garment is on par with his) but at the same time, I think it was really fantastic and I could see this actually being sold in stores.

While on the one hand I absolutely hate this challenge because of the product placement and the cheap commercialism of it. On the other hand, it's more along the lines of the flower challenge or any of the crazy weird ones we've had in the past. I also think that these are just the best garments that these designers have produced so far. Congrats guys.

I'd rather have more Chris March

Really, bring back Chris March. You did it once, maybe could we do it again? Then I would have a designer I actually cared about in this year's crop. Instead, I just keep rooting for one of my five least favorites to get eliminated every week. At least this week I got my wish.



Okay, Blayne seriously needs to put tape over his mouth and stop speaking. Immediately. I think he might be sealing his fate in the fact that he'll never be able to get a serious job in his life because every employer will just keep saying, "oh, you were the licious one."

There's nothing wrong with this outfit. Which is probably the most distressing part of it all, because I wanted him to make something terrible, but he didn't. It's perfectly capable, and it looks like it's straight out of Adventures of Priscilla. It fits his Queen perfectly.

He really did need to think about the wings falling though, I know costumers who are more competent when it comes to that, but when they're standing up like they're supposed to they are pretty fun and wild.



Thank goodness that's the last time I'll have to see Daniel look so appalled at the judge's opinions of his work. Did you see the condescending look he had when talking about the challenge? The man didn't want to make a drag queen outfit and so he didn't, he thought he was above it. That's fine, Christian thought he was above everything and somehow managed to make everybody love him anyway. But Daniel came right out on the runway and said to RUPAUL of all people that he didn't want to be tacky etc. Um, you don't really know your audience, do you Daniel?

The dress is pretty, it's really nice. It's made out of great fabric, and if he had made it for another challenge I would have talked about how great it was. But once more he came in about three levels short on the challenge. He never was somebody who really could make things pop (after the cup dress anyway) and kept making rather boring, simple outfits. So I'm not surprised that this was the challenge that did him in.



I think Jerell had a bit of a difficult task ahead of him, because La May seemed to be one of the more subtle Queens on the stage, and how do you impress in a drag queen competition if you're subtle?

This is, again, a very costumey look (I hate using that word but it's all I've got for Jerell) and while that's what the challenge called for, there's something about how the collar and the dress go together that doesn't work.

But, I really think that Jerell ended up on the bottom three because everybody (except Daniel and Keith) did such a fabulous job that they had to pick SOMEBODY and they had to say SOMETHING negative about it.

It was a great dress, and so it's a little longer, it's not THAT long. And it's plenty dramatic. I think Jerell just ended up in the bottom three of a very strong group, and the judges were more harsh than even they wanted to be.



I find it amusing that Joe, who seemed just a touch too uncomfortable with the challenge, was the one who won. But he really did take his Queen and give her a fabulous outfit. Heck, I wouldn't be surprised if she goes and buys it off the auction so she can keep it.

It does look so fabulous on her, it fits so perfectly. It's eye-catching, it's fun, it's dramatic. There's so much about it that's perfect.

I'm not sure that I think it should be the winner, just because it is rather simple and doesn't amp up the drama that extra little bit.



This is such a terrible outfit, and if it wasn't for how insulting Daniel was on the runway, I really would have wished for Keith to go home because of it. It does the Queen no favors, it isn't fun, it isn't well made, and it just doesn't convey anything except being raggedy.

I can't for the life of me figure out what Keith was doing here. Apparently he really needs Kenley to temper his crazy and deconstructed ideas, because he could have done something with this if he had scaled back and edited a little bit. But instead he just went all out and it looks terrible. It's like he ran out of time and glued strips to a bra.



This is so typical of a Drag Queen outfit that I really don't have much to say about it. It's pretty, it's well made, it's very classic and goes with the client's style very well.

But it doesn't really pop, does it?



I love this dress, I absolutely would have picked it for the win over Joe. The biggest reason? Because Sweetie obviously loved it, and loved wearing it. It made her feel beautiful, it made her feel confident, and it showed in the way she wore it.

And that, my friends, is an amazing success. She looked and felt fabulous. The dress had drama without having too much, it fit perfectly. I love the colors, I love the sculpture on the shoulder (and unlike Blayne's wings, it was made really well).

Korto is becoming one of my favorite designers this season.



If Leanne had wanted to bring out the word surrealism, she certainly could have with this dress. I don't really like it as much as most of the other's this week, but it's a little wacky and a little fun, and it fits the client.

I love the colors too, they work so well together. There's not a false note for the fabric at all. It certainly isn't a winning garment, but it's a good effort. There's just a few more awkward looking parts to it, but I can't put my finger on what.



Stella gets a challenge to make an outfit for a drag queen, and she makes this? I'm so baffled by it. It's interesting, a little different, but I really don't see what it's about, what point she's trying to make...

I just don't understand the plaid. Not enough to think it's a bad garment, but enough to say "Eh?" I actually would have put it on the bottom instead of Jerell just to ask her what she was going for.



Dead grandfather's advice aside, what the heck was actually up with those little lettuce roses on the gloves? I didn't like it, I don't understand why Tim loved it, and I just don't get it. The dress itself is fun, but it doesn't look like a showstopper. It looks like something Hedda Lettuce would use as an intro outfit, or something for a more casual event instead of a show. It's a party dress.

But I guess the challenge didn't specify that it needed to be a show dress. Actually, looking at it, it seems like a traveling outfit to me. Like she's about to get on the train to go on some sort of exciting adventure.

I definitely like it, but it's again just the middle of the pack.



I am one of the only people who probably doesn't really like this outfit. I think it definitely deserved to be in the top three, because it does very perfectly fit the Queen it was made for. I completely agree with the top three pics (and the bottom two). But I don't like this better than Korto and Joe's for one reason: it's too much. I know, can you have too much with a drag queen? But I think this one does get there, because there's just so much going on. Not to mention that I can't imagine her actually doing a show in this. Modeling? Sure. But anything past a runway walk, what would she do? It doesn't look like she's meant to really talk, you couldn't do stand-up, you couldn't really dance...maybe you could sing, but for some reason the makeup and garment together make me think it's not meant for somebody who will be making any noises at all (maybe it's the white mime-face).

I will say that I'm so glad RuPaul mentioned Mahagony because I was desperately trying to figure out what it reminded me of.

I think Terri is probably starting to get frustrated, and I know her fans must be. She's had fantastic showings for a few episodes now but not managed to pull out the win. But I really don't think up to now that she deserved it yet. But I see it coming, I think she'll get there, and I can't wait to see it. I might be tired of her ego, but I'm in love with the fact that she really puts herself out there and makes outfits that I can remember the next week and want to talk about. Most of the other designers aren't accomplishing that yet.

Where's the drama, team challenge?

Hey, remember back in the day when Project Runway used to do these team challenges? And the people would argue and cause all this drama, even if up to this point they always got along? There would be at least one crying meltdown, and at least one angry accusation on the runway and it was when PR really delved down into typical "reality tv" territory?

I hope you remember, because I don't think this season can deliver. The drama we get is:
-Terri fusses at Suede, and he efficiently fixes the problem!
-Kelli tells Daniel that his skirt stinks and to remake it. And he gripes but does it and nobody mentions it on the runway!
-Joe says something to Tim about Korto's design, and she says she's looking out for HIM and wants to hear MORE of his imput! The nerve of her! He apologizes and says it wasn't a big deal! It all is solved with a minimum of fuss!

The interviews were so much more confrontational than the actual moments, and I have a feeling it's because the producers went, "well, crap. We tried to make something drama-rific and they didn't deliver. Quick, bait the questions and make them sound more angry!"

At least this episode the garments were so much more successful than the last, for the most part.



This is the thing about Blayne and Leanne's contribution: it doesn't fit the challenge. This isn't something that's even slightly formal, it couldn't be worn to work as is. BUT, it's really well made. I wouldn't choose most of the pieces to put them together the way they are, but I don't see anything that looks particularly borked up.

And on top of that, I really like that blue shirt. It's a bright and pretty color, it hung really well, and I just liked it. Maybe not with the purple shirt under it, but I liked it.

I think Blayne scraped through on this one not because of the actual look but because it at least was well made. Also, as bratty as he was you could tell that he and Leanne worked well together and respected each other. I like how Heidi tried to call in and say "Why didn't Leanne speak up" when really, the design was approved by Brooke Shields so what would she say? "No, you really need slacks with this." Slacks weren't what he pitched.

Though they would have improved the whole thing enormously.



Laura K. at Blogging Project Runway said that she was impressed with Jerell's attitude and the way he treated Stella. It was really admirable, and I think that the dress really shows how much they respected each other.

It's not my personal taste, but I could really see it working on Brooke Shields and on the show. I can see it working in an office setting with different accessories, and as it is out on the town. A side note, I'm really tired of this "day to night" junk on the show. Everybody seems to think it means some sort of wacky convertible thing, but really it could just be a look that works well in both settings, like this one.

The only qualm I have about this one is that the very top of it doesn't seem to fit the model very well. There's something about the way it flowed on the runway that didn't look fitted properly.

I have to say I really love the skirt. I would actually like to see if I could pull off a skirt like that. It's the type of subtle but fun print that I think they expected out of Kelli.



Am I the only one that is completely reminded of Ugly Betty with this model and the styling here? Yeah? Just me? Okay.

I love the top, I think it's really fabulous. The print is, again, really great. It's a fun bit of design and I really like it. I'm also so glad that the other print that Kenley was advocating was nixed, because seriously, what in the world was she thinking? No, please, no.

I'm not actually that big of a fan of the skirt, but it's just not my style. I can see how it could come off pretty well in the right setting, but something about it on the runway didn't seem right to me. Maybe it was the unfinished edges on the scallops, or just that they looked unfinished.

You know, I don't really like the high-waisted trend, have I said this before? On this dress it almost works, but I think lowering the waist even a few inches would have made it more successful.

But as it is, it's still a deserving win.



I have so many problems with this outfit, and that's why I'm not even that sad to see Kelli go, even as good as her first outfit was.

The colors don't seem to go, the print is just not the right choice, and my biggest problem? That the construction just seems shoddy from top to bottom.

The top is cut strangely, the bustier left this swatch of midriff that was entirely inappropriate, and it didn't look at all like they had the same time as everybody else. It looked like they took three or four hours less.

I would have been okay with Daniel going home too, if only because if you notice, I still haven't seen him repeat anything nearly as good as the cup dress and because I'm so sick and tired of how absolutely APPALLED he looks when anybody disagrees with him or says something bad about him.

Watch his reactions to anything from Joe fussing at him at his machine to Michael Kors' insults last week to Kenley's outburst of laughing (which matched my own, I admit): he's shocked, SHOCKED I tell you, that anybody could doubt him! WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?

Really? Daniel, you haven't even shown the personality and the ego to back up your indignation (see Santino for an example of this) so just let it go.



I know, I must be crazy, but I kind of enjoy this look. The colors are fun and bright, the skirt is a great counterpoint to the jacket, and it might not have as much flash as say, Jerell and Stella's contribution but I like it. It's something I could imagine seeing on stylish women in NYC.

The sleeves are a little much, but only a little.



I'm getting a little tired of Terri's schtick. This is a perfectly acceptable garment, I couldn't wear the shirt at all but I could imagine the girls I work with looking really great in this outfit. It's a little casual for the office, but not too bad for the type of office Shields' character works in.

But I really don't see anything extraordinary about it. What sets it apart? Why does it deserve any praise? I'm not really getting on the Terri bandwagon. I want to see her do something new and different, and something really fascinating. I guess we'll see.

This episode was so emblematic of this entire season. I could write an essay on it. But when they had the bottom four on the runway, all I could think was "As long as Leanne stays, I won't feel at all sorry for anybody else leaving."

Though that weird brown thing Leanne was wearing did try my patience a little.