Project Runway 8/20/08--"Good Queen Fun" summary

Previously on Project Runway: everyone had to make clothes for Brooke Shields to wear on her TV show. Once again some people didn’t listen to the challenge, which was a day-to-evening look. Shorts are not day-to-evening. However, Blayne’s shorts were saved by Kelli’s cheap and slutty bustier with animal print. Since it was a team challenge, and Kelli was in charge, she went home, even though she tried to sell Daniel down the river in her place. Terri said something totally inappropriate about Suede, which was hilarious, making me like her a lot. Kenley became really annoying and now I want her to go. I mean, laughing at Daniel during judging? When he’s not even part of your team and no one is talking to you? Ugh. (click for more)

Someone has put up a Post-it in one of the apartments that says “too much drama!” Of course. Korto says that Daniel is too safe and that is the wrong strategy. Except she says that after she expresses her non-shock that Kelli went home so…shouldn’t your strategy involve not going home? In the other apartment Joe and Blayne discuss how Keith’s skirt was all raw cut chiffon and it shouldn’t have won. Joe thinks the judges are blind.

Heidi appears and brings the velvet bag of doom, but does not discuss models. She says she has a special guest to help announce the next challenge. Behind the scrim is a very large figure in a dress and giant Viking helmet with horns. Everyone expresses dismay and confusion until we hear Chris March’s laugh. He appears in opera singer garb, complete with sequins and a bra he made from a disco ball. I mean, I don’t have proof of that, but judging from the shape and size, it’s pretty likely. Each side is half the ball, plus a cross shaped piece to hold it together. OH! What if it SPINS?!?! That would be the best. (Kmanpat: “I don’t think my brain could handle it if that thing spun.”) Suede labels it a yodeling outfit. Sadly the bra does not spin. When he gets over to Heidi she can’t greet him properly because his boobs are too big. Then you can see how Chris remembered to put on false eyelashes but did not shave off his goatee. The shots of the designers show how nervous they are. Chris announces the best challenge ever: design an outfit for a drag queen! No one seems thrilled, and Blayne says “too much drama” although I’m not sure where that came from. Terri shares my opinion of this challenge and says she loves drag queens. Awesome. Then the models come out. Korto says that they are huge and there is too much to look at. Stella looks pretty pissed, which is weird, since I bet at least one of them would like a leather outfit. Everyone introduces themselves, which is also super entertaining because they of course have names such as Farrah Moans and Sharon Needles. All of them have a sound bite, which is weird, because some of them sound really rehearsed, like they were forced to come up with one and then they practiced it. Some of them seem almost shy. Anyways, Chris encourages them to be over the top and go all out. Everyone picks clients, and Keith picks one with great legs. Seriously, I wish my legs looked like hers. Everyone else picks their clients and manages not to look too uncomfortable. Heidi leaves with Chris and they discuss going to get pretzels and beer. Hee.

Tim comes in and says that each of their clients has a particular persona and they have to match it. He also says to go over the top, so you know a bunch of them won’t. They’ll have 30 minutes to meet, and then the rest of today and all day tomorrow to sew. Brooke Shields gets one day and the drag queens get two? Also all the outfits will get auctioned off for Broadway Cares which is an HIV/AIDS charity. Time for consultations. Joe winces as Suede’s client (Hedda Lettuce) makes herself known in a loud fashion. Jerell’s client says she doesn’t need costumes. Korto is going for reds and oranges. Blayne is thrilled to have color, but he demands tasteful. Leanne is talking Jetsons and futuristic, but I think she has it confused with her client’s actual look which is Goth. Those are not the same. Joe quietly freaks out in the corner. No, he tries to talk to his client, but he interviews that he cannot wrap his brain around any part of this challenge so he’s going to pretend he’s making a Halloween costume. Daniel is going couture. As they file out of the workroom one of them says “Tim call me!” He just laughs, but I think he’s blushing.
Shopping time! $200 for fabrics and sundry. Terri is buying as much as she can because Acid Betty is like 7 feet tall. Stella sadly did not get either of the two models that matched her best, so she can’t do a whole leather outfit. Kenley wants old Hollywood.

Tim lets them begin knowing the winner will have immunity. Keith complains that he didn’t get immunity when he won so he feels he deserves it. Yeah, but your outfit is supposed to be on TV, and not basic cable either, so shush. Joe is convinced to put on “the boobies” and he dances a stupid white boy dance. You see, since these are drag queens, the normal female dress forms won’t work. They’re too small in addition to being shaped wrong. So they’ve been given male dress forms, which they have to alter in some way so they have breasts. Joe’s client kindly left her boobies behind so he’d be able to fit her better. Daniel was not so lucky and is reduced to begging Kenley to remove her bra. That goes over much as you’d expect. Korto seems really really lost. Joe stops freaking out. Terri opines that these girls are serious like Miss America. Hee. Blayne starts with the “licious” BS again and I try not to listen. Stella, and Keith, and Leanne all give the same basic interview, which is “Shut up, Blayne.”

Somehow we skip to day 2. I guess nothing else happened. There are sequins and brightly colored fabrics scattered everywhere. Jerell fills us in on his middle-class background. Suede babbles about his dead grandfather and seeds? I don’t know OH DEAR GOD HE’S MAKING ROSETTES. (Kmanpat: “You go, Angela.”) Then he says he still misses his grandfather so I kind of feel bad for making fun of that. But not the rosettes. Keith has more fringe, which he says is different from the other fringe. Kenley runs to tell everyone, because that is how she is. Although this does bring up a good point, which is that there is a lot of trash talking this season. A lot. Do they ask them in confessional to comment on everyone else’s clothes? Because I don’t remember anyone having time to notice before in other seasons.

Tim sends in everyone’s clients for fittings. I do a double take along with the designers because no one is in makeup or drag. Terri tells her client she has no problem with a wardrobe malfunction. Korto for some reason promises us she’s dressed plus size women before, an they’re people too, etc. it’s that kind of defensive “I’m totally open-minded!” that always seems like the person is trying too hard, even if they are totally sincere. Someone tries to comment on the outfit and Sweetie says “I didn’t ask you, other designer” and then he badmouths Kenley’s outfit. Hee. (Editing note: I wasn’t sure if a drag queen was “she” or “he” when out of costume and makeup but we think it’s “he”. Apologies if that is wrong.) Jerell has a big collar but his client isn’t thrilled. Joe has made a sequined pink jumpsuit. Wow. Suede’s rosettes freak out Hedda Lettuce and he says he feels Godzilla-ish. There is a coat with cap sleeves, and a dress, and the gloves with rosettes. Then he asks for sleeves. Why would you have sleeves with gloves that come past your elbows? Suede doesn’t have sleeves, and the response is, “Were you being lazy with the gloves because you didn’t want to put sleeves on the outfit?” Huh? Making gloves from scratch is less work than putting sleeves on a jacket? On what planet? Terri sticks up for her friend with a well placed “oh no she di’int!” Suede gets pissed and says he’s doing what he wants. After everyone leaves Suede shares his annoyance and everyone backs him up. Then they call Hedda Lettuce “Soggy Lettuce” and snicker.

Tim time! And Chris March too! They love Korto’s flames on her outfit. I do too, they look really cool. She’s still working on the skirt. Blayne has bright blue and then somehow pink triangles? They look like kites and they attach to her shoulders and then ribbons hang down. Tim declares it “pterodactyl out of a gay Jurassic Park”. Ha! The whole room laughs. Blayne…loves it. No, he thinks it’s the best compliment ever. Chris loves Joe’s garment, especially since he changed the collar so the jumpsuit is less “Elvis” and more “Navy”. Well, as Navy as you can get in pink sequins. Chris loves Suede’s gloves and rosettes. I don’t know. Tim puts on his bitch pants and says Suede should make Hedda wear the gloves and say don’t mess with me, sister. Interesting. Keith has some fringe…he says he’ll “sculpt” it on his client tomorrow. Tim and Chris don’t have anything nice to say. Daniel has yellow and orange in an eye-searing combination. The skirt is wonderful but the top is kind of plain. It’s totally flamenco, though, so that’s something. Daniel makes Blayne try on his dress. I don’t know. Blayne thinks it’s not over the top enough. Jerell knows he has to sell his outfit something fierce.

The day of the show everyone comes back in to finish. Tim gives them 1 hour with their models, who enter the workroom in various stages of makeup/wigs. Some have all their makeup, some have very little, some have no wigs, some have hair already done. Who knows? Terri says her outfit is entirely her point of view and she just has to hope her client likes it. Keith says that his client didn’t want him to trim any of the fringe. Suede is still working, and he tells Hedda that he made some changes but in the end they have to agree. More like she has to agree with him. They kind of make up. I bet the hair and makeup people have never seen anything like this. Korto says it’s love or hate with her outfit. Stella is standing on a chair to finish sewing.

Heidi appears to introduce the guest judge: RuPaul. I must say, girl needs some new extensions. Kenley and Farrah Moans: silver sequined dress with black and white ostrich plumes in a giant collar. It’s kind of Showgirls, but more modest. Not classic and Marilyn Monroe. Kors is dying. Blayne and Miss Understood: short hot pink and electric blue dress, black belt, and fishnets. Then there are those wing things, trailing ribbons. It hurts my eyes. Joe and Varla Jean Merman: neon pink sailor suit. With flared legs, a wide collar, and a wide low-slung belt. It’s pretty good, actually. Stella and Luisa Verde: black long dress, with a pink plaid panel in the front and down the back. There’s a train too. And grommets. I think it’s strapless with sheer sleeves tacked on. Suede and Hedda Lettuce: VERY short skirt and top in green, then the cap sleeved jacket, then the gloves and stupid rosettes. Daniel and Annida Greenkard: yellow and orange halter top and flounced skirt. You know what fabric it might be? The one Wendy Pepper made her swimsuit out of. The one with the wavy corset back. It’s not terribly over the top but it’s nice. Terri and Acid Betty: red and black shiny corset, over a white kimono with a silver collar and long traditional sleeves with a blue stripe down the center. Very short. Jerell and LeMay: a pretty normal looking dress in gold, blue, and black. The fabrics are cut in vertical stripes that swirl, and the hem is frayed or maybe it’s beads. There’s a big collar that she pops up at the end of the runway. Korto and Sweetie: red sequins everywhere, and then these narrower pieces up by her face like flames. Like a giant corsage. And then a big poofy skirt that comes off too. Hee. Even Nina is laughing. Keith and Sherry Vine: miniskirt and the top doesn’t seem to meet in the middle, but I think that’s on purpose. Lots of skin. The fringe isn’t interesting. She looks pissed but that might just be her. He says it’s different from all his other work. Leanne and Sharon Needles: black and grey dress with an angular skirt and collar. There are pieces in both that stick out and look pointy. There’s blue in the skirt.

Blayne, Kenley, Suede, Stella, and Leanne are safe. Terri calls her look “super samurai”. RuPaul loves it. Nina says it’s mahogany (Mahogany?) crossed with KISS. Hee. Kors likes the boots. Keith pretends he achieved “sex kitten”. When Heidi calls it messy he says that “rock and roll” can be messy. Nina is confused, and Kors calls her a sad chicken. Ouch. RuPaul even has suggestions. They bring up how he’s been called on his messiness before. Joe (who is dwarfed by his client, hee) wanted to show off her assets. Namely her ass. She looks amazing but is also covered up. Everyone loves all of it. Jerell was going for “Hollywood glamour” but RuPaul says that the dress is too long. Even though it hits her knee. So her legs look too short. Kors calls it too normal. Wow. He says one of his aunts would have worn that dress. Oh, that’s cold. Korto went for fire and she went out there. Everyone knows she had fun, made a flattering shape, looked great. Daniel wanted something soft but still looking flamenco. This was a moment to do fantasy and Nina wanted sequins and stuff. Daniel says that would have caused him to throw up, which can’t be a popular opinion. Heidi wants more drama. Daniel wanted “drag” but not “showgirl”. Uh, duh. Everyone rolls their eyes because he doesn’t get it. RuPaul says these girls got to make their money!

Good: Terri (everywhere you looked there was something interesting), Joe (showstopper outfit, the belt hides “the candy”, it has attitude), and Korto (innovative, Sweetie felt good in it so everyone is happier). Bad: Keith (messy, not paying attention to the body ever), Jerell (too long, too much like any costume you could find anywhere), Daniel (didn’t fit the challenge, no one wants to wear it, too defensive). Kors knows that both times Daniel’s failed to meet the challenge at all, he gets defensive when criticized which is probably why he keeps doing it.

I missed this week’s poll question when they asked it, but apparently 54% of respondents would rather see Tim in drag, as opposed to Kors. I say, ew to both. They would make terrible women.

Terri is in. Joe wins! I liked Korto’s better, but Joe did do a really good job. He’s thrilled and more confident about making it to the end. Terri looks kind of pissed for some reason, probably because she feels robbed again. Korto is in. Jerell is in. Daniel didn’t go over the top and had too many excuses. Keith’s outfit was random and unpolished and they’d seen it before. Daniel is out. He thinks he’s letting people down somehow. Everyone seems sad, especially Keith for some reason. He reiterates his taste level.

Next week: field trip. Industrial work, with everyone wearing heavy gloves. Trash? I think it’s trash. And LAURA BENNETT is the guest judge. Oh, I hope she rips someone a new one.