Project Runway 9/16/10--"A Rough Day on the Runway" summary

Previously on Project Runway: resort wear! Plus everyone make each others’ clothes! Mondo got stuck with Mike C. but then proved to actually be an adult, or at least to be cognizant of how he’s on TV and people will judge him. He then was really nice. Ivy continued to be the bitch of the show, and told everyone she had to make her design super simple so that Mike D. could sew it. I mean, he agreed and said that she could throw him under the bus, but she was still uppity about it and claimed that totally wasn‘t what she was doing. April made some lingerie, but since apparently everything is sheer this season she won. Seriously. It’s all sheer. Casanova still had trouble with his taste level and he was sent home. (click for more)

The boys discuss how it’s quieter without Casanova. And more boring. Mike C. tells Andy how he got called out for making faces about Ivy. Andy looks disapproving. Ivy claims, again, that she is over him. Mike C. says she needs to prove she should be there. He makes a sort of lame joke and smiles at himself.

Heidi’s dress is too short. I mean, most of her skirts are too short, I guess, so this isn’t anything different. She says today they’ll be “looking to the past to secure your future”. I guess she’s not getting paid overtime because Tim will have to give them the details. Gretchen feels this involves corsets, which she is not a fan of, as she is sporting braids wrapped around her head like a crown.

The designers end up in a “capsule studio” somewhere. Projected on the wall behind Tim is a collage of photos of Jackie O. “She is how the world perceives classic American sportswear.” Today’s challenge is to design your own take on classic American sportswear. But it must include your point of view as a designer. Jackie O. is the inspiration/muse. They’ll have $150 at Mood. Chris is happy because he does sportswear. See, some of these designers don’t do sportswear, but I don’t mind them being out of the box. Valerie wants to do some separates. Shopping is the usual, unexciting, except that Ivy is really confused.

Mondo starts to drape a dress, but gets frustrated with it. His fabric is a purple plaid which looks cool, I think, but Gretchen doesn’t like it. Mondo has to work with it, though, because he can‘t get anything else. Mike D. doesn’t do sportswear, but he’s using sportswear fabric. Does that count? He jokes that his outfit might be too fancy. “For this challenge I decided to channel the earliest American: the Puritan.” Hee. He is making a skirt out of wool crepe, with pleats, and he babbles for a while and then says he doesn’t care because he’s probably going insane. Hee. Valerie seems to have a zebra print and a lot of details. She says she’s the Susan Lucci of the show. So either she’s going to win, or be eliminated. The sewing room has a discussion about how you shouldn’t second guess yourself. Ivy snobs that no one else knows what “sportswear” is. Valerie is asking everyone for advice. Mike C. is worried. Andy’s pants are super huge. He’s taking a risk.

Tim time! Chris has a silver gray dress that looks too expensive. Tim thinks Valerie’s leggings will be too vulgar. She doesn’t want to commit. Mike C. has two dresses now. However they are both cocktail dresses which is not good. Andy has cargo pants. Mondo’s print is very Mondo but Mike D. says it’s Jackie O. on mescaline. Mike D.’s skirt is very heavy and Puritan. Tim says Annie Oakley.

Models. Mondo calls his fabric “First Tranny”. Ivy has no pants to fit. April hates Andy’s pants. They give the girl a wedgie. Valerie says the two dresses Mike C. has are very Donna Karan and “I don’t see him as a designer” and would people please stop saying that? Seriously? I get that designers should have a point of view, but it’s such a snobby way of saying “I don’t like him”. Andy ties some lace over Mike D.’s face and everyone makes dirty sex jokes. Ivy is flailing.

In the morning the girls make comments about Andy. Mean comments. Mondo is joking around too. Tim appears and says today is not a runway day. Mike C. wants to smack Tim when he says things like that, and OH NO YOU DI’INT. Tim says they all have to make one outerwear item to go with their outfit. Mike D. is “Captain Outerwear”, he says, but Mike C. hates it as he lives in Florida, which is not known for outerwear. Valerie was already making a jacket, but Tim says that she has to make something else. They’ll get another $150. April says “outerwear” doesn’t have to be a jacket, but I have a hard time trying to figure out what else it would be, if it has to be sportswear. At Mood Mike C. is fingering a bolt of fabric but Gretchen walks up and says she’s taking some of it. Why can’t he use it too? I don’t understand. He says he rises above that kind of stuff.

Chris is using leather and he feels kind of bad. He also has never used leather before. That’s a problem. Ivy claims to be totally thrilled about this extra piece. Valerie says she’s an outwear designer but can’t make a coat this time for some reason. Chris shaves his hide. I mean…he bought animal skin with fur on it and the fur is too long. Mondo feels like Harry Potter in his capelet coat thing. Mike C. thinks his jacket looks like a towel. The sewing room bitches about how he makes so many things and waits for Tim to tell him what to do. Isn’t that EXACTLY what Valerie was doing? Asking everyone else for advice? And isn’t Valerie in the sewing room right now bitching about it? GOD. Mike says if they’re going to hate on him for winning, then “step it up and win a fucking challenge”. True that.

Tim time part two! Valerie is making a vest. She thinks she can finish on time. Tim doesn’t trust Mike D.’s skirt, although it didn’t look that bad on the model. Mike demonstrates Tim’s various levels of concern, measured by how close his hand is to his mouth. Hee. Andy’s clothes are really him, although the pants are riding up in the crotch. Tim tells him “Jackie O. would not have camel toe”. Ha! Mondo needs shape and detail in his outerwear. Mike C. has three jackets. Tim tells him to hide some of his fabric so he won’t have to look at it. Chris just gets a concerned look. He’s made a shrug and it’s not much of anything.

Finally, today is the runway show. Mondo praises Mike D., which makes me nervous for Mike. Chris praises Mondo’s own outfit, which is a tank top and shorts with suspenders. The girls are shittalking people. The boys get Mondo to tap dance.

Chris needs a perfect fit. Why is everyone always talking about Mike C.’s outfits? Don’t they talk about anyone else? Mike D. thinks they’re all elitist. Andy has an insane crotch. Chris doesn’t like his shrug that much. Mondo loves his jacket. Ivy is confident again. Mondo’s zipper breaks with 10 minutes left so he is freaking out. Valerie is hoping to be in eh middle. Gretchen’s look is very drapey. Mike D. is flailing and working right up until the last minute. Gretchen talks about how half the room sucks. Of course she is great.

Guest judge today is January Jones, who plays Betty Draper on “Mad Men”, if like me you do not watch “Mad Men”. Chris: gray short dress with a shrug. The shrug is stiff and bad. The dress has one shoulder, and a long piece draped down the side. It’s not terribly exciting, and I think sportswear is supposed to be more casual? I’m not sure. It’s simple and clean, though. April: black pencil skirt and sleeveless vest with a shirt collar. The outerwear is a sheer vest/jacket thing. I can’t see it well. Ivy: wide legged black pants, a white top with an asymmetrical collar, and a sheer gray jacket with a bow in the back. It’s nicely made, although not super exciting. Maybe I am just bored by sportswear. Mike C.: bright blue one shouldered dress, with no back. The front seems just draped on. The jacket is a denim, black, and has a sash and one big lapel on one side. The jacket looks cool, but I don’t know about the bright royal blue of the dress. Gretchen: brown skirt in a swirly pattern, and a black halter top. The outerwear is a camel jacket, very loose, with loose elbow sleeves and a brown belt. it’s OK. Mike D.: gray very full pleated skirt, and matching tank top with a gray layer and a white layer. The jacket is a cropped black and white tweedy checkered pattern that is very cute. Valerie: black pencil skirt and a black jacket, with a purple halter top underneath. I can’t see any other details. Andy: tight long sleeved shirt and gray vest with a big collar. The pants are super draped gray knee length cargo pants with an insane crotch. Seriously, they’re like, very wide legged shorts, where he took the fabric from the hem and attached it back up at her waist. Mondo: short pencil skirt in a purple tweed, a horizontal black and white striped top with a boatneck, and a short jacket with elbow length sleeves.

Mike C., April, and Gretchen are safe. Mike C. thought he was going home, while Gretchen thought she was a winner. Mike agrees with her, but interviews that in reality he hates her outfit. Valerie wanted to do something modern but with an edge. Heidi asks her if that’s why she put a jacket over a jacket. Valerie takes off the black jacket and the purple underneath does look kind of like a jacket. It’s got a high neck and a zipper. She says you can use it as a blouse but also put a camisole underneath. The black jacket has no sleeves. Kors says it’s sad looking. She was trying to keep it simple, but Kors thinks it’s boring. Then they nail her about the color and the ankle boots and trying to use zippers to be gimmicky. Chris was going for effortless with the dress. January loves the dress, as does Kors. But the shrug isn’t working. The dress has a nice neckline that is covered by a shrug. Heidi says the shrug looks dirty. Mike D. was making a deconstructed jacket. Kors says she’s old lady on top and a cheerleader on bottom. He hates the skirt but I like it. The top has so little to do with sportswear Kors is insulted. It doesn’t fit right. Nina says this isn’t iconic. Mondo played with overblown textiles. After he talks about his design, Heidi teases him about his own clothes. Hee. He wanted to make it look expensive, and he even lined his jacket in purple. The judges love how it doesn’t look cheap and is elegant and they can totally see Jackie O. in it. Ivy was inspired by triangles and squares because shapes are timeless. That’s what she says. Kors says it’s sharp, and the jacket has an interesting closure and flaps. Heidi doesn’t like the top because there’s too much going on. The coat is too small, it sounds like. All the judges like it better without the coat. Andy tries to explain his pants by saying Jackie wasn’t afraid to have her own style. Heidi wants to laugh at him. She doesn’t see Jackie in this outfit at all. The pants really don’t fit in the crotch. Then they get on him about the shoes, but it’s obvious the shoe selection this season sucks ass. Andy is getting really defensive. The top is silk jersey, which isn’t fitted properly.

Andy is hurt because the judges pretty much laughed in his face. Yeah, that’s hard to take. Valerie was boring and blah. Nina hates the black Lycra skirt. Heidi complains about Andy’s clothes again, and they still hate on the boots. Nina, though, says that at least Andy might have a surprise somewhere left in him, as opposed to Valerie. Mike D. had poor proportions, and couldn’t make the pieces work. Chris’s dress is elegant and looked expensive, although his shrug was horrid. Mondo’s point of view might not be Jackie O. but it was appropriate and he thought about it. He was true to himself. Ivy’s collars were nice, but she had a problem with the jacket. Kors thinks so, anyway. Nina thinks this is the best she’s seen from Ivy, because she can’t forget the printed pants from the first challenge, and I THOUGHT THE JUDGES NEVER TOOK PAST DESIGNS INTO ACCOUNT. Sorry to yell, but they just said that during the team challenge and that was what? 3 episodes ago? There is disagreement about Ivy.

Mondo is the “clear” winner! Yay! Chris is in. Ivy is in. Andy is in. Valerie’s look was boring and cheap mall wear. Mike D.’s look was mismatched and ill-fitting. Valerie is in. BOO. Kmanpat and I will come visit you too! St. Louis represent! He’s sad mostly because he’ll miss his friends. Tim shows up and Mike tells him he is OK with not taking Tim’s advice. He tells Tim that he had to stand by his look, and Tim says “And it was your Waterloo.” Mike: “And I have to go look that up now.” As I am laughing, the producers put up a chyron defining “Waterloo”. HA! He has no regrets.

Next week: the winner of this challenge gets something “unprecedented”, Valerie is behind and freaking out, Tim is shaking, Nina calls something tragic.