Project Runway 9/23/10--"Race to the Finish" summary

Previously on Project Runway: sportswear! Be inspired by Jackie O! But we can’t call her Jackie O because the Kennedys don’t like it. The judges were extra cranky because the challenge was changed last minute and what Tim told the designers to do is not what the producers told the judges they were supposed to do. Tim actually got up on the runway and argued with them. They cut that part. Mondo won, because he made something super cute. Mike D. had a mental breakdown, but it was funny and he knew it, and I thought his outfit was fine but the judges hated it and sent him home. (click for more)

Gretchen apparently is only now figuring out it’s a competition, as Mike D.’s presence was such a “present” to her. Seriously, her face is so smug, like she is laying down pearls of wisdom that we’ll want to copy down and bind in a pretty notebook with flowers. The boys lay around in bed. Chris and Mondo have to move in with the other boys and they don’t want to. Mondo doesn’t, anyway. Ivy says Valerie was “broken” by being on the bottom. Valerie says Ivy is a great person. Andy tells us it’s nice to be living with people he trusts again.

Heidi once again is making Tim fill the designers in on the challenge, possibly because she has no idea what it is. However, if they win this challenge they will be taking home “a big chunk of change”. Tim is waiting for everyone with Collier Strong (where’s he been?) and he says they must design a look for a L’Oreal Paris “advertorial”. High fashion and couture. Mondo is excited because he can do something over-the-top. The winner will get $20,000. Sweet. That is more than Mondo makes in a year. Actually, I think it’s more than most of these people make in a year. In front of the designers are pyramids of eyeshadow duos in different finishes. They’re going to have to use one of the finishes for inspiration. Mondo gets first pick, and he takes “Bright”. Ivy also takes “Bright”. The other finishes are “Crystal” (Chris and Valerie), “Matte” (April), “Metallic” (Michael and Andy), and “Velvet” (Gretchen). Tim cautions the room in general that if they don’t know how to work with velvet they probably don’t want to go literal if they end up with that finish. They get $300 to shop, because it’s a big look. And they get two days! Everyone cheers.

Sketching goes well, in that pretty much everyone knows what they want to do. At Mood Swatch, the puppy, barks over Tim until Tim pays attention to him. Hee. Mondo grabs some super bright color as always. Tim chases Swatch down.

April interviews that a lot of people are kicking back, knowing it’s a two day challenge. April herself, however, is working hard because “you never know”. Yeah, that’s probably a good philosophy on this show. Valerie bought silk, which is going to be hard to work with. Ivy has a lot of hand-fitting in her future. Mondo claims he’s not paying attention to anyone else but he knows who has issues. Gretchen gets all pissy because Mike C. happens to have the same colors as she does, so of course he copied her. Whatever. I think Michael’s color is darker than Gretchen’s, and it’s also a different type of fabric. Gretchen claims she’s not threatened but she is insulted that “some boundaries were crossed.” You don’t own colors. Then she says “Somehow, I’ve created a monster” as if in addition to owning the color she is responsible for Mike C.’s success. April tells her to calm down. Also I was wrong, Gretchen doesn’t know what she’s doing.

Everyone gets makeup consults with fabric swatches and super crazy makeup. I did miss Collier though. He’s pretty cool.

Tim time! Valerie has a lot of layers to sew and some rhinestones to put on her dress. Mondo has some crazy stripes, but crazy Mondo clothes are fantastic for an editorial. Andy says he has to come out on top because he’s been in the bottom too many times. He’s making a warrior costume, and Tim asks if he’s taking it far enough. Gretchen’s outfit looks like a robe. A velvet robe. Ivy’s “waves and crashing” causes Tim to make a face. He doesn’t want her to go pageant.
Gretchen tells Mondo that Tim said to her that the designers have to wow the judges or they’ll be out. I love that Mondo is drinking a Capri Sun. Gretchen “believe[s] in [her] heart” that she and Mondo are destined to be at Fashion Week. The models come in. Michael has his dress done, mostly, but a lot of people are still working with muslin. Andy is making a headpiece. Mondo’s model is much smaller than his dressform so he has to take in the bodice. A lot. It turns out he’s got to completely start over. Isn’t this his usual model? Doesn’t he already know his model’s measurements?

The next day no one is really excited about the amount of work left. Mondo wonders aloud to the sewing room if they’d let his model walk the runway in panties and a bustier. Of course they would.

Tim time! Actually, he says that he loathes what he is about to say, but he believes it will help them. He says that they must make a ready-to-wear look to go with their current high fashion look. This is stupid. I mean…you knew there was a twist, but usually this stupid “make a whole second look” crap comes when they’re working in a group or in pairs. Now we’re talking each individual person has to make two full outfits. April says she’s in a good spot but there are a ton of people who are screwed. Andy has to use his previous patterns. Ivy is going to get more of the same fabric she bought yesterday. Valerie is wandering aimlessly around Mood.

Chris has lace he is now gluing instead of sewing. Mike C. is fine time wise. April is going to buy a miniature pony if she wins. Hee! Mondo is going to use it for drinking money. He says other people are blinded by the dollar signs and hopefully they get distracted. He’s going to make his second look if it ends up being clearance rack.

Tim time again! Valerie is not super happy but she has to send two things down. She doesn’t want to send something she’s not happy with, in case she ends up on the bottom. Tim tells her to make it work, because she doesn’t have time. Don’t worry about how your original design isn’t turning out, send out what you do have. Valerie interviews that she’s lost a day and a half now and she goes to cry in the bathroom. Ivy goes to see what is wrong, and Gretchen sneaks into the bathroom too. Eventually they find a female cameraperson (or at least the male cameraperson says screw it and goes into the bathroom) and Valerie calms down. Ivy interviews that Valerie complains a lot and it’s wearying. Well, then don’t follow her into the bathroom and pretend to care that she’s upset. Mondo reveals that the new looks will be worn by one of the previously eliminated models. Model fitting is fun, in that Ivy complains her model is fatter than the measurements. She’s not finished.

Valerie is much better in the morning. The boys gossip that Valerie has done the same thing, again, and this might be the week the judges get tired of it. A lot of people have a lot of work to do. Gretchen finally realizes her stuff is different and that may be a bad thing. The workroom is trashed.

Guest judge is Naeem Khan, who has dressed Michelle Obama, among others. April: black fitted jacket and what look like hot pants, with a bustle and a train in tulle. It’s cool but for an editorial? Her ready-to-wear is a black dress, very April, with poofy shoulders. Actually I think the shoulders might be shredded fabric and not poofs. Mondo: black bodice with black and white checks in a strip down the front. But it does not fit her well, it’s too big. The skirt is long and black, slim, but with a huge bustle in pink, blue, and yellow striped with black, and some black tulle for good measure. It looks pretty high fashion. His RTW look is a short shift dress, with black and white chevrons down the front and black on the side panels. Ivy: long dress in teal and dark blue. The dark blue is an overlay that goes diagonally across her chest, and then across her skirt. It’s supposed to be waves. The model has to pick up her skirt. It’s a nice dress but I don’t know how “fashion” it is. The RTW is a short strapless dress in the dark blue. It’s pretty boring. Michael: long strapless dress in burgundy with a super long train. There’s a peplum and the train actually has fallen off the runway. The model went to turn around and the train was so heavy it fell off the side of the runway. Oops. RTW, short dress with a similar peplum (but less folding in the skirt) and a short skirt, and the other designers talk about how hot she looks. But GIANT EXPOSED ZIPPER, loses points.

Chris: white bodice, but with lace and illusion netting, so it looks like the bodice only covers half her chest, with a pastie on her other boob. Made of lace. The white and lace goes down to mid thigh where it turns into flowy pink. Ugh. On the side of her body that is covered, the shoulder is poofy, and it looks like he wrapped extra fabric around her hips. RTW, tight gray dress with a lavender panel in front and in back. It’s a little longer than the other RTW dresses have been. Gretchen: velvet Ren Faire dress. There’s no getting around it. The velvet is in a weird burgundy/pale lavender horizontal striped pattern, and it has big wide elbow length kimono sleeves, and a long skirt that is like a peasant skirt. The front has a deep V but the girl has a camisole underneath. PLUS the girl is wearing strings of crystals in her hair like a crown. As she walks there seems to be darker purple palazzo pants to match the cami under the velvet in the skirt. But it’s still not very good, now the whole thing looks like a velvet robe over some pajamas. The back has a cutout, and somehow the velvet is feathered? It looks frayed or something. Gretchen thinks it’s the best thing she’s ever done. RTW, a gray-blue top with the same sleeves, and a neckline that’s obviously been taped in place. The top opens…you know when you wear a bathrobe, but it doesn’t close in front so the sides just kind of drape along your sides and leave an inverted triangle. The top is cut like that, and the skirt is knee length and striped. Valerie: long white dress with some loops over one shoulder that have crystals. The rest of the dress is kind of boring. RTW is a plain black dress with a crooked neckline and straps. Andy: tight long-sleeved jacket covered in pleated circles. Like, he folded fabric the way we all did when making fans out of a piece of paper, and then put them over her shoulders and sides like armor. Plus she’s got tight pants with the pleats on her ankles too. And a headpiece, like a skullcap with a hole for a long ponytail. It’s pretty cool. RTW, simple black dress with long sleeves and a V neck. The sleeves and side panels are shiny and different fabric from the rest of the dress.

Chris and April are safe. Chris is safe? Huh? OK. Ivy, Valerie, and Michael had the low scores. Wait…that means you gave Gretchen a high score? Crack smoking! In the Scrap Bin everyone wonders why Gretchen was in the top. She’s out on the runway saying her high fashion look is a fantasy of who she wants to be. Yeah. Kors thinks women would wear that dress, which, no. Heidi wants to wear the dress backwards, which probably would make it better. Naeem agrees. Her hair makes it too costumey. Andy wanted to make a strong silhouette warrior woman. His vision carried through in both looks. His RTW dress still has a metallic but it’s not as obvious. They show the pants, and they really are fantastic. The boots fit into the pants, which are tightly covered in metallic fabric that blends into the boots, so it looks like she’s wearing knee-high boots. Heidi doesn’t like the high fashion look but doesn’t say why. Mondo wanted to make a kaleidoscope for the high fashion, but go the opposite way for the RTW and have just black and white. He also made a hat out of loops this morning. They love the hat and her hair. He was bold with the stripes, but the gown is a little too short. The fabric looks a little cheap, but the back of the dress, with all the fabrics showing, is fantastic and Kors says “Kentucky Derby horse ribbon explosion”. Nina loves color.

Loser time. Ivy thought “beach in Hawaii” for bright. She talks about the ocean and waves, but Nina looks super bored already. Kors says bridesmaids dress, and then he says everyone up there is having a bridesmaid/pageant problem. Then he says the necklines are “nursey” because they’re lopsided. The colors aren’t light enough, the dresses don’t fit and they make the models look old. Naeem says she tried very hard but it’s overkill. The back looks better because the straps in the front are lopsided too. Valerie was initially inspired by Audrey Hepburn, regal and elegant and light and buoyant. And the opposite for her RTW. She didn’t let the fabric talk to her, and she tried to make a soft dress out of structured fabric. Nina says her high fashion model looks like Miss Guatemala. That dress is better than some of the stuff I see on those pageants. Nina then questions her taste level. Kors starts in on the wacky and she needs a wand, but the RTW girl has like, 3 crystal buttons on there for no reason. Michael’s fabric, on closer inspection, is kind of shiny so his theme of “metallic” isn’t so random. He liked the shapes in his skirt, and then something simple for RTW. Everyone is confused. He also points out he’s never been in the bottom and he’s nervous. The proportions are off, although the RTW is cute. Heidi claims to be disturbed by a short skirt and low-cut top, as if she never does that. Kors says he’s the only one up there who has good construction. That includes the wire in the hem of his high fashion gown. Oo, he did. Not good. And she’s got netting over her face. Kors compares her to “Gone With the Wind”.

Everyone loves that Andy did pants, and upon closer inspection it grows on you. Heidi is still pissy about the high fashion look, although she likes the cocktail dress. Mondo embraces color and mixes it well, and constructs very well. And his RTW dress is very slimming. Gretchen’s look was “Gretchen but elevated” and they praise her a lot, and Nina points out it would photograph well which is a good point. But she could have done more with her RTW look. Kors points out that when the model moves you can see the skirt is slit up to her hip. Now we move on to the losers, who are deemed “My Fair Lady”, “Gone With the Wind”, and “The Little Mermaid”. Mike C. just kept going when he should have stopped, but his clothes could have been easily improved. But you can’t save Valerie’s high fashion dress, and her RTW dress is like a Xanax. There’s no idea and she has no understanding of fabric. Ivy’s dress was tragic. The fabric made her model look terrible and the color was terrible and the neckline was terrible. Plus Kors is worried that Ivy always seems to run out of time. Heidi and Naeem want to get rid of Ivy, but Nina votes for Valerie. Kors can’t decide because “it’s an unbelievably tight race for idiots today”.

Mondo is the winner! He says he currently has $14 to his name. Well, $20,014 now. April asks him to buy her a pony. Hee. Andy is in. Gretchen is in. Michael is in. Ivy is out. Valerie looks stunned, and then Heidi tells her she’s in, but they drag it out like they might get rid of both of them. Valerie goes to the Scrap Bin and cries that it should have been her. Man, now I don’t have to listen to Ivy bitch about stuff anymore. Nice. She’s like, “Oh, no sad faces! But I’m really going to miss designing.” Um, you can still be a designer. It’s a TV show. Of course this makes everyone reassure her she should still design, and then Valerie is all, I wish I could go home for you, and can we please just let her leave? Because she was all crying when she was saying how much she loved designing, but those tears dried up mighty quickly when Valerie said that. And she said NOTHING in response, just looked pissed that someone was taking attention off her. Ivy had more to show, and she interviews that she has more creativity than some of the people left, and she’s going to sacrifice to pursue her dream. And now she’s “definitely” going to keep going, even though we JUST saw her say how much she is going to miss designing.

Clips of Mondo’s “advertorial” and I hate that term already. It all looks fantastic. Plus he gets to be in the spread too. Sadly he is dressed normally.

Next week: design your own fabric. “Special guests”. There’s crying so I think it’s family members. Plus the commercial I saw said cheating.