Project Runway 7/30/26--"Catwalk on the Wild Side" summary

 

Previously on “Project Runway:” Bi was saved, of course, because that's the most drama option. Then for some reason Project Runway has paired with the NFL to make like, fashion offerings or something. Also a team challenge. Bobby actually wanted to lead but wasn't picked because of the “random” button bag, so of course she and Andriy (the actual leader) fought about everything. Lots of outfits with huge shoulders. Joseph's team won, and then he automatically won Super Bowl tickets but we never confirmed his look was the best on his team, just that he was the team captain. The four people who they seem to be considering for elimination are Bobby, Andriy, Jeffrey, and Chloe, and it's a double elimination. (click for more)

Anna and Jude are in, which was established last episode because their looks weren't that bad. Chloe is out. Her look was terrible, and for a minute they basically told Jeffrey that as the team leader, if she didn't make her best look then he fucked up. And he did kind of agree, but even Chloe said it's on her to do the work. Yeah, Jeffrey was really supportive when she was flailing. Chloe is emotional for making it as far as she did, because she thinks she's the least experienced here. Jeffrey is in, and he's upset because he is close with Chloe and she's out. Bobby is in. Wow. Andriy is out. I wondered, because they were kind of acting like the two options were “get rid of losing team leaders” vs. “get rid of worst designs”. If they had an argument during judging where everyone laid out how Andriy and Bobby fought and he was not a great leader in that sense, they cut the whole thing. He's upset he is out but his design wasn't the weakest. That's true. Some producer asks him in confessional if he and Bobby are going to be friends after this, and he's like “I don't think so.”

Bobby interviews that she's ready to stay calm, because the last challenge she got emotional and it put her in the bottom. Honestly not the worst attitude. Heidi and Christian show up with the button bag. SIGH. This is another sponsored challenge, which makes me wonder how broke this show is. It's the fourth challenge and two have had “partners” which in general means “sponsors”. Well maybe they paid the NFL instead of the other way around. Anyway today's “partner” is Humane World for Animals, which is the new name for the Humane Society. Ah, OK. The chyron explicitly labels them “challenge sponsor”. So there's some kind of animal theme, and then also a theme of “small choices can make big changes”. Bryan is still salty about not winning the team challenge, because the producers have decided it's much more entertaining to Jan him and never let him win anything. Christian says he partnered with them recently to promote ethical fashion and there's a shot of whatever look he made. Supposedly the fabric is animals? Animal inspired? But it looks like black squiggles on a white background and you can't pick out any specific shapes.

Heidi says “five animals from five natural habitats” will act as “muses”. An animal must be the focus of your look, and you can only use cruelty-free and animal-free fabrics. OK but like, things like wool don't involve killing the animal. I get that “animal-free” is probably about leather but then just say no leather. Also head-to-head battles. Why. I mean I know why, it's because drama, but bleh. The judges will pick a winner. “Random” selection from the button bag, but it's not a random draw to see who you battle. Whoever gets picked gets to then pick their opponent.

Aaron is first, and he picks Anna. Not for strategy, her name just popped into his head and he immediately was like “oh shit I don't know if I can beat Anna, she's good”. Heh. So Anna gets to pick which animal they are inspired by. Your options are wolf, horse, shark, lion, or parrot. Boring. Anna picks lion. Jeffrey wants to battle Naheim, because he's confident he can make “top tier perfection” which will beat Naheim's streetwear. So they have to base their looks on the shark, which they both seem fine with. Joseph picks Bryan, which I absolutely was not expecting. I thought for sure this would be manipulated so Bi and Bryan would go head-to-head. They pick “scarlet macaw” but if I tell you “parrot” that's what you picture. A red bird with yellow and blue wings. Ah, OK, this pairing is because Joseph won the last challenge, and Bryan was second place, and Bryan can't stop talking about how he should have won. What a shocker, Bryan is half of the drama pairing. Bi picks Jude, because he thinks he can beat Jude and he's now afraid of Bobby for some reason. I guess because Bobby was the one with the bad design but she didn't go home? They have to base their look on wolves. So that leaves Elizabeth and Bobby, and horse. Oh sorry “mustang”.

One day challenge. No Mood today, there are bolts in the workroom that are “associated” with each animal, and are cruelty-free. Yeah that would be easier than having to double check everything while in Mood. Also each head-to-head will have a “special guest model”, from “Hulu's Get Real lineup”. If you thought that was a clever way to say they'll have animals, no dice. It's just whatever famewhore reality stars they could find from whatever terrible reality shows are on Hulu. They name them, and I don't know who any of them are except Stassi Schroeder, and I'm sure she would love for everyone to list her new show but I remember her from Amazing Race: Family Edition and I will guess she doesn't like to be reminded of that. Oh and Veejay. I hope Veejay gets paired with Joseph so they can discuss last season. Each model will wear both looks. Winner gets immunity and a vacation to the Great Bear Rainforest. This looks like a nature preserve in British Columbia, on the coast near the Alaska border. That's a sweet deal.

Anna starts talking about spending time “in wildlife”. Christian shows up to the workroom and says he brought a scarf made of that fabric he used. I'm not sure why? They don't have to use it? Anyway it's Christian Time. Joseph has removed his hat which I find weird. He says the parrot reminds him of freedom and beauty, and his mom who passed away a couple a years ago. He's recreating the last dress he made for her. Christian likes the silhouette. Joseph does have immunity, so he's going to try to pull back some, and trust that if he screws up it won't send him home. Bryan has fuchsia, which is maybe not the right shade, but he wants a slim gown with a fishtail. Christian thinks it's been done before. Bryan has an interview about how Joseph sucks, or whatever. Naheim says that he thinks this is an interesting match-up because Joseph and Bryan are “the volume guys”. True. Plus they're both sassy as hell. Heh, also true.

Jeffrey tells the workroom that he picked Naheim because he knew Naheim would pick the shark. It's a strategy that the queens on Drag Race use during lipsync battles, and it's pretty sound. I mean it worked. Naheim isn't even that mad about it. He says something about Gen Z and Jeffrey is like who is in the Gen Z because I'm 39 years old honey. I guess they're trying to stick together. Jeffrey is planning a sleek look with a peplum and all monochromatic. Not only do they have the same animal, but Naheim is using the same fabric. Oh this will be good. Christian asks Jeffrey if he's competitive, and he says he's done pageants, which I will take as a Yes. He says he's won 30 pageants, and Christian is like, because you're pretty? And Jeffrey says, no because I'm smart, and then they both laugh. That was pretty funny. Anyway, pageants made him a perfectionist. Naheim is making a jacket with slits like gills, lined in red. He tells Christian he's a fighter, like got kicked out of school for fighting, and the shark is a predator.

Jude has a tailored dress, no shocker there, but he's also got godets, which is when you take the seam of a skirt and like, insert a triangular panel for volume. I don't know if I've ever seen one that I like. Oh also faux fur. He knows Bi is tough competition, very technically skilled. I guess this is the battle of the tailors? Maybe? Bi is planning a ski suit, and Christian is horrified. Their model is “sexy and hot” so I guess they can't cover her up. Bi has four hours to rethink. There are mittens. Come on.

Anna is making a pantsuit. I'm not sure how a pantsuit is “low rise” but sure. Christian is concerned but we don't see advice on what to do. Aaron is headed for more of a safari look, but he hasn't started doing anything yet. Nothing is cut out.

Model fitting. So we have to introduce them one at a time, I guess. Whatever. They did not give Veejay to Joseph, but they do let her have an interview where she says she hopes no more circle skirt, and they show his losing look. Aaron and Anna got fucked over because Stassi “had a conflict” and she's not coming. Getting a new model at this point means all your measurements are wrong, so that's a problem, but at least they both have that problem. So their model is Chloe. Chloe who was just eliminated probably yesterday morning. We are claiming 20 minutes ago they were doing interviews with her and they asked if she had the chance to be a model in the next challenge would she do it? And she's like, sure. She's thrilled they think she can model. Anna brings up my point, which is that the measurements are now all different and this can throw everything off.

Elizabeth is making a brown faux leather dress with braiding. Like, a dress and then a regular three-strand braid of the same faux leather, maybe three inches wide, just hanging off her shoulder. The model has several comments, which seems excessive, but right now it's not looking great. Bobby has had a really bad challenge, so she's trying to stay focused. She's got a short leather skirt and then some kind of one-shouldered top which is not exciting. This model keeps having opinions, and the top isn't super, but “it's giving cloth” is the most nonsensical critique of a piece of clothing. “It's giving something she just made” have you seen the show you are on? Bobby is trying not to freak out again.

Aaron has to recut a bunch of stuff. He talks about how he's spent a lot of his career working for other people, and he's hoping this show will allow him to showcase his own work. But today, he's going to have to start over, because Stassi and Chloe have different proportions. Anna has to completely start over on the pants, I'm assuming because Stassi is skinnier than Chloe. Like I said, this is dumb, but at least both members of the head-to-head are affected equally. Joseph's model loves the sleeves, which is a good sign. The models do have more opinions, or at least Christian is making sure to ask their opinions. Bryan's look is too boring, and Christian claims he's being harsh because Bryan is good and Christian is mad about how boring this is. Bryan of course feels that he's being rushed. Bi has a white tube dress currently, but he at least knows this is a problem and he needs to do more. Jude discovers his model was wearing a ton of body makeup for some reason, and it's now all over his gray and white dress. Also Bi's dress, which was all white. Bi thinks he might have to make a whole new dress, and then he says he regrets picking Jude. This fuck-up has nothing to do with Jude and everything to do with a reality show star wearing heavy body makeup to a fitting. Jude is planning to abandon the top of his dress and make something else, I guess because that's the part with the most staining.

Runway day. Lots of time today, I think in total three hours. Veejay does an interview and she looks amazing. She says that Jeffrey's look is more sexy and feminine, while Naheim's more modern. Aaron and Anna are both struggling with time, but Anna feels she's in a little better place. Aaron had to make a whole new skirt. Elizabeth promises Christian she's going to work on something, and he says OK and then stares into the camera. Bobby's model is still complaining about her look, and Bobby is trying very hard to be calm. She feels like this week is just like last week, where she's going to have beef with someone and it puts her in the bottom. Bi and Jude are both frantically working last minute.

No guest judge today. But Nina still isn't here. This is bullshit. Naheim: long gray dress, that is very simple. Over this is a long coat, in a light blue with dark shoulders. At the waist are slits in the fabric, like gills, that are lined in red. You can kind of see them because there are pockets Veejay has her hands in, just under the slits. There's also a belt, that's basically a strip of fabric, not tied or anything but threaded through the belt loops on the coat. It's nowhere near her waist, it's maybe like below her hips. The black looks like faux leather, and it's the shoulders and sleeves of the jacket, and then the center panel on the back. Jeffrey: the top is sleeveless, with a wide neckline. One side is just plain, like a vest, and the other side has a pointed lapel that sticks out just past her shoulder. There's a peplum, and then a long slim skirt, like a pencil skirt but it's tea length. They had said earlier they were using the same fabric, but someone must have changed, because this is a burgundy with a shine to it. When Veejay turns around, the top is backless. Jeffrey thinks Naheim has some issues, while Naheim doesn't think Jeffrey stuck to the theme but does admit Jeffrey made a beautiful outfit.

Anna: tight pants and a top, both in brown. Not close to her skin color, but not like a deep chocolate. The top is a fitted jacket, but the sleeves are not attached to the bodice. You can see where they would, so it looks like she ran out of time to sew the sleeves on. The bodice has pointed lapels, like a dress shirt, and then frog closures, but they don't meet in the center so there's skin showing. There's also about an inch of skin between the jacket and the pants and because all the gaps are at seams and edges of things it unfortunately looks like what happened: the garment was made for someone much smaller and Chloe is bursting out of it. The pants are very tight but they are bootcut. Chloe's ass looks great though. Aaron: a crop top and skirt in what I think is the same tan color, but the fabric is a little shinier and I think it's quilted or has some texture. The top is basically a bra with baggy, elbow-length sleeves. The skirt looks he took some fabric and wrapped it around her waist. There's some draping, like he took a hem and pulled it up to sew to to her hip, and one leg is completely exposed, slit up to the waist. Like he wrapped fabric around her but ran out so where the two ends meet there isn't enough left to cover her leg. But the back part of the skirt is longer and has a bunch of volume, and on the back of the top there's a bunch of fabric, like he scrunched up a bunch and sewed it on in a pile.

Joseph: wrap dress in green and black. The dress itself is pretty standard, but the sleeves are very wide, like wings. Each sleeve kind of looks like a big triangle, with one point at her shoulder and then one sticking out. I think maybe the bottom of the sleeves has wire or something to hold it open. The skirt is cut in such a way that her legs are exposed but it floats behind her, kind of a fishtail hem. But it doesn't look like an actual mullet hem. Bryan: long slim gown in fuchsia satin, or at least I think it's satin. It's very shiny. There's a very high halter neckline. Then there is a ruffle running around the top. Behind her head, down the sides and then meeting in the back above her butt. It's a yellow satin ruffle, but the edges of the fabric are not visible so everything is rounded. I think there's a small train on the dress? The pink dress is pretty but boring, and then the ruffle is kind of ugly?

Bi: white strapless dress that hits just below the knee. I think there might be some quilting, or maybe vertical stitching, but from a distance there doesn't seem to be anything happening here. Maybe a wide waistband that is supposed to mimic a corset? It also looks like she did that thing where you put a long scarf across your throat like a choker and let the ends hang down behind you, but when she turns around there's no scarf. Jude: sleeveless top with a double lapel. Not like, two lapels stacked on top of each other. Like one triangle and then below that, another one, so each side has two equal points. Most of the outfit is a light gray, but the lapels have white faux fur. It's cut so there's a border of the gray, and then most of the lapel is fur. The zipper is diagonal, like a motorcycle jacket, and I think the line of the zipper is supposed to match the decorative zipper on the skirt. There's the actual functional zipper, but that is on the side. The skirt is tea length, in the gray with cream colored panels for volume, and the side zipper ends pretty high up and then that leg is exposed. There's also a matching zipper/slit combo in the back. I personally hate godot panels in general, but these are not as bad as some that I've seen.

Bobby: one shouldered top in a dark brown, that is cropped and has a big tie on the side opposite the shoulder. Like it was a piece of fabric she wound around her self and tied. The skirt is several tiers of ruffles, all in black leather lined in tan. The ruffles are long, so it's not really poofy, but there's a lot of volume and it's cut asymmetrically, so it moves pretty well. But I think she's got a scarf tied over her hair. Or a bandanna or something. Elizabeth: long dress in brown faux leather. The dress itself is pretty basic, sleeveless, with a reasonable neckline. But the neckline is outlined in a braid, and there are two more braids draped across her collarbone, and then two thick braids hanging alongside each arm. The dress is supposed to be floor-length with a train, but her model is holding it up so I think it's too long. At the end of the runway, the model takes one of the thick braids and throws it over her shoulder like a scarf. This does not make the look better.

So we have spent the sponsor's money on paddles with everyone's names, so we can cast votes. Anna takes all three votes over Aaron. Jude also sweeps, as does Joseph. Bryan is confused because he just put so much work into his gown! Bobby actually does not take all the votes, because Heidi votes for Elizabeth. Interesting. Elizabeth is hoping that since it was a split, maybe she'll be OK, which seems reasonable. Naheim wins his round, although Law voted for Jeffrey. I agree with Naheim that Jeffrey's look was beautiful but not on theme, so maybe that's what happened.

Anna and Jude are the top two. They bring up how Joseph has immunity, and then Law tells him he's lucky because it's supposed to be blind judging, and Joseph is currently wearing an outfit that he sewed out of the same fabric from his look. So Law is saying how the judges hate that and it's arrogant, except for the part where you supposedly know who is in which pair, and also if you can't identify a Joseph McRae look at this point then what are you doing. Also you voted for him and “you're lucky you had immunity” implies you thought his look was bad? I mean tell him he loses points for matching the model, that's fine, but you could have all voted for Naheim and put Joseph in the bottom. Joseph says in confessional that he no longer cares about what Law says. Everyone who had a split decision is in. So that's Bobby, Elizabeth, Naheim, and Jeffrey. They all can leave, along with Joseph.

Chloe comes out in Anna's look, and Heidi is nice to her about her modeling. Honestly she did a great job and she looked great. Tyra praises the shoulder thing, specifically how it looks like you can sew it together and it will fit. It's clean, and they do like the skin. Jude's look has a clear inspiration, and the model loves it and thinks it's wearable and feminine. It looks like real leather, which is interesting because I didn't even think it was the faux leather. Law likes that the faux fur was trimmed or cut down or something, so it's just a hint and it's not really obvious. The winner is Jude. Anna looks a little pissed.

Bryan is spiraling even before his look comes out. Heidi is shocked because this is not a modern look, and she thought Bryan was modern. Oof. Bryan says he wanted to focus on wearabilty, which seems weird coming from him, but then Law is like oh you think this is wearable? Compared to the other weird shit he's sent down the runway, yeah, it's wearable. Ugly does not mean unwearable. Law says it's the evil stepsister in the movie. The model likes the pink dress, but not the ruffle. Tyra says at least from the side the curve of the ruffles is kind of beautiful. Aaron says he had a “customer” who didn't show, so he had to pivot. I guess to tell them this was not his original idea. Law says this is disgusting. He needs to see something and not keep letting Aaron stay based on potential. Aaron interviews that he can take critique but not meanness, which is fair. Unfortunately, because they liked Anna's look, the argument of “all my measurements were off” doesn't hold up. Bi says he put a lot of thought in the dress. There are a bunch of pleats and pintucking, but the fabric over her chest is plain. So it's flattening her boobs. Law thinks it's a maxi pad. We don't even see the judges deliberate before we end the episode.