Sept. 13, 2008 | The hordes are piling into Bryant Park's main tent for the "Project Runway" finale. But this isn't your average New York Fashion Week event. The reality show rejects outnumber stylists and fashion magazine editors here by about 20-to-2 (the two being Nina Garcia, Marie Claire fashion director/"Project Runway" judge, and celebrity stylist Rachel Zoe, star of a brand new Bravo series). In fact, the place is something of a reality-TV cluster fuck -- or maybe, depending on your perspective, it's a little bit of heaven.
"Ohmygod, that's Rachel Zoe down there!" a voice shrieks behind me. "She's a hot mess. I need to get that picture." He holds up his phone, and then sighs contentedly. "That's going on my blogfeed and my Facebook page!"
Before and after the runway show, the stars of various Bravo series swarm up and down the runway giggling and posing and grabbing their own favorite TV icons. Tabatha from "Shear Genius" and "Tabatha's Salon Takeover" veers past "Top Chef's" Gail Simmons -- while inches away, platinum blond hipster Kit from last season's "Project Runway" spots Ronnie from "Make Me a Supermodel" and squeals with delight as they make each other's acquaintance. Posing with an endless string of fans, recent "Runway" castoff Blayne is as fake-tanned as ever but looks low-key in a black turtleneck -- surprising considering that he was eliminated last week for a Day-Glo monstrosity that caused Michael Kors to comment that it made the model look like she was "pooping fabric." Camera phones up and down the room are on constant alert as people capture unlikely collisions between former "Project Runway" contestants. I mean, what could last season's loopy Elisa Jimenez (who has a flower tattooed on her cleavage) possibly have to say to uptight architect Laura Bennett from Season 3?
Eventually host Heidi Klum arrives, thanking the execs at Bravo for five good years (the series is jumping over to Lifetime next season) and disappointing the crowd with the news that Jennifer Lopez backed out of being guest judge for this finale at the last minute due to a "foot injury." Instead, the show's resident sage Tim Gunn will be the fourth judge, and he promised the audience he would put his close relationships with the designers "on a metaphorical shelf."
I have a feeling that may not be too hard. The collections shown this season were either great or terrible -- with very little in between.
Six contestants sent their designs down the runway: Jerell, Suede, Joe, Kenley, Korto and Leanne. You can see snippets of all of them in our video, though it's likely that only four of those will make it to your TV screen. (In previous years the show has faked out Fashion Week audiences by including designers who are no longer in contention for the prize, because the episodes with their eliminations have not yet aired.)
Jerell jogs out first, giddy with excitement as he thanks his mother, sister, boyfriend and cousin. But nobody else seems all that giddy as his models strut down the runway festooned with the gawdiest dresses this side of Dollywood. Just about every outfit features sequins or ruffles, or some excessive combination of the two. One model wears a heavily sequined jacket over a transparent tunic over a striped dress, all tied together with a gold ribbon. Another is clad in a loosely constructed lavender dress that allows a clear side view of her breasts -- not the kind of cheap thrill "Project Runway" judges enjoy.
Up next is Suede, initially a favorite of mine, despite his bizarre trait of constantly referring to himself in the third person. His persona is kind of cartoon-punky, and he appears on the runway with a multicolored fauxhawk. But as soon as he opens his mouth, the cool veneer dissolves into saccharine. "I'm so blessed for this opportunity," he babbles, before giving props to online retailer and show sponsor Bluefly and then concluding, "Suede's going to rock it!"
I suppose it depends on your definition of "rocking it" -- but mine doesn't include pastel plaid gowns with puffy removable aprons, or pale turquoise dresses more suitable for a suburban teen prom than a runway. Worst of all is the clumpy pink and blue tutu, which bears a slight resemblance to the garment that got Blayne kicked off the show. Suede clearly has ignored Tim Gunn's longstanding advice to "edit, edit, edit." His collection is totally wackadoodle, as he himself would say.
Source : http://www.salon.com/ent/feature/2008/09/13/project_runway/
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