TVSquad

(S04E03) I know we're only three episodes in and I know I've brought this up in all my other Project Runway reviews for this cycle, but... I am so disappointed. I mean, I am actually bored at this point. Don't get me wrong, the producers have picked people to fit all the reality show character roles. We've got the over-confident newcomer, the crazy person, the older woman who acts like she's a lot younger than she really is, and so on and so on. Somewhere along the line, they forgot to look for the superstars. Everything is covered in a sickly shade of mediocre, and I can't help but yawn while looking at it.

I hope they have some better things in store for us. None of the designers truly excite me and I don't have a particular person I'm looking forward to seeing every week. Even the special guest judges (two in three episodes? Really?) haven't been able to save the blandness. Spice it up, designers, or -- or -- I'll turn off the TV and read... or something. Don't make me do it, Bravo. It's a lose-lose.

First of all, they totally had me (and quite a few of you readers, apparently) fooled with the previews from last week. The clips showed multiple designers ripping pieces of fabric, looking extremely frustrated. Gunn explained that they have wanted to do this challenge for a long time, but they haven't been able to. Many of us speculated that designers would have to work without scissors, which would explain all the ripping. Then some people tried to guess what Gunn meant and what could possibly require this much time to concoct. In the end, I'm still confused.

The big twist in this week's challenge was the fact that it'd be based on menswear. The designers were told to design an outfit for football superstar Tiki Barber's on-air job. Um... Yay? And why couldn't they have done this in earlier seasons? Because Barber wasn't available then? Come on. The challenge was boring and the designs were, as expected, very poor. What else could we expect from a group of people who joined a competition to design women's clothing, suddenly forced to fit a man's body? Barber's weird suggestions didn't help either. He likes texture? And he doesn't mind color? I wonder if he likes fabric. Or needles and thread. Ooh, what about pants?

Christian: It was good to hear that he had been knocked down a peg since the previous challenge. Spilling from confidence to cockiness at such an early age is never a fun thing. Now, if only we could get him to reconsider that hair. Anyway, Christian's final product was quite interesting, I thought. The idea of the jacket was super-nice, but the construction was not particularly flattering. However, the end product was maybe a little too boy-ish for Barber's Today Show needs.

Jillian: Boring and, I don't know, maybe even a little 70s? I didn't notice it at first, but looking through the pictures has got me thinking of Saturday Night Fever a wee bit. Maybe it's the collar.

Carmen [AUF'D]: This was just bad all around. In fact, it was so bad that a few of my friends and I thought that it would actually save her from being booted from the show. After all, there always seems to be at least one terrible designer that outstays his or her welcome in each season. What easier way is there to make a loyal viewer's blood boil? However, in a strange twist of... uh... normalcy, Carmen was Auf'd for her absurdly shabby outfit. Her otherwise fine model looked like a homeless golfer... or a street urchin.

Kit: As many of the judges noted, the fleece jacket was a sweet choice. However, I don't think Kit kept the real challenge in mind. Barber may have been able to wear this on any other day, but it wasn't proper for on-air appearances.

Rami: Members. Only. Jacket. That is all.

Sweet P: First of all, Sweet P's facial expressions are both annoying and endearing. They were almost distracting enough to pull me away from the craziness of her outfit. I said "almost". The construction was just absolutely mad. And the tie! I just don't know where to begin. Several of my friends and I begged for her to get booted, but she remained. Maybe she'll be this year's Vincent.

Steven: Ouch, those pants were really, really bad. The bottoms of the sleeves were a bit interesting, though.

Victorya: Are mandarin collars in? At least two of the designers used them for their jackets. It made the presentation almost gakuran-esque. This was one of the more interesting ones, I suppose, but I wasn't able to imagine Barber wearing it on-air.

Kevin: Bad vest. Bad! I couldn't believe Barber actually praised it. The fitting was poor all around, at some points, depressingly so.

Chris: Again, the fitting was really bad. Boo.

Jack [WINNER]: Obviously, he really took Barber's note about texture to heart. The use of stripe variation in the shirt was truly wonderful. Pairing the piece with pinstripes was also a daring move, but it paid off, obviously. I still feel like the fit was not particularly good, but I suppose it was one of the better ones on the runway.

Ricky [ALMOST AUF'D]: It's a shame that lovely lining had to go to waste. The jacket was extremely ill-fitting. Gosh. I think it bothered me more than the boringness that the judges kept pushing.

Elisa: Hey, it's Aladdin! The pairing of that shirt with that particular vest should have sent her to the very bottom. On what planet would Tiki Barber wear that combination on The Today Show? I'm not sure what Elisa was thinking. Actually, I'm never sure what she's thinking. When she turned away from her model as he was undressing, the next natural Elisan step would have been for her to spit on him. However, she didn't spit on him. Just goes to show you that Elisa is full of surprises.