(S04E14) Folks, we have finally reached the end of the line and, to be perfectly honest, I think I'm okay with that. This season, I haven't felt the same sense of anticipation from week to week. "Isn't there something I'm supposed to do on Wednesdays? Oh. Right. Project Runway." This near-apathy is a far cry from the screaming that had ensued in my house when Wendy Pepper moved into the final three of Season One or when Daniel Vosovic presented in Fashion Week for Season Two. That said, I was pretty satisfied with the top three because they really were the best of the bunch, even though that bunch wasn't so great to begin with.
There was actually relatively little drama behind the scenes. The producers tried to pump up the model "disasters", but it really wasn't a big deal. These kids totally had it (relatively) easy! The toughest part was probably trying to play it cool in front of guest judge Victoria "Posh Spice" Beckham. I know I probably would have had a meltdown in front of her. "Pretty. You. So pretty. I make dress. You... Pretty." Yup, that would have been me. Verbatim. The judges, Moleskines in hand, furiously scribbled down notes with each show. Did they use an applause track or something? Because every time the audience started cheering, there was one scream that kept repeating and it sounded the same every, single time. It was so distracting.
I'm sorry to report that none of the designers had original Santino Rice-esque catwalk tracks.
Christian: [WINNER] It seems like we have finally found the kryptonite to Christian's cockiness. Months of preparation for Fashion Week drove Christian to high levels of anxiety, cutting down his over-confidence and making him -- dare I say it -- humble. He even praised Jillian's innovation and Rami's skills, saying that he was very unsure of himself at this point. It was a really nice change from the bitchier comments throughout the rest of the season. Crippling nervousness really suits him.
Christian's collection was just as wacky as it looked when Tim Gunn checked on him in the last episode, but seeing all the pieces together made everything look much better. It's true, 21 year-old Christian has skills beyond his years. For the first time in Project Runway history, I agreed with the final winner. Christian has a unique voice, amazing problem-solving skills, incredible charisma, and, hopefully now, just enough confidence to not send him over the edge. Plus, it looks like Posh is his new BFF now.
Jillian: This collection, as Heidi said, had incredible shapes and silhouettes. I really loved the layering and, of course, the coats! I'm sure she'll get loads of work after the show, because she's so incredibly talented. Her pieces were unique but not to the point of rendering them completely unwearable. She and Rami made the more wearable collections, actually.
Rami: I don't really know what Michael Kors was saying about Rami not knowing color, because I thought the choices were fresh and provided interesting contrast to the more sophisticated silhouettes. Then again, color has always been the dent in my artistic armor, so maybe I'm completely off-mark. Rami showed that he can do a variety of things but still snuck a little bit of draping here and there. I thought his pieces were extremely wearable and really lovely.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
3-06-2008 @ 10:46AM
Sarah said...
i don't know if you watch ANTM, but Jaslene, the winner from two seasons ago, was a model for Jillian's line.
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3-07-2008 @ 9:58AM
rick cokely said...
Danielle (Dani) the winner from 3 years ago as well as Bianca from last year were models for Chris March (though they didn't show him on the show since he was a decoy)
3-06-2008 @ 11:20AM
bcarter3 said...
After seeing Christian's first 5 or 6 models wearing full black dresses and big floppy hats, I couldn't help but wish that Margaret Hamilton were still alive. It would have been delightful to have the Wicked Witch of the West up there on the runway, and she would have fit right in.
Congratulations Christian! Well done,
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3-06-2008 @ 11:36AM
Justin said...
I'm just glad it's over so the new season of Top Chef can commence.
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3-06-2008 @ 1:35PM
Mike said...
Oh Ramilicious was the best by far; most consistent, calmest, most mature, sens of what fashion is about (celebrating a woman's body). I am in love with Jillian, but her destination is an "exclsuive ciollection: for JC Penney's. And the little tornado Christian obviously designs for the judges. He hit it lucky with his new BFF as a judge. Otherwise, Aacccck, a hairball collection from the carpet. Christian shoulda been eliminated with no prom date and then who woulda won: Rami.
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3-06-2008 @ 2:23PM
Sam said...
I feel like I (and my entire family) are the only ones who can't stand Christian, either as a designer or as a person. *sigh*
I guess I'm just out of touch with haute couture, I thought his clothes were ugly.
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3-06-2008 @ 3:08PM
Akbar Fazil said...
you aren't alone. His pompous inexperienced emo ass annoys the crap out of me.
When he won the fan favorite I was livid. His final collection was boring and ugly.
3-06-2008 @ 3:38PM
Valerie said...
While I loved Jillian's work throughout the season, I was
disappointed. Her collection was disjointed and you could see her lack of decisiveness. The gold "argonaut" dress stuck out like a sore thumb for me.
I agreed with Michael Kors that some of Rami's color choices weren't the best. I hated the fuschia. The brown dress with the weaved bodice was nice.
I thought Christian's collection was the most cohesive and made the strongest statement, however nothing seemed realistically wearable. It even seemed a little costumey which pissed me off because the judges balked at Chris March for that exact reason. I also wonder that if Victoria Beckham hadn't been a judge if he still would have won. It was like he designed the collection specifically for her and I think it may have given him an unfair advantage over Rami and Jillian.
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3-06-2008 @ 3:54PM
ORKMommy said...
I didn't get to watch the show but I looked at the gallery pictures. I didn't get most of Jillian's clothes and I could totally see most of Rami's gowns on the Red Carpet. I do have to say that Christian's were the most interesting and I could see clubbers in NY wearing his collection.
Congrats to Christian!
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3-06-2008 @ 4:03PM
Victor said...
I agree with the Wicked Witch comment above. It seemed like half of the costumes, I mean outfits were inspired by Wizard of Oz. There were multiple Wicked Witch outfits, that weird outfit that looked like a cross between the Scarecrow and a pilgrim, and then multiple outfits that reminded me of the Cowardly Lion (albeit a feathered lion).
But that collection won, and everyone seemed to go nuts over it, so what do I know?
I freely admit that I have no real clue about, or interest, in fashion, but I find the show fun to watch for seeing the creative process in action. I'm a filmmaker and I wish that the disastrous filmmaking reality show, "On the Lot" had used the Project Runway template rather than American Idol's template.
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3-06-2008 @ 4:25PM
Pamela said...
Way too much black in Christian's offering, and the hats were ridicuous, who would wear them? Note even Victoria Beckham. Whenever I see Victoria in print, she is wearing something sleeveless, and very short. These huge costumes of Christian's do not seem to be her style in my opinion. I thought Jillian's clothese were beautiful, so stylish and wearable, and with wonderful detail. I didn't like much of Rami's line, some dresses too boxy, and hated the blue ones (like Kors said, Brady Bunch colors). It's not like I've never seen weaving done before, either, can be seen on the Red Carpet. Jillian should have won. There wasn't one things of Christian's that I would be caught wearing. I guess they were looking for creativity, not wearability or practical or even reasonable.
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3-06-2008 @ 6:05PM
Jez said...
I don't see wearability being a problem here. Sure Christian's clothes are not very wearable, but I suppose his showing falls more to the couture/ avant garde side of fashion. It's made more to awe people and inspire people. Of course, the pieces that actually sell and make money are the toned-down ones, but they are more often than not, are inspired by those wacky designs.
I am so happy he won!!!
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