TVSquad

(S05E06) Sadly enough, I think this was the first time I've had fun watching the fifth season. That's right: it took drag queens to get me excited about Project Runway again. Actually, I think Bravo should dump all of those ridiculously uninteresting faux-PR shows like Shear Genius and Top Design and make a spin-off all about designing stuff for drag queens and kings. It could be set in Baltimore's Hampden and be hosted by John Waters and/or RuPaul. That would be infinitely better than watching Jaclyn Smith make weak attempts at passing constructive criticism to beauty school drop-outs playing with safety scissors. Ahem. I'm sorry. Can you tell I'm not that fond of Shear Genius?

I loved the giddiness that overwhelmed everyone in this episode, from the drag queens to the designers to the judges. Even Tim Gunn giggled a little when one of the drag queens shouted, "Call me, Tim!" Oh, and on that note, I'm baffled that the text-in poll resulted in such a close race. I expected at least, like, 98% of voters to say they would want to see Tim in drag. Michael Kors in drag does not interest me in the slightest, but Tim? Come on. That's a Photoshop manipulation waiting to happen.

Chris March didn't stick around to play guest judge, even though it was lovely to see (and hear) him again. Instead, RuPaul stepped in. Check out all the designs on Bravo's website and follow along. Here's the winning design:



Blayne: Thank goodness the designers said something about Blayne's obsession with all things "-licious." For a while I thought maybe they were too involved in their work to notice. And I'm very pleased that we finally got some context for Tim's remark, "It looks like a pterodactyl from a gay Jurassic Park." I didn't find Blayne's outfit particularly intriguing, but it was pretty eye-catching, just in all its neon nature. It made me think of a rave pinata. Shame about the sad, droopy wings on the runway, though.

Daniel: [AUF'D] He really had it coming, being so arrogant and terribly defensive. His garment was terribly boring for a drag queen, even with that weird psychedelic throw up fabric. Without that strange fabric, it would have been a simple gown. Also, it was kind of funny to see him get all flustered when RuPaul got snarky.

Jerell: I thought his color choices were pretty interesting, but once again, Jerell got sloppy with his proportions. It almost cost him this time.

Joe: [WINNER] Joe definitely deserved to win this week. His client looked so thrilled to be wearing the garment and he took suggestions really, really well. And yes, the belt was a fantastic touch and extremely well-placed. It would have been kind of cool to see some additional striped detailing along the collar for an extra-sailor-y look, but this was pretty far out by itself.

Keith: [ALMOST AUF'D] What is up with this season's designers being so stuck in their ways? Be more open to suggestions and criticisms! Keith's outfit was a mess. Enough said.

Kenley: If not for the massive feathers, this would have been a pretty boring dress. I mean, overwhelming shimmery fabric aside. At least it was well-made and worked well with her client.

Korto: This was a great outfit and the removable piece was a nice touch, but did it really deserve to be in the top three?

Leanne: Again with the crazy collars! This was pretty good. Right in the middle of the road.

Stella: I thought Stella would have been perfect with Sharon Needles, just by name alone. She did well with her own client though and it's probably best that she didn't get stuck with another "tough chick." Otherwise, her drag queen may have come out looking like someone living in a Hot Topic clearance rack. Her drag queen softened the hard look of black and plaid.

Suede: His brief story of inspiration about his grandfather came off a bit weird, but I think I can look past that, simply because I didn't catch a single third-person reference from him this episode. His client stirred up a little drama, but it all worked out. His outfit didn't turn out to be a disaster and Hedda Lettuce was adorable on the runway.

Terri: I adored this one. Hear me? Adored. It was dramatic and worked beautifully with her client. After looking at it for a while though, I couldn't decide if I liked it because it was a well-made garment or because Acid Betty's make-up and hair made it work. A lot of the color involved was painted on, after all.