(S06E06) For the first season of Project Runway in Los Angeles, production has been trying their best to use their surroundings for themes. This week Project Runway finally gave the opportunity to make a Hollywood based costume challenge. Unfortunately, the designers didn't realize that the challenge was just a façade for L'oreal Paris to play with the model's hair.The designers were given a genre, $150, and a day to design a visual masterpiece representing their genres. Somewhere in that day, they lost time to consult with Collier Strong to make sure that L'oreal (and not Garnier even though they are in the same family) was represented.
The categories were assigned as:
Action/Adventure – Logan, Carol Hannah
Film Noir – Irina, Louise, Althea
Period – Gordana, Christopher
Western – Shirin, Epperson
Sci-Fi – Nicolas, R'Amon
Most of the designs made came from a basic storyline from the genres: both Carol Hannah and Logan made assassin/military/leather inspired pieces, and Althea and Irina's noir pieces faded into the background. You knew the ones who would make it to the top three were the ones that would make the outlandish longer dresses.
R'amon decides to channel reptiles for his sci-fi piece and tries to make a jumpsuit. Clearly he hasn't learned from earlier in the season. He wanted to make an avant-garde jumpsuit back in week two and ditched it for a last minute dyed dress. It connected that time, but he was due for disaster. When he fits Vanessa, she conjures up an image of the Power Rangers.
When Tim comes around, he gives his critical eye to several contestants. He was totally on the mark with Gordana, which he thought looked old, and with Louise, since her pieces are better looking close up. Tim is confused by R'amon's piece because it could be hit or miss. R'amon takes this as negative criticism and ditches the jump suit for a dress quickly thrown together in the last two hours.
There's still no sign of Nina Garcia, as Zoe Glassner continues to sit in her seat. Filling in for Michael Koors is the soft spoken John Varvatos. The guest seat is appropriately fit by costume designer Arianne Phillips. As the models walked, I appreciated that several of the models including Matar and Tanisha were getting into character.
Our top three dresses were Christopher (wow factor), Epperson (bravado and styled well), and Nicolas (well taken risk). They awarded Nicolas with the win, but Christopher just missed the win yet again. The bottom three were Gordana (not memorable), Louise (cheap and boring), and R'amon (school project). Even though Louise was bashed and brought to tears, R'amon was sent home.
Of the other contestants, I couldn't help but remember that yodeling dominatrix on America's Got Talent when I saw Carol Hannah's design. I thought Shirin's was a little too close to an actual saloon, but it was better than attempting a flapper.
Next week: the return of Michael Koors and a pumpkin disco ball. Do you think R'amon's elimination was justified? Leave comments below.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
9-25-2009 @ 9:43AM
evie said...
So, so, so wrong for Ramon to go. It should have been Louise by a mile.
So wrong. How can the guy who single-handedly pulls off two outfits for the "team" two episodes ago for the win be cut loose because he reached too far in this one? Meanwhile, mediocre-Louise who never bothers to reach high or low stays?
Wrong.
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9-25-2009 @ 9:44AM
Michelle said...
R'Amon was eliminated for the shock factor... Gordana's had no creativity, it was literally a replica of any 20's flapper costume and Louise's was just incredibly dull bordering on ugly. R'Amon's body of work really should've seen him through this... I miss Michael and Nina... they never would have let Louise and her atrocity through.
Christopher was robbed of a win, once again.
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9-25-2009 @ 11:03AM
Kristi said...
Surprises, suprises this episode.
1. Nicholas wins
2. Ra'mon loses
http://www.orble.com/teevee-project-runway-924/
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9-25-2009 @ 11:42AM
Ryan said...
While I think Epperson deserved to win, I think most of us here would agree that Nicholas should NOT have won over Epperson and Christopher. What both of them did was way more creative than Nicholas. Lame.
I'm not really ragging the judges on their decision to send Ra'mon home. Yeah, he should've been given the benefit of the doubt, but still that dress was horrific. While Louise's dress was just boring.
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9-25-2009 @ 12:26PM
horsenbuggy said...
Yeah, I'm very disappointed that only one model mentioned the similarity of Nicholas' character/outfit to the character in "Chronicles of Narnia." He thought he was SO unique by putting a villain in white and making her an ice queen. He annoys me to no end. It was just adding insult to injury that he won on the episode that sent R'amon home. Ugh. Nicholas needs to be brought down a peg or twelve.
However, I can't believe a designer who claims to like Sci-Fi actually chose to design a jumpsuit. I adore Sci-Fi, but amongst the fans, it is kinda a joke that so many costume designers think that we'll all be wearing jumpsuits in the future. I think Sci-Fi=jumpsuit is just as boring as re-making your great-grandmother's flapper sheath dress for "Period." But I don't think R'amon should have gone home. His body of work was far more interesting than either of the other two "bottom" designers.
I was really hoping Epperson would win. I thought he did great with what he was given. I liked Christopher's design, but I didn't understand why the corset looked like a wilted/stretched out cummerbund. The corset was nowhere near her torso. But the gorgeous back almost made up for that.
It could have been the editing, but I didn't understand until they were on the runway that they outfit was really supposed to *be* a costume that would look good on film. I thought it was supposed to be a design *inspired* by a costume. I thought they were all going to get into trouble for being too literal but then the judges were all, "That material would look great on film."
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9-26-2009 @ 4:27PM
Diana said...
I don't mean to be judgemental but Nicholas won? Seriously? What kind of villainess wears a dress with fucking leaves on it? Not to mention the crap around her neck that looked cheap as hell.
Epperson should've won and I'm kind of shocked he didn't actually. Cristopher as usual has a great style and maybe that dress would've fitted in marveously in a modern vampire movie, but no way was it victorian.
The movie genres were a little all over place. Scifi, Noir and Action I get but Western and Period? I mean you saw that the people who had period were a lot less restricted in what they could actually do. Picking period movie means nothing else but being able to design something for any period you like. Of course you have to make up a little story to go with it but big whup you can do that like 10 min before the runway. :)
Good news is that Michael Kors is coming back next week! YAAAAY!
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9-26-2009 @ 1:08PM
La-Di-Dah said...
I really wanted Epperson to win. If I lived in the Western era, I would totally wear that gunslinger-farm woman outfit.
I guess they wanted to shock us with auf'ing Ramon, because I am not a betting woman, but I would have bet it would have been Louise (though I liked what she said about getting on stage just to get some criticism one way or the other).
And seeing the preview with Kors back next week made me realize: I missed him!
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9-28-2009 @ 1:45PM
nytheatreguy said...
I would've loved to see Epperson win, too. (I think many are forgetting that Christopher has actually won before -- the very first challenge in the first episode of the season.) Nicholas, on the other hand, is tired and should never have beaten out the other two. That decision was a joke on its face.
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