Project Runway: Feats of Design

In this week’s Project Runway, the designers find inspiration. Or at least, that was the theory…

For the challenge this week, the designers are taken, in Heidi’s words, to meet the ‘iconic fashion designers of all time.’ This lofty promise turns out to be a trip to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where the designers are faced with a display of various avant guarde designs from the costume institute. The designers are suitably impressed by the designs of renowned artisans, and even through the television and my ignorance of high fashion, I too marvel at the display. Here Tim Gunn announces the challenge: in teams of two the designers are to create a high end signature look worthy of joining this master collection, a sort of Herculean quest to join Mt. Olympus, as it were.

Tim assigns the team leaders who choose their partners, schoolyard style. Jay chooses Maya, Jesus picks Amy; Anthony grabs Seth Aaron; Janeane wants Ben; Mila takes Jonathon, Ping devastates Jesse as she calls for him, and by default Emilio gets Anna Marie.

During the design phase the designers huddle over their plans and everything seems to be going smoothly in the collaborations, well, except for with Jesse and Ping. Ping’s unusual manner of working leaves Jesse (JC) struggling to grasp the vision of their piece, which is understandable since Ping keeps jumping from idea to idea. JC, in danger of being consumed by Hurricane Ping, tries vainly to keep her focused on a single idea. The futility of this task he expresses in various degrees of frustration.

Halfway into the challenge Tim returns and tells the designers that they must make a second look. This look is to be a look for less with the budget 1/10th of the high end. And in a twist, the designers don’t remake their own pieces, but they must choose another team’s design to get inspiration from.

So, the last 24 hours of the challenge become a mad dash as the designers run back to Mood, design a second outfit, and try to finish both designs. In the remaining hours, JC still expresses dissatisfaction over Ping’s leadership choices. Jay’s partner, Maya, wishes that she wasn’t working with him as she feels that his immunity is making him slack in his work. Because he’s in no danger to go home, he doesn’t have anything to lose by not doing his best. That’s her argument, and while I don’t really see any sign of this her concern is valid. If they are in the bottom, she goes home. That’s it. In the Mila/Jonathon partnership Jonathon is left doing all the work and Mila delegates most of the work to him. He works on the second outfit and most of the first. She works on a coat. Jonathon resents this, rightly so.

Runway: The special guest judge this week is Matthew Williamson, some British designer. None of the looks were really jumping out to me as being especially great, but Jesus and Jay’s outfits were my favorites. My least favorite: Mila, whose jacket resembled a black and white starfish. But the judges didn’t agree as she is in the top two designs of the week, along with Jay. At the bottom are Ping (JC) and Anthony (Seth Aaron.)

Mila and Jonathon: Heidi says immediately that she was sold on this signature look, and Michael thinks the coat looks fabulous. (Personal note: Yuck!)

Jay and Maya: Matthew says that the look is very unique and dramatic, while Michael says he likes the second look better than the original (Janeane’s design).

Ping and JC: Nina says this look is just a bunch of fabric and says it was awkward and had no design.

Anthony and Seth Aaron: Michael says that their dress looks like a costume, Nina agrees.

Winner: Mila

Bottom two: Anthony and Ping (please send Ping, please send Ping, please send Ping). And going home is… (sigh) Ping. Oh, thank you, thank you. I felt kind of bad when she was crying at the end, though not enough to wish her to stay. Sorry. Best of luck elsewhere!

For another take on this episode, check out “There’s No ‘I’ in Team” by Dianna.

Season 7, Episode 3: The Highs and Lows of Fashion (originally aired January 28, 2010)

For more on Project Runway, click here.

Thursdays at 10pm EST on Lifetime

Photographs courtesy of Lifetime and IMDbPro