Project Runway Review: And the Fashion Gods Gasped

Project Runway returns with an all new season, new time, same network (Lifetime) but a new, expanded timeslot of 90 minutes. 17 new contestants meet up in New York City to have their fashion dreams come true on the Runway. And in a Project Runway first, contestants are greeted with a shock as they discover they haven’t even made it onto the show.

Alright, first things first: the expansion of this show to 90 minutes is, in my opinion, pointless. Maybe that will make some sense later on down the line but I saw no need for it. A new feature this week is behind the scenes commentary by judge Heidi Klum and mentor Tim Gunn. I, personally, don’t care for it as it brings nothing new and of note to the show. Also, there is more time in hair and make-up; useless again, as with so many contestants there is no quality time to enjoy this. I suppose that somewhere in the future, like 10 contestants down, this extra 30 minutes would be quite valuable. But at this point, trying to add a new dimension to the competition (i.e. styling) does no good if you can’t explore it. But now to the episode:

First of all, with so many contestants you’re probably not going to get to know them at this point. So, a brief recap: There’s morgue inspired April, tea party loving Peach, boy wonder Michael who is willing to do anything for the win. Ivy already thinks the show is all about her, new mom McKell longs for her baby at home, and Jason thinks a bowler hat will scare his competition into submission. Casanova’s a bit strange, Gretchen’s a bit hippie, and Andy is too deep for the pageant scene. These are about half of the contestants. The others don’t really matter this week so we’ll get to them later if they survive.

The contestants meet with Heidi and Tim at Lincoln Center, the “new home of fashion week.” Here they are quickly informed that even though they made it to New York, they haven’t officially made it on the show. The first challenge is the final audition and only 16 will move on as contestants on season 8 of Project Runway. The pseudo-contestants are told to pick a garment from their bag. Then they are told to pass that garment to the designer on their right. That designer will use the garment in their design. All the designers have a problem with this, none more so than Casanova who in his infinite wisdom chose a pair of $1,070 pants. To be fair he probably didn’t know they would be cut to shreds, maybe he just thought the designers would be giving a fashion show… of clothes that they owned…but didn’t design. Because that’s what they do on Project Runway.

The designers then head to the design room where they struggle to come to terms with their new fabric. Peach has the hardest time of it, turns out her garment is knit and is prone to fall apart if you cut it. Oops.

At the Runway are judges Heidi Klum, Nina Garcia, and Michael Kors, along with guest judge Selma Blair. The Runway was a hot mess. Valerie’s outfit looked trashy, Mondo brought old-fashioned to the scene. Sarah had a jumper that was just HORRIBLE!  Michael’s skirt was a little hoochie (think: short, leather, tight).

In a rare unanimous decision Gretchen wins the challenge with a black dress ensemble that was very polished and chic. There was no top three for this design, and six designers found themselves in the bottom. Our dear Ivy made the grave mistake of turning her source material pants into… pants. The judges pounded her on her failure to transform her object. Jason too failed to change his original garment, as the kimono he was given was simply turned backwards on his model. April had a shredded dress which Michael called “80s street walker” wear. McKell’s dress was called a train wreck and “butt ugly.” Ouch. Nicholas and Casanova round out the bottom six; Nicholas because his outfit was boring, and Casanova’s, though daring, lacked any taste or style. The judges called this look fascinatingly bad.

The judges see something in April, Jason, and Nicholas: they’re safe. McKell was chastised on her styling of the model before she was given the boot. She is sent backstage where the contestants start clapping which turns awkward as they find out she was eliminated. Back on the Runway, Ivy and Casanova are given a reprieve.

This wasn’t a bad start to the season and I think that given more time the contestants will really be able to show what they can do. This group has potential, and that lays the groundwork for endless possibilities.

Season 8, Episode 1: And Sew it Begins (originally aired July 29, 2010)

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Thursdays at 10pm EST on Lifetime

Photographs courtesy of Lifetime.