I have not seen much action on the board. Here is a review from Poptimal (link). It has good recaps and strong opinions:
What’s that expression…”fourth time’s a charm?” Anyway, this was a good episode and challenge. No rip offs, no product placement (sort of), just designs and bitchery-the foundations of Project Runway. Again we’re greeted by that Elle magazine cover of “Thing I” Olsen. (Query: Is this part of her whisper campaign to get the feds to stop investigating her in the death of Heath Ledger? Just asking.) Heidi, sporting some hot funeral beachwear, announces it’s field trip time (again). Jerell shows that he’s actually watched the show before by hoping he doesn’t have to design for a female wrestler. On the van ride uptown, Tim and Blayne “holla at [each other]” about tanning, with Tim already showing signs of sunburn from the car light.
We arrive at The Upper West Side and The Armory Track and Field, where our designers meet gold medalist Apolo Ohno. (Nice cross-promotion NBC/Universal, who coincidentally has the exclusive, American broadcast rights to the Games premiering this week.) There’s chatter about Olympic fashion and the designers learn that they must each design an opening ceremony look that best presents an image of America. Blayne announces he’s going for the gold and Daniel admits that he’s never watched the Games but he guesses, “someone holds a flame and runs around a track and field.” Sounds like my high school.
Back at Parsons, Stella thinks that leather plus fur equals “Gladiator” and then I’m reminded of college . . . . Sorry, sorry. Tim asks about Stella’s use of black and she asks if that’s bad. It’s that type of self-awareness that makes me think that gal’s going places (home). Blayne decides that he’d rather just make an obvious joke and go for the bronze . . . tan that is as he decries the harsh Runway rules that are restoring his skin tone to a less-orange tinge. Meanwhile, Stella is making “serious business, no joke,” and Leanne accuses Terri of operating “a sweatshop under her table [because she's working so quickly].” At this point, we pause to remember all of the child labor that went in to fueling the Chinese Olympic Games.
Keith shares that he used to be a competitive gymnast when he was younger, and Joe, playing true to casting, complains about the loud, cattiness of Kenley and Daniel. We return to Tim explaining to Blayne that The Beatles was more than “Across the Universe,” and I die a little on the inside. Joe continues his grumpy old man routine by complaining about Daniel using the same machine Joe used in a previous week. Or something. I don’t care. It’s faux drama. Speaking of . . . Laura “Bad Mommy” Bennett is “stiff and strong” while dressing like Wonder Woman and advertising for Saturn. The whole thing was really weird, especially the lack of a plunging neckline.
Runway time! Nothing overwhelms me and I’m glad I didn’t have to pick a winner this week. But if I must, I thought Korto, Terri (sans cravat), and Kelli did the best at presenting a good image of the American female athlete. Looks like the judges agree and pick Terri, Joe, and Korto as the top three. Kors likes Terri’s “Lauren Hutton 70s vibe.” Nina likes that Joe’s skirt was short and thinks that Korto’s Olympians would be “chic.”
For the bottom three-Jennifer, Daniel, and Jerell- the judges take the gold in tearing the designers new a-holes. Jennifer, who clearly misunderstood (or ignored the challenge), caused Kors to say, “I don’t see Olympic and I don’t see America.” Ouch. Nina crushed more glass in her hand by calling the outfit “silly” and saying she “can’t separate her personal style from her professional obligations” (or words to that effect). The real ire was for Daniel, who designed a cocktail dress that, per Nina, had “no relevance to the challenge.” He got defensive, which only fueled Nina to start a pissing match about what blue looks like (even comparing the dress to Daniel’s very purple shirt…with plunging neckline). It was awesome to see that our “Editor at Large” still has it. Kors resolves the dispute by saying the model represents “the Republic of Cocktail Land.” (Note to self: schedule next vacation.) Finally, Jerell cracked the DaVinci Code riddle of “one good dress, then one bad dress” and figured that they didn’t like his outfit. We know because, in response to a comment by Apolo, Jerell says, “I’m going to take that as a compliment because it may be the only one.” And right he was. According to Nina, he designed for “Mary had a little lamb,” not, per Kors, a “strong woman.” Kors then gives us a brief lesson in Yiddish. Oy vey!
The winner? Korto. Jennifer the “bland,” who “can’t get past herself” is out, over Daniel and his “sad purple cocktail dress.” I note that Kors thought Daniel’s was a good dress “if her sport is drinking…[but not for] an Olympic athlete [who] is as close to a superhero as we have.” (Clearly he doesn’t know the girls I know.)
Next week Brooke Shields cross-promotes NBC’s Lipstick Jungle (”Hello? Slutty! Slutty! Slutty!”), and I smell a group challenge.
