Project Runway Recap: The Top 12 Team Up and Throw Down
by Elisa Camahort

...And fawn over Brooke Shields and her mediocre Sex and the City knock-off.

It is one of my favorite PR episode formats when the designers have to pitch to an actual client, who gets to pick their favorite designs from the bunch. I like it because it forces the designers into a real world scenario where they actually have to sell someone on their vision, and where that vision has to be clear. I mean, can you imagine Jenniferzzzzzzzzz trying to sell someone on any of her sketches as surreal? They'd be all Inigo Montoya and "I do not think that word means what you think it means" on her in about three seconds.

So last night we learned that the Project Runway folks have finally listened to its throng of fans...and realized we do not care about this "competition for the models too" fantasy. They have reduced the model aspect to literally 10 seconds at the beginning before you've even settled down with your ice cream and Oreos (wait, is that just me who eats ice cream and Oreos while watching rail-thin models get eliminated?)

We learn that the challenge is to design a day to night outfit for a "high powered businesswoman". Who just happens to be...Brooke Shields, who plays a high powered businesswoman on TV. Everyone, well, really mostly Suede, starts creaming their Calvins over Brooke and her goddess-like presence. And they get down to work crating the sketch to pitch to Brooke for her character to wear on Lipstick Jungle. The winner will actually have Brooke wear the outfit on her show. And therefore: No immunity.

After the pitch Brooke picks the following 6 designs:
Keith
Korto
Jerrell
Kelli
Terri
Blayne

Then it becomes high school gym, and each winning designer has to pick a teammate. Daniel and Stella are the unwanted ones, but eventually the teams are finalized to be:
Keith and Kenley (Arrogant and Arroganter?)
Korto and Joe
Jerrell and Stella
Kelli and Daniel
Terri and Suede
Blayne and Leanne (and now that Jennifer is gone, I guess I'm forced to know which one Leanne is.)

Much team work drama ensures, which is truly not that interesting to me. Until Terri made my head snap with her:

"I don't know if he's got balls or a vajayjay, but I have no babies sucking on my titties, so he better man up."

OK, so I may have gotten the order slightly wrong, but let's be clear: the words balls, vajayjay, titties and "man up" were in use in two short, bleep-filled sentences.

Terri: Perhaps I misjudged you, perhaps you really are "street", not Whitney from A Different World.

Sufficiently awakened from a reality show drama-induced stupor, we are ready for the runway.

1. Korto/Joe produced an outfit that featured a belted orange pouffy jacket with gold braid over a taupe tank dress. I know that sounds not so good, but actually it came out a lot better than I expected. The orange color really popped. The belt did control the jacket. The whole flavor was Morrocan. I will say that when the model took off the jacket there were a few fit issues around the breastal area, but given the talk of selling each other down the river that was going on between Korto and Joe (I told you: Drama!) it was way better than I expected.

2. Kelli/Daniel sent a total failure down the runway. It was ostensibly a black suit. But added touches of turquoise and leather print...yes, imagine that in your head...the always-classy combo of the color turquoise with some leopard print...made this thing look about as trashy as you'd imagine. In the whole day-to-evening department, this would work as more of an evening-to-early-morning stumbling home amongst the passed out department.

3. Jerrell/Stella came up with something really cute. this was my personal favorite by far. there was a dress with a bronze cami-style top and a somewhat full print skirt. There was a mustard colored wide leather belt (really more of a waist corset) with a thinner animal print belt over that. I know that sounds like a lot going on, but it was actually somewhat breezy and sophisticated, and definitely different than anyone else's vision.

4. Keith/Kenley created a bright short-sleeved blouse, paired with a very high waisted brown skirt with lots of fringy layers and a matching brown scarf/ascot thingy at the neck. I'll be honest: I hated this outfit. I thought the combination of the very high waist and all that fringe and layers made the model look like a heifer. I thought The tropical print of the blouse didn't match the brown of the rest of the outfit and was more grandmother in Miami like two weeks ago. I HATED it. Shows you what I know.

5. Terri/Suede indulged Terri's apparent great love for wildly printed gauzy blouses over slim pants. Whatever...didn't she just make this outfit? Bo. Ring.

6. Blayne/Leanne went with a very low-waisted Khaki bermuda short paired with a navy tank top and a turquoise shirt over it. (Is turquoise a big color this season, and I missed it...or is that only for tacky people?) OK, if you're gonna go all risky and suggest bermuda shorts for a day-to-evening look, then try not to have your outfit look like the model picked it p at Old Navy, m'kay?

Bottom line, they pulled out two couples they liked:
Jerrell and Stella
Keith and Kenley

And two couples they didn't:
Kelli and Daniel
Blayne and Leanne

I SO would have picked the JerrellStell deam team as the winner, but like I said: Shows you what I know. Seems like everyone loved arrogant Keith's unflattering monstrosity. They won. Boo.

The bottom two got ripped apart pretty well, with my favorite moment being Michael Kors telling Kelli/Daniel that their look was "slutty, slutty, slutty."

In a moment of truth they were each asked who from their team should go home. Kelli threw daniel under the bus because she won the first challenge and has never been in the bottom. That was then, this is now, beeyotch! Seriously...it was her design and her team leadership, but she should be saved because she was somewhat creative with coffee filters?

Blayne, on the other hand, earned the first little droplet of respect from me by saying he deserved to go home rather than Leanne, because he was the leader.

Doesn't Kelli watch this show? Of course Blayne and his integrity were saved, and Kelli was auf'ed.

I was surprised JerrellStell won my heart this episode. Who won yours?

Comments

 

I love ANYONE who says ball,

I love ANYONE who says ball, titty and va-jay-jay all in one sentence.  Didn't hear Suede speaking in third person after that!  

~Susan                                                                                                                   

http://lilmomthatcould.com/

 

You're right Susan

Talking in Third person was definitely trumped by talking trash.

Elisa Camahort Page
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elisa@blogher.com

My BlogHer profile truly shows you everything I do online...Check it out!!

 

Are you in my head or what?

I agree with your analysis - I couldn't have said it better.

BTW - even Black girls who aren't "street" know how to get right into that vernacular.  Some of us like verbal jousting, jonesing, playing the dozens.  You can't always tell where we grew up or how we've been educated when we decide to "take our earrings off and get some vaseline" to quote a Jill Scott song.

I preferred Jerell's outfit, too. 

Next week's episode should be a blast!

blog.candelariasilva.com

Good and plenty!

 

I hear you Cnadelaria, but do black girls...

Who *are* "street" feel the need to refer to themselves as "street" as much as Terri did a couple episodes back. That's what made me think she was a bit of a poser.. Like, why do you need to say who you are? Just be who you are, you know?

Elisa Camahort Page
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My BlogHer profile truly shows you everything I do online...Check it out!!

 

I hear you

Sometimes it's a conflict between being who you are and being who you think people want you to be and announcing to the world who you are.

Her bark is probably bigger than her bite and that's not too unusual.

blog.candelariasilva.com

Good and plenty!

 

Jerell's Outfit Was The Better One

I'm hoping the winning outfit looked better in person than it did on television, or Jerell was robbed. 

Megan Smith
BlogHer Contributing Editor, TV/YouTube
Megan's Minute: Quirky Commentary Around The Clock

 

Every damn season...

...they send the cute twentysomething girl home, kind of out of nowhere. I agree Kelli's creation was tacky, but Blayne is just CRAZY. And I do think Kelli's previous works totally warranted her staying in at least one more episode (tacky + drag queen = AWESOMENESS), versus Daniel who is utterly forgettable. Boo all around.

Except YAY for Jarella!

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Kristy Sammis
BlogHer's Conference & Event Planner
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