Project Runway: S13 E14: "Finale Part 2"

What's the ultimate "point" of Project Runway? I think this is an interesting question that PR can be asked that other reality competition shows don't have to. The "point" of Survivor is mostly entertainment these days since the more social experiment element of the show passed within the first few seasons. How people survive and interact within the confines of that game is a subject that's been exhausted. We really haven't seen a new way to play the game in a long time no matter how many new wrinkles the producers toss in to the rules. But Project Runway exists in a different kind of space. The winners have the ability to really effect the future of fashion in a manner that the winners of other shows simply don't. Can you name the title of a single album from an American Idol winner since Clarkson? Have you seen any of the dancers from So You Think You Can Dance anywhere? Chances are unless you're deeply into those worlds, you probably haven't, but one only need be aware on a basic level of the world around them to have seen something from Mondo or Christian Siriano around somewhere. So in that sense, PR is uniquely placed to seriously effect the general outcome or trajectory of the fashion industry as a whole. As such, do we watch PR thinking primarily that we need drastic amounts of entertainment, and the rest can be damned? Is it the show's job to find the next great fashion talent and reward them? Or maybe it's just the show's job to shine a light on aspects of the design process within the fashion industry? I'm not sure the answer is any one of these things. It's more likely that the show should be striving to hit each at some point in time, but I also think that this fact makes PR into something of a mixed bag from season to season. Specifically, since this show has the ability to do all of these things, it sometimes has identity issues because we can't be sure which of these aims we're watching at any given moment.

Along those lines, let me introduce this final competition episode of the 13th season. The first portion of this episode seems mostly dedicated to providing both drama (read entertainment) and something of an insight into the design process. Kini is still reeling from his horrible critique, and trying to figure out how to remake his entire collection in two days. Tim comes in to offer his notes on what just happened. He tells everyone what they should do, and his points to Kini are mostly about just mixing and matching pieces from the collection instead of redoing everything. I don't think Kini really was listening though. This sit down wraps up with another trip to Mood for anyone who wants to go and get fabric for another look.

Amanda stays and chooses to just edit her looks. Sean goes to buy some great orange fabric in order to get in one non-fringe based look. Kini and Char buy a lot of fabric in order to make a lot of looks, and the divide between the remaining designers is established. The amount of work that needs to be done on Char and Kini's collection seems to ensure that they won't be in the running. Or at least that Kini will rush through and pull a collection together in two days and achieve this Rocky style come back in the 11th hour that will make this the single most dramatic PR finale ever. Which is clearly what the judges and producers are hoping for. We'll see how well it plays out.

Everyone gets to work and Tim comes in to consult once more. When he's meeting with Kini, he says to him, “That’s already looking youthful.” And Kini responds with “And that’s what they want to see.”This brings up another possibility for what the show could (but certainly shouldn't) be, which is just a vehicle for the judges to get what they want to see and wear placed into collections and onto the runway at NYFW. The judges' comments to Kini weren't about trying to get him to create the best looks he was capable of within the scope of his own personal vision; they were about shifting his collection to fit a set of circumstances that they themselves would prefer. Or at least I think that that's true. The result is a collection that I don't feel as though he fully believes in. It's cute and sexy but some of the looks don't scream Kini to me. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

Tim tells Char everything she does should be done in an hour. It reminds me of the one hour run off she had against Korina and I said much the same thing after that moment; she’s better off working in one hour than she is over the course of an entire challenge.And it's an accurate point as I think the two brand new looks are the best in the collection. They still seem to butt heads over some of the earlier looks that Tim thinks should be scraped all together and she ends up using one of them anyway because if she didn't, she wouldn't have a full collection. Not surprising since she doesn't really deserve to be here at this point, but hey. That ship is sailed, I guess. 

Another moment in trying to bring the best NYFW runway that they can is found in Kini and Char having to have new consultations with hair and makeup. Don't get me wrong, I think this would have been an element either way, but when Tim tells the group that they're doing so, he specifies that Char and Kini will need this because of how unhappy the judges were with their styling. So it left me wondering if this is more about PR trying to protect its brand than it is about getting these designers' visions out there in a pure form. If that was really what the show wanted to be about, they'd allow the first time the judges see any of the clothes to be during the NYFW runway. So you get to the point where you see that after 13 seasons, PR is used to putting on good shows at fashion week and they aren't going to risk that streak by putting down a collection they haven't vetted first. I'm not a fan of this. 

So onto Fashion Week where the point of the show tends to be about the chaos of putting on a show like this. It's about shining a light on the dark aspects of the fashion industry and the kinds of drama that happen in the background. We've seen it all at this point, so the major drama of one of Amanda's models having changed shoes on her own rings a bit light. No one spills anything on a dress, no article of clothing is lost, the best they could come up with is a model wearing different shoes. It turns out the shoes Amanda gave her to wear were too small and she just went with her own. After a quick swap with a pair that fits, the crisis is averted and we're back to being a bit bored. In a lot of ways, this is the perfect microcosm of the season as a whole: when there's nothing there from the designers to give us drama, we'll make something small and basic into something huge and melodramatic. So good job on that one guys. 

New York Fashion Week:

Amanda's Collection: I will say that the only look where I think the jewelry is front and center and really noticeable is the last one. But that doesn’t take anything away from the rest of the collection. Perfectly cohesive, the use of color is jaw dropping, the cut outs and the amount of skin is always tasteful and sexy and worth it, and the pattern looks are all great as well. It feels original and beautiful. The looks I don’t care for are the shorts looks. Although I recognize that it’s good to mix things up and not have dresses or skirts on everything, the shorts just didn’t work for me much. Everything else is just great. 

Char’s Collection: Her third look is great. I like the forth look too. Both of these are the looks she threw together last minute. The last look is something I think rides the line. It’s almost tasteless, but it’s also almost elegant. I want to like it, but I don't. Overall I think we can see the cohesion better in the full collection than we could in the mini collection she sent down last time, but it’s still not very good. And the look that she calls the most “Char” is really simple and right-off-the-rack-boring. She shouldn’t be here, but what more can we say that hasn’t been said thus far? Also each look with that expensive Rome fabric was horrible. 

Kini’s Collection: I want to like the second look so much, but I hate it. The open back details are nice and the cut of them is unique. The shoulder pads look is way way better in this version than it was with the coat. But overall, I do not like this collection. And he used the umbrella cut of his rainway skirt a lot more often here to mixed results. The one look that had it on the top was really just…no I hated it. I’m not a fan of this.

Sean’s Collection: I don’t know what to say about this. To start off with that stark white look which is so crisp and clean and just wonderful, the transitions are just perfect, the dart of fringe on the back of that white look that I didn’t like in the mini collection out of context works so much better here as you see it transition into the the full orange look. I still don’t care for the first fringed black pants look, but there’s a much better version of that dress later on in the collection that has fringe all around instead of just on the front. The full orange look that he created after going to Mood is just sheer perfection; it perfectly matches the wonderfully draped white look from earlier. And the final look is breathtaking and perfect. It is still a lot of fringe, but I’m not going to fault him for that. Sean’s my clear winner after these collections. 

 Emily Rossum is my all time favorite guest judge on this show, and she actually has the remark that gets at the heart of what I think the show should be about. She says, in talking about why she thinks Sean should win, that for her this show is about finding the next great voice in fashion. So you should be looking for someone innovative and unique. The judges comments make it pretty clear that this is between Amanda and Sean. The judges compliment him on his fun and unique vision, and they compliment her for her brand ambitions. To those ends, I do think Amanda is great for that. If we've ever seen anyone with an aesthetic that could be brand marketing ready, it's Amanda.

The judges have polite things to say about Char's use of color and how fun her own personal style is, and by extension how fun her clothes can be when she brings that personal style into her designs. They praise the hoodie and black and white looks as the two best in the collection, reaffirming the way she seems to thrive under the pressure of time constraints, but that's about it. 

As for Kini, they are at least happy with how much sexier the collection is, and everyone's impressed with how quickly he pulled these looks together, but they're still split on a lot of the looks. They seem to think he's not editorial enough and allows his designs to get away from him. Emily at least likes the coffee filter top look, but no matter how much she compliments it, I hate it. The key comments that I responded to here were about how much he needs an editing eye. I think if they had said that during the mini collection more than "It isn't sexy enough" I would have been on their side a little bit more. 

So the debate after the designers leave the runway is about does the Brand Ready designer get the win, or does the designer with the most refreshing and interesting voice get the win? And the fun part about it to me was that there wasn't really a wrong answer. If you're judging based on these collections, Sean and Amanda both equally deserve to win. If we judge by the competition as a whole, then I think it's more between Sean and Kini, but that's neither here nor there. In the end, Sean is crowned the champ of PR season 13, and I'm happy with it. Granted I'm happy because I think he's cute and I'm far more interested in jumping his bones after he wins than after he comes in second place, I mean who wants to sleep with a loser, amirite? But this was one season where I honestly think PR did well to leave themselves in a position where either outcome could have been celebrated. This won't go down as the best season in Runway history. There was a serious lack of talent that we talked about often enough in these threads. But I do think that the three most talented people from the season found themselves in the finale, and I think the winner was chosen with an emphasis on effecting the future of fashion and the design world, and that's certainly something I think we can all be proud of. 

Final Thoughts:

--In case anyone was wondering, I won't be watching the reunion episode. i never do and have no interest in starting now with these boring people. If anyone else wants to do so and wants to writeup a review of it, I'd say let Julius know and that could be worked out? 

--Speaking of things that won't be watched, we had a discussion about PR Threads last week, where did everyone fall on that? Will you watch it, won't you? If you do watch it, is it something we should should be reviewed on here? I haven't fully decided yet, but I'm thinking I might at least check out the first episode. Maybe we can write it up and see what kind of response it gets to determine if we keep going?

--The Mood cashier asks Sean, “No fringe today, huh?” He really has become Fringe Man hasn’t he? In my Mood based fanfiction, there's a constant office pool going on each day about how much fringe Sean is going to but during his next visit. 

--Within the episode there were a lot of contestant retrospectives as they looked back over their time on the show. It all felt like a cheap way to fill out the time. 

--The overall theme from Heidi's responses to everyone was "I liked some things, but didn't like some others." I was like, yeah, no shit, it's a 10 piece collection. When was the expectation that every single piece would be loved start, because I don't recall that ever really happening.

Under the Gunn S1 E13: "Finale"

On Monday, I finally got the chance to attend a weekly screening here in Seattle of Rupaul's Drag Race, hosted by Ben DelaCreme, a local drag queen. Luckily, this week was also co-hosted by last year's winner, the amazingly awesome Jinx Monsoon, who was a local drag force.

Stay with me for a little while, and I'll tie in the relevance of Drag Race to Under the Gunn. First, I'm not a normal Drag Race watcher (Bad Gay!), so this story is about a first time watch for this season. Anyways, if you watched Rupaul's Drag Race this week, you know that there was a total of THREE HOURS of Drag Race this week, with 2 back to back full episodes, followed by 2 episodes of Untucked. And, if you watched this week, then you know that Dela was on the chopping block in the first episode and almost on the chopping block on the second episode.

What was amazing when watching Drag Race with a local crowd who all knew and loved Dela was the sheer amount of caring and relief that happened this week. The event is a free event, with a cash bar and dinner, please tip the volunteer staff. It happened in a huge ballroom, and the whole house was standing room only. I stood for 2 of the three hours (because people needed to leave before midnight, instead of the usual 10:30pm), plus an additional 90 minutes before the show in order to secure my section of the wall. Doors were open at 6:30 for a 9:00 showtime. People were lined into the hall. Of course, this was in Seattle's gayborhood, where we all know and have loved Ben Delacreme. We've seen him perform. He does theatre shows here in Seattle. 

Everybody in that packed ballroom was charged when Dela was on the chopping block and had to lip sync for her life. When Darienne, the chopping block teammate, was declared the lip sync winner the house was on the edge. And, when Dela got a pass, the whole room cheered and was practically a riot. Namely, because we were invested in the contestant who was on the chopping block. 

While watching Drag Race, I realized just how intimately Drag Race allowed us to get with the contestants. One of the things that Drag Race does is give all of their contestants the room to breathe and to tell their life stories. We see them relate to each other as they are working to create. In the two hours, I learned that Joslyn was a young queen who idolized Courtney because they were from the same scene, and that Courtney felt she was above Joslyn. Bianca is a mother hen who took people under her wing and criticized people in order to help them develop throughout the show. Laganja is a very young queen (24) who, like all the other queens, used her persona in order to project a powerful image...but was also rather fake and constructed drama around herself. Trinity was an insecure queen who was taken under Bianca's wing and finally gained the confidence to fly. In 2 hours, there were enemies, friends, constructed plots, and drama...all while they were also working on whatever bits they were working on and creating their costumes for the next day.

The same care was not given to Under the Gunn and its editing. Throughout this season, Under the Gunn has struggled with being overstuffed and trying to minimize the drama. Which is OK considering the mega drama that happened with last fall's Project Runway. But, what Under the Gunn didn't keep in, at least until the last minute, was our designer's personal lives. In turn, Sam's reveal last week of his bullying felt more than manipulative. The other thing that has happened is that, of all the designers left, the only two that have a point of view are not the ones that make good clothing. Sam and Asha both are trying to have distinctive looks to their clothing, but they're both inconsistent. Nobody has a singular style like, for instance, Patricia (like her or not, she had a vision), or even Portland's steampunk style. 

I know I'm beating a dead horse one last time, but the construction of Under the Gunn is overstuffed for its running time. It wants to focus on the creation process, focus on the designers' interpersonal team relationships, and focus on the mentors and their relationships. Of the mentors, the only one who had a positive learning arc has been Uncle Nick, who learned to let his designers breathe...over and over again. And...there wasn't much room for anything else. Mondo didn't learn. Anya didn't develop. The designers had emotions from exhaustion but...they didn't lead to anything

Who am I rooting for, while going in to the episode? Oscar. He's a great tailor and has made some really good outfits, even if I can't quite see a running throughstyle. He has time management, and probably could be a decent businessman. And, he's genuinely nice. Second choice would be Shan. Sure I've been ribbing him for being one of the femmiest straight boys on the show, but he's good people and he also makes solid looks for the most part, though generally I haven't seen much of a throughline. Sam is too underdeveloped as a designer. And, Asha...well...admittedly I kind of like some of the pieces she does, but she really pulled one out on Natalia.

It is with this mindset that I sat down to watch the final episode of Project Runway: Under the Gunn.

It seems that it's not only I who thinks that the designers aren't well drawn, nor are their character arcs. The show opens with a brief series-long recap of the designers. But, even these brief pre-credits recaplets stays rather shallow.

• "Asha has been improving all season, and winning one challenge!" 
• "Sam has been a judge's favorite, but has recently begun struggling with self-confidence." 
• Oscar is a "charming Cuban-American" who was "once a long shot." 
• Shan "has impressed not only with his designs, but with his speed and skills."

But, we only have an hour to get through everything, and there's a LOT stuffed in this episode. There's 3 days of designing, finishing the designers' stories, 4 runways of 5 outfits each, finishing the mentors' story arcs, getting in all the marketing, and a couple additional marketing bumps we've not seen before.

So, today's is sponsored by a car company, who loans the designer groups use of a car to go to Mood. The designers have 3 days to do 5 outfits in a mini-collection. So, it's an All-Star styled finale as opposed to a full season finale. Just in case you didn't guess.

During the initial sketch period, we're also attempting to solidify people's story arcs through their clothing. Sam wants to do a story of a girl whose armor disintegrates throughout the five looks, reflecting the breakdown he put on last week. Nick encourages Oscar to tell his story of being a Cuban-American and the struggle to get here. Shan needs to pull from his heart because he's exhausted. Asha wants to do an Egyptian Queen in Brooklyn...because she has an ego. Or something.

We head off to Mood where the designers have 1 hour to spend $2500. ZOMG. And, then, there's a brief in-show commercial for eyebrow waxing or sculpting or something. Whatever. It lasts all of 17 seconds, and you barely even notice that it existed. Because, we don't have time!!!

Next we get reintroduced to the last designers eliminated, because the designers get helpers. On Day 2, the designers get a visit from their families. Because the designers aren't robots, despite them not having much of a story, and have families and boyfriends and wives and whatever. Oscar's mom is so adorable, but she only is on for a brief shot. But, they're only there to say that these people have families as their back stories aren't highlighted, but the designers' success are highlighted because...I dunno. Family segment: 2min 15sec.

We end our first block by doing one half of a mentor critique, for Asha.

And, it's time for our first commercial break!

DAMN!!  So, when I wrote the first part of this recap, I hadn't yet watched the episode. I wrote it earlier in the day today, and was truly my feelings about the show overall. I didn't realize that the Finale episode would exacerbate and highlight and underline all of the issues that I have with the condensed over-filled format that Under the Gunn took on.

So, the mentor critiques are interestingly buzzy. Asha is regressing back to costumes. Sam gets a confidence boost from Tim Gunn when Mondo was critiquing. Shan is basically told to find himself. And, Oscar is making a greatest hits collection.

We don't get any time for model fittings. We don't get any time for interaction between designers. We get some confessional critiquing of each other's work, and defense of their own work. And then it's time for our second commercial break. Whole time of second block: ~5 minutes.

The third segment begins with 40 seconds of fellating the theater and stage. We get a brief period with makeup and hair. And then another 20 seconds of fellating the event/red carpet. And, it's time for runway already!! Jebus!

Tonight's special guest judges: Heidi Klum, Neil Patrick Harris.

Sam
His runway really started off strong and slightly experimental ready to wear. But, as the armor elements fell away, the clothes just started getting more and more normal. The first outfit is a glam showstopper for a winter collection with a glinty hard-edged look that just looks gorgeously asymmetrical. The second continues, but has an interesting green highlight tab. It's almost a bit Christmasy and overly simple, but the vertical graphic of the stripes really sells the look. Then, it goes straight into off-the-rack. The third look is pretty, but it's a shirt and skirt. The fourth look is the same, but the fifth look is the worst because we've all see that dress time and again. So, much like the competition, he started off strong but then petered away. I don't think he intended the petering part.

Shan
Hard and Soft. Leather and Lace. This collection was ALL over the place. I really liked all of the individual pieces but there was a lot in each piece, and their color disparities just was all over the map. What he didn't really do was spend time crafting a runway show, even by choosing the order correctly. He starts off with a bad-ass warrior bitch goddess outfit straight out of Tomb Raider or Resident Evil, jumps into earthy and brown leather and lace that's just hectic, goes straight into a booming red simple outfit, which leads back into a medium simple beige look, which comes back to red and black leather with a bomb ass jacket. It feels like a cohesive collection that could have been helped by a lot of reordering. Open with the second look that has all of the confused elements that make up everything, lead that into the fourth kind of boring look, have that bleed into the red simple dress, which leads into the bombing leather jacket look with then finishes with the video game heroine look. It tells a better story at least. A lot of these elements are damned awesome (A LOT), but it's all a bit much and confused.

Asha
Costumes. I thought they were IJ costumes. But, Studio 54 did cough up many of these outfits. There isn't much that I like about any of the pieces. The best piece were the awesome red leggings under the caftan that everybody was going gaga for.

Oscar
It's a cuban-tinged greatest hits look. His collection suffered because of his first look, which is dull. and should have been hidden much later in the collection. Pieces 2-5 were kind of amazing. The second look especially. But, I keep wanting one more piece after his final look. He needed to end on a showstopper, and his final look was sort of dull. He needed one more wow moment at the end. But, he only had 3 days to create the whole collection, so mad props. However, other than the lace, this collection didn't feel all that cohesive. It was just a lot of really good fashions from a bunch of different designers.

Not so surprisingly, I found myself constantly agreeing with both Heidi Klum and Neil Patrick Harris. Sam had the most cohesive collection, but it was really ready to wear and started fading after look 3. Asha was a complete miss. Shan was good, though it was a touch much. And, Oscar had great pieces and was a good designer, but he didn't have a solid point of view. So, who do you choose? They were all deeply flawed in a way.

Personally, I would probably have given it to Sam because he has a point of view, but I don't know that he had that adventurous of a style in order to make it in his own line. Oscar is good, but he doesn't have a point of view. But, I don't feel disappointed in the choice they made, which was to give Oscar the win.

And, so ends Under the Gunn. Oscar wins. Which, yay. And, is surprising to me because I underestimated him at the beginning due to his tendency to overdesign. But, I can't say that this format worked for me. There was too much time spent on the mentors who ended up not having much of a character arc, and not enough time getting to know the designers. By the time Under the Gunn realized that we didn't know who the designers were, it became too little too late. This format would have been better in a 90 minute format.

What allows The Voice to work more than Under the Gunn is that The Voice has 3 hours every week. A two-hour episode on Monday and a one-hour episode on Tuesday. Or, maybe that's Tuesday/Wednesday. It gives everything room to breathe, and doesn't feel so overstuffed. Maybe with a 90-minute format, at least, the show would have been afforded more time to get to know the designers in the beginning and thus let the viewers invest in the designers, even if they didn't have specific design voices.

And, it seems the Project Runway year is over. One of Project Runway prime, one of All Stars and one of Under the Gunn. Whew. Good luck. Thanks for reading!

Random Observations

• "Your son's hands; I am in awe." Teehee!
• "He makes clothes that are functional and believable." - I'd hope so...
• "I hate coutour" - Oh, Sam.
• "I call my collection 'Hipster Nonsense.'" - Ugh
• "I was getting 1920s circus carny coutour. Not my favorite." AMEN!!
• "I also liked Sam!" - Heidi Klum, always being difficult. Love you, Heidi!

Project Runway All-Stars S3 E10: "Are U.N. or Are You Out?"

Hello constant readers. Much thanks to Mediagrrl for her brilliant reviews that were hilarious and incisive as they were honest.

Congratulations! We've survived another season of Project Runway All-Stars. Barely. There have been some tears, namely Elena's. There has been some sweat, like Pansear running around with his mannequin last episode (and it didn't even come to life!). We've shared drinks at the tacky Jay-Z bar that shall not be named for its free advertising. And, so, all that's left is some blood.

Sadly, the finale of Project Runway All-Stars is not going to be a Thunderdome, where three designers enter, but one designer gets out...with special guest judge Tina Turner (Producers, if you're reading, that would have been a great episode, especially with Elena). This week's episode deals with blood in a different manner. Relations.

As Miss Milano walks out to tell u...holy hell what are you wearing?  Remember how she said she loved shoulder pads due to her name dropping Who's The Boss With Judith Light?  Well, now she's wearing a blouse with extra fabric posing as shoulder pads and a mormon collar? With the schoolmarm bun placed on the top of her head? Honey, you over Judith Lighted Judith Light.

Miss Milano tells us that we're actually exploring blood in terms of culture. Since we have a Liberian, an American, and a Ukranian as our three finalists, we're off to the United Nations.  Which makes me wonder what Pansear was. Would he have been met by Japan for his Poke-ness?

Seth Aaron helpfully informs the viewers that United Nations "is for officials from all over the world/ Humanity! Down...the list. That's what this building represents." See also: Hotel.  Thanks Seth.

The United Nations has decided to donate some time to Project Runway All-Stars by allowing one of their meeting rooms to be used for the finale runway. Because, why not? The designers are meant to keep their eye open and use the culture they have and are assigned as their guiding eye towards designing a six-look mini-collection. Seth Aaron has some Spanish in his background, so he gets Spain.

The three designers meet up with their delegates, which Korto likens to "meeting your mom's sister by accident on the street." Which would be your Aunt. Even if she was a "sister by accident," she's still your aunt. Korto meets up with George S.W. Patten, Sr, who holds several decent political positions. Her section was about the Liberian Civil Wars, and it feels like the whole season has been leading to this moment. Like, Korto had it in her contract to make it to the final episode and to spread the word of post-Civil War Liberia.

Seth Aaron meets up with the totally Unf-y Fernando Fernandez-Arias, who is also the director of Office of Human Rights at the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation. And, Fernando is distractingly handsome, which is a good thing because the only thing we learn about Spain is that the land is sometimes Bright Yellow. So deep. I'm going to stare at your Spanish beard some more.  *sigh*

Elena talks about her personal journey from Ukraine to the US with Yegor Pyvovarov, who looks like a junior delegate as he may be 20 years old. Yegor talks about Ukraine Fashion Week, and is trying to get Elena to come to Fashion Week so that she can bring prestige to Ukraine or something.

The TL;DR edition:
Liberia: Civil War aftermath
Spain: Soil = Bright Yellow; handsome bearded delegate
Ukraine: Fashion Week recruitment

Spain isn't even backed up with images of Spain yet. Not even stock images. Liberia at least has pictures of Korto in Liberia. Ukraine has images of Elena growing up. Yeah.

*sigh* Really, Project Runway?  That's as deep as we'll get? *breathe in, breathe out* I know I'm not asking for much, but we're at the fucking U.N. Give us some credit.

The three initial designs:
Elena: Fall/Winter collection (Ukraine is cold) in wool and bright colors of the Ukranian flag with her patented cut out technique dominating the collection
Seth Aaron: Architectural inspiration with Black and white with hints of red...and gold! Very modern very clean.
Korto: Pattern inspired by Liberian prints, with design that is based on the every day people going to the laundry.

Zanna Roberts Rossi comes in, and gives helpful hints like "you're behind" and "make sure your style doesn't change over the next few outfits."  Thanks Zanna. But, she also brings in helpers for the designers: Necktat for Seth Aaron (of course), Pansear with Korto, and Zinger with Elena (of course). You know what I noticed while watching the marathon yesterday? Zanna doesn't even come in to see anybody off. She's no Tim Gunn.

Then we get a twist on Day 3 from Miss Milano in a Blue pleather dress that would probably go really well with her bedroom hoods. They now have to make a dress from scarf material from some guy's discarded scarves (Product Placement!). This causes Elena to have another breakdown. Yeah, yawn.

Anyways, this is the last time we'll be seeing Handlebar Moustache Guy.  Which, ZOMG. Still fucking hot. Excuse me while I drool some more. I still remember his old Black Party picture I found. Unf. HMG, if you read this, call me!

Tonight's special guest judges: Gayle King (aka Oprah's not-girlfriend girlfriend), and Zac Fucking Posen!!!  YAYAYAY!

Runway time!

Elena's Runway: It's like Elena's First Collection. It feels like somebody still developing her voice through the same patterns, silhouettes and materials. She never really developed her style beyond the one thing she wanted to say starting in her first season. It's interesting, but I was kind of hoping for something more.

Seth Aaron: A mini-collection of wow moments. To me, this is like a collection that Pedro Almodovar would be proud of. Sometimes a little kinky. Sometimes a bit retro. Sometimes a bit dark. Sometimes a huge pattern. Kind of stylish. I hate to admit it, but I kind of really like it. I think I'd not see as much Spain in it if I wasn't a Pedro Alomodovar fan.

Korto: Fascinatingly all over the map. Some just didn't work for me, especially the bright yellow patterns which seemed to be chopped up as opposed to a flowing thought process. Maybe she was making a statement on the destruction of Civil War. But, it didn't come across in the other pieces, and there was no flow through the show. She needed more of a throughline. Not Elena-style heavy through-line, but more than just here are some Liberian-inspired outfits.

I said in Episode 1 that this was Korto's competition to lose, and thought this would be engineered for her to win. She was going to be a Fan Favorite Revenge Story. I think they really were going to do that, especially with the Liberian Civil War focus in the beginning. But, her collection was so non-cohesive that they had to give it to Seth Aaron who had made a really good collection.

So, Seth Aaron deservedly won. I didn't think I'd be writing that sentence.

See you for the reunion.

Stray Observations:
- Emilio Sosa made an appearance!

- Miss Milano's final look is as a Ladybug.

- Isaac is off his meds as he had emotional moments with two different collections.

- Will you all be watching Under the Gunn?