Lights, Camera, Sew!

It took me a few days to get to this week’s Project Runway. Apologies!

This episode starts of with some of the male contestants talking, both amongst themselves and individually in the interview room. Ra’mon observes that the apartment is quieter with both Malvin and Johnny gone, and interviews that he feels that things are more competitive now that Johnny is has been sent packing. This is undoubtedly true. Johnny was dead weight. Then Nicolas speaks that reality tv show cliche about not being on Project Runway to make friends. No. Duh. I can’t even imagine how needy a designer would have to be to want to leave the competition not with an impeccable reputation or $100,000 to start an eponymous fashion line, but with a new BFF or two. Probably the only contestant to ever have had this goal is Elisa.

Poor, awesome Gordana has had her confidence shaken by being in the bottom three last week. I hope she ends up bouncing back in a big way. This week’s challenge involves designing for film. The designers get to take a field trip to a sound stage, where they find Tim Gunn and Collier Strong (L’oreal makeup dude). Tim tells them that they are going to be selecting a genre of film, creating a character in that genre, and making a costume for her. Yikes. The potential for disaster already has me sitting up straighter. The genres from which they get to choose are action/adventure, film noir, science fiction, period piece, and Western. The obvious American slant to this challenge worries Gordana.

Irina, having won last week, gets to choose first. She selects film noir. The remaining categories are chosen by the other designers, with each category having two entrants, and order being determined by Tim picking names out of his trusty black velvet bag. At the end of it Louise (of course) and Althea also choose film noir; Ra’Mon and Nicolas pick science fiction; Christopher and Gordana are designing for period pieces; the two action/adventure designers are Logan and Carol Hannah; nobody chooses Westerns, but there are two designers left, so Shirin and Epperson end up with that genre. They do not find this to be awesome.

At each workspace is a dossier that outlines the particulars of the designer’s selected (or assigned) genre. Lifetime stopped being so freaking cheap on this one, so the budget is $150. They must be big fans of the axiom “time is money,” though, because deadline is midnight. You can’t have everything, I guess. The designers are all ready to plotz. While sketching, Shirin and Epperson seem to be completely lost, although both are reaching for something that is both Western in aesthetic and not horrible.

Cutie pie Logan says that Carol Hannah is the only female designer with whom he has really connected. He likes to talk to her and the camera shows them palling around. CH is less than stoked by the fact that Logan’s table is right next to hers, because he’s hot, and hotness is totally distracting. I hear you, CH. Ra’Mon is worrying me with his excitement over this challenge. It always seems that the people who are happiest with the assignment and are the most certain that things are going to go well are the ones who end up in the bottom three. I have no idea how this episode ends, but am preemptively concerned for Ra’Mon.

The designers go to Mood, where they have 30 minutes to spend their money. A lot of them are looking at fabric that ends up being too expensive for them. I feel like we haven’t seen a lot of that, but maybe it’s just because my eyes sometimes glaze over during Mood scenes.

Louise seems convinced that somebody has taken her bobbin, while Gordana is looking for a pair of pink scissors. Both ask if anybody knows about the items that are missing, but nobody really answers either one of them. Nicolas explains the story behind his character. It is bizarre and incomprehensible. I am falling back in love with him. Ra’Mon, on the other hand, uses the words “jumpsuit” and “human-alien hybrid” in the same sentence. There is no way to avoid being concerned. With nothing more than that description to go on, I am placing Ra’Mon in the bottom two.

Louise again asks if anybody has seen or taken her bobbin. I think this is the third time. Is sabotage happening? If it is, nobody has owned up to it. Nicolas finds it worrisome that Louise has not developed a specific character to dress in her design. More workroom. Gordana is sewing some beaded thingamabob that I thought was a multi-legged animal the first time I saw it on the screen.

Tim comes to check in on everybody. He does not seem convinced by Gordana’s dress. Irina takes a moment to doubt whether Gordana belongs with the rest of them in the competition. If this goes like the last time, I guess that would mean that Gordana is going to win this challenge. Tim likes Christopher’s bustle, but says that the lack of long sleeves is all wrong for the period. Tim seems to like Epperson’s look, which makes me happy. He tells Ra’Mon that his outfit could be sublime, or it could be “a big hot mess.” We all know which camp I’m guessing this ends up in.

Tim next goes to Louise’s station. She explains her look, which sounds as lovely as her previous work, but he just lays it out there for her: her subtle details are lost on the runway, and don’t come across as well as more dramatic touches. Nicolas is designing for a villain, who he is putting in white. Tim finds this interesting, but thinks that overall outfit is too safe. Before he leaves the workroom, Tim encourages everybody to look around as determine where they stand, based on the looks that everybody else is designing. He might as well have added “RA’MON!!!” at the end of that, because you know that’s who he was talking to.

The models come in for fittings and makeup consultations. I don’t feel that I see a huge difference in the quality of the makeup when there is a separate consultation and when they just work it out on the day of the runway show. Ra’Mon puts his model in the jumpsuit and comes to the same conclusion that any sane person would have arrived at upon merely hearing about his idea: he is in big big trouble. He thinks his jumpsuit is looking a little Kermit the Frog, and that it won’t work. He has two hours to go before the end of the day. Big deal, right? He made a whole outfit in like 35 minutes that one time. Whatever you do, Ra’Mon, don’t pull a Johnny. Say no to the crossword.

Last minute running around. People are freaking out about the amped up competition, and Louise stabs herself in the finger nail with the sewing machine. Ick! The next day dawns, and a lot of people have a significant amount of work to do. Everybody’s in a tizzy, and then it’s off to the runway!

Heidi comes out looking all lovely and sparkly. The judges this week are American designer John Varvatos, Oscar-winning costume designer Arianne Phillips, and Zoe Glassner, who by this point is practically a series regular. Harrumph. Bring back Jen Rade, already. There is not enough bitchery in my life. Irina’s beautiful dress comes out first. It looks way better on the model than it did on the dress form. Carol Hannah’s action/adventure outfit is sexy and fun. Shirin’s saloon-girl look is cute, but I don’t love it. Christopher’s period piece is pretty, and looks like haute couture. He didn’t add sleeves, and I wonder if the judges will give him crap for that. Nicolas’s white sci-fi look is beautiful. Althea’s dress is just gorgeous, but there seems to be entirely too much cleavage to be a believable film noir look.

Ra’Mon’s dress looks like who did it and ran (TM my Very Southern Mother), but the costume designer smiles as it goes down the runway, so maybe he has a shot at coming back next week. Louise’s dress is cute, but it’s Epperson’s beautifully ruffled Western dress that steals the show. Gordana’s model rocks her 20s-era dress well. Logan’s black leather outfit ends up looking to me like a retread of Carol Hannah’s.

The judges are not in love with Gordana’s dress. Again, they do not fault her technique, but think the overall look is lacking. The designers love Nicolas’s dress, and compliment him on clearly conveying exactly what he intended to. Not so lucky is Louise, whose dress is called confused and not great. Poor Louise. Her previously excellent work didn’t get noticed, and now this gets her put in the bottom three. She sort of alludes to that when she thanks them (nicely, I think) for finally noticing her at all, and taking the time to provide her with feedback. The judges love love love Christopher’s dress. Ra’Mon’s mess is next. I have to pause here, because I know this is going to break my heart a little. He was so into this challenge and threw himself headlong into it, so seeing how he’s failed makes me sad. I know it’s the nature of this show, but still. They like his story, but not the execution. Between the three people in the bottom, I do not see how Ra’Mon could possibly avoid going home; nobody else bombed this week. The judges love Epperson’s design.

So I think that Epperson is going to win (long shot: Nicolas), and Ra’Mon is going to lose (no long shot, he’s definitely going home).

So Nicolas does win. Good for him. He has immunity for the next challenge. The amazing thing is that, if you look closely, you can actually see his ego grow as he preens in his interview. Fascinating. To the surprise of absolutely nobody, poor Ra’Mon is out. Sad face here! Louise sobs as she leaves the runway.  Everybody is much sadder this week and all manage not to slag off Ra’Mon while he’s cleaning his workspace.

Yay! I almost never watch previews, but I just saw that Michael Kors is going to be on next week’s episode. Yay!