Tim Gunn is rejoining us again for Season Four, in addition to continuing with his duties on Tim Gunn's Guide to Style as a mentor and guide for the contestants. Also returning is our lovely host, Heidi Klum, as well as mainstay judges, designer Michael Kors and fashion editor Nina Garcia.
We start off by meeting the various designers as they move into their apartments in New York. Of course, Project Runway wouldn't be Project Runway if we didn't have the interpersonal aspect going on alongside the actual design challenge aspect. Yeah, that stuff is important to the show...and I am sure I will be caught up in it all before long...but I watch to see the designs! So...ten minutes into the show, and we've already seen tears. Oy...is this a sign of things to come? I would imagine so.
They meet up in Bryant Park and find champagne, so of course they start to party. And then of course, Heidi and Tim come along and tell them their party is over. They seem to be given an easier first challenge than the previous seasons. Mood Fabrics has donated $50,000 worth of premium fabrics which are lining three tents, which the designers then have to choose from for this challenge. So, they have to race across a big field and choose their materials...and Chris is left way far behind. These outfits are supposed to express who they are as a designer and they only have the remainder of the day to construct their garments. The designers only have 10 minutes to race across the field and choose their fabrics, so everyone is grabbing like crazy, not really thinking too much yet about what they will be making, they just want to get anything and everything that inspires them. Even though Chris was last, something that really spoke to him was still there when he arrived. One designer decided to stain her silk chiffon with GRASS in order to add a natural element to the fabric. What??? Seriously? Not cool, to me. It seems that the only thing left hanging in the three tents was a big ugly furry looking thing. Who knows what will come of all of this, but I have to say...at this point, I am thinking Season Four designers have it EASY.
The designers arrive at their workroom and set down to work. Tim arrives to tell them to "make it work." You knew that one was coming. Ricky decides to make a baby doll dress inspired by lingerie, since that is where his background lies. Rami wants to mix feminity with edge. Elisa (grass stain girl) wants to make something avant garde and "magic." Already, on day one, people are talking about how "weird" some of the others are. It'll be interesting to see how these interpersonal things work out over the course of the season. Christian is designing something with a pattern that he is matching up some places and not in other places, and he doesn't seem all that responsive to Tim's constructive criticism. Note to designers: Tim knows his stuff. Listen to him when he gives you his observations. Elisa finished with more than two hours to spare...though she left things in her "avant garde" fashion, and went to take a nap. I'm not sure that is going to serve her well, in the long run.
Judgement day arrives, and the panic begins to set in. Tim has the designers "gather around" and gives them their pep talk before sending in the models. They have two hours to get hair and make up done, in addition to final fittings and accessories. Models were assigned for this first challenge, so they had never seen them before. Some designers were stitching their models into their garments, as seems to happen every season on the first episode. Elisa's "avant garde" design was causing her model to trip as she walked in the workroom, and she thought about chopping about 5 feet off of it, but for some reason, decided not to listen to that inner voice. Eepers, could be a bad decision.
Runway Time! Heidi welcomes them to the runway, explains the prizes at stake, and introduces the judges. Heidi, Michael, and Nina are joined by Monique Lhuillier. And we're off!
- Elisa's dress is up first. The model got tangled up in the dress, just as Elisa expected. It is this boring bright blue thing, with shards of torn up fabric hanging all over the place off of the bottom. Remember Santino? I hated Santino, because he went overboard so often. This is worse. It is minimalistic as a dress, and then ten times overboard on the shredded stuff hanging off. Blech.
- Chris's dress was really pretty. A nice eggplant color with some gold thrown in on top. The skirt of the dress was long and neatly done, and the top was elegant. I like it. On the back, you have a gorgeous poofy bow, with an open diamond shape. Really well done.
- Kevin's dress is okay. Black, burgundy, and silver. I'm not really fond of the silver part in the middle...to me, leaving that out would make the whole dress more accessible. It is well done though, neatly tailored, fitted. He could be a contender.
- Sweet P made a potato sack with a splash of color on the edges and a bow. Okay, maybe it isn't a potato sack. But you coulda fooled me. Blech.
- Simone's dress is okay. Nothing special here. I will forget about it in an hour. Some sort of blah print on top as a jacket, off white on bottom, a yellow ribbon around the waist. Not really any sort of innovative design element or anything to make it stand out.
- Jillian's dress stands out primarily because of the bright orange/red color. It's got a slim, long top and a very full, poofy, short skirt. I like it okay, but it isn't anything I would write home about on this show. Kick it up a notch honey...don't just go for the shock value with color choice. The skirt is somewhat reminiscent of Angela from last season...though more tasteful.
- Christian's plaid pattern on top certainly makes a statement. I like how the skirt is asymetrical, though I'm not really fond of the fit of it for some reason. I agree with Tim that the matchiness of the plaid needed to be done better. It looks to mix old-school with a new flair. I think he shows some promise, but needs to pay attention to details like the pattern.
- Victorya designed a plain black baby doll type dress with a slightly interesting sleve action. Really pretty boring. Big silver flower thingy on top. Not really working for me.
- Rami made a bold choice by going with a slate gray. I liked it a lot better on the form in the workroom than I do on his model, though I am getting a bit of a Grecian Goddess vibe from it. I think he has promise though. It looks very polished and finished.
- Ricky's dress is a black/silver patterned baby doll dress. The stripes of the fabric are really the only thing on the whole dress that make it stand out. He is going to have to try a lot harder in the creativity department.
- Jack's dress is a black and white print with turquoise accents. I like the color scheme he has going, but like with Ricky, I think that the print and colors are what make this dress, not his creativity. Step it up.
- Marion's dress is really a bit questionable. It is a black see through lacey fabric on top, and everything but the kitchen sink on bottom. I'm not a big fan of the type of skirt he's got going on here, with things hanging out at odd angles. It is at least interesting though.
- Stephen's dress is boring black, straight, long, fitted jacket, and accented with a red scarf. I don't get it.
- Carmen designed a pantsuit. It looks really sleek, but there is maybe a bit too much going on with all of the colors popping out around the neck. I'm not sure that I get how it all goes together. I like the pant and the jacket though. Just forget about the rest.
- Kit's dress is a black and white print combined with a bright red fabric. I think it is interesting how she combined the two, and I like the single shoulder. I'm not sure I would wear something like this, but it is very intriguing to me.
After the judges deliberations, Rami won with his Grecian Goddess Grey dress, and Simone's boring outfit that didn't go together got her out. I would have sent Elisa home, but I'm sure that they have kept her around for the weirdo factor, in addition to the Santino factor. Oh well.
These designers better realize how easy they had it for their first challenge, and get ready. And Project Runway had better make it harder from now on. Which I'm sure they will. Can't wait for the next episode!
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