The Project Runway Rundown, V4.3

Jack reveals at the beginning of the show that he is HIV positive. I'm not sure why that is relevant, but whatever. The guys are giving Christian a hard time, but he seems to take it pretty well. His confidence has taken a bit of a knock, but he knows that he makes clothes "so much better" than a lot of the other designers.

Heidi tells them that they won't need their models for their next challenge, and sends them on a field trip to meet Tim Gunn and find out what this Project Runway first will be. Tim introduces them to Tiki Barber at 10 Rockefeller Center in New York. They don't know anything about him, or who he is...but they all think he's hot. They're right. And their challenge is to design an outfit for Tiki to wear on the Today Show. They are starting to panic about having to design a menswear outfit due to the meticulous nature of the fit required.

Back at Parson's, they have 30 minutes to sketch and a budget of $150. They will have two days for this challenge. Of course, Tim says to "make it work."

Sweet P doesn't know how to even sketch for men. We are shown lots of empty pages, finger tapping, and panicked expressions. This is going to be a serious challenge for most of these designers. Kit is a tv stylist, so she feels a bit more confident about color and fabric selection than many of the other designers. This one could be really scary, what they wind up putting out.

Several of the designers chose to do a suit, even though Tiki specified that a suit is not mandatory. That will be a LOT of work for them, and a ton of tailoring. It is interesting to see how so many of the designers are asking each other questions about how to do it. Jack is using his own pants as a pattern for his design, and some of the designers are starting to think it is unfair. And then still others want to borrow his design. This could get ugly. I think what Jack asked Tim Gunn and what he wound up interpreting Tim's answer to be are two very different things. Victorya and Carmen are tracing his pattern, and he is allowing it to happen. Things are getting chaotic in the workroom, that is for sure.

Christian sews fast, which is an asset. Chris says he's older than everyone else and doesn't have formal training. Rami makes a comment about his slacks being draped and not traced off of another pattern.

Tim announces that he is sending in the male models and that they will have an hour with them. They are pretty boys. Very pretty boys. The girls are excited about how hot the male models are, and some of the guys are excited too. I can't say I blame then. Kevin says he is the only straight guy in the room, so he stays focused. Sweet P is excited about how well her pants fit her models ass. Fresh N Fruity turns around so that she can't see her model while he's changing. Ricky is in full on panic mode. Jillian is practically starting over from scratch after working with her model. It doesn't seem that she is alone.

Tim comes in again and asks them to gather around, to meet a special guest. Tiki's wife, Ginny, has joined them briefly to do a walk-through with Tim and critique their work. She loves the color and idea of Jack's work. Ricky is planning on doing a jacket, vest, shirt, and pants. That is a bit scary. Four pieces is nutso. Kevin is working on a double-vent in the jacket, for Tiki's butt issues. Carmen is working on a more leisurely look and Ginny and Tim are worried about the design that she is working on. She is now going to panic about what to do, since it is reminiscent of a Members Only jacket. She doesn't have enough fabric to make major changes. Jack doesn't think he can finish his jacket, so he will try to finish the shirt and pants. Ricky is *bleeped*. In his own words. Time is about up, and no one seems to have anything finished. This is going to be really, really interesting.

Runway day arrives, and everyone is seriously nervous and scared. It seems that Jack has decided to carry Christian into the workroom every day. Ricky is going balls out. Carmen is concerned that she won't have time to do a shirt that she hasn't even started on yet. Tim arrives and sends the models in, and they've got two hours to get everything finished. Kit finished three pieces and is pleased with how they came out. Ricky puts his model to work sewing buttons. Sweet P's shirt looks horrific and doesn't fit right at all. Everyone is running around like chickens with their heads cut off. Carmen didn't do a shirt, so she just draped a piece of cloth around him underneath the jacket. And time is up.

Joining Heidi, Michael, and Nina on the judging panel is none other than Tiki himself.

Jillian's design is four pieces: pants, shirt, vest, and jacket. The collar is awfully big, and there is a lack of color. It is all in black other than an off white shirt. Sort of boring, but at least it is all finished. It looks to fit fairly well, though I'm not sure it is fitted as well as Tiki would like.

Carmen designed a khaki pant with a taupe jacket lined with a touch of some red patterened fabric. Instead of a shirt, she has placed a piece of blue fabric and draped it across his chest. The jacket looks very dated to me, the pants don't fit well, and all in all, it is just blah!

Christian made a three piece casual look. The shirt is an interesting design, with no collar but a touch of an off-center opening. The pants look to fit okay, maybe a tiny bit baggy, but I'm not sure about the jacket. It looks a tiny bit old fashioned too, much like Carmen's only in a different way.

Kit designed three pieces: a jacket, pants, and a shirt. The shirt is a simply textured collared shirt. The jacket looks a bit feminine to me, it is done in a fleece. The navy, khaki, and white are a good color combination, though a bit overdone. I would have liked to see some more color in her design to make it stand out. The double-venting in the jacket are a nice touch.

Rami made a navy pant, khaki casual jacket, and a white collared shirt. I like the design of the jacket. It is different than everything else we've been seeing. Again though, I would like to see some color. Tiki looks good in color. The pants are a pretty good fit.

Sweet P made pinstripe slacks and a collared shirt with a tie. The tie won't fit in the collar because it is so poorly done. The collar is far too big. The pants look a bit feminine in the way they fit at the waist and hips. The sleeves appear to be too short. The shirt is baggy in places and too tight on the shoulders. It is pretty horrific.

Steven made a gray slack, a striped collared shirt, and a fitted hunter green sweater. I really like this look. Without going to a suit, it still looks professional and well put together. The crotch of the pant doesn't look quite right though...something is not right there. There is also some sort of a scarf going on around the neck.

Victorya designed a black pant, black shirt, and a white fitted jacket. I actually really like the jacket she made, and I think that it looks good with the black underneath. And even though this outfit is devoid of color, I think it works and is more interesting than many of the other designs we have seen. It has a black collar on it, and the shirt underneath is a knit top instead of a button-down collared shirt. It is a good look.

Kevin gave us color too! He designed a basic black pant and jacket, and paired it with a lilac collared shirt, a deeper purple tie and pocket square. I like how he has styled it, with the shirt untucked, to give it a more casual feel. The pants seem a bit loose, but overall this is a good look. The back of the vest is a lovely gray.

Chris gave us black, black, and more black. He designed a basic pant, a knit collarless shirt, and a zip up jacket that appears to be collarless as well. Smart moves on his part to avoid the collars, as far as time is concerned. I'm just not wowed. I would have liked some color, or even different shades of a monochromatic look. It all appears to fit pretty well.

Jack designed a pinstripe slack and a pinstripe shirt. I like the details he put into the shirt, as far as how the stripes went at a different angle over the buttons, the pocket, and the collar. This look works for me. He may not have had time to finish all the pieces he originally intended, but he made a smart choice by putting in the extra details in what he did and leaving the parts he could not finish.

Ricky designed a basic black slack and jacket and a white shirt. He threw in a touch of color with a red pocket square. It looks okay, but there is nothing in this outfit at all that wows me. It is simply too safe. At least his clothes fit his model pretty well though. He still has pins in the outfit, it seems, and can see them in the runway lights. Not a good sign.

Rooty Tooty put out a casual gray slack, with a khaki long sleeved knit top and a brown vest. It is a pretty good casual look. It all seems to fit pretty well. It looks more put together than a number of other looks we have seen.

Jack is named the winner, and his design will be worn by Tiki on the Today Show. Nice. My favorite was Kevin's, though.

Somehow Sweet P made it through and is still in. That leaves Carmen and Ricky as the possibilities for going home. Carmen is out though, for leaving her model half-naked to go along with other pieces that didn't work. I can't say I am too upset about her leaving. She seemed way too full of herself for my taste, but without the talent to back it up.