Take it to the Runway (Part 13)...

Once more it's time for...

A Project Runway Rundown from a gay man's and a straight man's perspectives

Before we begin, I need to tell you all that Dave S. is going it alone again tonight. Tonight is not only the finale of Project Runway, but also the final presidential debate. And I wrangled with this decision, going back and forth, not sure which one I'd want to watch. Ultimately, it came down to this: 1) They'll show repeatedly, ad nauseum, the PR finale; 2) Even though I think, from what I've seen, Leannimal will have the best, most coherent, most cohesive collection, I'm positive Kenley's gonna win this thing. The judges seem to go for wild (see Christian last season, Jeffrey the season before, and Jay with those freaky boots on every model in the first season) instead of clothes that are actually wearable. In addition, the producers have kept Kenley on at least three times when she should have been sent home, so there must be some reason; and 3) I really wanna see if McCain's gonna stroke out or something. They'll be seated, so unfortunately, he can't wander the stage like a lost retirement home resident, but still, he could just go off.

I've typed all this up at roughly 7:30, well before either one. And I dearly hope my prediction for Kenley is wrong. But we'll all know soon enough. now, without further ado, I give you...Dave S.!

Finale, Part 2

Overall, this was not a dramatic episode. No major outbursts, no big blow-ups. But it was definitely interesting. And the judging twist, which was brilliant.

We hit the designers with only three days before the runway show.

First, the model casting. Nothing overly interesting here, just Kenley being Kenley and Leanne getting mildly annoyed with her.

Tim reviewed the collections with the designers and after a bit of an altercation with Kenley believing the judges were nearly off their rocker saying her wedding dress was a knock-off, he actually rolled his eyes behind her back. Seriously. It was priceless.

Korto decides to ditch a dress or two -- including her wedding dress -- and needs to come up with two completely new dresses. Crazy. But will she be able to pull it off? It eventually throws her into a bit of a panic, and rightfully so. Kenley makes the point that the judges are going to rate on craftsmanship -- and Korto can't possibly make two clean garments in such a short time.

And I think she's right.

Leanne comments that Kenley's designs look very Holly Hobby. And I think *she's* right.
There's a great interlude where one of Leanne's models brings a little dog with her to her fitting. After she's in the dress, it poops and -- while in the dress -- has to clean up the doody. Leanne: "Just don't get it on the dress!" Hilarious.

As they're backstage for the final runway show in front of a packed crowd, I worry for Leanne -- Korto's collection looks like it came together really well. She's done some great work.

And one of Leanne's outfits no longer fits the model! Apparently it was over-steamed and is now stretched out. She has to swap models and outfits in hopes that it'll fit better.

Now here's the cool part. It's the beginning of the show and Heidi comes out to get it all started. She announces that Jennifer Lopez was supposed to be one of the judges, but she injured her foot and couldn't be there. So who does she announce as the fourth judge? Tim Gunn!! Seriously. That's awesomeness times twelve!

Kenley's comment when she finds out: "Maybe I should've had a better attitude..."

Okay, so here's the runway rundown:

Kenley:
I really like the painted fabrics, but her collection lacked any cohesion. Several of the garments were a bit too simple and relied almost entirely on her skill at fabric painting. She exhibited a great black dinner dress though, and had a beautiful white dress with a line of painted flowers running up the front and curling around the top. The winner of her collection was a great top/skirt combo with a very nice green, pillowy top and a nice, clean black silk skirt.

Korto:
Her collection had a definite cohesion. She had some great colors -- though not complex -- that really showed off her designs. I wasn't a fan of the metallic browns that she used on several of the outfits, though. She displayed a short-skirted green dress that was awesome, as well as a white pantsuit that was very well done. I was mostly taken by her ability to so effectively use asymmetry in her work. Overall very very nice. And she walked her daughter down the runway with her, which I thought was awesome.

Leanne:
Leanne's craftsmanship is simply impeccable. Everything flows just right and fits perfectly. This was more of what we saw last week -- the layers of fabric inspired by water. But she nails it. Hers is the most cohesive of all of the PR designers. It screams Leanne and really works together beautifully. The wedding dress is largely unchanged, but still amazing. Her standout piece was an absolutely incredible top/pant combo that was stunning. She had only one top that I didn't think worked real well, but overall, she did some really amazing work.
Then came the judging. All the judges were taken by their work and all of them had some minor critiques. They thought that Kenley needed to do some research to make sure her designs hadn't been done before (their ongoing "knock-off" concerns). And they worried that Leanne would be a one-hit wonder.

But in the end, it was Leanne who they decided should be the Project Runway winner! Woohoo! And I (of course) think they got it right. I was worried, though -- I thought Korto's designs were very good, but Leanne's were overall very stunning.

So there you have it. The end of Season 5. Not as much of a rollercoaster as previous seasons perhaps, but just as engaging.

(raise your glasses!) Here's to Season 6!




Hmm, well it seems my guess was off. I'm sorry I missed all the Tim Gunn-ness (woulda loved to see the eye roll and Kenley's response to him being a judge). I'm pleased with the outcome as well. Way to go, Leannimal!

I want to thank Dave S. for handling this alone again. This mighta been more interesting than the debate. I'll have a review of that in the next few days. And if they have a Season 6, well, I hope Dave S. agrees to do this again. From the very beginning this time!

And remember everyone, always "Make It Work!"

POLT Listening to "That's Not My Name" by The Ting-Tings

I'm worse than scum, I'm...um, what's worse than scum? - Emmett, Queer As Folk