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The Designers Go Green
Episode 2 Recap by Jacob D
July 24, 2008
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Last week on Project Runway, the fifth season premiered and we were introduced to 16 new contestants and one from season's past. Austin Scarlett, season one standout, greeted the designers alongside Tim Gunn when their first challenge was a retread of Project Runway's first ever challenge: the Gristedes grocery store challenge that Austin Scarlett won in season one with his famous corn husk dress. At the workroom, Tim was loathe to see that a lot of the designers had picked items resembling conventional fabrics and weren't thinking outside the box. At the season's first runway judging, Kelli won the challenge and Jerry was eliminated, making it one down and 14 more to go before we find our newest winner. Who will be the second designer cut? Let's find out.
Suede, Jerry's roommate, says that as long he himself doesn't go home, he's fine with whatever decision the judges make, but he was not expecting Jerry to get booted. Stella is shocked and happy that she's still here and says there is little room for error on the show. Kelli is glad to have immunity and says she expected to win that first challenge because she's innovative and creative.
The designers head to the runway where Heidi greets them and gives them a chance to choose their models. The 16 models are brought out and since the show doesn't focus as much on the models as they do the designers, I couldn't even begin to tell you who is who and which designer they were with last time. Last time the designers were assigned a girl, but now they get to choose and in the end, the model who is paired with the winning designer will get a spread in Elle magazine. Here's a list of which designer selects which model:
- Kelli stays with Germaine
- Joe chooses Topacio
- Blayne chooses Polina
- Emily stays with Leslie
- Keith stays with Runa
- Jennifer chooses Alex
- Wesley chooses Alyssa
- Suede chooses Tia
- Jerell chooses Nicole
- Kenley chooses Shannone
- Stella picks Kendall
- Korto picks Katarina
- Terri chooses Xaviera
- Daniel pick Elena
Leanne has the final choice and it's between Bell who, according to the flashback clip, was Joe's model last time and Karalyn, whom was Leanne's. Leanne stays with Karalyn and Bell is the first model to be eliminated. With that out of the way, Heidi brings out all the models again to tell everyone about the next challenge: the models are the clients and the designers will have to make cocktail dresses for them.
In the workroom, Tim fills them in on the rest of the details. This challenge is about going green so the designers will have to work with environmentally friendly materials. There's always a twist though and this one is a, "Project Runway first." This time around, the models will be the ones shopping for fabrics. Wow, that's a doozy of a twist! When designing clothes, it's more than just picking out pretty fabric. It's about keeping in mind how much material you'll need, what will look right for whatever/whomever you're designing for, and so on.
Tim takes the models to MOOD, where they will have a $75 budget and 30 minutes to shop. Elena, Daniel's model, says they were all running around frantically trying to figure out which fabrics would be good for their designer to use with their outfit. Xaviera, Terri's model, has no idea what she's going to grab because she doesn't know anything about fashion design. Karalyn, Leanne's model, says a lot of the girls grabbed the same materials so that will make it more challenging for the designers to make standout outfits. Tia, Suede's model, says she didn't know what the designers would be looking for so she just shopped for what she thought looked good on her. Runa, Keith's model, is giddy as she grabs some peacock feathers and then races to get materials based around them.
Time runs out so the models head back to the workroom. Tim tells the designers that they will have 30 minutes to meet with their models and hammer out some ideas. Then, they will have until midnight to complete their designs. Kenley is a little nervous because Shannone brought back some jersey fabric and according to Kenley, jersey isn't right for cocktail dresses. The designers start laying out what the models brought back and Keith notices that some of the fabrics Runa picked out don't really go together. He also has no idea what he's supposed to do with the peacock feathers she grabbed.
Jerell is thrilled because Nicole made a lot of smart choices at MOOD and Wesley is less than pleased with what Alyssa brought back. Suede starts to work out some ideas for Tia's garment and Stella finds that Kendall's tastes clash with her own design aesthetic. Tim comes in at the end of the 30 minutes to usher out the models and let the designers get to work. Stella admits she is confused and has no game plan because this is not what she does. Yes Stella, but like I've pointed out already in the last article, you said in episode one that you were here to take a chance and step outside of your comfort zone.
The designers have 10 hours left to work and Emily says she loves the green theme for the challenge. Blayne reminds us of what the challenge is and hopes to impress, "Darth Vader," meaning Heidi. He jokes that Heidi is nice and shiny on the outside, but she's crazy on the inside. Wesley is worried about having to make a dress in one day because with satin, every mistake will show so he feels he needs more time. Kenley says a lot of the designers have the same fabric, but she also says they don't necessarily have to use all the fabric they have and so she decides to go with a champagne colored organic silk.
Korto says she loves her model because she and Katarina come from foreign countries and so have curvier bodies. Korto wants to make a design that accentuates that. Stella decides not to do what Kendall wanted and instead chooses to do something she wanted to do. I don't know about that. Yes, these designers have to be able to put their own stamp into the design, but the models are the clients so they must also listen to what the model has to say.
There are 8 hours left to work and Suede is constantly referring to himself in the third person. I hate when people do that. Some of the other designers poke fun at him for that and Leanne tells us that she likes him, but he should probably stop doing that. Leanne notices that she, Joe, and Wesley are using the same fabric so she decides to use new shapes and add fabric to her dress in order to make it stand out. She starts adding multiple loops of fabric to the whole thing and if she's not careful, she'll have a, "Santino Effect." Santino was a season two designer, and one of my least favorite people in all of reality TV, but that's another story, who had a habit of adding so much to his designs that they quickly became hideous train wrecks. Remember his work in the lingerie challenge or the ice skating challenge? I wish I didn't.
Emily is pleased with how her outfit is coming along and is interested to see how her underground style matches up with Leslie's All-American style. Stella should probably take some notes from that little bit of information. Korto notices that the pleating in her's and Wesley's dresses are similar and worries that judges will criticize her for that. Stella comforts Korto and tells us that it won't do you any good to worry about what other people are working on because it will distract you and throw you off of your own path. That's sound advice that everyone needs.
There are three hours left in the workday and Tim arrives to make his rounds. Tim likes the fabric Kenley is using and is pleased to hear that she is ontrack and not worried about time. Tim can already feel that Korto's dress will be lovely and asks how she put her stamp on the design. Korto talks about the darts and Tim interjects, saying that if it's finished correctly, no one will even see the darts. When Korto informs him that what he sees is the outside of the dress and thus the darts are purposeful, Tim is surprised and seems to have a hard time wrapping his mind around it. Tim says she must finish her design to perfection or else she'll be dealing with a hot mess.
Tim goes to Suede and his outfit is a hideous, messy, criss-crossing jumble of stripes. Suede goes through the process of the design and Tim says he's excited about the outfit. Say what? Moving on to Wesley, he tells Tim that he is making a fitted dress and Tim tells him that if he isn't careful about the finish, every mistake will show under the runway lights. Tim notices that Leanne has the same fabric as Wesley, but says her's is a completely different look from what he is doing. Leanne talks about the big strips of fabric she's throwing onto the garment and Tim worries that she has too much going on. He cautions her to bring an editing eye to it, but the advice seems to slide right off of her because she tells she has so many ideas, love her work, and is willing to take the chance. Uh oh.
Before he leaves, Tim informs the designers that the winner will not receive immunity for the next challenge, but will receive a prize in seeing their design manufactured and sold on bluefly.com. He also says that one of Hollywood's most glamorous young stars will be the guest judge. If you've visited the Project Runway website, you already know who that is, but I won't spoil it for you just yet. Kenley says it's important to make an impression on young Hollywood because that's ultimately who they want their clients to be. I think to myself that that's fine, but the great designer will be one who reaches a broad spectrum of people.
With 45 minutes left in the day, the designers race to get finished. Emily says everyone still has a lot to do and Wesley frets over his materials, but also worries that he might just be psyching himself out. As the day draws closer to the end, Stella talks at length about how her tastes and aesthetic lie in leather and the other designers joke about her leather fixation. Blayne imitates her by saying stuff like her cat is leather, she watches leather TV, and her kids came out of her as leather. Stella catches wind of this and after an exchange of one-liners, the two hug.
The next day, the designers wearily head back to the workroom to get things done. Tim comes in and notices that no one is finished. He says he has confidence that they will pull through, but they are all turning him into a wreck. You have to love Tim. The models are brought in and the designers only have a short time to get them prepared for the runway show. Kenley is confident in her outfit, despite having second thoughts at earlier points and Stella is relieved to find that her model loves her dress despite the fact that Stella just did what she herself wanted to do. Kendall says it was a good move because it turned out a lot nicer than she thought and she is proud of Stella. Keith notices that Wesley's dress doesn't fit his model very well and Wesley says time was not on his side for the challenge. It rarely ever is for the designers on this show, but they make it work so you have to just suck it up, Wes.
The finish line approaches and it is now time for the runway show. Heidi greets the designers, reminds them of their challenge, and introduces them to the guest judge, Oscar-nominated actress Natalie Portman, a.k.a. Queen Amidala to some. Not me, but some people. Natalie is also a vegan, environmental activist, and Project Runway fan so she seems a fitting choice for this challenge.
Keith's outfit is modeled first and.....
Jacob D. is a twenty-something native of Austin Tx who spends his time
listening to music, posting on Austin based messageboards, playing
video games, and watching TV. Jacob also enjoys reading Shonen Jump,
Garfield and Calvin & Hobbes strips, playing Texas Hold 'em, drawing
cartoon chickens, and tending to his neopets. Though shy in real
life, he loves to sound off on his favorite shows and enjoys
interacting with other fans.
You can contact Jacob at Jacob@RealityTVCalendar.com
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