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An Olypic Design Competition
Episode 4 Recap by Jacob D
August 9, 2008
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Last week on Project Runway, the designers went out on the town. They walked around New York and took pictures to use as the inspiration for their next designs. Some designers, like Keith, went out on a limb while others, like Leanne, learned how to draw it back a bit. At the third runway judging of the season, Kenley won the challenge and though Jennifer bored the judges, Emily was eliminated when they took issue with some of her design choices. 13 designers remain. Who will be cut next?
It's the morning after the most recent runway judging and Korto is sad that her friend Emily is gone. However, she is focused on the competition and knows she has to work hard at whatever is thrown at her. Kenley is happy to have won a challenge and been recognized by people who matter in the fashion community. She feels that a huge weight has been lifted off of her shoulders now that she has immunity.
The designers head to the runway for model selection and information on their next challenge. Kenley, as the winner of the last challenge, is given a chance to change models. She may stay with Shannone, go with Emily's model, Leslie, or pick someone else's model. Kenley stays with Shannone and Leslie is eliminated. Of course, Heidi doesn't tell them about their next challenge, but does inform them that Tim is taking them on a fieldtrip. Jerell hopes that it has nothing to do with female wrestlers.
The designers head out and Korto half-jokes that they're going to the Bronx and their next challenge will be about hip-hop, an idea that draws a favorable response from the other designers in the car. Actually, that's not a bad idea, having a hip-hop or street style challenge. Kelli gets nervous when they pass a hospital and hopes they don't have to design nurse uniforms. Blayne, who doesn't seem to really care about the show, talks about how much he tans and tells us that he just wants to go tanning.
The designers get off at the Armory Track and Field Center and some of the designers are nervous. Inside is a lone skater, shooting around the track, and if you've seen the previews or been to the Project Runway website, you already know that it's Apolo Anton Ohno, decorated Olympic athlete and winner of season four of, "Dancing With The Stars." Apolo tells the designers that they will be making outfits as if they were designing for the U.S. Olympic Team during the opening ceremonies. The opening ceremonies are when all the teams from all the countries stroll out and are welcomed by all the fans watching from all over the world. Therefore, not only are they designing as if they are making outfits for the U.S. Olympic team, they must all think about how they would be representing the U.S. to rest of the world. Plus, there are men and women among the team, but for this challenge, they will be designing for women. Blayne is the first to trot out the, "I'm going for the gold!" line. Great.
The designers are able to look around the Armory's museum in order to see how looks and fashions were incorporated into uniforms of the past, using this to serve as inspiration for their own designs. Joe says he has been watching the Summer games since he was 12 and feels this is a great opportunity for him to show off his background in sportswear. Terri is also a fan of the Olympics and thinks, "Classic Americana Sportswearm," as the jumping off point for her design. Stella sees a picture of an athlete competing in fur trimmed gear and decides to go for a gladiator sort of viewpoint. Jennifer wants finds inspiration in a retro tracksuit and Jerell finds inspiration in a picture of athletes in hats and blazers. Daniel is stumped, saying he is into high-end glamour and feeling this has nothing to do with what he's used to.
The designers go shopping at MOOD and have a budget of $150. Korto picks out some linen and leather and says she doesn't care what the others think of her choices. Kenley knows she wants to work with white and blue plaids and Tim is curious over Stella's decision to use black. Keith picks out a roll of pink fabric and Terri, looking over fabrics on a shelf nearby, turns around and says he is taking her fabric. Terri tells us that people are changing and she's going to have to keep one eye open from now on.
Again, people are making something out of nothing, this time Terri accusing Keith of stealing her fabric, and once again, I don't think Keith deserves it. Let me pose a hypothetical to you readers: you are out shopping for fabric and you see a roll of fabric that you like just randomly laying out on a table. Do you use that fabric or do you leave it alone and automatically assume it belongs to someone else? Terri was off looking at other fabrics so how was Keith to know that she was using that particular fabric? And besides, where is it a rule that only one designer can use a certain kind of fabric? Like I said, people are making something out of nothing.
At the workroom, Tim informs the designers that they will have until 1:00 a.m. to work on their designs, or about nine hours, and the winner of the challenge will earn immunity for the next challenge. Stella tells us that this is serious business because the challenge has the designers representing America to the entire world. A comment from Korto leads some designers to talk about their experiences with sports. Stella says she took dance for a couple of years in school, Leanne says she went into cheerleading because she was a gymnast, and Joe says he did football. Joe tells us that he feels an affinity with athletes and wants to win this challenge because his two daughters are in softball. Joe says he took up sewing after freshman year because everyone else got bigger and he didn't, leading him to give up football. Daniel jokes that he played putt-putt and tells us he doesn't really like sports before also informing us that his time in boarding school soured him on uniforms.
Blayne jokes that he would be an Olympic athlete when it comes to tanning. Blech, again with the tanning, although he does make a funny joke where he says the medals for tanning only go up to bronze. Blayne whines about how he's getting so weak since he's not allowed to go tanning while on the show. With seven hours left in the day, Terri says she wants to create something modern and really, really hot, creating an outfit with multiple pieces, and Leanne marvels at how quickly Terri is working.
Jennifer isn't sure if she should go with a sporty style or her own style, girly and feminine, and so decides to stick with her own style. Um, why? Stella talks about her design, saying she didn't want to do anything soft because athletes are powerhouses, and says that if the judges call it, "biker," she just going to say, "Well there are a lot of bikers who watch the Olympics!" Keith says he always wanted to be in the Olympics, having been a competitive gymnast at a young age, and he wants a playful outfit. We see clips of Daniel and Kenley laughing and joking around and Joe, already starting to make something out of nothing, immediately jumps to accusing them of having no consideration for others. It's a stressful environment and they're just trying to take some of that stress away. Some of the other designers talk about how annoying Kenley's laugh can be, but if it's such a big problem, just politely ask them to keep it down.
With four hours left in the day, Korto says she is making a white design because her eye is always drawn to the teams wearing white in the opening ceremonies. Korto goes on to say that America is a place of second chances and talks about relocating to the states from Africa after a civil war erupted in her country. With three hours left, Tim comes in to make his rounds. He goes to Joe and loves the idea of Joe making a red and blue zipper. Tim feels Blayne's outfit is looking, "Sgt. Pepper's," and Blayne completely misses the reference.
Tim goes to Daniel and Daniel seems unsure of his design. He considered making a bolero, but is worried that his outfit will look, "Wonder Woman." Tim says that, in a way, Olympic athletes are superheroes so he shouldn't worry about that. Tim is also concerned about Daniel's habit of unraveling in challenges. Tim goes to Jerell and doesn't like that Jerell is using horizontal stripes or the busy clumps of fabric around the neck. Tim asks Jennifer about the color of her dress, gold, and Tim is concerned that she is making another matronly outfit.
Tim leaves and the designers have half an hour left to work, wherein Kenley advises Daniel to scrap the bolero. Daniel goes to do some sewing on one of the machines and Joe passive-aggressively confronts him about it, angry that Daniel is using his, Joe's, machine. Daniel says he didn't know it was Joe's machine and Joe complains that Daniel should pay attention to where people are working. Joe complains like a pathetic little man and tells us that he's been using that machine for the last three challenges and Daniel, who he claims is so into himself, is trying to mess with him. Daniel says Kenley was working on the machine last and there are plenty of other empty machines. Yeah, Joe.
A stewing Joe just will not leave it alone. Some of the designers talk about the drama, equating it to high school puffery, but I'd say that's more on Joe than it is on Daniel. "You're using my machine! That's my machine! You're a self-centered chump for using my machine! You need to pay attention!" Korto jokes that Joe is acting like a baby and this is where Joe says, "There's too much drama because there're too many queens around!" Joe, will you shut the hell up? Jesus tap-dancing Christ! Why don't you just glue your name tag to that machine? It's like the little situation with Terri and Keith at MOOD: If you needed to do some sewing and saw an empty machine, one that nobody was sitting at or even standing around, would you use it or leave it alone and automatically assume it belongs to someone else. And again, where is the rule that says only one designer can use a particular machine? Joe completely made up this drama in his own head and now he's passing it off on other people with a completely unnecessary, "queens," comment when the drama, which he created in his head, was focused on only one person. Get over yourself, dumbass.
The next day is the day of the runway show and the designers still have work to do. Kenley and Daniel talk about their usage of similarly colored fabric. Daniel's fabric seems to change from blue to purple depending on how the light hits it and Kenley is worried about what the judges may say at the runway. Tim informs the designers that they have three hours to work and an hour to get their models ready. Joe feels confident that he's going to win and Jerell says his, Jerell's, outfit is a lot of look. Blayne feels Jerell's outfit looks like it came from the Titanic era and Terri thinks Jennifer is in trouble because her outfit doesn't read, "America." Korto thinks everyone else's designs seem too old fashioned and tells us that she wants to stay in the present. Tim informs the designers that it's time to head to the runway and everyone vacates the workroom.
On the runway, Heidi greets the designers and reintroduces the guest judge, Apolo Ohno. The show begins with Korto's outfit and it looks like another pantsuit. It's very clean and chic and is paired with a simple vest. Suede's outfit is some kind of cutesy skirt with a bib top and Kelli's outfit looks more, "country restaurant waitress," than, "strong Olympic athlete," to me. Joe's outfit is next and as much as I don't like him right now, his outfit is a lovely white skort and zipped up jacket with accompanying red, white, and blue stripes. Leanne's outfit looks chic until you get to the big layered collar up top. You almost got it this time Leanne, but you still need a little editing. Daniel's outfit is like a purple cocktail dress with red stripes and buttons. How do we glean, "Olympics," from this outfit? Jerell's outfit is so busy what with the pencil skirt, bunched up shirt, layers of fabric hanging around the neck like a tie, and big sun hat. I'm not sure how this represents the Olympics or even athletes in general.
Stella's outfit is just what you'd expect it to be, leather pants and a leather vest, and Keith's outfit also seems similar to what he's always done. I like the white top, but the peek-a-boo bubble skirt at the bottom and the random adornment of the fabric necktie just seems all over the place. Terri's outfit is another stunner with white pants, red-white-and-blue shirt, a blazer, and a more clever use of fabric around the neck than Jerell or Keith. Jennifer's outfit has absolutely nothing to do with this challenge in that it is a gold striped dress with a prim little shrug over the shoulders. Blayne's outfits is next and last week, I wondered if he knew the meaning of the word, "understatement." This week's outfit is the most subtle Blayne creation we'll ever see it, but now he just needs to learn how to separate the terms, "understated," and, "boring." Kenley's outfit is last and it's a white top with blue and white plaid skirt.
After the show, Heidi calls on Suede, Kelli, Leanne, Stella, Keith, Blayne, and Kenley. These designers have qualified for the next round, but are not in either the top or bottom group. Joe, Korto, Jerell, Jennifer, Daniel, and Terri are left on the runway for further judging and Heidi starts with Terri. Apolo loves the colors she used and feels her outfit would read well. Michael likes the Lauren Hutton, "70's vibe," that he gets and Nina likes the versatility in the outfit. She feels the U.S. team would look very sharp in Terri's garment. Jennifer is next and Heidi doesn't feel it's, "modern, Olympics, or American." Apolo says the athletes want to feel in confident in what they're wearing and he doesn't grasp that from Jennifer's design. Nina thinks it's hard for Jennifer to get her own aesthetic around each challenge and feels she missed the mark completely.
Joe is next and Heidi loves how he made the red and blue zipper. Apolo likes that it would show off the athletes' bodies and Nina likes the athletic details in his outfit. Michael thinks the outfit is very smart. Daniel is next and Apolo and Nina don't see the outfit having any relevance with the challenge. Despite Daniel's protestations, the judges also don't think the fabric is blue because it looks very purple on the runway. The judges are having a hard time figuring out where this person with this outfit would hail from. With Korto, Nina feels the U.S. team would be very chic in her outfit, Heidi think the U.S. would be proud to wear it, and Apolo likes that it is modern and functional. Jerell is up and Apolo thinks his outfit looks more like an actor's costume than an athletic outfit. Michael thinks there's a disconnect between the outfit and the intended client. Heidi feels he has good ideas that would work in other challenges, but not here, and Michael says the design is out there.
It's time for the judges to deliberate. They like how Korto's outfit is sophisticated, modern, and athletic. They liked the simplicity and stylish nature of Terri's outfit and they felt Joe was the only one who really went literal with the challenge. Concerning Jerell, they feel he made something that was too costume-y. Of Jennifer, they say her outfit was bland and wrong for the challenge and the judges discuss the many issues they have with Daniel's outfit.
The decisions have been made and the designers are back out on the runway. Joe is in and Korto is the winner. Terri and Jerell are in, which means Daniel and Jennifer are the bottom two. To Daniel, Heidi says he missed the mark completely. To Jennifer, Heidi says she is stuck in the past and they must look to the future. Jennifer is out and is the fourth designer to be eliminated.
At this point, I have to take a moment and comment on the season thus far. This episode really exacerbated what I have disliked about the season. There have been a lot of people making something out of nothing, turning molehills into mountains when it came to drama, and so far I am less than thrilled with the overall output of the designers. No one has really knocked me dead and made me think, "Wow! They could definitely win!" I mean, just about everyone missed the mark in this challenge in some way, going for wild, high fashion designs when they were supposed to be designing for athletes on the U.S. Olympic Team. Yes, an athlete can be fashionable, but we still expect them to be athletes. This cast has been the weakest since season two and I am really hoping they step things up soon.
Coming up on Project Runway:
The designers make outfits for women in the working world. Usually, when it gets down to 12, or nine in the first season, the shows trots out a team challenge. Judging from the previews, everyone will be paired up with another designer and team challenges usually bring out the drama. See ya there.
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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