Feb 23, 2008

Should I Care Who Wins Project Runway 4? Do You?

This image of Chris says it all, doesn't it? If he didn't care enough to push himself to the limits, why should I bother to root for him? Look, I've been a Chris March fan all season long and hoped he would win the competition. If not the competition, then I wanted him to win the most popular vote. Frankly, I now understand why this enormously talented man was booted early by the judges. The devil is in the details, and Chris was happy to do only enough for a "win."

Which explains the problem I am having with this season.

1) These contestants were among the most talented of all the PR seasons, but most seem to already enjoy thriving careers. Ain't now way they're going to put their reputations on the line for some cockamamie show, even for $100,000. That's why this last challenge using the fabulous works of art at the Met was SOOOOO predictable - Rami creating a draped design, Christian going for puffy sleeves and tight black pants, Jillian combining an expertly crafted jacket with a short, short skirt, Chris designing an over the top creation with one hand tied behind his back, and Sweet P, well, Sweet P dithering here and there and coming up with something not quite breathtaking and a little odd.

2) The judges voting for their favorite designers, instead of the best design. C'mon, Robert Cavalli, Michael Kors, Nina Garcia, and Heidi Klum, fire the creator of the worst designs already. Frankly, you should have made a decision between Chris and Rami. Having them return for a mini showdown is a cop out. My guess, based on three or four dresses in the final collection, is that Rami will win the mini run off.

3) Like last year, the final collections can be seen online. Bad timing, Bravo, for the thrill and excitement of discovery are gone. Just looking at the photos you could guess who created the collections. In my humble opinion, Princess Puffy Sleeves, as Tom and Lorenzo call Christian, designed the most cohesive, breathtaking collection, and I think she'll walk away with the prize. Jillian's brilliant designs ran a close second, and I think the judges will choose either her or Christian. Some of Rami's evening dresses were drop dead gorgeous show stoppers, but he draped his way down the runway, and frankly his collection was not cohesive. As for Chris? He lost steam somewhere along the way and pulled a Santino. I wanted to love his designs, but couldn't work up the enthusiasm for any of his dresses. None struck my fancy, and his use of human hair was just plain gross. Sweet P's runway collection was a revelation, but she's been aufed already. Shades of Season 2's Kara, whose runway collection outshone the winner's.

4) The reunion show was another dud. Why bother airing it unless we learn some delicious tidbits about all the designers that would have us sit up and take notice?

As a review of what we already know and to summarize this season, here's a short visual quiz. Which of the following photos would our designers choose for inspiration? You only get one try, but something tells me you'll guess them all correctly.



























1 comment:

Library Diva said...

I agree with you about the mini-runoff. For some reason, the judges just can't bear to say goodbye to Rami, even though all he's willing to do is drape. They've begged, pleaded and threatened with him to get him to do something else. He's either incapable of it or refuses to do it.

On the other hand, I think Tom and Lorenzo's armchair analysis of Chris was right. He's been through a lot. He was actually eliminated, and before he could even process it, was back, but in place of someone popular who'd gotten sick, which couldn't have been easy. And like all of them, he's dealt with isolation, sleep deprivation and anxiety. He wanted to keep going but couldn't find it in himself that particular day, so was just hoping to do a decent job and maybe finish a little early so he could rest.

I don't think he deserved the amount of criticism he got from the judges for making a dress similar to a previous one. He should've known better, but it's not like he's done the same damn thing every week like SOME PEOPLE. I want Chris to win this mini-runoff, but you're probably right, he probably won't. For some unfathomable reason, the judges don't like him as much as they like Rami (even though Chris has more vision in his little toe) and they'll probably give Rami one more chance to do somethign besides drape (which he won't).