Before I get to my Project Runway column, I was a little baffled by a problem on my website last week. I wrote blog posts, as always, about the Diva / Mensch pair on Wednesday and the Fabulous Friday feature, but neither was sent as an email to my subscribers. I don’t know what went wrong and honestly don’t know if this post will work as an email, the way it should. I’m crossing my fingers!
If I t does work , please allow me to encourage you to go to my website and watch the Fabulous Friday from last week, a tribute to Ellen De Generes for Pride.
On with the show!
Christian started the episode by saying that the finale show would be at Skylight One Hanson. Anyone heard of that joint? He also said that Marni Senofonte would be helping with their styling. Isn’t that funny, I had forgotten all about her! And she was such a big deal earlier in the season. I love model casting. I wonder if they were under any obligation to use a plus size model. Christian also announced that they’d have the option to go to Mood the next morning and given $300 if they wanted to make something new. Hashtag COP OUT! I hate this kind of thing, it’s so Romper Room. And rompers are so four seasons ago. Hester decided to rise to the Mood bait. Garo Garo Garo - - he had seventeen looks to pare down to ten, and yet he was STILL going to make another from scratch? And Sebastian felt a little unmoored, felt like he had to go to Mood and make something new (or just buy thread?) because the other two designers were doing that. Sebastian decided to go to Mood and Christian decided to be the devil on the shoulder, criticizing every choice he made. May I say again how much I dislike Christian as mentor? Did he learn nothing from Tim Gunn being his mentor? Marni made her visit and was suitably horrified by the wig that Hester put on her signature model’s head. Hester thought it was Baroque but I thought it was B-52s. And I love the B-52s, but still. They went for their visit to the guest judge. We all knew that it was Diane von Furstenberg, but they didn’t know that. You think they’d figure it out when they got to the Meatpacking District. I adore DVF, she’s a hero of mine. Sebastian put it perfectly: “I need somebody to hit me in my face to see if this is real!” They went to Skylight One Hanson, which looked to be in the BAM neighborhood. Brooklyn is getting lots of love on PR this season! Poor little old Manhattan, is she feeling like a bridesmaid, like yesterday’s bialy? One little moment made me queasy: they had a montage of hair and makeup and showed a hair artist squeezing about 1/3 cup of gel into his/her hand and oh dear, I had to sit down. Wait, I was sitting down. I had to lay down. Of course there were moments of frenzied drama backstage at the show, with the coffee dribbles on the chiffon, the moth holes on the organza, the “Why are you wearing Uggs?” OK I made up the Uggs, but you get what I mean. Karlie introduced the judges. She and Elaine Welteroth both looked super glam, but were their looks too evening for a daytime event? Or am I a fuddy duddy? Nina and Diane, of course, looked perfect. Ditto Brandon, but who ever talks about what a mean wears. Hm - - the host or mentor usually announces what order the finale designers will be showing in, am I right? That didn’t happen this time, they just launched right in with Sebastian. That was a notable omission. I felt like Sebastian’s collection was lacking in oomph, too ready for the department store. The loopy looks were sublime, also the floaty look he added at Nina’s suggestion. But the rest, for my taste it was too restrained. Garo’s collection was more specific, it had more impact. But that zipper was a disaster. And of course Nina wanted to see the beaded cocktail dress they had all loved from the previous challenge, he was an idiot to have cut that out. Kiss of Death to think you know better than the judges. Hester! First off, love the disco Moonlight Sonata! And she really Put On a Show, what she does is so clearly an expression of who she is and how she sees fashion, more than the other two, more innovative, more extreme. Not for everyone but to me, it looked like Fashion with a capital F. A capital Eff Yeah! But I didn’t feel like it was a runaway, you never know who the judges will choose as the winner. I wasn’t surprised they immediately eliminated Garo - - his construction issues were a deal breaker. So it came down to Sebastian and Hester. As is often the case, they had to choose between Clothes (Sebastian) and Art (Hester). How sweet that they brought back the eliminated designers for the announcement! I wonder if they went straight into the reunion special. And the winner was: Sebastian! So beautiful and meaningful that Nina address him as a Latina, and as a personification of the American Dream. I am so happy for him. But we shouldn’t feel bad for Hester, I guess she’s going to have a job for DVF, right? Diane shouldn’t have said that on camera if she didn’t intend to deliver!