Project Runway: "Starving Artist"

This week's episode of Project Runway was another episode dedicated to reenacting the nightmares of an introvert (me). Meaning the designers had to decorate T-shirts and aggressively sell them or otherwise beg for money on the streets of New York in order to get their Mood spending money for the challenge. If you remember during All Stars, the designers had to ask strangers for the clothes off their backs, which is infinitely worse. At least this time around the designers worked in groups of three and they actually had something to offer in exchange for money.

Here's how the teams and cash stacked up:

Team 1
Christopher
Sonjia
Gunnar
$684

Team 2
Dmitry
Elena
Alicia
$500

Team 3
Ven
Melissa
Fabio
$800.48

The actual challenge (which had nothing to do with the title) was for each team of three to design two fall looks, and at least one look had to include outerwear. Fall is my favorite time of year, season and clothes-wise, so I was excited to see what the designers came up with.

I was also scared of the drama that would inevitably happen around Elena and the potential bearing of fangs between Gunnar and Christopher. Of course Elena was her usual hot mess of roller coaster emotions, but surprisingly Gunnar and Christopher were not only civil, but there was zero drama, and maybe even a little kindness. I was rather proud of Christopher for acknowledging on the runway the great dresses Gunnar made. It's not an easy thing to swallow your pride or your dislike of someone and genuinely compliment and appreciate their work.

It was as clear to me as it was to the judges that Team 1 did the best work in the challenge. Gunnar's dresses were both surprisingly fantastic, excepting that the hem on the longer one was stretched out, poorly finished, and should have been about two inches shorter, hitting at mid-calf.

I thought I would hate Christopher's modified trench, but it turned out good enough. I especially enjoyed the asymmetrical collar, but I would never buy a coat without sleeves no matter how interesting it is on the runway.

The pièce de résistance of the whole evening was Sonjia's green jacket. I loved it and I would buy it in a heartbeat (but only if it had long sleeves, not three-quarter). It was interesting and unique, yet there was nothing impractical about it. I also love asymmetry, so it was an all around win for me, and for Sonjia since she won the challenge!

The judges put both of the other teams on notice for doing a poor job, but since there was the most discord in Team 2, I knew that they would have the worst collection. That's always the way it is, because discord in a team is inevitably reflected in the designs. And as guest judge Anna Sui said, "It's always a team that makes a collection." A designer never does it alone. Ever. I didn't love anything in their collection, but Dmitry's dress was the best piece, if nothing else because it was the most well-made.

Elena's coat was so terribly man-handled. It needed either more or less structure, but instead it sagged in some awful between space. Additionally it could have used a very thorough press. Seriously y'all, pressing is arguably the most important thing when you sew. Press as you go, press and press when you finish. It makes a huge amount of difference in the sharpness and quality of a finished product.

Alicia finally went home for creating yet more snooze-fest garments. It was inevitable, because she never once took any risks or did anything beyond basic. (I do wish Elena would've gone home, but she'll be there soon.) I thought Michael Kors had a rare deep moment when he told Alicia that the detailing she added on her shirt was "intellectual with no purpose." That's a pretty good line for a lot of situations.

Team 3 made a mostly forgettable collection that looked the cheapest even though they raised the most money. I actually liked a lot about the first look. I didn't think the skirt was as matronly or frumpy as the judges suggested. I think the only problem of the skirt was that it was too long for the amount of fullness, so it visually weighed down the outfit. But cut four inches off that bad boy to just below the knee, and it's a fun retro-inspired skirt with a lot of great movement. The skirt also needed to be paired with a shirt and tucked in so that you can see the detail at the top. Melissa's jacket was the best piece in the collection, even if the collar was a little too high for my taste. I also liked the matching socks. I don't know why, but I do.

The knit tees that Fabio made were terrible. It had a lot to do with the fact that the knit fabric choice was terrible. Not only that, but his coat was so poorly made. Who makes a stand collar or front facing with a fall-weight fabric without putting in any sort of interfacing? Answer: No one in their right mind. He didn't necessarily need a stiff interfacing, but he needed something to provide stability and sharpness in the finishing touches. And the buttons were extremely pedestrian and boring. Some big funky buttons or colored buttons could've really worked on that jacket. Maybe in the pink color of the T-shirts? Fabio certainly dodged a bullet this week.

I'm so excited to see Mondo next week! He will always be one of my favorite Project Runway contestants.