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February 20, 2008

'Project Runway' reunion, and fan favorite winner

I still don't know why Project Runway airs its reunion before the finale, but I guess I'm kind of used to it by now. Here are some highlights:

* Jack, who had to leave because of a health issue, is back and talks about how he made the right decision, but it was still really hard. There is a weird exchange where they ask Victorya, who is seated defensively, arms crossed tight around her, about how she felt about the scenario. She says "upset" is the right word, but it doesn't seem to be upset in the same way as the other designers who were crying upon his departure (and upon viewing the clip thereof). Heidi says to Tim, "Victorya's always a little uptight, no?" So what's the deal here? Was she mad about Chris March being able to return or what? Weird.

* There's a viewer question for Kevin about whether he's really straight. He says yes, but then they show a montage of amusing clips of him talking to his girlfriend about having lots of new girlfriends, but of the same gender, and more. Tim tells him: "If being on Project Runway didn't turn you gay, nothing will."

* Viewer Molly wants to know who the designers think will win the fan favorite prize. They guess Chris March, with a couple of people saying it's either Christian or Chris.

* They are also asked if it is really as grueling as it seems. To a person, it's a yes. Christian calls it at "tranny mess."

* Montage of Elisa's weirdness, including spit-marking, writing backward in her journal and spraying something to "repel negative energy" on one of her pieces.

* They're asked about their favorite challenge of the season. Kevin says the weight-loss challenge. Christian says the avant-garde, as well as the last one.

* Montage of Ricky crying, interspersed with him saying he can control his emotions and that he doesn't actually cry that much. Back at the reunion, he looks annoyed. He says the experience was really emotional for him. "I didn't realize I was going to cry like a woman," he says. That doesn't go over well. Chris March says he thinks they all cried, and Rami says he admires how open he is with his emotions.

* Carmen says she felt very hurt with some of the comments after she left the show, that Sweet P said "at least it wasn't me," and that Kit said the outfit would be bad even if she had finished. Jillian very nicely says that her dismissal was the first really confusing thing that happened, right when they were all getting to know one another. And Jack says that knowing the "state of duress everyone was under, I give people some license." Tim takes the moment to say that a lot of people were able to laugh off the comments, which is a transition to Heidi's impression of Chris March's laugh and then a bunch of clips of him cackling, and all the other designers mocking him.

* Nina Garcia and Michael Kors join the party. Tim says there was one challenge "that broke the poker-faced veneers of our judges." That would be the WWE Divas challenge, of course. They show footage of Michael Kors losing it after Ricky's model did this pelvic thrust on the runway. But it just continued as the runway show went on. Tim Gunn introduces a montage of the designers talking about what their wrestler name would be. Tim says his would be "Polysyallbicus."

* The designers say Heidi has become the toughest judge so far, which surprises her. Nina says she is glad there is another bad cop. She tells a story about a person coming up to her and calling her "Meana Godzilla."

* Montage of Heidi's "greatest hits," the best of which is probably her talking about "dangling sausage" in front of the designer's faces. Which was probably supposed to be carrot, but that's OK.

* Viewer Martha asks the judges who had the worst single design. Nina and Michael says the men's clothing challenge was definitely the hardest one. Heidi brings up the lack of shirt, and Carmen is NOT happy. They said their favorite was the avant-garde challenge, especially Chris and Christian's work. Asked about the single worst look, Sweet P volunteers her WWE challenge outfit.

* The designers get to ask the judges question. Chris March wants to know what they write on the cards. They say there are numbers and immediate reactions.

* Marion says he thinks he deserved to go home on the $15 challenge because he didn't handle it well, but that he would have liked to stayed longer.

* A viewer asks how they could let Kevin go during prom. Kevin says he thinks that everyone was off their game during the challenge. Christian is asked whether he thought he was going home in that moment, and he says absolutely. Kevin says if that had happened, he would have said that he himself should leave because Christian had so much left to show and to create. Awww, that's nice. Then Christian is mean about his model again and says she was uncooperative, and he would have rather had Kevin's girl. Nice! The judges say part of why he stayed was that his dress looked like an inordinate amount of work had gone into it, which helped save him.

* Victorya says what she does on TV, doesn't necessarily translate into real life. Carmen clarifies that they are in this stressful situation, in which they are being themselves but under crazy circumstances.

* The winner of the fan favorite, by the way, is Annapolis' own Christian Siriano. He wins $10,000 as a result. Michael Knight from last season comes out to bring the giant check. Michael says he invested his into his business, and he's in the process of releasing his first fragrance. He adds that Christian is fierce, which leads into a montage of Christian being, well, himself, and saying "fierce" a lot. "I'm not saying it one more time on the entire show," Christian says.

* Heidi asks for predictions on the winner. Sweet P says Rami. Stephen says it's anyone's game, but mentions Christian and Jillian. Carmen picks Rami. Elisa says they are all talented, and it's going to be a tough decision. Kit and Ricky pick Jillian. Victorya says she thinks Christian has the most talent. Kevin says Christian or Jillian. Marion choose Rami. Jack says it's anyone's game. Tim says, having seen the collections, he doesn't envy the judges.

Who do you think has it in the bag? Next week, the two-part finale.

Posted by Sarah Kickler Kelber at 11:16 PM | | Comments (6)
        

Comments

I would hope that the winner is Christian. I think he has the most talent and the confidence (and ego) to back it up. Jillian is a close second. I was surprised that some of the designers mentioned Rami. All he shows is draping, draping, draping. He doesn't take chances like the others.

I just want to tell you that I did see the show, but if ever I miss one, or one of the other shows that you cover, I know I can count on you to give a great account of what happened. Very specific, which is what I like, & what seems to be lacking in a lot of reporting. Thanks so much.
P.S. Did you notice how no one thought that Chris would win the final? If I were him, I would have felt bad listening to all the designers. PLUS, I was sure that he would win the $10,000. How could Christian win? He certainly was the most catty, & boasted the most about his talent!

Thanks for your kind comments!

I still can't get over the fact that Christain one fan favorite. I thought he was annoying & incredibly cocky since the first moment I saw him on the show. In my opinion ,Chris should have one & to be quite honest between Rami & Chris showing their collections, I think that Chris might pull it off.

I LOVE Christian and think his cockiness is because of his age, and is absolutely necessary for him to make it big. He is a tremendously talented artist.

While we still don't know who won - you can see the designers collections right now online. Do a Google on Fashion Week and Project Runway or go here:
http://nymag.com/fashion/fashionshows/

There are 5 - yes 5 - collections shown:

Rami
Chris
Christian
Jillian
and...
Sweet P.

My vote goes to Chris - I loved his collection - although Christian comes a very close second to me.
I found Rami and Jillian to be a bit boring.

That being said - I love this show and can't wait to see who the judges choose.

Paul

Yes, Sweet P got to show at Fashion Week because it happened before the show with her dismissal aired, and it would have spoiled the results otherwise. See more photos, too, at baltimoresun.com/projectrunway.

Were Chris and Rami holding hands? Are they an item?

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About Sarah Kelber
Sarah Kickler Kelber, an editor in the features department since 1999, got sucked into reality TV with the first episode of MTV's The Real World in 1992. Then came Survivor and American Idol, and suddenly, the genre was everywhere. She started blogging about it for The Baltimore Sun in January 2006 and has logged more hours watching and writing about such shows as Dancing With the Stars, Big Brother and, of course, Idol, than she'd like to admit.
Follow @realityck on Twitter
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