The wait is sew over! Bad puns aside, Wednesday night was the glorious return of the ever-popular design reality show "Project Runway" on Bravo.
Impatient, fashion-obsessed viewers subsisting on cheap imitations like "America's Next Top Model" and the short-lived "The Cut" with Tommy Hilfiger can finally rejoice in the comfort of Heidi and Tim and their familiar catchphrases.
The 15 designers rolled in, set up shop in New York City, and Heidi and Tim delivered instructions for their challenge within the first five minutes.
Amidst the intros from bitchy gay men, it became apparent that the "Project Runway" casting designers really stepped it up this season. They incorporated experienced designers already accomplished in their own rights. No more amateurs, folks - this is the real deal. Nina Garcia, fashion director of Elle Magazine, returned with hilarious but critical commentary, aided by designer Monique Lhuillier, who made her debut on the board with a no-holds-barred attitude.
The challenge certainly didn't beat around the bush, either. Usually, the designers are asked to make a fabulous dress out of some strange material in about 10 hours. This usually helps to weed out the no-talent slackers from the serious designers - but it's also an absurd task. Ask Nicholas Ghesquiere if he ever made a dress out of his bed linens.
This year, however, the challenge was for each designer to simply express his or her own personal design aesthetic using $50,000 worth of the best-quality fabric. This was an effective strategy in terms of exposing the designers and their personalities to the audience. We got to see who was chic and classic and who was weird and most likely to be the next Santino Rice.
After 11 hours in the Parsons School of Design workroom and a good night's sleep, the designers met up with their models, two of whom are Tufts graduates. That's right: They're tall, gorgeous and they went here.
But none of the models should quit their day jobs just yet. Though this is a competition for them as well, they are awful models with walks so poor, it's embarrassing. Not to mention, a lot of them are over 20, way past the mark in terms of starting a successful modeling career.
Despite the poor job done by the models, the designs were overall very impressive. The winner of the challenge and immunity from elimination on next week's episode, Rami, hails from Israel but got his chops in Los Angeles working with Jessica Alba and successfully translated that experience to the show.
The runner-up, Victorya, a University of Chicago alum from Korea, created a beautiful black frock with a gorgeous metallic rosette accent. Christian, the other notable creative force, sewed a plaid jacket and khaki skirt combo that wowed the judges but left Tim unimpressed. His cocky attitude and sassy comments are definitely going to make him one of the most entertaining designers to watch in the upcoming episodes.
While seeing the best is always entertaining, the worst brings out the critic in all of us. Simone was sent packing first after unsuccessfully attempting to mold a romantic palette with a modern silhouette. This turned into a complete disaster, but it wasn't as bad as the single-seamed, form-fitting blue number made by Elisa, holistic designer extraordinaire. She was found rubbing yards of expensive silk-chiffon all over the Bryant Park grass in an attempt to "stain and feel" the fabric. Ultimately, the judges were looking for quality of construction and general talent that these gals just didn't have.
Ricky, a lingerie designer and ex-dancer from California, delivered a basic black baby doll dress that the judges deemed boring and safe. They are really expecting the designers to emphasize the creativity factor, which gives an advantage to people like Chris (a costume designer and Jay McCaroll version 2.0), Christian, Kevin (the only straight male) and Kit. Former model Carmen and Ralph Lauren illustrator Jillian take up the classic style of the modern woman while the other designers have yet to really make a lasting impression.
Everyone has a lot to prove in the upcoming episodes, having such extensive fashion backgrounds, but let's stay optimistic. The challenges seem to be more grounded in producing a true and genuine designer rather than someone who is entertaining on television, like in previous seasons.
This season promises to be a must-see explosion of entertainment full of comedy, drama and of course, amazing clothes. It airs Wednesday nights, starting at 10 p.m.
