Project Runway 3, Episode 6 Runway Report Card

Welcome to another Project Runway Runway Report Card! Every week, I will evaluate the runway design each designer turned in and will rank them in order from best to worst. Shall we carry on?

The Challenge

Well, if the designers thought they were being challenged before, they certainly had a rude awakening this week. Not only were they working with materials other than fabric, but they also had half as much time to produce their designs. Several of the designers struggled to make their designs work. The ones who succeeded created outfits that looked like real clothes, not like costumes… or garbage.

This week, I did not agree with the judges’ decisions. I don’t think Alison should have been the one to go this week, and I’m not enthusiastic about Michael’s win. Who would I have put in their place?

The Designers

Laura: I’d rank Laura as the best this week. Her dress was absolutely lovely. It was impeccably constructed, had clever details, and most importantly, looked like a real dress, not like she was making do with what she had. Laura showed a sense of fun with the materials by neatly pleating the back of her dress to show the words “FOR NUTS ONLY.” And by adding the black piping and the black rose detail, Laura made the black type on the back of the dress tie in to the rest of the design. I do have to criticize her again for creating another dress that looks exactly like something she’d wear herself, but in this case, I think her dress was the best of the best.

Michael: Although I preferred Laura’s look, Michael proved that his win last week was no fluke. Michael used the reverse side of silver mylar to create a beautifully constructed gold bustier. I liked his clever use of plastic in lieu of organza and the way the simple white column skirt complimented the rest of the outfit. And once again, I admired Michael’s thoughtful explanation of his design. I think Michael will be a contender.

Uli: I am surprised this design wasn’t in the top three. I loved the way Uli wove mylar and paper together. The result was a fresh, youthful party skirt. The top of Uli’s outfit was also made of paper, but did not look stuff or uncomfortable. As Tim Gunn said in his blog, if you can make paper look sexy, that’s impressive.

Robert: This silver mylar dress was, at last, not boring. In fact, it was really cute. The bodice nipped in to make the model’s waist look impossibly tiny, and the ruching and ruffle of the skirt created a really fun party dress. Robert embellished the dress with a bow at the neckline and at the waist, which in my opinion, was about two bows too many. Still, this was a cute and wearable outfit. Welcome back, Robert!

Jeffrey: Jeffrey was very effective in his use of newspapers to look like real fabric. As Michael Kors said, it was the only dress that actually moved. The subtle wash of yellow and blue paint made it look like patterned fabric, rather than paper. I don’t normally care for a trompe l’oiel in fashion, but his faux belt was whimsical. The only reason I wouldn’t rank Jeffrey higher this week is that I think the looks created by the other four looked a bit more like real clothes. Jeffrey’s eye still seems to be more for the stage than for everyday fashion.

Angela: The strange cut of this dress gave the effect of a jumper or apron over a silver mylar bandeau. It was weird and didn’t look like something that anyone would actually wear. And as much as Alison’s dress made her model look heavy, this dress made Angela’s model look unflatteringly bony. If you’ve seen my future best friend Nicole Richie lately, you know what I mean. I liked Angela’s creative use of woven magazine covers to create a patchwork effect, but this outfit was unflattering and odd.

Kayne: This was, by far, the worst design we’ve seen from Kayne. The dress was heavily crumpled, and the resulting texture was unflattering. In a side view, model Amanda looked wide, which she is most certainly not. I usually like his use of color, but between the bright green, the crumpled paper texture, and the mylar shine, it was just too much. The styling made matters worse. Amanda’s heavily ratted hair and smeary eye makeup made the entire thing look even trashier than it already was. Kayne excels at making women look glamorous, and this absolutely did not do so. I suspect next week, he will have learned his lesson.

Alison: Honestly, the styling of this outfit really hurt Alison. The Minnie Mouse bow of hair made the outfit seem all the more ridiculous and outlandish. The unmoving bubble of the skirt was unflattering to the model, and adding the belt and strange waist detailing did make her look awfully pear-shaped. Kudos to Tim Gunn for his use of the word zaftig to describe the model.

Vincent: Alison’s dress wasn’t good, but Vincent’s look was a lot worse. It looked exactly like what it was: a giant sheet of paper with random stuff dumped on it. Vincent may have been turned on by it , (and how precious was the look of disgust on Michael Kors’s face when he said that?) but I wasn’t. It looked like a kid’s craft project. The dress was horrible, un-wearable, and ridiculous. Vincent should have been the one to go this week.

Betsy Wasser is the Associate Editor of Reality News Online. She’d love to hear your thoughts on this week’s designs and can be reached at betsywasser@gmail.com

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