Project Runway 7, Episode 8: Burned, Buried, Washed Up, and Blown Away

Welcome back, fashion fans! Last week, the designers had to buy materials not at Mood, but at a hardware store. However Jay managed to make his faux-leather pants out of garbage bags actually fit in time is anyone's guess, but he still won. Jesse's dirty vacuum bag made of copper flashing, on the other hand, sent him packing.

Emilio feels spanked by the judges, and he learned his lesson from that massacre. Maya confesses to Mila how everyone's different styles intimidated her at first, but now she has seen their humanity. Mila finds herself growing closer as a friend to Maya, despite being nearly twice her age. If Maya stayed and Mila left, she'd be happy for her. Still, this is a competition. Ben is happy that all of his roommates are still in this competition, but he wants to win and not just be safe.

It's off to Parson's and the runway set. Heidi and her baby bump greets the eight possible eliminations for the week, along with the immune Jay. As it turns out, Jay will be the last contestant to receive immunity. Heidi sends the nine to meet Tim on top of Atlas, where he's joined by Garnier stylist Philip Carreon. Tim says the environment in New York says manmade more than any other place. Excluding a Los Angeles plastic surgery clinic, right? For this challenge, the designers must go back to nature, gathering inspiration from one of the classic elements – earth, fire, air, and water. Not heart, though. Sorry, Captain Planet fans.

Philip continues with an incredibly obvious plug for some of Garnier's "natural" hair products. I'll let you figure out which ones, because I'm not getting paid for it. The Garnier team will create a complimentary look for whatever force of nature the designers go for. Ooh, I would like to see some model's head on fire.

Jay gets a second prize with the immunity – free pick among the four elements. He chooses air. The rest must hope on the button bag, because there are only two of each element for the non-Jays. Maya gets the first pick, and goes with water. As Jonathan picks air, he muses about the importance of every decision. Ben wipes the water out, while Mila wants to think outside the box with earth. Anthony is "on fire," as Tim puts it. We know, Tim. Amy burns out the fire cards, while Emilio takes the last earth. Seth Aaron is not very happy being stuck with air, since all he can think of is happy blue.

Sketch time. Water is too fluid for Ben, so he's thinking of sharks instead with a suit idea. Emilio thinks he can do something to compliment Monique's skin tone with an earth theme. Thus, he opts for a strapless dress to show off his draping skills. Anthony thinks the challenge may be difficult because he wants his design to encompass everything about him. Maya's thoughts about water led to the mythical sirens and their serenity. Yeah, right before they lured ships to their doom. Jonathan is making his own textile again, wanting to play with opacity (yes, that is a real word).

Off to Mood with $150 in hand. Jay wants to do something with a tornado. Of toilet paper? No, he just wants to work with bold stripes and movement. Sounds a lot like what he always does. He can't say anything about Mila's color blocking now. Anthony chooses a gray fabric. Really?! Anthony is going gray? With a FIRE THEME?! Anthony explains how he doesn't think of red when he thinks of fire. Instead, he thinks of a pastor who burnt his house to the ground and the remains left behind. Ah, so he's going for an ash theme. He could very well be burned, so yeah.

Seth Aaron has his concept – midnight air in New York. Uh, I thought we were supposed to be moving away from the manmade. He likes it because it's black with stars. What New York has Seth Aaron been to that has black, starry skies? Amy wants to build a structure with an explosion inside. That's called a bomb, right?

With just until midnight and a little bit of time the next day, everyone gets quiet as they work. Even Anthony. Mila thinks the vague theme is making everyone a bit unsettled. Amy is stepping up her time management. Ben knows he's taking a big risk making a suit in a day. Jonathan doesn't know what the judges want from him, being safe all the time. Worse yet, the one week he took a risk, he nearly got cut. He's starting to think the others think he's not a threat. I would agree.

Tim and Philip both stop by, since Philip wants to give each designer a consultation. It's basically just another commercial for the various Garnier products. Moving on...

For a consultation that really matters, here comes Tim for a check-up. Jonathan's inspiration is the lightest side of air – laughter. Hmm, interesting. He'll be cutting away levels to reveal different colors. Would blue be too raunchy for this look? Tim finds it stunning. Seth Aaron has already achieved a lot in his midnight-sky look with a bit of wind. Tim thinks this is creative, yet believable. Amy wants to contain a chaos with a bowl-like design with the model's hair filling the bowl. Tim is once again interested, advising Amy to let the idea distill within herself.

Ben is making progress with his great white shark concept. Tim worries that Ben's nuances aren't being picked up by the judges. Mila's textile wows Tim, and Mila explains that she's doing a mineral-themed suit. Tim wants Mila to make sure the whole look is harmonious. Maya tells Tim about wanting to make a design that looks like a siren coming out of the water. Tim has confidence in Maya.

The models arrive for fitting. Seth Aaron's model comments how the top feels like rubber gloves. Jonathan is worried that the judges will take his design too literally, even though he's working more with laughter than general air. Monique fits perfectly into Emilio's bodice. Mila can see the great idea in Ben's design, but his trousers are a mess that are doing nothing for Alison's crotch. Mila contemplates adding shoulder pads. Oh, dear.

Anthony says he has worked with darker colors before, and notes that not only is black beautiful, it's also presidential. Mila notices Anthony's color blocking, and he likes it. Jonathan has seen a lot of creative liberties being taken, most of them involving dark, opaque colors and heavy designs.

With two hours before midnight, everyone starts scrambling to finish as much as possible. Maya has seams and hems to finish, but at least everyone is in the same boat. Ben now feels like he went too ambitious, but he can't start over if he wanted to. Once the design day ends, Ben calls his new husband, Bobby. They have never been apart for more than three days at a time, and he misses Bobby's laugh. Will this mean a win or an elimination?

Morning comes, but Emilio still feels more tired than ever. Amy hopes her structure stands, but won't regret taking such a risk.

It's back to work, and back to pushing the limit for Seth Aaron. He has never had to finish a pair of pants in two hours, so the heat is definitely on. Ben still has to put in sleeves and a bunch of other things. Jay has already finished, so he decides to help Ben out. He's immune, anyway, so he doesn't have to worry. Ben is thankful that his dear friend Jay came to the rescue.

Tim sends in the models for one last hour of styling and getting them into the garments. Usually Mila only has to worry about hems and pressing. This time, she also has a whole pair of pants to finish. She doesn't like feeling nervous. Anthony doesn't see women going gaga for Seth Aaron's garment, since it's too intimidating. Jonathan is concerned for Amy, who may not have had enough time to execute her vision.