Project Runway 4, Episode 7 Unbuttoned: Prom (and Drama) Queens

Okay, people. Let’s start with confessions. In my illustrious high school career, I went to the prom a total of six, count ‘em, six times. I had one boyfriend who was older than I was, which meant going my freshman and sophomore year. And then the next two years, I dated a guy who went to a different school. That means a whole heck of a lot of corsages. The dresses I wore ranged from a black cocktail dress with a classic silhouette that I could probably still wear today… to turquoise, hot pink, and purple ruffles.

Yes, turquoise, hot pink, and purple were all in the same dress. And it was awesome.

Not so awesome was the judging in this week’s episode. I swear, some of the decisions made absolutely no sense to me.

First and foremost, Kevin absolutely did not deserve to go home this week. His dress was just not that bad. I had no problem at all with the color – the judges complained about it so much that I wonder if it was more an issue with the fabric he chose, rather than the color itself, because it looked fine to me. His model’s hair was definitely on the matronly side, and he was a complete idiot not to finish the hem. Seriously, people: Listen to Tim Gunn. He is on your side and he knows what he’s doing. I had been expecting to see Kevin at Fashion Week, so this opens the door a bit for someone else. This wasn’t Kevin’s best work, but his dress was not the worst by a long shot.

That honor, I think, goes to Ricky. Ugh, what a sad little lump that dress was. The pale pink color completely washed out his model. The fabric was stiff and unmoving, and the hem was a mess. There was nothing fun or appealing about it, and it was unflattering besides. It is really just a matter of time before Ricky gets the boot, because I think he’s just in over his head.

Of course, I thought the same of Sweet P, but she did a great job with her dress. The color was beautiful, and she gave her client the red carpet glamour she was looking for. However, Sweet P was smart enough to not listen to everything her client said. Otherwise, that dress would have been ridiculously low cut in the front and the back, and that would not have been good. Sweet P was able to produce a compromise that was sexy, but not in a way that would freak out the girl’s parents. Sweet P herself said it best – she’s not going home because of what some teenager wants.

Christian, on the other hand, almost did. How ironic was it that the very young, very opinionated, somewhat arrogant young designer was nearly undone by a very young, very opinionated, somewhat arrogant young designer? Christian is a very good designer. I really like what he does (hairstyle excluded, obviously). But his youth and relative inexperience are often his undoing. He is so confident in his own fierceness that he isn’t interested in advice from anyone, including Tim. After last week’s Hershey challenge, Tim posted on his fabulous Bravo blog that Christian finished his dress early and was absolutely convinced that he had the win sewn up. Tim told him that his dress was not good enough for the win, and that he’d have to work a little more if he wanted that to happen, but Christian would not listen. A more experienced designer would have been able to better take that criticism.

A more experienced designer also would have been able to better handle an outspoken client like Maddie. Christian just did not know how to integrate her desires with his vision. This seems to be a problem for Christian in general, as he was worried about how to perform the same feat for his model in the weight loss challenge – though obviously his results were better in that one. In a way, it’s unfortunate that Christian decided to be on Project Runway now and not in, say, five years. Having a little more real world experience under his belt could have made a huge difference for him. In the meantime, I’m glad he’s still sewing, because I really do like what he produces.

I liked Victorya’s winning dress. The color was fun, the silhouette was young and very fashion-forward. The jewels at the neckline gave the dress a more formal look. It was a nice look all around.

But honestly, I think Chris was robbed. His dress was beautiful! I loved the color and the cut. It was sophisticated and young at the same time. It was flattering on his model… I have no idea why he got no love for this one. Even if the judges ultimately gave Victorya the win, Chris should have been right up there with her and Sweet P.

I’ll leave you with one final thought, and that is that this episode made me really appreciate the professional models that they normally use on this show. When the designers talk about how someone is a really good walker, I pretty much just have to take their word for it. Hey, I’m not a fashion designer; I’m a mom to a small kid. In my world, a “really good walker” is someone who doesn’t fall when running from the mulch to the pavement at the playground. But these girls really lacked the grace and poise that we’re used to seeing on the runway. I’m not picking on them – they’re teenagers, not models, so of course they don’t have their runway walk perfected. But I certainly do have a greater respect for what the real models can do.

Betsy Wasser is the Associate Editor of Reality News Online. You can email your comments and describe your own prom fashions at betsywasser@gmail.com .

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