Project Runway 3, Episode 7 Runway Report Card

Welcome to another Project Runway Runway Report card. This week I really didn’t agree with the results. The judges and I must have been on a different page. It happens; in this week’s Entertainment Weekly cover story, Tim Gunn reminded us that fashion is subjective. Did you agree with the judges? I’d love to hear your opinion, so please email me at the address at the end of this article!

The Challenge

Have you heard? The average American woman bears absolutely no resemblence to the models the designers have been working with. An average American woman is a size 14 or larger. A plus-size model is a size 12 or higher. That’s right – you can actually be thinner than the average woman and still be considered plus-sized if you’re a model! That’s what made this challenge so interesting. The designers’ mothers and sisters are much more typical of the American population. Could our intrepid designers put together outfits that were both stylish and flattering? The results were definitely mixed. Who did the bet and worst?

The Designers

Uli: In his blog, Tim Gunn declares that Uli should have won this challenge, and I completely agree. Kayne’s mother looked gorgeous in this outfit. The color was flattering, the print made the outfit stand out more than anything else on the runway, and the proportions were dead-on. I loved Uli’s use of vertical stripes in conjunction with her paisley print to make the petite Judy look taller and the way the chiffon fabric flowed when she walked. This was a beautiful design, and more great work on Uli’s part.

Michael: Michael chose the thinnest, youngest model, so he didn’t have the same challenges that the other designers had. That said, his design for Robert’s sister was stunning. The dress was flattering, stylish, and looked very comfortable for everyday wear. And the fact that he was ambitious enough to make it fully reversible was impressive. Michael could well have won his third challenge in a row with this dress.

Vincent: Vincent executed a simple sheath dress, with interest added by the oversized tan collar. It wasn’t the most exciting design in the world, but it looked fantastic on Uli’s mom. It was a very wearable dress and absolutely looked like something that an everyday woman might wear. This outfit was much better than Vincent’s paper debacle of the previous challenge. The judges declared him the best, but I’d put him in third place.

Kayne: I liked this outfit better than the judges did. I thought that the colors were beautiful on Michael’s mother, and I liked the drape of the scarf. Had Kayne made full-length, rather than cropped pants, this would have been even better. The short pants made Pamela’s legs look shorter. Still, I thought this was a pretty and wearable look.

Laura: I have to admit, I’m a little extra impressed with everything Laura has done so far, knowing that she’s pregnant. When I was pregnant with my son, I spent the entire first trimester either napping or trying not to throw up. Working late nights designing clothes certainly didn’t fit into the picture. That said, this was Laura’s least impressive creation to date. She was too literal with her cruise inspiration and having both an oversized collar and sailor buttons on the skirt was overkill. The high waist of the skirt was not the right proportion for her model, and the cut of the skirt made her look a bit larger than she actually is.

Robert: Robert gave Vincent’s sister Patricia exactly what she wanted. Unfortunately, the result was pretty boring – a simple black tank dress with a red jacket adding color. The only bit of interest that Robert added was the scarf detail at the neck, a detail that Patricia fidgeted with all the way down the runway. It was not exciting or innovative, but I would be willing to bet that if you put that outfit in a typical department store, it would sell like crazy. Instead of giving Patricia exactly what she wanted, he would have been better off pushing her a tiny bit outside of her comfort zone, at the very least by using a print. I was sorry to see Robert go, and think that Angela or Jeffrey would have been a better choice. But as Kevin Otten pointed out in his article last week, if given the choice between risky but bad and safe and boring, safe and boring has to go.

Angela: This outfit was completely wrong for Laura’s mother. The scarf came in at her waist in a way that made her look lumpy and large. The fringe took away from the sophistication that Laura’s mom wanted. I was also disappointed that Angela chose all black. Laura’s mother came in wearing a beautiful copper top and necklace that showed off her red hair. It’s a shame that Angela didn’t try to use color to her advantage. The large plum handbag was undoubtedly an attempt at a shot of color, but it didn’t work with the overall feel of the outfit and was a distraction.

Jeffrey: I was shocked that this outfit didn’t get Jeffrey auf’ed. It was frumpy, dumpy, and completely unflattering to Angela’s mother. The layered effect of the collar looked poorly put together. The sack-like proportions did this poor woman absolutely no favors. And what was the vest plunked on top of all of it? In the end, I don’t think Jeffrey was true to either Angela’s mother’s wishes or to his own vision as a designer.

Betsy Wasser is the Associate Editor of Reality News Online. Jeffrey would be in a world of hurt if he ever made her mom cry. She’d love to hear your opinions and can be reached at BetsyWasser@Gmail.com.

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