Project Runway 2, Episode 7: Give Me A Wild Turkey on Ice

At the Atlas apartments, Chloe is packing up her belongings. Yep, the producers have forced her to give up the apartment now that her roommates are gone. She’d rather stay where she is, but maybe money’s tight or not enough L’Oreal has been sold or something. Hey, I’m guessing. Either way, she’s moving in with Kara and hanger-hog Zulema. Chloe doesn’t think it’s going to get more competitive - Runway has been competitive since day one.

Over at the men’s apartment, Santino actually congratulates Daniel and Andrae for their win. Andrae says that being victorious with Daniel is a very nice thing. Even though they both have their own strong aesthetics, their design really was collaboration.

At the runway, Heidi playfully asks the designers if they are ready for next challenge. Yep, they are. Too bad, as they will hear about it in the morning. She shares that the designers will receive a little package that will have all the details inside of it. She brings out the winning and losing designers’ models. She reminds us that the model paired with the winner of Project Runway will receive a fashion spread in Elle magazine. (I can’t believe I type this every week when I could just copy it.) Cutting to the chase, Daniel stays with his model, Rebecca, as does Andrae with Danyelle. Leslie and Tarah are out. All four of the models get big smackin’ kisses from Heidi. Before departing, Heidi reminds the designers to get a good night’s sleep, as she will be seeing them on the runway. “‘Bye!”

The designers go home and try to figure out what surprise their packages will hold. Santino would love a bird or chicken suit. Zulema thinks they will be designing for an airline. (Nah, Diana and Marla did that last challenge.) Kara doesn’t know what to expect.

The following morning the doorbell rings, and it’s Robert (the very cute designer from Season 1) in a U.S. postal outfit! How funny. Andrae recognizes him right away and greets him with an, “Oh, my God… shut up.” Robert tells Daniel, Andrae, Nick, and Santino that they each have a package, but he can’t dally; he has to continue with his route. Knocking on Emmett’s door, Robert realizes that Emmett doesn’t recognize him. Emmett guesses, “Mario, right?” Robert, always the kidder, plays along but changes his mind and declares that he’s really Jay before admitting that he’s Robert. (Poor Emmett.) Like the true gentleman he is, Emmett graciously apologizes. (It’s okay, Emmett.)

Meanwhile, the designers are all digging into their surprise boxes. Kara pulls out bright blue cheap velour fabric. She doesn’t have a clue as to what it is. Santino reads the enclosed letter from Tim aloud: “Designers, part 1 of your challenge requires each of you to outfit yourself.” (The guys start laughing, so I miss some of this.) “Please get dressed and meet me outside the Atlas.” Kara puts on her stretchy little dress, as do Chloe and Zulema. Chloe doesn’t mind dressing like a fool. Santino thinks his outfit is a unitard, or maybe a waiter’s outfit. Nick allows us a peek of his black-with-red-trim skivvies as he fumbles to attach the snaps of his stretchy lavender bodysuit. Daniel then remembers Emmett, who must have the greatest outfit of all. On cue, Emmett appears in a hot pink stretch shirt with a mock turtleneck. Nick describes it as “international male gone ga-ga-ga-ga-gay.” The guys crack up when they see him.

In front of the Atlas apartments, Tim greets the designers amidst laughter. He thinks Santino looks like Dr. Zhivago in his Russian hat. To Emmett (who clearly doesn’t love his new threads), Tim confesses, “They made me do it.” The designers load into the van, still clueless as to their destination. When they pull into the Icehouse parking lot, Nick shares that he went “triple crazy” because it dawned on him that they were going to design ice skating costumes. Once they enter the rink, there was Sasha Cohen and he was totally speechless. He couldn’t believe that he was ten feet from Sasha in his tacky costume. We get to see Sasha complete some breathtaking skating turns and spins before she joins the group.

Tim introduces Sasha, a World silver medallist and 2002 Olympian. Sasha tells the designers that their next challenge will be for them to make a figure skating costume for her. She explains that the fabric for this outfit needs to stretch well, so the panties and tops stay on, and the outfit shouldn’t be too heavy, so the skater can still jump and spin. She skates over to the designers so they can check out the construction of her outfit. Andrae says that it’s not just a pretty dress, it is a functional garment that has to perform tricks. Sasha asks the designers to put on their skates so she can give them a lesson. Nick has died and gone to heaven, but Zulema, having only skated once, is a tad hesitant.

The designers hit the ice, and all but Tim and Kara seem to get the hang of it quickly. Emmett and Daniel step in to lead them around the rink. Chloe doesn’t want to play ice tag, and yes, she is managing just fine, but don’t touch her. Sasha shows them how to do a “shoot the duck,” as well as how to move into a simple spin. Santino tells us that the group seemed to be bonding on the rink. Sasha has the designers line up behind her for a choo-choo train ride. The designers get in line from shortest to tallest with Sasha in the lead. Holding each other’s waists, they do the Locomotion. Oops, Emmett almost loses his pants due to Santino’s grasp. Oh, well, the ride is over and it’s time to hit the road. Sasha wishes the designers luck. She can’t wait to see them at the runway.