Project Runway 3, Episode 11: What the Elle?

Ah here we go. The final four. We’ve already been teased that the judges have the option to not take three people to the final runway show at Bryant Park. I got more than a few emails from some of you asking what that meant and I gave my best guess that it could be as few as two or as many as all four going to the runway show. Considering that Kara’s collection at the Season 2 runway show was so strong that many believed she wasn’t the decoy line and, in fact, believed she had a chance to win, it wouldn’t surprise me if they take all four to the final runway.

I know that pictures of the final runway show are floating out on the web. No, I will not comment on them. I know that there is another potential runway scandal in the making and that we will hear more about it during the finale. No, I will not comment on that either until it happens. For those not in the know, it feels like I’m dangling a huge carrot in front of you and not letting you eat it. I can live with that.

So. We’re at the final four showdown. For the first two seasons of the show, this challenge has been a huge letdown as no one has really hit it out of the ballpark. In the first season, we had the Nancy O’Dell runway challenge that saw Wendy Pepper improbably pull off a win with an orange feathered skirt, Kara decide to put a dress over some pants (and complain that Wendy was stealing her color palette even though both had noted that Nancy was wearing orange when they saw her), Jay did something in hot pink which Nancy hated, and Austin decided that a gown was needed even though Nancy pretty much said the opposite. The second season was supposed to be everyone doing a gown for a supermodel that should represent their collection and point of view (or something like that) and everyone was underwhelmed.

So I’m not going into this episode thinking that it’s going to be that much different. I have hopes, that’s for sure but, then again, you never know. So let’s join the path to the final four as we get reminded of them joining in Tim Gunn’s mad wicked game and how each of them has won at least one round of competition during the season. In fact, when you think about it, there hasn’t been one dominant designer this season. Kara Saun was winning pretty much every other week while Daniel Vosovic snapped up five or six wins of his own. Also interesting to note is that the person who has won the most challenges has never been named the winner.

Uli comments that the final four are all strong designers and have busted their respective arses off in order to make it to this stage of the competition. But who cares… all she really wants to do is show at Fashion Week. Um. Okay, Uli. Even you know that if you get the boot from this round you still get to show at Fashion Week. Just ask Kara and Austin. Jeffrey (who really needs to wear clothes more often since we have seen him shirtless and naked far too many times this season) also notes that each person has their own individual style. Uli is all peasant blouses and flowy material; Michael is rather generic (or as Jeffrey says, “run of the mill”); and, the oddest thing to say, if you want “mothballs and chicken soup” you go to Laura. WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? I can get the mothballs part since you think her designs are for older women but the chicken soup line makes no sense. He’s pretty much dead on with his comments though.

Laura is still basking in the afterglow of her win after being completely trashed for her couture gown. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Highest of highs. Lowest of lows. Didn’t we hear this last week? Bad editors. Michael says that he is meant to be at Fashion Week since he has wanted to be a designer since he was nine years old. Well when I was nine I wanted to be the Star Search male vocalist champion and the male celebrity guest on The $25,000 Pyramid but that didn’t happen.

So we’re at the Runway Room of Parsons and Heidi gives her usual vague description of the challenge by basically saying judge Nina “The Terminator” Garcia will tell them all about it later. See, I really kinda question whether or not Heidi even knew what the challenge was or if the producers had even come up with an idea and thought that sending them over to Nina would kill some time so they could come up with something. But there’s some fun in store first.

Heidi calls out the whopping seven models that are left in the competition. Even though Vincent and Angela were eliminated (and twice at that), their models get to continue on. Laura, as the winner of the last challenge, gets to go first and she opts for Camilla again. Then into the velvet bag we go and Uli is the first person called. She promptly tells her model, Lindsay, that she’s fat, ugly, and smells like old cheese (okay not really but that would really rock) and decides that she wants Nazri instead. That’s right, she just snagged Michael’s model.

Michael jumps up out of his chair and says, “What crack you smokin’ bizzitch? I’m gonna cut you. Prepare to see a blood spatter pattern on that dress” Okay not really, but again wouldn’t that be FUN. Actually, there’s a lot less drama with this model snatch than there was with Zulema’s. Uli says that she has to grab whatever she can to win which I think doesn’t speak well to her own self confidence in her abilities. Michael decides to take a chance on Clarissa (Angela’s former model who is probably going through rosettes withdrawal) while Jeffrey remains loyal to his Marilinda. The best part of this was the look on Amanda’s face (Kayne’s former model) when her name isn’t called. Delicious.

So it’s off to Elle to see Nina Garcia who is wearing a top that looks like Tana from the third season of The Apprentice went crazy on with a Bedazzler. Nina starts blathering on about the importance of an editorial spread in a magazine and it’s really just a big commercial for Elle’s First Look page. Apparently the First Look page is something pretty important (I have no clue) and is one of the first things (how appropriate) that people see when they pick up the magazine. The designers should all make something that all of the readers will want.

The challenge is basically a non-challenge (in my mind at least). They have to design an outfit that displays their point of view as a designer. I thought this was pretty much every challenge. No, seriously. I know that they have parameters that they have to work with but they all do it from their own point of view so I’m not really sure how this challenge is that different. Anyhow, on top of doing basically what they have been doing all along, they have to fill out a one-sheet (that looks like a piece of cardstock with matting around it) where they have to put three words on it that describe their point of view.