- Share This Post
- submit
- 15
-
Sparkle (0)
So, Project Runway is back, hooray! Starring my BFF Tim Gunn, Heidi Klum and 16 whiny, but talented, designers. Ahhhhhh...TV feels right again!
As we all know the airing of Season 6 has been delayed for over six months by legal wrangling between NBC Universal (disclosure: NBCU is an investor in BlogHer) and the Weinstein company that owns Project Runway. Hope all the wrangling was worth it, because the end result seems to be what the the Weinsteins wanted the beginning result to be: Project RUnway is now on LIfetime instead of NBC-owned Bravo.
Could I tell the difference? Have to say the answer is "no."
Project Runway also move from NYC to L.A.
Could I tell the difference? Not really on that either. Especially since one of the first shots was of someone arriving at the designers' loft space in a yellow cab. Where'd they even find one of those in L.A.?
This is the biggest PR ever, with 16 starting contestants, but what I love and have always loved about this show is that they are oh so mindful of my time. 5 minutes in, and we're done with all the designers showing up and introducing themselves to one another and sharing some basic bio info with the cameras. 5 minutes in, and we're at the rooftop toast that kicks off every season. Thank you for respecting my busy schedule, Project Runway...one day, one hour per week. So efficient.
And there's my BFF Tim Gunn. Did I mention I met him at BlogHer '09 this year? I'll have to share tidbits of that story as we go along. Suffice to say he seemed to be exactly how he seems to be. Kind, sincere, and yes, courtly. Lovely.
On to the challenge. It's a pretty straightforward one. Make a red carpet dress that's innovative and shows your point of view. And it can be any red carpet, from the Oscars to the VMAs. They are given 30 minutes to sketch, $200 and another 30 minutes to shop at ErsatzMood (you know Mood doesn't actually have an LA outpost, right? They built a pseudo-shop just for Project Runway!) They'll have two days to work on it, and the winner will get immunity.
So, during this sequence we learn:
a. Who will be the pretentious arty one: That would be Malvin. "I don't watch the red carpet. I don't distinguish between colors of carpet."
b. Who will be the space cadet one: That would be Ari. She's looking to make something that sounded like "tescellation forms" and she doesn't sketch. She waits for the fabric to tell her what it wants to be and for whom.
c. Who will be the one who will cut you if you stand in her way: That would be Qrystyl. And I mean it literally, since she got tired of waiting for an ErsatzMood employee to cut her fabric and went all DIY.
Thank you ErsatzMood!
Back to the workroom and on to Episode #1's Very Special Meltdown, courtesy of Jonny, former meth-head trying to make good. I have to admit I'm intrigued by his assertion that he didn't get chosen for Season 3 and 4 because he was a meth addict. How did they know; what did he do? I'm thinking some kind of dramatic reenactment would be very helpful for us all.
But here on Season 6, Jonny is having a meltdown. He can't decide what to do; he is paralyzed; he doesn't want to fail. Who, of course, pats him on the back and sends him back into the workroom with new-found confidence and self-esteem? Why my BFF Tim of course! He just has that way about him!
Of course, I'm a leeetle concerned about Jonny's decision to "swallow down" his anxiety and fear. Reminds me of that Cheers episode where Woody was saying that's what they all do back where he's from...just stuff bad feelings down, and if they start to bubble up, just stuff them down some more. As Frasier said form his bar stool: "Tick, tick, tick."
Meanwhile Malvin continues blathering on about how unique he is, and how there are not yet labels for what he does, and Ari is making what Tim fears is a "halter diaper". Which, I don't know about you, does not sound appealing at. all. Mitchell is freaking out about his HUGE model. When he says she is 5 inches bigger than her measurement card claimed (which, I should note, becomes "6 inches" when he's in front of the judges) I wonder what on earth the rail-thin would have
