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Can you say Guten Tag?
Welcome back Project Runway fans...did this season sneak up on you too, or have you been waiting and salivating since the travesty that was Gretchen's Season 8 win?
You may recall that one of my favorite things about Project Runway as a show is that they pack it all into one episode a week. The competition and the results, all in one fell swoop. Yes, they've expanded it to 90 minutes, but it's still better than the 3-4 hours a week that shows like American Idol and Dancing with the Stars make us sit through.
Tim Gunn and Heidi Klum in the Premiere of Season 9 of Project Runway. Image: Barbara Nitke / Lifetime Television
But one of my least favorite things about the show is the first couple of episodes when we are asked to keep track of and care about way too many designers. So, yeah, the season kicked off...but the real good stuff will start *next* week, for me, because I might be able to actually overcome overwhelm. Is it just me?
The episode started with 20 designers who were told that only 16 would make it to the actual show, and they each presented some of their "audition" collection to the big four: Heidi, Tim, Nina, Michael.
That was a whole lotta info, and two guys stood out to me, and stood out because of their stories.
Bert: The 57-year old who worked for Scaasi and Halston, but dropped out of the fashion business after his partner and two best friends all died of AIDS. He started drinking, and it was a downhill spiral from there. Three years ago he got sober and got back into design. You gotta root for the coot, right?
Anthony: OK, he survived testicular cancer, but that's not even what impresses me: The dude is color blind...what the what???
So, based on overcoming odds and rooting for the underdog alone: I'm liking these two.
They figure out a way to cut four designers, and the Top 16 move into the Atlas. And it sucks to be Tim, because he's the guy who, dapper as ever, has the unwelcome job of waking up the designers at 5AM. They're told to grab a sheet and "come as you are." No bras, no make-up. Move it on out and follow Tim to the workroom.
Not too surprisingly, what they're wearing and that one sheet are their materials. Plus they can use closures and dye and dying bins. They have until 10PM that night. And then a couple of hours in the morning to pull it all together.
And so it begins. With lots and lots of designers. And a modicum of drama.
And a few things that just cannot be unseen and unheard.
Nut juice? Cannot be unheard.
Anthony's feather merkin? Cannot be unseen.
Fallene's cown puking rainbow? Cannot be unseen either.
And I yearn to tell Rafael that his doo rag ain't all that, and he shouldn't work so hard to hang on to it.
And in the morning came the most controversial moment of the show: Why, WHY did Tim not advise the designers to use the Piperlime wall "thoughtfully"? I was shocked, I tell you. What can it mean? I know I'm going to be listening extra carefully next week to see if he has moved on to a new catchphrase.
Well, having used my smelling salts to recover from that, let's move on to the show:
Heidi comes out in an elegant nice green dress that beats most of the outfits she wore last season hands down. She introduces the panel who will join her, comprise, of course, of MK and ninagarcia, with the added judge, Christina Ricci. Not sure why, other than her general macabre adorableness.
As always, click on the designer's name to see their work:
1. Joshua
Joshua didn't seem to change much at all about his bedtime attire. His black tank and shorts turned into a black tank and skirt, and he cut his white sheet into a white vest with a draped back. And randomly he added a little blue strip to the waistband of the skirt. No idea why. Seemed like a pretty low-intensity go at the challenge, you know?
2. Laura aka Glamour Girl
Laura created silvery tie-dyed lounge pants, a burgundy top with lace shoulders and a jacket with nice gray lining. Nice job, although she could end up being another Kenley type.
3. Danielle
This was a competent set of high-waisted blue shorts, with a brown top with black
