“Project Runway” is the most popular design show on the tube these days. Everyone has an opinion, and after the disastrous snooze fest that was season 6, which was shot in Los Angeles, viewers have been dying for the old “Project Runway” that everyone knows and loves back in New York City.
Now they are back in New York, and many people have been holding their breath to see if season 7 can hold up to the excitement of seasons past. For the most part, season 7 has been interesting so far. The designers themselves have been entertaining enough to hold the audience. Notable cast members include Chinese designer Ping Wu, whose quirky design aesthetic both wowed and perplexed the judges, rock ‘n roll designer and personal favorite Seth Aaron, and fan favorite Anthony Williams, whose jocular sense of humor and pageant-styled dresses has kept him in the competition as of late.
The challenges are still bizarre and impractical as ever, and mostly unfair. Like in episode 7, it was painful to watch the designers try to create something out of hardware supplies, and then get chewed out by the judges who thought their garments were unwearable. Jesse LeNoir, whose disastrous ensemble made his model look like a Hershey’s Kiss mixed with a pillow, was unfairly sent packing that night when it should have been Emilio Sosa, who decided last minute to make a trashy swimsuit out of what appeared to be washers and pink thread. The judges felt that Sosa was innovative for being the only one who made a swimsuit, when in reality he was going for a dress and ran out of materials. He also made his model look like a Malibu prostitute.
Another annoying challenge was in episode 6, when the designers had to design a garment for a child along with a cohesive look for the child’s mother. The winner of the challenge was Seth Aaron, who seemingly was taking a play from Gwen Stefani’s L.A.M.B playbook with his well tailored black and white striped punk jacket for mom, and a cute little pink and black hooded jacket for the child. Amy Sarabi created quite the stir among the judges when she decided to create an ill-fitting orange, blue, brown and green pair of Hammer pants for the mom. The pants were the most daring, innovative and original thing on the runway, yet she was chewed out. Guest judge and designer Tory Burch baffled everyone when she suggested that orange and blue weren’t complementary colors. Since when? Ultimately, it was Janeane who was told “auf wiedersehen” for making her child and mother models look like they just exited a DEB clearance sale.
The eight remaining designers have all shown at New York Fashion Week this past month, including Ben Chmura, who was eliminated last week in episode 8. This tactic is a ploy to keep the media from outing which designers will be in the top 3 early, like they have during previous seasons. Based on the 8 remaining contestant’s collections, either Amy Sarabi or Seth Aaron have it in the bag. True to herself, Amy’s collection was bold, risky, and inspired by digital prints. Seth Aaron’s collection was inspired by Russian military of the 1940s. His well tailored coats with their clean lines are inspired and will make any fashionable mouth drool.
The predictions may be wrong, but for now, it is a waiting game. Despite the outcome, season 7 has won back loyal PR viewers. Who is your favorite designer this season?
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