Project Runway - Emmentaler and Macaroons! Feasting on Surfwear.

'I call this my Shrinking Head look'

Welcome to episode 3 of Project Runway. We open this week's episode with Ra'mon declaring that it's: "another day, another dollar" and it's another deep V for Ra'mon, this time in baby blue.

Thursday

Logan joining in on the deep V fun

Mitchell is fraught with worry and concern, as he should be! He's skimmed by two weeks in a row. Heidi comes out on the runway and tells us that Shirin has immunity because her beautiful dress won last week. And that they will be taking a field trip - no trip to California is complete without a visit to this destination, you need sun block - The Beach! I guessed it. We find out that it is Christopher's first time seeing the ocean. Tim gun awaits the designers on the sandy beach in thongs and a blazer. He welcomes them to the heart of California - the beach. That's a nice sentiment, it may be the heart of Southern California, but as a resident of Northern California, the beach is no longer a part of my life. Tim tells us and he designers about this challenge - and it is to create a fun and fashionable surfwear look. That's fun! He wants it infused with their point of view of course. Philip from Garnier hair styling products is introduced and he claims that no design is complete without the perfect hairstyle - I totally agree with that. Good hair can make a look. But I don't know about Garnier creating good hair, that might be a stretch for me. and hair that is just from the beach style? Hmmm. I'm guessing he's kind of full of it.

Tim also informs us that this is a team challenge, and I'm hoping it's double elimination time. Shirin is the first team leader since she won last week and gets to pick first. Logan, Nicholas, Mitchell, Althea, Qrytál and Johnny are all team leaders. Shirin picks Carol Hanna. Logan picks Christopher, Nicolas picks Giordana. Mitchell picks Ra'mon (everyone giggles), he picked Ra'mon because he was looking for someone to carry him?!? That's what he said, I'm not kidding. If we recall models of the runway from last week, Mitchell's model threw a fit for being picked by him, I bet Ra'mon was screaming 'Noooooo' in his head too. Althea picks Louise, Qrystál picks Epilator and Johnny picks Irina. Tim gives them 20 minutes to caucus - LOL, he's such a wonderful addition to this show, and encouraged the designers to engage with the lovely surfer girls he's brought with him from the heart of California.

Ra'mon tells us that he feels like being Mitchell's partner is like having a target on his face. I would say that's a reasonable way to feel after the first two attempts at a design by Mitchell. I guess these two are not in love after all. Qrystál calls herself the captain when referring to herself in her team of two. Nicolas could not communicate with his surfer girl, they don't speak gay designer, and he doesn't speak like a totally rad, you know. This week they only have $50 and 15 min to spend for fabric at Mood. It seems to me that for $50 you can probably buy a ready made surfer girl outfit retail, so $50 should go far in just fabric. I would imagine a $50 outfit at the store probably cost about $0.60 in materials. But what do I know.

It's Mitchell's turn to complain about Ra'mon. He claims that Ra'mon has the taste of a mid-western slob who only cares about the $3 ribs special on Thursdays at the local saloon. Or something like that, I can't remember. And off to the workroom we go, where our mannequins are back to their non-impregnated shapes, phew!

Nicolas is yapping something about how amazing his swimsuit is going to be, and then ask us to say "hungry macaroons" in Spanish a million times. My first reaction is that a swimsuit is going to be much more difficult to sew than a dress. It's made of elastic material, is skimpy, and has very little room for error. But it is a surfwear look, so swimsuits must be had, I suppose. Ra'mon now claims that he feels like he's the captain of their team. How did we get from leader to team captain, is this some sort of a ship? A ship to dooms-ville perhaps, if your "captain" is Mithcell. It seems to me that everyone is stressed to the max, it's their 3rd challenge and they're feeling the pressure, and now that they have a "partner" which is the perfect person to take all the angst out on. And maybe this Captain business is their claim for power to blame.

With just 3 hours until the end of the first workday, Heidi has a message for the designers that he sent her pigeon to deliver: create a second look or she'll use the skin from your decapitated head to give herself a cheek lift. The second look must be an avant-garde design that corresponds to the CA surfwear design. The avant-garde look has an additional $200 budget.

Right about now, I'm thinking I can't wait for a visit from my friend Micheal Kors. Maybe cause I'm over the workroom scenes where they bitch and moan about who the captain is. Ra'mon's avant-garde look is going to be inspired by a wet suit and he chooses a chocolate colored smooth fabric that looks wet suit-ish - that's super cool, I can't wait to see what he makes of it. Mitchell thinks that he himself has great ideas, but is limited technologically. I myself thinks Mitchell is limited in many more ways than just technologically. Tim comes to mentorize the designers, and declares himself as the 'Prophet of Doom' upon entering the workroom and informs Carol Hannah that her model, that bitch Erika, is gonna be gnawing on hamburgers and not be available for a fitting of Carol Hanna's outfit. In other words, she got a job for a Wendy's commercial or something. Carol Hanna needs her model present for a fitting, and so Erika gets eliminated at the hands of Carol Hannah! Awesome. I wish I knew what the back story on all of this is! I wish there was a show that would allow back stage access into the minds of the models who would pick a 30 second hamburger commercial over modeling and being on a weekly 30 minute show on television. Carol Hanna picks the eliminated Valerie as her replacement. The models come in for their fitting, and in walks Mitchell's model Fatpaw, smug as can be, and totally pissed to be Mitchell's model. The models then get taken to the Garnier Lair to get their hair supervised by Philip, the celebrity stylist!? Ha! Philip shows his preliminary drawings to the designers, and they're all pretty much waves. Wow, what a hard job you've got their Philip! He even says: "These waves actually come forward" as in the wavy hair falls in front of the shoulders. Carry on!

If Mitchell doesn't recognize me, can I be Logan's model?

The Macaroon look is huge this week, two designers have incorporated it into their looks. I've never heard of this before - so I thought I would look up the definition of Macramé: a form of textile-making using knotting rather than weaving or knitting. Its primary knots are the square knot and forms of hitching. It has been used by sailors, especially in elaborate or ornamental knotting forms to decorate anything from knife handles to bottles to parts of ships. So there you have it.




Tim says this about Qrystal and Emmentaler's look: "When you held that up, and this was all of the piece, I was not out. Then this suddenly is open [referring to the FRONT of the skirt] and I'm thinking, what, am I going to see panties? And suddenly all that sophistication went away for me." And for everyone else, Tim!

Ra'mon must be choking in his full neck tee. He has abandoned the wetsuit looks for the avant-garde piece and is making a dress in lime green. He's on the floor of the bathroom dying unfinished fabric with 35 min to go till the runway, and Tim has come to warn him that he will be eliminated immediately if he doesn't have both models on the runway. Ra'mon is freaking out.

I forgot my scissors

It's runway time!!

Heidi's comes out looking lovely in plum! And I sneak a peak to see behind her that once again MK is MIA. WTF? But in his place, I am pleasantly delighted to find out is Max Azria - designer, founder and CEO of BCBG. Wow, I really couldn't have imagined another suitable substitute for MK thank the freaking found of BCBG! I LOVE BCBG!! I own about 8 of their dresses, and love each and everyone separately. They were all worn with thoughtfulness and I have felt special in each of them. I've gotten all of my BCBG dresses from the BCBG outlets on sale of course, because it is just too expensive for my life, but they are not one ounce less special to me. They're fabulous, and I love them. I hope this guy, the creator of happiness, isn't a huge jerk. Let's see.

And Rachel Bilson from the OC is the guest judge, get it? Cause it's a beach challenge.

Here's what I think of their looks:

Qrystál/Emmenthaler
Beach look: awesome. Avant-garde: WTF?


Johnny/Irina
Beach look: Really cute. Avant-garde: weird, but not in a good way




Mitchell/Ra'mon
beach look: cute. Avant-garde: too plain

Shirin/Carol Hanah
Beach look: cute. Avant-garde: VERY Cool


Althea/Louise
Beach look: cute. Avant-garde: nice


Nicolas/ Giordana
Beach look: VERY CUTE! Love it. Avant-garde: scandalous but cute


Logan/ Christopher
Beach look: cute. Avant-garde: whoa! Love it.

When Heidi tells the teams who have the highest and lowest scores, we find out that Nicolas / Giordana have the lowest scores????????? This is shocking to everyone! Including me, especially since this means that Mitchell and Ra'mon have one of the two highest scores.

Oh snap. Heidi starts in on Mitchell. She wants to know if she's reading it wrong from her note card, but is Mitchell really the team leader? She says she wants to hear from him too with this stern and pissed off look like someone just told her that none of the current Victoria Secret models named her as the most inspiring Angel in the annual survey. Something's about to hit the fan!

She asks him what he did in the two garments. Mitchell says Ra'mon did most of it, and that he worked on the swim suit (what swim suit?)

Heidi: "We can't see the swim suit! You did the swim suit and Ra'mon did everything else?"
Weg von mit Ihrem Kopf Sie wertloser Abschaum!!!! Ra'mon makes a face and Heidi snaps at him and wants to know why he's making a funny face. Yeah, Heidi - dig! Dig deep for reasons to get rid of Mitchell.

Heidi is pursing her lips and squinting her eyes, while smoke starts billowing out of both ears.

Nina finally breaks the tension and asks about the color of the avant guard dress. The "color" that is the dye job Ra'mon did on the bathroom floor. I really don't get fashion at all.

Now the judges want to talk to the teams with the lowest scores. I already feel battered from the judging of the highest scores. Qrystál and Elliptical are having a freaking melt down on stage making a fool of themselves. Then Mr. BCBG informs them that if you are not a team player, you cannot be a designer. Snap!

The judges think Nicolas/Giordana's outfit is skanky.

In the chat room, Heidi tells the other judges that "on Project Runway you actually have to design, create and sew" referring to Mitchell.

So anyway, Ra'mon freaking won, and I can't believe it.



Mitchell's lost and it's three strikes and you're AUF! His elimination felt especially harsh! I felt kinda gross afterward. Between his embarrassing performance and Heidi's complete distaste of him, it made me feel dirty. Blah...