Project Runway Episode 8: Why I’m a Card Member

Last week: Poor Keith got sent home for his boring car-materials dress and cried all the way home.

This week, Tim announces the challenge will involve a fashion legend. As they are speculating as to who the guest design judge was going to be, Blayne gives one of his usual gems: “My first thought about a fashion legend is Mary Kate Olson. I want every challenge to be involved with Mary Kate. I want to marry Mary Kate, who doesn’t? Besides Tim Gunn.”

Tim brings them down to the Meatpacking district, where Mastercard spokeswoman and wrap-dress maker Diane VonFurstenberg greets everyone. The challenge is to make a dress inspired by Marlene Dietrich’s Berlin-to-Shanghai spy movie, A Foreign Affair. The designers are allowed to paw through von Furstenberg’s fabric collection in order to get what they need for their garment. The winning designer gets immunity, and his or her designs will be sold as part of von Furstenberg’s collection (but only to Mastercard members. Typical).

There’s a relative lack of drama in the workroom today. Everyone’s doing layering, everyone’s stressed. Not too much cattiness, but I felt that Leanne summed it up best when she looked over at Joe’s pink and sparkly Shanghai surprise and asked “Joe seems overly confident in his design. I don’t know where this confidence is coming from honestly, to me it looks kind of like a cheap costume. I’m kind of surprised Joe’s still here at this stage of the game.”

On to the runway judging!

1) Joe

Pink satin skirt with black above the knee skirt and a black hooded vest

2) Leanne

Purple dress ruffled fishtail and with shrunken light grey wool coat

3) Terri

High waisted brown trousers with black trench coat and silk print shirt

4) Jerrel

Navy pencil skirt, black sweater with bright blue belt and high-necked gold blouse

5) Korto

Black and white slik dress with yellow petticoat and shrunken black puff-sleeve

6) Blayne

Polka-dot jodpers, black minitrench with exaggerated collar, brightly colored ruffled blouse

7) Suede

Floor length green and cream patterned dress with grey vest

Stella

Tan pants, halter blouse with bow detail, caplet

9) Kenley

High-necked belted dress with lace detail and a bright floral pattern

The designers left on the runway are Joe, Leanne, Korto, Suede, Stella, and Kenley. Korto’s dress seemed to be dismissed as altogethe, “nice.” Diana hates the low back of Joe’s garment, which was generally criticized for being messy. Kenley’s dress was considered nice, but too simple; I could tell Heidi was not grooving on Kenley interrupting her, and the fact that all the other judges disagreed with her dismissal of Kenley’s dress. Stella’s tailoring was criticized, and Leanne’s dress was agreed to have “a lot of design” which, as usual, was not enough praise for what it is. Poor Suede seemed to get everything wrong—slit in the back, pattern, and the hearing bone mixed with the geometric pattern.

Leanne won the challenge, which delighted me (yes, I am bias), and Stella went home, even though her dress was not even a fraction as hideous or poorly made as Joe’s was. But she made a speech about how she was too good for the joint, and I respect that.

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