PR5 ep. 2

More Project Runway! Aren't you the lucky one! :)

Episode 2 was something that I don't think they've ever done on the show before. That is, the clients that the designers had to work with were the models themselves. AND, the models were the ones who had to do the shopping for them! How scary that must have been for all of them. A few people were victims of too little fabric bought, and more than a few were victims of crappy fabric bought. The OTHER catch was that this was a green challenge, and all the fabric they used was supposed to be environmentally friendly. (It's funny, when Tim Gunn told them that the fabric had to be green, I thought he meant green, the color, at first. Maybe because he was standing in front of a display of all green accessories! D'oh!)

For some reason, many of the models ended up buying the same fabrics (maybe not a large choice in organics?), so the competition was heightened with everyone's efforts to create something different from those with the same materials. But other than difficulties with the fabric, and a rush to get things completed in time, (and an excess of criers in the bottom 3) there really wasn't much drama that happened this episode. They did get a surprise guest judge (Natalie Portman), which was kind of cool ... though I thought I remembered seeing her in one of the promos, so not much of a surprise for the viewers. Oh, and there was a hilarious montage of Stella reminding everyone how much she lurrrves working with leather, after which Blayne was mocking her in the sewing room. "My cat is leatha, my husband is leatha ..." Stella ended up overhearing him, but instead of getting angry, which would have been boring, she good-naturedly scolded him. Then they hugged and Blayne said "I love your leather face." Too cute.

As far as the designs go, they pretty much ran the gamut from really pretty to really butt-ugly. Some of my favorites weren't even in the top 3. For example, I really liked Keith's design. He had the same shiny champagne-colored fabric as many of them, but he made it look really different and very pretty. If it were longer, I would actually wear his dress. Blayne actually surprised me this episode, and I really liked his design as well. The pink was unexpected. But he has GOT TO STOP with all the "licious"ness. Makes me want to kick him in the face. Stella went from being in the bottom 3 last episode to the top 3 this episode. Go Stella! Though I must say, I didn't really care for her dress! As hopeful as I was for her, I didn't think she deserved top 3 for her design. I did like the other two of the 3 a lot (Kenley and Suede), though I thought Kenley should have won this one instead of Suede. Yes, what Suede did with his fabric was very innovative, but it just looked messy and bumpy to me. Daniel's dress was kind of pretty, and I liked the pockets and the black fabric. Emily's dress I would have really liked if it were about 6 inches longer. Waaaaay short, that one. Jerell's dress was kind of unusual, but I liked it. I wish they'd shown more of how he made it. Jennifer's weird orange and gray thing ... u-g-l-y. That's all I can even say. And I'm almost disappointed to say that I really didn't care for Kelly's design this week. It looked like I was going to like it while she was piecing it together, but the finished product just didn't float my boat for some reason. Terri's design, I was very impressed with. I loved the bodice part with the ruffles. But Joe's design was about as blah and boring as one can get. (I do give Joe props for being the only one using the brown shiny fabric who did NOT end up in the bottom 3.) Which brings me to the bottom 3. Poor Korto went from top 3 last week to bottom 3 this week, and she did not take it well. Girl's gotta grow a thicker skin if she plans on sticking around. But I agree with the judges that her dress was pretty awful. It gave her model no chest to speak of, yet made her hips ginormous. Putting the darts on the outside of the dress might have been a creative and interesting move if she hadn't added those horrible fins to the sides. The other two, Wesley and Leanne, were there for pretty much the same reasons. They had both used the brown shiny fabric, which is very unforgiving, so it showed how overworked their designs were. And both were too short. I guess I agree that Wesley's final product looked worse than Leanne's, but I think it was more due to the fabric than the actual design. If they had both used a different fabric, Wesley's would have come out looking much prettier, but Leanne's would still have been a muddled and cluttered design. Regardless, Wesley was eliminated, which made me sad. I was much more interested in seeing his work than Leanne's.

Runway Rundown: (most fave to least fave)
Kenley - She's my top pick now. Plus, I really like her personality and Bettie Page-like personal style.
Daniel - He had a harder time with this challenge, but I still see potential there. Plus, he's cute. ;)
Kelly - I still want to see what more she has to offer. She has a very believable confidence and I'd like to see where that comes from.
Keith - I really liked his design this week, but I hope it's not a fluke. Let's hope he continues to grow on me.
Suede - Challenge Winner - His design this week redeems him somewhat from the boringness of last week. Again, I hope it's not a fluke. Oh, and he really needs to just not talk. Ever. Unless it is followed immediately by people making fun of him.
Jerell - Interested to see where he's going.
Terri - I think I have an idea of her design aesthetic, but I also think she has to kick it up a few degrees.
Stella - Maybe she should have risen a bit farther in my ranking for having a dress in the top 3, but like I said, I didn't love it. Still think she's cool, though.
Emily - Still don't know what she's about.
Korto - She fell far this week. Whether or not the first challenge was a fluke remains to be seen.
Joe - He's gonna have to show some serious creativity in the weeks to come if he doesn't want to bore the judges to death.
Blayne - Rising a bit in the ranks, but he's still got a ways to go.
Jennifer - I don't know what it is about this girl (her teeth?), but I'm just really uninterested.
Leanne - Just bad. She needs to go home.
Wesley - Eliminated :( This surprised me because I really saw potential in Wesley. Oh well. Shows what I know.