Charlie's Bitches

Finally! This show gave us a little reality show meat to sink our teeth into! Darlings, if we'd had to sit through another episode of "mehs" we were going to shoot ourselves and nobody wants that.

Say what you will about the superior charms of Project Runway, we obviously won't disagree, but there's something charmingly unpretentious about hairstylists rushing to get home so they can get drunk as quickly as possible and tell off whoever pissed them off that day. Now that's entertainment.

And two fun challenges! First up, the "vibrant" coloring shortcut challenge.

Which Paulo totally screwed up.

To his credit, he knew he did.

It wasn't just that there was no discernable color, let alone color of the vibrant sort; it was also a pretty not-great haircut.

And then there was Charlie's:

Which, you know, congrats to Charlie and all that, but it looks like lollipop drag queen hair.

The colors are fun and all, but that bird's nest pushes the whole look dangerously close to the "ludicrous" side of things.

And then there was the "Charlie's Angels" challenge:

To which we can only add "What took you so long?"

Jaclyn was clearly thrilled to announce it, which was kind of cute.

But Kate was kind of cranky the whole time, wasn't she? Then again, she always was the "brainy" Angel, which in the '70s was code for "Not as fuckable as the other ones," which would make anyone cranky, we suppose.

How cute was that?

And once again, the producers throw a little curveball into the mix by putting Charlie in charge of the teamups. On the one hand, we were impressed by the complexity of his scheming, putting all the friends into teams, banking on their inability to work together. On the other hand, it didn't really amount to much in the end.

AND NO ONE WINS! YES!! Good for those judges for not just handing the win to the least offensive among a bad batch. There was some seriously assy hair and they were having none of it. Hair Bitches, we salute you.

As for the losing hair...

You know, it could have been anybody. For whatever reason, they settled on Glenn as the worst of the lot. Certainly the Jaclyn and Farrah cuts are awful, but from where we were sitting, they were floating in a sea of awful.

Lorenzo was crushed. We didn't like seeing either Nekisa or Glenn on the chopping block but even we had to admit that Nekisa's only still in the game due to blind luck at this point.

And credit to Nekisa for not making this moment about her. This was a pretty emotional elimination.

It was sweet how Jaclyn told her "I'll miss you." We don't know how true it is, but still. Sweet.

Yes, everyone was sad to see Glenn go home last night. Some chose kindness and dignity as ways to react to this event.

And some just clutched their pearls and fanned themselves like the queens they are.


[Photos: Bravotv.com - Screencaps: tomandlorenzo@blogspot.com]


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PR Stylist Dishes

Back during that whole A-List Awards brouhaha, Lorenzo met Jeanie Syfu, this season's TRESemme lead stylist for Project Runway. He gabbed with her over Laura's head and described her thusly:

"Lorenzo sat and dished while she was having her hair styled by Jeanie Syfu, who'll be the lead stylist for TRESemmé replacing Nathaniel Hawkins for PR S5 and she told Lorenzo she will be joining the shooting next week. She was very sweet and funny."

Well, now Jeanie's got a blog over on Bravo.com and it's full of behind-the-scenes dish that you don't get to see on the show. To wit:

"As always, Terri made a grand entrance when coming into the salon and told us about some on-set tension between her and another designer! Despite all of the backstage drama going on, it is the judges who make the ultimate decision of who stays and who goes."

"Jerell walked into the TRESemmé Salon first (he's always on time!) with his garment completely finished. He told the TRESemmé Styling Team that the fountain at Columbus Circle was so beautiful and eye-catching it inspired him to make an unforgettably lavish gown. His model Nicole wore an olive green flamenco-style dress with a beautiful ruffled train. Jerell always has a very strong vision for hair and I appreciate that. It's important to have this clarity, as I need to understand where to take the look. Jerell exclaimed, "Think opera, glamour hair!"

"On the other hand, Kenley's design was a great interpretation of old New York with a modern twist which led her to walk away winner of this challenge. Looks like the heat is rising on Project Runway! Looking forward to learning more about this new group of designers who are all determined to bring it!"


[Photo: Projectrungay.blogspot.com]

Auf Wiedersehen, Emily!

Can we reiterate that we just don't get where she's coming from when she calls her designs "underground?"

Y'know, it's not the worst thing we've seen on that runway. It's arguably not even the worst thing seen on the runway last night.

In the "points added" column, she did a pretty good job interpreting her source image. And let's face it, none of those dresses last night really did all that hot a job of "capturing" New York at night. This was at least one of the best efforts in that regard.

In the "points taken away" column, it's a yawningly basic dress which required that all the work be done by the embellishment and frankly, the embellishment failed to do its job.

We are of course, talking about that "Donny and Marie, circa 1978" skating costume ruffle.

It's just so weird, the way she arranged it. We might be persuaded that a ruffle like that could work on a dress, but thought needs to be put into where and how much of it is going to be applied. Why does it cut right across her boobs like that? And then right down her stomach to come to a stop right at her cooch? What is that? Is that how they do it "underground?"

At this point in our PR-watching careers, it's like watching mice in cages react the same way over and over again to certain stimuli. It's kind of psycho- and sociologically interesting to see all the patterns of behavior play themselves out repeatedly. Last night, Emily stepped into the "Delusional" role as she walked away from Tim's rather harsh and pointed criticism of her dress and said, "Tim gave me kind of a mixed review but I have my own sense of style, direction. I'm happy with my dress."

Honey, when Tim starts off a sentence with "I'm worried about the judges," he ain't talking about their health. "Mixed review," my ass.

By the way, anyone notice the dress on that Elle cover behind her? Deliberate or subconscious inspiration? You make the call!

And as far as designers having their own "style" and "direction," that's all well and good and it can even work in your favor sometimes in the judging, but until you get your ass to Bryant Park, you need to consider those judges to get through the competition.

Personally, we wouldn't have auf'd her, but it's exactly the kind of thing those judges love to hate.

And let's face it, when Nina can't even be bothered to say anything about your dress, you've committed the gravest of PR sins. You have bored Nina. Pack up your headbands, girl. You're going home.

Her exit video:




More detailed pictures:




[Photo: Bravo/Barbara Nitke - Screencaps: Projectrungay.blogspot.com - Video: Bravotv.com]
[Additional Pictures: Courtesy of ProjectRunway.com]

Congratulations, Kenley!

Well, we've had three challenges so far and we feel we're ready to make an assessment. Ready? Here it is.

This group of designers isn't as polished and lack the precision of last season's.

Which isn't to say they're not talented or creative. They are. In fact, they remind us a bit of the Season 1 group. Younger, rawer, and more willing to throw some crazy shit down that runway instead of pulling dress #64732 out of their professional trick bag. With this group you really have no idea what they're going to do and that's a great thing. It also means, in the words of one previous season's designer's text to us during the show "There's a lot of ass on that runway (guess who said that!)," but that's a byproduct of creativity.

And another thing before we get to the dress...

Celebrity judges. Hate 'em. Especially when they're not really known for their fashion chops and they're not acting as the client. Last night wasn't about dressing Sandra Bernhard. It was about having Sandra Bernhard spew her uninformed opinions about clothing she had no interest in. Give us a celebrity that wants to wear the winning entry or feature it in their vanity line, but don't give us disinterested has-beens whose latest face hasn't settled in.

Okay. Now.

The dress.

True story: we were watching with a gaggle last night and when Kenley was announced as the winner there were shocked gasps and outrage, but Lorenzo just smiled, leaned back, put his hands behind his head, and said simply "Well, I love it." When greeted with the chorus of "WHAT??!"s he countered with "Balenciaga, Spring 2008." THAT'S why the judges loved it.

Certainly it's not a direct ripoff, but she's clearly working in current trends. The bold, almost tropical print, the high collar and puff sleeves, the general proportions - it's all there.

In the light of morning, Lorenzo's sticking to his guns. He still loves it.

Tom doesn't love it, but he sees what she was going for and he appreciates that.

Regardless of your thoughts on the style of the dress, she nailed it in the execution. There was some unusual construction and fit with this look and it all looks flawless.

Even if you don't like the tulle, you have to admit it's perfectly utilized. She made it conform to the line of the skirt and it doesn't look bulky or unruly. It forms a perfect compliment.

What got the judges moist is that this was such a modern look. Ripped straight from the runways, as it were. Leanne's piece was quite beautiful but in the end, it was a lot of "seen-it, done-it" in terms of fashion. This wasn't.

If we have to criticize it, we really think she almost lost it when she picked that fabric. As we said, it's such a modern shape and silhouette, but that fabric looks like the DNA-infused bedspread in an '80s motel.

She went on and on about her inspiration and how the fabric really captured it and we don't see it at all.

The other criticism we have is with the proportions. It's so tight and fitted in the top and then it balloons out around the hips. It's a somewhat severe look and it doesn't entirely compliment Shannone's body.

Still, it was modern and interesting and different. We know a lot of you will disagree, but we think she deserved the win. We also think her combination of style, risk-taking and flawless execution make Kenley The One To Watch from here on out.

More detailed pictures:




[Photo: Bravo/Barbara Nitke/Style.com - Screencaps: Projectrungay.blogspot.com]
[Additional Pictures: Courtesy of ProjectRunway.com]