Project Runway's Most Dramatic Moments, S3

Our favorite season ever! Everyone cheated!

1) BOOK-GATE

For the INC challenge, the designers were paired off into teams, with Jeffrey and Allison hooked up with an increasingly arrogant Keith, who had emerged as an early judges' pet. The designers had opinions:

"Keith is very manipulating. Jeffrey and Alison are actually doing all his work. It's really not fair for his teammates. He wants to win and he'll do anything to win. He's ruthless."

Kayne must have been really bothered by Keith for some reason because ultimately (and off-camera), he went to the producers with the information that Keith had some fashion books stashed away in his room.

It's clearly stated in the contract that the designers sign pre-taping that they are not to have any reference materials of any kind. Also clearly stated is that they are to have absolutely no contact with the outside world. Once the accusation was made, Keith fled the taping for several hours, reportedly went to his boyfriend's apartment, and spent time on the internet and emailing friends. All of that also happened off-camera.

Jeffrey: "It was obvious to me how Keith was being successful. Keith was making very basic garments and is a very charming person. I think Keith is a fraud in some ways."

Honestly, this was one of the most tense and gripping hours of the show. There was a real feel of doom hanging over everything as the producers and the designers tried to come to terms with what had happened.

We've heard that the designers ALL knew about Keith's books for some time and that none of them had the nerve to speak up about it. We're not saying that's true; we're just saying it's what we heard - and we heard it from more than one person.

In the end, Tim made a late night visit to the men's apartment to inform Keith he had to leave immediately. It was probably the most serious scene the show has ever had. Tim was clearly appalled and heartbroken about it and Keith was clearly embarrassed to the point of numbness.

"My image has been tarnished forever. I'm off the show and I'm going to be a laughing stock to my friends. I didn't expect this. I am disappointed. I would've made until the end, I'm pretty sure, if not, pretty far along. I had a lot of tricks up my sleeve still."

It's a shame, because he definitely had a lot of talent and he's tailor-made for reality television stardom: cute, talented and ruthless contestants tend to make it far and enchant the press. Unfortunately for him, PR felt it was important to maintain the show's integrity and he's been practically invisible since then.

2) MOM-GATE

Oy. If the Keith scenario was the most tense and serious the show's ever been, then this little event was the most uncomfortable and downright ugly the show's ever been.


In a surprise reveal, the designers' mothers all showed up to act as clients. The twist? They would be the clients of other designers. In a move that practically reeked of producer intervention, Jeffrey, who had already butted heads with Angela several times, was paired with Angela's mother.

The problem? Well, aside from Jeffrey and Angela already coming close to hating each other was the fact that Jeffrey ... how shall we put this? Jeffrey lacks certain social skill sets and Angela's mom was absolutely one of the whiniest pains in the ass ever featured on the show.

Jeffrey: "She gave me a lot of mixed messages. She wanted a long dress, she wanted something she could wear out, she also wanted something that was formal...I mean, it was a mess what this woman wanted."
"I'm going to make the dress I'm going to make, I hope you like it, if you don't like it, there's not a thing I can do about that, I only hope the judges will like it."

Tim Gunn: "Are you happy with this?"
Darlene: "I'm just concerned that the colors are matronly and I try to avoid that and I have never worn blue, never worn powder blue, so it's like a shock to me."
Tim Gunn: Did you tell him you were disappointed with the color?"
Angela's mom: "No, he doesn't know."

Alrighty then! Jeffrey?

"That crazy bitch is telling Tim she doesn't like the colors. It's very apropos. I don't get along with her daughter, why should I get along with her?"

Further compounding this was Angela's clear attempt to sabotage Jeffrey by getting her to complain about his garment to the judges. Let's face it: it was ugly all around and no one came out of this looking good.

In the end, Jeffrey created a hideously ugly dress that perfectly mirrored the ugliness of this episode. This one was NOT fun to watch. It's just not cool to drag your mother into your personality conflicts like that (especially when she clearly couldn't handle it emotionally) and it's just not cool to call someone's mother a bitch on national television.

CHEATER-GATE

Oh, Christ. Do we really have to talk about this? The comments section always explodes in anger whenever it comes up.

"When I look at Jeffrey's rack, I just don't believe he sewed that collection himself. How can it be that he doesn't have a single button left to sew? You just don't pull craftsmanship like that out of your ass."

"You crazy bitch. Who fucking cares what you think? I think Laura made that accusation because I made a beautiful, almost flawless collection and she's scared."

We've never really come down on either person's side on this one, partially because we became good friends with one of them and partially because we, like all of you, don't really know the truth.

We'll say this: If we'd known Laura then and if she'd asked our opinion, we would have told her to keep her mouth shut. There was no way for her to prove her accusation and she was only going to wind up looking bad if she voiced it. We've been told by designers from other seasons that someone from their season clearly did the same thing Jeffrey was accused of but they didn't say anything because they knew it wouldn't do anything but make themselves look bad.

Further, she mishandled it by going to Tim instead of to Jeffrey first. We'll give her some credit for voicing her concerns to Uli and Michael and we'll point out something that always gets forgotten in the re-telling of this scenario: Uli and Michael agreed with her.

Even further, if it was a completely baseless accusation, then the producers would have patted her on the head and told her to get back to work. Instead, they launched an "investigation." The bottom line is, he showed up with a flawlessly executed collection and no final touches to be done, something that no designer has ever done before on the show and something that's notable because during the competition, execution was always a problem for Jeffrey. He hauled out that fabric glue more than once and sent garments down the runway with serious technical issues more than once.

"After a very thorough investigation and inquiry, I am absolutely confident in Jeffrey's assertion that he did this work himself."

In the end, the "investigation" was utterly pointless. A review of Jeffrey's receipts was not going to prove anything either way. Why would he turn in a receipt for something he wasn't supposed to do? The investigation did reveal an issue, however. He didn't have a receipt for a pleated pair of shorts and was over budget by over 200 dollars. To rectify that, he got rid of the ugly-ass wigs he was planning to put on all the models. Problem...solved?

Still, we don't know the answer to this one any more than any of you do, so it all comes down to your impression of the people involved and what you're willing to believe about them


[Screencaps: Projectrungay.blogpost.com]


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