Project Runway: Another season wraps up
Project Runway's terrific fourth season FINALLY came to a conclusion last night (after a prolonged and amazingly tense march to whittle the final contestants down to three), and it really was a rousing conclusion. This was the chance to see the full collections designed by Christian, Jillian and Rami, and in various ways I thought all three were amazing. (I'm going to avoid mentioning the winner's name until after the jump in case you couldn't watch the finale live and you're planning to catch one of Bravo's ubiquitous repeats in the next few days.)
Salon has a very engaging wrap-up of the event, including spot-on critiques of some of the more out-there outfits thought up by the three designers. Here's a great description of Christian's line:
Christian's collection was nothing if not funereal froufrou, a little too ruffled to be fierce. It was as if his models had walked out of a parallel universe in which Victorian dominatrixes swanned around in spaceships.
Now that we're past the jump: Christian won, by the way. This wasn't really much of a surprise because he was by far the most dramatic (a word that the judges kept using, which was a big hint as to their final decision) and managed to wow celebrity judge Victoria Beckham, who at the most represents, what do you say, one quarter of one percent of women looking to buy a dress? Still, Christian's win reinforces the concept of high fashion as proudly inaccessible to all but to former Spice Girls and towering supermodels. (How'd you like the way Christian on the day before the show warned his models not to eat?) Sure, it was dramatic, but he pretty much lost me with the outfit that looked like it belonged on a chorus member in "Robin Hood: The Musical."
As for my humble pick: I did like several of Jillian's beautiful coats (although I hated the mini-canoe-shaped headgear), but in the end I would have voted for Rami just because of his magical evening gowns.
Comments:
Oh, it HAD to be Christian. I think anyone who watched the season knew that from the second show on.
Not only is he immensely talented and creative, he has the wacky personality to match, and his own little catchword - this kid had it in the bag from the beginning.
I can just see him trying to design for Vicky Beckham and the two of them arguing about whether his designs are fierce or mayjah.
Posted by: Heather at March 6, 2008 1:22 PM
I loved Christian's last two dresses, and that huge hat with the neck ruffle up the model's nose was fabulous. A bit too much black, but he extremely talented and brings excitement to the runway.
That said, there were multiple looks in Rami's collection that I would actually wear in real life, and I felt his collection color-wise was the most cohesive. His construction and creative weaving (along with his debated drapery) are immaculate.
But the biggest surprise of the night came from Posh herself, when she smiled and her veneer didn't crack off!
Make it work, designers!
Posted by: suzanne grazyna at March 6, 2008 2:40 PM
Christian won because of that glorious eagle costume of a dress he put together for his finale. I picked Jillian from the day one (no particular reason, it was a hunch) and it would've been nice to see her win for the sake of being right (and because she ended up being reasonably talented), but there was no question who the judges were with all season. Really, these three weren't so different from the finalist last season if you think about it: Jillian = Ulli, Rami = Angela, Christian = Jeffrey x Michael
Posted by: Jason at March 6, 2008 7:05 PM
Oh, I disagree with that Jillian= Uli analogy, if not for the simple fact that Jillian's clothes can be worn in temperatures below 80 degrees. ;)
I thought it was interesting that I was rooting for Christian because of the sheer scope of his talent, but would have worn more of Jillian's clothes. (That flouncy skirt at the beginning? Where can I get that??)
All and all, I ADORED this season. If you're interested, you can see Chris March's full collection (hair and all) on the Project Runway Blog (along with Sweet P's-- they both showed at Fashion Week as decoys). Oh, and for the super-nerds, one of Chris March's models was Bianca from last season's Top Model.
Posted by: Elizabeth at March 7, 2008 6:29 AM
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