Project Runway: Romijn Event

“I’m too conceptual for America,” said tonight’s eliminated contestant, giving us one more amusingly spacey/serene sound bite before leaving our TV screens for good (and allowing irritating Mitchell to continue for at least one more week).

I didn’t get around to watching this episode until Wednesday night since I was away on vacation, so I’m not going to say anything that hasn’t already been said about last week’s installment. Instead, (as with my recent “Hell’s Kitchen” recap) I’ll just jot down a few stream of consciousness thoughts before Thursday night’s new episode.

- It’s been YEARS, since they were together, but I can’t be the only one who still wants to say “Rebecca Romijn-STAMOS”, right?! The designers were tasked with creating a look for the pregnant-with-twins(-at-the-time) Rebecca Romijn (pictured, right with Heidi).

- With so many designers this year (16, more than ever) and the show focusing heavily on a few (especially Ra’Mon and Mitchell), I’d have to say the two making the most out of their limited screen time are Gordana and Epperson. Gordana’s accent cracks me up (especially when she uses it to say things like “boob area”) and Epperson trying on the pregnancy belly was funny. I literally don’t know anything about Epperson other than the fact that he’s old (for this show), looks like Bobby McFerrin and is not afraid to try on a fake pregnancy belly on national TV – yet I can’t help but like the guy.

- Another one that cracks me up is Qristyl, despite the ridiculous spelling of her name. Her comment about how Johnny’s Easter jacket (which he wisely chose to forgo for the runway show) not being worthy of being Rebecca Romijn’s dust rag was funny. Her amused, “that was mean” right afterward was funnier.

- Despite the fact that he designed a poorly-made, ill-advised dress that two people (Mitchell and Romijn) separately described as a bowling ball bag, I’m not backing off my prediction of Ra’Mon winning this thing. Last week I mentioned that the former wannabe neurosurgeon would bring a brainy sensibility to his work, and this week it totally backfired on him. Ra’Mon over thought and overreacted to the judges’ comments from last week that he needed to take more chances. However, I think he’ll bounce back nicely and be on the show for a long time.

- I also want to thank Ra’Mon for bringing up Stella “Leatha” Zotis when Logan was banging away at his material. It just makes sense for contestants on this show (or any reality show) to either be fans or at least check out previous seasons, right?

- Mitchell, on the other hand, stated that he was going to play it safe: “I’m not looking to go out on a limb and win this challenge.” With SO many designers in the mix, I can almost understand how that train of thought could be effective. Still, it does NOT inspire a lot of confidence, and it’s not exactly going to make fans (or the judges) want to rally around him. Especially not when “playing it safe” means initially creating a ridiculously oversized pair of shorts that could fit two grown women, and then merely sizing them down to a poorly constructed pair of shorts that make a model looked like she’s on her way into rehab.

- When I first saw Shirin’s dress and jacket combo, I knew she’d win. True story.

- The other two top 3 creations from Althea and Louise, were also very impressive. (Especially, Althea's - from certain angles, you couldn't even tell the model was supposed to be pregnant.) However, the cup on Althea’s dress was ever so slightly ill-fitting, while Louise’s lingerie-looking dress seemed a bit too risqué for Nina Garcia.

- I enjoyed the implication that Nina Garcia thinks that Rebecca Romijn is a bit slutty, since Louise’s dress screamed “LINGERIE” to Nina, while Romijn said she’d definitely wear it on a date.

- Just because Malvin’s head looks like a bird nest doesn’t mean it’s a good idea to build a concept around that. It looked more like one of those baby-carrying slings than a nest with an egg.

- There hasn’t been much tension in the workroom this season. Even when Mitchell dissed Ra’Mon’s dress, he tried to soften the blow by saying it looked better from afar. I actually kinda like that the designers generally seem to enjoy each other. This is not one of those reality shows that need manufactured drama to be interesting.

- Maybe that explains why, for the second week in a row, the judges have dumped the kooky contestant in favor of, well, Mitchell. Beyond being more interesting (or maybe just “more sedated”) I thought Malvin’s concept was at least more adventurous and better executed. I was actually legitimately shocked that Mitchell survived the chopping block AGAIN. I believe I would’ve bet money on Mitchell going home. Oh well.

So what’d you think of this episode? What could’ve Malvin possibly done to make his outfit “MORE literal?” Was it a coincidence that three women ended up being in the top 3 and three men ended being in the bottom 3 for the pregnancy challenge? (I say yes). Finally, did Mitchell deserve another chance?