Project Runway: Empire State of Mind

I guess “7” really is a lucky number

I know it’s only been one episode, but, after watching the season 7 premiere last weekend, it already feels like all is right in “Project Runway”-land.

Also, it’s now official — “Project Runway”-land = New York City. I’m not even one of those people who whined and complained when the show made its move from New York to L.A. (That wasn’t even one of the top five reasons for the show’s awfulness last year.) However, after seeing the premiere, it’s clearer than ever that this show just belongs in New York.

Without New York, for example, I doubt we would’ve gotten moments of comedy like new contestant Janeane’s adventures with a revolving door. (Does L.A. even HAVE doors?) Seriously though, the show took advantage of its new setting almost immediately.

Tim Gunn met the designers at Central Park, where a bunch of colorful fabric was laid out for all to see. (Mood’s new outdoor branch, perhaps?) Tim then asked each of the contestants to grab as much fabric as they could for the first challenge (they should’ve been eyeballing what they wanted if they were smart) before telling them to edit their choices down to five pieces. (To make things REALLY interesting, I would’ve made each designer switch with someone else.)

The contestants were challenged to create a piece that showed who they really are as designers. I found this to be especially helpful during the premiere episode because (without a casting special and after those rapid fire introductions) we don’t know who the hell these people are. I mean, there’s the really young Hispanic guy, there’s the older lady with bangs, there’s the younger girl with bangs and, of course, the guy who played Jack Sparrow at Disney World. (At some point I’ll refer to these people by their real names – maybe.)

That being said, a few personalities stood out. Since I saw the episode a few days after it aired, I knew the breakout personalities had been Anthony and Ping. After watching the episode, it’s easy to see why.

I’m not as high on Anthony as some people. Sure, his outsize personality livens things up, but he’s simply not particularly witty or funny – he’s just loud. What’s worse he appears to think that he’s funnier than he actually is (trust me, I know about this) and he’s just too much. His shtick might’ve felt fresh about three years ago. On top of that, his dress on the premiere was ugly (unless you like that hip tumor-y look).

Then there’s Ping, who is firmly positioned as this season’s oddball. She doesn’t trust dress forms, so she tries on her garments on herself. On top of that, the only people who appeared to get her “bundle-o-fabric” design aesthetic were the judges (who were joined by guest Nicole Richie). Personally, I thought her design was a mess, but I DID think it was interesting (the thing looked MUCH better in motion than it would on a hanger, as Nina pointed out) and I really appreciated the fact that she didn’t make a dress (like 90% of contestants on this show do).

Still, the race for the challenge win (and immunity) came down to Seth Aaron (and his youth-skewing, punk aesthetic) and Emilio (with his pretty, deceptively complicated) design. Both looks were good, but I’m glad Emilio pulled out the win. (Seth Aaron’s stuff felt a bit familiar.)

The bottom three was comprised of Anthony’s hip tumor dress, Jesus’ crocodile trunk explosion Hershey dress and Christiane’s poorly-constructed frock.

I don’t think it was a coincidence that Tim had shown concern about each of the bottom 3’s designs. (Janeane dodged a bullet even though she started an entirely new look from scratch after Tim’s feedback.) Since Anthony has been heavily featured in this season’s promos, I knew he wasn’t going anywhere.

So it came down to Jesus (whose dress would’ve been ugly regardless of length – at least Nicole Richie liked it) and Christiane (whose dress was ugly, ill-conceived and poorly made). I guess you could say that, at least, Jesus’ dress wasn’t poorly made, so Christiane got the boot. Oh well, that’s one less person whose name I’ll have to learn.

So what’d you think of this episode? Did any of you use your HP virtual sketchbooks to take notes during this episode? Which non-Ping designer stood out to you? Finally, who do you see winning the whole thing? (My Ridiculously Early Pick to Win It All this Season is Jay Nicolas – just because.)