Episode Report Card Jeff Long: B+ | Grade It Now! YOU GRADE IT Fashion Giant
By Jeff Long | Season 4 | Episode 3 | Aired on 11.27.2007
In a hurry? Read the recaplet for a nutshell description! Finished? Click here to close.The designers are called upon to create a look for former football player -- and owner of the pearliest whites since Tom Snyder -- Tiki Barber to wear on The Today Show. From the sound of it, only Elisa has ever designed any menswear before. Everyone is totally freaked out, aside from Christian, who brags about what a fast sewer he is and PROVES that shit. That little guy can sew very quickly. Their models are guys, and they are all extremely hot. Unless I didn't see one of them closely enough. But I think they were all really freaking hot. Tiki's wife, Ginny, comes in at one point to see the progress of the designers and help Tim advise them.
On the runway, there are some nice surprises, and some train wrecks. Jack wins the challenge with a snappy little combo of pinstripe slacks and a contrasting striped shirt. We also learned that he has been living with HIV for over a decade. Sweet P, Ricky, and Carmen end up in the bottom three, and understandably, because their work is pretty bad and largely unfinished. And, as Michael Kors says, "I want to see clothes, not what coulda been." All three of them are completely honest about their shortcomings and not defensive with the judges, which makes the elimination a bit sadder. Carmen and Ricky are the bottom two, with Carmen ultimately going home for not sewing a shirt and screwing up everything she did complete. And, per expectation, Ricky cries. He officially has a problem. Want more? The full recap starts right below!
Previously: Marion's shapeless burlap concoction was rightfully booted off the runway and out of our lives. I still feel a little bummed that Marion left, because I think it would have been interesting to see him develop as a personality, but I was definitely not feeling his designs. Well, I was feeling them, but they were giving me a rash.
It's grooming time at the apartments. A shirtless and toweled Jack tells a shirtless and pantied Kevin, "Your Nice N' Easy is in here," pointing at the medicine cabinet and referring to Kevin's impossibly raven hair. That's funny, and made all the more enjoyable by the shirtless aspect of the tableaux. Sorry, it's true.
Jack interviews that being on Project Runway is the "experience of a lifetime." Then we see him using what looks like an inhaler while sitting amongst a sea of pill bottles. He informs us that he has been HIV-positive for 17 years. Damn. He also says that he has never felt better in his life. That's not hard to believe, considering his body is ridiculous. He continues, saying that his goal is to show at Bryant Park.
In the living room of 33H, Rami asks Chris what he thinks Marion is doing right now. Wasn't he eliminated a few hours ago? I can't believe they still remember his name. Onwards and upwards, guys. Don't look back. Chris says he doesn't even want to think about it. Then he jokes, "Why couldn't they have just got rid of Christian? Nobody would've cried." Christian enters from the kitchen with a comic stunned expression that makes everyone laugh. "You know what," he says, "you would be so bored if I left." Chris agrees.
Christian interviews that, after almost being eliminated, he has lost some of his confidence. But he's still confident that he's better than a lot of the other designers. Is this a turning point? I don't know; something about that almost seemed self-aware. And kinda true. Christian is clearly talented, but, up to this point, he has been a bit tired with the "Nobody's as good as me" rap.
At Parson's, Heidi greets the designers and informs them that they won't be needing their models for the next challenge. Everyone seems shocked. Heidi says that this challenge will be a "first" for the show. Then she says that she's sending them on a field trip. They have to meet Tim Gunn at 10 Rockefeller Plaza to find out about their next challenge. That's the "field"? I was hoping for a goat farm or a shipbuilding yard. I never win!