Episode Report Card Jeff Long: A | Grade It Now! YOU GRADE IT Innovation
By Jeff Long | Season 1 | Episode 1 | Aired on 11.30.2004
At Parsons, Heidi is waiting for everyone outside. She introduces us to Tim Gunn, Fashion Director of the Parsons School of Design. Tim seems genial. He welcomes everyone.
Inside, Heidi introduces us to the Banana Republic accessories wall and the Cotton wall of...cotton. Cotton is the official fabric of Project Runway.
Next, the contestants go to the runway, to hear about their first challenge: it is innovation. They will be required to design a dress for a night "out on the town." Sounds straightforward enough. Tim Gunn will take them to a store to find the materials they will need. It's a place where "all the designers go."
The girls who will be modeling the clothes walk down the runway. There is one girl for each designer. Heidi calls out names randomly, and the designers choose from the girls who remain. When Daniel picks his model, he does this weird Donald Trump "You're hired" thing. It doesn't work. Normally, I'd feel bad for the last person chosen in a situation like this, but I feel that this is actually poetic justice. None of those girls has ever been picked last for anything in her life. Now, they can feel like us normals. Sorry, Audrey!
Later, the models and designers have a rooftop party, thrown by Heidi. There's plenty of champagne flowing. Jay tells a model that he can't wait until the "bitch moments start coming out." Well said, Jay. The models demonstrate their walk on the rooftop. It reminds me of granola boys playing guitar at college parties. I think it's a rule: when drunk, perform. I'm not sure, but I think Vanessa flipped the bird at the camera. Anyway, all of the models look amazing.
During the party, Mario is taking his model's measurements. He felt that socializing would have been distracting. Dude. Chill. Socializing is distracting when you are defusing a bomb, not at a party. At a party, taking measurements is considered distracting. Jay remarks that Daniel is not social.
Finally, Heidi leads a final walk across the rooftop. Normally, I would hate something so seemingly contrived and actually cheesy, but I can't really help myself. It's kind of fabulous. Except, Heidi looks like Mrs. Garrett next to all of those pre-teen girls. Party on. Commercial Break.
In the morning, everyone meets Tim. He takes them to Gristedes, a New York grocery store. Everyone is stunned because they thought they would be going to a great fabric store or the like. For readers who have never been to a New York grocery store, let me tell you, the contestants' fate is worse than simply not being at a fabric store. New York grocery stores are like death-match wrestling and pig farming all rolled into one stinky, humanity-doubting nightmare. Tim explains that they each need to create a glamorous dress for evening, using items from Gristedes. They have $50 and one hour to shop.