Episode Report Card Jeff Long: B | Grade It Now! YOU GRADE IT Couture Du Jour
By Jeff Long | Season 3 | Episode 9 | Aired on 09.05.2006
In a hurry? Read the recaplet for a nutshell description! Finished? Click here to close. It was a refreshing return to fashion on this week's episode. Immediately after Angela's aufing, the designers were told that they would be creating a couture gown in two days. Everyone seems pretty exhausted at this point, and I'm a little bit alarmed at how quickly Laura's belly is growing. Maybe because it's been so long since I've never given birth. Jeffrey only mentions Angela once, which was nice. Also nice was his dress. Power to the people that can look at the clothes at this point without thinking about the personality, but I begrudgingly found his dress to be pretty awesome. In fact, the minute he picked the yellow plaid, I kind of pegged him to be the winner. And I pegged properly. As he told us earlier, he is the only designer so far to win a challenge while immune to elimination. Gotta be impressed.The dresses, in my opinion, were all pretty nice-looking. Uli's was a pretty lavender. Michael's had some execution problems but was still a nice idea. Kayne of Many Colors is really getting ragged on for being tacky, but I thought his dress looked appropriate. Laura really looked like she might get the boot this time, for being boring. Again, I wish I weren't like this, but I got really freaking nervous -- because I love her. But luckily Vincent made the most offensive errors, though it was my favorite design of his so far. And, 49 years too late, he is sent home. Want more? The full recap starts right below!
Previously: Angela got her big cosmic payback for being Stalin in a former life or something. After being picked on for weeks by Jeffrey, he won the challenge and she was sent home after arriving in Paris moments earlier. That's gonna leave a mark.
We're still in France. In fact, it's only moments after Angela's aufing, and we're back at Parsons Paris (still my favorite thing to say over and over and my personal vote for what Laura should name the new bun in the oven -- "PP, act like a lady!" I love it, especially if it's a boy). The designers are still wearing their jet-setting uniforms. There's more accordion music. It's totally appropriate for the occasion, but I'm having a lot of problems with the scoring of Project Runway. After a while, it sounds like a jack-in-the-box. It's making me feel a little crazy.
Tim congratulates Jeffrey for his win in the last challenge and tells him that he'll be immune from elimination in this challenge. Catherine Malandrino is beside Tim, and she describes the new challenge. There should be some sort of prize for even understanding what the hell she's saying. The hard part about understanding a French accent, other than it not sounding like English, is that the emphases are deceptive. They're talking, and you think they're going to say one word, but -- dead man's curve -- they were actually saying this other word. It's exhausting. And when there's accordion music playing behind it? It's A Clockwork Orange up in here.
Catherine explains that the Paris Challenge will be to create a couture gown. Tim further explains that the only people that can actually call themselves couture designers are those who are licensed by the French government. However, for the challenge, the designers will have to employ couture techniques. That means hand-sewn hems and embroidery, and beading that is handmade. Catherine says that they will have only two days to complete the gowns. Everybody seems pretty daunted, as it usually takes like 700 man-hours to complete a couture gown. And this is the first time I've been able to actually gauge the designers' reactions, since Angela's screaming and flailing usually distracts me.
Finally, the producers realize that we can't understand a damn thing that Catherine says, and adds subtitles to her next statement. The designers are going to present their gowns at a party. Then she leaves, and my ears relax a little.