Poor Carol Hannah is still sick, and overwhelmed. She must, however, soldier on and keep working on her collection. All three designers are feeling enormous pressure, as one might expect. Finally, though, CH has a tiny breakdown, crying on Christopher's shoulder. He is extremely kind to her, as are all their helpers.
During the hair and makeup trials, Irina and Althea of course have similar ideas. Naturally, Irina cracks that Althea is copying her, and I consider going back in time to stab her. Tim looks over their last-minute 13th looks, advising and comforting when emotional fragility emerges.
On the final day in the workroom, everyone must work very fast. They must pause, however, to have a final fitting with their muse models. Much rushing goes on, with each designer racing through the workroom, stressing out themselves and their assistants.
The day of the show, the alarm sounds at 3:15 AM. Insaaane. Emotions are running high, so high they can hardly get out the door. They make it to the tent at Bryant Park and backstage is wack. Tim Gunn actually Officially Loses It when no one is ready for the show in time, or even close.
Heidi emerges onto the runway to introduce the judges. Tim Gunn revealed in a recent LA Times article that they had to shoot some of the speeches before the crowd came in and then edit it to look like the crowd was there… and it could not be more obvious. The applause sounds so canned it's like a bad sitcom.
Athea's collection, inspired by scifi movies from the '50s and '60s, is first. It features a lot of tight pants and is edgy and pretty. Tanisha comes down the runway like she's going to rule us all. Carol Hannah's feminine, whimsical collection is quite pretty. Nothing is blowing my mind, but it's all nice. A lot of satin, though. A LOT. Lisa is gorgeous, natch. Irina brings up the rear with her New York-inspired collection. Her models are wearing equestrian-like hats, and so many of the clothes re black it's all sort of looking the same, but everything looks pretty good. Some of these models are kind of terrible.
The judges -- Kors, Nina and the truly wild Suzy Menkes -- are impressed with all the hard work that was done on the collections and consider all three to be strong. They like that Carol Hannah "played with color;" that Althea can "translate what's going on in the streets;" and that Irina had the "best sense of showmanship." It's all sort of anti-climactic, really, which makes it seem more like actual reality, rather than television reality. Finally, after raising my blood pressure to the max by cutting sweet Carol Hannah first, and leaving the Copycat Twins left on the runway, Irina is named the winner.
Discuss this episode in our forums, then see which were the Best and Worst Looks of Season 6.
Before I begin, I have to state for the record that my general reaction to the finale was as follows: Zzzzz. I mean, I stayed awake for the clothes, and at that point I believe I said something like: "Zzzz... mmph? Tim's mad. All black? Eh. Hm. Zzzz." And then we got to the end, and it went something like, "Huh? WHATEVER," and I forcefully pushed the power button on my remote, to which only so much force can really be applied, but look, I meant it to sting.
So, you know, pweviously on Pwojek Wunway, Althea, Carol Hannah and Irina were chosen as the final three. They went off, worked on their designs, were visited by the ghost of Christmas Fabulous, Tim Gunn, and showed back up in New York for the final few days of preparations. Irina plagiarized some stuff. They had to make a surprise 13th look; Logan, Christopher and Gordana came in to help; Carol Hannah barfed everywhere.
With two days to go until the runway show, Carol Hannah is still feeling sick to her stomach. "This is a really critical point, and there's a lot of work ahead," she interviews, "and if I'm lying with my head in the toilet, that's not really helpful." Well, it's not helpful to you, but it would be helpful to your competition. Speak of the devil: "I kind of really do feel for her," Irina says. "But there's really nothing I could do to help her." The operative words there? "Kind of." CH continues in her interview to say that the nausea is overwhelming and if she continues to feel like this, it's not going to be a good day. Come on, girl! Time to rally.
In the workroom, everyone looks beat. Carol Hannah is already crying as they walk in. Logan comes over, very sweetly I think, to give her a hug. Everybody is hanging by a thread (har har), even the ever-confident Irina. Gordana says in an interview that "she's not hundred percent cool" as she usually is. I love Gordana, and no doubt Irina does, as well. "I won't queet on you, I promize," Gordana tells her as she tailors one of Irina's designs. "Thank you, Gordana," Irina says, her voice obviously betraying her fatigue. "I'm counting on you." No question, the luckiest break Irina received was when Althea chose Logan as her assistant, opening the door for her to be able to pick Gordana. She can take the pressure, and she can sew better than anyone in the room.
As Althea discusses with Logan about which seams she'd like to leave exposed, Carol Hannah breaks down again across the room. She is sick, y'all. Christopher comes around the table to comfort her as everyone else looks on with pity. "I'm happy that I'm there," Christopher interviews. "I can be there to sort of comfort her for a moment, but then get back to being her tailor and finisher and get this stuff done." CH cries a little that this sickness thing is not how all of this is supposed to go, but she seems to pull herself together quickly. How bad would it suck to be sick on like, the biggest day of your life so far? She groggily thanks Christopher for continuing to plug away while she heads out with the other ladies for model makeup trials and fittings.
Irina tells the makeup dudes that she wants the models' eyes to be dark and smudgey. She has these armor-like, sort of equestrian felt hats that they will be wearing that she wants to set off with sleek ponytails. Guess who also wants dark, smudged eye makeup? Althea. Now, is she copying Irina's idea? Of course not. How could she know? The thing is, BOTH of them are copying about 900 other runway shows. The smokey, smudged glamour has been done a few million times. Carol Hannah explains that her collection is based on gothic architecture and fairy tales and that she wants the makeup and hair to be pretty. You know... I so appreciate that. I know this is all about Art and Fashion and High Design, but... can't women just be PRETTY sometimes? Why does everything have to be pretty through the lens of grunginess? I like pretty. I'm all for drama, too, but it's refreshing to see someone want to be fresh!
The models arrive for fittings, and I suppose the producers hoped someone's dress would catch on fire or something, but nothing at all takes place other than the models... getting fitted. How depressed they must have been in the editing room that the finalists were all relatively normal people who just wanted to design and show their clothes? I mean, Irina's a meanie, but otherwise...? They should have brought Johnny and Qristyl back for the finale, somehow. Carol Hannah is very pleased with the way her clothes are fitting her models -- every single piece, she says, seems to have a corresponding girl that is perfect for the look. Althea and Irina, in contrast, are obsessively pinning their supertight pants so they can fit them within an inch of their lives. Fit is so important, Althea reminds us. We see a bit more of one particular dress of Carol Hannah's -- a champagne and black short number with interesting draping. If you watched the American Music Awards a few nights after the finale premiered, you might have noticed a trashy knock-off of this very look on Carrie Underwood.
Pins are flying as Tim Gunn arrives to check on progress. When Irina shows him her 13th look, a... dress? A skirt? It's black and form-fitting, with tightly tailored layers and looks quite attractive, except there appears to be no top to it. Irina says it fills in the gap of what she's missing in the collection. Tim advises her to watch the proportions of the top when she gets ready to put it on. In re: her felted horse hats, he says his concern is that she not allow it to make things look costumey. Irina says that for the makeup, she'll be having an "almost muddy, dark, dusty eye." Muddy and dusty are two different things. I am beginning to loathe the letter Y, aren't y'all? Costumey. Smudgey. Ugh. Just say real words.
Tim moves on to Althea who shows him her 13th look: a dramatically structured black leather jacket and tailored tan pants. It's a cool look, but Tim rightly expresses concern that if the jacket is not done right, it will look a little '80s. He's might have also noted that it does have a distinct Thriller vibe with the oversized shoulders. Despite all that, it does look pretty cool, and the pants are awesome. Althea says that she is very excited about the makeup she has planned, especially. "Almost messy," she says, "like [the model] has slept in it for a day." Tim says that sounds a lot like what Irina has planned. "That's Althea," Irina says, sotto voce, and I wish ANYONE would just tell her to shut up. Nobody is copying your loud ass! It's just eye shadow. Why can't Althea ever be the one to say that Irina must have copied her? Tim says he just wants to make sure it doesn't look like all the models came from one collection. Of course, they wouldn't, because Althea's models won't be wearing the dominatrix horse hats, but whatever. Althea starts crying a little, saying she's getting kind of overwhelmed. Overwhelmed with hate for Irina? Probably. I wouldn't blame her. Tim says her work is on a trajectory and that this is a make it work moment. "Hang in there," he adds, and moves on to Carol Hannah.
Our little sicko is doing only okay-ish. She says she feels like she hasn't had enough rest, and realizes she won't be getting any. She shows Tim a dress she's doing for the 13th look. It's very beautiful, but -- how can we put this? -- it's been done. Grecian draping. Seen it. The almost-teal blue color, however, is outstanding, and it looks very well made. Tim says he knows she's tired, but that's why it's good that she has Christopher. CH gives Christopher a little high five on that note, and they all buckle down for their midnight deadline.
OMG, have y'all seen the commercial for "Fa la la la Lifetime?" Tim Gunn, you are a national treasure.
The day, our little CH is feeling better and has more energy. "I'm gonna need it!" she says, with a big smile. Indeed, Althea is instituting a no lunch/no bathroom policy for herself and Logan in order to get things done. Tim arrives for their last gather-round. "Can you believe what's going to happen to you all?" he drones. "You're going to Bryant Park." Their reactions are so telling. Althea and Carol Hannah break into huge smiles, while Irina looks like she just swallowed a roach. Tim gives them the run down that they will have until 5 p.m. that day, before returning to their hotel. "I know you're totally preoccupied," he jokes at the end, "but stop talking! You have work to do." Madness reigns. Everyone starts crazily finishing their hems, and bending over sewing machines. Gordana falls into perfect lockstep, following Irina's orders to the letter. Irina says in an interview that she's hoping she hasn't missed anything, because she doesn't want any last-minute surprises. In fact, it's Carol Hannah's who has forgotten to take care of something. She was supposed to take in one of her dresses a little bit. "If you forget one thing," she says in an interview, "it can be disastrous." Who knows if she had time to fix the dress, because they don't show us at all. Everyone leaves with stuff over their arms, so maybe they got to take a few things back to the hotel? Who knows. Suddenly, it's morning. They all have to get up at some unchristian hour like 3:15 AM, a time virtually unknown to me until we brought our daughter home last month. Now 3:15 is party time. They have to get up super early, Althea says, to get all the models and outfits prepped before the shows. "What a big day," Carol Hannah says as we see her sleepily trying to fix her hair in a dress that looks like what I wore to the senior Christmas party in 1991. "Showing at New York Fashion Week. It's a really big deal." Thank you, for that utterly shocking newsflash. The best is watching her yank on her eyelashes, no doubt trying to remove the mascara she has been storing there since her 12th birthday. Listen, I'm not hating. I think this girl is straight-up adorbs. But the eyes... I'm saying there's a direction, and that direction could be to Tammy Faye Town.
Irina says she is feeling every known emotion right now. "Today," she says, "is basically what the whole thing's about." Um... okay, everyone's tired. I get that. Especially when they try to have their dramatic moment before leaving the suite and flub it, with much hilarity. "You guys ready?" Irina asks as the three of them stare at each other in a smiling triangle. They all nod and Irina reaches for the door... which has the security lock on it. It won't open, and they all laugh. It looks to still be the middle of the night when they arrive at the tent. Irina practices what it will feel like to sit in the front row at Fashion Week. Cute. "How 'bout we just sit here and let the models do everything?" Carol Hannah jokes. They all agree that the whole thing is surreal. It is about get far more surreal, for sure.
Backstage looks like some kind of refugee camp with people teeming everywhere. Well, maybe a refugee camp full of extremely gorgeous half-naked people. Right away, Tim has concerns. Irina is working on her 13th look, still, and Kalyn has yet to go to hair and makeup. Tim doesn't like it. Elsewhere, CH and Althea get their models' hair and makeup sorted out, but otherwise, no one really seems to have their shit together. Finally, the normally unflappable Tim Gunn snaps. "Designers," he half-yells, obviously dying to do his tell-tale cuff shoot of rage, "I am ABOUT to LOSE it." Ohhhh, snap. He says they should be lining up right now, and no one is even ready. "Tim's getting really, really frantic," she says, "and that's sort of unnerving, because he's usually the calm in the room." He's still going off, in his way, insisting they get their models dressed and ready immediately. To their credit, the designers seem to respond with haste, grabbing models out of hair and makeup and getting them ready. "This is crazy!" Tim says, waving his hands again in anger. "The clock is now ticking backwards! We have got to go." According to an article I read recently, he was concerned that they get the show over with for the group of shows using the tent after them. Nice of him, really, but from what I understand, fashion shows don't have the best reputation for on-time starts, anyway. But, whatever, Tim is PISSED, y'all. He is like, adjusting his glasses and crossing his arms, and these may seem like innocuous gestures, sure, but I can see his pinstripes vibrating from here.
In the immortal words of the immortal Muppet Show, "it's time to play the music, it's time to light the lights." Sing it with me! Showtime. Heidi emerges from backstage in a blindingly hot pink raw silk pantsuit. Oh, yeah. You heard me. The pants are so tight, I question how she will sit down, but somehow she still looks amazing. This is the point where things seriously go off the rails, television-wise. Because this was filmed more than a year ago, they had to keep it a secret which collection belonged to which designer in order to keep the winner secret. Thus, the designers could not introduce their collections to the live audience. So, all the speeches, including parts of the one Heidi is giving now, were filmed in a nearly-empty tent and edited into the live tent footage, using an applause track to make it seem like the speeches were, in fact, being given in front of the audience. Those were some confusing sentences, I know, but imagine how much work it was to actually do all of that extra filming and editing -- now stop imagining and be sad because it did not come across well in the final product, at all. Oh em gee, so lame. I felt like I was watching a bad sitcom from the early '90s. In any case, Heidi introduces the "wonnaful" judges: "One of my favorite designers of all times," Michael Kors; "the lovely and beautiful Nina Garcia;" and... Suzy Menkes. Nice. I mean, she can't be blamed. Menkes showed up with this very hairstyle, no exaggerating. No doubt, Heidi glanced over at her and forgot that she was also going to call her lovely and beautiful. The best thing, ever, is that when I went to Google Suzy Menkes, Google's first auto-suggestion was "suzy menkes hair." Apparently the fashion world has been dealing with her hair for a long time.
Althea's collection is first. In her faux-intro, she tells the audience that she "honestly feels like she's about to show you a piece of my soul." She explains that she was inspired by '50s and '60s science fiction movies. "I kind of wanted to introduce what the woman of today would wear tomorrow," she says, and I am just trying to parse that interesting statement when I realize she is wearing Uggs on the runway. Not cool, fellow tall chick. When you have the power to tower, you must take full advantage at all times.
First out is a gray knit cardigan with super long sleeves over a leather bustier and pants. I don't hate it. is a black dress... Althea might need to learn the difference between something that is tightly fitted and something that fits too tightly. Because when a size 000 model can barely walk in one of your dresses because you have her sewn so tightly in there, there could be a prob. Her 13th look comes out now, and it is quite nice. I will spoil you by saying that the pants will later receive rave reviews, but they remind me of Malvin's crazy chicken jodhpur idea. However, they are gorgeously tailored at the waist and butt, and despite the flowing material/tight calves thing, the model looks gorgeous. The big-shouldered black jacket looks great, too. Also included are variations on the same thing. Superslim pants and cleanly tailored jackets. It's a lot of sportswear. There's one green dress under a black jacket that stands out, but otherwise...? Nothing, really. I mean, it all looks good, but I am not feeling overwhelmed with wow. Althea, however, is proud of her work. She says she would wear any of the looks and is very happy, overall. Also featured: Jaslene Gonzalez, America's Top Model Cycle 8 winner. Yes, she does still look like a tranny. To highlight this, the camera cuts to first-aufed Ari Fish, in the audience. Ari looks like a clown from Cirque du Soleil's tribute to the life of Boy George. Oh my God, I made that up, but don't you want to see that so bad? Make it happen, you sexy acrobats! I suppose she got tired of being compared so often to Samantha Ronson, but man, she was a CUTE SamRon. Althea's last look is Tanisha in a tan/gold absolutely skin tight dress. It is gorgeous, but mostly gorgeous because Tanisha works it so hard she nearly causes me to go blind. She is stunning. Althea's mom sweetly stands and presents her with flowers as she tromps back down during her finale.
Here we go with Carol Hannah who, y'all know I love her, and I know she has Dengue fever or whatever, but can girlfriend get the makeup right for once? She schlubs out on stage still looking like she has wet hair, and like she just woke up leaving her face on the pillow. Yadda yadda, dream come true, let's start the show. We begin with the look so poorly knocked-off by whatever gay man is doing costumes for Carrie Underwood, followed by -- compared to Althea's and Irina's collection -- a cavalcade of color. I love the colors, really. There's a short, metallic/black full skirt over tights and what appears to be a cashmere turltleneck, followed by a braided aubergine tunic top over black pants. I had higher hopes for this top last week, but it sort of turned out to be a bit square. The same color is seen in a long evening gown with some asymmetrical stuff up top, while the lighter purple is shown in the cupcake-looking dress we saw last week. All of this stuff is very pretty, but one or two of the dresses look fairly... Macy's. Just a few, though. Several of the things are quite awesome. The 13th look dress, that gorgeous blue on a redheaded model, is a stunner. Then there's, no kidding, formal shorts with a cape?! I can hear the Fug Girls gnashing from here. Also included is the gold sheath dress CH was worried last week would be too boring. In what was surely a deranged fit, she felt like she needed to tie a big piece of tulle around it for a belt, or something, or at least that's what it looks like. She needn't have worried about it being boring -- the model who is wearing it is SO awful, no one is even looking at the dress. Has this girl suffered from a terrible knee injury? She is about to fall down. The last look is the stunning Lisa in a gold evening gown that I loooove. It is my favorite piece of all the collections and, find, call me plebian, but I do love a gorgeous dress on a woman whose hips do not, cannot, and shall not lie.
Finally, Irina takes the stage to the fearful screams of the crowd. Irina seems nervous, or overtired or both -- when she explains that her collection is about being a woman in New York, she is near tears. "It's really just about comforting and shielding yourself... and just... going at it," she fumbles, and sends her models out. They look like horse-warrior sex slaves from space. Frankly, I can't tell you too much about it, because almost everything is black. The knitwear and fur she has featured are tan, which seems downright refreshing in the midst of all the darkness. The truth is, there is something about her designs that seems more put together than the other two. Perhaps it's just the sleekness of the models, because I can't really distinguish a whole lot under all the black jackets and knitwear. Her final dress came out very nicely, though I must say I was reminded fairly vividly of the black dress Carol Hannah did for the Bob Mackie challenge -- at least by the shape of it. Like I said, her show looks very together, no doubt due in large part to the excellent assistance of Gordana, but, as someone said in the comments of that NY Mag piece: "[It's] derivative. "Basically, if you could picture Posh in it, it's been done." Brilliant.
After the show, the reviews are glowing. John Varvatos says it was exciting for him to see it, which, as I type it out, doesn't seem as much like a glowing review. The CEO of Halston, Bonnie Takhar, found them all to be wonderful. Marc Bouwer goes so far as to call this the strongest group of PR designers, ever, putting him solidly into an opinion-holders group of one. Also backstage are the designers' ousted cohorts. Epperson found each collection to be "amazing." He's so nice. The emotional vampire, Johnny, has returned. He compliments Althea's collection for being "very put together," as does Shirin (who is wearing a raspberry beret, the kind you buy in a... oh, she probably made it). Though it is an endorsement she'd probably rather not receive, Ari says she's most impressed with Irina's work. Louise also was a fan of Irina's, while Nicolas and Ra'Mon both are going for Carol Hannah. Um...? Hello? What about Malvin? And Qristyl? I need to hear their crazy thoughts!
We now return to the studio runway, where the judges seem to be barely holding it together. Did they drink a lot of wine at the show? They seem afraid to speak lest they start laughing or crying like, "Yes, well, there were some clothes and they were really... quite... I'd say... they were clothesy." Everyone is half-saying that there were fresh ideas and good workmanship, but only barely half-saying it. Suzy Menkes, especially, seems lost. Finally, Heidi brings out the designers. "You really put on a great show today," she says, "and we're all very proud of you." She reminds them, however, that only one of them can win the fashion spread, the "Pearz vacation," and the $100,000. To torture me, they once again introduce the judges. Kors very kindly congratulates them on a job well done. Nina Garcia, naturally, declines to do so. With a dismissive head nod and a strained smile, she tells them she's happy they are here. Where else would they be? She is the glorious devil. Crazy ol' Menkes (who has an O.B.E., by the way) says she is thrilled to be there and be part of Project Runway.
They begin with Irina who explains her idea of a feminine woman having to take on the shield of toughness to live in New York. "Quite honestly," Kors says, "we've seen a lot of the Warrior Woman. She's not a new character on the scene." Irina's model, Kalyn, by the way, is wearing that 13th look and I do not love how it turned out. The top somehow looks like a leather bathing suit, with the skirt bunchily tied around it. Why would you choose the slapdash thing you had to do at the last moment to show the judges at the end? For her part, Suzy Menkes thinks the collection had cohesion and was brought together beautifully. Heidi compliments the finished look of the collection. Shocking me, Nina loved the T-shirts, saying they added a surprising intimacy and were indicative of who Irina is as a designer. Nina doesn't get out to the mall much, I guess? I mean, the Gap sells a lot of T-shirts. She does ask, pointedly, why Irina went with all the black, reminding her with a piercing look that they talked about how it does not shoot well for magazines and thus does not get a lot of editorial coverage. Again, I have to wonder what she's talking about, honestly. Has she noticed the two zillion features that appear monthly in multiple magazines on the perfect little black dress? I guess, now that I've typed that, that that's most of the black we see in magazines. Fine, Garcia. You win again.
Many smiles all around for Carol Hannah. Nina loved the first look and compliments her on how she manipulated the difficult fabric. Heidi was enamored of the blue Grecian goddess dress, which CH reveals to have been the 13th look. Heidi is pleasantly shocked. "You're gooood!" she says. Suz (I call her Suz), is intrigued by that "upturned pyramid" number. She says it looks very hard to do and was "a clever feat" to bring it off. Carol Hannah says that dress was definitely more of a show piece. "It's not like, 'Oh, I'm gonna go have dinner, now.'" Don't sell yourself short, girl, as Suz would agree: "Well," she says, "I noticed it!" Heidi, however, had a hard time seeing the collection as a cohesive thing with a connective thread. Before moving on, Michael Kors says that he always considered CH's strength to be that mix of structure and drapery and thinks she did it very well in her collection.
Althea is up and my girl must be really worn out, because she does some crazy rambling about "the new clinical tone" in fashion or, the world? I don't know. There's something also about the future. Stay with us, Althea! Don't go towards the light! Kors congratulates her for doing sportswear. "You could dissemble these clothes," he says. "You could buy a piece and add it to your closet and have your own spin on it, which I think is great." Nina found it refreshing, she says to see the green dress Althea threw in, "because everything else was very much monotone." Heidi really liked this one skirt and top that... eh. The skirt looks cool, but I am sad to say that the top read "cheap" to me on TV. Suzy Menkes toodles that "You saw the future, and I saw some fabulous knitwear." However, she says, she wasn't sure how it was futuristic. Althea says she feels like she referenced the future with the chunkiness of the collar, and we see Irina shooting her daggers for daring to "steal" her innovative "idea" of a cardigan. Yes, that same innovation that was also was often employed by Redd Foxx on Sanford & Son. You're so cutting edge, Irina! Nina G. can't help but point out that the last three pieces of Althea's collection were sort of "off." Perhaps she was thrown off by the appearance of Jaslene in the third-to-last dress. Michael Kors, in contrast, loved the tan silk pants Althea did for the 13th look. They would be bought by "a million people," he says. Heidi is blown away that Althea and CH did so well on their 13th look. We never heard what they had to say about Irina's 13th design, but I suppose from the way she rolls her eyes at the compliments to her competitors, it must not have gone over as well.
Finally, they are sent away for the judges to chat. They begin with Carol Hannah, and they are loving her opening dress. It is well-designed and photographable, Kors says. Yes, Carrie Underwood's gays thought so, too! Suz says it has "desire," which is hilarious. "It's not easy to find a garment that has all of those things," Kors says. Suz says also (as Nina flips through her notebook, totally bored), that CH has the best sense of color of the three of them, from what she was wearing herself to the color she used in her designs. Kors says yes, she played with the color, she just didn't play with it "enough!" Nina nods, joining him on that last word. Since CH was the only one of the three of them to use ANY color, this makes me laugh.
Y'all... Heidi's pink suit. With a white silk shell and brooches? I swear my mother wore that to a wedding last spring.
Desperate to say something that will indicate they are awake, Nina and Michael say that they think Althea is very "plugged in" to what people are wearing and that women will respond well to her clothes. Nina goes so far as to say that she could even shoot some of Althea's clothes for Marie Claire. She particularly liked a blue suit with pegged Capri pants (that read as a sweatsuit on my TV, sorry), and Heidi agrees. "Again," Kors says, "it looked a little bit like an assemblage of clothes; not a collection." Suz says that the clothes just did not seem to be shown to their best advantage. She thinks Althea could be a great knitwear and sportswear designer, but certain pieces do not take well to the runway, despite being great pieces.
They are all impressed with the well-made, modern edge of Irina's collection. Kors was very impressed with Irina's sense of showmanship. He especially loved the punches of style with the hats, and appreciated how each of them were a little different from each other. Suz liked the protection theme, but says it did not seem like the models were shrinking into the clothes for protection by any means, which was good. They all agree that the whole thing was a bit dark and could have used color. "Let's be honest," Kors says, "half of this, I'm kind of lost, but she was smart with the T-shirts. The clothes were very ominous, and very serious, and then suddenly, oh! The T-shirt!" Don't go dissing Nina's tees, now! She loves them, especially that, on top of everything, they "had a little message." Again, Nina G., try Old Navy. All their T-shirts have messages, and sometimes you can get two for nine dollars. He says that the piece that really throws him off was the final gown. It seems, he says, they all seem obliged to close with a gown the way an old fashion show used to end with a bride. Oh, is that not the thing anymore? I love that bride tradition!
Finally, a decision is made. And to make it brutally painful for everyone, they drag out the reveal by repeating everything they just said three times. I do love that they dig Irina for her lack of color. "With even a bit of color," Heidi says, "your line would have stood out." Althea, Heidi says, has an "amazing" ability to translate what's "happening on the streets" to fashion. Hee. On the streets! She says they are not convinced that it was futuristic, but that she did give them "modern staples of a new generation." Wow, now, that is a compliment. Carol Hannah, they say, always impresses them with her meticulous design. Of all the designers, Heidi says, she impressed them with color. But because it lacked the connective thread, she's out. Sweet CH, y'all, it kills me. I mean, I guess I appreciate what they had to say about her stuff, but still. She says in an interview that she came there with no expectations, and she feels like she did really well. "Nobody gets to do this," she says. "Who gets to do this?! It's crazy!" She handles it very gracefully, which is impressive, and I hope she and Logan get married and have 10 hot/cute babies.
Finally, just as I am about to die from the tension (not really), Irina is named the winner. I looooove how cool Heidi is during all the waiting. It's so weirdly edited, but my cold heart almost thaws up a tad when Althea warmly congratulates Irina, and Irina cries. Kors gives her a "spectacular," Suz a "great job," and naturally Nina a muted "congratulations." In an interview, Althea says she feels really great about the whole experience and all the great people she met and great advice she gained. "I may not have been the winner," she says, "but I'm still A winner." Heee. True. Onto the runway comes Irina's crying family and the nearly-crying Tim Gunn who, it was revealed in a recent article, was actually Irina's teacher in fashion school. Irina of course interviews that she's very proud of herself and "deserves a pat on the back," because she did have some stiff competition.
And there you have it. Are you pleased? Are you pissed? Take it to the forums, people, and make it work!
Discuss this episode in our forums, then see which were the Best and Worst Looks of Season 6.