It's the finale! The actual finale! It starts with a recap of last episode. Remember the new last-minute challenge where the designers have to come up with something that can survive a trip through a washing machine? It seems like the sort of thing we'll be rolling our eyes at for years to come, doesn't it?
Tim sits with the four remaining designers: Dom, Bradon, Alexandria, and Justin. The first thing on the agenda is a trip to Mood with $250 for the new challenge. Justin has a fairly cohesive collection already, so he's making a sweater-vest that matches something he's already got in two looks. The fabric gets bought and the day ends.
The day! Justin claims to be thrilled that the judges finally see him as a designer, but they've always seen him that way. And his three runway looks gave him valuable feedback from the judges, so now he knows he has to get rid of the ridiculous wigs. Bradon is confident in his collection already, so he's spending all his time doing final polishes. Alexandria is having trouble concentrating on her washable look because she's still a little bothered by all the things Nina had to say about her three looks. She should be!
Hairstyling is slightly more interesting than usual because Justin has to be careful to not replicate his silly wigs. Other than that, it's just a barrage of product placement.
The workroom seems very quiet, because there's hardly anyone left and they're all concentrating. But Tim's here to shake things up! He starts with Bradon, who welcomes Tim's feedback. I think he has some gold lamé hotpants in there. Tim thinks it's all very sexy, which Dom finds hard to believe. She's very skeptical about Tim's judgment here.
Dom's , and Tim loves how obviously her collection is by her. The prints are giant and daring, which impresses everyone else. Tim's main recommendation is that the prints need to stay symmetrical, and there's a spot that he finds janky. That's what he says: "Janky." After a brief discussion of her washable look, Tim concludes, "It's gonna have to be...all about silhouette, proportion, and fit." Well, yes. That's not news. I guess it means he's confident in the color?
Justin was reassured by the judges, and now he's trying to make his washable look reversible. Tim recommends against getting too fancy, and he also dislikes a mid-calf length. Justin's considering adding more paint spatters. Alexandria sniffs that the stuff he made with his 3-D printer are actually more innovative than the designs themselves.
Alexandria's making a washable silk pant with one of those vests she makes that I think look like a scrap of cloth arbitrarily tied around the model's torso. Tim recommends against making the looks not look monotonous, and he also points out a specific thing Nina didn't like: "She kept repeating, It's nothing but a dumb T-shirt.'" Alexandria is shocked that she can't have T-shirts, because that was kind of her default torso covering underneath the fancier tops. Tim says she's got to show that she heard the criticism somehow, because if she doesn't change something, he predicts "retribution." Alexandria is very worried, and I think she should be. She doesn't know this, but the only judge who's liked her garments the last two times was Heidi. And that might be enough to get you through, but I don't think Heidi's going to completely overrule the other judges when it comes to a winner.
The day! The last day! Dom hits it hard, and she's got a list of tasks to accomplish. Alexandria is sprucing up some of her T-shirts, and she doesn't sound confident. Bradon says his washable look "isn't really designed yet." That's not great. And in come the models! Each of them gets ten models, and Bradon points out that you have to carefully choose which model gets which clothes, even if their measurements are the same. Alexandria is putting her unconventional look first, which I like. Get some excitement right away. Justin's 3-D shoulder pieces aren't attached to the clothes, so he asks his model to walk very stiffly so they don't fall off. Dom is on some -level strategy as she explains that her "muse model" is the one who will be standing to her as the judges decide who's going to win, so she wants a particularly good piece on that model. I like that a lot. She probably also knows what she's going to wear herself in order to make her model look better to her. Alexandria starts to feel better once she sees her clothes on people.
Alexandria remakes a top, which concerns Dom. She came in with a lot of pieces, and she's still making more? Crazy. Bradon is quietly freaking out, and Dom kind of agrees. But she doesn't want to talk about it; she just wants to work. Tim comes in to announce makeup consultations. Billy B recommends using the makeup products made by the makeup company that employs Billy B and that paid for this portion of the television program.
Back to panicky sewing! Bradon runs back and forth between the workroom and the sewing room, which annoys everyone. But he's feeling the time crunch. Tim comes in to make everyone gather around with one hour to go. Bradon does not want to take the time. Tim tries to get everyone to enjoy the fact that they're showing at Fashion Week. I do hope they manage to appreciate it amidst the frenzy. They'll get a little time for final primping tomorrow, but it'll be backstage at Lincoln Center. Tim leaves, and they have an hour to finish and pack.
They sew and hang and pack things. Dom wants to add a zipper with ten minutes to go. Tick tick tick. And then it's 5:00 and they're done. Time to go. They walk away, feeling weird about being done.
It's 2:00 AM at the hotel. Everyone's up early, including the camera crew. Everyone's sleepy and excited and nervous as they go out into the night. According to the show, they have to walk to Lincoln Center. That's two miles away! In the middle of the night! I get that it's picturesque, but call these people a cab! There's a neat shot of Bradon as a dancer at Juilliard to signify everyone reminiscing and preparing. When they get to Lincoln Center, the runway and all the audience chairs are already set up, which is pretty convenient.
Two hours until the finale. It's backstage at a big runway show, so there are models and wranglers everywhere. Tim tells Justin that one of his models broke her ankle, but there's a backup. That's not entirely reassuring. Alexandria is hovering over the hair and makeup people and getting on everyone's nerves. Justin's replacement model comes in, and he gets to work on her. He's concerned about his waistband coming down because she's not the exact perfect shape. Bradon asks his models to get their food out of his station, which is reasonable. They have coffee and tea, and all he can imagine is them spilling it on his clothes. And it happens! Coffee gets spilled all down the front of a blue charmeuse gown, and he tries blotting it with a napkin. He plaintively asks if anyone can help him, but his fellow designers are too busy. As Heidi and the judges take the runway, we see Bradon working with a hair dryer as Tim looks on.
Tim welcomes everyone to the finale as we see semi-celebrities and former contestants in the audience. Zac and Nina are here, and Kerry Washington will be the guest judge.
Justin comes out and explains that his collection is about his transition from being deaf to hearing. And he thanks Tim for saving him that time. And it's time! I'm not going to describe each individual look, because neither of us have time for me to do that for forty separate garments. The first few are all white with those 3-D printer accents, then some darker colors sneak in. It's pretty cohesive, although there are some hotpants that I do not approve of. It's very monochromatic, and it ends with the test tube dress, which I still love. It looks like his "Muse Model" is the one with the test tubes, which is a good call, since it's the only look I remember five seconds after it leaves the screen.
, Dom. Her collection is called "Retro Redux," which doesn't really mean anything. It's got lots of color, and I do see some Blade Runner influence. Zac is fascinated by either a purple pantsuit or a clear cape. The clothes do not all look the same, but they all look dramatic in a way that suggests the same designer, and I think that's a good thing. Her washable look is completely plausible. The unconventional materials dress is all metallic and weird, but it fits with what's come before. And the model's butt is visible, which entertains both Zac and Nina.
Alexandria just thanks people for coming. Her first look is the phone book dress, which is pretty daring. Then we're back to the usual Alexandria tropes. She claims that the details, craftsmanship, and the cut are "very now." No they're not. It just looks sloppy, even if it was carefully chosen. I kind of like the pocket-gloves, but I think I might be the only one in the world. Well, and Heidi. It's all whites and greys, but it's no more monochromatic than Justin's collection. I just don't like the shape of any of it.
Bradon tells everyone that his inspiration is "the first sign of Spring" and the first model looks like she's sticking out of a cupcake. The bottom of the skirt looks like a bed ruffle. But I like it! He's got a bit of color and a lot of hot pants. It doesn't feel cohesive to me. At least not on the scale of the other designers, where you could take any two looks of Alexandria's and they'd totally go together. This collection isn't bad, but I find it kind of boring.
The show is over! Naturally, we hear from Miss USA 2012 and various fashion stylists and costume designers. And Alyssa Milano, who starts hosting Project Runway All-Stars week.
Time for the judging, back at the Parsons runway. The models come out to stand by their designers, and I was wrong about Justin bringing out his test tube dress. He explains his collection again, adding that some people call him "the bionic man" because of his implant, which explains the high-tech 3-D printing. Kerry praises the sound-wave dress specifically. Nina liked how many different shapes Justin sent out while maintaining the same architecture, although she wanted two more "Wow!" looks.
Zac likes Bradon's inspiration coming from crocuses, although he thinks the first dress should have been white. He adds, "Your hand is expressive and abstract," which is probably a compliment. Nina praises Bradon's focus throughout the competition, although she found this collection a bit disjointed. So did I! High-five, Nina! Bradon claims he thought of these ten looks as a capsule of a much larger line, but Nina thinks that doesn't work.
Dom explains retrofuturism and refers to Judy Jetson. I love that. Nina found it very entertaining and liked that she didn't need to explain it with words (burn on Justin). Kerry just got here, so she's impressed with Dom doing her own prints. Everyone else just expects it from her. Zac liked everything but the bathing suit, which he admits is because the bathing suits at fashion shows are "usually for the straight dudes." Heidi thought the unconventional dress was stunning.
Alexandria says "Neo Nomadic Punk" and I roll my eyes. Then she explains that she made her dress out of phone books because there are too many phone books around and I'm back on board. She goes on about strong warrior girls, and Heidi really liked it. She says words like "young," "hip," and "now." Zac thought it was a successful show. Nina sounds a little reluctant, but she says she liked the show as well and thought it was very editorial. When she says, "We all, here, love your style," I do not believe her. Kerry likes how you could mix and match pieces from one look to another, and that's definitely true.
The models are dismissed, and now the designers are interrogated. Justin: why should you be the winner? Because he's deaf and hasn't won a challenge. Dom? Because this is her life and she'll turn it into something spectacular. Bradon? Because he used to be a dancer and cries. Alexandria? Because she's bankable and understands what girls want to wear. No she does not. I have conducted an informal survey of the women on the couch to me, and they would not wear Alexandria's nonsense. The designers are sent to the back room to stop crying (because they all were, not just Bradon) and now they have to just sit there and wait.
Close-up looks. Tim tells the judges that it's anyone's game. They're only doing close-ups on one model per designer. Justin's pants have pockets and a removable vest, and everybody's pleased with his point of view. Zac thinks Bradon has a strong voice, but he needs more experience. Nina reminds them of some of his cool dresses. Kerry marvels about Dom making her own prints, and the other judges explain how great Dom is with colors. When it comes to Alexandria's garment, Zac gets up to examine whether this construction is really so great. He reports that it's cleanly finished. Zac has Justin's model stand to Alexandria's so he can demonstrate how there's a dialogue between the two similar backs. Good eye, Zac! Kerry prefers Alexandria's fabrics. Tim decides their business is done, and the models are led out.
The models are back out. Heidi claims it was a very difficult decision. She praises each of the designers in turn, which is a nice thing to do. Bradon is the first person who is out. Sorry, Bradon. Nobody hates you! His family is waiting in the back room, which is nice. Justin is to be out. Sorry, Justin. His family consoles him.
It's down to Dom and Alexandria. I am rooting for Dom here. Like, a lot. I don't dislike Alexandria, but I do dislike her clothes. Heidi says, "Dom...congratulations. You are the winner of Project Runway." Yay! Alexandria is disappointed, which is perfectly reasonable. She's able to say that Dom is a good person and to give her congratulations, but her unhappiness is palpable.
Heidi reminds Dom that her prize is over $500,000. Nice! And she also seems to be a really nice person, which is always fun. Dom's family comes out onto the runway to hug her. Everybody's crying, even Heidi. Even Nina! Dom does a final interview where she reminds us that she's working two jobs, so this is really important to her. Tim and Dom's final model come out for final hugs, and we're out.
week: Reunion show! And also All-Stars!
Follow Monty on Twitter at @monty_ashley and read his blog, Mysterious Exhortations.