Project Runway - Season 10 Episode 1 - Recap - A Times Square Anniversary Party
Season 10 of Project Runway got underway July 19th with a whole new cast of designers and one of the biggest season launch events in the show's history.
Tim Gunn, Heidi Klum, Nina Garcia and the usual suspects are back this season. The guest judges for episode one were Project Runway's very first guest judge, costume designer Patricia Field and Gilmore Girls actress Lauren Graham.
In celebration of their ten years on the air, season ten kicked things off in style in the season's first challenge. The designers were tasked to bring in a design that they crafted at home and for their first elimination challenge they must create a second look that complements the one they made at home. They were given one day and $100 to complete the task. The most exciting part of the challenge was that all the designers got to show both of their looks at a fashion show in Times Square. Pretty sweet for week one!
As per usual, the sixteen designers of season ten have a variety of interesting and quirky personalities. There's always a bit of feuding and drama in the work room and season ten is no exception. Returning contestant Gunnar Deatherage, who was one of the four designers let go in week one of season 9, has already started a feud with Christopher Palu and seems to be gunning for this season's bitchy diva role. Meanwhile, Russian hottie Dmitry Sholokhov has slid into the egotistical elitist slot and is already bitching about the constant talking and wacky antics of fellow contestant Buffi Jashanmal.
If that's not enough for you, this year's cast also includes a "Freegan," a Japanese street wear designer and a chick that likes to put snakeskin on her clothes.
Results:
Top Three:
1. Melissa Fleiss - The judges were a bit concerned that with Melissa's love of black that they're going to be seeing the same thing every week, but they really loved both her designs and her styling this week. I liked both her looks, but I particularly liked the black dress with the leather jacket. I would actually love to wear that look.
2. Christopher Palu - The judges were very impressed with the fabric manipulation on both his looks, though they greatly preferred the look he did at home versus the "little black dress" that he did to complement it. I didn't like the black dress that much, but I agree with the judges that the other dress was beautiful. I really like his use of fabric manipulation to add detail. It is a nice change from the bedazzling, color blocking, crazy patterns, etc that designers often employ on this show. Not that there's anything wrong with those techniques, just it's nice to see something different.
3. Ven Budhu - It was no surprise to see Ven in the top three as he seemed to be a front runner both in the minds of the casting team and his fellow contestants, who all had praise for his at home design in the work room. The judges were blown away by Ven's skill in sculpting the bodice of his white suit and commented that his designs looked very well made and expensive. I agree that his clothes really look like something you would see in a high end store and his skill level is obvious, however his designs just don't do it for me. His designs seem a bit dated to me. I love the cut and fit, but I wouldn't wear them. His sensibilities seem to be geared a bit more towards ready to wear than runway.
Bottom Three:
1. Kooan Kosuke - Some of the judges liked Kooan's unique POV and kooky sense of style, but others were concerned that he isn't serious about designing and is only on the show to get attention. A fame whore on a reality show? Perish the thought! I'm not really sure how you even judge what Kooan does. His clothes are kind of interesting and totally made me think of those two cute Asian girls that randomly show up on the show Touch, but I really couldn't say if they're good or bad.
2. Lantie Foster - Lantie's looks were pretty much a hot mess. Her at home look wasn't as horrible as the one she did on the show, but they were both pretty terrible. The judges particularly didn't like the blocks of fabric she seems to use on the front of all her looks and the snakeskin on her second look in particular was criticized as looking "tacked on." Lantie was one of my least favorites from the audition footage and I thought both her looks were fugly. I don't like those blocks of fabric, particularly the snakeskin ones at all.
3. Beatrice Guapo - The judges didn't like the Navajo capelet at all and found her knit dress to be a bit on the plain side. They also didn't think it told them anything about Beatrice as a designer and weren't impressed that she didn't defend her work. I thought it was a cute little dress, but looked like something you could find on the rack at J.C. Penny.
Winner: Christopher Palu
Out: Beatrice Guapo
I expected Ven to get he win, but I loved Christopher's dress, so I was happy to see him get the victory. I was really surprised they let Beatrice go over Lantie, but I guess they were impressed by the fact that Lantie stood behind her designs, while Beatrice seemed a bit defeated. I'm glad Kooan didn't go on the first week. If he does the same thing every week, it will get old fast, but I'd like to see if he can do anything else.
I hope you have enjoyed the Episode one overview and join us later this week for our regular Project Runway recaps.
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Photo Credit: mylifetime.com