but last weekend was Project Runway Weekend.... And TO CLARIFY AGAIN THIS YEAR, THE FINALE HAS BEEN TAPED BUT WILL NOT BE SHOWN FOR WEEKS
Anyway ... Looks Like Leanne gets my vote, but I woldn't feel bad if Korto wins. I'm with the reporter - there really was no competition from the others...
Salon reports
Six contestants sent their designs down the runway: Jerell, Suede, Joe, Kenley, Korto and Leanne. You can see snippets of all of them in our video, though it's likely that only four of those will make it to your TV screen. (In previous years the show has faked out Fashion Week audiences by including designers who are no longer in contention for the prize, because the episodes with their eliminations have not yet aired.)
Jerell jogs out first, giddy with excitement as he thanks his mother, sister, boyfriend and cousin. But nobody else seems all that giddy as his models strut down the runway festooned with the gawdiest dresses this side of Dollywood.
Up next is Suede, initially a favorite of mine [*** HATE HIM!!!, GT12 ***], despite his bizarre trait of constantly referring to himself in the third person....."Suede's going to rock it!"
I suppose it depends on your definition of "rocking it" -- but mine doesn't include pastel plaid gowns with puffy removable aprons, or pale turquoise dresses more suitable for a suburban teen prom ....
Jerell and Suede have set the bar pretty low, which is lucky for the next designer, Joe. ..."American: western, motorcycles, rock 'n' roll." And indeed, out come models dressed in brown leather bodice and skintight jeans, or denim zip-up corset with skintight leather pants, or leather bodice paired with a red silk skirt -- all with a bombastic techno soundtrack to set the utterly confused and uninspired mood.
...Kenley zips onto the runway next with green feathers poking out of her head. Although ... initially one of the darlings of the season, she has increasingly been ... obnoxious, gabby, self-satisfied... But on the runway it's all about the clothes, ....her final gown -- a delicate ivory confection with a skirt made of feathers -- is gorgeous, harking back to the vintage couture that she loves to reference on the show.
...Korto's green and gold clothes, inspired by Africa and Arkansas (she likes to remind us that she was a refugee from Liberia), are strong, bright and subtly innovative. If you've admired her work on the show, you'll like her collection well enough. The shapes feel unusual but wearable, slouchy and asymmetrical in all the right places. As we already know, Korto is a whiz with pleats -- often there are folds moving in multiple directions, but nothing looks overtly experimental or fussy.
Last up is Leanne, a former graphic designer who jumped from selling her fashions online at Etsy to national fame on "Project Runway." A dead ringer for indie rock goddess Cat Power, Leanne seems to get lost on her way to the runway and comes stumbling out with rumpled hair, geeky glasses and a slightly sheepish grin. But there is nothing amateurish about her designs: Every piece is surprising and lovely. A structural white sleeveless blouse seems to hover in midair -- a cloud rather than a shirt. Blue leaves of fabric flutter gently on another blouse, balanced by tailored white pants. Skirts resemble Calder mobiles in their fluidity and complexity. It's the same style Leanne has been peddling all season, but it has come together as a perfect culmination of her work: a real collection.
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