Project Runway is back! [WARNING: SPOILERS!]
And unless you read fashion blogs and/or have DVR, you probably wouldn't have known, due to the fact that Bravo is seriously phoning in the publicity this round. (Then again, can you blame them? The next installment of Project Runway--which will be filmed in L.A.--bows on [shudder] Lifetime.) While part of me thought it was cute that they started off with the same challenge as in the very first episode of PR, I was also thinking, have they already run out of ideas? It seemed a bit stale, too, because 3/4 of the designers used either a shower curtain or a tablecloth in their designs, and while I truly loved Karta's big yellow caftan, well, it wasn't too much of a stretch. Then again, it was leagues above auf-ed designer Jerry's shower-curtain-and-rubber-gloves ensemble--am I the only one who was reminded of Patrick Bateman's serial-killer ensemble in American Psycho? (Side note: Jerry is the designer of FORM, a truly innovative, luxurious line whose runway show I attended back in February. First of all, if you have enough funding to afford a fashion show, why the hell are you on a reality TV show? And, secondly, Bravo's Make Me a Supermodels walked in that show; was the network returning a favor by letting him be on Project Runway, or does Jerry just have a friend in high places?) I also really liked Daniel's plastic-cup dress, which, while a bit ill-fitting, nevertheless reminded me of Theirry Mugler. I think he and Marc Jacobs grad Wesley are going to be two strong contenders; Fashionista is placing bets on Jeremy Scott alum Emily; and my friend's cousin used to be BFF with Jennifer, and apparently she's quite talented. And while a Vivienne Westwood-Betsey Johnson hybrid doesn't exactly sound appealing to me, Kelli was incredibly innovative, and that counts for something.

As for designers who are bound to annoy the crap out of me, it so far appears to be a tie between Suede, who refers to himself in the third person, and Blayne, who admits to having a tanning-bed addiction and, I suspect, due to the sniffling and general hyperactivity, perhaps an addiction to some form of uppers. Both are vying for the bon-mot Christian Siriano role; I doubt either will come close. Joe is the token straight guy; there are a bunch of girls who all look like Williamsburg hipsters; and there's Stella, who maybe spent a little too much time on the Bowery back in the '80s, but whom I find endearing nonetheless.

But, really, I'm just looking forward to the point where, as shown in the previews, Tim Gunn compares one contestant's (I'm guessing Blayne) design to "a pterodactyl out of a gay Jurassic Park." Awesome.

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