As I embarked on the 8th season of Project Runway, I did what I often tend to do: I picked my favorite before knowing an ounce about her designing prowess. I liked McKell from the start; she was cute, reminded me of Keri Russell and she even had a baby at home, my favorite things in a reality show contestant. Recently I’ve noticed that my choice is somewhat a kiss of death for my superficially favorite contestants, and poor McKell was booted before the season “technically” began.
That’s right, in usual Project Runway style we began with a twist (and by twist, I of course mean something that’s mildly interesting…made only slightly more dramatic with some intense music.) The first challenge was still part of the auditioning phase. There were 17 contestants and at least one would be going home without even unpacking their suitcase.
This week’s challenge? Incorporate an item straight from your suitcase. Oh wait, twist time. Incorporate an item from the person on your left’s suitcase. Shocking. And with that, our contestants had merely five hours to work at their stations that were decked out with some fancy gadgets from HP/Intel. (Love the product placement.)
As usual there were some stunning designs, some mediocre ones and some WTF moments. There’s the signature oddball (Mondo), the token “old” lady (Peach) and the foreign dude with questionable taste (Casanova). So far, I like these contestants a lot, but it’s only the first episode and the drama hasn’t kicked in yet.
After the runway show, Gretchen from Portland, Oregon was declared the winner. Ten other contestants were safe, and six remained on stage… the bottom six. They were torn apart by the judges, including guest judge Selma Blair, but in the end McKell was the only one to get the heave-ho. She was kicked off instead of Jason who turned a kimono backwards, Casanova who created a pole dancer’s ensemble and Ivy who took pants and made…pants. What on earth were the judges thinking? And, I’m not just saying this because she was my favorite. Ah, well. At least McKell can go be with her baby. Auf Wiedersehen!
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Jen Abidor is a rising senior at Brandeis University, studying American Studies, Journalism and Film. She loves to entertain, be entertained and write about entertainment. Check out her writing on jaclips.blogspot.com