As Tim Gunn would say, the designers of "Project Runway" made it work. Following a disastrous season in Los Angeles, Lifetime finally emulated some of Bravo's charm and brought the seventh season back to New York City with a cast of mostly memorable and talented designers whose quick tongues and designs made the show worth watching.
Back in New York, Michael Kors and Nina Garcia — two of the three head judges along with Heidi Klum — returned to their seats. While an array of Hollywood's royalty bedazzled TV screens last season as guest judges, viewers longed for the comfort of Kors' and Garcia's faces and the daring wit of their words. When it came time for last season's judges to pick a winner, they barely knew who was competing.
Conversely, this season is filled with Kors' quirky lines like, "She literally looks like she got caught in a tornado of toilet paper." His amusing analogies, Klum's hilarious comments and Gunn's sophisticated vocabulary create an entertaining repartee.
"Project Runway" is at its strongest when the show challenges designers to explore art as opposed to fashion. It is one thing to ask the designers to create and another to inspire them to do so. Challenging a designer to create a dress for someone — as was asked twice for Klum — does not push the designers out of their comfort zones, as they often create garments that have been made before, perhaps performing their twist on a previously conceived notion.
The challenge in the seventh episode encouraged the designers to think outside of the box. Using unconventional materials, all of which had to be purchased from the hardware store, the designers were forced to experiment and reconstruct the way that they designed. As a result, the garments were innovative, with challenge winner Jay Sario whipping up a gorgeous shirt and pants made out of garbage bags. This challenge, among others, allowed viewers to see the strongest designers' visions.
The finale at New York's Fashion Week in Bryant Park did not disappoint. While fans may have wished that the pioneering Sario had moved forward to the finale rather than the sometimes-mundane, black-and-white Mila Hermanovski, Hermanovski delivered a crisp and wearable collection. However, her collection is bland when compared to Emilio Sosa and Seth Aaron Henderson's innovative designs.
The two finalists, Sosa a confident Dominican who was undoubtedly the front-runner entering the finals and Henderson a father of two from San Diego, both have extremely strong style aesthetics. This resulted in two powerful collections. Sosa turned commercial, delivering labeled clothing, color jackets and cute skirts. What saved him was a stunning, green floor-length gown at the end of his collection. As the only knockout piece and full dress of the show, it came as a pleasant and exciting surprise to viewers.
Henderson took the other route, pushing his rock star aesthetics further and creating a military-inspired collection. His clear vision left the middle school Goth in Henderson fans wanting to wear everything from his collection, and his edgy style and innovation earned him his eventual victory over Sosa.
Overall, this season of "Project Runway" was the perfect creative release from some of the other mindless shows on television. The contestants were talented, the judges were humorously critical, and the challenges kept both viewers and contestants on their toes. The switch from Bravo to Lifetime had been anything but smooth, reverting the show back to the instability illustrated in the first season. Lifetime is, however, increasingly improving. Though this season was not as great as some of those on Bravo, it was a large leap in the right direction.
One thing is sure: it's too soon to say "Auf Wiedersehen" to "Project Runway."
