As speedy as Christian was at the sewing machine, his fingers weren't the nimblest this week. Chris managed to knock out his "Cinderella couture" gown with nap time to spare. Yet Tim wondered if the frock was polished enough, and Christian snickered that it was both costumey and too similar to the avant-garde dress they'd made together a few weeks before. I had the same thought myself — as did Heidi, Michael, and Nina. Lucky for Chris, Cavalli hadn't been around for that challenge, and he went gaga for the iridescent design. It was worthy of the Paris haute couture shows! It was the only piece that truly felt like art! It had drama! Of course, it took me a minute to realize Cavalli was actually saying all these kind words in English. When the subtitles popped up, for a moment there I felt like I was watching some Dieter-like European talk show where those not wearing black turtlenecks are tarred and feather boa-ed.
Cavalli also dug Jillian — enough to practically offer her a job right there during the elimination round. (Hey, girl, go for it. If glam is your game, Cavalli's a step up from Ralph Lauren.) When he told her, "I-a like-a vedy much-a," I was praying she'd ditch the meekness and for once go all nutty with a reply along the lines of, "Oh, a-thank-a you-a, signore! I am-a e-such a e-huge-a fan of a-you-a! Thanks-a to you-a and your-a e-big a-mouth-a, we all a-knew-a that a-J. Lo was a-with a-child-a!"
Jillian's goal in designing her gold mini-dress and black jacket was to show an edgy side. But clearly, she had Heidi at hello, what with all those shiny things. "I was like, woooo!" said Frau Klum. Oh, Heidi. Sometimes you make it too easy to make model jokes.
As for Sweet P, I was surprised the judges didn't enact a more vicious takedown. Her design was supposed to be inspired by peacock feathers, but the only bird I saw was sitting on the model's head. The dress, a silky number with a distracting orange landing-strip panel cutting through the center, had no drama, no vision, no showmanship. It was simply a nice enough dress for the commercial market. (Not that there's anything wrong with that, Nina insisted.) And so the judges gave her the boot. It was an obvious and deserved ouster. But I felt sorry for our resident biker babe when the remaining contestants came together in a hug-huddle and she just stood there tearily, on the outside of the circle for good.
A final thought before signing off. Is there not a certain bogusness to all the talk of which contestants are going to Bryant Park and which aren't? By now, most of you know who presented collections last week. (If you don't know and want to, here's my report.) I wonder, aside from the possibility of winning the money, the Saturn, and all that other stuff promised to the victor, is there really much of a difference between showing as a true finalist and as a decoy? Strictly in terms of exposure, my hunch is, there is not.
Other questions: How do you feel about the decision to keep both Rami and Chris? Do you agree with Heidi when she says Jillian "has balls"? And did you enjoy Chris' bon mot about the ancient Temple of Dendur: "Look! Joan Rivers carved her initials in here when she was a little girl"?
More Project Runway: See Jessica Shaw's exit Q&A with Sweet P
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