Project Runway Contestants Get Lost in the Supermarket

Tag : Fabric Bleach
Wowch. Were you paying attention last night? If you listened veryclosely, you could hear the gorgeous sound of exploding egos as Project Runway 's fifth season contestants were notified that they aren't quite asfabulous as they thought.
In the last season before the show makes its much-publicized jumpfrom Bravo to Lifetime, and in the first episode since lastseason's stellar roster of talent showed at Bryant Park inManhattan, just a handful of contestants showed the outrageousnessor creativity that has made the show such fun. Which should cause aslight amount of concern, since the first challenge last night wasone contestants have seen before: creating a look from $75 worth ofproducts from low-grade supermarket chain Gristedes, a repeat ofthe very first, and one of the most beloved, Project Runway challenges ever. This really should have been cake.
Even season one standout Austin Scarlett's (still Botox-y, still fabulous) reminder to contestants thatinnovation in their shopping choices—á la hismemorable corn-husk dress—would be the key to success, was tono avail. Scarlett's advice should have translated as don't buy something that's already a fabric , but at least five contestants (we lost count) then proceeded topurchase a tablecloth as their primary working material. Eventualloser (and, ahem, Radar pre-season favorite ) Jerry mixed it up just slightly by using a shower curtain. The choice ofmaterials was so uninspired, that later, during the sewing frenzyat Parsons, mentor Tim Gunn used negativity for the very first time , saying that with so many tablecloths in use, he was afraid thejudges were going to think the contestants were "all slackers."Gasp! Tim Gunn never uses such harsh language! (On the upside, the Radar Tim Gunn "Make It Work" Count (™) officially stands atthree.)
After the runway show, judges Scarlett, host and producer Heidi Klum, Michael Kors, and Elle 's newly minted editor-at-large Nina Garcia, seemed ho-hum. They spotted the standouts easily enough: Kelli was named the winner after all the judges concurred her coffee-,bleach- and dye-stained vacuum cleaner bag skirt and top of burntcoffee filters, thumb tacks, and metal notebook spiral, was bothwell-thought out and wearable. Finishing second, was Daniel , who melted bright blue Solo cups into an adorablesweetheart-necklined cocktail dress. Third, and representing thetablecloth contingent alone, was Korto , who was also the only contestant to use produce, spicing up herbright yellow tablecloth dress with a collar of kale and tomatoes.Though others made perfectly acceptable dresses, nothing stood outas particularly fabulous. Which made the the decidedly un-fabulousbottom three frocks easy to see.
First to be named safe was Blayne , a tanning addict trying desperately to coin the next Project Runway catchphrase (Girlicious? Holla at ya boy?) His outfit, which Klumcalled "Playboy bunny gone grunge," was finally deemed edgy andhideous, but good enough to pass. Rock-n-roll chick Stella just eked out a stay when her boring trash-bag dress was commendedas being just slightly better than Jerry's scary white ensemble,which Kors called "freaky" and Garcia said would be appropriate if"you were killing someone."
Overall, not a complete hot tranny mess, but definitely not fierce.We'll give a pass for this episode, but if season five wants tocome anywhere close to season four, they better "make it work," andfast.