Project Runway Season 10, Finale: It Might as Well Be Spring

Greetings!

And so it was down to four designers after all.

Oh, and judging by what most of the models were wearing, Spring, 2013 trends are black and white, leather jackets, and fringe.

Fringe?

Also, if things seem a bit...inconsistent, quality-wise, consider that these four had only five weeks to produce their collection.  That's THE SHORTEST TIME TO PRODUCE A FINAL COLLECTION IN PROJECT RUNWAY HISTORY.

If the producers can't see fit to give their designers sufficient time to produce a quality runway show, then why should I spend lots of time analyzing it?

We've got 40 looks to examine, so let's just get this over with.

Christopher

His inspiration was his mother's X-rays?

The print was...visually arresting, indeed.

 Leather shorts, black under sheer.....it's distinctive.

I was surprised there was no prudish commentary from Michael Kors about the first model's clear lack of undergarments.  His models were clearly going for a goth Spring look here.

Jackets...in black. Just the thing for spring!

Gown!  Got to end with a gown!

I totally disagreed with Michael when he said that this look belonged in a different collection.  There was plenty of cohesion, color-wise.  What was jarring was that this was the only gown and the only garment that featured ruffles.  

Christopher is brilliant when he had the time and clarity to produce a beautiful garment.  Does he have the vision and range to send out good collections or is he just limited to producing brilliant garments here and there?  Time will tell.

Melissa

Nothing says spring like jackets and dresses with a huge collars....

 Oh, look?  a bathing suit!  This must be a spring collection, no?

 The collection did have her strong point-of-view, that's for sure.

As she got toward the end, the collection lightened up significantly.

Until it ended with the worst and best looks of the collection.

I liked her clothes, don't get me wrong...but I didn't think this was the strongest Spring collection.  Clearly the most arresting dress was the red one she produced the day before the runway show.  It would have been nice to see pops of that color...or some color...throughout her show, besides the ones that were added haphazardly with accessories, but she simply didn't have that vision.

At this point, I'd like to say that once again this year, we had the judges look at previews of each collection.  Either Christopher and Melissa came away with the wrong messages or the judges didn't communicate the right ones.  To each of these two designers, I would have said, "I'm just not seeing 'Spring' here."

Dmitry

Springtime in Belarus.....

I love the idea of this dress...but I hate the execution.  It was too stiff, the fit was too loose and the hem was just an inch too long.  The illusion across the neckline was a bit too much as well.

I like the idea of the jacket and would have liked to have seen more cut-out works throughout, but that was it for the cut-outs.  The weird waistline of the pants didn't do a whole lot to flatter the model.  The sheer, black illusion fabric did even less.  Looking at the collection overall, I guess this was Dmitry's toss to a casual look...only, I can't see a casual event where this look would fit in.  My least favorite look...well, almost my least favorite look...

 I know Michael thought that that the yellow dress was boring.  I thought it was one of the most gorgeous dresses that walked the runway.  I would have liked to see more of this yellow interspersed throughout.  And I would have liked to see less of...

.....the ATTACK OF THE FRINGE MONSTER!

I'm simply not seeing the beauty of these two looks.  I would LOVE to see Nina wear what she thought was "one of the most beautiful dresses on the runway."  Go ahead, Nina!  I'd use some Photoshop magic here, but I really don't think that comment is worth any more of my time and effort.

I read the comment on another blog that said, "gorilla arms." Yes, nothing says Spring to me like fringy jacket sleeves and loud, chevron wool.

At this point, I should probably tell the less-informed that the judges declared Dmitry the big winner this season.

Really.

I have my theories, which I will share in a moment, but let's continue on.

 One-armed evening looks.

Can I say here, too, that judges have previously tossed out designers who did not show range?  I'm not seeing range with this collection.

At all.

Here comes the big finish.

Boom!  Bow down, you designers...my fringe is FIERCE!  And your bodice is tacky.

I was NOT IMPRESSED with this collection at all.   I thought that Dmitry had serious taste issues, but I was not on the panel that day, so who cares what I have to say.

Fabio

The ghost of Jay McCarroll and Anya Ayoung-Chee haunted this collection.

Everyone in the audience gasped a collective sigh of relief when these garments walked out.  Spring was finally here.

These looks were casual or dressy, depending on how you styled them.

Beautiful, flattering draping....cropped pants that didn't look matronly....

Pulling these two looks together and possibly adding a long sleeved jacket, would create a mix-and-match ensemble perfect for travel.  It had a multi-cultural feel to it.  Nothing was too gaudy, too tacky or too vulgar.

From modern elegance to casual elegance....this collection had a strong point of view and a fresh take on modern design.

However....

Here we have another self-taught, home sewer that dared to crash the big, fancy designer party.  The exchange between guest judge, Jennifer Hudson and Nina Garcia was the most revealing of all.  Nina asked what we could expect of Fabio in the future.  Jennifer countered that of all the designers, Fabio needed the win the most to jump start his design career.

That, was the death knell right there.  If you NEED Project Runway too much, you might not be deserving of the win, whether or not you answered the brief in the final collection.  Jay walked away from a fashion design career and is content to explore the fringes of the industry.  We'll see what Anya ends up doing, but so far, there's been no big splash.  It was as if they didn't want to send another unseasoned designer out there with a bunch of cash who only intended to spend it on past debts and nothing else.

They wanted a designer who could hit the ground running.

In my perfect dream world, I would love to see Jerell Scott or Epperson team up with Fabio Costa to produce modern, easy-to-wear clothes.  I would love to see more multi-culturalism explored and design that addresses problems that real women have, such as how do I look good post-pregnancy or what should I wear to still look cool after 60?  Dmitry will just give us expert tailoring and who knows what else.

I would have loved to have seen the judges take a risk with a designer willing to take a risk, but twas not to be.

As an aside, Crazy Elena Slivnyak won the fan favorite award.  This is interesting because had she not been booted off, I believe she would have won.  Her collection was fresh, spring-like, modern and had a very strong point of view.  Here are a few looks to close:

Oh well....It does make you wonder how many "I think Elena should have won" comments that the editors had to edit out of the final commentary montage.

Thus ends another season of Project Runway!