PROJECT RUNWAY Recap: Season Premiere

A few minutes into last night’s premiere of PROJECT RUNWAY I let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding. As a long time fan of the fashion forward show, I was a wee bit worried that the move from Bravo to Lifetime (and the all the drama that came with that move) would somehow seep through into the show and affect my enjoyment. But all it took was a few minutes to know that everything felt just right. Despite the move from New York to L.A., everything was business as usual.  Everyone was ready to make it work.

This season’s designers are definitely an interesting coterie of fashionistas. One episode in and I’m already set to auf Wiedersehen a few of them. The egos – yikes – how do they walk down the street and not trip over their perceived greatness? Confidence is important but some of these cats act like their clothing will cure diseases. And as is often the case, bravado is often a mask for insecurity. While some designers earned their praise, others really need to bring the attitude down and their aesthetic up.

Being the first show of the new season, the drama was kept relatively in check. Everyone was relatively well behaved and the claws stayed firmly intact tonight. But it was obvious early on that we might have another Ricky from S4 on our hands if Johnny can’t pull it together. With all due respect to his former crystal meth addiction, I better not be hearing about it all season long. The guy hadn’t even started constructing his design when he broke down in tears and needed the shoulder of Tim Gunn. If he thinks day one is overwhelming, I’m not sure he’s going to make it very far in the competition.

Walking away from the drama, and moving towards the runway, we saw an amazing display of talent tonight. As I say every season, I’m about as far away from fashion forward as you can get. Give me jeans and a hoodie and I’m happy. Pair those with some heels and I’m damn near dressed up. But for the most part I can appreciate the creativity of the show. I don’t always see eye-to-eye with the judges, but I usually given them the benefit of the doubt when it comes to some of the more avant garde pieces. Because really, what do I know? Surely not as much as judges Heidi Klum, Michael Kors, Nina Garcia or guest-judge Lindsay Lohan. Oh wait, I might know more about fashion than La Lohan. The girl put out a line of fashion leggings – enough said.

Here are the 16 red runway looks from last night, with my take on each below.

• Althea gave us a silky, halter dress with some feather-like embellishment at the top. I thought the silhouette was pretty but I didn’t think the dress was all that impressive. That icy blue/gray color would have never popped on the red carpet. I thought it looked more like a pretty nightgown than a red carpet dress.

• I’m surprised Lindsay didn’t give more love to Ari, as the designer was a dead ringer for Lindsay main squeeze, Samantha Ronson. Ari’s space like top paired with jean shorts certainly got my attention, but not in a good way. Why she chose this as her piece to introduce herself to the show is beyond me. She later said that risk needs to come with responsibility – something ever designer should consider moving forward.

• Carol Hannah gave us this flowy tan creation with a fitted bodice. I didn’t get it. I actually thought it was hideous. I suppose the craftsmanship was there, but I couldn’t see anyone wearing this gown down a red carpet without landing on someone’s WTF list.

• Christopher, the only designer without any kind of formal design education, gave us a fabulous look that was young hip, but still sophisticated. I saw his dress come down the runway and I immediately thought of at least ten starlets that could really make a statement by walking the red carpet in this design. No, not you Lindsay. You have a way to make even pretty clothes trashy.

• Epperson gave us a stunning formal gown that felt more fashion week than red carpet but I didn’t mind. I thought it was innovative and classy but very modern at the same time. It didn’t scream Academy Awards but maybe the Met’s Costume Gala, or Cannes. This was one of my favorite looks of the night.

• Gordana went for a red carpet look that would have been fabulous for any young actress looking to make a fashion statement but without taking too much of a risk. The top of the dress felt very geometric and interesting. The blue/teal overlay added a certain freshness to the dress that really came off well on the runway tonight. And I don’t know if I was influenced by the model or not, but I totally saw this dress being warn at the Emmys by Becki Newton of UGLY BETTY.

• Irina gave us a romantic, lacy, flowy design. The top part of the dress was stunning. There lace had such intricate design. I wish I knew whether or not she bought the fabric like that or if she put in the work to create the little embellishments. The bottom of the dress was very beautiful as well, and it really complimented the fitted top. However, I didn’t like where the top and bottom came together. Not to be crass, but it totally drew your eye right now to the model’s crotch. Had the lace extended down the hip a bit more I think it would have worked better.

• The judges really praised Johnny‘s siren red dress. Well, they didn’t like that it was red, but they did like the design. I thought the open back was very sexy, but I thought the dress as a whole was a little too shapeless for my liking. But it was different and edgy so I’ll give him that. But he better stop crying or I won’t be so forgiving next time.

• Zzzzz…Zzzzz. Oh sorry, I must have dozed off while Logan‘s dress took to the runway. There was nothing interesting about this red carpet ensemble. I can’t believe the judges didn’t put him in the bottom group. First off, there was nothing we haven’t seen before. Hell, I could walk into the JC Penney and find this dress in the prom dress section. Ok, clearly I’m pulling a Johnny and being a bit over dramatic, but I just wasn’t a fan. I’ll give him props for trying to be cool by adding incorporating the leather and the zipper, but it still felt desperate to me.

• I thought Louise’s dress was classic but with a very current edge to it. As she said on the show, her attempt at a two-tone look really did get washed out with the lights, but I thought the dress was really interesting all the same. I wasn’t madly in love with the bubblesque bottom, but it worked with the rest of the dress.

• Remember earlier when I was talking about ego? Yeah, I was really talking about Malvin. Sister needs to shut her mouth! Honestly, all he did was talk about no would could describe his clothing…there are no words. Well I have one for you. How about “boring”?! Or another one…”bland”! Should I keep going? Ok, I’m being overly harsh, I know. But this dress didn’t feel red carpet to me. The color was awful and I think it took away from some of the nice choices he made with the pleats at the top. But even in a different color, I don’t think this would be a red carpet dress.

• Someone is looking out for Mitchell in a big way. He sent a hideous, see-thru dress down the runway, and the guy still made the cut tonight. He started off well with an intricately constructed dress (that I didn’t love but I could appreciate). But when the models arrived for their fittings it seemed that his model was bigger than the measurements provided. He was all about shifting the blame. I say that as a designer he should have known better and planned accordingly. With two hours left before the runway show, Mitchell had only a color of a dress. He basically draped pieces of transparent fabric over the model, attached the collar and sent her down the runway. That’s fashion I guess.

• Nicolas was another one that could survive on an island alone if all he had to eat was his ego. Ugh. His black mini-dress was okay. It certainly didn’t grab my attention. It wouldn’t grab anyone’s attention on the red carpet, but it wouldn’t land anyone on the worst dressed list. He played it very safe this week and as a result I have no idea what his point of view as a designer is. I guess I’ll have to keep watching.

• I felt like I saw where Qristyl was trying to go with her dress, but she didn’t quite get there. I didn’t hate the concept as much as the judges did, but I see why she was in the bottom group last night. I liked that she took the risk with the color. It felt modern and fresh, but it didn’t come together nearly as well as I hoped it would have.

• Ra’mon gave us a true red carpet stunner. I thought this dress was incredibly designed and crafted. There were interesting touches that made this classic silhouette look a bit more modern and relevant (stop – who am I?). I agreed with the judges that the color wasn’t all that exciting, but certainly forgivable. He was right up there are the top of my favorites for the night.

• And finally, there was Shirin who gave us a short slip dress with an attached capelet that when unbuttoned became part of the dress. Huh? Exactly. It was a cute enough dress, but I think that she tried to impress the judges with her innovation and didn’t make much of a statement with the design itself.

The Winner…
Of the sixteen looks that took to the runway tonight, it was Christopher’s short, edgy dress that the judges (and me) liked the best. I think it was an important win for Chris. He clearly needed to prove himself to his peers…or rather he thought he had to.

Auf Wiedersehen…
In the end, it was Samantha Ronson’s, um I mean Ari’s out there style that sent her packing. No tears from me. She was a bit too out there for me. And she didn’t sketch? What?!

My Runway…

• Favorites: Christopher, Epperson, Gordana, Ra’mon, Louise
• Safe List: Althrea, Irina, Johnny, Qristyal, Nicholas, Shirin
• Bottom: Mitchell, Malvin, Logan, Carol Hannah, Ari

So that’s that. The first runway show of the all new season of PROJECT RUNWAY. Favorites? Fashion disasters? Have any designers caught your attention – in a good or bad way?