'Project Runway': Tim Gunn Tells All
Travelin' Tim Gunn steps into the gleaming Silverlake studio of Rami Kashou, surveys his risky pieces, and suddenly it isn't hard to imagine that Rami will -- by episode's end -- edge Costume Chris March by a hair. Little could we predict, however, that it would be by a *human* hair.
This week brings what Costume Chris dubs a "three-piece walkoff" between himself and Rami, with the night's winner advancing to New York Fashion Week against Christian and Jillian. Chris's comical "walkoff" phrasing summons images of "Zoolander"-esque drama. But wait: Chris's collection sports Actual Human Hair -- dark, glossy and creepy, as if these sprigs had been snipped from Ben Stiller/Derek Zoolander's own "Goth Chia pet" noggin.
No need to gag, though, because Travelin' Tim has already convulsed for us. (Tim, we should note, hasn't gacked so reflexively since he backpedaled from pet-turtle poop in the tyke-happy home of Laura Bennett.)
For a full report on the episode, click HERE. But before recapping, we step back to acknowledge: This has become the Love-In Season -- the year in which relative bonhomie has prevailed and nothing has gotten as down-and-dirty as Santino-vs.-Chloe, or Jeffrey-vs.-The-Mom, of seasons past. Don't believe us? Well, listen to Tim Gunn's take on Season 4 . . .
Tim called "Channel This" this week to discuss the season's designers, his take on the show's Bryant Park collections and how, he says, Victorya mistakenly believed that the show "cheats" the details and fudges the time-frame for competition.
TIM GUNN ON . . .
WHY THIS SEASON IS HIS FAVORITE: "In terms of design, we've never had a stronger season. I'm so proud of it. My own point-of-view, in terms of story and characteristics of designers: It's my favorite. It's the level of dialogue and execution . . . the discussion about design content. We really have a deeper relationship with the designers [this season]. It's about THEM. I got to know them, and . . . I feel closer to them than [in] some of the other seasons."
WHY HE'S GLAD HE DOESN'T HAVE A VOTE AT BRYANT PARK: "I'm so grateful I'm not a judge. I'd *still* be in deliberation. It was going to be a matter of taste -- depending on how the judges were feeilng that day . . . what they had for breakfast. The work was superbly, superbly executed. . . . Each had a very particular point of view -- it was not a porridge of random parts. It was a palpable point of view."
ON TRYING TO PREDICT HOW THE JUDGES WOULD VOTE THROUGHOUT THE SEASON: "I was never totally confident about what the judging would be. One challenge, [on] the morning of the judging, I said: 'Well, it's too bad it's obvious who's going home': It was Ricky and the Levi's challenge. Ricky's design was just this tube with a few grommets. But the judges resonated positively to it. I was stunned. Be assured, there is no interference with the judges."
ON VICTORYA, WHO HE SAYS MISTAKENLY THOUGHT THE SHOW ALLOWED MORE TIME FOR DESIGN CHALLENGES: Her situation "was rather unique. We had to have two off-camera interventions. She was a crabby-appleton. She was so sour and dour and bringing the production down. . . . She said: 'I never dreamed it would be like this. I thought we would have breaks. I thought you cheated it!' "
And, finally, Tim Gunn's own picks in the inaugural "Channel This" GUNNY AWARDS:
BEST WINNING DESIGN: The Chris-Christian collaboration.
MOST GRACIOUS BUH-BYE: Steven.
THE SANTINO RICE TRASH-TALK AWARD: Christian.
BEST DESIGN CHALLENGE: The Hershey's candy challenge.
MOST UNDERRATED DESIGNERS: Simone, Carmen and Marion -- "I was sorry we saw less of them."
THE EPISODE RECAP:
Heidi emerges from behind the "PR" scrim looking even more stunning than she did on the Oscars red carpet. The first contestant's face we see in closeup is Chris March's, and we wonder: Does that we mean he's the one we'll see Auf'd tonight? (Is it just us, or: Throughout the season, did the first contestant pictured closeup in each episode often emerge as the challenge's winner or loser?)
The finalists -- Chris, Christian, Jillian and Rami -- each have $8K to spend to create 12 pieces for Fashion Week.
Travelin' Tim visits Christian in NY, with six weeks to go till Bryant Park. Good thing Christian's a waif, because his apartment is Lillliputian and to awake each morn, he must literally come out of the (converted) closet. Tim advises him "to bring an editing eye" to his collection, avoid the costume-y and to "work hard, think harder."
Next up in NY is Jillian. Tim takes a liking to the "femininity-plus-strength" pieces (despite the cloudy-day palette) before he dines with J's fam and hears tales of Mom's visiting a clairvoyant. Apparently Jillian's fame is in the cards -- or at least in the sparkle of Mom's eyes.
Tim then whisks off to Rami's place in LA. Rami, who was born in Jerusalem and whose mom died when he was 5, has the most poignant video backstory. Rami's inspiration for his collection is Joan of Arc, and darned if one of the wall images of her doesn't bear more than a passing resemblance to . . . Jillian. Tim has issues with Rami's nonflowing, "hammered-and-nailed" pieces, and Rami still has issues with the showdown vs. Chris for Fashion Week's third and final slot.
Lastly, to Chris's place in NY -- and his neighbor's Versailles-meets-Sistine-Chapel-meets-a-baroque-TGIFriday's apartment. Tim is aghast at the hair that sprouts out of Chris's designs. Quick, someone get a razor-wielding salonist over to this "Monkey House" (Tim's metaphor) stat.
Finally, the result of the Rami vs. Chris Three-Piece Walkoff: Both designers send dark, "dramatic" pieces down the runway. Rami's draped dress wins judges' raves, and Chris's painstaking detailwork (not only in hair but in sheets of black safety pins) turns heads and perhaps stomachs. The clincher, though, are the speechs: Rami says he's had a sense of his vision about being a designer since he was a small boy; Chris, on the other hand, says his head might explode if he's sent to Fashion Week. Sorry, wrong answer.
Rami advances, the season's relative Love-In continues, and the last sound we hear as the workroom light fades to black is Chris's piercing laugh. In fact, above the hum of our computer, we think we hear it still.
-- MICHAEL CAVNA
By Michael Cavna |
February 28, 2008; 9:55 AM ET
Project Runway
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Posted by: JobMom | February 28, 2008 10:33 AM
I LOVED Chris' designs! I thought for sure the judges would think outside the freakin' box for once and give Chris a shot. I was majorly bummed Rami got the nod instead of La March. Almost made me wanna pull a Britney and shave my head!
Posted by: hair today gone tomorrow | February 28, 2008 10:50 AM
I really thought both their designs were very nice. I honestly thought that the judges were going to call a tie and let them both show at Fashion Week (though we know both Chris and Sweet Pea did due to the broadcast date of the finale) I think being able to see both entire collections would have given them a better understanding of the designers.
Posted by: Falls Church | February 28, 2008 11:44 AM
I loved loved loved Chris and his original designs last night... why'd the judges have to go with boring Rami? Also, loved the human hair--so shiny, so bouncy, so mysterious... at least he had the opportunity to showcase his collection at Bryant Park.
Posted by: angelomer683 | February 28, 2008 11:56 AM
When I first saw the human hair on Chris' outfits, I thought that was too odd. But on the runway the clothes looked fantastic. I too thought they would call it a tie.
What's funny is that people think putting human hair on clothes is revolting, but putting fur, or goat hair, as Heidi said, is just fine. What am I missing?
Posted by: | February 28, 2008 12:03 PM
Don't models wear human hair all the time? Usually as wigs or extensions, but it's still human hair. I mean, Chris didn't collect it from shower drains or barber shop floors, right?!
Posted by: Kurt B. | February 28, 2008 07:45 PM
I don't get the revulsion to human hair, either - as others have said, animal hair and feathers are used in fashion all the time, and models wear wigs and extensions made of human hair all the time. How can you object to Chris's hair trim, but not Christian's feather pants?
Posted by: Angela | February 29, 2008 01:21 PM
I LOVED Chris' designs! I thought for sure the judges would think outside the freakin' box for once and give Chris a shot.wow gold I was majorly bummed Rami got the nod instead of La March. Almost made me wanna pull a Britney and shave my head!
Posted by: strong | March 12, 2008 10:13 AM
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Did anyone NOT know the winner of the walkoff would be Rami? I mean, if the whole season didn't give you a clue (judges' pet!), the dead mommy story was a flashing neon arrow pointing at the winner.