By Esme Mazzeo, Staff Writer
The sixth season of "Project Runway," wrapped on November 19, after an unnecessary two-part anti-climactic finale.
Once in New York, the ladies were asked to design the thirteenth look with the help of one of the three most recently cast-off contestants. Carole Hannah made a deep green, Grecian inspired off-the-shoulder dress amid bouts of nausea, Althea put together a khaki pant and jacket outfit that looked quite cozy, and Irina did a black dress with interweaving fabrics which she put on her model muse, Kalyn Hemphill. Besides Carole Hannah's sickness and the played out "Knit-wars" between Althea and Irina, the most promising bit of drama we were promised was a Gunn melt-down, but while I was hoping for a lot of flailing and maybe a little bit of hyperventilating, Lifetime's definition of "losing it" is apparently a hand on the chin and a firm monotone.
As far as the collections go, any diligent viewer of this season could have told you a month ago that Irena was going to win. Her collection was by far the most cohesive, and was quite well made, but also very dull. She didn't do any experimenting with color, and placed all models in these hats that were supposedly following the theme of "shielding and protecting oneself in a tough city," but they looked a lot like equestrian helmets. The highlight of the collection was the hand-made t-shirts, which were young and fun.
However, when you think high-fashion, you don't often think "t-shirt". Althea also experimented with impressive knits, but her clothes did not seem to follow the desired "futuristic" theme at all. She also did not experiment much with color, but her work with separates made the line strong and possibly the most commercial friendly line of all three. Carole Hannah's line was the most innovative and daring. She played the most with color and structure, her two most memorable pieces being a tutu inspired show dress and a white, black and grey silk dress with a spirited shape.
Irina was, without a doubt, the most seasoned designer of the three, and her collection was well put-together and presented. Yet, if the judges wanted to add a bit of shock to this rather boring season, Carole Hannah was the obvious second choice, with her bright, youthful designs. These three women were all deserving of the finale, but nothing produced was unexpected or over the top, which "Runway" has been known for in. Lifetime January 14.
Tim Gunn and Heidi Klum host the Project Runway finale show. (Photo Courtesy of personalmoneystore.com)