It’s time for the Finale of this hot mess of a season. Thanks so much for not spoiling me. Sorry it has taken me so long to get to this recap. I sort of ran out of steam and frankly needed some sleep! I’m just happy Ken made it to the finale. I am happy with any of these three winning. They were my favorites from the start just based on personality. These three only have four days and three thousand dollars in spending money to make EIGHT LOOKS! One look has to be menswear. They are not going to make this easy.
One of my favorite people lives in NYC and because I am memory challenged, I am constantly asking for explanations of the whole uptown, downtown, midtown thing. It never makes any sense to me. The only thing I really get is that the Upper East Side is full of super rich ladies who lunch.
The Workroom
Dom is painting her own prints. Because of course she is. Ken is a little bit out of his element with the menswear look. Kini is going all out with color and shape.
On day two, Dom arrives to find that her dress form has fallen over into her painted leather fabric. Ken’s collection is black and white with one bright yellow statement piece in his collection. Except he is thinking of tossing it. Kini wants this win so bad he is nearly in tears. Considering how many times he didn’t win when he should have and how many times Dom won when she should not have, I am sort of pulling for a Kini win at this point. Then Kini starts mentioning denim again. Kini is so obsessed with denim.
Zanna comes in with terrible advice as usual. She encourages Ken to put the yellow back in his collection. That might be a good idea for some other designer, but not for my Ken. This yellow fabric is going to be why Ken loses and hopefully Kini wins. Everyone gets a designer to help them for 18 hours. They are all helpful with no sabotages.
On day three, Kini of all people feels like he is behind. I am not a fan of Dom’s prints. But the judges always love them. Ken’s workroom mentor did not leave enough seam allowance in her pants and they are too small. Everyone is running out of time. I agree with Ken that Kini’s looks are very “Dynasty 1988.” Just seeing things done on the hangers, Ken’s collection is much more my esthetic. I’m a solids and neutrals kind of gal, I have enough drama without needing my wardrobe to add any.
Debra Messing, whom I love, or used to until I saw this WWHL episode, is a guest judge. But there is also someone named Ann Fulenwider. That’s right, an editor in chief of Marie Claire has a last name that is pronounced Full and Wider. I can’t.
Dom’s Collection
Her first look is hideous. Her men’s look is ridiculous. The looks that were not prints on prints on prints were fine. But this is one of the more ridiculous collections in the history of Project Runway. I do not want her to win. She has some cute pants mixed in there, but damn this is bad.
Ken’s Collection
Amazing. How the hell does that first model have thigh gap in a very wide legged pant? Every look is amazing. And as soon as I am thinking that he is going to be told all he made was a (gorgeous) collection of LBDs, out comes the yellow and it is incredible. That dark skinned model in the long yellow dress is everything. I really want him to win now.
Kini’s Collection
Kini’s looks are great. His menswear look is heads above the rest. His weird shiny metallic plaid dresses don’t look Dynasty at all, they are all short and youthful looking. The construction seems to be fabulous as usual. There is one dress with a huge bow at the neck that I think he kept too long. For me, it should have been longer or shorter. His last look is floor length so there is a logical lowering of the hemline., even if it does look kind of weird on the middle models. His final look is also print on print done the right way, in that it looks meant to wear together. That was a lot to do in four days. I could see him winning. At this point It’s a hard call between Kini and Ken for me.
The Judges
The judges start with Dom’s looks. Georgina didn’t love it. Like me, they concentrate their praise on the black looks and the first print. They do not like the striped print. Hopefully she didn’t win, but they do try to trick us.
Ken is sweating like Jax Taylor on a ski slope. Isaac says a lot of nice things. He criticized the fit of one of the crop tops. The problem with the fit, to my eye at least, is that the model needed a bra. Or he needed a model with smaller breasts. Everyone is giving a lot of praise except the full and wide bitch. Everyone praised the hell out of his first look and she says the top looks like it came out of a mall in New Jersey. I knew I hated this woman, just from her name. She’s giving me a New Jersey impersonation of the Anna Wintour character in Devil Wears Prada. She was HORRIBLE to Ken. Thank God that Alyssa goes last. She’s a Ken fan and has been all season.
Kini has the best fake story about his inspiration. While everything else said basically, “um so there are a lot of tall buildings here.” Kini said he saw the gridlines and that inspired his use of plaid. It’s bullshit. But it’s good bullshit. Alyssa loves the collection. Isaac says he would have changed the length on some of the dresses. For example, the one I assumed was floor length was not. But how would I know? They barely let us see the runway! Debra states the obvious saying that Kini’s menswear is the best by far. The fat and wide broad says terrible things about Kini’s designs being stuck in the 80s. Because bitch.
They announce third place and I am saying “Don’t say Ken! Don’t say Ken!” And so they say Ken. Why? Because big and wideass says that he is “too commercial” because every woman would want or has his pieces in their closet. Excuse me, but isn’t the biggest compliment the female judges ever give “I want to wear that?” It’s not “Wow that really took some risks!” I hate these people.
OMG. Kini was ROBBED AGAIN! This show is just stupid. I have nothing more to say other than, “I’m glad it’s over.”
I’m with you….Once again, Dom should not have won. Her outfits were horribly sown, poorly fit, and overall ugly. I loved every piece of Ken’s collection…especially the piece they thought shouldn’t be in the collection….guess what, asshats, some women don’t feel the need to show everything we have, and I looooooved that dress.
Ken was robbed….or Kini was robbed.
We all knew that Dom won once she said that she would be the first woman winner of all stars.
In any event, I hate Isaac.
I actually spent the last 20 minutes to see if wide in the ass is Sam’s mommy. I see no evidence of that, but I did read some articles on the NY rags about her arrival to the editor in chief position caused a bunch of people to jump ship or stay and be miserable. Gee, I’m shocked, said no one.
I agree with the whole article! Although I have loved Kini from his season and felt he was robbed then, Kini kept doing the same designs and denim? I feel Ken had the best collection, and worked on his demeanor to become the absolute best of all! Ken was robbed!
Thanks for the recap. Now I don’t have to watch it and be angry all week! I really wanted Kini to win…oh well.
The key to winning Project Runway is to make none wearable weird clothes so the judges can say “fresh”.
Designers who make great, wearable clothes never win because the judges say its too commercial.
Thats why Dom always made her own fabric for extra points instead of using 1 of the 5000 fabrics Mood already has in stock.
Hope Ken has a thriving career outside like others. He redeemed himself and am even more impressed that he’s self taught.
Kini is nice but his stuff always look old ladyish and tacky to me. Dom is nice so it makes her win palatable.
Ken’s collection was impeccable except for that odd fitting crop-top. Kini’s collection was over-the-top but interesting. Dom’s collection was just plain ol’ fugly and weird. Ken should have won!
Ken showed total class when that dumb ass Full and Wider was ripping him apart with stupid comments that were totally off mark and which none of the other judges agreed with.
I think Ken will have the most successful career because he makes clothes woman actually want to wear . He did not have one thing in his collection that I would not want to have in my closet. I cant say that of the other two and I like both of others as people .
Great recap. In Australia we have a clothing retailer called ‘Sportsgirl’ – similar to Forever 21, and their logo for the past 30 years is almost identical to Dom’s painted leather. She has probably never seen it but it was hugely distracting for me. I think Ken was robbed, but the way he made that poor girl’s tatas look was criminal. I felt jiggly just looking at her and I’m a member of the IBTC.
I’m looking at the picture above of Dom’s collection and I’m assuming the win was based on what they did the entire season.
Even if she did her clothes in a pattern that I liked, I still wouldn’t like those clothes.
Oh, well.
If it was over the entire season, it still would have been between Kini and Ken. Dom won when she should not have and was a one note tacky print on top of tacky print, fingerpainting on leather hot mess MOST of the damn season.
And with that, I stop watching this show. I thought Ken was an absolute douche at the beginning, but sorry, he was ROBBED. A beautiful, chic, elegant collection. You could be a young model in Paris, or a chic older lady and still wear his clothes. That wasn’t just fashion. That was STYLE.
Sorry, Dom, but that looked like something I did in preschool art class. NOPE. I’ve actually never been so worked up over a silly show that I slammed my laptop shut.
Totally agree with you, Mark! Ken should have won, and I think that Wide and Fuller evil witch torpedoed it. Ugh …. so annoying. Let’s hope we get back to sanity with the regular Project Runway show.
I liked Ken’s collection, but it didn’t have the ‘wow’ that the judges always want. Not saying it’s right; it just is.
I really hated that Ann chick. Even my 11-year-old daughter said she was a mean hag. Well, not exactly those words, but she was thinking it I’m sure. 😉
Poor Ken was robbed. Loved everything he did, so classy.
As for Isaac, never want to see him again.
Isaac needs to go back to QVC with Nene and Lisa Rinna and stay there.
yeah, he’s an “ICON”, that kills me anytime the introduce him!
It must have used all of Kens new-found reserve and poise NOT to point out that Isaac was relevant in the 80s and is now shilling his Fashunz next to Nenes off-the-shoulder polyester cape collection.
He is a better man than I.
I’m glad it’s over too. SMDH @ Dom.
Dom’s collection was my absolute least favorite in all the seasons I’ve ever watched of any project runway show. I have been able to see something I liked in every collection before even if it wasn’t my pick for the winner. I hated her prints. I hated her the clothes. The last look skirt looked like a bedsheet wrapped around her waist. I loved Kini’s fabrics and I generally don’t care for plaids much. To me his collection while more mature, I could see the woman of New York wearing his some of his clothes to events. Kens whole collection was stuff every woman wants apparently that’s a bad thing. You should hate all the clothes they make and they should be some kind of ridiculous shape and color and surprise you win.
Fullenwider- full and wide- full ass- giant fat ass… Fuck. Thanks for the laugh! I needed it today.
Ken’s collection was very UES and it looked like a lot of stuff people like Sonja Morgan and Rachael Zoe already have in their collection.
Dom was okay and I really wanted Kini to win.
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA Sonja Morgan has in her collection. ROFLMAO. Sure, un huh. It’s just like that! Seriously? I can’t breathe…..
Maybe her “personal” collection? As in, something bought by her from Bergdorfs and definitely, DEFINITELY not designed by her and manufactured in polyester crepe??
What even IS “imported fabric” anyway when the fabric is polyester? Polyester with a bigger carbon footprint? Do the Italians have a different formula or something?
8 outfits in 4 days and it looked like it. Top it off with a runway show in the Project Runway studio filled with former ‘All Stars’ (Meh) and you have one giant yawn fest.
I just watched the finale and had all my fingers crossed for Kini to win. Very disappointed that it was Dom. Oh well…NEXT!
Was anyone else as underwhelmed most of the season, though? I haven’t seen this episode- still waiting to- and Ken’s sounds terrific- but I thought most of the runways were barely mediocre and that there was virtually nothing new or that special being shown all season. For example, I still remember the dress with the gorgeous skirt designed from Hallmark cards , from last years’ unconventional challenge- there was nothing like that this year. I did think Ken and Kini had more interesting pieces some shows- not so much others, though.. Dom was as TT described.
I also thought Alyssa seemed out of place this year- uncomfortable both in the clothes she was wearing and in her role. Much as Heidi is a character, she is very good in her Project Runway role.
Ken should have won. I loved dom’s winning collection on project runway but this collection is awful the prints were weird. I would purchase kens clothes in a new york minute:). I loved Kens collection all his designs were wearable. I am disappointed in the judges .