Bridesmaid dresses get new life in Project Runway 8, Ep. 6
September 3, 2010 by karenvitt
Filed under Neat STUFF
By Erin Flesch, NEAT contributor
After last week’s group challenge fueled trauma and drama, this week’s episode flew by with the greatest of ease. The cringe-worthy moments were down a good 90 percent, and all seemed swell in the land of Project Runway 8 (except for the growing league of haters toward sweet Micheal Costello, that is. Other designers think he’s talentless and undeserving. We think he’s undeserving of all the hate!)
PR8 Episode 6, “You Can Totally Wear That Again,” was one of the unconventional challenges. No, they didn’t have to make a designer look out of silly putty and string, but they did have to pull off a much more daunting feat: Turn a classically hideous bridesmaid dress into a runway-worthy outfit. The models this time were ex-bridesmaids, who we can only assume had a serious grudge against their wedded friends for making them wear such awful, satin messes.
Names were drawn from a hat and Casanova (last week’s winner) got to choose first. In typically strange Casanova fashion, he chose his model based not on the dress she was wearing, but for the fact that she had the best body in the bunch. Not exactly getting the spirit of the challenge, but then again he never really seems to.
The designers had to keep most of the original fabric, but they were allowed $50 and up to two yards of fabric at Mood. After having the harsh spotlight on her last time (some might call it a bullseye) Gretchen Jones stayed mostly in the background this episode, quietly focusing on creating what turned out to be an extremely cool take on her model’s burgundy taffeta gown (right).
Instead of going straight to the runway for judging, the designers took their (mostly) finished garments to the public for a preliminary critique. With their models standing next to them mannequin style, the contestants met with hundreds of outsiders who got to pick their favorite transformations via a button in a jar. Ivy Higa deals with the fact that she only got three buttons by spreading a rumor that Costello is telling people not to vote for her because she is the “bitch” of the show. He denies it. She doesn’t believe him. Middle School drama ensues.
Mondo Guerra and Costello end up being the favorites in the group. Guerra turned his Pepto pink dress inside-out and made it into a mod, half-black-half-pink minidress that seriously wowed the judges (right). It’s crisp and clean and nothing like the original. Costello turned his long black satin gown in to an uber-short, structural cocktail dress that his model adored. The show’s core group of Costello haters, which includes Jones, Higa, Andy South and April Johnson, all despise it. Surprise, surprise, the judges all love it.
Jones renovated her gown and turned it in to something worthy of her signature downtown aesthetic. She shortened the bottom and added a handpainted ombre top that was sexy and original. She didn’t make top three (although we think she should have!) but was safe in the middle.
The stand-out disasters came courtesy of Peach Carr and Michael Drummond. Carr’s dress was a confusing mess with a weird cross halter neckline and avocado napkin ruffles, an observation made by the continuously hilarious Michael Kors. Drummond committed the cardinal sin of making an already cheap looking bridesmaids dress even cheaper by adding polyester netting over the top. The judges conceded that both Carr and Drummond made their dresses look worse than when they started, but Carr was the one who was sent home. Sad, but expected.
In a surprise blow to all the haters, Costello nabbed a second win. He’s now tied up with Jones for the most wins so far in Season 8, and Miss J looked none too pleased about it. Our DVR cut out at the last minute so we missed next week’s preview. Regardless, we are super excited to see what happens next in this fashion saga.
Tune into The Neat Sheet every Friday for our Portland-centric Project Runway recaps. And right now, watch Tim Gunn’s critique of local gal Gretchen Jones in the latest episode:
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