Couch Potato: ‘Project Runway’ returns to form
By Casey Gillis on Jan. 12, 2010
Fashion guru Tim Gunn is quick to praise the latest round of “Project Runway” contestants.
During the seventh season premiere, set to air at 10 p.m. Thursday on Lifetime, he says they’ve never had a group of designers with such “a strong spirit of innovation (and) so many different creative points of view.”
And, the best part is, he seems to be right.
Throughout the show, examples of each contestant’s past designs are shown along with their obligatory introductions, and I was impressed with more than a few of their avant-garde approaches.
That’s not the only good news: “Runway” is also back in New York after a not-so-stellar sixth season set in Los Angeles. This means the original judging trio of model Heidi Klum, fashion editor Nina Garcia and designer Michael Kors is intact (Garcia and Kors were conspicuously absent for a good chunk of last season because both live and work in the Big Apple).
Of the 16 designers, I immediately liked Anthony, an Alabama native who wants to create gowns for Miss USA and Miss Universe. But “I don’t really care,” he says flippantly, “for Miss America.”
I have a feeling this guy will get by on personality even when his garments don’t measure up.
Other unique personalities include Ping, a physical therapist who favors flowing, completely out-there and, frankly, unwearable designs; Ben, whose schooling in comic book illustration influences his work; Seth Aaron, a rocker who reminded me of third season winner Jeffrey Sebelia; and Jonathan, who describes his aesthetic as “gritty meets pretty.”
Their first challenge is fairly straightforward: design a look that embodies who they are as designers, after sorting through bins of fabric set up in Central Park (gotta throw in those New York landmarks, so we viewers know things are back to normal!).
But, somehow, they struggled with it, and many of the garments just didn’t live up to the designers’ initial promise. Maybe the parameters were too broad? As Tim would say, they just didn’t make it work.
But let’s chalk it up to first challenge jitters; I really want to believe that “Runway” is back to its former glory.
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