Project Runway Finale Recap: Anya Ayoung-Chee Crowned New Champion!



Finale Time! Project Runway has finally come to an end. And I have to say; I may seriously be done with this series following last night’s results. I won’t give anymore away for those who have not yet watched (or Googled).

It’s two-days before fashion week and everyone is in a tizzy! Tim Gunn greets the designers in the workroom and announces he is furious at the crack-smocking judges’ critiques of the mini collections. He offers the real final three props and calls the judges out on their cray-cray; although did I hear him say he loved Eyebrows’ Grecian catsuit?! I think he just said that to be nice and to point out clearly and emphatically that little miss Anya had no business taking her messy used “intimate tapes” sheets to fashion week. In fact he told her as much! That’s the spirit, Tim. The old Tim we know and love! Tim announces a surprise gift! An additional $500 to spend at Piperline Mood to buy whatever they want!

Anya is over-whelmed by her lack of a collection and starts to panic. Viktor announces he will be re-making his fabulous grey gown?! At Mood, Viktor demonstrates he has been spending too much time with Eyebrows as he gravitates towards sheer – and not just sheer, cheetah print sheer!

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Anya has no plan and is buying whatever catches her eye (does she understand what a cohesive collection is?) and announces she will be making three new looks! Tim pulls Kim away from more embellishments. Good call. In the workroom, Viktor takes on the role of Tim Jr., reminding Eyebrows to re-focus and stop over-doing it.

This week’s Fashion Week Meltdown comes from your favorite drama-douche and mine: Eyebrows McSequins! It went a little something like this: Tears! WAAAAH! “I just waaaannnaaa wiiiin!” Anya commiserates – “my collection sucks tooooooo! Waaaah!” *Hugs.* Well, get to working and quit yer bitchin!

On Fashion Week Eve, everyone has a million things to do and no time to finish any of it. You know, the Project Runway usual! Tim is doing the final critiques and everyone is having some issues. Tim is “concerned” that Kimberly has no clue what she is doing with less than 24-hours left til the show.

Anya gives a beauty queen speech to Tim about how she is “humbled” by the experience. Tim is like: ‘yeah, yeah – whatever. Next!’ Viktor made some serious changes and Tim is not into it. Tim encourages Eyebrows to think carefully about the pieces he’s added as they look peculiar with the original collection. He is once again against that hideous schizophrenic bedsheet print. Viktor decides to edit himself into a fault to prove to the judges he isn’t attached to his clothes. Bad move.

Let the show begin! The guest judge is L’wren Scott – legendary fashion stylist and designer, who was probably laughing into her program at ¾ of this schlock.

Kimberly:

Kimberly opens with two looks from her mini collection and I have to say her pieces moved well and were lovely. The Kaleidoscope dress was really striking on the runway. The white satin pants look was oddly placed and the pink skirt with the cream jacket was everywhere– too much volume and too much satin. The collection sort of fell apart in the middle, but the black sparkle dress looked much better on the Lincoln Center runway and I actually really loved it at second glance – very striking. The collection looked better the second time I watched it and there were a lot of interesting ideas that needed some serious focus and refining. I actually appreciated her styling and felt it was interesting and really worked with her theme.

The judges praised that she listened to their critique. They were ga-ga the over pink cut-out dress – I loved the zipper placement. Heidi was surprisingly into the white pussy-bow, seventies secretary outfit. The judges liked the looks, but felt it wasn’t necessarily a collection, however they did recognize that her point of view is not readily available in fashion.

Eyebrows McSequins sparkles next!

His theme was: Oooohhh… Neon! I was not loving this purple dress here anymore than I was on the mini collection; I know the Grecian drape is popular, but I think it is over-used and Josh’s looked boxy, much like I felt his orange dress was. And the technicolor print was still horrid. I liked the third look even though the judges did not, mostly because it did feel easy and the proportions were good. The fourth look was my least favorite – the skirt was garish and cheap and the boxy top hit at the wrong place. It was just off.

I get what Tim was saying about the ease, it was funky and downtown without too much effort in places. The lime green shorts were the single worst thing on the runway that day, period. Not only were they hideous and ill-fitting – they were silly!

I’m glad he re-worked the catsuit dress, but it was still pretty tacky.The material for both of the last two dresses felt like graduation robes. Cheap and shiny poly. Josh always uses the cheapest looking material around. It’s a shame really. I loved the use of plastic.

I was extremely surprised that Heidi and Nina praised his green shorts. Very surprised. Michael was impressed by the editing. Nina thought it was “most improved” and “editorial.” L’wren was interested in his point of view. They liked the cohesion of the styling, which I agree he did have cohesion in the styling, but I’m not sure about the impeccable tailoring comment. The judges dubbed his collection gutsy. I think Eyebrows could have a real future designing for the Kardashian Kollection!

Viktor:

I love the first look and it immediately sets the precedence for a sophisticated, engaging show and the second look reinforces it. L’wren is intrigued – you can tell. The third and fourth looks are fantastic. And I happen to think the sheer black column dress was striking, but the suspenders took it into the ridic category. I was very disappointed he cut the big showstopper ballgown and swapped it out with the Grease-looking pantsuit. The ballgown with the jacket was breathtaking, it would have been a tremendous way to end the collection. Viktor’s print was sensational and I actually liked the use of sheer, but felt he used it too liberally. Cutting out one of the sheer dresses and one of the sheer blouses (maybe the second one) would have improved things. I know that in compared to season’s past, this isn’t the most amazing collection, but I actually liked the looks and I could see a lot of women wearing adapted versions.

Michael loved the printed pieces and the tailoring, but he felt it was too much transparency. I agree – a little is nice, but too much for a ten-look collection. L’wren also loved the print. Nina found the collection editorial. Heidi thought Viktor showed two shows and I agree, it was a dichotomous.

Michael didn’t think it was a “perfectly connected” fashion show. They felt all the sheer pieces were missed opportunities and they really felt Viktor at the helm of his own brand. The judges placed a lot of harsh critique on Viktor when, clearly, of the final four he had the strongest collection – it seemed, again, like they were knit-picking and looking for reasons to eliminate him. He should have won- this was a well thought-out, striking collection that many women would gravitate towards.

Anya:



The first look is beautiful and striking, I loved the print. Unfortunately it went downhill from there. The second and third looks basically featured no design, the fourth look was bad loungewear, and the fifth look was a sack – literally. I liked the first black and white gown but the construction was uneven in the bust and straps. The tan thing with the belt was nothing. Really – nothing. I did like the jumpsuit shortie but again – NO DESIGN and if you look at it from the side it is clearly belted together.

What was the brown shorts romper with that odd neckline? That fabric! I liked the feel of her collection, it was very relaxed and serene, but it just simply was not a strong collection. Or interesting! Or well thought-out! Or anything really but the same two looks in slightly varying prints!

The judges were wooed by the vibe of Anya’s collection and seemed to be responding to her rather than the clothes, but did note that 8 out of 10 looks had the same neckline. Umm… for the record a “plunge” is a cinch to cut! They also gave her a pass on cohesiveness, citing that she just really wanted to work in all her fabulous prints. The also really cut her a lot of slack with the construction, claiming her “vibe” required that sort of look – so in the tropics they don’t care about evenly sewed armholes or finished hems. Good to know! They kept praising her prints and sure, she had nice prints, but nothing revolutionary or that she created (ahem, Viktor!).

The judges were so impressed that in two-days she turned it around. L’wren looked speechless – in a bad way. They felt the black and white pieces did not look last minute. I did. The judges again focused on the potential with Anya instead of the reality, as they kept saying she has a “unique point of view.” Oh stop. Remember, Uli? All they did was complain that she made the same thing over and over.

Kimberly is ousted first, followed by Viktor; then the inevitable we knew was coming – Anya is announced the winner. Congratulations.

I didn’t think they could do any worse than last season, but they did! Apparently beach-side souvenir stand hippie dresses are like the in thing at fashion week and every girl in the world is dying to wear a poorly rendered sheet with an $800 price tag. Look, Anya can’t sew and she really can’t design either. All that stuff has been done a zillion times before and much better. In fact, I’ve decided next season I’m going to march myself down to the nearest Project Runway audition carrying a garment bag full of old bedclothes with circles cut out for the head and say it’s “fashion” and then I’ll just waltz my hot pants wearing self to fashion week.

“Who doesn’t want to be that girl?” Heidi wonders as if Anya is Mary Tyler Moore! Um, I don’t Heidi. I like wearing a bra and I have a whole slew of maxi dresses from Target that are better constructed.

If the producers were trying to make a mockery out of what was once a fantastic show, they have – one-hundred percent. This, not Gretchen Jones, was the LEAST deserved win in the history of the show.

Viktor you will have a fantastic career and Anya, good luck with those caftans! I hear many old ladies in Palm Beach love them! I know I sound bitter, but I just feel for all the incredible designers who would kill to show at fashion week and she got that chance, wholly undeserved, because she made good TV. It’s really a shame for this show that it has stooped to such a pathetic level to create bad drama. I hope Project Runway All-Stars is better!

THOUGHTS ON THE RESULTS? DID ANYA DESERVE THE WIN? WHO DO YOU THINK SHOULD HAVE WON? WHAT WERE YOUR FAVORITE PIECES FROM THE COLLECTIONS?

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