the finer dandy

So we are BACK with a brand new batch of Project Runway designer transients.

Right of the bat, this group of designers, like Tim Gunn said, is the most diverse group of people they have ever had.

Jennifer: The awkward one.
Stella: The edgy rock and roll female.
Kelli: The quirky rock and roll female.
Jerry: The “I’m here to work and not make friends” guy.
Blayne: The borderline delusional visionary.
Keith: The macho fashion man
Joe: The average Joe designer - pun intended.
Wesley: The wunderkind who worked for a big-time label (Marc Jacobs)
Kenley: The retro gal.
Korto: The fancy mother Earth type from the South (originally from Liberia).
Terri: A soul child who may be underestimated.
Daniel: The season’s token talented “Daniel.”
Suede: The guy with a name that has something to do with fashion.
Emily: The girl who isn’t shown much in the first episode.
Leanne:The “silent assassin” who has the potential to go crazy.
Jerrell: The guy who can possibly be the “love to hate” villain of the season.

Pictured: (top l-r) Jerell, Leanne, Wesley, Joe, Korto, Kenley, Daniel, Emily (bottom l-r) Blayne, Jennifer, Kelli, Jerry, Terri, Suede, Keith, Stella — Bravo Photo: Barbara Nitke

That’s a lot of designer.

Nonetheless, their challenge this week was…INNOVATION! Yes, that’s right. Austin Scarlett helps usher in the fifth season with the same exact challenge he won in the very first season. They have to shop at a grocery store and make a an outfit.

Pictured: (l-r) Austin Scarlett, Tim Gunn — Bravo Photo: Barbara Nitke

I really liked this challenge in the very first season. But did it live up to my expectations?

Kind of. I’m kind of non-enthusiastic at the fact that they started this season with a rehashed challenge, but I went with it.

When they came back to the workroom, Tim was unimpressed with the fact that almost everyone chose to work with tablecloths. It’s a cop out.

Anyways, the workroom footage isn’t that exciting. The one thing that gets my attention (unfortunately) is the fact that Blayne keeps on saying “Girlicious.” Ugh. He’s trying to give himself a catchphrase. No matter how many times he says that shit, it ain’t gonna happen. It’s lame. Just stop.

Nothing is really catching my eye in the workroom except for Daniel’s plastic cup dress.

So it’s runway time! It’s so refreshing to be back here it’s like going back to school and seeing all the popular people who don’t hang out with you because you’re not cool enough.

The garments make their way down the runway and I am watching with a bit of interest. I like Wesley’s garment in that he made this cool thing out of flyswatters. I also like Korto’s use of produce on what would otherwise be a Mrs. Roper kaftan.

Other than that, here are some of the really busted looking ones:

Blayne’s garment is just hideous. It looks like she’s wearing a designer maxi-pad outside of a really ugly dress.

Jerry, Jerry, Jerry….ugh. This looks like a murderous butcher in a B-movie. It looks like an extra in that one part of “E.T.” when he is in that plastic bubble. She looks like she’s about to handle some radioactive waste. What the hell is this?

And the top two were…

Daniel’s sculptured plastic cup dress is innovative and funky! I’m diggin’ it! It’s one of the most creative and thoughtful.

With Kelli’s dumpster-chic look, she went all out with coffee filters, Pollock-like paint on vacuum bags and even push pins! Even though I am not really feeling the bodice, everything else makes up for it…and that’s why she WON!!!

But who got the dreaded first show “auf wiedersehen”?

It was Jerry….

Yup - his slasher-movie-meets-Gallagher-meets-hellacious wonder got him auf’d.

I wasn’t THAT surprised.