Tuesday, August 25, 2009

PR 6 Episode 1 Part I: Meet the Designers!


Ah, those familiar credits! Heidi happily squawking "THIS is Project Runway!" Tim! Sixteen hopeful designers! Let's get rolling.

As the show opens, we meet Ra'mon of the Unnecessary Apostrophe, walking to the apartments. He tells us he was a neurosurgery student, but decided he was much more passionate about fashion design. Hey, if you'd rather pick out bolts of fabric than pick through grey matter, more power to you!

Next, Logan, who is going to be this season's "I'm Not Gay! I'm Not Gay!" contestant. He regales his new roommates about how he's so butch, he fixed his broken-down limo on the way to Fashion Week. He's a shoo-in for Top Mechanic, I guess.

Johnny tells his new roommates right away that he didn't get through the first three times he tried out, because he was a meth addict. Ouch. Awkward to hear from someone you just met; also, is this the kind of stress a newly-recovered person needs to be putting themselves through? I sincerely hope he'll be okay in the PR Pressure Cooker.

Gordana, from former Yugoslavia, has her own boutique and confidently states, "If you give me a sheep, I can make you a sweater." I love her immediately. She's got a little bit of Uli in her, with a slightly harder edge.

Next up, we have Malvin, whom I immediately dubbed Curly Mullet Guy. In a soft-spoken way, he tells us that his focus is androgynous style. Some people compared him right away to Christian Siriano, but I don't think they'll do the same things at all. This kid is much more laid-back and I don't foresee a lot of catchphrasing from him.

Qristyl, who I am going to call Q because fuck if I'm going to be arsed to spell that ridiculous name, declares that she designs for all sizes, and that she doesn't like "plus-sized," calling it "plus-sexy." Because health problems caused by obesity are just HAWT. Sorry! Sorry! I do like the idea that not everyone is a stick, and as a woman with hips and a butt, I appreciate her pov -- but I don't like the reactionary "real women have curves" thing that insults thin women, either. Real women have vaginas and two X chromosomes.

Shirin ("it means 'sweet' in Farsi," she helpfully informs us, and it seems to suit her adorable smile) is this year's "innovation via multi-use" designer. It'll be interesting to see where she takes that vision within the show's challenges.

Nicolas claims that "everyone calls me 'The Feather Prince.'" This probably means he dubbed himself such and then made everyone else call him that. He's got some accomplishments under his belt, but seems quite insecure underneath it. Hopefully he, too, can handle the pressure and the critiquing without crumpling.

Mitchell is a total cutie whose focus is the business side of the industry. He indicates that he understands the female form and what women like, and that he thrives off pressure and stress. *cue foreshadowing music*

Christopher is another cutie, who tells us he never went to fashion school and is totally self-taught. Generally, these types of contestants don't do so well under the constraints of PR, but who knows? He might surprise us. Good luck to you, you adorable dude you.

Then we meet Ari. Ari, Ari, Ari. She's this year's Elisa, a weirdoflake who talks about asking the fabric what it would like to be and has the kind of "innovative" ideas that translate to being pretty much unwearable. Let's hope she doesn't spit-mark her fabric.

Althea is the one who is most like Christian Siriano, I think. She interned with Alexander McQueen and Vivienne Westwood, so she may have some very interesting and borderline-crazy things up her sleeve (in the good way).

As far as I can tell, Irina makes handbags. Um... Her dog is cute?

Louise, who is a Louise Brooks-lookalike, is this season's vintagey-retro-Kenley girl. Pleeeease don't let her have Kenley's terrible personality. I've seen some of the amazing corsets she's made on Etsy. It'll be interesting to see what she turns out with her early-1900's aesthetic.

Carol makes floaty, fairy-like cocktail dresses - which I personally love. The cutest thing is she talks about how just because she's blonde and from the South, she's not stupid... and promptly loses her train of thought.

Last, but not least, we've got Epperson, who is the oldest of the contestants, with some grown kids. He's an illustrator, and we'll have to see how his talents translate to making real garments.

Our sixteen contestants meet Heidi and Tim - TIM!!!! We missed you!!! - on the roof, have some champagne, and do the bland chit-chat thing for a while, then are sent back to their lofts, to meet the next morning to get their first challenge.

Next up: Challenge Time!

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