Project Runway S6 Ep6 Part II: Say WHAT?

As we start the day, poor UA is struggling to finish his last-minute dress and feels that he'll be in the middle. Everyone is all cranky and rushing.  Irina's still being a bitch.  Gordana's trying to get her accessories together.  Models are do'ed and made up, Tim gathers everyone together, and they all head to the runway.

STILL NO NINA AND KORS.  Argh!  Heidi, uncharacteristically covered up and wearing very cool sparkly black pants, introduces the guest judges: Zoe Glassner again, designer John Varvatos, and costume designer Arianne Phillips.  Let's start the show!

Irina shows us a sexy black dress that looks much better once the model takes off the shower-curtain cape.  There are nude v-shaped cutouts and the sleeveless bodice is very form-fitting, with a long skirt.

Carol has done a beautifully-shaped long jacket over a vinyl bustier & arm-warmers, leggings, and some sort of bellydancer-belt sort of thing that I don't like at all.  I don't know that it's actually Action/Adventure, more like domainatrix-type at the local Goth club, but whatever.

Shirin's Saloon Girl dress is adorable!  Her model flounces for all she's worth to show the movement in the layers of ruffles.  It's not earth-shattering, but fulfills the challenge well enough.

Here comes Christopher's Period dress.  My immediate reaction is that I hate it; he's become dangerously one-note with the huge fluffy skirts and close-fitting bodices.  There's a useless wide belt thing that is not flattering.  There are nice touches, though: the bustling in the back is done well, and there are some details in the top's collar, front and back, that are pretty special.  It's still just too damn similar to most of the things he's done.

Next comes Nicolas's Evil Ice Goddess.  Eeeeh... it looks like a high-school play costume.  Cheap, kinda tacky.  Big translucent leafy-looking things stuck all over the neckline.  The model's hair is way over-soaked with frosty crap but her makeup is amazing.  This is completely standard low-brow Scifi stuff, which I suppose fulfills the objective, but it's so fucking expected.

Althea's outfit bears a very similar look to the one for which she won, in some ways: low bodice, open blouse (okay, the winning design had a jacket), but with a skinny skirt with a high waist.  It's very Althea and pretty pleasing, though I'm not crazy about the white blouse, and the hem of the skirt is a bit odd.

Oh dear... UA's dress is one big ol' iguana mess.  It bears a similarity to the Pee dress with which he won, but is even worse.  He did the best he could with almost no time, but this just looks like what it is: slapped-together strips of leather.  For some reason, the model rips a small strip of fabric off her forearm.  Don't know what that's supposed to be about.

Here comes Louise's dress... ack, it's awful!  Boring, boring, boring.  Dark and dull and crafts-y.  Film Noir is so up her alley, she should've been able to turn out something fantastic.  To her credit, Louise is not happy with the dress, feeling like she didn't really nail the time period and that the dress isn't as amazing as some of the others.

We at Chez Boogie gasped when Epperson's model stomped out in his creation.  It's *awesome*.  Very, very Firefly.  It's ruffles and leather and fitted and flouncy and rough and refined.  It's the first thing Ep has done that I really, really love.

Gordana has created a beautifully-done flapper dress with elbow gloves and a cute headband.  Unfortunately, it's an exact replica of a flapper dress, with nary a twist or update in sight.  Uh-oh, I think the judges are going to give her shit for this one.

Logan has created a look almost worthy of Aeryn Sun.  It definitely fits the Action/Adventure bill better than Carol's outfit did, but I hate the little curly-rib doohickeys that embellish the top (I don't know if his inspiration was ammunition belts, maybe?).  It's a beautifully-fitted leather jumpsuit paired with high boots, and Kojii stalks for all she's worth.

The judges want to talk to Nicolas, UA, Christopher, Louise, Gordana, and Epperson, who have the highest and lowest scores.

As I feared, the judges appreciate the labor that went into Gordana's dress, but find it very not-special.  I died a little for Gordana when Zoe Glassner basically called her a "dressmaker," which is an insult on this show.  Poor Gordana.

As I hadn't anticipated, the judges love Nicolas' cliched dress.  Seriously?  Cause that's not innovative at all.  Arianne seems to think this would look better on film.  Erm, we're watching it on film, and it looks like crap.  Which means it looked *worse* at the actual runway.  Eeep.

I imagine Louise is about to get shredded by the judges for her blah garment... what a surprise, she is!  They're not impressed with how dark and drab it is, and point out - rightly, I'm afraid - that none of the detail in the dress would read on camera.  Zoe even says it looks cheap.  Louise is just glad to finally get some feedback, which she hasn't yet gotten, as she's been safe every week.

Another surprise: the judges practically wet themselves over Christopher's dingy-ass dress.  Man, I really hate that thing around the waist.  Glassner puts forth the dreaded "wow factor."

UA is up next, and as expected, the judges hate his dress.  They like his story, but think it looks shoddily made.  Heidi calls it a "hot green mess" and says that he's a good designer and can sew, but you couldn't tell from this outfit.  He mentions having to throw it together last-minute, and the judges sympathize, but yikes.

Finally, the judges love Epperson's outfit.  So do I!  He did an amazing job, especially considering how crushed he was to have to do a Western outfit.   Heidi points out that he's done something that they haven't seen before, which is so important in a designer.

Decisions, decisions, decisions. Gordana is in.  Phew!  Epperson is in.  Nicolas is the winner! *record screech*  Say what??  That cliched crapfest over Epperson's beautifully-crafted, innovative look?  Oh judges, I cannot comprehend thee.  Now this doof has immunity next week.

Christopher is safe, leaving UA and Louise on the runway.  Uh-oh, either way this is gonna be ugly.  It's UA's creativity, but crappy execution, vs. Louise's dull execution and lack of innovation.  UA is going home.  Wow, I'm stunned, and so is he.  I mean, I haven't been UA's biggest fan - I thought the dress he won for was gross, and he's been a much bigger talker than deliverer, but I'm genuinely surprised that the judges chose boring over innovative.  Still, I'd hate to see Louise go home, too - as sub-par as her delivery was this episode, I really love her clothes.  She starts to cry as she leaves the runway.

Poor UA.  Even his Unnecessary Apostrophe couldn't save him.  It's nice to see Tim back to his old self, hugging UA and sending him off with a fond farewell.  Bye, UA, it was fun!  Good luck in your endeavors, which, by the looks of recent photos, involve growing your hair into a large point like that guy who danced with MC Hammer.  You can take the kid out of the 80's...

Next week: another team challenge!  Uh-oh.