Project Runway - Week Six

"It looks like a pterodactyl out of a gay Jurassic Park."

With this one statement, you can see why I idolize the fabulous Tim Gunn and his advice. The man can break down what's wrong or right with an outfit with just one perfectly metaphorical sentence. Brilliant!

In case you don’t remember, Tim declared that beautiful statement after seeing Mr. Radioactive Tan’s design. Personally, I think Tim was being kind. Drag or no no drag, the outfit was a bit much. Actually, scratch that…the outfit was alright, it was the “wings” that were out of place and a bit over the top.

This week’s challenge seems to sparked the show for me, and apparently many others. The challenge was simple enough; design an outfit for a drag queen, which best exemplifies that particular drag queen’s style and/or personality.
I read several reviews of last night’s episode, and almost all of them agreed that this challenge was one of the most interesting and exciting challenges since last season’s WWE Divas challenge. Wonderful Season Four finalist Chris March guested this episode to lend his expertise. (though why RuPaul was chosen as a guest judge and not him, I don’t get. RuPaul is a famous drag queen who wears outfits. Chris March designs them. I think March was better qualified to judge, but I guess RuPaul is more “famous”. Sigh.)

Much as I personally don’t like the winning outfit’s designer, I have to agree it did turn out to be the best of the bunch. Blayne has gotten on my last nerve. Seriously, his blatant attempt on being this season’s Christian Siriano is so off the mark, he winds up looking like an idiot. His parading around in fabric, proclaiming his drag name as “Neonlicious”; his constant references to anything being “licious”. I had enough. Apparently so have the other designers, since most of them candidly complained. He needs to go for sure, but the designer that went home needed to go home first. (he also needs a reality check.)

Personally, I liked this challenge. It made it just different enough to give the competition a new flare. I’ve had my fair share of drag queen experiences. (not that I’ve ever done it…I’d make a very ugly woman!) But I’ve been to a few drag shows here in NYC; a few of the bars I go to often have drag MCs to move events along. (In fact, I’ve actually attended a few of the drag queen’s performances featured on this challenge, especially Hedda Lettuce.)

Ok, time to stop dragging this out, and chat up this week’s outfits!

Yeesh…I heard your groans. Fine! No more punning.
Now let me stop dragging my feet and get to the designs. (sometimes I shouldn’t say words.):


Blayne – The only words that came to mind when I saw this outfit was “over the top”. Mind you, looking at the drag queen wearing the outfit beforehand, I didn’t think that was possible, but somehow “Mr. Licious” makes her look more outrageous then normal. Those awful “wings” just did not work, which was proven when she walked down the runway. I thought the outfit itself was okay, but it didn’t blow me away. I think it was just good enough to get by. Honestly, if Blayne would spend more time actually designing and less time trying to be the next breakout star, I could actually start to tolerate him. He needs to go next. If not for his designs, but for his constant uses of “licious”.


Jerell - I didn’t hate it. (at least not as much as the judges). The judges and I were disagreed on that point; but what I did agree with was the fact that it didn’t have enough “pop” to be a drag outfit. A high collar that gets put up? That’s Jerell’s idea of “pop”? It was a boring dress for a drag queen, but not quite as bad as other designers. (looking at you, Danny-boy) The sequined dress was too long, as the judges pointed out, so it definitely looked as if it didn’t fit right. I don’t think this was weak enough to go home, so I’m glad they gave Jerell another chance.


Kenley – Wow, was she lucky she added feathers! Those were the only elements that gave this outfit the “drag” look. (well, that, and the man-ish woman wearing it). I know Kenley said she was going for “old Hollywood” with her design, but I didn’t think she was going to be so literal. Obviously, the look is Marilyn Monroe, and it was pulled off rather flawlessly. It wasn’t that quite outrageous, so Kenley gets a pass for next week, which I totally agree with. She met the parameters of the challenge, did her own take on it, and still pulled off a decent outfit for her client. However, it did lack that certain “spark” that would have put it into the “outrageous” category. The feathers helped a lot, but take those away, and what do you got? A cheap silver sequined dress. And that’s it.


Leanne - I will give Leanne credit, this doesn’t look that bad for a drag outfit. I like the skirt, but that weird collar thing just seems out of place. Perhaps it was the way it was constructed, but it just doesn’t seem like it belongs on the dress. It makes the whole dress seem like it was poorly constructed. Not much else to say about it though. At first I thought the skirt was a bit too bulky, but once that outfit strutted down the runway, I saw that it worked with the drag queen well.


Stella – I’m a bit in shock. Call her whatever you want; crazy, clueless, and a bit nuts. But Stella churned out a pretty decent outfit for her drag queen. I’m not sure I would have went with the picnic table plaid pattern, but in the end Stella made it work. I love the way the dress ends in a long train, sort of like a wedding gown. Also, Stella’s touches are evident, but they were just enough to help elevate the dress, and not weigh it down. The cut on the bottom half of the dress was a perfect feature to give a nice sneak peak to the gorgeous legs underneath. Well done, Stella!


Suede – I happen to have caught a couple of Hedda Lettuce’s performances here in NYC, and let me say she is just as sassy in real life as she is on TV. Some may think, “Oh she’s causing drama because she’s on TV.” Not so. That is her, from the few times that I’ve seen her. And of all people, she gets our friend Suede as her designer. (who, amazingly enough kept the third person self-references this week to….nothing!) I hated this green monstrosity. I know for a fact that Hedda only wore it with pride and made peace with Suede, only so she wouldn’t come off as a total b**ch on television. I guarantee you, I go catch one of Hedda’s shows right now, she will not be so nice about her comments on that dress. When she described it as being “Godzilla-like”, I thought it was the perfect description. That awful awful green color; those florets running down the long-sleeved gloves; that ugly zebra-like pattern on top. I could go on and on. I have no idea how Suede got a pass for next week, but my only guess is that his outfit was a bit more “drag” then Jerell’s. Suede is very lucky the other dresses stank a lot worse then his.


Terri – Quite a crazy outfit, but it worked! (at least it did for the client) Terri’s drag queen wasn’t your typical drag queen. She was both a mix of both feminine and masculine, almost like an ersatz Marilyn Manson. She totally rocked this outfit, and she sold it perfectly with a strut down the runway and her flare of attitude. The white robe-like sleeves were perfectly accented by the blue stripes, and the red top completely complimented the outfit. I think the drag queen herself helped sell this outfit, but it fit her so well, how could she not? I don’t think the yellow ribbons really added anything to the outfit, but it didn’t take anything away in the end either. Terri is really starting to turn out to be one of my favorites. (then again she already hooked me with her “vajayjay” line from last week.


Joe – Well, Joe should pat himself on the back for a truly awesome drag outfit. He should be thankful he knows how to take suggestions, because if it wasn’t for his drag queen’s suggestion of lowering the collar, and making it more into a “sailor look”, this would have looked like a pink version of those awful space suits they used to wear in the 60’s. The simple act of lowering the collar into a sailor-type look changed the entire outfit from “Ugh” to “wow”. I absolutely love the placement of the belt, hiding the “candy” just like Michael Kors said. (or was it RuPaul?) All in all, my personal feelings aside about Joe, this absolutely deserved to win. (also, Joe prancing around in a bra? Funny. Blayne prancing around in pink fabric? Annoying.)


Korto – I would have been just as happy if this outfit won. This dress fit this plus-size drag queen perfectly. I am really impressed with Korto’s sewing skills, because every compliment the judges showered her with were well-deserved. The pull-away skirt was a perfect addition to give the dress some “pop”, and the fire design on the shoulder was just gaudy enough to make the dress fun, but not over the top. I am way impressed with Korto at this point in the competition, which is quite a change from what I felt about her “garden-vegetable” dress from the first challenge. If Joe would have left the collar up like he originally intended, this would have won easily over the rest of the designs.


Keith – Is there really much else to say about this feathery mess of an outfit? It looks like the mutated offspring of a penguin and a dove. I have no idea why Keith is obsessed with designing with these “swatches” of fabric. It’s one thing if he was good at it, and he could make a dress look fitted. But he isn’t good at it. Each and every dress I’ve seen Keith produce to this point has been one ugly mess of a dress after another. This one was no exception. If I could take a black and white two tone dress, throw it in a shredder, the ending result would be equivalent to this ridiculous frock. The only thing that saved “Mr. Swatches” from elimination was that Daniel did not adhere to the needs of the challenge. Again.


Daniel – I’ll give you this; the dress was nice, perfect for a cocktail party on a boat on the Riviera. But that wasn’t what the challenge asked for, is it? I just don’t understand Daniel. Not only does he not listen to the parameters of the challenge, he doesn’t listen to Tim Gunn’s advice (which we’ve learned from last seasons, is hardly ever off the mark), he does whatever he wants, regardless of what the challenge calls for. And he’s delusional, thinking he has high end taste, when he clearly has not showed this in his work. He said adding sequins and other such accessories would make his outfit too gaudy. Umm…hello? Daniel? Have you ever SEEN a drag queen? What makes you possibly think what you created was anywhere near a drag outfit?! It didn’t even come close. In the Olympic outfit challenge, Daniel made a cocktail dress. For this challenge, he made….a cocktail dress! I give up Daniel, if you’re this delusional (and arrogant) then I hope Wesley has a lot of patience in your relationship. (in case you didn’t catch earlier posts, former contestant Wesley (the school boy shorts dude) and Daniel are a couple. They started their romance when they met on the show.)

So did you guys agree with me? Are you as done with Blayne and his “licious” as I am? Did you think this was one of the better challenges of past seasons? Did the right person go home?
You know, almost none of you are commenting since I started this blog. I’m starting to think some of you aren’t really reading it! (considering most of you prompted me to start this, I hope I’m wrong!)
So let me hear you!! Chat it up!! Until next week…..auf wiedersehen!