Project Runway Season 10 Episode 13 Recap: Finale, Part 1
Oct 17 2012 01:34 am ET
Heidi congratulated the final four designers. It seemed obvious that Christopher, Fabio, Dmitry, and Melissa had what it took to make it to the finals. Everyone was excited and nervous. Tim popped up and thanked the four. Heidi announced that the designers would have $9000 and only five weeks to make the collections. Heidi warned them that they weren't guaranteed a spot in the final three. Obviously, there are four of them. Tim pointed out that he'd be doing his visits. The final four left their Atlas apartments but without any big fanfare.
We return to Massapequa, NY for Tim's visit to Christopher's house. He arrived and there was a lot done already. His inspiration was an x-ray becoming a print. He tweaked the color and made a literal x-ray. He had a lot of pieces that impressed Tim, but Tim was worried that some of his clothes needed edge. He was positive about the coat. Tim liked the uniqueness of how using bleach on leather would make things more interesting. Tim suggested taking more risks. Tim had time to munch with Tim's family. His sisters claimed that he was entertaining no matter what. The family was anxious, but proud of him.
Nine days to go. We arrived at Fabio's workspace in NYC and his boyfriend had to support him because there were a lot of mental doubts kicking in. Tim arrived and loved the workspace. Elena, Fabio's mom, pointed out how different Fabio was even as a kid. Notice his boyfriend would always rub his back, it was really adorable. Fabio explained his "Cosmic Tribalism" where he's creating people in the tribe. Tim was captivated by the watercolors and the combination of tailoring and draping. Tim had a moment of silence when he was confused by the pants. He compared them to long johns. He's then questioned a bra and then the shoes. Then Fabio's boots lost the momentum of the ride.
Eight days to go; Jersey City, NJ. Dmitry borrowed a friends' space while they were in Spain. Dmitry worried that he didn't have time to really fix things. He was inspired by organic-architecture. He pulled out his jackets and tops. He announced his love for fringe. Really? Tim was left really confused by a yellow dress that Dmitry pulled out. Tim was worried that there weren’t any surprises. The two sat and had tea as he resigned from his job. He explained how he fought for 15 years and hoped he could make it.
With seven days to go, Tim popped up in San Francisco, CA to check on Melissa. Melissa felt confident about her collection. Tim was impressed by the leather and special textiles that Melissa chose. Tim loved the amount of confidence that the clothes screamed. Melissa was worried about the four becoming three. Tim pointed out that it was a matter of taste and she had no control. Tim talked to her parents and male-friend Nick and explained that she had big dreams and went for it. She only learned to sew four years ago.
It was return time and Christopher arrived at Yotel first, dressed in his odd clotting choices. He was thankful and excited to be there. Melissa arrived next and was excited about the view. The two agreed that finishing would happen. Fabio was impressed by the furnishings. Dmitry arrived last and was all kisses. This was probably the gayest I've seen Dmitry. The four had some champagne courtesy of Heidi and Tim.
The designers arrived at 1407, where Project Runway All-Stars normally would tape their seasons. The four stared at some pictures and soon everyone started revealing their clothes. Unlike some seasons where everyone would nervously unpack their clothes, this final four actually took the time to look at each other's clothes. Fabio was first to show his collection to the other designers, immediately impressing Melissa. Christopher wondered how impressive Melissa's collection would actually be. Dmitry thought Christopher was young and Dmitry could do better no matter what. Melissa lost some of the confidence as she stared at Dmitry's fringe.
Tim arrived and thanked the designers for making it to the final four. Tim emphasized the three look presentation that would show their range. The looks would be shown in one day. He emphasized that people should be nervous.
The designers started to work and it left Melissa nervous because she didn't think that she pushed herself hard enough to win. Christopher was worried about mixing all of his pieces; Dmitry realized that he was both sophisticated and slutty. Dmitry tried to push Christopher to go faster. Fabio saw how Melissa's self-confidence has started to take a hit.
Tim talked to Dmitry and was stuck providing blind faith when looking at his clothing; there wasn't any color-oomph that the judges could see. Dmitry thought it was sharp enough to be convincing without color. Tim was truthfully worried about everyone and with all due respect, he's right. Why doesn't anyone understand that they need to have that wow dress for the judges? I mean, people know that there are decoy collections, but still that doesn't mean that you want to lose your chance at having prize money and endorsements.
With two hours to go, Christopher was worried about moving forward. With one hour, Dmitry needed to finish a dress, but their final hour ended so quickly that it looked like no one accomplished any of their goals. The final four worried about their five weeks as Melissa stressed that she needed to exude the same confidence that her clothes had.
It was the day of the runway show and Christopher was shaking immediately. Tim explained that there were only three hours and as the models arrived for fittings the designers panicked. It's rare on this show to have to worry about more than one model. A toddler/parent was their last challenge and that wasn't too bad considering how fitting went for their own custom clothes. Instead Christopher didn't have time to alter clothes so he decided to put things that fit onto what models he was provided. Similarly, Dmitry had a problem with a model with small hips and wouldn't dare to give her baggy pants. Fabio was worried that he was going too conceptual with his clothing and hoped that the judges would be as positive as he was. With time up, Tim had to scream at everyone to make it to the runway.
Heidi welcomed the final four to the runway and emphasized how this was the runway that you wanted to survive. Not even win, just survive. Because of the secretive nature of the challenge the only judges with Heidi were Michael Koors and Nina Garcia.
Dmitry
Look 1 - The white was a great stark color that fit his model's skin tone well. I understood the architecture and peekaboo cutouts completely.
Look 2 - Hated the top, but the pants were really streamlined. They could possibly be too commercial, but they were tailored to the Dmitry standard. The bra was distracting. Is someone supposed to wear that top with just a bra? It was a little too conceptual for me.
Look 3 - The jacket was cool if he cut off the fringe. By keeping the fringe, it looked too 80s rocker for my tastes. I liked the layering of the clothes, but by doing so it made the skirt feel like just a throwaway skirt.
Christopher
Look 1 - Pedestrian. The distressed leather is cool, but everything else outside of the jacket seems like it could be picked up at a department store today.
Look 2 - I like the top and the hemline of the second outfit. The chain in back may have been too much where he just wanted to throw crap onto a simple dress and it didn't work for me.
Look 3 - The third looks like it's cohesive, but I don't get the difference. The fabric is cook and all, but it's really the same exact outfit as the second look.
Fabio
Look 1- The blazer and pendant were cool, though I find Dmitry's pants to be better in most aspects.
Look 2 - I didn't understand the top at all, but clearly the concept was supposed to be conceptual. The skirt had a great fit and there was a nice back.
Look 3 - The dress looked a bit too pajama for my tastes. No matter what someone does to dress up pajamas it looks either too bed or too Golden Girls.
Melissa
Look 1 - I hated the top because there was no real blouse. I hated the stomach reveal
Look 2 - The jacket had insane collars that got too clown for me. There's bold and then there's tacky.
Look 3 - The obsidian dress seemed like the simple black dress that Melissa probably could have made during week one. It was okay, but it didn't have the wow-factor.
After all the looks were done, Heidi was left confused by the whole situation.
Fabio was first and admitted that he didn't want to be conventional. Heidi loved the point of view; she's intrigued by the looks. She loved the necklaces and bags; though this isn't Project Accessory. Michael appreciated how the colors weren't portrayed in the same mentality that a pastel would. Michael warned him about the wigs looking too crazy. He had problems with balancing the separates. Nina thought that there were beautiful pieces, but she warned him that the clothes needed to look more expensive.
Dmitry explained the architecture and iconic places. He was looking for both geometric and feminine at the same time. Nina thought it looked polished and expensive. She warned him about the styling skewing a bit too extreme; it could be too old, though I could see pieces that could look too junior with all the cutouts. Michael warned him that he may have too many ideas; he hoped that the styling needed to be toned down. There needed to be simplicity in the styling.
Christopher explained the x-rays and Heidi found it creepy. It's probably not as creepy as using human hair. Heidi loved the color combination, but was looking for wow pieces. Heidi told him that the vest and short combination was really boring. Michael loved the prints, but suggested every possible combination should be made with the separates. Nina thought that the work was great, but everything look too similar. Christopher tried to explain that he had a range, but being pressed on time he couldn't tailor all the pants and skirts and mega-dresses.
For Melissa Heidi found the design to be quintessential Melissa: a bit goth but with a commercial edge. She loved the black and white jacket. The black dress was too simple; she wished she wanted to see the "hero" pieces that would save her collection from looking bland. Michael warned her that the looks lacked a head to toe oomph; he hated the wigs. The camera then zoomed to the ratty wigs that looked like dead skunks on these poor model's heads. Nina was worried about the black and white being the only colors; she warned that she needed extraordinary styling. Nina loved the coolness to the pants. The jacket sleeves needed help/perfection.
In the back all the contestants started to crack, realizing they all made mistakes. The judges worried about the excuses they all heard. If they only saw some of the decoy collections this year they would have saved someone. Dmitry skewed too old in his styling. Fabio may be too polarizing for audiences. Christopher had a smart print, but the clothes came off too similar. Melissa may be contemporary, but the wigs were distracting; would all her styling look like that at the final runway?
After the commercial Heidi explained that all of the contestants had missteps. The group must have made such epic mistakes because all four are in, but they were warned that they only had two days to polish and fix their mistakes. The four shared a big hug, but knew that they only had limited time to polish. I'm surprised at this point producers haven't given them an eliminated contestant to help them.
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