Project Runway After Party - Season 4

Episode 9: “Even Designers Get the Blues”
(aka "Oh my god, I'm gonna die of barfness!")

Morning after Kit’s Aufing. Victorya accidentally calls Sweet P “Kit,” to which Sweet P protest loudly. So Victorya does it again. Weirdo passive aggressive cow.

Ricky decides to wear his black and white painters cap today. Unfortunately.

Heidi initiates the whole boring “pick a model” thing.

Field trip!

Rami waxes poetic about what the field trip could mean. Either you go to the garbage dump and have to make a wedding dress out of it, or you get flown to Paris and have to make a couture gown, he says.

He’s so meta.

Christian notices that they’re bringing them to some borough, and struggles to fit the word “fabulous” in. He doesn’t sound too convincing.

It turns out that Tim brings them to some pier overlooking the East River. I know I said in my last recap that I hate Rami because of how he treated Sweet P during the last challenge. But there’s a shot of them walking together, Rami with his arm around her. So now I kind of like Rami again.

I’m so fickle. Isn’t it so fierce of me?

Anyway, the garage door thing goes up slowly, gradually revealing more than 500 pairs of Levi’s 501s and some cotton hung up on clotheslines towards the back of the huge garage/warehouse thingy.

This week’s challenge? Create an iconic denim look of your choice while creating synergy and increased equity for the Levi’s brand or something.
The budget? Who needs a budget when Levi’s paid for this episode?

The designers are told to run to the other end of the garage thing and snatch up as many denim pieces they can. You know Chris is hating this. Sweet P loses a shoe in the name of fashion, such a brave one, that Sweet P. Rami grabs all the dark jeans he could find. Robot picks the lightest color she can find. Chris grabs whatever he can get. Fierce started out with a plan, and then grabbed whatever. Chris graciously gives Victorya a pair of jeans that were left on the floor. I think he just didn’t want to bend over to pick it up.

Tim gives the designers until midnight to bust this thing out.

Ricky thinks that denim is fun sometimes, and tells us that he’s made a few of his hats out of denim. Seriously, Ricky? Enough with the hats already.

We start to hear more about Rami’s life growing up in Jerusalem, complete with gratuitous baby photos. He says that he wants to show Levis that they can be fashion-forward and hip. As far as I know, you can’t drape denim. Will this challenge be Rami’s undoing?

Christian thinks that the challenge is disgusting because they basically gave him a design-school challenge. I’m guessing he’s not so much into deconstructionism. Everyone fantasizing about inflicting bodily harm on him because they’re all sick of his prepubescent snark.

Jillian realizes that Victorya is also making a denim coat, and they both worked on a coat in the last challenge and she totally didn’t know that Victorya was “also into coats,” so she’s tripping out.

Cut to commercial. Chloe lives in L.A. now and hangs out at Echo Park for design inspiration? She is so ‘Mi Vida Loca.’

Christian got inspired by Levi’s look book, so he decided to make a trucker jacket for a woman. Sweet P is making a kind of wedding dress. We hear about her husband and how he’s supporting her right now while she’s trying to get her fashion game on.

Christian says what we’re all thinking: Ricky should have gone home instead of Kit. And Ricky senses it, so he proceeds to give us his resume: I heard Oscar de la Renta and some other designer names.

Chris talks to himself --- or to the garment. It’s part of his creative process. Whatever you need to do, my dear. We heart you.

Tim comes in and calls Ricky’s dress “stunning.” Frankly, I’m stunned at Tim’s comment. Ricky is making something stunning?

He thinks Chris’ garment looks “incongruous,” and it reminds me of geometry class, so I tune out for the rest of the conversation.

Jillian still has a ways to go with her garment. Tim thinks Rami’s zipper detail trim has the potential for blowing everyone away. (That's because we've already seen this in Jeffery Sebelia's collection. But Tim has a crush on Rami, so how soon they forget!) Tim thinks Victorya’s outfit is looking very “patch-worky.” And he’s not loving Sweet P’s wedding dress is “happy hands of home-granny circle.”

“Resolve the skirt,” he tells her after making the Home Alone face.

God, I love the feedback Tim comes up with. How do you “resolve” a skirt?

Anyway, Sweet P makes a quick change to the garment. I hope it works, girl. I’m rooting for you!

Back in the sewing room, it becomes apparent that Jillian’s freakout is imminent. She keeps cutting herself at the sewing machine and she starts to cry. She’s bleeding everywhere, so Rami comes over and he doesn’t see any blood. Even when Jillian is freaking out and bleeding all over the place, she's still utterly bland.

Christian doesn’t even throw out any gratuitous “fierces” for a while because he’s so busy trying to get his garment finished.

[Sidebar: I’m going to try my hardest to remember to watch ‘Top Chef’ this season, for crying out loud. It’s like one of my New Year’s resolutions or something.]

The next morning, Jillian reminds us how determined she is while Rami mists his face. As silly as it is to mist your face, I have to admit that he mists his face quite beautifully.

Models come in for fittings, and Ricky hasn’t cried yet. Amazing.

Victorya is in love with her boring coat. Jillian is totally last minute. Christian thinks everyone sucks, as usual. And ---- Rami resorts to the glue gun!

Et tu, Rami?

On to the runway!

Heidi announces that nobody will be getting immunity from here on out.

Rami’s garment reminded me of the candy wrapper challenge for some reason. Christian’s jacket – while cool, reminded me of that jacket he made for the “I’m-not-fat-anymore” challenge. It's that same skinny-with-puffy-shoulder jacket he always makes when he's not making a dress. Victorya’s jacket looked like the jacket they made for the coutoure challenge. Sweet P’s dress? I loved it, of course. It didn’t remind me of anything I’ve seen in previous episodes.

NINAGARCIA and Kors loved Christian’s work. They all pronounce the birth of a new jean: The Motocross Jean. Twenty bucks says we see "The Motocross Jean" at the GAP this fall.

NINAGARCIA thinks Chris’s dress looks dated and not iconic. Heidi thought the dress looked unfinished or home sewn. Kors thinks he should have taken the fraying further. Heidi thought it was boring. “Very Joan Cusack in ‘Working Girl’”

The judges liked Rami’s. NINAGARCIA thought his outfit was very sophisticated and very Rami. She also thought it was refreshing that he was forced to not drape this time around. I can't wait until she calls out Christian for making that same jacket and Jillian for making another damn trenchcoat.

The judges also liked Ricky’s. Kors reveals he loves Amy Winehouse and basically says that Ricky’s lingerie experience finally showed through on his construction of this denim dress. Ricky starts crying, of course.

“What’s up with you?” Heidi asks him.

Girl, don’t even get me started. It’s kind of like Ricky’s ashamed of his lingerie-making background or something, the way he keeps crying whenever you bring it up.

The judges aren’t liking Jillian’s at all. Heidi says it makes her model look like a marshmallow. Jillian’s problem? Biting off more than she could chew. Oh, and also being a zombie.

Kors thinks Sweet P’s dress looks “super chic,” and it has some “voodoo” to it that makes you look slimmer. NINAGARCIA loved it. “It’s versatile,” she says. God, I love Sweet P. She’s so cute. I think I have a little girly crush on her.

The judges thought Victorya’s garment was disjointed. “Like a jean jacket and a skirt glued together.

[SIDEBAR: I totally NEED one of those Mac laptops that fit in an interoffice envelope.]

Ricky wins this challenge, and is told that they are going to sell his dress on Levi.com. Surprisingly, he doesn’t cry after hearing that. Jesus H, I don’t understand this man.

Victorya gets The Auf.

The designers who make it to the next round aren’t looking too distraught about her leaving. Heh heh. They all hate her too.

Next week: Sweet P and Christian arm wrestle!