Project Runway: Please Stop Ticking Me Off

Okay, you guys?

I have to talk to you about Project Runway last night, because I am sick — SICK — over the conclusion. So those of you who have it Tivoed and waiting, prepare to either be spoiled or move on, because behind this cut, is a very spoileriffic rant.

All right then:

What.
The.
Fuck.

I think everyone who watches this show is aware that the top five or six designers make collections and show at Bryant Park. We know this because Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week happens weeks and weeks before the finale of the show airs, and it's kind of a big deal with lots of photographers, so they have to ensure the paps and fashion writers don't spoil viewers at home by revealing the final three. In fact, I've already seen the collections of the final four from last night, along with Suede's and Joe's. Even so, I wouldn't need to see those collections to know who belongs in the top three.

So am I surprised they sent all of the top four home to design for Bryant Park with no clear top three contenders named? No. But I am really weary of this false drama build-up crap Bravo pulls. It's insulting to viewers at home, especially when you're trying to assert that this final show was so close and think we'll forget how clearly the last several runway shows have revealed who is ready for the fashion world — in terms of both design aesthetic and attitude — and who needs to pack her hair accessories into her Caboodles and cart her tired 50s aesthetic and Mean Girl personality whence they came.

Kenley has proved over the last four or five episodes that she is not ready to work in the fashion world. She doesn't want to collaborate with other designers, she doesn't listen to her clients (unless they share her love of 50s fashion), and is unable to accept criticism from respected fashion experts. She is cocky, like Jeffrey and Santino, without the talent to account for it. Combined with the fact that she hasn't shown anything that isn't derivative (her one winning design looking suspiciously like something from Balenciaga's spring 2008 line) and has no appreciation for any aesthetic but her own, and it's a fucking travesty that she's still going to be on my television next Wednesday.

I'm aware that this is a reality television show, and manufactured drama will always play a part, but until this last year, I had always enjoyed the fact that Bravo's competition shows didn't seem to let capital-D Drama rule the judging. The beauty of shows like Project Runway and Top Chef until their most recent seasons has always been watching talented people push themselves beyond their comfort zones and seeing the best person come out on top. I watch because I love fashion and design, and I love watching people create, even under crazy circumstances and constraints, which gimmicks provide plenty of drama without the Real-World-esque planting of volatile personalities in the mix for the sake of interpersonal drama. Talent is what kept me watching, even as the product placement grew more and more comically in-your-face. ("Designers, please send your models to the TRESemmé hair salon and the L'Oréal make-up counter, and be sure to borrow appropriately from the Bluefly accessory wall! Also, watch Lipstick Jungle! ON NBC!!)

This season has been the worst thus far in questionable judging, eliminations, and choices of finalists, and that includes Wendy Pepper. It is no longer about choosing the cream of the crop, Instead, the producers must ensure the judges keep an Omarosa or Wendy Pepper in the mix — a nice Cruella deVille for us all to hate on and generate buzz on the internet about — even if she is not in the same league as her competitors. With the last Top Chef, it was Lisa, and now we get her fashion counterpart in Kenley (okay, that might have been below the belt - even Kenley isn't as bad as Lisa).

And — FUCK! — it looks like that "manufacture a common enemy for viewers to hate" marketing tactic totally works, because here I am ranting about it on a pop culture blog.

All I can say is, if this is the course the producers of Project Runway want to continue, I'm not sorry the next season is in limbo with injunctions and contract disputes. It can stay there in TV purgatory, never to appear again on Bravo or Lifetime, for all I care. I will watch the rest of this season, of course. I'm clearly way too invested, and I adore Tim Gunn more than it is probably healthy to love a man I've never met. But I swear to Coco Chanel and Hubert de Givenchy, if Kenley makes the top three, those judges and this show are DEAD TO ME.

After all, if I need my dose of Tim Gunn, there's always Tim Gunn's Guide to Style.

Comments

[Amy]

I am SOOOO 100% in agreement. I was totally looking forward to Kenley getting the beat-down that she so deserved, and instead I got "we couldn't decide, so you're all still in"... BS. So now, we're just going to prolong the inevitable and put the 3 designers with ACTUAL TALENT in jeopardy of losing their spot at Bryant Park just to create a little more false drama. So disappointing.

[Suzy Q]

Yeah, that Kenley needs to be bitch-slapped. Hard. What a pouty, whiny little girl.

[Kate]

WORD.

[Amalah]

And here I thought LAST WEEK was the height of judging travesty, because Kenley was soooo already overdue for her auffing. Suede didn't necessarily deserve to advance to Bryant Park either, but his design was WAAAAY better than hers.

Last night I was pleading with the judges to pleeeeease not pull the no-elimination bullshit because I saw it coming, even though it made ZERO SENSE. Kenley is appalling on every level -- damn, even Jeffrey was never that rude to Tim and Heidi, and yeah, he HAD the chops to go with his attitude -- and this whole "design a line and THEN we'll auf you" is a lame excuse to keep the whiny annoying "villain" around for one more week, because WE ALL KNOW who really deserve to be in the final three, even without seeing their collections from Fashion Week.

(I think Leanne should and will win. Her collection was absolutely amazing.)

[BaltimoreGal]

Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes!
And I am sorry, a feather on your head does NOT make a t-shirt and skinny jeans stylish.
Neither does red lipstick.
Or insulting everyone else.
Heidi should have auf'd her just like she wanted to do.

[Sarah Lena]

Ditto and thensome.

My husband (who may just have an ovary) and I were literally freaking out during the final commercial break. And although, yes, we hate Kenley and everything she stands for (haven't we ALL worked with that one individual? ugh, they make my vomit in my mouth), we made peace with the fact that she may be one of the three that showed "at the tents"

Sidenote: LOVE JERELL. WOULD TOTALLY HAVE HIS BABY.

And then, for them to play nicey-nice and invite all of them the opportunity to show? And then edit the ending as if Kenley was really the black sheep and no one likes her? Seriously. SRSLY.

We were bummed. Guide to Style can't come fast enough.

[rebeccaisfab]

my mother in law and i said the same thing last night...if they keep kenley, we are DONE.

[Kathy]

Oh lord, I rarely let reality tv get me that worked up, but geez, I was ready to throw something (or somebody) last night. Kenley? Delusional much? Not to mention snotty, rude, defensive, and just plain childish. I wouldn't give her my extra tulle either.

[April]

Sarah Lena and I are going to form a club dedicated to women who would have Jerell's baby, 'cause I totally would too.

I loved how Korto called Kenley out for her backstabby juvenile behavior.

[Alison]

Amen! Honestly, I get standing up for your (perceived) aesthetic, but at least have the talent to back it up, or something new and exciting to show, or even something interesting to say about it. (I loved Jeffrey and Santino for doing this right.) I swear that dress looked like a reject from the drag queen challenge. The judging was such a total sell out. There's Heidi, getting lip from Kenley and then shooting the chick DAGGERS, and then she says that she's interested in seeing more from her? BS.

And when Jerell started getting choked up I swear I lost it, too. Love him!

[JZMom]

My favorite line last night was when they were on the van on the way to the Botanical Gardens, and Kenley said, "I really hope this challenge is something I do." Seriously, Ms. I-Have-Only-One-Thing? Can't you push yourself a little in the final? Sure, Rami draped all the time, but at least that was a technique, not a style. I'm surprised she didn't make the dress from Peggy Sue Gets Married, or Back to the Future. Though her dress was BY FAR one of the most hideous things I've ever seen, at least it wasn't a 50's take on an "evening gown".

I love Korto, but I think Jerrell will win, last night's WTF aside.

[sassystitcher]

Seriously...if LL Cool J doesn't knock her out, I don't know who will :(

I watch PR and TC and love, love, love them because even though they're "reality" shows, they're about MAKING things. The end result is the star of the show...not the crap going around it. Unfortunately, that is changing. I like a touch of drama to keep it interesting, but to me, Kenley WAY out-Lisa's Lisa. I'm thinking that Lisa wouldn't be horrid to Tim Gunn. TIM GUNN! Who in their right mind would be mean to him?!

Grr. I've looked at the final collections and her's isn't horrible. It scares me that she might have made it in. Maybe they can ship her to that show where Sharon Osbourne whips the Rock of Love castoffs into shape?

[Maria]

Kenley's lack of common social skills ASTOUNDS me. ABSOLUTELY.

We hates her.

[The Usual Suspect]

I like Heidi Klum.

[BaltimoreGal]

Lisa was a sour-faced bitch and a downer. But Kenley is also a whiner and is not recognizing of others' talents. Even worse!

[Barbara]

Even Tim Gunn on Craig Ferguson was a little iffy about who has made it through and "WHAT THE HELL ARE THE JUDGES THINKIN?" I love Tim Gunn.

*Also, this was a Snarky Amber Gold Star post.

[deirdre]

The worst part is how this past show was almost entirely about Kenley. All of the backstory was Kenley and most of the talking head interviews were Kenley. It's bad enough that Kenley is still on, but to turn PR into The Kenley Show? Ugh!

Bring on more Judy Noodles! And why don't they, at this stage, get the remaining contestants to start analyzing their style decisions -- you know, actually talk about what they think about when they are designing their frocks? The Process!?

[Wendy]

I have been hating PR USA this season especially since Project Runway Australia was WAAAAY better. I watched the entire season on youtube and once they kicked out the deluded Christian wanna-be it was endlessly better with little drama except for the great designing and competitions (don't get me wrong there were plenty of mini-dramas) but it seemed much more real the PR USA has been in a long time.
PR Canada also kicked USA's butt in it's first season (I think season2 is starting in the Spring) I just wish it were easier to watch all the international versions of the show and not deal with low-res youtube. If you get a chance to watch them you absolutely should.