Project Runway 3/28/13--"The Art of Fashion" summary

Previously on Project Runway: more teams, which of course meant Richard and Layana got stuck together because that is the most drama. Finally everyone is done with the teams because there was a lot of bitching this episode. The designers are supposed to make looks for Lord & Taylor, which is not exciting, and then the teams don’t have to collaborate, which is also lame. They still all boss each other around, though. Michelle was especially annoying, which caused Daniel to act really weird. Stanley stood up to Patricia and they passive-aggressively sniped at each other. Richard refused to speak to Layana but that was the least entertaining thing. Michelle won, and her dress was actually cute. Samantha, the person not actually fighting with anyone, made a weird junior short dress and was sent home. (click for more)

Layana tells her apartment that Samantha shouldn’t have gone home, because of course she would rather have Richard go home. It’s true that Samantha’s previous garments have been pretty good, and while they always talk about only judging this challenge they generally don’t. But she is not good drama, and keeping Richard around guarantees that Layana will continue to whine about it. Michelle also complains about Richard, like she is a prize. Whatever, they are both annoying. Stanley is excited to be in the final six.

Heidi tells the designers to be proud of themselves and demands that they smile. Calm down. They will have to be creative today. Field trip to an art museum! They end up at the Guggenheim. Patricia seems especially thrilled, although Richard just seems happy to be there. There are new teams, because OF COURSE. Stanley and Michelle, Patricia and Richard (I guess they are tired of Richard and Layana), and Layana and Daniel. Layana immediately says she will have to carry their team. Today’s challenge is the HP advertisement challenge, where they have to talk about how great HP products are. Anyway, be inspired by the museum and “create a work of wearable art”. Tim does say over the top, and that this piece will have a “commercial” companion piece. Oh, so they decided not to spring the ready-to-wear look on them last minute? It’s about time! Wait, am I praising this season? UGH. Also they will be making their own prints, which is always a good challenge. Of course, the team must agree on one textile between the two of them.

Everyone wanders around the museum and takes pictures of things. Daniel starts talking about a coat that fills up with air when you walk. OK. Layana says it’s nothing, which makes no sense. She snobs that the point of the challenge is to make something sculptural. What? The coat changes shape. I don’t hear you having ideas, so shush. Daniel eventually says she can do the couture piece (he interviews she was very insistent) and even then he has to promise her he’ll do whatever she tells him. I am so tired of her. Layana interviews that this is ideal because she can boss him around and it will be great. No really, that’s what she says. Michelle and Stanley seem to be getting along, planning giant voluminous coats and dresses. Richard basically tells Patricia the art piece is all her because that’s her thing. For some reason she has to know what he’s doing for the ready-to-wear piece, and she’s upset he doesn’t know. Why does it matter? It would be easier for him to adjust to you. Also I think they are standing in front of the sculpture Daniel and Layana got inspired by, so I hope out of the whole giant museum those two teams pick the same piece of art. Patricia interviews that he is lost “as far as what modern art is about”. Why is everyone talking nonsense today? Just because Richard has no idea what he’s going to make yet doesn’t mean he doesn’t get art.

Back in the workroom the computers are set up and everyone gets started on making a print and then there are arts and crafts supplies? What? Why is there bubble wrap and PVC pipe? Stupid. One hour to design the print. Michelle makes a print of a yellow woman’s head. Creepy. Patricia makes triangles, and Layana and Daniel eventually make rectangles. Exciting. Richard asks for big fake plastic crystals. Patricia thinks he’s going really tacky, but Richard insists he’s going in another direction. We’ll see.

Tim tells everyone that the winner will get $10,000 and a computer. Nice. Michelle is thrilled that she and Stanley are just working without having to talk about everything. Richard and Patricia are not getting along as well, because Richard doesn’t understand Patricia’s drawing, and she decides that means he’s an idiot. He says they are so different that sometimes he doesn’t know what she’s talking about, said in a joking way, and she interviews that she’s glad he’s afraid of her design. Huh? This interaction is bothering me. I don’t know why she is being so condescending. Both Daniel and Layana think they have to support the other one because their partner sucks at everything. Layana does admit she is lost, but then complains that Daniel is not helpful because he hasn’t gotten her unstuck yet. Daniel feels Layana doesn’t have a point of view. More painting and sewing. Patricia makes Richard help her under the guise of “this way Richard can get inspiration from me and do his work”. Richard does admit that he needs to understand what she’s doing so he can match his look.

In the morning everyone has fabric to look at. Stanley loves his print. Actually everyone loves their print. Patricia complains that Richard is spending too much time making a bracelet and the bracelet isn’t modern art. I don’t think it has to be, but he should be making a dress, that’s true. Layana takes all the print fabric for her look and leaves Daniel with like, a yard. Then when he points this out, she says she couldn’t possibly loosen the pleats or do anything to give him any fabric. Like they wouldn’t nail her for that later. He still doesn’t even have a yard, but she was very insistent that her design couldn’t possibly work with less fabric. Daniel says he’ll make it work. Patricia bosses Richard around and is really condescending. Just…she really bugs me today. You are not the greatest either. Richard is no peach as he says he is flailing because he is not inspired by Patricia’s design. Layana goes over to Patricia to complain that now her design doesn’t go with her print, so she’s taken the whole thing apart. So you can give Daniel some more fabric, right?

Tim time! Michelle and Stanley have a six yard train, which gives Tim chills. He is fully behind what they are doing. Patricia has like, barrel shapes and big pleats and Tim says there is too much going on. Patricia interviews that no one understands her until she’s done. Richard is really flailing, and Tim bluntly tells him that they had a lot of time and he has nothing. Tim asks if he consulted with Patricia, and she explains how she made him help her “to see if he got some inspiration”. Tim points out to the two of them that the whole thrust of the project is owned by Patricia. She tries to say that’s not true, and Tim says “How not?” Heh. THEN Tim says to Richard that he’s just fucking around and then when they’re on the bottom he’ll throw Patricia under the bus and claim it was all her idea. Richard clutches his pearls and insists his plan was just to work and stay focused, while Patricia immediately believes Tim. Daniel has a good jacket. Layana hasn’t pushed her look far enough. Daniel thinks they’ve been working well together, but Tim says it’s a 12 on a scale of 1 to 100. Oo. Layana just stares at him. Then she starts crying about how she’s having a hard day and as if she’s just realized if things go wrong she can’t blame Daniel. Whatever. She seriously goes and cries in a corner. I don’t like her so I don’t have sympathy.

Daniel eventually goes and makes Layana stand back and look at her design again, which seems to help. Of course because she is a horrible person, she interviews that she realized she couldn’t cry all day and just went back to work. No mention about how your teammate bailed you out or anything. Man, I hate everyone. Model fittings. Patricia says Daniel instead of Richard at least twice, and complains that she doesn’t like his look. Richard is upset because there is none of his viewpoint anywhere. Michelle does her Nina impression again, and again, it is not that great. Layana brags about how she got herself out of her depression, without any help. We now see that Stanley and Michelle’s art dress is made from bubble wrap. Interesting. Richard breaks a zipper, or something, because he usually uses jersey and you don’t need a zipper.

In the morning, Michelle actually tells Patricia to stop bossing Richard around and let him fail. The bubble wrap that Michelle was painting is still wet so they’re running around. She and Stanley finally have a minor fight about a hat Michelle made that Stanley thinks is too much. Patricia goes back on her word and bosses Richard around. Hot makeup guy Scott. Daniel thinks if Richard had used knits and stuck to his guns his dress would look better. With five minutes left, Layana is putting a strap on her look because it’s too heavy.

Michelle is wearing the hat that Stanley wouldn’t let her put on the model. Rachel Roy is here again. Sigh. Guest judge is Tracy Reese. Layana: the gown is made out of the print, which is light with different light colored rectangles. Then wrapped around that is some black tulle, with bunches here and there. The skirt is a mermaid skirt, with the black starting right were the skirt flares out. It looks good, I’m just really tired of Layana talking about how great she is because she stopped crying. Daniel: long sleeved black top with a deep V and a waist tie, and a miniskirt in the print that is a bell shape. I think the top has leather sleeves. Patricia: long skirt in the print, which a large scale print of narrow red and brown triangles. It looks like the model is having trouble walking because the skirt is so long. Then the top is just a tube that goes around the model's torso and arms, in the print. Then a white veil. At her waist is a “corrugated” wide piece. That’s what Patricia called it. Incidentally as her model walks Patricia is creepily staring at the judges. Richard: sleeveless top with the print set up so it just looks like vertical stripes. Then a short skirt with pleats, but the pleats are sewn together so it’s flat. Richard says “I think the construction is OK” and they cut to the model and the belt buckle she has on looks like it says OK. I laughed. It doesn’t fit well, especially over her butt. Michelle: long skirt with multiple tiers, in black painted bubble wrap. Over that is a green coat with a long train that has gray paint on it, in a geometric pattern. I don’t think it looks that bad. Stanley: very wide dress with black shoulders and the rest in their black and yellow print. It’s like an A-line skirt, but if the A-line started at her shoulders.

Heidi claims to be impressed. Stanley and Michelle talk about the volume and how they got along. Heidi loves the print, Rachel thinks it works on multiple levels. Nina also likes the print but she thinks that the design doesn’t show the “woman out of control” that the print is supposed to be. They also love the paint on the back of the train. Patricia’s triangles are supposed to be stylized feathers. They know Richard struggled with the fabric, but Nina claims to recognize how he was inspired by architecture. She hates Patricia’s presentation. Heidi likes it, because she is a crazy person, but the judges seem to agree that the looks don’t go together. Some of the pleats that Richard put in his skirt are twisted, which would be cool if he’d pulled it off. Richard says this is all Patricia. Well, that’s true. When asked about the look, Layana just talks about her personal struggles. At least she FINALLY says Daniel helped her get out of it. Heidi tells Daniel his look is her favorite. They all like it, but Nina tells Layana she was a good influence. Don’t do that, Nina. Layana’s look has maybe too many things going on and it is kind of 19^th century. It is an old look and it doesn’t go with the print. Daniel says he knows his look is stronger than hers (because the judges just said so), and Layana responds that if she hadn’t helped Daniel he probably would have ruined things.

In the Scrap Bin Layana actually curls up next to Michelle and starts sobbing that Daniel claimed the ready-to-wear look even though “I was with you all the way” or whatever. He did tell them that she helped but in the end it’s his look and they just said it was the stronger of the two. Don’t blame Daniel because the judges didn’t like your look. Seriously, calm down. She’s trying to claim both outfits, which is ridiculous. Daniel calls her out on this, so she changes tactics and says she feels betrayed and he just says “OK” and stops talking. Ugh. I hope he wins just to piss her off.

Patricia’s look seems to be the stronger of her team, but the judges don’t really like the veil. Tracy actually thinks she left him out to dry because on the art piece, there was hand painting and applique and all kinds of stuff, but on Richard’s piece there is only the print. Also his skirt was terrible. Nina says Patricia should have helped. Stanley did a really great job of using the print, and also the bubble wrap. Michelle created the beautiful print and the coat on the art piece. Rachel admits that when Layana’s dress appeared, she assumed Daniel did it. Ouch. They really like Daniel’s piece, though. When Tracy asks why Daniel didn’t tell Layana her design was bad, Heidi starts talking about how Layana thinks she’s better than everyone and she probably wouldn’t listen. It’s true.

Stanley is the winner! Cool. He and Michelle are in. Daniel and Layana are in. Patricia is…actually we have to wait for her to stop crying first. And then she’s in. I thought so. Richard’s upset to have gotten so far and then get eliminated. He’s still proud of himself.

Next week: no teams, but eliminated designers as helpers, editorial look, somehow Richard and Patricia are stuck together again, Zac is back. So much for ALL TEAMS ALL THE TIME.