Project Runway 9/19/13--"Project Runway SuperFan!" summary

Previously on Project Runway: the designers were told to make clothes for “the modern Southern woman.” No one knew what that meant. Apparently to the producers it means plaid. Bradon won, and I’m not sure how they are going to sell that plaid complicated dress in a department store but whatever. Ken’s head exploded because he is from the South and he is convinced that no one he’s ever seen at home would wear anything the top three made. The bottom three were told to go back and make something new in an hour. Dom remade her dress entirely and they told her she would also have her dress sold in stores, which is not really fair to Bradon. Although it was a cute dress. Ken’s dress was shiny and tacky but since he’s great drama Jeremy was sent home instead. (click for more)

Tim? What are you doing here? He says it’s his favorite challenge, because it’s all about “super fans”. Everyone wants makeovers. I think I remember hearing about this. I didn’t bother applying because I knew I would be “the fat one” and they stick me with the most obnoxious person in the hopes that I would cry/have a screaming fight/both. In fact, I’m going to go ahead and predict that Ken is assigned the most difficult client in terms of size/attitude. Helen will probably also get someone difficult, and Bradon will get some super cute nerdy girl he can make pretty. That’s how this challenge works. Most often, the girl that looks the most like a model will win, and the most difficult clients are stuck with that season’s villains and everyone will hate them more, but they won’t actually be eliminated. This dumb show.

Anyway, there are 8 women, who are in New York and really want to go to Mood and stuff. They are here for “The Ultimate Project Runway Experience”. As they drive up to Parsons in a double decker bus they shriek and wave at Tim and freak out. Yeah, I would probably freak out too. None of these women look that ridiculous. I mean, we can all use a makeover, but I’m not looking at any of them being like “OMG she REALLY needs that”. They get a tour (Tim warns them not to go by the craft services table and eat candy) and they’re all taking pictures of the runway and now they’re practicing walking the runway and posing behind the scrim. It’s pretty cute. Tim ushers them into the sewing room to hide. Hee!

Everyone is in the workroom and they get a “gather ‘round!” You have new clients! No one is more excited about the challenge than them! So they all come in and Tim tells them they’re super fans. Makeovers for all! Kate says they remind her how cool it is to be on TV. For the second time. She doesn’t say that part. It’s a hair product placement challenge. Ken is not listening because he has “never” sewn for “real women” before. Who do you make clothes for? You know what, I think we all could have predicted this would happen so I shouldn’t be surprised or get riled up. Out of the designers left, which one would be an asshole? Ken. Tim divvies everyone up. Ken’s model doesn’t look that big, but in my opinion no one is ever that huge. Helen gets the really skinny girl with the nerd glasses and scrunchie and really long hair. So I guess they want her to win? She’s clearly headed for a major transformation. Alexander likes his “curvy” model. Bradon doesn’t think his girl even needs a makeover, so he’s worried he won’t change her enough. Hmm, an interesting point. Two days! Wow.

30 minutes to sketch. Justin’s fan has lost 130 pounds which is awesome, but she warns him she’s Mormon and needs a modest outfit. Bradon’s model would like to look like she will cut a bitch. Hee. Helen is of course going as far as she can out of the box. Alexandria is intimidating to her client, but then again, her client is saying horizontal stripes scare her. Alexander is making a suit. This seems to be a great fit. Ken’s client wants glamour, but he’s all “I want you to be comfortable though” which is weird. He interviews that it’s important to make her happy, so even though he’s been an ass most of the time, he at least understands that he should maybe not be an ass to his client. Or maybe for this challenge.

Mood! The fans are also super excited to go to Mood because wouldn’t you be? Helen is dragging her girl around. This might end up doing well, this pairing. At least Helen seems happier. Bradon is blowing his budget. Ken says he wants to make his client Susan happy, and he doesn’t like the green she loves but apparently he bought it anyway? Whatever.

Everyone comes back to the workroom, clients too. Ken is nervous about the green his client loves. Justin wants his fan’s autograph because it may become inspiration. Tim brings in the hair guy to talk to everyone. The hair consults are like hair consults already are. Every person gets some product placement. Lots of color. Helen’s girl is getting a complete change. Lots of working. Everyone talks to each other about their clients and making them edgy or glamorous or whatever. Alexander knows a suit is difficult to make but he seems determined. Dom tells Alexandria to make sure her silhouette is young. Ken is behind. Whether or not he is mad about who he was paired up with, he certainly is spending a lot of time talking about making her happy. So he’s at least genre savvy.

Back at the hotel everyone is super tired. Bradon and Alexander pack up because they have to move in with Justin and Ken. Ken doesn’t want new roommates but too bad. So I’m not sure when they get there but Ken is ironing in the entryway, wearing his beauty mask, and completely ignoring the knocking which is pretty rude. Didn’t they tell him when those two were coming over? Actually, they might not. So Alexander busts in anyway and orders Ken to move his ass. OK that was ignorant. Ken continues to take his time, so when he moves away from the ironing board Alexander shoves the board and slaps the iron down and says he can bring drama too. WHY ARE YOU PEOPLE MAKING ME SIDE WITH KEN? Yeah, he’s being jerky but you are escalating the situation. Sigh. Ken goes out into the hallway to yell at production, I guess. Justin is not getting involved and hopefully takes his implant out so he doesn’t have to listen. Some PA tells Ken to take a breath and he refuses. The “talent coordinator” begs Ken to calm down, because he’s yelling (still with the beauty mask on, so he looks less intimidating). Alexander claims he and Bradon went back to their room and locked the door. Oh come on. That is just bullshit. If he was going to get violent, he would have thrown your luggage in the hallway. Maybe it’s because I work in a school and I’m used to students posturing and yelling and being ignorant, but I feel like I can sense when people are actually going to be violent and when they just want everyone to think so. And I know he actually threatened Helen, but he hasn’t said one threatening word to those two about “coming over there” or whatever. He said he wasn’t going to deal with it. Locking the door is unnecessary. Also the talent coordinator doesn’t need to sound afraid unless he’s been an asshole to production too. Which I guess is possible. I think the bigger question here is, why did you cast such a mentally unstable person in the first place? Don’t they do psych evaluations anymore?

To sum up: Ken doesn’t want new roommates so he is rude to Alexander, and then Alexander is also a bitch so he’s rude right back, and then when Ken yells about it (which, let’s be honest, you KNOW he’s going to do when you’re a jerk) Alexander is “afraid” and runs to hide behind a locked door instead of dealing with the shit he started. I’m not saying Ken isn’t a total ass, because yelling at production assistants is really pointless. But Alexander needs to finish what he started and certainly is not blameless.

So…the next morning? I guess? Everyone goes to the lounge and Dom says no one has seen Ken. When Ken appears, Tim heads him off and says he saw the tape from last night. Tim calls it a “temper tantrum” but also assigns some blame to Alexander. Ken admits he’s like that at home and that Alexander wasn’t trying to attack him. Uh huh. Tim goes into the lounge and calls Alexander out on his behavior. Alexander claims he owned up to it. Which we didn’t see. Tim’s solution is to give Ken his own room and make the other three share a room. For the rest of the season, meaning they’ll never have to double up, even if it gets down to only Justin and Ken or something. This is dumb. He’s clearly unstable and that’s multiple times now that he’s had screaming fits. And it’s TWICE that you had to take him aside and tell him not to be an asshole. That’s two times too many. Plus, everyone gets what they want now which is stupid. Ken’s not dangerous, he’s just an asshole. Ken tells everyone he doesn’t want to feel like he’s the bully, but it also seems like in order to keep him from turning into a huge jerk everyone has to carefully watch what they say around him. Tim tells him he has anger management issues and it’s not good for anyone. Bradon says they’re shaken. Whatever on that, but Helen does bring up that they are all wondering if they’ll go back into the workroom and he’ll freak out again. Good point. I really don’t know why they let him stay. Kate says “they” need to get over “themselves”.

Finally it is time to work! Ken claims he won’t let anyone stop him. He’s going to stop himself, is what is going to happen. Alexander claims he is off his game and making mistakes. Maybe don’t start shit next time. I’m sorry, but that was unnecessary and I feel like right now everyone is on the internet bitching about Ken and far fewer people are pointing out Alexander’s role. I know, I know, I just wrote like a whole page about it so I’m contributing.

Tim Time! Justin has put his client’s autograph on the fabric. Cool. Alexander’s suit gets a concerned look and the instruction to concentrate on her boobs and the fit. Alexandria needs to be less mature. Bradon is at a disadvantage because his client is pretty already. Ken has to be careful with the midsection. Tim doesn’t like Dom’s print because it’s large, and he says women larger than a 10 or petite women don’t do well with large prints. I am both of those things and I do what I want. Helen is going bombshell for her nerdy girl. It’s so cliché but it’ll be awesome, I bet.

Fittings. Everyone has their new haircuts. See, Helen’s model has super short hair that’s darker, and she’s lost the glasses. Ken’s client is thrilled. She actually tells him to put the hemline wherever he needs to, because she knows that Nina will talk about proportions and Heidi will want it shorter. Hee. Alexander has a lot of work to do. I think Justin has cut the signature out of fabric to applique.

Runway day. Tim gives them two hours. Alexander can’t line his suit properly. Helen hopes the judges aren’t mean to the fans. Ken doesn’t like his dress because he hates the color. I’ve seen worse. It’s not that great, but it’s not the worst. Helen’s client looks great and also a lot older. Not like, too old, but when you cut off all a woman’s hair and make it darker she looks older. Alexander is in the weeds. Hot makeup guy Scott. Everyone tells their clients how to walk.

Zanna is here but not Nina! What is that?! I would be so upset to not meet Nina Garcia. Guest judge is designer Erin Fetherstone. Justin: it’s a pretty simple black dress, knee-length with elbow length sleeves and a crew neck. The white signature is abstract enough that it doesn’t quite look like writing. It looks like random squiggles. It looks cool. The skirt is full and moves well. Bradon: black sequined dress with a V neck, knee length, and she has a vest or jacket or something. I can’t tell, she whips it off really quickly. Alexander: beige suit, sleeveless, with a black peplum in leather maybe? And a weird black panel on her shoulder. I can’t tell if the skirt hem is still jacked up. It doesn’t look that great. Dom: beige jacket that is pretty shapeless. I mean, it hangs like a cardigan. The dress is nice, sort of flowy with a slight mullet hem in a blue and purple print. I don’t think the print is as hideous as Tim made it out to be. It seems to fit well, especially the bodice.

Kate: black leggings and a horrible brown top. The color is not a good brown, and there are a million layers or tiers or something. Ruffles everywhere. It’s tunic length, and then a peplum in the same fabric, but it’s not a stiff fabric so it’s all limp, and then a thin belt and blousy above, and like, really weird mesh panels over her sternum and shoulders and arms. This thing is terrible. Ugh. Ken: shift dress with a wide V, and alternating panels of black leather and green fabric. The green is not the best green. They come to a point at one hip. The neckline looks weirdly wide. I don’t know, Kate’s was worse. Alexandria: knee length full skirt in a silk print, and a black jacket over a black top. It’s boring but not totally horrible I guess. Helen: strapless gown with a high slit. The neckline is frayed, and it’s gathered to make kind of a bustle but it’s pretty good.

Kate and Dom are safe. Kate was safe with that bullshit? Fine. They both agree that their clients are happy so they aren’t really upset they aren’t going to win. Justin explains about the signature and how he made her some shapewear because she lost a bunch of weight and has extra skin. Aww. Heidi praises her makeover. He reveals he sewed the signature. They love it. Alexandria was making an interview outfit. Heidi doesn’t like it, because it’s not youthful. The jacket is boring, but underneath there’s a white tank and a weirdly thick waistband to the skirt. It looks younger with the jacket open. Bradon talks about his look, and now that she’s standing still you can see the second piece is a leather vest of some kind, with pointed shoulders but no sleeves. It doesn’t look that bad. She wanted intimidating. Heidi thinks she could wear this to work. It’s a leather vest with shiny shoulders either in sequins or patent leather, with a black skirt that has strips of patent leather on it. No one is wearing that to work. It’s not a bad outfit, just not for work. They all love it, it’s sophisticated and the details are great, except the stripes on the skirt look a little plastic.

Alexander says the black pieces are organza. Zac knows it’s not finished. Plus the black is not flattering. Maybe all in one color? The back of the vest is too tight and the skirt is cut weird. But at least it looks like the hem is finished. Helen did what her client wanted and her client is so thrilled. She looks like a totally different person. The dress is red carpet and the bodice fits really well. The top that I thought was frayed is really black lace over the blue dress. Ken tells the judges his client really liked that green, and that he likes to show off a woman’s shape, which is rich coming from someone who said he has never designed for a regular woman. Heidi tells her she’s clearly happy, so that’s good. They don’t like the green and the diagonal lines are not hitting her in the right place. They give her a titscrepancy and Heidi is the boob patrol. Naturally. Also the back has no stripes so it’s boring. The hem is unfinished so there’s some fabric hanging there.

Back in the Scrap Bin the bottom people discuss how their clients got what they wanted or whatever. They think Helen’s dress is red carpet ready. There is some argument about the strips on Bradon’s skirt. The judges also love Justin’s stitching. Alexandria’s outfit looks like she could buy it in a store. They think she should get something cooler. Ken’s dress doesn’t have much fashion. Plus it doesn’t fit because it’s not done. His client stands up for him because she told him not to make it too tight. Alexander’s client looks good, the shape is good, it’s just kind of overdesigned. The shoulder panel isn’t sewn down so it’s just a flap.

Helen is the winner! That was a really great dress. I called it though. Justin is in. Bradon is in. Alexandria is in. Alexander is in. He’s shocked. Plus I know Ken was hoping Alexander’s not finishing would send him home. But surprise, surprise, Ken is eliminated legitimately and is not kicked off the show. Ken interviews that he is reassured because he got this far and it means he does know what he’s doing. Everyone is nice to him when he gets back there. He then tells everyone he was intimidated by everyone which I don’t know that anyone believes. You know everyone there is really worried he’s going to flip out. He leaves without hugging Tim.

As some of you might know, Ken didn’t show at Fashion Week. Apparently he was supposed to, but at the very last minute he had a meltdown and refused. He’s been on Twitter talking about how he tried to quit several times but was talked into staying. Of course, because they don’t have any crazy people now that he’s gone. I say they should have let him quit. He also claims they’ve edited everything a ton and he lied in all his interviews, but you can’t edit in his contempt for everyone. I mean, maybe he said nice things too and they left those out. But being bitchy about others is not something they can add in. You did say that stuff. I’ve seen some opinions that he knew they were using him for drama, and OK, but he still would have made the conscious decision to give them what they wanted. Also saying “I signed up for a design competition not a game show” is stupid. It’s season 12. You know it’s not a design competition. Plus you can still walk out.

Next week: make your own print! People freak out. That’s about it.