The final 3 on Project Runway
Project Runway has whittled its group of aspiring designers down to three -- Jay, Kara, and...Wendy? For those of you who've been following the show (which I am wildly addicted to), the inclusion of Wendy in the 'final 3' of the show probably came as a shock. For weeks I've been predicting that the final group would comprise Jay, Kara, and Austin. But last night Wendy won the challenge, and Austin got the boot for all the right reasons.
My thoughts on this go beyond the show itself, but towards design, art direction, and clients in general. Last night, the client was Nancy O'Dell, the blond host of Access Hollywood, who needed a dress to wear for the pre-Grammy Awards red carpet broadcast. She met with all four of the designers in advance, explained what colors and styles she liked, and even what fit of clothing looked most appropriate in front of a camera. The actual meeting was likely much longer than what was broadcast, but it was lengthy enough for the audience to understand what her criteria were for a successful design. And whichever designer came up with the best dress design, while meeting all her functional needs, would win.
Like previous episodes, some of the designers actually listened to what she said, while others completely ignored (or simply didn't hear) her requests and went down their own creative path. It was another example of why I'm such a fan of the show -- you can watch the designers go into their workspace, cut fabric, stitch, sew, and generally fight with themselves as they frantically attempt to align their hands with their mental vision of the piece. It's the classic design process, but with fabric, scissors and needles, and as the work slowly unfolds the audience has a front row seat for who 'gets it' and who is creatively gasping for air.
One of O'Dell's comments was that her dress couldn't be too tight on top for conducting interviews and moving around in front of the camera. Jay chose to either ignore her or simply didn't listen, for his dress had a very tightly-wrapped top, not to mention the fact that it simply didn't match the free-flowing, layered appearance of the skirt. But Jay's design wasn't bad enough to lose or win, so he skated by.
Kara seemed to listen to O'Dell's needs, but like Jay, she was neither fantastic nor horrible. So she made it through too.
And then we get to Austin, who was most interesting to watch. He completely ignored O'Dell's requests for something "Grammy" looking (less formal, a bit more 'rock-n-roll', whatever that means), and made a dress that looked like a lot of what he's designed throughout this season -- fairy-tale princess fluff. It was beautiful, without a doubt, but completely inappropriate for the event, and it didn't meet any of O'Dell's needs. When asked later to explain his design, he flatly stated that the dress was an "Austin Scarlett dress," which is another way of saying you're too stubborn or lacking in creative diversity to hold your own taste in reserve and gently infuse it without breaking any of the client's requests. As has been said many times over the season, the designers had to always keep in mind the needs of their audience or client, but not let the client run wild or dictate the completed design, nor loose their own voice in the process. Austin indulged himself, and paid the price.
Wendy on the other hand did everything O'Dell asked for. As much as I despise Wendy's personality, she won for the right reasons. She listened to O'Dell, and created a dress that met her functional needs. Like a lot of Wendy's designs it wasn't all that inspired or creative, but Wendy designed her piece accordingly, and the design was decent enough for her to make it to the next round.
Me? I'm pulling for Jay to win, but if I was betting money, I'd put it on Kara. She has the responsibility, communication skills, and raw talent to pull off a real-career in the industry. She deserves it, but Jay would be a worthy second pick. Wendy? Oh lord, don't even think about it.
