Amy is from Oakland via Texas and a "permalancer" for Old Navy. She likes Lady Gaga and would love to dress Leigh Lezark.

Anna is originally from Wisconsin, loves Carla Bruni and worships at the altars of Marc Jacobs, Lanvin and Band of Outsiders.

Anthony hails from Birmingham, Alabama and loves glamour and color.

Ben made dresses that were inspired by different kinds of snakes and would love to design for Rihanna. Keep your eye on this one!

Christiane's originally from Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire, and makes simple dresses using vivid colors. She might go far in this competition.

Emilio's hometown is Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. He has a background in costume design.

Janeane Marie lives in Portland and is inspired by "earth science and space."

Jay is a visual merchandiser and stylist for the Gap — in the kids' division. He did a really cute happy dance in the casting session when Tim Gunn liked his stuff.

Jesse is from Ohio but lives in Orlando, FL and is an actor as well as a designer. He made a bright blue tulle party dress that no one liked but still made it on the show.

Jesus is originally from Mazatlan, Sinaloa, Mexico. He used to dress up Barbies and used his mom as his model in the casting session. He says he adds "a little touch of grandiosity" to everything.

Jonathan's dream client is Meryl Streep and he loves Galliano. He made shorts with a hideous appliqué on the crotch and was picked anyway.

Maya is 22 and created a collection called Fashism, which is super avant garde. Crazy shapes and orb-like purses with spikes. One to watch!

Mila is inspired by artists Mondiran and Calder; she's into color blocking and loves Halle Berry and Cate Blanchett. She, Emilio and Pamela are the forty-somethings in a show with mostly 20 and 30 somethings.

Pamela's favorite designer is "God." Her dresses are pretty, soft and beautifully constructed, and Tim Gunn thinks "she's on the cusp of something big."

Ping works as a design intern, assistant stylist, model, interpreter, reporter and freelance writer (!!!). She loves "everything asymmetrical." She is a little wacky, and so are her clothes. She's going to be fun to watch.

Last, but not least: Seth Aaron lives in Vancouver but is originally from San Diego and does tough, rocker jackets. He's got 2 kids, a lizard and a dog. His favorite color is black and he fears "getting fat."

So you heard it here first: Keep a fashion eye on Ben, Christiane, Maya and Ping… And be prepared to be entertained by Anthony, Jesus and Jay.

There are photos, casting videos and at-home videos on the site, but be warned: Lifetime's website is THE WORST. It still SUCKS, just like it did last season, and you'll have to sit through those damn "the touch the feel of cotton" commercials over and over if you want to see anything good. It's like they want to drive people away.

The good news is, Season 7 taped over the summer in New York, where it belongs. So I'm looking forward to it!

Project Runway Designers [MyLifetime.com]
Project Runway Season 7 Cast Revealed! [Blogging Project Runway]

I felt bad for her, I really did. But the thrill is gone! You done me wrong, PR. And it's not me: It's you.

Anyway: Here's what happened last night. Carol Hannah cried. She was comforted by the Aryan arms of Logan.

Carol Hannah cried some more, and was comforted by Christopher.

Later Carol Hannah bucked up and put on some mascara.

Tim Gunn had a mothertrucking meltdown. Don't make Snagglepuss angry! Or he will exit! Stage left!

Here's Althea's show. She said that she was inspired by sci-fi movies of the '50s and '60s.

I thought her show was more '80s.

Or '90s.

Carol Hannah's show was basically just stuff she wanted to wear. Here are the notes I took last night:
yawn
baggy satin
preggo top
bottle brush dress
cleopatra sea anemone

Irina was inspired by New York, and the armor a woman needs to protect herself in this city. Although I found her distasteful as a "character" on the show, her collection had some really nice coats and was more cohesive than the other two. Still, was it as good as collections by Kenley, Leanimal or Christian Siriano?

In the end, judges Heidi Klum, Michael Kors, Nina Garcia and Suzy Menkes agreed that Carol Hannah's collection had "impeccable tailoring" but was not cohesive and had too many ideas. The panel thought that Althea's collection was "plugged in to the street" and that she "knows what's cool," but Irina's "edgy" "armor" made her the winner. I was watching with a friend who declared, "this is terrible television." I sighed and agreed, but felt the need to point out: It didn't used to be like this!
So long, farewell, auf Wiedersehen. Adieu.

(Except the show returns in January!)

Those of us who are — or used to be — fans feel like we are being tortured as producers drag this shit out as long as possible. All of this happened so long ago, the fashion show pictures went up online in February, and it feels like this whole thing has taken FOREVER. Since there were three finalists instead of four, they could have condensed the finale into ONE show, but no, they are forcing us (ME) to watch two sloooow-ass episodes of this crap. Gah.

Rant over.

So, Tim Gunn went to visit each designer as she worked on her collection. Carol Hannah — living on Long Island — was first; she'd been inspired by the architecture of Duke University. Tim's "Can I be blunt?" was much-needed.

Tim saying, "I love a kitchen" made me realize that the reason I'm obsessed with him is because Snagglepuss was my favorite cartoon when I was a kid. Alright already. Heavens to Mergatroid. Exit. Stage left.

Tim Gunn in an apron!

Tim visited Irina in Manhattan next, and her floofy, snippy dog Princess basically snubbed him. How dare you snub Tim Gunn?!?! Something is not right in this house.

When I saw this, even though I was watching TV by myself, I said out loud: "Are you kidding me? Project Runway is NOT ABOUT screenprinted T-shirts!" I wrote in the notes I was keeping: "WTF."

Do you think the fact that her parents gave their little princess "free rein" is maybe why Irina is so bitchy? Or do you think it's because her mother tells her she "has" to win it and she has "no choice."

Tim visited Althea in Ohio next, and we learned a lesson: People in sci-fi movies wear handknit sweaters.

Also, when Tim critiqued Althea's Edwardian wild west coat, Althea couldn't stop saying, "Yeah. Yeah." Even as Tim was saying, "This can't walk down that Bryant Park runway."

The only mildly dramatic moment was when Irina was informed that she could not use the Coney Island images since she did not create them. Duh. Also: Go away.

My favorite part about Nina and Michael visiting the designers was Carol Hannah saying, "I did not expect them to be here." Of course not! They have been missing all season. They don't even really recognize you guys.

My second favorite part about the Nina/MK visit was Irina initially saying, "Advice is always great." And then later, deciding to ignore Nina's extremely specific advice just for Irina.

The "surprise" was a surprise to absolutely NO ONE. Of course the designers had to make another look — it happens every season.

It was also not a surprise to see these kids, because former contestants always return. It was a surprise that Althea picked Logan, stealing sick-to-her-stomach Carol Hannah's man right from under her nose.

So even though Lifetime is, for some reason, making us wait another week to see the runway shows, the pictures have been up on line for months. if you're interested, you can see all the final collections here. Otherwise? See you next week for more of this bullshit, and we can finally say goodbye to the worst season ever.

Project Runway 6.13 Finale Pt. I + Final Collections [ONTD]

When the designers sit with their backs to the runway, you assume that there's going to be an OMG AMAZING SURPRISE! Instead it was: Yawn.

Some unseen minions dragged their old garments onto the catwalk. Big deal.
(The kids had $100 and one day to make an outfit to complement on of their "best" garments on the show so far.)

We found out that Logan is extremely bowlegged.

No, really: Watch him walk.

It was revealed that Gordana is a Bosnian Serb. How come it took this long to tell us that?!?!

We found out that Tim Gunn can be a little bitchy.

We found out that Carol Hannah has three stars on her hand.

We found out that Althea hates Logan for stealing her zipper collar idea.

We found out that Irina's dial is stuck on catty.

We found out that Althea thinks Logan is hot, but that's part of why she hates him: "He thinks because he's, like, cute he can do whatever the [bleep]."

We found out that people call Irina "Meana Irina."

An example of Irina's mean: "Are you insane? Or are you drunk? You're supposed to get inspiration from your own look. Not from mine."

Actually, a lot of people were being snotty; Althea called Carol Hannah a "one trick pony," and Logan said of Gordana: "My grandma has better taste than that."

I have to say, for an episode called "The Best Of The Best, all the clothes were MEH.

The judges liked Carol Hannah's flirty little dress. Kerry Washington especially loved the pockets.

Irina's Aspen nighttime look was okay, although Nina said the dress "looked cheap."

Althea won with her cozy sweater and paper-bag waist pants which probably only look good on models.

Guest judge Nick Verreos called Gordana's look "Office worker in Poland." Don't you mean Sarajevo?

Christopher's dress was called a "carnival float" and Heidi said "it looked like she took the bedspread with her." I think maybe what he needed was a hoop? Because the sketch is actually super cute.

The judges ripped Logan's look apart. Kerry Washington thought it was reptilian.

The worst part was when Heidi said, "I think this is one of our toughest decisions." Pardon? Our? Nick and Kerry just got there! Nina hasn't been around! These people haven't had to make decisions with you before! Nina looked like she wanted to laugh, since this season's judging is SUCH A JOKE. Kerry Washington's face was like, "Um, what she said." Nick just seemed scared.

Anyway: Logan was Auf'd.

Click here to read my goodbye letter to Logan.

She's the classic "I'm not here to make friends" type on this show. And, in addition, she's a shit-talker. Although in this case, Christopher's dress did look like something an Amish woman would wear.

The challenge? To take $150 and create an ensemble inspired by a fabulous location. Christoper's dress was supposed to be Santa Fe, but it looked like Pennsylvania Dutch Country.

Althea couldn't even wrap her mind around the Amish dress, saying: "If Christopher can put that garment down the runway and not get eliminated then… I don't know what's going on." And Christopher looked at his own damn dress and said, "Oh no."

(This is just a gratuitous shot of Logan.)

Meanwhile, Nicolas was supposed to design something inspired by Greece. "A person could definitely wear it in Greece," he claimed. Sure, or in New York, or Hong Kong, or on Mars! Endless possibilities.

Guest judge Milla Jovovich liked Irina's Aspen-inspired ensemble. It looked like it had a big vagina in the front, and another shaved pube triangle in the back. Michael Kors was right when he said "there's some sex involved."

Michael Kors felt that Nicolas was designing for Grease the movie, not Greece the country. But Olivia Newton John would never wear that hideous top!

While discussing Logan's disappointing "Hollywood" outfit, Michael Kors uttered the Quote Of The Day, and possibly YEAR: "They're clothes, they're not fashion."

Althea's St. Tropez look: Good, not great.

Gordana got some nice feedback on her Park Avenue/New York dress.

Twisted straps kept Carol Hannah's Palm Beach dress interesting and not the same old same old.

Milla Jovovich seemed personally offended by Logan's Hollywood look.

Irina's vagina: The winner.

Christopher actually stayed in the competition, despite this Mary Magdalene at the Mall look.

Nicolas was Auf'd. Even though he has three stars on his hand! I'm confused now. What is going on?

Milla is also distraught.

Christina Aguilera doesn't want to go to "that cavewoman place." She wants carats on her coochie, dammit!

But let's back up:

First, Christopher has to do his hair.

Okay so Bob Mackie, the "sultan of sequins," and Tim Gunn told the designers they had $300 and two days to create and "extravagant stage look" for Christina Aguilera.

Gordana was kind of stressed out, because her dress was falling apart as she made it. The perils of beading!

New mantra: "I just have to be Speedy Gonzales."

Christopher was working on some Lady Marmalade wackness and buttoned-up Tim Gunn had to tell him, "It should be super sexy slut." Dude. If Tim Gunn doesn't think your outfit is slutty enough, you are in trouble.

Tim thought that Shrin's dress looked like "Guinevere meets Vampira." Shirin was all, "You don't like anything about it?!?!" Tim said: "No." Uh-oh!

Meanwhile, Gordana was putting an old-world hex on her garment.

BREAKING: Irina is a bitch, according to the bitchiest person on the show.

My favorite erroneous statement of the episode: "A bustier and sparkle panties — you can't ask for anything more."

Do you see what I see?

Do you? (Click here if you don't know why this is noteworthy!)

Highlights of the runway:

Everyone liked Althea's gorgeous, hourglass-enhancing gown.

Nicolas' Ice Capades number was the one I thought Xtina would chose. Crotch-centric!

But Carol Hannah won the challenge, with an inky feathered and sequined black gown.

Christopher's outfit wasn't even as good as Lady Marmalade.

Besides, Christina wore a bikini bottom in that video — Mya rocked the boyshorts.

Alas, no one liked Shirin's scary witch costume. Shirin was Auf'd.

Any last words, Nina?

Earlier: All Project Runway posts

More runway images at MyLifetime.com

"I come to America with nothing… At least I have my health." LOVE. HER.

So yeah, the challenge involved wedding gowns. Specifically: Taking divorced ladies' bridal gowns and turning them into something new for the "new chapter" of their lives.

Did you get a good look at Gordana's face when she saw the divorcées in white coming down the runway?

She has an awesome WTF face.

Leah: "I've been divorced for three months."
Gordana: "Congratulations."

Shirin's divorcée had a slender column dress, with not a lot of material to work with, and she had dreams of looking like Cher — a la "Half Breed." Shrin whined, "I can't do it," blah blah blah. Which was total bullshit. Have you seen Cher's "Half Breed" costume?

You don't need very much fabric at all!

Anyway, Shirin was frustrated, so she cried.

And sniffled.

And so on. The tender touch of Tim Gunn saved her from disaster.

OMG TIM GUNN SAID COUGAR. LOL.

Later, on the runway, Michael Kors tore into Christopher's dress, calling it "tin foil."

Highlights from the runway:


Shirin's dress turned out to be just fine. See what a hug from Tim Gunn can do?

Irina whipped up something lovely. But then again, she picked a dress with lots of fabric and lace.

Carol Hannah's dress: SPECTACULAR.

Yay! Gordana won with a punk rock edgy strapless number Taylor Momsen wishes she had. And Gordana won! America, where all your dreams come true. And if not, at least you have your health.

Lowlights from the runway:

Logan's pants and ruffle vest: Good idea, bad clothes.

Epperson's kimono wasn't terrible, but the competition was stiff. And we had to say auf Wiedersehen.

Don't worry, Epperson — you can still play along, with the Project Runway video game for Nintendo Wii!!!!

Press Start to Work It: ‘Project Runway' Video Game Is Planned [NY Times]

Earlier: Project Runway: Shower Loofas & Disco Pumpkins
Michael Kors Returns To Runway, Makes People Cry
Project Runway: Ra'mon Gets Robbed
Project Runway: Is Making A Dress Harder Than Kicking Meth?
Project Runway: Sewing & Sobbing
Project Runway: "I Didn't Try Hard Enough"Project Runway: No One Wants Chicken Thighs
Project Runway: Tender Tim Makes Everything Better

Having a Macy's challenge is understandable, they're partnering with the show, and I'll gladly sit through a thinly-veiled commercial about INC if I'm watching interesting programming. But "something blue" is not a challenge. Anyway: The designers were paired up into teams. Epperson and Christopher made a shirtdress, and Tim Gunn said something like, "You really have potential here for serious reinvention." Maybe he meant: You need to reinvent what you have done? Christopher took it to mean that they'd reinvented the shirtdress. "That's pretty cool," he said. Reality TV 101: If someone thinks something is awesome, it is not.

Meanwhile: Nicolas, the breakout shit-talker of the season, was working on a two ruffled dresses with Louise. When she wasn't around, he declared: "Ruffles make me sick."

Additionally: "That ruffled thing just looks weird and strange."

On the runway, the judges agreed: The ruffles were awful. "I wanted something to spice it up a bit," Louise explained. "…And that was ruffles," Heidi said astutely. Michael Kors was disgusted, calling the garment "a bridesmaid's dress with a shower loofa." Both dresses were stiff and ugly, but Nicolas had immunity, so he didn't care.

The judges hated Christopher and Epperson's bubble dress and shirtdress, too. Heidi thought the bubble dress looked like it had a lobster bib on it. Michael Kors called it a "teal charmeuse disco pumpkin." Christopher cried. Real tears.

The judges really liked Irina's sweet mitered-stripe dress, which seemed kind of Ella Moss to me, but whatevs. Irina and Gordana won.

Irina and Gordana's two-piece ensemble did seem like something I might actually wear.

Carol Hanna and Shirin made this sassy day-to-night number, which the judges didn't have a problem with.

Tim Gunn was all, "Don't get me started on leggings." But the judges seemed to think the other outfit by Carol Hannah and Shirin was okay.

Christopher's disco pumpkin certainly has a familiar shape; he's done the tight-around-the-neck-and-then-backless thing a few times.

Call me crazy, but I liked the shirtdress Christopher and Epperson designed. And it seemed like Tim Gunn, did too.

Team Ruffle made two flavors of fug: Blueberry cobbler…

And blueberry poptart. No more Louise "Brooks"! But Louise Black has an Etsy store, so you can keep tabs on her there.

Images via MyLifetime.com

Earlier: Previous Project Runway Posts

Ra'mon, a self-admitted sci-fi fan, was supposed to make a sci-fi garment. He had an idea about a reptilian princess or something, and started to make a jumpsuit — unitard, really, and when his model tried it on, she looked like a turtle without a shell. Sad! Ra'mon had to scramble, with two hours left, to come up with something else.

Meanwhile, in the workroom, there was a little crush forming: Carol Hannah was looking at Logan like she wanted to make out with him SO BADLY.

Oh yeah: LOGAN WINKED AT HER.

Carol Hannah on Logan: "He's really hot!"

Let's just objectify Logan a little more, shall we?

Okay then.

Ra'mon came up with a pretty cool lizard queen dress, but the judges tore him apart on the runway, calling it a "shambles." Guest judge Arianne Phillips, who did the costumes for Walk The Line, said it was "risky and ambitious," but he would get "no banana."

Highlights from the runway:

Epperson's genre was "Western," and his frontier woman dress was fierce.

Christopher's "Period Piece" garment was supposed to be for a Vampire Bride. The judges pretty much creamed their pants over it.

Nicolas had "Sci Fi," and made an ice queen confection, which won the challenge.

Did you see Epperson's face after Nicolas won?
He did not look thrilled.

Louise was in the bottom two, and, frankly, her '40s take on a flapper dress was not Film Noir. It showed very little imagination and even the judges admitted that Ra'mon seemed to have more vision.

Heidi called Ra'mon's snakelady ensemble "a home sewn mess."

"Your character may have been out of this world, but what planet was she from?" HELLO? THAT IS THE POINT. She is an alien lifeform. Jesus! Anyway: Ra'mon heard those two horrible words: "You're out." I don't understand how he could make gorgeous dresses week after week and get kicked off. He won a challenge a few weeks ago! It was Louise's first time in front of the judges, but she really failed the challenge, in that she didn't really create a character or something film-worthy. I'm mad.

[Ra'mon Lawrence Official Site]

[Runway images via MyLifetime.com]

Here are some highlights from this year's report:

• The lead article, "Females Make Inroads Into Conducting," is actually rather depressing. Few women have ever conducted orchestras in the U.S. or abroad. Though a handful of female conductors have been making headway since the '70s, no female conductor has ever been named artistic director of one of the top-tier American orchestras, and less than 12% of orchestras of any size are headed by women in the U.S. In March, Chinese-born conductor Xian Zhang was named musical director of Milan's Giuseppe Verdi Orchestra, becoming Italy's first high-profile female conductor, and in the U.S. women have recently been named artistic director at three smaller regional ensembles: the Reno Philarmonic, the Berkeley Symphony, and the Flagstaff Symphony. "There's still a lot of sexism in this field, though it seems to be changing, albeit slowly," says Atlanta Symphony Orchestra music director Robert Spano. "Apparently, we can have female prime ministers abroad and female secretaries of State, but not female music directors. It's been quite discouraging."
  
  
• It seems Mad Men's January Jones has taken Tracy Jordan's advice to "live every week like it's Shark Week" to heart. She was honored for her work as Oceana's celebrity spokesperson for decimated shark populations. She grew up in landlocked South Dakota and was fascinated by the ocean. "I had shark book and every documentary I could get my hands on. I think they're incredibly beautiful and prehistoric," she says, "Without sharks, there is no ocean life." Jones is filming PSAs for the group and later this month she'll head to D.C. to fight for a bill that would stop finning, the process of removing a shark's fin for food then letting it die a slow death in the ocean. "You already can't bring sharks without fins intact into the Atlantic coast. This (law) would expand to the Pacific, effectively stopping finning in American waters," she says.
  
  
• Maria Bello, who has starred in A History of Violence and ER was honored for her work with the Save Darful Coalition. "In 2003, when the genocide started happening, I thought it was my duty and my right and my privilege as a human being, as a woman living in a democracy, and as a public figure to speak out and use my voice to talk about the injustice," she says, "I found out through being a part of Save Darfur that it is the women and mothers who are transforming and changing the face of the peace process in Darfur and in other countries. We're working on creating a council of women from D.C. and the media and business — real women leaders who can work to promote issues of social justice and be involved from the ground level up."
  
  
• Sigourney Weaver was recognized for her work with The Flea Theater in New York City, an Off Off Broadway theater that produces noncommercial work in a professional atmosphere, and gives young thespians the opportunity to work with established artists in various workshops and productions. "I went to arguably one of the better drama schools in the country (Yale) in the 1970s, and I came out of that school not really knowing very much," Weaver says. "I found that working in Off Off Broadway shows was a real artistic home. I learned on my feet working with new plays and writers; that's where my true training really began."
  
  
• It seemed a little odd that Tina Fey was left off last year's list, but now it seems it was for the best. Did Variety predict that Fey hadn't reached her peak yet, even before the world became aware of a certain Alaska governor? Since Fey's responses to the standard set of questions Variety asks all the women in the report are culled from previous interviews, we'll assume she's been so bombarded with accolades this year that she didn't even bother to respond. The same goes for Kate Winslet, who is recognized for finally winning an Oscar this year. Variety reports that her "career mantra" is "There's more to life than cheeckbones," which is actually just something she told Rolling Stone... in 1998.
  
  
• Alice Ripley won a Tony this year for her performance as Diana, a bipolar wife and mother who undergoes drug and shock therapy in Next to Normal. She says, "The role takes a woman onstage in a musical to a place she has never been, and takes the audience as well." Variety asks about her "philanthropic passion" and she makes a rare admission for an actress: "I don't honestly have the time or energy to support anybody else's cause but my own, which is self-expression. So I guess if I had a cause it would be education."
  
  
• Southland executive producer Ann Biderman says, "I'm just writing about people that I care about... I don't believe in those restrictions that say men are interested in copshows and women are interested in romantic comedies. In [Southland] there's this huge struggle between chaos and control. Those life-and-death stakes will always be intriguing."
  
  
• Many people were shocked that The Hurt Locker, a film about the war in Iraq, was directed by Kathryn Bigelow... a woman. "Of course I find gender typecasting more than a little old-fashioned and dated, but it doesn't bother me," she says. "Honestly, more than anything, I'm happy if people like the film. I've been around long enough to know it doesn't always go that way."
  
  
• Jane Campion, whose latest film Bright Star is about the romance of Fanny Brawne and John Keats says, "I was familiar with Keats, as many people are, as someone from long ago, dusty history, school... You don't really understand it, you don't know much about it. And I was really shocked reading Andrew Motion's Keats biography a few years ago when it came to the love story, because I found it completely compelling — mostly because of the letters from Keats to Fanny. I felt terribly touched with the tragedy and the beauty of that first love; there was something so tender about it for me. That's something I like in this world, tenderness. Something I wanted to share."
  
  
• Twilight director Catherine Hardwicke says she refused to do the sequel New Moon even after the film had the biggest opening weekend for a film by a female director ever. She explains that she's always turned down sequels but, "when Twilight made all this money my agent said, 'Maybe they'll really let you do what you want and give you more time.' I knew Chris Nolan had three years between 'Batman' movies, Jon Favreau had two years between 'Iron Man' movies." However, "Since the kids are not supposed to age they wanted to release the new movie a year to the date of the first. So I would have had less prep time than I had on the first one."
  
  
• Nora Ephron says despite her many successful films including this summer's Julie and Julia she still doubts herself sometimes. "I'd always wanted to have the career of someone like Woody Allen," she says, "but I don't know how he does it. I could never produce multiple films a year every year. Even if they paid me huge amounts of money and let me use all the unfinished scraps I have in my closet."
  
  
• CNN's chief international correspondent Christiane Amanpour will begin hosting her own Sunday news show on the network this month called, Amanpour. "We'll tackle the big issues of our time in terms that are relevant and understandable," she says, adding, "I'm apprehensive, of course... It's completely different for me."
  
  
• When asked about her "leisure pursuits" Rachel Maddow says: "I drink. I'm a hobbyist bartender. I make pre-Prohibition, classic American cocktails."
  
  
• "I think 'nice' is a very effective way to do business and always pays off in the long run," says Andrea Wong, Lifetime's president and CEO. Apparently Wong wasn't following this rule when she poached Project Runway from Bravo, but she explains she wanted the show because it's "the perfect fit for where I wanted to take this network." JoAnn Alfano, the network's executive VP of entertainment says, "Everyone knew the Lifetime name, but we had become so synonymous with victim movies that if a woman was experiencing a bad situation, people would say, 'You sound like a Lifetime movie.' Look, it's a marathon, not a sprint. Changing that perception will take time."
  
  
• In addition to making Joan Holloway and Betty Draper look fabulous on TV, Mad Men costume designer Janie Bryant's work is so popular that "Mad Men style" has crossed over into real life. We've noticed the show's huge influence on women's clothing, but didn't realize it's having an even bigger effect on men's fashion, which usually changes very slowly. Arthur Wayne, director of communications for Brooks Brothers, says menswear is "more evolutionary than revolutionary, but for the last two years we have seen a real shift in men wearing slimmer suits. I think what Janie has done for the show plays right into that." Brooks Brothers made some of the suits worn on screen in season three and Bryant designed a "Mad Men edition" suit for the store. It comes out later this fall and is expected to be a big hit with both men, and women forcing their significant other to dress like Don Draper.

Women's Impact Report '09 [Variety]

Earlier: Variety Honors, Offends Women In Entertainment

There was trouble brewing with Johnny Meth's dress almost right away… He had visions of origami birds holding up the shoulders, but Nicholas, with his patented charm, said the gown looked like "wrinkled up paper with pig's blood all over it."

Then Tim Gunn got a look at Johnny's dress. Tim Gunn was woeful. He said: "I am woeful, Johnny." Tim also said: "It looks like a craft project gone awry." And "It looks like the birds attacked the dress." A tough critique. But to be honest, the dress wasn't finished, and I think Johnny should have just kept on going. But instead, he scrapped the dress and made up some lie about how a steamer, or an iron, destroyed it.

Then Johnny worked on a crossword puzzle for a while.

On the runway, Johnny showed some other dress he'd whipped up, which the judges did not like. Then he tried to act like his original dress was amazing and Dior-esque, which made Nicholas roll his eyes and giggle. Nicholas corrected Johnny, saying the dress "was a red mess." So Johnny called Nicholas a jerk. And this is pretty much all the drama this show is offering this season, so try to enjoy it.

Anyway. Highlights from the runway:

Logan's chic little number, with blue edges.

Epperson's kimono, stiff but kinda cool.

Christopher's feathery ballgown, which guest judge Eva Longoria seemed enchanted by.

Althea's strapless dress, which was really all about cool graphic design.

Irina's elegant coat, which guest judge Tommy Hilfiger gushed was Coco Chanel, YSL, Givenchy and some other stuff. Irina won the challenge.

Johnny's little paper dress was sad, and so we said auf Wiedersehen to Johnny.

Any last words, Johnny?

[Runway images via MyLifetime.com]

The public perception of O'Keeffe's work has long been polarized. Many people love O'Keeffe for her sensual flowers, her deserts awash with color and light, but many others see her paintings as analogous with easy listening music—something only those with no taste for the edgier stuff can enjoy. Critics have not been kind to O'Keeffe, which has furthered the assumption that anyone who knows anything about art must know better than to enjoy her work (It probably does not help that Lifetime is producing a biopic about O'Keeffe's personal life). According to Roxana Robinson, author of a 1989 biography of O'Keeffe, this institutional snobbery has been going on since she first broke onto the art scene. The Observer reports,

"The critics liked to dismiss her as a woman, and anything she did as soft and emotional," Ms. Robinson said. "One of the critics early on said, ‘This is just a woman who wants to have a baby.' There was always a group of voices that were outraged by her work. And they took different positions to ridicule and minimize it."

It certainly did not help that Alfred Stieglitz, O'Keeffe's future husband and founder 291, one of the most influential art galleries in 20th century America, included in one of his exhibitions a series of nude photographs he had taken of O'Keeffe. It did not take long for critics to being to view O'Keeffe's art as an extension of her body. She was seen as all sex, all the time, and she hated it.

"Georgia O'Keeffe: Abstraction" opens today at the Whitney. Barbara Haskell, leader of the curatorial team responsible for the exhibit, says that she hopes by showing some of O'Keeffe's lesser known abstract pieces, she will help change the public perception of the artist:

"We want to argue that Georgia O'Keeffe created a body of fantastically radical abstract work, and that she was at the forefront of the most vanguard concepts of what it meant to make a painting," Ms. Haskell said. "There's a paradox, in that she is so beloved by the public and yet in some ways is not taken as seriously by the so-called art connoisseurs. She needed a fresh look. One of the handlers here said he'd always taken her for granted and had never thought of her as a serious painter. Now he's totally convinced."

Instead of showing the ever-popular flowers and landscapes, Haskell has selected paintings from O'Keeffe's earlier years, when she was still working with a good deal of abstraction. As gallery director Reagan Upshaw points out, "in the teens and twenties, she was as far out as anybody. When she was doing those abstract things, there was no one in America more avant-garde than she was." Several of the works on display have the same sort of vague geometric intensity as a Rothko painting, while others zero in on the curves and twists of the natural world. Many of these paintings will feel familiar to those acquainted with O'Keeffe's flowers and bones, but if you have only ever seen O'Keeffe's most popular paintings, it will be difficult to recognize the abstract waves of color. Some of O'Keeffe's later work will also be included in the exhibit (including images from her 1960s series "Sky Above The Clouds," shown above), as will—naturally—several of Stieglitz's famous portraits. The show will run for four months before moving to the Phillips Collection in Washington and later to the O'Keeffe Museum in Santa Fe.

Love It Or Hate It, O'Keeffe's At The Whitney [New York Observer]
Georgia On Our Mind [NY Post]
Painting A New Picture Of Georgia O'Keeffe [Wall Street Journal]
Georgia O'Keeffe: Abstraction [Whitney Museum]
Joan Allen Plays Georgia O'Keeffe In A Film About Romance And Staunch Independence [Canadian Press]

Image via WSJ

The challenge was to come up with an outfit that would make your client — your model — stand out at a party. Epperson's model, Matar, wanted something romantic, sexy, punk, like a tiger. Or some shit. She even wanted orange. Epperson was like, yeah. Right. (Clip above.)

Meanwhile, Logan was designing a blue thing which he called a Smurf Prom Dress.



Tim Gunn said, "Now that you said Smurf…" He couldn't get it out of his head. "Don't use that word again," he scolded.

At some point, Epperson called his wife and kids, either because he missed them very much, or because the show was SO DAMN BORING that something had to happen.

After the phone call, he was quite cinematically stitching his dress while shedding silent tears. Project Runway will break a man. Like prison!

Let's just skip to the runway. Highlights were:

Althea's foxy three-piece number, although perhaps one might choose to wear a bra with it.

Ra'mon's giant flower frock, although it's a wee Carrie Bradshaw/Patricia Field.

Irina's ladylike ensemble: Wearable, while not earth-shattering.

The lowlights:

Johnny Meth's eggplant surprise, which the judges deemed "bridesmaid." My friend Matt said If he were on American Idol, they'd be calling his song "too karaoke."

Logan's '50s Smurf goth prom extravaganza. Guest judge Jennifer Rade hated the dress, but was willing to give Logan… and his silver pants… another chance.

Let's be honest: Do we like the silver pants? I think he pulls them off, but silver happens to be my favorite color.

Lastly, poor Qristyl! While her dress was not horrible, it was not an "eye-catching" ensemble for an industry event. And so we said auf Wiedersehen.

The good news? It looks like next week, the designers are working with magazines or newspapers and finally doing one of those think-oustide-the-box challenges ProjRun is known for.

Any last words, Heidi?

Tim Gunn was worried when Malvin described his jodhpurs as "chicken thighs," but he should have been more worried about the "egg" part of Malvin's top, which was not flattering. At all.

Here's the side view:

My boyfriend saw this and made a comment about dumping/placenta, and if you throw in "Ace bandage," that seems fairly accurate. Malvin is the perfect example of a designer who is into design but not fashion that women can wear. Or would want to.

Just a note: Rebecca's belly did not look anything like those pillows the models were wearing.

Mitchell made some giant shorts, which he found simply hilarious. Clothing in big sizes is always knee-slappingly funny. FAT IS SO FUNNY.

Heidi, Nina, Rebecca and guest judge Monique Lhuillier (filling in for Michael Kors) did not find the jumbo shorts amusing. Nina scolded Mitchell, saying his model was "a mess." MItchell's excuse: "I had some difficulties with the shorts." Right, it was so difficult to laugh about them and have your fellow contestants each stand in one leg.

The judges were also not impressed by Malvin's egg/chicken ensemble. "I don't think any pregnant woman wants to be thought of as a chicken," Heidi said, quite rightly. "I don't want to look like an egg," Rebecca agreed. Nina declared the design "bizarre."

Of all the dresses on the runway, I really liked Shirin's, and she was declared the winner.

But! I also really liked what Louise Brooks Black created.
Flirty retro-chic, in a sophisticated color, with lots of well-thought-out details.

Even though Mitchell's FAIL shorts FAILED, he was safe for another week.

But Malvin? His egg was cooked.
Auf Wiedersehen, Malvin! Oh, what's that? You have some last words you'd like to share with us? Okay.

[Sketch and runway images via MyLifetime.com]

On last night's premiere of Project Runway, we met many new characters. Like Johnny The Recovering Meth Addict, who was feeling hopeless and ready to quit. Tim Gunn fixed him up right quick!

We also met Ari, who's a little loopy.

Here's Ari doing a handstand:

When the contestants were given 30 minutes to sketch, Ari said, "What if we don't sketch?" Here's the look Epperson gave her at that moment:

While watching the episode last night (and furiously typing, for the liveblog), I was just enjoying being back in the PR world. Tim Gunn! Heidi Klum! Mood! But now, in the cold light of day (and now that the beer buzz has worn off) I realize that this first episode was actually very disjointed. Why take the contestants to the Emmys red carpet? Just because they could? It doesn't seem to have the WOW factor of taking them to the supermarket or the paper factory or whatever, as in previous challenges. And what does Lindsay Lohan have to do with the Emmys? Not a damn thing. In addition, LL didn't really add much as a guest judge.

Here's what Lindsay looked like when she liked something:

Here's what Lindsay looked liked when she didn't like something:

Here's what Lindsay looked like when she was unsure:

Here's Nina Garcia's face when that see-through toga nightie went by:

Here's what Heidi looked like through the whole runway show:
She's just happy to be there!

Of all the dresses on the runway, I really liked Irina's, even if it was a little safe, a little Carolina Herrera, a little Oscar de la Renta. It was gorgeous!

I also really liked Chrisopher's dress — a mix of girly and edgy, romantic and tough. Christopher won the first challenge, so this was the winning dress.

The losing dress? The "space suit from outer space" "disco soccerball" "halter diaper" made by loopy — but clearly, uh, creative! — Ari.
Bye Ari!

[Images via MyLifetime.com]

I went out and had a couple of beers. And now I'm gonna have a burger. And I'm gonna watch some FASHION, dammit! Let's do this.

11:00
Well that was fun. Thanks for playing, folks. Tim Gunn hugs!

10:58
Sheer nightgowns beat geodesic disco soccerballs every time.

10:57
Qristyl is safe, as is Ra'mon.

10:56
Johnny Meth: Safe.
Christopher won the challenge!

10:50
Lindsay is strangely lackluster, no?

10:48
Ra'mon is safe, obvs. Johnny Meth is gonna be okay. Everyone loves Christopher.

10:46
Did Ari say Nobel Peace Prize? AND DID LINDSAY GET SNIPPY????

10:45
Nina is not amused by Ari.

10:44
Qristyl is getting ripped apart. Heidi and Michael like Matthew's dress, and so does Nina. And so do I!

10:43
LINDSAY IS FROWNING.

10:42
No to Logan. No to Nicholas.

10:40
I like Christopher's and Louise's and the blonde lady who sent an old Hollywood dress out first. And Shirin. And Irina, though it's not made for someone with boobs. Boo on Ari. Sorry.

10:38
RUNWAY SHOW!!!

10:37
Michael! Nina! LINDSAY!

10:32
"I do not care what state of repair or disrepair people are in."

10:31
Wait. His model will be NUDE? Or wearing a toga?

10:30
Runway show day already! Will there be a last-minute twist?

10:24
Tim Gunn's pause for Qrystal's dress: Hilarious.

10:22
"Cruise line cocktail waitress."
And
"What's it gonna look like?"
"I don't know what you mean."

10:21
"No one can describe what I do." Yes, the vocabulary does not exist. That's it.

10:21
Tim Gunn's hugs are made of Unicorn sighs.

10:20
I know the answer to that question, by the way.

10:19
Why would they cast the guy in the throes of sobering up?

10:16
Oh but I like Qrystal too even if spelling her name gives me an aneurysm.

10:15
Tears already. Early faves, anyone? I am watching Louise, Epperson and Malvin, and not because they all have interesting hair.

10:13
If Tim Gunn says innovation is key, you better bring it!

10:12
"I don't sketch. I just try to meditate."

10:11
There's a Mood in L.A.? Who knew.

10:09
Emmys Red Carpet… this was… when? Dumb lawsuits keeping the show from airing so long.

10:07
Louise Black and Malvin should have a hair battle.

10:06
I love you Tim and Heidi. Why are you in L.A.? Sob.

10:05
Woodland fairies are blonde and from the South, that is what I have learned.
Epperson is 49!! Love it. It's never too late.

10:03
A tent. Water purification. Am I hearing correctly?

10:02
Malvin wins best hair.

Also: "I don't call it plus size. I call it plus sexy" is a great soundbite.

10:01
"Crystal meth."

10:00
It's starting! All guys so far.

9:59
If there is a cuter pregnant person than Heidi Klum, don't tell me about it.

9:57pm
Crap. I wanted to watch the all-star challenge later, at my leisure. Now I know Korto is sad. Boo.

In an interview with USA Today, Heidi Klum confirms McNamara's point: "Lifetime bought a show that they loved. They didn't buy a show to change it; they bought it to bring the show to their audience," she says. "I was kind of into changing a few things: the colors a little bit, changing the set a little bit or maybe making the runway a little bit different. But they liked it as it was."

But Gina Bellafante from the New York Times isn't so sure that Lifetime is the right fit for Runway. She writes:

What's jarring is the marriage between the series and its new home. "Project Runway" is Barneys; Lifetime is Kohl's. The cable outfit that broadcasts "Army Wives" and "Reba" reruns maintains an ethos that says, "Viewer, I see your cellulite; I'm down with your fibromyalgia; I know your menopausal misery." Strikingly, however, while "Project Runway" has been decidedly non-ageist in the past, drawing from designers at different stages in their careers, the current season is loaded with the unwrinkled: 9 of the 16 competitors are under 30, possibly a function of the fact that the casting is now conducted by Bunim/Murray, producers of "The Real World."

Still, the basic formula is still there, argues Mary McNamara: You're watching people with talent make wonderful clothes.

As ever, it seems impossible that anything even remotely resembling a dress will emerge from the miasma of quirkiness and terror swirling about in the work room, but emerge they do, in varying degrees of beauty and inspiration.

And therein lies the success and value of "Project Runway." Not with the personalities, not even with the competition. It's the miraculous simplicity of creating something from nothing that makes "Runway" endlessly watchable.

And, as the Washington Post's Robin Givhan puts it: "Despite the palm trees, balmy breezes and California informality, Tim Gunn is still there — in a dignified suit and tie — to dish out tough love amid their emotional meltdowns." Which, really, is a key component of why we watch.

Klum: Few Alterations Needed To Make 'Runway' Fit [USA Today]
'Project Runway,' 'Rachel Zoe' Return [LA Times]
Designers, Start Your Engines for Season 6 [NY Times]
Westward, Sew! Thankfully, Gunn's Style Travels Well [WaPo]

Some fans are worried about the ads that Lifetime has produced, reports Jim Farber for the NY Daily News. Instead of bitchy, campy snippets of designers arguing, the Runway spots, Farber writes, feature the contestants "bathed in tender light and serenaded by Yanni-soft music." Farber says that some bloggers are crying that "Lifetime is going to KILL" the show.

But the judges of PR — Nina Garcia, Tim Gunn, Heidi Klum and Michael Kors — have confidence in the core concept. In roundtable conversation, Klum tells Newsweek: "I think so many people are afraid of us moving to L.A. But honestly, I've always said that we can shoot Project Runway on the moon, because we're sort of in our own Project Runway world." And Gunn adds: "We were only there for a couple of days and I was reminded that before World War II, Hollywood was really the center of American fashion."

One thing that Lifetime is definitely doing right? A first-ever two-hour special Project Runway All-Star Challenge, which airs August 20. Fan faves Santino Rice, Daniel Vosovic, Uli Herzner, Mychael Knight, Jeffrey Sebelia, Chris March, Sweet P and Korto Momolu will come back and compete against each other for a $100,000 cash prize.

But as Farber points out, PR's former network, Bravo, is "finely attuned" to "the nuances of greed, vanity and false pride"; whereas Lifetime is "rigidly sincere." We'll have to wait and see whether PR is as bitchy and addictive as we remember… or if the new network (and the California sun) have mellowed its message.

'Project' Revamp: Leaving Its Edgy Bravo Home, Will 'Runway' Be The Letdown Of A Lifetime? [NY Daily News]
Auf With Their Heads: The ‘Project Runway' Roundtable [Newsweek]
'Project Runway': We Catch Up With 8 All-Stars [EW]