Project Runway's Kid Challenge: Designers Act Like Babies

By Dodai Stewart  |  February 19, 2010 | 5:00pm
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Last night’s episode involved designing looks for little girls, but the contestants were the ones who acted like brats.

Jesse proclaimed the challenge “a nightmare” before he’d even started. (Or at least, it was edited to look that way.) Okay, so when I say I don’t especially like kids, I mean I don’t automatically squee when I see them. I am cool with cool kids, but I’m not one of those people who loves looking at pictures of kids and kids’ clothes and can talk about kids all day long. That said, when Jonathan said, “I am scared of children,” I wanted to smack him and I was almost hoping he would lose.

Jonathan redeemed himself a little when he did a spot-on Michael Kors impression: “She looks like a seven-year-old waitress from Benihaha!” Love it.

Also childish: Chatty Cathy Anthony being tested on how long he could go without talking. At first he could only last one SECOND, but in the end, he didn’t speak for 14 minutes and 56 seconds, and not only had a sense of pride about it, but an epiphany as to how much can be accomplished when you “shut the hell up.”

Highlights and lowlights from the runway:
The challenge was to design a fashionable, age-appropriate ensemble for the girls, and then, in a “twist,” create an accompanying garment for the models to wear — for a mommy and me effect.

The judges liked Jay Nicholas’s intricate details and plummy color, and he was in the top three.

Jesse was inspired by French schoolgirls, and it was cute, though a little bit wonky. I know he skewed the seams on purpose, but it was still odd. Anyway, the judges were charmed, and he was also in the top three.

Seth Aaron was the winner: Nina Garcia, Michael Kors and guest judge Tory Burch loved his punky take on a motorcycle jacket for the mom look, and were charmed by the Hot Topic-y hoodie he made for his little client. If Seth Aaron doesn’t win, Gwen Stefani should hire him to work for LAMB.

The judges complained that Jonathan’s garments were overdesigned, so he was in the bottom three. I actually thought the adult dress was quite pretty! But I loved that the kid complained about her bolero jacket. You tell ’em.

Amy’s universe is fascinating! What goes on inside her head? While the adult pants were insane, they were also pretty original and unique. I think if they’d been a solid color — black, sea blue — they might have placed her in the top three, instead of the bottom.

Poor Janeane The Crier underdeisgned her kid’s outfit and made an unflattering jacket for her model. She was sent home! And she cried in her exit interview.

I was going to do a video of The Crier crying, but hate to end on a sad note, so instead I made this clip of Tim Gunn saying “I. Am. Profoundly. Wowed. And it’s also an mp3 you can download here!

Project Runway [MyLifetime.com]

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