Project Runway Season 15 Recap: Real People, Real Families
By Ani Bundel
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Heidi is wear a head to toe bubblegum pink suit that can be seen from the international space station. Nina Garcia and Zac Posen are in residence. There are two guest judges this evening, one of whom is Olivia Culpo, a “fashion expert.” The other is Katia Beauchamp, who is here to remind you you’re not watching Project Runway: Sharktank, that airs right after this, and that instead you’ll go to bed and have a good night’s sleep for it.
Mushy Middle
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Cornelius: As a suit it’s a well made suit. This is 100% dependant on your reaction to that print. Mine is “Why is she wearing pirate costume print? Is she going to go be a middle manager for the pirate king?”
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Laurence: The daughter is way shy and walks the runway like she wants to crawl under a box and hide, which ruins the otherwise standard “cool and polished” Laurence look.
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Dexter: Serviceable and sexy, but I think if I saw someone wear that in a club, I’d assume they were trying too hard.
Top
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Roberi: It’s a pair of fugly fabrics, which appear at first glance to be one fugly fabric, which at least means he matched them well. The fit isn’t bad, but the way it moves is weirdly stiff. The judges love the fabrics though, and that’s 95% of this outfit. But the praise is weirdly over the top for something that’s really basic in the design.
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Mah-Jing: My god. She looks like…someone who is about to be the CEO of her own hip hop conglomerate that she’s launching herself. How appropriate that she is in fact doing that very thing! It’s perfect. Nina is gaga. Heidi loves it. The Katia woman calls it “on point.” Zac says she looks like a force to be reckoned with, and praises the job she did raising Mah-Jing. I think that’s her prize for not actually winning.
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Rik: Everything about this is fab. The jacket is high end and looks expensive And the mariachi stitching with the heart takes the dress from something plain to something designer level. (It helps that mom works the runway too.) In this case, the judge’s over the top praise is highly deserved. Zac points out it’s a universal outfit, but done high end, so she could wear it in many situation. Heidi says it looks like it came out of a department store and that she’d spent a *lot* of money. This is the clear winner, and they walk away with the $50K.
Bottom
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Erin: Can we be done with this yet? It was edgy (sorta) in Week 1. By now it’s like “can’t she do anything else?” Nina is still defending Erin and trying to find excuses to why she’s doing this. Zac as well, who calls it “a winter coat over a summer dress.” Heidi thinks Erin made something for herself, not her mom.
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Jenni: Those pants may not have caused a meltdown, but they’re still horrid, as is the weird sweater top with the boyfriend’s letterman jacket cuffs. Heidi calls it sloppy and unsophisticated. Jenni’s mom is *very* defensive of it, but Zac pushes back gently, pointing out that this is not what someone who is supposed to be an authority figure. The Katia woman says the best thing: “I wonder if I could get over it if any of the pieces were well made.” (OUCH.)
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Nathalia: That’s a disaster. The pants are three sizes too big and the jacket is… Well if it were Erin who made it, it might be deliberate, but from Nathalia, you just know it’s a failure. Nina tries to be kind, and says “the proportions are overwhelming her.” With the jacket off, it’s obvious everything was three sizes too big–the blouse is basically falling off the shoulders. Heidi says the jacket looks uncomfortable. Nathalia’s mom says “Hey, sometimes you win, sometimes you lose!” Nathalia bursts into tears. It’s sad.
Next: Project Runway Season 15 Recap: Prop Up Your Pop Up
It is sad because Nathalia and Jenni’s failures mean that Erin’s fourth trip to the bottom will see her skate by again as she’s sent to safety first. In the end though, they felt Nathalia’s inability to time manage and size properly was slightly less of an offense than Jenni’s pile of weirdo fug and wacko pants. The editors don’t even overemphasize the poor girl’s laugh on her way out.