Project Runway Season 15 Recap: Final Four Finale, Part 2

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NEW YORK, NY – SEPTEMBER 09: Heidi Klum, Zac Posen, Nina Garcia and Zendaya Coleman greet the audience at the Project Runway fashion show during New York Fashion Week: The Shows at The Arc, Skylight at Moynihan Station on September 9, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)

As always, the luminaries who grace the audience for Project Runway‘s Friday morning show are ones who are either friends of the show, alumni of the show, or connected via spin offs. (Oh and of course, the families of those presenting.) Our guest judge this evening is Disney company girl Zendaya, who came up through their development system for child stars and has now transitioned into their Marvel movie department, while making a name for herself on the red carpet, and solidifying that status by turning up as a regular guest judge on their various Project Runway properties.

We’ll be doing full reviews of all four lines on the morrow. For the purposes of this evening, we’ll are posting the outfit each designer brought with them to final judging, as well as a few impressions of the over all collections and the judge’s responses.

(Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)

Laurence “Finding The Light”

I don’t feel like she solved her issues with the collection being not classy enough, especially with the first two outfits. Of the four this was the one that didn’t find the cohesion as well as the others. And I admit, I didn’t get the closing outfit, seen above. The floral jacket and white pant that came in the middle was still the best outfit, hands down. Zendaya actually likes the closing outfit. Nina loves the leather work and the craftsmanship. Zac compliments it as “the most wearable”, which is damning with faint praise. Commerce won’t win over art at the end of the day. Nina says she lost her cool.

NEW YORK, NY – SEPTEMBER 09: A model walks the runway at the Project Runway fashion show during New York Fashion Week: The Shows at The Arc, Skylight at Moynihan Station on September 9, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)

Rik “Bandit”

This was my favorite of the four collections. I loved the added paisleys that he used to jazz up his pieces from last week, and the new black dress. The glasses were silly, but I didn’t hate them in the context of the collection. I loved the embroidered denim. Of all the stuff that walked, those were my favorite pieces. Nina was really impressed by the opening dress, and she decides she liked the denim in context, and is glad he didn’t listen to her. Zac wanted the denim to be even more over the top, but that’s quibbling.

(Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)

Roberi “Untitled”

The pink plasticy stuff is…well, confusing. But strangely enough, I do find that I like it mixed with the army jacket like pieces, and in the purple gown. In the end, Roberi managed to take his confusing collection and made it interesting enough that I wanted to stare at it long after I’d forgotten everyone else’s. Heidi called it exciting. Zac calls his work “cerebral.” Nina calls his collection stunning and yet wearable. They agree he has an incredible point of view.

Erin “Project Funway”

Did Project Runway know she was going to make fun of them? It certainly is the silliest and lighthearted of the four. I do love the accessories “Moody” in the Mood logo font on the one bag stood out. I think the bananas are over the top though. But then again, I really have never liked bananas. Zac praises the art school aesthetic, suggesting that anyone who might want to throw that critique at this outfit is out of luck. Zendaya agrees it was the most fun of the collections that walked. Heidi agrees, she put on a show. But Zac makes a really sharp point when he has the model take off the jacket–there’s nothing to this outfit without the silly bananas. There’s no substance underlying the fun. It’s all style.

Next: Project Runway Season 15 Recap: Final Four Finale, Part 1

So are the judges taken by the style or the substance? Laurence is dismissed early and often, and Nina is clearly not interested in giving this to Rik. That brings it down to Roberi vs Erin. The substance with dresses that make you think for days, or the style, with some of the silliest and lighthearted looks Project Runway has even televised in a finale.

In the end, they went with what made great television: the silly and the style. The substance and the brains? Out. And with that, Project Runway concludes their first season aired entirely as a television show with zero relation to the fashion industry schedule with a winner who is ready made for TV, and not the fashion industry. As a result, Erin took home the win. It’s been a long road to get here–15 seasons. But at least we all know where they stand now, and going forward from here.

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