And so … we finally know who the final three contestants are that competed at Bryant Park at New York Fashion Week last month for the title of Project Runway Season 5 winner. Last night’s pre-Finale ep was a nailbiter for me … I was seriously nervous the entire time … but in the end, one of the final four had get cut:
Jerell, Kenley, Korto and LeAnne were challenged to design a wedding dress that showcases their design esthetic. They were given 6 weeks and $8000 to design an entire collection and would be judged one more time on the wedding dress alone … or so they thought. At the last minute, as Project Runway is wont to do, another challenge was thrown into the mix. After the jump find out who was in, who was out and who didn’t quite make it to the fashion altar, as it were, in the episode titled Always A Bridesmaid …
Much to the dismay of the designers, the challenge was amended at the last minute so that the contestants were further challenged to design and create a bridesmaid dress to go along with the wedding dress that they already created. I mean, they had to know that they’d have to design one more garment before this elimination. That being said, I was just as surprised ;) Sadly, Jerell was not up to the task and he was the one who got cut. Most surprisingly to me, I loved Kenley‘s wedding dress over all the others and fully support her win:
Now, I’m pretty versed in all things Project Runway but I don’t recall there being a wedding dress requirement before (Pink reader Vivian reminds me that there was a wedding dress challenge back in season one — which I now remember and goes to show that I’m gettin’ forgetful in my old age ;) … so I really loved this challenge. The dresses all really resembled their designers … tho, Michael Kors felt that Kenley‘s dress resembled Alexander McQueen more than anything. Kors remarked that her beautiful dress looked a lot like the McQueen wedding dress that was “just shown” at the previous Fashion Week — I tried to find a pic but couldn’t. Despite his remark, he also said that he loved the dress. I have to concur — it was my fave of the bunch. So beautiful, so deserving of the win. LeAnne‘s dress was cool but I found Kenley‘s really special and beautiful. I gotta say, I really did not like Korto‘s dress (I agree with Heidi, I wouldn’t want to be a bride in her dress either) … and Jerell‘s, bless his heart, was a jumble of much too much. From the waist down, stunning … from the waste up, blech! I love Jerell, I was sorry to see him make it this far, work so hard (not to mention win so many challenges this season) only to get cut right at the last second. Props to Kenley for chillin’ out and apologizing to the other designers for her rude behavior. I don’t think they’re all friends (and I suspect we’ll see more of the “old Kenley” again) but it was big of her to make the effort. I thought it was sweet of Tim Gunn to cry … the man is so proper, so composed … it’s strange to see him show emotion like that. It’s interesting, I thought, that there was no guest judge. It felt like this ep was an unplanned “bonus”. So yeah … the final three … and Jerell is not one of them. I did bristle a little bit at Jerell‘s comment on his way out the door. He said, “If you want a plain white tee, go to Michael Kors.” While funny, it also sounded a bit petty. Both his wedding dress and his bridesmaid dress were just fug … he really fell apart in the end.
That said, we all know that the final six contestants showed at Bryant Park last month, click HERE to watch Jerell‘s collection go down the Project Runway runway at the Finale Fashion Show.
Next week is the real Finale ep. It’s all ladies, I think, for the first time in PR history. I’m gonna say, right now, that LeAnne will win it all. Based on her technical skill, I think she’s the one who’s gonna win. Who do you think is gonna win and what did y’all think of last night’s ep?
UPDATE: Pink readers Jennifer and Sarah found the McQueen dress that Michael Kors said that Kenley‘s dress was reminiscent of … here they are for comparison:
Oh yeah, there is some similarity there … but we know that Kenley couldn’t have copied the dress because she told us that she “doesn’t follow other designers”. HMMMMMM. Interesting, no?
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I loved Kenley’s dresses as well but her bridesmaid dress wasn’t original either. Simplicity has been selling a pattern like that for YEARS!!
http://www.simplicity.com/assets/4070/4070.jpg
i’m never going to watch again. kenley is so undeserving. disgusting. i actually liked Jerrel’s stuff… only had it been edited :/ but i honestly think Leanne will take the win!
Jerell was really the best and most promising designer all season..I seriously don’t like Project Runway as much as I did before because I thought that was such a poor decision to take Jerell out. Kenley had a pretty wedding dress for this challenge but overall her work has not been as strong and her attitude is WHACK (I am shocked they didn’t kick her out weeks ago with the harsh attitude she gives Tim and Heidi). I find it ridiculous that Jerell was the challenge winner last week..the week someone was supposed to be ELIMINATED..and the following week Jerell is kicked out of the competition??? He freakin won the week before..the week that the final 3 should have been actually determined..and with some horrible twist, they take him out the final 3. I am so unhappy with Project Runway as a show and I really don’t know how much I plan to watch future seasons after seeing them take Jerell out the way they did. I think LeAnne has really stepped it up, I would like her or Korto to win since Jerell is out now..I did not like Korto’s decision to make the wedding dress and bridesmaid dress practically the same color though. That was odd?
i think the kenley copycat charge and her defense about it being a different silhouette gets complicated when you look at the next dress in that same McQueen collection: http://www.style.com/slideshow.....00350m.jpg
btw i thought her dress was amazing despite its McQueen-ism, but i also thought she should just own up that she doesn’t work in a vacuum and that other designers clearly have an influence on her (see also her comment a few episodes back that she doesn’t look at any other designers – which is surely bs).
While I didn’t like Jerrell’s dress all that much either, I don’t think it’s fair at all that he won the final challenge last week only to have to compete for his spot again. In the past, when the judges couldn’t decide (a la Chris & Remi last season) there was only a battle between two contestants for that third spot. Based on last week’s show, the finalists really should’ve been Jerrell, Leanne & Kenley. And people, the reason there was no footage of Kenley introducing Tim Gunn to her family & friends is due to the fact that her family hates her and she has no friends. Duh. : ) Go Leanne!
Kenley showed Tim the picture of her Grandmother that inspired her and said her Grandmother passed away a few months ago. After that I totally cut her more slack with the attitude. kind of makes sense that as the competition got closer to the end she got more and more defensive and bitchy. Kenley is a loud, annoying, and has a bad attitude – but I finally understood her more. And her dresses were awesome so there is hope for Kenley.
Um…still want Leanne to win! Go Portland Girl!!!!
I still can’t stand Kenley. I thought her dress was cute – and had it been made by ANYONE else I would have loved it. Her twitty attitude and sense of entitlement make all of her designs borderline disgusting to me. Blah.
I felt sorry for Jerrell. I liked his wedding dress from the waist down as well. Why didn’t he cut off those boob wings? I think that would have made a big difference. Although, after seeing his Bryant Park show I can see that he was all wrong for the finale.
As for Leanne, I thought that the wedding dress was pretty, but the rest of her collection looked like a big yawn. It’s like she’s beating the audience over the head, screaming “WAVES!!! GET IT?!?!?”. It’s almost so literal that it’s boring.
Korto’s wedding dress was heinous, but I thought that the rest of the collection looked really interesting. The colors were fab, and the bead work looked amazing! I am really looking forward to seeing the whole collection.
Right now I’m Team Korto for the win!
am i the only one who thinks that kenley’s designs are TOTALLY ugly? i loved the wedding dress, i can’t deny, but the 40′s silhouette she loves so much would not be flattering at all on the average woman. on top of that, her choice of patterns is AWFUL! they always remind me of the horrible upholstery and comforters in cheap hotels. i know designers are always supposed to be thinking about the next big trends, and just because you don’t see a particular look on people now doesn’t mean you won’t in a few months, but i can’t imagine that kenley’s looks would ever go over well with the general public. i dislike her personality, too, but even in the beginning when it was better hidden (i liked her the first few eps) i thought her clothes were ugly and dated.
I was sooo dissapointed in Jerell’s whole collection. He has been one of my top favorites all season. I especially like his olympics outfit (even though it completely missed the mark for the challange), but i thougth his whole collection was Awful! I was really looking foreward to hating Kenley’s collection and was both dissapointed, and pleaseantly surprised that it was so good. I would absolutely love to wear that wedding dress that she made.