Project Runway Turns to the Sultan of Sequins

Grab your sparkles, kids! We're going for the glam!

Episode 9: Let's Put on a Show 

—by Eric Walter

It's sort of a designer's dream come true on Project Runway this week. Dressmaker-to-the-stars Bob Mackie stops by to task the designers with creating an extravagant stage look for pop diva Christina Aguilera.

Nina is listening intently to Xtina as Bob Mackie wisely looks on.
But all I can see are Nina's fierce shoes!

This is not fashion, he says. This is the stage. It's almost as if he's daring them to create a monstrosity.

At first everyone's kind of excited, but then they start to feel the pressure -- there are so few left -- and they all get a little nutty. Shirin seems totally lost, and Tim does not mince words with her.

More feathers!

Not slutty enough!

You're going to lose the purple thing, right?

Even Gordana freaks out and spends most of the challenge in a foul mood. Relax, lady; you've got immunity this week. (And it's a good thing too, Heidi tells her, out she would have been *this close* to being auffed.)

Ha! You are gonna hate this dress!

The only one who keeps her cool is Irina, who seems to especially enjoy sitting in her corner watching Shirin squirm and trash-talking Carol Hannah. Bad form!

So it's all the more sweet that the judges love Carol Hannah's dress. Snap! She wins.

Shirin never finds her way, and predictably she gets sent home.

Um, Shirin, I've got some bad news. This sucks.

So Carol Hannah is free to liberally crush on Logan. Christopher has a narrow escape, but the  gay boys are safe once again. And Irina is free to outbitch her opponents.

What Worked

From left to right:

Nicolas gives us a cute feathered mini-dress. I could see a mic in this model's hand.

Irina's reveal is a little unnecessary. The dress underneath is lovely, but the top layer could get lost in the coat-check with nary a tear shed.

Hail to the victor! Carol Hannah's vampish black dress is sleek and classy. I thought the abrupt shifts in texture were a little odd at first, but then they grew on me.

Althea's silver gown looks more Celine Dion than Christina Aguilera, but there's no denying it's a beaut.

What Didn't

From left to right:

Logan's model looks like a lounge singer in a live-action "Flintstones" film. It's too understated. And why is the pink underlayer totally hidden?

Shirin has a little trouble this week. All that's missing is the pointed hat.

Christopher's another one who went for a reveal, but what's revealed is not interesting enough. He lands on the bottom again this week. I wouldn't put this on a chorus girl in the background, screams Bob Mackie.

Gordana almost pulls it off, but this looks unfinished. Thank goodness she had immunity. But those days are over now!

Best Gay

As much as Nicolas can annoy me, he's keeping it together pretty well. He looked like a one-trick pony this week, but he stayed out of the bottom of the pack. Christopher'd better step up is game.

Next Week
Now that there are so few designers left, we can really dig into some cattiness, and by the looks of it, we're getting an hour-long bitch fest next week. That reality show mantra rears its ugly head: Irina isn't on this show to make friends.