Project Runway Returns to New York, and Doesn't it Feel Good?

Episode 13: The End, part 1

—by Eric Walter

Half the challenge of fashion in the City is not trailing your skirt on the filthy sidewalks or getting soaked from the soupy curb splash of a speeding cab. Keeping your shoes clean. That's a runway challenge.

Yeah ... Fashion Week is kind of a big deal, too.

Oh, Project Runway ... it's so nice to have you back where you belong.

But first! We get a liberal dose of the backgrounds of the final three, from Carol-Hannah's geeky, self-taught schoolgirl history, to Irina's first-generation American dream, to Althea's 5th-grade sewing machine Christmas wish.

A secret rendezvous in wintry Dayton, Ohio? No, just an adorable
moment as Tim says good-bye to Carol Hannah.

The best part is seeing Tim visit them in their homes. He looks admirably at ease in any setting, whether he's baking biscuits or being greeted by a yippy New York City dog.

Tim Gunn manages to look elegant even in a girly kitchen
apron. What really sells it is the cute red bow. Work.

Althea is once bitten, twice shy, refusing to forget Irina's half-accusation of copying on the runway. And, uh-oh... both women have a healthy helping of knit sweaters in their collections.

Irina gets crafty. But has Althea been spying?

Irina doesn't let it go. Which is interesting, because she doesn't criticize Carol Hannah for making pants, or Gordana for using fabric, or Logan for using buttons, or Christopher for using ... some other common material.

These two are not comfortable being alone together.

There are a couple more zingers. Carol Hannah gets a contagious stomach virus, and the other two try really hard to be sad about it. And Irina is faced with a Coney Island copyright issue. Copying? Oh, the irony.

Such is life in the final stretch.

It's not H1N1, I promise! But maybe Tim should encourage the
designers to choose thoughtfully from the Purell Accessories Wall.
Just to be safe.

As temperatures rise — and that's not just Carol Hannah's fever — the work room is the place to be. Tim comes in to help the ladies edit. Nina and Michael stop by with some runway advice. And then Heidi swoops through to toss a wrench in the works.

Welcome help from the judges. But what is she wearing?

But the real surprise is the return of a few old friends, Logan, Gordana and Christopher, the three most recently cut designers, here to help them with their 13th last-minute look.

You didn't win AND you have to help these three. How does it feel?

And everyone can use a little help. Irina has a lot of finishing to do and a very ambitious gown. And the last thing we see this week is Carol Hannah crouched over a garbage can in the hotel bathroom.

Does Althea have this all sewn up? We'll see next week.