Project Runway Three Predictions
This year, the designers seem to be even better than the previous two seasons. For the first episode, there was not a single design that was awful, which seems to underscore the thought that this could be anyone’s game. Even more stunning, the designers had to use materials found throughout their apartment to design their outfits. Sure, some of them went straight for the curtains and bedspreads. But many used light fixtures, baskets, and even coffee filters. And of course, some of these designs were better than others.
In the interest of fair reporting, I want to mention that I won the Fashion Face-Off contest offered by Bravo and Project Runway last season. My prize is a trip for two to New York, and an outfit designed by Chloe Dao, the winner of Project Runway Season Two. I mention this, because my predictions for last season certainly paid off. The contest is being offered again this year, and the prize is the same. While I cannot give you exact predictions for each episode, especially this early in the show, I can give you some things to watch for with each designer.
Vincent is an older Parsons graduate. While he seems very cool, I am not holding out much hope for him. The older contestants have struggled on this show, and he had quite a bit of trouble in the first episode. I predict he will not last long.
Alison troubles me. She has some celebrity clientele, but her style is not “in” right now. That’s not necessarily a problem in the real world, but in a contest, she needs to be more in step with what is hot right now. The outfit she is wearing on the cast page is one that she designed and made herself. It makes her look heavier than she is, which is never flattering. And her design for the first challenge is lumpy, and has folds in odd places. I think she will go sooner rather than later, if for no other reason than she is not standing out enough.
Bradley seems to have some talent, but I am afraid he will be voted out before he gets a chance to demonstrate it. He seems terribly inhibited, and that’s never a good quality for a designer to have.
Jeffrey is going to be this season’s villian. And because of the way the past two seasons have gone, I predict that he will be that special contestant that makes it to the final three that we all love to hate. But Jeffrey has talent. First, he has his own label. It is a label I have heard of, and it has a huge number of celebrity clients. Second, he started by making motorcycle jackets for his father’s Hell’s Angels gang, and moved on to making clothes for some homeless friends. Meaning, he can do a LOT with a tiny budget, which always helps on this show. Third, he has a bold personality. This always makes for a fascinating designer. I predict Jeffrey will be one of the top three, but will not win.
Laura is the older, classic, mom-type contestant. Her clothing is well-refined, and she seems the type that always wants to make sure every single stitch is perfect. Her design was almost voted the winner of the first episode, and all the judges seemed to love it. But, I am afraid that they will grow tired of her designs soon. There is not much innovation, and the designs seem to all follow tried and true methods. While they are pretty, they start to venture into cliche’.
Kayne is an evening wear designer from Oklahoma, and he has dressed many Miss Oklahoma contestants. The problem is, I am afraid that he will not be able to venture out of this mode. In other words, he is an Austin Scarlett. I feel that he will falter, and possibly be voted out, as soon as they have a non-evening wear challenge.
Robert has done a lot of work with Barbie clothing, and though he is good at what he does, I am afraid that this is too limiting. After all, he is working with a real woman, with varying dimensions, and his woman must move down the runway. This could be his downfall, but I expect he will go at least halfway before being voted out.
Angela is one of the many contestants this year that seem to have taken up fashion out of some unknown motivation. I label these people as “fashion afterthoughts”. Her own personal style is a little odd, and I don’t think the judges will respond well to it. Plus, she doesn’t want it nearly enough to win.
Bonnie is one of my top two constestants. Her designs are easy to imagine on a store shelf right now, but they are unique enough that they stand out. I think she will easily make the final three.
Malan is another fashion afterthought. He started as a model and decided to move behind the scenes. His designs are certainly nice. That’s not the issue. Daniel Franco (from Season 1 and 2) had some nice designs. They also took far too much time because he was too concerned about the insignificant details. If I can see anyone falling into this trap, it is Malan.
Keith surprised me in the first episode. He has never made a woman’s garment, and yet, he won the challenge. I think that when I first saw the contestants, I may not have given him enough credit. But, there is one thing holding me back from ranking him higher. When he won, he said that he had grabbed many different things to use in the construction. That tells me that he really had no clue what he was going to do. When exhaustion sets in, as it always does in the later episodes, he will not make it with this kind of haphazard philosophy.
Katherine used to be the Fashion Design Coordinator for the Target stores. As such, you can see that the clothes she wears are the type you would find in Target stores. The only problem is that her own style is so mismatched that it looks cheap and homemade. In other words, she does not pair items together very well. This will not work for the judges for very long, and I predict she will be out very soon.
Uli is another fashion afterthought that does not seem to want it very badly. She is rather lowkey presently, and I fear that she is not making enough of a name for herself.
Stacey is already voted out, and I knew she would not last long. She has degrees from many prestigious schools, but none of them have anything to do with fashion. Her reasons for coming here are mysterious, and it seems as though she wanted to be here because it is one more thing for her to conquer. The judges saw through it and voted her off.
And finally, Micahel. Michael is currently my number one favorite. He made a dress for the first challenge out of coffee filters, and it looked so amazing that I would wear it on the street if given the chance. It was a truly exceptional dress. Micahel wants it badly enough, and he has lots of talent, so look for him to go far, if not win the entire prize for the third season of Project Runway.
