I have never been so stunned by a Project Runway decision in my the eight seasons of the show. Weeks ago, when I saw Gretchen’s collection, I assumed she was actually a decoy, and I was shocked to discover she made it to the finale. Then, after watching the final show, and seeing the originality of Mondo Guerra’s collection, I figured it would be a very easy choice. Instead, the four judges (including Jessica Simpson) were divided down the middle, and Nina Garcia and Michael Kors somehow bullied Heidi Klum and Jessica Simpson into picking Gretchen. Jessica Simpson surprised me most, because she had the simplest, yet most poignant critique of Gretchen’s collection, saying, “everything looks loose,” and later responding to Nina Garcia and Michael Kors’ excessive rambling by simply saying, “I’m still going with Mondo.” Michael Kors and Nina Garcia picked Gretchen because “she’s what’s happening now in fashion,” despite Heidi’s insistence that this is a high fashion show, and it shouldn’t be about what’s most “wearable.” I imagine that Michael Kors picked the “ready-to-wear” collection, because that’s most aligned with his own aesthetic, given that Michael Kors doesn’t specialize in high-fashion. I’m pissed. I’m pissed that I continued to waste my time watching this season even though the judges made terrible decisions every episode. I’m also pissed that my favorite part of the show was watching Tim Gunn’s facebook video blogs, and Tim Gunn stopped recording the blogs after “hurting a Producer from Lifetime.” And finally, I’m pissed because Mondo deserved to win the finale, and I hate to see someone robbed of their title.
UPDATE: Apparently, Tim Gunn agrees with me. Watch the video below.
I couldn’t agree more. Gretchen probably shouldn’t have even made the final over Michael Costello, and her clothes were straight up boring. It didn’t look like a runway show, it looked like a visit to the shopping bag of any middle-aged woman walking out of a JC Penney. Commercial? Sure. Fashion forward? Not at all. Interesting? Not even a little bit.
Mondo was clearly the boldest and most interesting of the 3, Andy was clearly the most refined, Gretchen was just a boring footnote.
I think all this season proved is that Michael Kors and Nina Garcia are old, conservatively dull and completely unqualified to judge what is fashion forward. They sounded more like buyers for a Kmart than fashionistas. Marie Claire? C’mon, get us a judge from Cosmo Vogue, Elle or even Glamour. Who the hell reads Marie Claire?
Amen, Loothor!