A New Improved Project Runway Is Back With Season 12

It seems like quite recently Project Runway Season 11 came to an end, because it was fairly recent, as in Michelle Franklin won Season 11 on April 25, beating the designer I wanted to win, that being the Native American from Taos, Patricia Michaels.

On Friday, July 19, I was surprised to see my DVR had recorded a new episode of Project Runway the night before. Huh? I wondered. Hadn't Project Runway just had a finale?

Well, time flies.

Project Runway Season 12 started up July 18. Now, 2 weeks in, so far, this is being an entertaining edition of Project Runway, with an amusing cast of characters, I mean, designers.

Project Runway is among my many guilty TV pleasures. I find it amusing watching the designers make something to wear, whilst working under stressful conditions, or with stressful material. Like the first episode of Season 12 where clothing had to be made from parachute material.

This new iteration of Project Runway has made several changes. I'll see if I can remember them.

One big change is rather than giving the designer's a set amount of money to spend on a challenge, they've been given a debit type account with $4,000 to spend how they want, through out the season.

Tim Gunn now sits with the judges, but not voting on the results.

The designs now come down the runway without the judges being told whose design they are looking at.

The judges now get close up to the top three and bottom three for a detailed examination, where before they only saw the designs from their judging seats. This close up exam has made for some amusing observations.

Another change is Project Runway has borrowed "The Save" from American Idol. Tim Gunn can save one designer, once during the season, from being told by Heidi Klum that they are out.

And speaking of Heidi Klum. Heidi seems to be somehow rejuvenated, more animated, more amusing, more feisty and even more good-looking, if that is possible.

Every time Heidi Klum uses the word "boobies" it causes me an  inner giggle.

There is a very goofy designer this season, first name Timothy.  A total fruitcake who is all about being green with fashion. He does not buy fabric at MOOD. He rummages through the MOOD trash. On the most recent episode the judges, particularly Heidi, were appalled at Timothy's weird design that did not allow for the use of a bra, which caused Zac Posen to comment something along the line that the design would be too prone to nipple slippage, with Heidi mentioning something about "boobies".

I don't think Timothy will be winning Project Runway Season 12.

Project Runway: Casanova Wins, A.J. Out

I was ready to bail on Project Runway after last week's bizarre episode where the designers had to design a look that went with a so-called hat made by an annoyingly pinched little man, who, apparently, is famous for making hats.

Except.

They weren't hats. The hats were more like masks. It was all odd. And not entertaining, like the week before when the designers had to design a look out of junk they bought at a party favor store.

Michael Costello won the hat/mask challenge, giving him immunity this week. A week in which the designers competed on teams of 6.

Last week's winner got to pick first. He picked the female douchebag from Portland, Oregon, named Gretchen. Heidi then picked a name out of a bag. That name, Apriil, got to start the next team. On and on the picking went til Peach was left, by default on April's team.

So, Michael's team had all the winners, while April's team had the losers. Both teams took a different approach, with Michael's team quickly taken over by overbearing Gretchen.

Gretchen is one very odd, very annoying girl. I'd been looking forward to Gretchen getting her comeuppance. This episode delivered that comeuppance.

Gretchen dissed the other team's collection at the Runway Show. She did a lot of know it all, holier than thou, dissing. Usually when a lot of dissing is shown the disser ends up with ironic pie on their face. Gretchen ended up with an awful lot of pie on her face.

So, April's team wins. The judges heap praise. Eventually Casanova wins, which was also foreshadowed when he had a major diva moment, ready to give up and go home, because Tim Gunn had disliked what Casanova was doing. Again. Thus shattering what remained of Casanova's confidence. That and he was very upset because the show was making him fat.

Casanova is Reality TV Gold. That is an extremely flattering photo of Casanova at the top. In reality Casanova sort of looks like a monkey. A Puerto Rican monkey, who is funny, with a funny accent, saying stuff like, "Again Tim Gunn he break my heart, he saying I design for sluts and old ladies."

After Casanova won, the losing team comes out and gets a big dose of reality from the judges. Overbearing Gretchen does all the talking, then switched her spin, as if thinking no one would notice she was totally contradicting herself.

On and on Gretchen talked, pretty much throwing herself under the bus. Where she deserved to be.

But, in the end, with it down to Gretchen and A.J., it was A.J. Thouvenot who got the 2 cheek kiss from Heidi Klum.

And then it got even better, Gretchen comeuppance-wise. Back with the other designers, A.J. lamenting being out, oh the unfairness of it all, Tim Gunn comes in and interupts A.J., pretty much agreeing with him, and then addressing the others, telling them that Gretchen bullied and manipulated them.

So, Gretchen is annoying everyone, including the extremely nice, wise guy known as Tim Gunn. Ivy claimed Tim's words caused an ah ha moment for everyone. Methinks it is going to be fairly funny now, watching a deflated Gretchen, post-comeuppance. There is no way this was the first time in her life that Gretchen found herself on the receiving end of being put in her proper place.

Project Runway Season 8 Starts July 29 with Heidi Klum & 90 Minute Episodes

That is one of my favorite Reality TV Show Hosts, Heidi Klum, sticking pins into the Project Runway cast.

The 8th season of Lifetime's Project Runway starts up Thursday, July 29 at an earlier time than previously, 9pm instead of 10pm.

And the show has been expanded to 90 minutes. This should allow for the showing of more diva drama among the designers.

I only got hooked on Project Runway a couple seasons ago. I've yet to figure out why I find it entertaining. But I do. Part of it I'm amazed at watching the designers come up with clothes so quickly. And how goofy so much of what they come up with is.

Project Runway will be in New York City again. I liked it when they were in Los Angeles. Why? I don't remember.

Project Runway: Logan Is Out

I don't think I've admitted to watching Project Runway. I saw an occaisonal episode when the show was on Bravo. I've watched pretty much every episode of Project Runway since it's moved to Lifetime.

I like Top Chef due to the fact that I can cook and every once in awhile I learn something useful. I have no interest in fashion and the only time my hands have met a needle and thread was when I learned how to re-attach a button.

I think what makes Project Runway watchable to me is the utter bizarreness of watching these people be able to whip out an article of clothing in a really short period of time. And for those articles of clothing to be so goofy.

Like the Judy Jetson costume Logan Neitzel got cut for. Logan was shocked to get sent home, "for taking a risk and showing them something that's innovative and kind of out there."

Of Logan's outerspace suit, Heidi Klum said, "It looks like an outfit for a music video back in the '80s, but not even for the lead person!"

Althea Harper was the winner this week. The other two who made something that did not look weird were Irina Shabayeva and Carol Hannah Whitfield. Irina is a bit of a, well, bitch, according to the other designers. Irina thought Althea was copying her, while Althea was sure Logan was copying Althea. All that copy talk was amusing.

The other 2 who joined Logan, as the worst of the week, were Christopher Straub for his humongous Scarlett O'hara at a ball monstrosity that funny hostess, Heidi Klum said looked like it was dragging a bed skirt along with it. The designer from what used to be Yugoslavia, Gordana Gehlhausen, made a gray thing that had judge Nick Verreos saying it "looks like an office worker in Warsaw, Poland."

The girl designers seem to have better taste than the boys, both in what they make and how they make themselves look. Christopher has this bizarre beard thing going that looks like a chinstrap. All the boys had unfortunate haircuts. I don't think we've seen any of the girls driven to tears. Christopher had a breakdown the first time the judges did not like one of his odd creations.

Project Runway often brings to mind one of the best I Love Lucy episodes. Lucy, Ricky, Fred and Ethel were in Paris. Lucy and Ethel wanted a dress from a famous Parisian designer. Ricky and Fred said no. The girls pouted. Ricky and Fred then had dresses made from burlap bags and bought feedbags for hats. Gave the designer clothes to Lucy and Ethel, telling them they were the latest, from next year's collection of the famous designer.

Lucy and Ethel proceded to strut around town in their new outfits. Ricky and Fred felt guilty about what they'd done and fessed up. The episode ended where it started, sitting at the same outdoor cafe patio where they'd first seen the famous designer and his models. And now at the end here comes the designer and the models again. Wearing various versions of dresses made out of burlap and feedbags for hats.