Week 2 poll results

Wesley got whacked in Week 2. Our readers disagreed with the judges. Here are the results of our weekly "Who would you have 'aufed'?" poll:

40 percent - Korto
34 percent - Leanne
25 percent - Wesley

Christian Siriano is selling & strutting his stuff

Project Runway Season Four winner Christian Siriano is selling an eight-item eponymous collection on bluefly.com that includes an uber-skinny black sateen pant ($280), a gold “red carpet” shift with puffed sleeves ($325) and a black cotton “Posh” puff sleeved blouse named after Victoria Beckham, whose role as judge on the show's finale definitively helped Sirano clinch the win.

According to a spokeswoman, the other items, great looking jackets and dresses, get sold out as soon as they are put up for sale. While the clothes are very cute, the You Tube videos documenting the Christian/bluefly collaboration are a laugh a minute, particularly the one in which the diminutive Siriano shows a towering model(he asks her if she's like 6'12") how to work it on the runway. It's nice to see that fame hasn’t dampened his Fabulousness’ mega-personality a bit. As you can imagine, there are plenty of Siriano's "Fierce," and "Tranny" expletives, and for the most part, the clothes are the real deal...as in wearable.



– Anne Bratskeir

Season 5/Episode 2 IT AIN'T EASY BEING GREEN

The challenge: use environmentally responsible textiles to create cocktail dresses for clients who are…the models. The bummer: The models, armed with $75, shop for fabric and trim and have absolutely no idea what the heck they’re doing.

A bunch bought this vile, glossy brown organic satin, which was the undoing of one contestant. Poor, sweet Wesley got the boot for his overwrought, ill fitting number that Michael Kors said looked like 27 hands had been all over it. Leanne’s loopy, too-many-tricks mini was second to worst. So sad… speaking of which…the water works were on tonight with Korto’s near breakdown when her darty dress was criticized, to Leanne’s girlish sobs, when her model didn’t back her up, saying that the dress she created was not really what she wanted.

Onward to happier fashions and moments: Kenley’s lean, ladylike cocktail number in champagne was elegant, but Suede’s girlish tulle skirted frock of ivory satin and red strips won. Guest judge Natalie Portman, who is an environmental activist and a designer for vegan shoe line Te Casan (pricey but very stylish) as well as a fashionista (and did we mention, a Long Island girl), loved, loved Suede’s confection. Beneath the blue Mohawk and the overuse of the third person, “Suede is a bisexual Sagittarius…. Suede rocks…” well, we sorta’ like him, and thought the dress was really cute.

Stella redeemed herself tonight imbuing her rocker chic attitude into an asymmetrical shoulder silky mini. Her model loved it. But, um, Long Islanders, was it us? Or were the contestants making fun of our famous accents? We forgive, because Stella of Astoria speaking the Queen’s English is sort of hard on the ear as in “letha” this, “letha” that (yes, that would be leather). But Blayne really went to town…you don’t hear us speaking Leprechaun, do you Blayne? Stella was a good sport about the ribbing.

Truth told, we’re kind of liking Blayne too – what a character – but we must question his judgment. Is it wise to call Heidi Darth Vader? As he put it “all shiny on the outside, but Darthlicious inside.” Hats off to him, Terri, Daniel, Joe and Emily for the good work, while we’re thinking Jennifer did shmata and Jerrell did hoochie mama.

– Anne Bratskeir

(Photos from BravoTV.com/runway)

The Tim Gunn highlight, Week 2

We've been hosed, dear readers. Hosed!

In the previews (look over there in that video player in the top right), Tim Gunn was throwing crazy fastballs at people during his "Let's hammer these kids" mentoring/guidance segments of the show.

In the actual show that aired, nada. No "Holla at your boy!" No "It's a pterodactyl in a gay 'Jurassic Park.'"

Instead we were left with a modified Siriano holdover. We considered protesting this, but honestly, we're just a little blog about a big pop culture phenomenon, so who'd notice?

So we caved and still came up with a Tim Gunn quote of the week. We're not happy about it, either, but it is what it is.

"Oh this is the outside of the dress? . . . " followed by a confused 10-second pause and then a sketchy/bewildered ". . . Ooooohhhhhhhh!"

Love Project Runway Style

There have been a lot of haters on Runway...venomous types who enjoy controversy and in general driving other contestants nuts. But this season, brace yourselves; word is we're going to witness some lovin' as in a full-scale romance. We have no idea who the two parties involved are (assuming that two is the number), but a romantic relationship between contestants, judges or anybody else -- well that's a Runway first. We welcome your thoughts...who is the creative couple? We get this feeling that the answer may, um, have us in stitches. - Anne Bratskeir

Week 1 poll results

Jerry got the boot from the judges in Week 1. Readers disgreed, choosing to whack Stella if they were sitting in those mighty chairs off the runway at Parsons.

Here are the results of our weekly "auf" poll

53% Stella (60 votes)
29% Blayne (33)
17% Jerry (20)

'Runway' and relationships

During a repeat viewing of the Season 5 premiere via DVR on Tuesday night, I had a revelation.

The first show of each season is reality TV's version of speed dating.

Think about it: we just finally gave in to our unrelenting friends and decided to get back into the dating circle after a breakup (Season 4 ended and left us five-plus months ago).

We walked into this room full of 16 new faces and we had about three minutes with each to form conclusions and decide whether or not we're going to want to invest any more time in these people. (Those darn commercials really messed up this one conversation we were having.)

Starting to catch the concept here?

Then when that hour was up, we immediately began to compare these people to what we liked about the relationship that just ended.

Yep, a "Project Runway" season premiere is speed dating with a sewing machine instead of questionnaires and index cards.

- La Monica

Heidi Klum scores Emmy nod

(AP Photo)

One thing is for certain after the Season 5 premiere of "Project Runway:" Heidi Klum is still smoking hot!

Seriously, it's almost not even fair to see those legs on television anymore. Just let Seal enjoy it. He's already won the game of life, why taunt us still?

Clearly, we're not alone in this assessment as the good people at The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences on Thursday awarded Klum with an Emmy nomination for the new category of Best Host for a Reality or Reality-Competition Show.

She's up against Tom Bergeron of "Dancing With the Stars", Ryan
Seacrest of "American Idol", Howie Mandel of "Deal or
No Deal" and Jeff Probst of "Survivor."

We'll root for Heidi on Sept. 21 for three reasons:

1) We don't like the other hosts as much
2) She's bound to drop some sort of bomb on stage
3) She's freakin' hot!

- La Monica

Episode 5/1: Gristede's and tablecloths

It’s baaack.

The first episode of Project Runway had it all – the pretty, the weird, the nerdy, the Goth, the over-inflated ego… you name it. To be honest, we found ourselves missing our curly-haired girl, Jillian Lewis, from Selden, and the entire cast of Season 4, but we know, we know, we’ve got to move on.

The challenge: create a look from items purchased at a grocery store with a budget of $75. The problem: many of the contestants bought tablecloths . . . not risky enough for Tim or the judges, who included Season One contestant Austin Scarlett who came off frothier than a double latte, but in the end was quite a good judge.

In terms of geography, Stella, billed as the rocker chick, from Astoria, is our girl. But she came close to being the first designer to go. She feared if she were, she would be known, and we quote, as “the biggest jackass of the nation.” Stella chose cheap trash bags to do her version of something leather. It didn’t work. For a while we thought she was just going to quit, but she pulled through with a pretty unimpressive trash bag dress that evoked, well, a trash bag. Heidi said it was “butt ugly.”

Jerry of Montana took the bullet and unfortunately took the phrase, “dressed to kill,” literally in an outfit of shower curtain and rubber gloves that prompted Michael Kors to say it looked like something out of “a slasher movie.” Bye, bye fella.

Who do we love… already? Kelli, whose tattooed arms conjure last season’s Sweet P, and whose clever vacuum cleaner, coffee filter, pushpins dress was the winner. Nerdy Leanne, who is way out of her element but created cuteness with candy -- Daniel who molded royal blue plastic cups into a bombshell dress -- Joe whose pot holder-pasta dress was adorable -- Terri for her mop top cropped sweater -- Jerell for his paper umbrella embellishment -- Korto for using lettuce and tomatoes as a necklace, and Emily for her spunk and bouncy ball collar.

Christian Siriano wannabe? Yeesh, the overly tanned Blayne, who is trying to trademark his “girlishess” exclamation a la Siriano’s “fierce.” Forget it. His weird bustier type thing of jump rope, drawer linens and windshield wipers prompted Kors to comment that his model looked like she had “an old diaper pushed in between her legs.”

And although we’re withholding judgment because his work is good, Keith gets suck up award of the night for telling Heidi that he always designs with her in mind. Heidi, credit to her, doesn’t really buy that jive, and on another note, is wearing micro minis and looks better than ever.

– Anne Bratskeir

The Tim Gunn highlight, Week 1

On Opening Day of Season 5, Tim Gunn is already in playoff mode.

He came out dealing line after line to these unsuspecting designers. Here are the highlights of his verbal undressings:

"Those judges don't want to see a black garbage bag walk down that runway."

"Yeah, you should worry that it's just a tablecloth!"

"I'm seeing a lot of tablecloths around here . . . I just think the judges are gonna say 'You guys are a bunch of slackers!'"