'Project Runway': The Judges Spare No Criticism, And Mondo, Gretchen & Andy Are Headed To Fashion Week!

It was part one of the season finale of Project Runway, and we got to see the final four designers show part of their 10-piece collection they had $9,000 to create. The judges don’t hold back in telling the designers their mistakes, we weren’t really surprised at which designers made it to Fashion Week, and Michael got extremely emotional.

Tim Gunn goes to visit each of the remaining designers in their hometown to check up on how they’re doing with their collections – and give them his expert advice, as usual! First, he goes to Hawaii to see Andy, who, with only three weeks left, has yet to make any actual clothes! On the other hand, Michael in California has completed a total of 18 looks, which doesn’t seem much better, as Tim calls it “design diarrhea”. Mondo, in Colorado, showed off gold shorts and plaid dresses, but maybe the weirdest piece is the bright pink pom-pom shirt Tim spots right away. In Oregon, Gretchen came home to a lot of bad news, but still managed to turn out a collection.

But the designers get a pleasant surprise back in New York – they’ve each gotten a tropical vacation! The next surprise is that they have to design one more dress to show, but it seems like everyone was expecting this one. In the workroom, Tim is concerned for Michael, which only makes Michael more nervous. And thank God Mondo got rid of the original jersey dress he was working on!

No celebrity judges this time around – it’s just Heidi Klum, Michael Kors, and Nina Garcia to pick the final three, and they have no problem holding back their criticism. Mondo’s pieces are fun, bright and bold, although I had to agree with Nina and Michael – I wasn’t thrilled with the polka-dot dress. Andy, Michael and Gretchen all made the same mistake by not showing a good variety of pieces from their collection. Frustrated with Andy, Nina said, “You might be out today. That’s a big gamble.” Nina even went as far as to say to Gretchen, “My interest was not piqued.” Ouch!

Mondo’s mini-collection was definitely the most interesting of all of the four. Gretchen’s clothes were a little too plain and “granola”, to borrow the phrase from Michael Kors. I can’t understand why Michael’s clothes were all basically the same color, and it just seemed like he was trying a little too hard. Andy’s bikini with a cape was a little too weird for my taste, and it was strange for him to pair that with two evening gowns.

I can’t saw I was surprised at the results – Mondo and Gretchen were the top two designers to be picked for Fashion Week, and unfortunately Michael got sent home. He didn’t take the news well at all, and the other designers didn’t really seem to know what to do to make him feel better. It’s not until Tim comes in and gives him one of his famous pep talks that Michael begins to calm down a little.

It was sad to see all of Michael’s hard work wasted, but I have to say that I feel like the judges made the right decision. He just didn’t have the best pieces. What did you guys think – did the right designer get sent home?

– Jessica Booth