I was mostly underwhelmed by the proffered garments. I really don't understand why Jonathan won - the judges slammed Maya for referencing Nina Ricci, but they didn't say a word about Jonathan's shoulder treatment looking a lot like the team challenge dress from Christian Siriano and Chris March. Guess it's o.k. if the contestants gack previous PR contestants. I was also disappointed that almost everyone chose neutrals, especially in terms of fire and water. I would have loved to have seen some really strong color for those powerful elements. Maybe they were worried about creating cliches, but if they were so strong, why didn't they overcome that threshold? I thought Anthony's dress was awful. It was obviously not fire, but it didn't flow in an ethereal way to reference smoke either. Maybe it was more like a clunky, carbonized remainder from a firestorm - not pretty at all... Jay's dress was pretty, but might have been more successful without the stripes or whacky hat. It did flow beautifully like air. I didn't much care for the dress that Maya created. The hard edged hem and cowl didn't speak to me of the mutable qualities of water, although the ruffled sleeves did have a very pretty effect. Seth's leather suit was indeed very him; the tailoring was impeccable, although it's not my favorite look that he's created. Emilio's dress was o.k. - not great. I admit he had about the only real shot of color in the entries, but the styling was just fugly. I'm beginning to think that Amy needs to get Aufed. I understood the concept, but even if her model's hair had been flame red, a human torch wasn't exactly a winning look. It's sort of like modern art - it's very intellectual, and once the concept is explained it makes sense, but clothes don't really need to be all that conceptual. They're meant to flatter and make the wearer feel good. (Is it obvious that I'm not a fan of Viktor & Rolf or Comme des Garçons?). I'm rooting for Mila, because I love seeing any woman over 35 switch gears and suceed. I would have worn this outfit she made, but as Heidi said, you could have bought her trousers and top in any mall. I don't quite remember the judges being so snarky about Rami when they used to chastise him over his goddess gowns. They can't chastise Mila over her technique, because it's flawless. Instead they praise and reward mediocrity.

I think that Maya should have won. Her material was much more difficult to handle than Jay's trash bags, even if he did back the plastic with muslin. It was still a thin, pliable material that could go easily through the machine, and even though his braided belt looked nice, Maya's necklace was really outstanding and not as easy to fabricate as Jay's braided belt. I don't know why Emilio didn't get sent home - where's Christian to call him out on the hot mess he sent down the runway?

Loved, loved, loved both of Seth's winning looks. I don't normally go for that neo-Punk look with all the hardware, but I love what he does. His little girl look was darling, and I'll bet, inspired by his own daughter. As for the others, I think I preferred Jesse's original sketch over his execution. It would have looked cute with the little coat he made, which was beautiful. I liked his mom look too, but thought something was slightly off with the red trim on the mom dress. Wasn't impressed at all by Anthony or Jonathan's outfits, didn't mind Jay's, but I thought that his color choice was too dark for a child. He could have offset the navy with a bright raspberry or kelly green. The mom outfit was great on that one. I'll agree with the assessment of Tori Burch's take on complementary colors. Did she even go to design school, or was she just some bored housewife who got backing to start her own line? I happened to like Amy's palette, but her execution was awful. If you could see the threads hanging off of the petals on t.v., imagine how bad it looked in person. I think her idea might have worked better if she'd cut the petals out of a double faced fabric or made them like half yo-yos, rather than just putting them out there as they were. Too messy. I don't know why I started thinking of the Papagino character (the bird catcher) from the opera "The Magic Flute" when I saw the finished pants. Wasn't impressed with Jonathan's offerings, but he didn't seem to want to be doing kid's clothes at all, and Emilio should have been booted for making even less effort than poor Janeane. At least she tried to make her outfits look current. Emilio's child's dress was oversized and didn't fit the poor kid, and as Tim Gunn pointed out, anyone could have bought that sort of dress in any nice department store. The mom's dress looked like something out of the 80's, except for the neckline. Why did he not get called out on his laziness? I did like Mila's outfits - I like that she, Seth, and Jay all have a definite point of view. I'm hoping that they're all in the top five. As for Ben, meh, and Maya's were cute but not groundbreaking, although her use of yellow was a lot more fun than Jonathan's. Can't wait to see what they do with the hardware next week. I'm sort of surprised that they're going with two oddball materials challenges this season, but I think the remaining ten are up to it in varying degrees. I just wish Emilio would get booted already. He's all about the trash talking, not the outstanding results.

I didn't agree with the judges decision at all. I thought that Anthony's dress looked messy and cheap. I think that Seth should have won. His pant suit was beautifully tailored, form fitting, striking, and fashion forward. I don't know why contestants and other people are picking on Mila for being a "one note" designer with her color blocking signature look when Maya repeats those hideous ruffles that don't really add to any design over and over again. No one can complain about Mila's construction. With this week's chevrons, there were a few puckers, but for the most parts her garments look good and fit beautifully. I loved the bodice on Jesse's dress and my second choice for winner would have been Jay's beautiful gown with the graduated hem. I haven't liked all his work previously, but this one was very soft and feminine. Very pretty. I hated Ben's choice of colors, and didn't much care for the over-all style or peek-a-boo back, and poor Janeane is just in over her head. I agree with the judges, in this case, that her ocean inspiration was not visible in any way in her design or execution. I think Jonathan's romper was just a mess. Make it a tunic over some sort of bottom, and it would have worked much better. Here it looked like some poor East Indian inspired top that tried to grow legs and failed. I'm very curious to see who progresses, because to be frank, I don't find many of the designers terribly inspiring this season. I've seen nothing that I'd want to wear myself or wish I'd dreamed up myself.

I would like to think that most people watch the show for the design process, so I agree that the editing needs to be a little less drama-oriented. I saw comments elsewhere from people who considered this season a snooze-fest for lack of crazy people like Santino, Jeffrey, or Kenley, and I say hallelujia to that! I don't see why the whole decision making process involved in creating a look or a collection has to be subordinate to manufactured conflict.

And am I the only person who thinks that the editing was also less than kind to Tim Gunn in some cases? The man is the calm center of their stormy universe - he doesn't need to be made to look any less than the great teacher that he is!

Not thrilled with the outcome, but then again, I found this years batch of designers uninspired period. Aesthetically, I found Carol Hannah's collection much lovelier than Irina's. Carol's problem was in not limiting her pallette or using repetition in accessories to tie her collection together. I totally get it, having done my time in retail hell. I still think that Gordana was robbed. Althea's lack of experience and visual acumen showed on the runway, just as it showed in her mangled Getty separates. The discussion boards on the official PR website are full of postings calling for a boycott of anything that Irina produces, or any companies she associates with. While I don't think that sort of action is called for (because face it, the whole world isn't your target customer), I don't think that Irina produced the best collection in terms of design, execution, or fabrication. However, her presentation was best in terms of looking like a unified collection, so she won by default.

I hope the next season, which begins in January, is more inspiring because this season was just blah design wise. I really don't care about the personal drama, I just want to see what these people can do with some fabric and thread.

sewlore, I was thinking the same thing. They choose "artistry" over commercial viability. Check out Christian Siriano's website sometime. His diffusion line looks nothing like the couture garments he produced for the competition, and frankly, aren't terribly interesting or inspiring. I can't think of the name of the quiet young woman who won the last season (the one who did her collection in cream and aqua), but her offerings were very conceptual and sculptural as well. I can't say that I saw many things that thrilled me. Althea's separates would look good on someone built like her - tall and thin. Carol Hannah's dresses were sort of hit and miss; I did love the one she did with the fitted black bodice and cartridge pleated full skirt. That was slightly different, and I loved her goddess dress. But Irina? Meh. Michael Kors was right - the warrior woman/tough chick in NY has been done before. But her color story was consistent, her p.o.v. was cohesive, her accessories carried the theme throughout the collection, and she repeated elements of the details in many of her pieces, so compared to Althea and Carol Hannah, the judges probably didn't have much choice. That's what they got for offing Gordana and Epperson earlier. I would have loved to have seen 13-piece collections from either of them.

I think it's a little unfair to pass judgment on garments that aren't finished, although my initial reaction to that frothy lavender creation by CH made of tulle and satin was that it reminded me of an old-fashioned lampshade. Having written that, I will wait until next Thursday before getting too deeply into any of it.

KarenLea notes Irina wanting to disregard Nina Garcia's advice. This is one of the problems that I see with a proportion of the younger contestants over the course of several seasons - nothing like the arrogance of youth! Honestly, haven't we all been at that (ignorant) place when we thought we knew it all, only to reach a certain point in life when we realized how much we *don't* know? Ignoring Nina's advice or Tim's advice comes with the peril of being eliminated. They're professionals - think of all the sample submissions that a magazine editor gets on a daily basis, not just from the known lines, but also from advertisers and hopefuls. Someone gets to her position by developing an eye for what looks good, for what's next, for what will sell. The best bit of advice that I got when I was young, and ended up disregarding to my regret, was to spend as much time as possible with your concentration major's instructors/professors, and to soak up every bit of advice possible from them. So there is Tim Gunn with years of teaching experience behind him, as well as any number of the PR judges, and it's almost painful to watch any of the contestants not want to take advantage of the resource of experience!

About the only thing I can think of in Irina's defense is that if her collection is a tribute to NY, then the color choices certainly reflect the NY professional fashionista wardrobe - black, black, and more black.

I don't think that I recall any guidelines given to the finalists for their Bryant Park collections, other than make it reflective of your point of view and skills as a designer. It was interesting hearing Michael Kors give advice about runway order, and emphasizing telling a story. Just as it was instructive hearing Tim comment about keeping one's target customer in mind and making sure that all the pieces in the collection were not only cohesive in color/feeling, but also aimed at the same customer. Apart from being interested in seeing how everyone harnesses their talents, inspirations, and skills for the various challenges, I love this show for the little bits of wisdom that one can pick up here and there.

If you get a chance, check out Chris March's blog on the official Project Runway website. He has some interesting things to say about the very real pressures that the contestants are facing once they're down to the final three.

This is so beautiful and so creative! Really well done - brava!

I was disappointed in the final three, as I thought that the sloppy execution of Althea's skirt looked a lot worse than the closure on the back of Gordana's beautiful angel dress. I would totally wear that dress. I'd love to try to re-create it. This is the first season of PR that I really don't care who wins, as long as it's not Irina. The last time I wanted someone *not* to win, it was Jeffrey. I really preferred Laura Freeman's aesthetic over his.

As far as having 30 minutes to sketch, as well as 30 minutes to shop, it's a competition. I think that the casting directors choose people they feel have produced enough, and are somewhat experienced enough that they will be able to deal with the time constraints. And for aspiring designers, I think everyone has watched the show through it's various seasons enough that they know what to be prepared for. Someone from the fashion world might have a beef with the time limits, but let me tell you, if you want to be prepared to deal with PR type challenges on short deadlines and dealing with whatever material is thrown at you, get a background in theatrical costuming. That's why Chris March had such an easy time with the challenges. In theater departments, you sometimes find yourself having to knock out 22 pairs of pants in a short period of time, quick and dirty, because the director changed his mind. If you've got a great budget, you get to work with some incredible fabrics on someone else's dime, but if you've got the usual no budget, you work with some really awful stuff, but learn ways to make it look good. Your cast can change at the drop of a hat, and something you were building for a specific actor has to be changed overnight to fit the replacement. You're constantly problem solving, again with a deadline, because the show must go on, and I can't think of a better proving ground for the experience of making clothing from every time period imaginable, down to periods that don't exist yet, every sort of fabric and crazy trim imaginable, and also having to find a way to make the clothes look like they're supposed to look to suit the character, and wear like iron to survive 8 shows a week.

For someone who is trying to make a living designing/fabricating the clothing, they are going to be used to working for long stretches at a time, with some tea/food breaks thrown in. But the more experienced designers are going to know to use smaller needles with certain fabrics so they don't get the puckering, which fabrics are stiffer and which have better drape. For the self-educated, it's vital to do the research or at least ask questions and find out how certain fabrics behave and how to best treat them to get the desired effect.

I did like Althea's winning look. It's totally California casual, would work for someone who is middle aged like me wanting to hide the saddle bags, wanting to be updated, casual, but cozy at the same time. I have big shoulders so I could carry off the shrug, but I can see where someone who is petite couldn't carry the proportion off.

I think Irina is talented, but she has a bit of an ego/attitude problem. I don't think that they emphasize the collaborative nature of the fashion industry enough. Unless you're a one-person operation like Rami from a previous season, or Gordana, you have others to answer to (including the market), and there is more than one way to think or approach a design brief. I know that editing is probably done with maximum drama in mind, but she really comes off like a major egotistical be-otch.

I like Gordana's style at it's best - but then again, I like elegant sophistication, a la Carolina Herrera or real YSL or Valentino, real Givenchy. There is still a need in fashion for flattering tailoring/dressmaking that isn't too young or trendy, that suits those of us who are over the age of 35 who don't want to look like our daughters.

I'm not sure how Logan got this far in the competition - his designs were always pretty uninspired and somewhat sloppy in my eyes, although I think his p.o.v. might work for the Hot Topic crowd. I feel so bad for Christopher. It's so obvious that he's hungry for this, but being self-taught is becoming more and more of a handicap as the competition goes on. He cares so much, and he tries so very hard, and I think his will power is the only thing that has kept him in the running. I hope he gets out of Missouri and gets to NY or LA to work with a mass market design house so that he gets more experience behind himself. He might not be a great designer, but I think he could eventually do something with the cocktail/evening ware market that's sold in stores like Macy's and Nordstrom.

Althea and Carol Hannah are both talented girls with fresh takes, but again, their designs are very, very youth oriented.

I'm always rooting for the Wendy Pepper clones like Gordana - the older women who bring experience and sophistication to the challenges. What they bring to the runway might not be the freshest of looks at all times, however, 95% of the time, their style and garments are utterly wearable. All things considered, how many of the winners have gone on to do great things? Christian may have been on Oprah and Ugly Betty, but are his clothes selling across the country? I know Santino didn't win, but has he done more than knock out a handful of commissions and continue his endless stream of self-promotion? Jeffrey Sabala has done a little, but I haven't seen any of the winners doing a major line in NY or elsewhere.

I would like to see the contestants skew a little less young so that the competition involved more people who had actually produced some significant work, rather than people who seem to be two or three years out of fashion school. I'm curious to see who wins this year, because I don't find anyone over the top appealing, but I always enjoy observing the process that they go through.