PROJECT RUNWAY.....Season 13 Project Runway Episode 14 Recap: A Fringe-Filled Finale

Project Runway Season 13 has come to an end.....and it is amazing that it has survived almost 10 years and so many seasons and somehow, in the twilight of it's run, it is getting some of the best ratings in the history of the series. It looks like there will be plenty more seasons to come!

For this Finale Episode, we start where we left off. The designers are in the lounge and poor Kini is having a mini-meltdown after the judges did not like the preview of his collection.

Luckily, it is Tim Gunn to the rescue and to (no viewers) surprise, the designers get a trip to....

Mood Fabrics and have the requisite 30 minutes to shop and a budget of $300. Mostly, I dislike these last minute shopping trips and 24 hour frantic re-do's of their collections, but for this season, it seemed to be a necessity.

Kini was the designer most in need of a complete collection overhaul. And in classic Kini Fashion, he managed to cut up the dreaded denim coat and create the garment on the left. Looks like he's off to a good start.

Char was not much better off than Kini; Tim treated these garments like they were contagious and I have to agree that they are the weakest part of her collection. To say they lack sophistication is an understatement.

Tim is not only concerned about the above looks, but doesn't see Char doing any better with the new designs she is planning with the fabric she purchased at Mood. Poor girl is in over her head.

After a long day including Hair and Make Up consultations and Model fittings, Tim enters to give his now infamous "You are the best designers I've ever worked with" speech. When does this start to come off as insincere? Oh wait!...that would be 5 Seasons ago.

The designers arrive at Lincoln Center and get a look at the runway. Most people might not know that they actually do 2 full runway shows that day.

To avoid spoilers, they do a complete show with the 4 Finalists including their speech and finale walk EARLY in the morning. This show has a small audience of "industry insiders".

Then at 10AM they do a second show including all the decoy collections to a PACKED house of "Fashionistas".

Backstage:

Char decides to put the dreaded turquoise dress back in the line up. And not only that, she makes it the FIRST look in the collection. The first look of a designer’s collection is supposed to set the mood for the rest of the collection and if Char is setting the mood at “Tacky”, not sure what else to expect.

 In order to fill time and heighten the drama, there is some trumped up shoe drama, which seems to get resolved by...you guessed it....changing the models shoes!!

Heidi, Nina and Zac with guest judge Emmy Rossum, take to the Runway for the their prerequisite press photos. As I've said in the past, they've never hidden the fact of who the Stars of this show are.

First Up: Amanda...

My Favorite Looks from Amanda:

 My Least Favorite Looks from Amanda:

Amanda stuck to her Bohemian Aesthetic but attempted to elevate it to a more sophisticated level. At times she was successful. The new printed knit top with leather pants and the finale dress were her best looks, while the mini dress with vest was a bit cheap looking. It actually reminded me of much hated PR Winner Gretchen Jones. If I'm not mistaken, she made her own jewelry too.

Next Up: Char...

My Favorite Looks from Char:

My Least Favorite Looks from Char:

There were actually quite a few of Char's looks that I liked. The Black and White Crop Top with Palazzo Pants was great and should have been the inspiration for the entire collection. Unfortunately, Char doesn't know how to put a collection together and hasn't really found her voice as a designer. She is just too "green" as a designer.

Next was Kini:

My Favorite Looks from Kini

My Least Favorite Looks from Kini:

Kini started his collection with his 2 best looks. When they came out, I thought Wow! He really turned it around! Unfortunately, there was only so much he could do in 24 hours, and what we got next was a parade of denim looks. I think his collection was hampered by the fact that he used so much denim.  This is limiting to say the least and it got a bit repetitive. Kini didn’t explore his own design brain enough and naturally went back to what he knows how to do: denim.

And finally, the Project Runway Season 13 Winner:

My Favorite Looks from Sean:

My Least Favorite Looks from Sean:

Sean presented a "Show". From his strong theme to his use of color, Sean was the clear winner. Was there A LOT of fringe? Yes. But Sean is mature enough as a designer to know that a collection needs to have those “wow” moments. Something that I would argue Char, Kini and Amanda lacked. 

I wrote this in my myLifetime.com blog, but I feel it is worth reiterating here:

These designers had only 4 weeks to make a 10-look collection and I have to say, this was a big problem. Heidi kept announcing this as if it should be praised, but I think it should be the opposite. During earlier seasons of the show (including my season), the final designers got 3-4 MONTHS to make a collection. I think it’s a shame that because of how late production starts filming in conjunction with the schedule of NYFW, the final designers have to suffer for it by creating a collection in only 4 weeks. These four designers did not have enough time to go home and process the experience, and grow design-wise. They just went back to what they had already done throughout the season. We saw evidence of it in each of these four collections: Kini did denim; Char was all over the place; Amanda went Boho and Sean did fringe. Luckily for Sean, he was able to elevate his collection to an impressive and sophisticated level. 

Congratulations Sean Kelly! You are the winner of Season 13 of Project Runway!

Click Below to READ my Lifetime.com RECAP of this past week's "Project Runway" Episode...

Season 13, Episode 14: A Fringe-Filled Finale

It wouldn't be a “Project Runway” finale if there wasn’t last minute backstage stress and drama, one designer (at least) not being ready for prime time, and Tim Gunn saying that “This is THE MOST TALENTED group of designers I’ve EVER worked with” (I’ll believe it when I see it). Time to discuss my thoughts on this season’s finale.

Picking up where we last left our designers, they are gathered in the lounge following their judges’ critique. We are reminded that out of the top four, Amanda was told to “own it,” and on the opposite end, poor Kini was advised to “remake it." Kini was obviously upset about the critiques and not having fabric to help him make any changes. Tim Gunn to the rescue: We’re going to Mood! With a budget of $300, the designers make one last trip to Mood. Kini, Sean and Char go, while Amanda decides to sit this one out.

Post-Mood shopping and back in the workroom, Tim checks in. Two days before the runway show and it’s crunch time for the designers. Amanda is changing a dress into a top while continuing to overthink everything she is doing; Kini has bid farewell to his over-designed “linebacker” trench coat; Sean is making a draped dress from orange silk satin; Char is redoing four looks. Tim tells her to get rid of the turquoise and fuschia dresses (good advice) and is subsequently confused by her new additions. It seems as if Char is adding looks just to add them with no thought behind it.

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