Fun
Knit to This: Project Runway
By the time you read this, I will have already watched the first episode of the new, one million and eleventh season (okay, eighteenth, and I can name every winner ... in order) of Project Runway. I will already have all of the contestants’ names memorized, I will have opinions about all of their application portfolios (“Filler designer!” “Too studenty!” “Who is she dressing, Blanche Devereaux?”) and one thing is for absolute certain: the person I root for right out of the gate will already be eliminated. It happens Every. Single. Season. Sorry, Daniel! Sorry, Stacey! Sorry, Jerry! It’s all my fault.
Of all the shmatte shows, the original is still the best, even with the host/mentor changes of the past few years. I loved Tim and Heidi, but their more recent show together—Making the Cut—had too much talk about branding and not enough about making stuff. It was more Shark Tank than anything about whipping out an outfit. It could have been called Making a Candle and been the exact same show.
But nothing beats PR. Christian Siriano is back in the mentoring slot and he’s good at it; he’s an excellent Tim proxy personality-wise (and I think he gives better advice). This season, there’s a contestant named Bones Jones and it’s hard to not root for someone with that name. BONES. JONES. I would buy some BONES JONES togs; send me the link. I hope I haven’t jinxed him.
What I’m saying is: you should watch it too (especially if you work in the warehouse with me), because if past seasons are any indication, it is all I will be talking about for the next twelve weeks or so.
Season 18 of Project Runway is airing on regular old Bravo, stuffed in between a bunch of drunken housewives. If you’ve never seen the other 17 seasons, not only am I 100% jealous of you, but you also now have something to keep you busy until we’re ready to move to our new moon colony in three hundred and sixty one years.
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I’ve been watching since the corn husk dress.
They are calling this Season 19. Unlike “Making the Cut”, Project Runway does not have to choose between commercial appeal and design genius.
whoops! I should have counted better.
So I do love reading your weeklies, even when I have no freaking idea what you’re talking about – today’s would fall into that category. But keep em coming. You are the stranger I love sitting next to on a long train ride. I would just knit and knit and you would have me smiling all the way.
What she (or he) said! 100% fan of DG here. I only wish there was an Amtrak train going from Atlanta to anywhere … Giving PR a look today, for sure.
I love your columns and especially this one because you used a Yiddish word!
I am with you on this one! Love, Love, Love Project Runway….have probably watched every season 3x. “Making the Cut” I tried to like but did not. You have made my day telling me there is a new season!!!!!
This is a stupid question, but what does “OG” stand for? I’ve seen it a lot lately.
Original gangster or old guard.
Thanks Charlene!
My favorite project runway was season 4. Christian Siriano was genius. I loved the other Chris too. Chris March made amazing costumes and so sad that he had a terrible accident and died.
I still watch the show but season 4 was my favorite.
I still say Season 1 is my favorite simply because they managed to accidentally come up with one of the greatest passive/aggressive reality show villains of all time, Wendy Pepper.
Yes! I’d forgotten her…
OMG YES! I didn’t remember until you said the name. WENDY. PEPPER.
I’ll check out a recommendation from DG Strong any day of the week! Someone called Bones Jones seems like icing on the cake of a DGS recommendation.
I. LOVE. PR. So glad to have a fellow devotee!
Thanks for the reminder. I love Project Runway!
Another long-time PR fan but had missed there was a new season. Thanks for letting us know! And if the world-wide headquarters were open I’d drop by weekly just to talk about the latest episode.
Oh I agree with ALL of this. I am forever devoted to PR, and I have loved all the versions. This is the one time I can think of where a major change of personalities resulted in a better show. I loved Heidi and Tim, but the show really, really benefited from the infusion of fresh blood with their excitement and different ideas for what is good and what is fashion. Also, and I am shocked to hear myself say this, but I think the show misses Heidi way more than Tim. She has a goofy energy about her that really works, even (maybe especially) when it’s super-cheesy. KK did OK but she highlighted that Heidi’s role is not as easy as it seems, and now this year I think it’s kind of disorienting not to have a “host” at all. Christian has been amazing as the mentor and does indeed give much better and more practical advice than Tim. I particularly love that he will get right in there at Mood and intervene when someone is going down a disastrous path. I have also watched Heidi and Tim’s Amazon show and yeah, it just did not grab me. Although I’m sure it is much more practical and realistic in terms of how the fashion industry works, it does not make for compelling TV. (Note: This has not and will not stop me from watching every season and every episode.) Regarding this first ep of PR, I have to admit I was not a Bones fan–he insulted Christian to his face! What the what?!? It may have worked for him once, but he really needs to master the ability to take criticism and accept what is valid and reject what he disagrees with and realize that incorporating constructive notes does not mean that you are not “true to yourself and your vision,” it just means you are a grown-up professional in a collaborative industry. (Also, I thought his team’s and really all the clothes were hideous in this first challenge. I would have picked the other team but they both were terrible.) Sheesh, I didn’t realize I was going to write an essay. I am so excited PR is back and I have *thoughts*, apparently. Thanks for letting me get them out!
Agree! Agree!
oh god, the minute Bones started jawing at Christian I was like “I have to go edit my Saturday Knit to This IMMEDIATELY!” but then it was okay, he turned out okay (for this episode at least). It used to happen all the time where if a contestant challenged Tim, the editors seemed to turn on them and you just knew they were next out, so I had him down for the auf — but not so in this case. Apparently you can sass Christian!
RE: Heidi – the thing I always always always objected to with her is the way she judged things by whether or not she would buy them. “I’d buy that! I want that! I’d wear it right now!” It’s not Project Shopping, Heidi. It drove me insane, so I was glad to see her go for that reason. Plus she is a disaster all on her own style-wise, so it was sometimes hard to not imagine designers looking at her crystal chandelier shower curtain maxi fringed tube top (OR WHATEVER) and not thinking “I’ll wait until the adult judges chime in, thanx….”
This is so hilariously true about Heidi’s style. I always wondered what the designers thought because that girl has lived her life on the worst dressed list and just never saw a body-con dress she didn’t love. That’s part of why I think the new blood works so well—they are way more appreciative of edgier pieces and have a broader view of fashion. I do miss her goofball energy and just the focus of having a host to direct things, though. And I still find myself thinking, Oh Heidi would NOT like what this garment is doing in the chestal region–she was obsessed with having good support for the girls!
I definitely thought Bones got a winner edit in this first ep. He sassed Christian and then was redeemed and dragged his team to the win. He for sure has the skills to go long.
I have missed Project Runway so much! Thanks for the update!!
I still miss Tim , oh and Heidi too.
i am a huge PR fan myself and my fav quote from Tim Gunn is “Jackie O would not have camel toe”. Gotta love Tim’s honesty! Can’t wait to hunker down a watch this season.
Yazz!! I adore Project Runway…..so excited that it’s back! I didn’t see the first season initially as I thought it was a model competition…but once I found out it was about clothing design, I was ALL IN. I do miss Tim and Heidi, but totally agree with you that PR is much better than that other show they do now.