Project Runway Rundown: Don't Put It Down

This week we got to see the designers create outfits for the opening ceremonies of the Olympic games, as judged by the super-dreamy Apolo Anton Ohno. Although I'm no great patriot, and I hardly intend to watch the Olympics, I actually thought this episode was a lot of fun. After the jump you'll find my opinion of the Top and Bottom 3 (still too many damn people).


Korto



Yay! A solid return to form for Korto. Although Jennifer (who was out, so that shows you how valuable her opinion is) felt that the white made the outfit look nurse-like, this was pretty great. Because the outfit was entirely white, it made the red shoulder patches that much more effective. I also liked the vertical white-on-white (shout out to Malevich) stripes that move down the pant leg. Although not my pick for the win, I can't grouse about it too much. Raise your hand if you knew she would win as soon as they started talking about her experience escaping Liberia.

Terri



When will Terri finally get her due? I know we're only four episodes in, but she's been by far the most consistently great designer and continually gets passed over for the win. (This only adds to my previously-mentioned fear of her being Alison'd.) I loved everything about this look and thought it deserved the win. The blazer screamed Americana, the striped top offset it nicely, and the pants fit amazingly well. I give it the edge over Korto because it maintained a classier vibe while still being sportswear. Ah well - hopefully Terri will be with us for a long while yet.

Joe



I might be having a hard time separating Joe's behavior this week (screaming at Daniel, "too many queens" - vom) from his output, but I wasn't as impressed by this look as the judges were. Maybe it's just my lack of a strong sense of patriotism. This certainly screamed, "These colors don't run!" but I didn't find it very fashionable or interesting. I certainly don't think he should have been out, but top 3? Questionable.

Jerell



I still don't really understand what happened here. This is a bizarre look for any challenge, but especially this one. The hat? Awful. That cummerbund-looking thing in the front? Bizarre. The styling (especially the leggings with this outfit)? Appalling. Jerell punted on this one entirely, and he's lucky the judges were befuddled enough (and that others were worse) to let him slide on it.

Daniel



Oh Daniel. He reacted to a sports challenge much like I would have - a mixture of confusion and frustration. However, even I can tell that this was all wrong. You can't go all third-rate Laura Bennett on the Olympics challenge. Although it wasn't an awful dress, it didn't fit the challenge at all, and the Betty Boop styling didn't help him a bit. I will say, I thought the judges were entirely unfair to him about the color of the dress. From where I was sitting, his shirt was purple, his dress was blue, and the colors were very different.

Jennifer



If Daniel didn't get the challenge, Jennifer didn't even hear it. How else do you explain this? Nothing about this says Olympics or America. Maybe librarian? This just missed the mark on so many levels that it's hard to even start critiquing it. The choice of gold stripes was strange, and perhaps a bit presumptuous at the Olympics, since this challenge was ultra-literal. The cardigan made it dowdy, and the jewelry along the neckline only made it worse. After showing us nothing special for four weeks now, it was definitely Jennifer's time to go.