So We Think We Can Sew

Yawn.  It's part one of the season finale of Project Runway. As you may or may not recall, the three finalists headed to Fashion Week are Irina, Althea, and Carol Hannah.  So I'm pretty sure a girl is going to win this season. The ladies pack up their bags and head home for a couple months to work on a twelve-piece collection to show at Bryant Park.

Tim travels to each contestant's home to see how they're doing. (And for the record: One of my dreams is to open the door and find Tim Gunn.)  First he goes to see Carol Hannah, who moved from South Carolina to her friend's house in a wintry suburb of NYC.  She's been inspired by Duke University's campus and has designed a series of ethereal dresses. Tim likes her almost ice dancer frou-frou dress, but doesn't like a cape she has over another gown.  Though she was very dress-heavy during the season, Carol Hannah has done not just dresses, but also separates, like pants, shorts, and skirts.  She also has made use of color, which is probably more than can be said for the other two. Her family is there, and they are going to make a traditional Southern dinner--they even got Tim Gunn to make biscuits, which is a real coup.

Tim seems so happy to not be in LA anymore.  There is a jaunt to his step that's been missing all season as he visits Irina in her Manhattan bitch apartment.  Fittingly, she owns a terribly tiny yippy dog named Princess. Her collection is all about New York and Coney Island and is a tribute to her family's immigration there from Georgia.  So of course that means taking elegant designs and throwing a Brooklyn t-shirt underneath.  She's got a whole bunch of sweaters and furs and horsehair, and she's surprised that Tim was less than enthusiastic about some of her designs.  Tim has lunch with Irina and her friends and family too.  Turns out that for Irina, winning Project Runway would mean pleasing her uptight daddy.  So she's doing this for all the right reasons.

Next, Tim visits Althea in Dayton, Ohio, which looks to be your typical Rust Belt wasteland.  For her collection, Althea has been inspired by sci-fi movies.  Althea has made a sweater that impresses Tim and he encourages her to make more, even though Irina definitely invented sweaters and no one else can make one ever without being accused of plagiarism. Tim is concerned that some of Althea's pieces are too costumey, but he thinks that overall it has a strong foundation.  They go over to Althea's parents' house to meet her family and friends, but they don't have a meal together, just a chat.

Ten days till Fashion Week, and Tim Gunn has to deliver some harsh news to Irina:  the images of Coney Island that she put on her t-shirts are considered trademarked.  She can make t-shirts with new designs, but now time is an issue. And with Fashion Week almost here, the designers have all headed to New York.  There's still some tension between Irina and Althea, and they really don't have much to say to each other.  Irina is wearing a pair of over-the-knee skank boots, of course.  Carol Hannah hasn't shown up, and Tim has bad news: Carol Hannah has a terrible contagious stomach virus and can't be there that day.  It's such bad news that Irina and Althea and Tim Gunn immediately drink a bottle of champagne.

Carol Hannah shows up the next day, still a bit under the weather, and the other two designers definitely have some disappointment that she made it at all.  (After all, they are not here to make friends.)  Tim goes over each designer's collection with them again, and he immediately tosses out a long-sleeved sequined shirt that Althea made for being too matronly.  He is also concerned that the collection doesn't all fit together.  Althea has made more knits on Tim's prodding, and of course, Irina looks offended that someone else has possibly knitted something. Irina takes it one step further by telling Althea that she copied her sweater and asking what would Althea do without her for ideas.  Althea ain't having it, but she just rolls her eyes.

Tim also speaks to Carol Hannah about cohesion.  He points out that Irina's entire collection is black and grey, including a pair of leather pants.  Everyone has little edits to make to their pieces, but Irina's final look still needs a lot of work before it's going to be finished.  There's still a lot to do besides working on their designs: there's also model casting, model fittings, and figuring our hair and makeup and styling.  Plus, there is always one last challenge thrown in, so you just know they're going to have to make one more piece for the collection.

After model casting, Nina Garcia and Michael Kors show up to give them some tips, like be yourself, don't do anything familiar, and don't do an all-black collection.  Irina of course disagrees with that last one.

With three days left till the runway show, they figure out which outfit the model that's been with them all season (their "Muse model") is going to wear.  Then Heidi shows up to give them the last challenge, one more look for the collection.  SURPRISE!  And as in previous seasons, they get to pick one of the designers who had been kicked off to help them out (Logan, Christopher, and Gordana).  Althea picks Logan, Irina picks Gordana, and Carol Hannah is paired with Christopher. 

The designers put their assistants to work on both their thirteen look and fine-tuning the other twelve.  Carol Hannah's doing a gown, Althea has a pair of pants, and whatever Irina is doing, it's assuredly black. They're done for the day, but uh oh, Carol Hannah is back to being sick.

Next week's episode: More of Althea "copying" Irina, Irina being pressed for time, and Carol Hannah valiantly fighting her virus.