Project Runway
“Put a Ring On It”
Season 22
Episode 9
Editor’s Rating
The last challenge before the finale says goodbye to almost all the people who are supposed to go home.
Photo: Spencer Pazer/Disney
Hi, everyone! Rafaela here, filling in for Roxana this week. I have to admit, before taking this sub, I hadn’t watched Project Runway since middle school, and I was elated to find the structure of the competition basically intact. Even the figure of Christian Siriano came to mind, though I remembered him with different hair. The show has suffered a bit from the twists-and-reveals pandemic afflicting competitive reality (ahem, Survivor), and the judges (ahem, Law Roach) are much meaner than I remembered, but I’m having an awesome time.
Except, I was really rooting for Jeffrey! He was my favorite designer, less because of what he made — though he made some beautiful garments — and more because of his brilliant personality: Not an ounce of sarcasm in that beautiful head of hair. Alas, when we pick up this week, Christian announces that he chose to save Bryan, sending Jeffrey and his extremely long, tear-wet eyelashes back to his family. Bryan is confident even before Christian announces his decision that he will be saved, because “greatness recognizes greatness.” I was puzzled by Christian’s justification that he wants to “see a bit more of [Bryan’s] creative mind,” because Bryan hasn’t shown a lot of vision. His instincts are almost always off-base: in most challenges, he has had to pivot dramatically after Christian’s notes. If any of the remaining designers are happy for Bryan, they don’t show it.
This week’s ninth challenge is the last before the finale, and three people are supposed to go home. Heidi shows up to reveal the challenge wearing a vintage Christian Siriano bridal gown. The contestants will have to design a wedding dress that showcases their style, and the winning design will be produced and sold by David’s Bridal. The designers are told that they will have two days and a $1,000-budget to make their best work, but when they get to Mood Fabrics, Christian reveals a second part to the challenge: They will also have to make an after-party dress to go with the ceremony gown, for which they’ll get $400 extra, but no additional time. So really, they’ll have one day per dress, as usual. Annoying!
Heading into the challenge, Anna is gunning for a win: She’s the only remaining designer who hasn’t won a challenge, and she’s also the only (!) woman left. For the first time in the competition, she can actually see herself winning, and it shows in her work: Her gown will take elements from her past designs to merge corsetry and lace, and her second look will cement the hot girl vibe of her two-piece collection by leaning towards lingerie. Bryan is also feeling confident, as he “trained undergrad studies in special occasion.” The stakes are high for him, not just because of the looming finale, but because it’s on him to prove to Christian that he made the right decision saving him. Thinking back to his time in Spain, he takes inspiration from the Basilica de la Sagrada Familia and — surprise, surprise — goes for volume. When he arrives in the workroom, Christian encourages Bryan to aim for the level of surprise and freshness he delivered with his first look. Bryan talks a big talk — when Bi asks the workroom how everyone feels about Jeffrey’s departure, Bryan dismisses Jeffrey as a costume designer — but he’s yet to walk the walk.
Naheim is only 22 years old and hasn’t been to a lot of weddings, which maybe explains why, at Mood, his first instinct was to grab a military green fabric that Christian put back. But his mind is in the right place, getting to work on a gown that will prove to the judges that he can make a dress. Jude has also not been to a lot of weddings, and when Christian comes around to his workstation and sees a wide lapel, he rolls his eyes. Jude’s tailoring is beautiful as always, but Christian wants him to show the judges that he can make something other than suits. But Jude, unlike Bryan, has real vision, and he trusts his gut, making a black jumpsuit for the ceremony piece and a shorter tailored dress for the party. Good for him: The point of the challenge is to bride-fy your own style! It would be weird if Jude all of a sudden did something else.
Bi is at work on a black gown with a veil, which Christian worries is taking up too much time. Joseph is planning a mini dress for the party look and a two-piece set for the ceremony, all in lavender velvet. Christian urges him to rethink the enormous pants on his ceremony look, but Joseph is headstrong as ever — he knows what he wants to do, and he will do it. I know his attitude can be frustrating, but I respect it. He’ll never bat a thousand, but he’s consistent and unique, and that’s more than Bryan can say, sorry! Before the end of the day, Christian brings in the influencer Becca Bloom, who had an exorbitant, Vogue-covered wedding last year, to, uh, say three words to each designer. I have never been able to make heads or tails of Becca Bloom’s content. I think the appeal is that… she’s rich? As Roxana has pointed out all season about these influencer cameos, her visit makes zero impact.
Nothing much changes on the second day of work: Christian still thinks Jude’s suit is kind of boring, that Joseph needs to rethink the Big Pants, and that Bi needs to get to work on his dress, now that the veil is done. He also encourages Naheim to do something more personal, more Naheim-y; when Naheim shows him the design for his after-party bustier top, Christian fatefully encourages him to go for a “cool little jacket,” which seems more like his style. Christian really likes how Anna’s stuff is coming along, which gives her another needed confidence boost. And finally, Christian gives Bryan notes on several things he needs to work on that would never have occurred to him on his own. Bryan also gets a note from Bi, who doesn’t like the lacy, drapey dress he’s making for his second look because it’s too simple. I have a theory about Bryan and Bi, which is that they are secretly good friends and came up with this “rivalry” for entertainment purposes. That seems like the only explanation for why they are constantly shit-talking each other in their confessionals but being affectionate in the workroom; Bi telling Bryan that he doesn’t like his party look doesn’t come across as mean, just honest, like something your honest friend would say.
Three hours before hitting the runway, what seem like hundreds of corsets in the workroom need to be laced in; even the models are helping. The lace-ups come in every shape and kind: In the back, as is traditional; in the front, less so; long and short; and even, in Joseph’s case, down the back of… purple bell-bottom pants. There’s a corset for everyone. The judging panel this week is composed of Heidi, Law Roach, Nina Garcia, the designer Sergio Hudson, and the actress Kiernan Shipka, whom you might recognize as Don and Betty Draper’s daughter or Sabrina Spellman. The judges like most of the looks, emphasizing Jude’s black jumpsuit and white tailored party dress (I liked both, but the black suit didn’t seem particularly bridal to me); Naheim’s angular, long-sleeved gown, which Law and Nina agree would suit an Elle editor; Anna’s perfectly-fitted dress and pretty lingerie; and Bi’s stunning black veil and corseted mini dress party look. They find trouble with Naheim’s second look, a jacket-and-pants set which doesn’t seem joyful or modern to Heidi; and with the protruding crotch in Bryan’s humongous sculptural gown. Bryan’s lacey party dress is dubbed a “disaster” by Law.
Because it’s the last elimination before the finale, the judges discuss every look. Law’s only note for Bi is that the corset islets on his gown should also be black, and because we can’t go one episode without some weird hostility passing between Law and the other judges, Heidi disagrees. Sergio tells Bryan that his designs are incongruent, and everyone has a problem with the crotch on his gown. “It looks like her pussy is going to spit [the fabric] out,” is how Law puts it, and everyone laughs, which almost made me feel bad for Bryan. The judges all agree that his party dress looks unfinished, but Nina gives him credit for trying something different. They are all impressed by Anna’s designs, which are hot and fun and very her; Sergio points out a need in the market for well-made sexy clothing, and Anna cries. She says that her dream of being a designer started with Project Runway, and in a confessional, she has an epiphany of sorts: The dream had always been to be on Project Runway, but now the dream is to make beautiful clothes she is proud of. That’s our girl!
The judges love Naheim’s gown but hate his jacket, which makes Law feel claustrophobic. As always, everyone loves Jude’s stunning tailoring, and Nina commends him for sticking with what he does best. Joseph’s lavender looks are, as usual, the most divisive of the bunch. He delivers very 1970s-looking bell-bottom pants with a sleeveless top and a mini party dress in the same fabric, laced in the front. Sergio picks up on what Christian had said in the workroom, which is that the pants don’t fit right: The crotch is too long. What’s going on with crotches this week? Under the guise of paying homage to the bouquet of flowers his grandmother crocheted for his sister on her wedding day, Joseph added a matching purple bouquet which conveniently hides the super long crotch. Because he loves being Contrary Mary, Law actually likes Joseph’s look, though his praise is backhanded: “I was very surprised that this was you,” he says. The other judges appreciate Joseph’s whimsy.
It’s satisfying that everyone did well: We’re expecting the best from these designers, and they are delivering. But because no reality show can ever be happy with just a high-level competition, Heidi has to ask everyone who they want to go to the final with. She starts with Joseph, who names Jude and Anna, which then becomes everyone’s answer, as it always happens with this kind of set-up. Bryan and Naheim also choose Jude and Anna. Anna, for her part, names Jude and Naheim; and Jude himself names Anna and Naheim. Bi picks slightly differently, naming Anna and Joseph. He says that Joseph has “a point of view,” but Law sees right through him, interjecting that Bi is only choosing Joseph because he thinks he could beat him. Law also points out that it’s interesting that no one picks Bi, given that Bi is one of the strongest designers in the group — when he asks Naheim if he thinks he could beat Bi in a finale, Naheim replies “undoubtedly,” and Law gives him a very doubtful look. No one chooses Bryan.
The top designs go to Anna, Jude, and Bi, so the three of them secure their well-earned spots in the final. But, as Heidi would say, there can only be one winner, and this winner is Anna — yay for women, and yay for Anna! I’m rooting for her. Usually, that would mean that Naheim, Joseph, and Bryan would all be going home — but the judges decide, in another twist, to bring a fourth designer to the finale. We see a flashback of the deliberation process, during which the idea of a four-person finale definitely emerged organically and spontaneously without any interference from producers or execs. We’ll find out who the fourth finalist is next week — my bet’s on Naheim. I’ll be watching and reading along!