Saturday, June 15, 2019

Project Runway Season 17

Yes, after all these years I still watch Project Runway. Although I never tired of the original version of the show, I thought this season was a wonderful change. Karlie Kloss did a great job hosting the show - but Christian Siriano was the best choice when remaking the show. He is charming, creative, respectfully playful IS a mentor worthy of continuing Tim Gunn’s legacy.

But, even with the great changes the show creators have made with host, mentor, and judges? This  season could have fallen kind of flat. There is always that danger. What made the show one of the strongest seasons so far was the cast of designers chosen to compete this year. Much like shows such as Survivor and American Idol, the group that is competing on Project Runway can either make or break the season. This group of designers “meshed” in a way that rarely happens on this show. There wasn’t a high degree of pettiness, there weren’t explosive outbursts, and - while it wasn’t all kumbaya  togetherness - there was a sense of positivity in the designers competitiveness. There was someone for everyone, and it worked.

The final surprised me. If you had told me early in the season that Hester Sunshine was going to be a finalist I would have rolled my eyes. Normally I cannot stand the token quirky designer they throw in, but Hester took me by surprise. She is really talented. She stood out as a true original with talent and originality. There wasn’t one thing she designed all season that I would have worn (as a 54 year old preppy suburban woman), but I couldn’t help but be happy about her creations. She is an artist.

Sebastian Gray had me in tears at the end of the season. I don’t expect him to fade away, I expect we will know him as a very successful designer in a few years...and that success will be absolutely deserved. He. Is. Amazing. There was s a level of elegance in even his most simple designs that is crazy rare, and a humble quality about Sebastian that will keep him from any complacency of success.

One of my favorite seasons by far. Nice job, Project Runway, you left me wanting to see more.