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If you love “Project Runway,” and you do, you knew Tim Gunn’s visits to the finalists’ homes were coming in the poorly named “Finale Part 1.” If you really love the show, the end-game “twist” came as little surprise too.
This year’s tried-and-true “Finale Part 1,” which of course is no finale at all, does its annual tease of a few garments from each collection, and we’re cool with it because Tim is so gallant and lovable. But the visits are way more rushed than usual so that we can get to the runway showdown to see which of the four finalists spent the last five months in vain.
Sure, we want to know which bitch won’t make the finale in Bryant Park, and we have our fingers crossed that it’s awful Joshua, but by truncating Tim’s visits, we get little insight into the designers. Of course, in a season long on personality and short on substance, maybe there’s nothing new to know. Almost.
Confirmed: It’s Viktor’s race to lose, Kimberly wants it bad, Anya is waiting until the last minute, and Joshua is an emotionally crippled idiot with bad taste. News: Viktor’s boyfriend is a cutie, and Joshua’s eyebrows weren’t tortured when he ran track back in the day.
Back at the workroom to choose three looks for the Girls vs. Gays runway smackdown, Viktor surpasses everyone in preparedness but makes some odd pairings, including his Absolute 80s Limited Express leather jacket with a flowy beach dress (top photo). Each piece is compelling in its own way, but they definitely don’t go together.
In what we’re hoping is a “Finale Part 1” tease that leaves the collections — and therefore the results next week — mostly unrevealed, Kimberly’s chosen ensembles (second photo) look like Rosie Perez wore them in the ‘80s, and Joshua’s girls, for the most part, look modern, pared down and polished (third photo).
Kimberly is gonna have to pull a rabbit out of a hat to win, and there are hints that Joshua’s gaudy taste is lurking for next week.
Anya’s collection remains the most concealed of the bunch, which is the best clue that “Project Runway” has something to hide and reveal next week. We see flashes of her signature prints, but only one makes it to the runway (bottom photo) for the showdown. It’s one of the best looks of the night, but her other two are total throwaways.
If it really is Gals vs. Gays, the gays take the win by a mile this week. Even the gals admit it, and the judges certainly don’t hide their disdain for what they see.
But that’s OK. Why? Because – a la Mychael Knight in Season 3 – all four are going to the finale. Surprise! Or not. It’s a Gays vs. Gals rematch in the grand finale, and here’s hoping al of them show better than the tidbits we’re allowed to see this week.
Sadly, we have no horse in this race. Is it bad that we’re imagining a Fantasy Fashion pool in which Anthony Ryan boots any one of these finalists so we could see what he’d do instead?
Click any image for a larger view, and check out the all of this week’s looks on the show’s “Rate the Runway” page.
