Project Runway Recap: Laying Down the Law
Project Runway Recap: Laying Down the Law
By
Roxana Hadadi,
a Vulture TV critic who also covers film and pop culture. Â
She is a juror for the Peabody Awards.
Sew Elementary
Season 21
Episode 4
Editor’s Rating
3 stars
Project Runway
Sew Elementary
Season 21
Episode 4
Editor’s Rating
3 stars
Photo: Spencer Pazer/Disney
Well, we wanted this, didn’t we? After three weeks of team challenges, we longed for an opportunity to see what the contestants could do on their own. We wanted the twins to be split up. We craved a familiar challenge. And this is what we got: an unconventional-materials challenge with the twins working together anyway, only Law Roach deciding who wins, and a horribly demoralizing vote forced upon the safe designers to kick out one of the bottom-three contestants. Who hurt you, Project Runway producers, and why are you hurting us? Or, more succinctly: Why do you have so much doubt in the appeal of as-is Project Runway?
As I’ve said before, I like a few of the season’s changes. I do still think Law is a good judging addition, I like the winking chyrons, I don’t totally hate the shorter episode length. (If the episodes eased up on the numerous snarky talking-head interviews with Ethan and Jesus and actually spent more time in the work room, those 42 minutes would feel more balanced.) But making the contestants decide who among their ranks should be eliminated? I hate this, full stop. I have long accepted that Project Runway is a reality show first, a show about designing and the business of clothes second (an important distinction that the wonderful fashion experts and critics Tom and Lorenzo made in the August 8 episode of their podcast), which is to say that I no longer really expect Project Runway winners or contestants to be launched to the top of the industry. I think most contestants, 21 seasons in, are going on the show to introduce their personalities and aesthetics to a larger audience in hopes of drumming up real-life business, and the trade-off is that they have to make clothes in a falsely tense environment where everyone pretends it’s normal to design and construct an outfit in a day, and then style it in a desperate 15 minutes, and then defend it to judges whose entire M.O. is to critique you on a public stage. To make the contestants do all that, and then encourage them to turn on each other for the sake of even more drama on a show that is already inherently dramatic — that sucks, man. I don’t care for that.
The unconventional-materials challenge is usually one of my favorites each season, but that judging nonsense makes “Sew Elementary” a real mixed bag of an episode. Let’s start with the third elimination, and no one is surprised it’s Angelo, right? I don’t doubt that Heidi thought Ethan/Utica should leave for the Dilating Denim Hoop, but there was no way the producers were going to let that happen. So Angelo gets sent home because “your construction was bad, but your confidence was even worse,” Law says, which is a silly thing to specify because no one in H.O.E. really had much confidence in their looks. But Angelo packs his tote bag and returns home to his daughter and his menswear business, which reminds me that the only Project Runway spinoff I would watch would be a menswear-only competition, and I’m surprised we haven’t gotten it yet.
Christian then addresses what the remaining designers, and we, have been curious about since the premiere: Is the whole season going to be teams? It is not! Everyone’s going to work individually for the next one-day challenge, and it’s going to start literally right now, because Law Roach is taking the contestants on a late-night field trip to some random production building made to look like the Abbott Elementary set. (Abbott films on the Warner Bros. lot in Burbank, so I’m guessing it’s not actually its auditorium.) Waiting inside the science-fair-decorated space are Abbott Elementary cast members Lisa Ann Walter and Chris Perfetti, who tell the contestants that, yup, it’s the unconventional-materials challenge, and, yup, they can strip everything in this space to use. Nearly everyone sprints around the auditorium for 20 minutes, collecting balls, Slinky toys, mesh nets, string flags, and poster boards, but Madeline — whom the show hasn’t spent much time with, but remember that her aesthetic is more vintage, even prim — is struggling. She’s just walking around really slowly (“Slow Poke” is her chyron descriptor) and she complains that “this is not how I work,” to which I say, with all the kindness in my heart, ma’am, why are you on a reality show? Meanwhile, Jesus and Veejay are arguing about Jesus taking all the volleyballs for himself, because of course they are.
The challenge properly starts the next day, and basically immediately, the contestants who aren’t Jesus and Antonio start complaining about Jesus and Antonio, who are essentially working together at the same table, bouncing ideas off each other and swapping construction techniques. (Yes, I had PTSD flashbacks to the Buitendorps.) Antonio says, “The last thing I want is to end up on the bottom,” which is exactly the kind of foreshadowing that lets us know he will be. And Yuchen shares some of his backstory (abused as a child, incredibly shy, inspired and empowered in high school by Lady Gaga’s persona and fame), which is exactly the kind of foreshadowing that lets us know this will be a good episode for him. But before then, Christian tours the work room, and he’s not pleased! Surprise!
To be fair, I agree with Christian’s approach, which is to push everyone to really transform the materials — especially because, twist, the runway show is going to occur in their garishly lit workroom, where the judges can see every detail of every look. “We do not want to see a bunch of junk hot-glued to some fabric,” Law had said at the science fair, and, well, that’s sort of what Joan, Madeline, and Ethan are all doing? Ethan’s look is at least incredibly eye-catching and a classy and purposeful reference to the infamous Alexander McQueen butterfly dress; I would have no idea that Ethan’s dress uses repurposed butterfly decorations from a middle school. (Christian encouraging Ethan to tap into his drag aesthetic and skills for this challenge, after that approach really failed in “Boring to Brilliant,” was a nice way to reassure Ethan that he belongs here.) Joan’s Popsicle sticks and Madeline’s metallic silver stars are far less exciting, though, and Christian is also dismissive of Belania using vinyl gym mats to make a vinyl raincoat (not enough change), Joseph using the vinyl science-fair banner to make a blocky geometric dress (too stiff), and Antonio’s plan to make a sheer vinyl minidress (sheerness is played out). The common theme here seems to be “vinyl bad,” and I get that; unless you’re doing a sort of bondage ’90s take, vinyl mostly seems difficult to work with for little payoff.
Christian’s visit inspires Joan to change up her look by painting the Popsicle sticks, and Joseph decides his minidress should be a skirt and top instead. Others stick to their ideas — including Yuchen, who is using cut-open soccer balls to create the world’s tiniest shoulder-pad-inspired top and a butt-cheek-cupping miniskirt. I personally think it looks tacky as hell, but then again, I am a 37-year-old ex-goth whose primary fashion motivations are, “Does this look like someone in The Crow would wear it?” or “Does my T-shirt let people know how much I love the movie Heat?,” so that outfit is not meant for me. Anyway, Christian has one more twist before the runway show begins: There’s only one judge for this challenge, and of course it’s Law. The contestants somehow do not riot after learning that their first individual challenge is going to be assessed by only one person (I would be pissed!), and then it’s time for the show — which is also going to be judged blind.
Yuchen sends down his soccer-ball outfit, which is decorated with pieces from a molecular-model kit and includes a headpiece and shin guards. (I think he’s playing off how the pattern of a soccer ball looks like illustrated chemical bonds, which is very cool.) Veejay cut open shuttlecocks so that they resemble lace and crafts them into a delicate dress with a strappy back. Madeline presents a crop top and miniskirt covered with layered metallic stars; it has a lot of shine, but it also looks really immobile. Joseph turned the “science fair” banner into a skater miniskirt and a crop top with a huge collar; both pieces strongly resemble his previous looks. Belania also went for separate pieces, using green, purple, and blue cellophane for a bralette top, baggy shorts, and a bucket hat; it looks like something out of a Missy Elliott music video (complimentary). Jesus cut volleyballs into slices to make a color-blocked red, white, and black dress, and he also used zip ties to make a spiky vest. Miss Joan used Popsicle sticks and cardboard to create a bralette with pointy cups and a wavy-patterned miniskirt. Ethan’s asymmetrical butterfly dress has a halter neck and a headpiece. And Antonio closes the runway with a full-length pink puffy coat made out of triangular flags and a sheer dress made out of transparent vinyl bubbles that barely covers his model’s ass. (He also made her a pink thong, which is generous, I guess.)
Law doesn’t know who designed what, but he’s definitive in who deserves to win: the soccer-ball outfit, which he praises as “high camp” and “creativity overload.” When he tells Yuchen that the look resembles “old Gaga,” you can practically see Yuchen levitating, and I actually love how happy he is with the win. It gives Yuchen the boost of confidence he needs, and it is admittedly really well fitted to his model; the construction seems sound. Law also singles out Ethan’s butterfly dress and Veejay’s dress as his other two favorites. Less fortunate are Joseph’s, Joan’s, and Antonio’s outfits, and this is where I think Law’s critiques are a little mean and a little random. He doesn’t like Joseph’s outfit because Joseph decorated it with little tchotchkes that to Law resemble “disturbing … crack vials”; he compares Joan’s look to “dead vegetation”; and he says that Antonio’s look is poorly styled with denim boots and a denim bag. During this scene, I really wished the episodes were longer, so that we could get Law suggesting how he would have styled Joan’s and Antonio’s looks. Insulting a look without making suggestions to improve it isn’t helpful for the contestants or educational for us as viewers.
But I’m guessing “Sew Elementary” sped through the official judging to make time for the final twist: informing the designers not in the bottom three that they have to vote on whom to eliminate. Christian and Law present this as a strategic opportunity for the designers (“Maybe there’s someone who just wants you out of the competition,” Law says), and look, there is a part of me that recognizes that giving the designers a voice is somewhat interesting. Things happen in the workroom that Christian and the judges don’t know about, and if the designers truly believe that the twins are cheating by helping each other, I can see how this could be a way for the other designers to stand up for themselves. But Project Runway doesn’t usually play this way, and it’s clear that most of the designers had no idea it was coming. Belania and Madeline spend a lot of the deliberation time weeping and refusing to vote. Veejay and Jesus make an unlikely alliance against Joseph, with Veejay making a big speech about how Project Runway is “giving us a platform to show our work to amazing people,” and calling Joseph’s repetitive work “an insult” to the series. It’s just a lot of emotions flying around (and I think, in Veejay’s case, a bit of drinking the show’s Kool-Aid), and it’s not what I watch Project Runway for. But the vote is mandatory, and we’re left waiting until next week to see how it plays out.
• The outfit I most wanted to wear this episode: Ethan’s butterfly dress, hands down. I also actually thought Belania’s outfit was funky and fun; it reminded me of the ’90s-inspired team challenge from Project Runway’s 20th All-Stars season.
• I am not criticizing Law, but I am intrigued by when he considers a drag-inspired look appropriate for a challenge and when he doesn’t. He loved Yuchen and Ethan’s outfits this episode, and I wonder if that’s because this challenge was more about technique and innovation than about pleasing a customer.
• Highlights of the episode for me: the split screen of Jesus claiming that he’s helped every designer in the competition and Ethan shaking his head and exasperatedly saying “girl”; Veejay asking whether the word is “shuttlecock” or “shuddercock”; and Law calling them “cock rings.” Never thought I’d hear “cock rings” on Disney+, but I guess this is a glimpse into the eventual erasure of Hulu.
• I’m increasingly confused by what’s going on this season with the guest judges. So far, there have been celebrities or industry people introducing the challenges — Abbott Elementary stars Lisa Ann Walter and Chris Perfetti here in “Sew Elementary”; Calia’s head designer, Alycia Scott, in “Feel the Burn” — but they don’t actually appear on the judges’ panel, and I’m not sure why. Wouldn’t Scott be the best person to speak to which athleisure outfit Calia should produce and sell? And Walter and Perfetti are both fashion fans; Walter’s even worn Christian’s designs before. Why not have them judge, too? You could even keep Law as the sole “official” judge for this episode but still have Walter and Perfetti share their opinions.
• Miss Joan leading cheerleader chants? I need to know more about this woman’s life! Also, she should have filed an HR complaint for Antonio presenting her with that “Joan floss” thong.
• A commenter on last week’s recap, thisb1tch717, noted that the phrasing of last week’s challenge wasn’t “make a look for SofĂa Vergara,” but that she would wear the winning look. I think this is a fair point, especially as I’ve been binging seasons of Taskmaster, in which the phrasing of tasks is endlessly quibbled over. But I also think for a contestant on the 21st season of Project Runway, you have to approach the game with some amount of strategy. If Heidi tells her friend, “You’re going to wear this outfit,” SofĂa’s primarily going to judge based on her own tastes, and I think we’re all used to the celebrity judges reacting like that. The contestants should be used to that, too. Ethan’s team just totally seemed to disregard that bit of instruction, to their detriment.
Project Runway Recap: Laying Down the Law
