You Reap What You (Don’t) Sew

Project Runway

By EdHIll | Sunday, October 15, 2006 | 8:09 pm | 43 Comments

OK, so now that the reunion special is out of the way its time for the main event. Part one of the season finale of Project Runway. Well, part one of the season finale that is. It’s been a great third season for what I consider to be the best reality show out there. While they have had some problems with growing Trumpization (Trumpization: the phenomenon by which a popular reality show ends up giving over to complete corporate commercialization in order to cash in on its popularity, thus ruining the show completely. See also: American Idol) the core of the show remains strong. 15 contestants design clothing and are judged by prominent fashion designers and critics. Throw in Heidi Klum and you got yourself a hit.

After last weeks episode we had our final 4 picked. Uli, Michael, Jeffrey and Laura. While the bulk of the show was filmed in the early summer, the season finale starts off a months later with Tim doing a cross country Tim take in preparation of New York’s Fashion week which took place on September 15th. And this season finale more than makes up for last weeks dullness (Why do the last challenges always turn into huge duds?) with some incredible drama and one big controversy. Even a cliffhanger ending. Read about it all after the jump.

The show starts with Heidi greeting our final 4 on the runway. She congratulates them and then tells them what they have for their final challenge. They are to create a 12 piece collection to be shown at New York’s Fashion Week. They have 2 months and 8 thousand dollars and will be using the models from the last challenge (Amanda ain’t done yet!). Then she brings out a special guest. It’s Tim Gunn! On the runway! And what’s that Heidi is doing? OMG! Is that an Auf! Oh no, it’s just a regular kiss. Phew. Got worried for a minute there. I thought this was gonna turn into the ending of Running Man where Heidi is Schwarzenegger and Tim is Richard Dawson and Heidi thrusts Tim into the Running Man game himself and, well, never mind. Tim tells them that they are going to be showing in front of the most influential people in fashion, as well as people from TVgasm, so he has to wow them. Then Heidi says its time for them to pack and gives them a wave goodbye. As Heidi and Tim walk off arm in arm from the runway Heidi says aloud “What are we going to do for two months? We can go on a holiday!” Oh my, wouldn’t that be something. Tim and Heidi getting away from it all.

As they are packing we hear their final thoughts before they go off to start their line. Laura doesn’t think its too daunting to create a whole line of clothes since she’s already made a whole line of kids. When they all get outside to say goodbye to each other Laura leaves first since she can just walk home to her apartment from Atlas. Then Uli and Michael both leave leaving Jeffrey as the last one standing.

Jeffrey’s waving goodbye to a building

We go from there to a month later as Tim starts his cross conutry Tims Take. He is aided in this quest by the Saturn Roadster, and since the car is a big sponsor of the show we get about a dozen loving close ups of the car as he drives it all over the place. I’m surprised they didn’t just have a shot of him licking the steering wheel. He starts in Atlanta, where Michael Knight is working on his collection. He’s also working on his teeth as Michael is sporting some braces. He shows Tim what he has been working on. He calls his collection “Street Safari”. Michael explains that as he was designing the pieces start to take on what he calls a “slight 70′s feel to it”. That’s like saying Elvis kind of liked rhinestones. Its all straight up Pam Grier meets Blacula. After Tim sees a few of his pieces he has his first “conflict” as he tells him. Then we get the trademark Tim voiceover where he is warning that he doesn’t think his collection has a cohesiveness to it. This gets Michael somewhat worried as he only has 3 pieces done and only a month left to work.

Now that the feedback is over, Michael says that he is going to cook some dinner for him so he can meet his family. Later that night Tim meets the whole Knight crew and Michael tells us about his dad while we get some awesome seventies photo’s of the Knight family. Michael was an army brat and grew up everywhere. After a brief prayer circle they all sit down to a nice home cooked meal. Oh what I wouldn’t give to cook a nice dinner for Tim Gunn. Crack a bottle of wine and talk trash about the contestants.

My dad was never this cool

Now its Time for Laura, who lives in midtown Manhattan. I wish they showed ten minutes of Tim driving his Saturn Sky Roadster around trying to get parking and ending giving up and paying 20 buck san hour in some parking garage 10 blocks away. That would have been a true New York moment, but they just cut right to Tim walking don the street. Tim goes up to the intercom system and tells Laura he’s there. “Oh this is so exciting, come on up!” she exclaims. I know, isn’t it exciting? Who could’ve predicted that Tim would have stopped by to see you! Other than the Bravo camera crew that’s sitting right behind you, you had no indication he was coming! The first thing we notice about Laura’s apartment is that it is the biggest apartment I have seen in my life. The woman lives in a converted warehouse. In midtown Manhattan. With it’s own elevator stop. Girl has got some serious green. Another thing about the apartment, it’s got some freaky ass art. Laura is also now very pregnant with what she tells us is her 5th boy in a row. The Bennett boys.

Some kids just make their mom a clay cup. Not Laura’s kids.

Laura gives Tim a quick tour around her cavernous apartment and then shows him some family photo’s. Laura talks about growing up in New Orleans and how she learned to sew from her mom.

After a brief walk down memory lane, Laura shows Tim what she has done so far for her collection. Laura is much farther along than Michael is. She has a good bit done on almost all of her dresses. None of them are completely finished but she wanted to get enough done to discuss with Tim. It’s all very Laura, and even Laura says that by saying she focused on doing some of her “signature moves”. Tim loves it but thinks she may have trouble keeping everything from looking too dowdy, the classic Laura blunder. And her final piece has a fungus green look that Tim is very concerned about. “It’s a look” Laura says. Tim just looks at her says “You just have to ask yourself, is this even pretty? Because it isn’t to me.” Tim never holds back, it’s why we love him.

As they are talking the nanny (naturally) shows up with the kids in tow. One of them extends a gesture of friendship by handing him some turtle poop, but Tim isn’t too keen on it. Not sure why, I’ve seen the man hug Santino on numerous occasions, handling some animal feces can’t be that big of a step down (oooh, I kid Santino cuz I love!). From there we get a Disneyesque search for the turtle throughout Laura’s 3 acre loft. Think 3 Men and a Baby only more like 4 Babies and a Gunn. Speaking of Disney characters, soon Laura’s husband shows up and with his combed back white hair, buck teeth and rimmed glasses I’ll be darned if he doesn’t remind me of a Disney version of Albert Einstein.

Tim then goes off to sunny Miami Florida to see Uli. Uli lives in an apartment overlooking the water and the Miami skyline. It’s quite nice and you can see where Uli gets her inspiration. She tells Tim that her inspiration for this collection is, of course, tropical safari. What else would it be? After Tim sees her first dress Tim tells her that being pretty is not enough to win. He’s worried that they will call Uli a one note. Uli does have some cool other outfits going on and some of them are decidedly non Uli looking as well. And of course I am on record as being an unabashed Uli fan and predict her as the winner.

After that Tim and Uli go for a walk along the beach for a nice talk. As they sit on a park bench on the beach Tim asks her about her growing up in East Germany. One of the reasons she moved to Miami was from growing up and watching Miami Vice on TV. It’s nice that she can follow her dream like that. Alas I have yet to figure out a way to live my childhood dream and live on the death star, but I haven’t given up yet.

Feel that German family warmth

Uli is happy because she is living the American dream by being on Project Runway. It wouldn’t have happened in Germany. Their Project Runway is pretty bland and boring. Its all lederhosen and dirndl’s.

Tim Toes!

From Miami we go to Los Angeles to see Jeffrey and his family. His wife is a chubby tattooed rocker with a Mohawk and his kid is just a regular looking kid with a lifetime of therapy ahead of him. Jeffrey then gives us a little background about his life. Only his story music is much darker than Laura’s or even Uli’s. Like afterschool special dark. Let’s see, Jeff’s dad left him when he was young and all he remembers about him was that he was always full of rage. Not the kind of rage that would make you lash out at a sweet middle aged mom for no reason and make her cry, but rage nonetheless. Then the drugs. He was a junkie for 4 years and then tried to hang himself, which explains the 18 inch long neck. But don’t worry, he survivied to go on and be an obnoxious douche wo thinks hes better than everyone else. So there’s a happy ending.

After talking a while they go down to his workspace in downtown L.A. Since Jeffrey is already a fairly well off rock and roll fashion designer, he already has a pretty big production facility, even though he refers to it as “small”. Not sure how fair that is to the other contestants who are sewing in their bedrooms and living rooms, but I don’t want to get ahead of myself.

Jeffrey’s inspiration was Japanese ghost and demons stories. The kinds of things you hallucinate to while strung out on heroin I guess. Tim says he is “completely in awe” with what he is doing with the zippers on his dresses. I have to say this is the first time me and Tim disagree on something. Wow, it’s our first fight! I think the zippers look like a big mess, since they aren’t working zippers but more of a detail. It just looks like a dress with a bunch of open zipper pockets on them. Then Jeff shows him a halter top he is working on. “Unexpected” Tim says clearly pleased. Hmm, me and Tim are just not on the same page here.

Then we move forward to just 5 days before the show in New York. Michael is the first to arrive and he is very proud of his collection. He says it is “nasty”, but I believe he is using the street vernacular form of the word in which he actually thinks it is quite good. I speak fluent street. “Don’t get up in my grill or I will go ock on your fotch”, and so forth. Laura is next and she tells us how she has made what she thinks people want to see from her (not sure how good that sounds) and that she really wants to win, if just to see Jeff not win. Hey, she’s honest.

When Laura comes into the big apartment set up for them she has to go wake Michael up just to say hi. Michael is wiped out from the Atlanta to New York Jet lag. Later that night Uli shows up and everyone hugs and smiles. When Jeffrey walks in the door everyone smiles too, but then Uli says ‘”How is your life Jeffrey? Is people throwing eggs at you?!” A ha! Jeffrey just got made fun of by a German! While actually everyone doesn’t smile and hug him. Laura don’t play that so she doesn’t exactly leap up to hug him.
The next morning is their first full work day. They have a whole new workspace provided by Macy’s and they all start unpacking their collections. Laura makes a seemingfly benign comment, at this point in the episode anyway, about the number of multi piece outfits Jeffrey has been able to complete.

After they all get settled in Tim shows up and asks everyone to gather round. He needs to talk to his little lambs. He gives them a recap of what’s to come, a quick plug for Macys, and then he gets right into his “Tim’s take”. The last of the season.

He starts with Jeffrey. Jeffrey says he is in good shape and has even brought stuff he is not sure that he is going to even show. Tim loves it, but we get a few curious looks from the other designers, especially Laura as he takes him through what he has. When Tim asks him what he has left to do Jeff says “nothing”. Hmmmm.

Next he goes to see Uli. The first outfit he shows her gets that sour milk looking face from Tim. Tim says he wants to see what they look like ion the models. Uh oh. That’s the same thing he said during his wince inducing critique of designer/woodcrafter Daniel Vosovich in last seasons finale. He’s worried about the proportions on her dresses and then says “In some ways I miss your prints!”

With Laura he tells her how thrilled he is that she got rid of her “chartreuse popsicle”. I suppose he could’ve just said “green” instead of “chartreuse”, but this is Tim Gunn after all. Don’t say circular when you can say circuitous. He loves the details in her pieces and thinks she has a complete collection. When he goes over to talk to Michael he is eager to see what he has because there wasn’t a lot finished when he went to see him in Atlanta.

From the very beginning Tim is not happy. In fact the first words out of his mouth are “Oy!” and the man isn’t even Jewish. He says that everything looks too cartoony for him. Then he looks at one piece and says “And we’ve got this bling happening”. I see I am not the only one schooled in the language o the street. From this point he tells Michael that he thinks he can do two things, go completely over the top with it, or start taking away. Before he leaves he asks everyone to hand in their receipts. They were given 8 grand fore their collection and it would be against the rules to go over. There is a moment watching Jeffrey try and collect his receipts that seems pretty benign but makes you wonder why they would have left it in the show. Foreshadowing perhaps?

Michael single handedly bringing the whole “conductor hat” look back

After Tim is gone we hear Michael say that he will be going way over the top with his collection rather than pull back because he doesn’t want a boring show. Uli is worried about the model fitting as it could make or break the outfits. Did someone say model fittings? .Oooh, time for us to watch models show us their walks! Michael says that this is the part of the process he looks forward to the most and I agree. Laura sees one with a hippy walk and grabs her immediately, and at one point they even fight over who gets one. Even the lovely Amanda shows up looking lovelier than ever They don’t even need to see her walk cuz they know she’s the shit. Then it’s time for the makeup consult. Jeffrey has decided to have all the models wear the same Farrah Fawcett wig. He wants them all to be a “blank slate” on the runway. Michael wants his models to have big roller hair. Man he wasn’t kidding about that over the top thing.

The next morning they go through the first model fittings and Laura starts to notice that Jeffrey needs virtually no alterations on his pieces and has all his hems are done and his hooks sewn. Laura finds this extremely odd given the short amount of time that they were given.

Pose off!

Later that night after the makeup sessions with the models, Laura tells us more. “I’ve been thinking about this for the last two days. I just don’t believe that Jeffrey sewed that collection himself.” Or to put it more Lauralike, she says “You just don’t pull craftsmanship like that out of your ass”. Later that night in the workroom when Jeffrey is out (since he has literally nothing left to do) the other three start to talk amongst themselves. Michael agrees with Laura that the whole thing is somewhat fishy Uli gets up to look at Jeffrey’s pieces herself. She isn’t quite as sure as she says that the sewing isn’t that perfect. Now that the other two designers are starting to question it as well, Uli says that when Jeff comes back they need to say something to him. Michael agrees because he isn’t comfortable talking about this behind his back. Laura says that that is exactly what she plans on doing when he comes back.

While they are talking about this Tim shows up to give everyone’s pieces another look. As he is talking to Uli Jeffrey walks in, and I tell you, you can feel the tension and anticipation through the TV set. This is some goddamn good television. When Tim goes over to Laura they have a small chit chat about her progress and where she is with her pieces. Then she says she wants to talk to him about something. Tim asks if they want to go out on the terrace to talk privately. Laura agrees. Ger ready for the shoe to drop.

While out on the terrace Laura tells Tim her concerns about Jeffrey. The sewing is too perfect. Everything is finished on the inside, leather jeans with perfect top stitching, etc. With the limited time they were given and the fact that Jeffrey had his own showroom collection that he worked on at the same time it raises a question. She believes it’s his design but she just doesn’t believe that he did all the sewing himself, which is against the Project Runway rules. She tells Tim that she just wants to go on record as saying it. Tim takes this very seriously and while he warns Laura that things like this are hard to prove, he will take it to the producers.

After Tim leaves Uli says aloud, with Jeffrey in the room, that Laura has an “announcement” to make. Laura then tells Jeff point blank that she went to Tim and told him that based on what she saw she thinks he had outside help on his collection. Now I will be the first to admit that I am not an objective viewer. I’ve been on record as to Jeffery’s lame personality and even lamer designs, so my opinions is definitely shaded by my feelings towards the douche, as well as my positive feelings towards Laura, but the look he gives Laura after she says that, the blinking, the stammering, made him look guilty as hell. It wasn’t the angry outrage of being accused of something you didn’t do look. It was the stunned confusion of someone being caught red handed. Of course, I have no idea if he did it or didn’t do it. I have no idea what top stitching is for that matter. But still, something doesn’t smell right to me. Watching a lot of reality TV, I like to think I have a good BS detector and it went into overdrive when I saw Jeffrey reaction.

The next morning Laura pretty much reiterates what I said, thinking his reaction was somewhat suspect. Also, Laura’s impression of Jeffrey is pretty funny. Not because its accurate, but because it is the same generic guy impression I’ve heard every girl do ever. Do we all sound that much alike?

That morning at the workroom Tim comes in and asks to speak with Jeffrey. He assures him that in this situation he is innocent until proven guilty; but that it is something they have to investigate. He asks hi point blank if he had any outside help and he says no. Then Tim goes over the pieces himself asking detailed questions about each of them. He tells Jeffrey that they will be going over his receipts carefully and they will let him know what their decision is soon. With that the episode comes to an end but the previews for next week are jaw dropping. Tim has everyone gather round and says “… we have taken these concerns very seriously and unfortunately..” then they cut to Jeffrey breaking down in tears. Of course there’s a very good chance that the rst of Tim’s sentence was something like “Unfortunately we were not able to determine if there was any cheating going on” and Jeffrey’s tears were tears of joy. You just can’t say. Either way, net week looks to be a humdinger of a final episode. I can’t wait to see it, especially in the hopes that you might be able to see the top of my head in a stray shot at fashion week.

Comments (43)
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43 Comments

1

criscogirl

Posted October 15, 2006 at 9:01 pm

I don’t know what it is about this season but I really don’t like it…I’m not rooting for anyone this year. I think its because this season really broke down that 4th wall between the television and production. Obviously everyone knows that it is a tv show, but the past two seasons production was never mentioned, while this season the only really appealing moments were caused when production intervened.
2

brilliantmistake

Posted October 15, 2006 at 9:23 pm

It was pretty ballsy of Laura to accuse Jeffrey without any other evidence than how much work he had done. I admire her just flat out saying what’s on her mind. She’s interesting, but her collection bores me.

I surprised you didn’t mention Laura’s complaint about not having enough $$ to start her own clothing line! Judging from her apartment, she has more money than god.
3

IJustWatch

Posted October 15, 2006 at 9:46 pm

I watched the marathon of season 2, and I have to say that I was more impressed with each individual designer than the entire season 3 crew! Michael’s my favorite because he hasn’t shown outward cockiness and is always grateful towards the judges and his fellow contestants, but his Bryant Park collection kind of scared me. I enjoy Uli, but no one else wows me.

Although Jeffrey’s final collection turned out better than I expected, I hope he doesn’t win. He’s trying to be this year’s Santino, but at least Santino proved to be talented. And funny. Jeffie just sucks – and the way he talks about everyone else is NOT a good look on him. His reaction.. yeah I expected him to cuss and throw things. Instead you just saw how red his giraffe neck became while stuttering and “attempting” to defend himself.

Brilliantmistake – I noticed that Laura comment. Umm, hello? We all saw you pack your Louis Vuitton and lug them to your insanely huge apartment. Oh, and P.S. When I saw Laura’s hubby, I thought eewww gross, they still get it on. Haha sorry, immature moment.
4

HoneyBunny

Posted October 15, 2006 at 9:49 pm

When TimGunn told Michael that he was concerned about his collection being too ‘cartoony’ I wanted to yell at Michael “MITIGATE!”

Penis neck’s Mohawk wearing girlfriend says their kid is “Jeff’s best design.” For me it was a toss up between the kid and the Statue of Liberty inspired Paris gown.

Does Uli own anything that ISN’T a flip flop?

Laura is a fearless bitch. She will do and say anything she feels needs like. The plaster cast of her pregnant chest and tummy will be the only proof in years to come that Skeletor once had boobies.

I am still rooting for ya Michael aka BraceFace!

hb
5

katybee

Posted October 16, 2006 at 12:25 am

As much as I’d love for Jeffrey to be booted out, Bravo’s premiere pretty much gave it away that he’s in. They wouldn’t actually imply so heavily that Jeffrey is out if he really is. They still want to “shock” the viewers in a completely predictable way.
6

chooch850

Posted October 16, 2006 at 2:39 am

Go Jeffrey Go !!!!!!

I may be in the minority, but I like his collection from what I saw and I think he might win if not booted. I am rooting for Michael, but after getting a peek of his collection, I’m afraid it won’t make it.
7

conrad5

Posted October 16, 2006 at 5:05 am

It’s still anyone’s game to win. Michael’s collection has been most unimpressive so far, but he’s been known in the past to take Tim’s advice, and produce some real gems. Reality shows like this are notorious for their purposeful misdirection. It’s amazing how easily viewers can be manipulated by the way the the show is edited. I actually started to like and respect Jeffery for a nanosecond. Then I saw flatulence boy’s sprawling production facility (has he re-named his company “Close-a Nose-stra?” yet?), and knew he was a ringer. If he does win, there will certainly be a pall over his victory. I liked Tim’s excellent adventure, and thought that all the contestants had some pretty compelling stories to tell.

Uli seems like a pleasant enough lady, but a quite inhospitable host. When Tim Gunn shows up at your door wearing a worsted wool suit, and shiny black Kenneth Cole storm trooper shoes, why would you want to subject him to the oppressive heat of a steaming, breezeless Miami beach? I know that Uli gets her inspiration from the beach, but Tim’s complexion suggests that he gets his inspiration from temperture-controlled rooms. This poor guy was suffering from more pitt problems than Jennifer Aniston.

If Laura’s gargantuan loft is located within walking distance of the Atlas apartments, then it must be worth at least a couple of Mil. Obviously, her and Father Time have accumulated as much wealth as they have children. What’s with all this talk about really needing the prize money to launch her clothing line? They probably have 100K parked in a petty cash checking account.

There’s a minor detail about the prize money that I don’t think any of the contestants appreciate…it’s not $100,000! I’m pretty sure that (regardless of where your residence is located) you’re required to pay confiscatory NYC taxes, if you earn your income within the confines of the city. By the time you deduct all the income taxes on the 100 K, AND the taxes due on the cash value of the 2007 Saturn Roadster (yes Uli, America has it’s own version of the Stasi), you’re left with what, a measly 35K? That’s start-up money for a mobile hot dog cart, not a clothing company! It’s no wonder that Jay McCarroll is still impecunious. Although with that guy, I have a feeling that if he were awarded exclusive ownership rights to the Widows operating system, he’d still be living in an abandoned refrigerator box right now.

I wonder if Laura ever heard of Salmonella? No, not Sal from Manila, the pleasant Filipino delivery boy who drops off those delightful fresh-baked potato brioches from Balducci’s. Salmonella–the enterobacteria found in turtle feces. This can cause fatal blood infections in young children. Laura apparently went to the Friedrich Nietzsche school of child-rearing: That which does not kill my child, makes him stronger. Laura, please take junior on a shopping spree to FAO Schwarz, and lose the turtle.
8

sugarshane12

Posted October 16, 2006 at 5:44 am

Laura’s apartment HAS GOT to be rent controlled. An apartment that nice within walking distance of Atlas would be insanely expensive. And either way, I’m sure five kids would wipe out any amount of earnings that one has.
9

GnomeCorp

Posted October 16, 2006 at 6:31 am

My money is on Uli…

Read more here
10

GnomeCorp

Posted October 16, 2006 at 7:28 am

My favorite lines:

But don’t worry, [Jeffrey] survivied to go on and be an obnoxious douche wo thinks hes better than everyone else. So there’s a happy ending.

AND

When Laura comes into the big apartment set up for them she has to go wake Michael up just to say hi. Michael is wiped out from the Atlanta to New York Jet lag.
11

Laurie

Posted October 16, 2006 at 8:29 am

I thought Jeffrey looked guilty as well, but I can’t figure how laura did all that beadwork in the same amount of time.

Plus, why did Jeff get called out in front of everyone and laura get’s a personal meeting on the balcony with just tim? Sounds sketch to me.

And Laura’s husband is NOTHING like I pictured him looking like. This is a man that has 6 kids? Yikes.
12

Tati

Posted October 16, 2006 at 9:08 am

conrad5, good point abt the actual winnings after taxes, hadn’t thot of that. FWIW, Jay the winner of Seas. 1 ddn’t end up accepting the prize money from PR—i vaguely rem’br him explaining that there would be too many limitations on how to use money, the internship requiremnts, etc. (Project Jay)

I’m hoping Jeff isn’t allowed to compete, altho we all know he certainly showed, but I have a feeling the teaser is along the lines of what EdHill said & that his tears are actually tears of joy. Sigh. I’ve liked Michael all season, but his final collection ddn’t seem as cool as Uli’s, I have a feeling she wins it all.

I had no idea Laura was married to KFC’s Colonel!!
13

plethLaura

Posted October 16, 2006 at 9:29 am

The preview did “turn me on”. There’s no way they can prove he cheated unless he’s a complete moron. As guilty as he acted I’d be surprised if he didn’t cheat but htf do you get evidence?

I saw Heidi on the tonight show and she said there was some controversy and that there was an accusation by one of the designers that another had cheated. She also said that the designer who brought it up was probably jealous. That makes me think nothing comes of it.

Hopefully it doesn’t matter in the long run cause Uli will win, right?
14

dredge

Posted October 16, 2006 at 9:50 am

damn! i missed the beginning of this finale episode..came in onthe models. gotta see a rerun.
I had the exact same suspicion as EdHill. The fact that this guy had absolutely nothing to do seemed suspect to me..and then, once confronted, had the “caught red-handed stammering-trying-to-come-up-with-an-excuse-cause-he-was-too-arrogant-to-think-he-might-get-caught” look.
15

hardly@work

Posted October 16, 2006 at 10:02 am

conrad5 you crack me up

laura’a husband was not what I was expecting….laura’s first kid is a girl, 18 maybe? from a previous marraige- its father time that is packing the male sperm…I think she was trying to say, that when she was younger and before she got wrapped up in another career withs all those kids she didn’t have the money

I was giving jeff the benfit until he made that face– it was a very guilty face…

i love laura, love her designs, want to wear everyone of them…
16

kristin_d_l

Posted October 16, 2006 at 10:49 am

We know Jeffrey shows at Olympus Fashion Week, so I doubt anything came of the accusations. They wouldn’t have let him show if he cheated, would they?
17

EdHill

Posted October 16, 2006 at 11:19 am

IF he was disqualified they still would have let him show, but only as a decoy as in past seasons.

And this video from BPR showing an upcoming clip has jeff nowhere to be seen.
18

mari_mari

Posted October 16, 2006 at 11:20 am

I’m so sick of everyone harping on Laura for her life. So she lives in a nice apartment. Did ANYONE else notice Jeffrey’s and Uli’s? Not exactly slumming. And Laura has all those kids to take care of – of course she isn’t going to be irresponsible and blow the money on a risky clothing venture. We should actually applaud her for being a good mother instead of hating on her for working hard at the job that earned her the money.

And for the sake of all the is good, calm down – kids are kids and you can’t go around freaking out about everything they touch. Would it make you happy if she had them in a bubble?
19

newtrino

Posted October 16, 2006 at 11:45 am

Yes, I want those kids in a bubble.
20

TWilliams

Posted October 16, 2006 at 12:08 pm

Agreed, Mari_Mari. People would bitch about Laura no matter what she did or didn’t do. The interview of Heidi someone mentioned about Laura possibly being jealous of Jeffrey applies to this board as well. I think people are jealous of Laura’s very fortunate life. She has kids, a loving husband, a nice home and obviously a lot of money. I am so sorry you are jealous of her people.

I don’t see how Laura’s accusation would really stem from jealousy. If there is any jealousy, it is over his sewmanship and nothing else. His designs are NOTHING at all what Laura would design, create or wear. And I am in agreement with you on the zippers, EdHill. So what . . .

I think Michael has shown a bit of outward cockiness these last couple of episodes. Ever since he has been selected to show at Bryant Park I think his attitude has changed. How many times has he said “I’m going to win” or “I’m going to win this thing” in the past couple of episodes? Shut up, Michael, your collection is shitty and you were way off of the mark. It is too bad Tim didn’t live with you the month prior to hold your hand and steer you in the right direction.

I think our winner will see a bit more cash than 35K. After paying all of the regular taxes on this amount I would say that they’d be seeing around 67K or so. The taxes on that car aren’t anywhere near what is being surmised. My Z4 cost me a measly $3100 in property taxes. A Saturn isn’t going to break any one of these contestants.

Lastly, I can’t figure out what Tim would accompany “unfortunately” with unless it is bad news. Wouldn’t he be more likely to say, “fortunately, Jeffrey, we have not found any evidence blah blah blah.” I don’t think he would say it was unfortunate that they could NOT find ample evidence against him because wouldn’t this comment put Tim in either of the other 3′s corners? I just cannot see how “unfortunate” would be used for a positive outcome. It would basically be Tim saying that it sucked rotten eggs (or turtle poop) that Jeffrey gets to remain in the competition. I just don’t see it. But even if he is not allowed to compete, I do not see them keeping him from showing his collection. We know that he does show, but we don’t know if he is eligible for the win or not.

Ed, I used the word chartreuse and I would argue that that dress was actually closer to celedon green than chartreuse
21

hardly@work

Posted October 16, 2006 at 12:48 pm

i loved laura’s green design–it was diffeernt from what she usually does, and I loved that jscket, unfortunately my f’s would not fit into any of her designs, weep weep

and twilliams: sorry to interupt todays lecture, but IMO none of the above commenters say that they think Laura was jealous, plethLaura said she saw HEIDI on a show and HEIDI said she thought that the designer was jealous.

the first ten or so comments say how great Laura was for bringing it up in a very adult way, and how wonderful her life looks, nothing but admiration…i don’t understand what comment would make you see differently.
22

TWilliams

Posted October 16, 2006 at 1:29 pm

hardly@work — that was the exact thing I was making reference to. Heidi’s remark about Laura possibly being jealous. I don’t see it, but hey . . .

As for some of the negative, bitchy comments about Laura having money and a nice home and letting her kids carry around turtle poop (as if this is a toy the child ALWAYS has and Laura didn’t make him give it up); I said it appears that some of the commenters might be jealous of this. There are a few comments about her having money and not starting her whole line with money she apparently has (although I am sure she and her husband have reasons for this) but none of us were too quick to jump to conclusions about it (ahem . . . ). People on this board were making judgements about her because of her social status in life . . . and I am sorry that people attack people who have happy, stable lives. I guess only mari_mari and myself read anything said about her negatively. Forgive me for that.
23

dredge

Posted October 16, 2006 at 1:52 pm

Laura’s a mature woman and not in the derrogatory sense of the word. She’s had a life. Maybe that’s a shock to those of us getting by. And…she and her husband probably got that apt 10 or 15 years ago when you could still get a loft space in manhattan for a quarter mil. Just in the past 3 years the city has changed drastically. With about 20 or more “luxury rentals” going up. So they were I would guess, like many fortunate people in manhattan, at the right place at the right time. I like her designs.
24

erinkg

Posted October 16, 2006 at 2:06 pm

Laura’s husband is Peter Shelton, a very successful designer/architect. Tim talks about Peter on his podcast and makes him sound like some architecture god or something. I think it’s very believable that they own that apartment.
25

Leah3t

Posted October 16, 2006 at 2:17 pm

The disney einstein was spot on. dude looked like merlin, or a thin version of belle’s dad.

it would be really hard to prove long neck cheated, as much as i’d love to see him go. the only way they could be throwing him off now is if he just confessed to cheating. i think the preview was just trying to t hrow us off.
26

juddfan

Posted October 16, 2006 at 2:19 pm

I’m glad we’re still hating on neck boy, and also glad we’re reading his body language the same. my coworker’s going on and on about his sewing skills . . . whatever, he looked guilty as shit!

Who thinks the “unfortunately” is an announcement they need to do a new look, or they have less time to finish than planned, or they have to be at the show by 5:00–etc etc. Clever editors always do that, but maybe I’m wrong.

I’m so sure neck boy (loved the hanging dig EdHill!) would have called her a jealous cow and insisted he sewed every stitch–if he was innocent.

Michael’s still young and should have more time to get it going, if this isn’t his time to shine. He’s more cocky, but no where near as discusting as Daniel Woodcraft, funny how arrogance can change the public’s mind so quickly.

I hope they give us a good look at the clothes this time, I like most of the stuff better than last season’s finale–looking back on cloe’s collection, ick!

They all have a selection of nice pieces, though, and I do think Laura’s is the most cohesive. Hate the red and white checks on Jeffrey’s–If I wanted to wear a Papa Gino’s table cloth, I’d know where to go . . .
27

troiaj

Posted October 16, 2006 at 2:54 pm

I don’t think Tim would say, “unfortunately” before announcing that Jeffrey was found innocent. That would just be rude.
28

criscogirl

Posted October 16, 2006 at 3:07 pm

I’m thinking no one here has ever heard of audio splicing. Its huge in the reality TV world
29

may1

Posted October 16, 2006 at 3:30 pm

All I can say is, turtle poop???
30

IJustWatch

Posted October 16, 2006 at 4:18 pm

Twilliams – yes Michael has been saying “I’m gonna win this show!” a lot more now that he’s made it to Bryant Park, but who’s to say that’s not clever editing to lead us into thinking he has a chance to win BP? How do you know Jeffrey wasn’t recorded saying the same things (who probably did, several times at that)? Or Uli? Or Laura? Just because it didn’t make it on TV doesn’t mean it wasn’t said. Saying that he’s going to win BP doesn’t mean he’s cocky, maybe he’s trying to convince himself that he will, in fact, WIN. And he’s never put down his other contestants in a vicious manner. I’m crossing my fingers for Uli or Michael (but I don’t think so). Not too worried about Laura because I think she’ll succeed whether or not she wins the competition.

BTW, I just read that Santino and Jeffrey are friends in real life. Maybe Santino helped him sew…. Oh and did anyone hear about Jeff’s MYSPACE response to Laura’s accusation? Read about it here:

http://bloggingprojectrunway.blogspot.com/2006/09/did-jeffrey-sebelia-cheat_26.html
31

conrad5

Posted October 16, 2006 at 5:08 pm

TWilliams: My little brother almost died from a systemic Salmonella infection that he contracted from a pet turtle. It’s not a frivolous point. Pregnant women and young children would do well to steer clear of this bug. For the record: I like Laura and think she has a great deal of class and maturity. I poke fun at a lot of people I like¦including myself. Anyone who goes chooses to go on a show like this has to expect some good-natured ribbing. I harbor no animus towards her¦only Jeffery.

Mari Mari: It’s completely believable that you paid $3,100 in sales tax when you bought your car. If, however, you had been GIVEN your car (on national TV, no less), the tax man would have treated your winnings as ordinary income, and expected his piece of the action. For example, if the car you were awarded had a cash value of $30,000, and you happened to be in a 50% tax bracket (which could happen pretty quickly in NYC), the tax man would politely ask you to pay $15,000 in taxes. You might remember when Oprah gave cars to audience members, and then had to listen to the same people complain, when they found out what it would cost them to actually accept the vehicle.
32

TWilliams

Posted October 16, 2006 at 9:23 pm

Conrad5, it was not mari_mari making the tax comment about the car. It was myself. I didn’t have taxes like that to pay . . . I didn’t have them on my car prior to that either which was a 3-series sedan even though it was a graduation present. I paid sales taxes and the corresponding property taxes the following years, though. This might be a midwest thing too. City taxes of Kansas City must not be as hefty as they are in NYC although the city taxes here are more than those dwelling in the country around the city.

My opinion of Michael remains unchanged, though. I think his head has gotten a bit bigger after making it to the finals. I am fully aware of editing on reality shows and what some people say gets aired while others say similar things but get edited differently. I am still free to think Michael has assumed a rather pompous attitude the last couple of episodes. I am not telling anybody else that they have to think this way of Michael. Michael — the contestant who could do no wrong during the season — very much reminds me of Daniel Woodcraft and is air of satisfaction about himself. I don’t think anybody would argue that Daniel and Michael were the frontrunners going into their respective fashion weeks. IMO, Michael missed the mark as did Daniel. Those handles on them damn wooden purses still make me want to cringe and almost cry. Pathetic and terrible. Ugh.

And I agree with you troiag about the use of “unfortunately.” Perhaps Tim says that in a different sentence about something completely off the subject we assume he is talking about b/c there is no way “unfortunately” can be used as something positive in this situation. If so, he is taking sides and he knows that he is supposed to be a mentor to all and remain neutral. I think the only thing the producers could do is question people at Jeffrey’s workshop to see if he had assistance with the sewing etc. Maybe some idiot working for him admitted to working on the Bryant Park line. His workshop looks as if it is a workroom for a few people and he has to have some employees with his other clothing line. Seriously, what would stop any of them from working on this line? It is their job.

Jeffrey’s reaction to the accusation was strange and totally un-Jeffrey like. I think Laura was expecting an attack which is exactly what an innocent Jeffrey would have done. I thought that there was so much questionable editing on this show that it could only mean one thing. They spent a lot of time on Jeffrey and him simply sitting at his station while the other 3 worked frantically on their finishing touches. Jeffrey handing in his reciepts was different. I just think that all of this would be totally unnecesary IF nothing were to come from this accusation. Surely we could have seen something more relevant to someone winning instead of this drama if it leads to nothing.
33

pearlblackdragon

Posted October 16, 2006 at 9:53 pm

Holy Hanna! I am so excited!! No-one else tagged it EdHill, so I call shotgun for the trip to live on the death-star.(If you ever find a way that is.) Ok. Back to finish reading the blog.
34

brilliantmistake

Posted October 16, 2006 at 10:46 pm

TWilliams:
“I think people are jealous of Laura’s very fortunate life.”

Of course I’m jealous of Laura, did you see that apartment! I’m thinking of disguising myself as a turtle and sneaking in.

Hell, I’m jealous of people that don’t have to divide their possessions into “must have,” “worthless,” and “stuff I can potentially sell on e-bay for food.”
35

juddfan

Posted October 17, 2006 at 10:58 am

HEy IjustwatchTV–thanks for the link, if any of you haven’t checked it out, please do!

What an ass, and it just goes to show how OFF his reaction was on the show! Even if they don’t boot him, I so hope he doesn’t win!
36

Loo

Posted October 17, 2006 at 11:17 am

I’ve defended Laura’s parenting on this site before, and I love her clothes, but I would agree that her apparent wealth makes her less attractive to me as a winner. My feelings aren’t jealousy; I’d just like to see the less-rich have equal opportunity.
37

TWilliams

Posted October 17, 2006 at 2:32 pm

Loo, I guess you weren’t a fan of Erica on The Bachelor then?
38

murphena

Posted October 17, 2006 at 3:19 pm

Just because Laura and her husband have money doesn’t mean they have the discretionary funds to start a business. And very often, the wealthier someone appears to be, the less they actually have — except for a lot of debt. Raising all those kids can’t be cheap (especially if they all go to private school which is likely). I would love for Laura to win.

Everyone seems to have forgotten about Uli so it’s possible that she’ll end up the winner. As long as it isn’t Jeffrey, I don’t really mind who it is.
39

TWilliams

Posted October 18, 2006 at 3:38 pm

I just saw a preview for tonight’s episode and it says “Tim can’t find a reciept that could possibly clear Jeffrey of cheating” . . .

THAT must be why he uses the word “unfortunately” so Jeffrey could very well still be in the running.
40

Loo

Posted October 18, 2006 at 7:24 pm

“Loo, I guess you weren’t a fan of Erica on The Bachelor then?”

I don’t watch that show, Darlin’. At least Proj. Runway involves some kind of talent.

But if Uli wins after all those horrible print tents, I won’t be watching PR any longer.
41

Fuxy

Posted October 18, 2006 at 7:25 pm

Did anyone BELIEVE Jeffrey? As much as I dislike Jeffrey (and that’s a lot), I believed that he did do the work. I didn’t see anyone point out that Laura is pregnant and hormonal. Pregnancy makes you insecure and at times, completely insane. I remember sobbing and being totally devastated because they got my order wrong at McDonald’s; it can get bad. I don’t think Laura was being malicious, but I think the hormonal thinking took over. I commend her for being open and honest about her suspicions, though. I like her, but I still stand by what I said earlier. I’m NOT jealous of Laura. I just wonder why a person would keep popping out kids just to say “I have 6 kids”, and just to leave them with a nanny. I don’t understand it, and I am not going to. Anywho, she must be a good nanny. The kids seem happy and well-adjusted enough. Who am I to judge, anyway? BTW, I loved the comments about Laura’s husband!! LOL! From now on, though, I SO do not want to even imagine them getting it on.
42

Fuxy

Posted October 18, 2006 at 7:31 pm

Did anyone out there believe Jeffrey? As much as I dislike him, I did believe him. I started to doubt him a little when he got all blinky when Tim requested the receipts. After that, though, I believed him again. He just seemed hurt and surprised. I would be, too. I don’t think Laura maliciously made those accusations. What I think, is that she’s pregnant and hormonal. It can make a girl insecure and completely insane at times. I remember sobbing and being completely devastated when my order from McDonald’s was screwed up. It can get bad. I think she’s operating on “pregnant lady brain”, that’s all. The commercials seem to show Jeffrey gettin’ the boot, but usually the editors show the opposite of what’s really going to happen. I guess we shall see. I like Michael, and I don’t think it’s a bad thing to think positively. I don’t see any cockiness in him at all.
43

Fuxy

Posted October 18, 2006 at 7:32 pm

Sorry. I thought my first post hadn’t posted, so I tried to remember the details from the first post, and I posted again. Sorry for the two posts.