Project Runway is Back!

Project Runway has returned from its holiday hiatus and not a moment too soon. Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares on BBC America have begun to rerun. This week, the designers were taken to Hershey's Times Square Superstore. They were to create a design of their choosing from only the materials that they could find in the candy store. They had no budget, two sacks, and five minutes to grab and bag their materials.

The results were amazing. The winner of this challenge, Rami, created an incredible halter dress using Twizzler pillow cases and Peppermint Patty papers. The dress was an amazing fit on his model, and the styling he chose was a great match for the fun and funkiness of the dress.

Although I tend to favor halter dresses as a rule, the design by Chris could just as easily have taken top honors this challenge. I especially liked how perfectly the Hershey's logo was woven in and out of the bodice of the piece. The only thing that didn't quite do it for me was the fit. It didn't appear curvy enough. I guess this is one of the hazards of strapless, especially when fitting runway models.

There was quite a bit of crap out there, in my humble opinion, not the least of which was this losing design by Elisa. I'll have to say that I will not miss her other worldly presence or her hand sewn craptastic designs. Her creativity was too much for her skill set, and her taste was usually ten paces behind both. The final straw was this drab brown collection of pillows [bottom left] stuck on a model hailing from the same planet as Elisa. A melted chocolate Barbarella Kiss. How in the world could the model keep a straight face with those silver pillows hanging off her elbows? Good-bye, Elisa. The rest of us are due back on Planet Earth.

One very honorable mention: although I wasn't crazy about Jillian's design, I was awestruck that she brave enough to construct a garment out of actual candy...the only contestant to do so. Check out this incredible edible dress made out of Twizzlers. Wow!

Namaste