For the first time, I didn’t watch one second of Project Runway this past season. I guess I was just over it; the Seth Aaron season broke me.

Besides, reading the recaps at Project Rungay is far more entertaining.

It looks like I got out just in time. Season 8′s winner Gretchen Jones caused quite a ruckus. Tim Gunn was verklempt. Heidi Klum even showed her support for fellow contestant Mondo Guerra by wearing a sort-of-goofy-but-sort-of-fun bubbly dress designed by him.

Gretchen spoke to Marie Claire about the season and her win.

“I’m the bitch!” she laughs. It’s a perception she’s ready to disprove — and have a little fun with. “I got an evil purple lipstick,” she notes of a rare stray from her signature reddish-orange lipcolor. “And I’ve started wearing heels. I’m 5’11″ and already considered a bitch — I may as well take it up a notch!”

The 28-year-old’s ability to laugh at herself seems out of step with the serious, all-knowing competitor seen on Project Runway‘s eighth season. “All of my sarcasm got stripped away on the show,” she says. Still, the striking designer from Portland, Oregon, takes responsibility for what did make it on air. “I have a strong voice, and I communicate my tastes in a manner that you either like or don’t,” she admits. “But there’s a difference between critique and taste. My tastes aren’t for everybody — that’s what fashion is.” Fair enough. Yet for many, such rationale does nothing to lessen the sting of Jones’ triumph over crowd favorite Mondo Guerra. Both designers presented strong finale collections — strong enough to split the judges straight down the middle.

…”My next moves have to be about creating my own character rather than the character I played on the show….The only adjective for a go-getter woman seems to be bitch. You get categorized so quickly, and it’s hard to strip away.”

[Marie Claire, print edition, January 2011]

Gretchen has a point that “bitch” is the go-to term for an aggressive woman, but it’s annoying when aggressive women use that as an excuse to be bitches.

The clothes Gretchen and model Millana Snow are wearing in the Marie Claire photo spread, designed by Gretchen, are neither goofy nor fun, but just plain fug.

Below is a video that NY Magazine’s Vulture column & Dlisted just got their hands on – Tim Gunn discussing the past season of Project Runway, and last week’s big reveal that the winner was… the bitch everybody hated. The unprofessional, tacky, budget, nasty, two-faced wench known as Gretchen Jones. Go here for my thoughts on the finale – and here for a bitchy post-victory interview Gretchen did. In this video, Tim is addressing an audience gathered for an event for Kate Spade in Pennsylvania.

Tim crams a lot of bitching into a short monologue. He complains about Nina Garcia and Michael Kors’ blatant hypocrisy, gives a nudge to Jessica Simpson, and basically sounds as displeased as all of us that Gretchen won. Also – why did the PR producers edit Tim out of the judging? I would have loved to have seen Tim trying to reason with the Kors and Garcia beasts, and it would have made for interesting television. Here’s a little more:

*When the show’s judging panel was deadlocked, Klum asked Gunn what his opinion was. When she learned that he agreed with her that Mondo should win, she asked him to join her in appealing directly to Garcia and Kors in favor of crowning him the winner. Subsequently, Gunn reports, “I went with Heidi and we made quite a case for our candidate.”

*At the time, Klum was upset with Gunn about a quote of his, published in the L.A. Times, about “crack smoking judges” — a reference to how much he disagreed with many of the judging panel’s decisions this season. When the two agreed on the Mondo question, Gunn reports that Klum asked him, “Can you remove my crack-smoker badge?” Gunn responded, “Yes, because Nina and Michael are smoking enough for all of us!”

*Gunn wraps up by offering this final, “oh well” take on the judges’ decision: “Mondo will do fabulously anyway, and Gretchen really needs the money.”

[From Wordsmoker]

Sigh… I love Tim. He’s the Greek chorus of Project Runway – he stands in for the audience in real time, and Tim thinks you’re smoking crack, then you are totally a crackhead. If Tim thinks you are a crappy designer, you are one. Tim hath decreed it!

Now, my love for Tim not withstanding, I still don’t think I’m going to watch next season. I’m over this bitch, at long last. But Tim will be forever!

*This post contains spoilers for last week’s finale of Project Runway*

I am still really angry over the Project Runway finale, and I’m still of the opinion that Gretchen is a horrible person, in addition to being a horrible designer. I’m still of the opinion that Project Runway has jumped the shark too, with Gretchen’s anointment as the winner being the final nail in whatever credibility Project Runway might have had (go here for my rant). Now, it is perfectly normal for the PR winner to give a high-profile exit-interview, as it were, once the winner has been announced. Gretchen gave her interview to People Magazine, and it pissed me off so much, I can barely see straight. Instead of basically taking the tact of “I stand by my collection, haters gonna hate” Gretchen seemed to go off in her usual passive-aggressive, narcissistic, C-U-Next Tuesday way. Because all that she’s learned from this experience is that if she acts like a nasty bitch, she’ll win a huge fashion competition:

Although two of the four judges argued against her collection on Thursday’s heated season finale of Project Runway, winner Gretchen Jones isn’t offended.

“At that point, I was just pretty elated that I even got to present on national TV,” she tells PEOPLE. “I feel proud that Michael Kors and Nina Garcia fought for me and could see my potential. They’re both huge industry leaders, and it means a lot to me.”

Kors and Garcia went head-to-head with host Heidi Klum and guest judge Jessica Simpson, both of whom fought hard for fan favorite Mondo Guerra, who presented a youthful, colorful runway show. “His collection was really true to Mondo,” Jones says. “It really showed his potential as a designer, and I’m proud of him for staying true to himself, because that is more important than anything else. He’s going to go far.”

Jones, an early favorite, was somewhat vilified as the season went on, and at times, saw her fellow designers turn against her. “I knew there was a risk . . . you can be portrayed however the producers care to do it. It’s TV – we all need an antagonist, an underdog, in order to fulfill our desire to watch.”

And even though the results of one group challenge prompted normally mellow mentor Tim Gunn to call Jones a “bully,” she takes the bad press in stride. “It hurt my feelings, but in a way it helped me to have more exposure, because I was talked about, whether you liked me or not,” she says. “I know in my heart I’m a good person.”

With the Season 8 win under her stylish belt, Jones plans to move to New York City soon to “move forward with the opportunity that will hopefully present itself,” she says. “I’d love to get a mentorship with someone the likes of Michael Kors, someone that can guide me into being the designer I want to be.”

The move will also allow her to leave a tough recent past behind, one that included an empty bank account and broken relationship.

“I’ve really embraced this transitional time. Having a true ‘phoenix rising from the ashes’ moment is not something many people get,” she says. “I don’t have anything holding me back, and in actuality, that is a luxury. It’ll make me a brighter version of myself, and that will translate into my future designs.”

[From People]

Let‘s go point by point: “I knew there was a risk . . . you can be portrayed however the producers care to do it. It’s TV – we all need an antagonist, an underdog, in order to fulfill our desire to watch.” No, honey. It wasn’t the editing, and you‘re not a fashion martyr. You’re a bad designer, you have no taste, and you’re a two-faced, unprofessional bitch.

Next: “It hurt my feelings… I know in my heart I’m a good person.” No, you’re not. Tim Gunn is an excellent judge of character, and when he calls you out on your bullsh-t, you’ve got issues.

Next, on Mondo’s collection: “It really showed his potential as a designer, and I’m proud of him for staying true to himself, because that is more important than anything else. He’s going to go far.” Why do her compliments always sound like they’re coming from the nastiest place? I read this as very sanctimonious and patronizing. Like she thinks that because she won, she can anoint him as being almost as good as her sh-t? Ugh.

Last: “Having a true ‘phoenix rising from the ashes’ moment is not something many people get…” Because in her mind, she’s Jesus. Ugh. God, I hate her.

**THIS ENTIRE POST IS A SPOILER FOR LAST NIGHT’S FINALE OF PROJECT RUNWAY**

So… I quit this bitch. I’ve been a loyal Project Runway viewer for eight long seasons. There have been highs and lows, I’ve cried, I’ve laughed, I’ve yelled at the television screen, but after last night’s finale, I’ve finally had enough. A couple of months ago, Tim Gunn gave an interview in which he claimed that the PR judges had some moments where, he felt, they were “smoking crack.” This whole season might be the case in point.

Shall I just summarize what went down before I go full-blown with my rant? The first part of the show was a brief get-together of all of the designers from this season. Instead of talking trash and getting bitchy with each other – like in seasons past – they just used the get together to show compilations/summaries of the final three designers, Gretchen, Mondo and Andy. At one point, I thought it was going to get good when it seemed like some of the designers were going to take Gretchen to task for being an untalented, two-faced bitch, but Tim Gunn, Heidi and even Mondo (!) defended Gretchen’s dumbass, and made the whole thing about “feminism” – which is a peeve. You can’t use “feminism” as an excuse to avoid calling a woman out on their history of unprofessionalism, nastiness and bullsh-t. Like “oh, she’s a girl, it’s un-feminist to call her out.” The act of treating a woman differently just because she’s a woman is the un-feminist thing – and if a man had acted like Gretchen, his ass would have been called out long ago. He would be “the villain” of the show, and openly despised.

So that part only lasted about 20 minutes, and then the final three moved onto to the last-minute work of their collections. Finally, the runway at Fashion Week. Gretchen’s collection comes first… and it’s a parade of fug. Monotone baby-sh-t brown, repetitive fabrics and patterns, three outfits with DAMN KNIT GRANNY PANTIES. Unflattering pants, and everything with the vibe of “Sante Fe flea market meets WalMart”. I will give Gretchen two things: there was one little below-the-knee dress that I thought was cute, and her styling greatly improved. That’s it.

Onto to Andy – repetitive colors, this time in that amazing green, beige and an interesting ice-blue. I actually liked Andy’s collection a lot, and I thought he was doing some really beautiful pants and jackets. Plus, his stuff looked really expensive and sophisticated, in my opinion. He had the most “adult” collection of the three, I thought. The judges disagreed, but whatever. Andy’s collection was a pleasant surprise, and I liked the touches of Asian influence, which I did not think were overkill. I also thought Michael Kors should have found a different descriptor rather than “Orientalism”. RACIST. HATE-SPEECH.

Last, Mondo. First thing – I loved his suit! I loved that he didn’t dress crazy for Fashion Week, you know? He looked adorable in his suit. Not like Gretchen in her see-through dress and, that’s right, BIG F-CKING GRANNY PANTIES. Back to Mondo – I was disappointed in his collection, even though he had several of my favorite pieces. I loved those “crazy pants” – the slim-cut plaid pants that looked like a Burberry acid trip. I loved his cocktail dresses. I hated that hot-pink and black tunic the judges loved. I loved Mondo’s leggings and his skirts too.

So, in my mind, the competition was between Mondo and Andy. Shock of all shocks, Heidi and the judges quickly torpedoed Andy for vague reasons (“He still has some growing to do”???). Also: I ended up liking Jessica Simpson as a judge. She was better than I was expecting, even though she looked like hell and talked like she was chewing on funions the whole time. She was opinionated, and she stood her ground when debating Mondo vs. Gretchen. It quickly came down to Michael Kors and Nina Garcia promoting Gretchen’s potential ready-to-wear WalMart collection versus Heidi and Jessica promoting Mondo’s unique, couture collection. Kors and Garcia were pissing me off so much, and they sounded SO out of touch: “This is what women want to wear, this is what’s happening in fashion RIGHT NOW.” Bullsh-t. I don’t know any women that want to look like they stepped out of a Santa Fe flea market in knit granny panties. I really thought Jessica and Heidi were going to convince them…

But they didn’t. Gretchen was the winner. The nastiest, most unprofessional, talentless bitch won. It was disgusting.

So goodbye, Project Runway. We had some good times, but it’s over now. Don’t call me.

*THIS ENTIRE POST IS A SPOILER FOR LAST NIGHT’S PROJECT RUNWAY*

Jesus Christ, did you watch the final elimination on Project Runway last night? What. The. F-ck. It was all kinds of wrong what happened to Michael! Okay, let me recap: on last week’s episode, they rejected WhatsIt, the young girl who was stuck in a rut designing every. Single. Piece. Like it was lingerie. So she needed to go, but I was really, really, REALLY hoping that Gretchen would go home too, but I was forced to wait until this week to really PRAY TO GOD that Gretchen would get sent home. She is one of the WORST designers to ever make it this far. And yes, I know she made a couple of cute pieces early in the season, and those pieces were somehow good enough to carry her through several challenges where she failed spectacularly.

So yes, I was just watching PR at this point just because I wanted Gretchen to fail, just as I watched and waited to see that nasty little bitch Ivy fail. I wanted Gretchen to get sent home even more though – she’s such a cold little psychopath, trash-talking every other designer all the way through the competition. Perhaps it wouldn’t be so bad if she actually had the goods to back up her sizable ego – but she doesn’t. She’s a horrible f-cking designer. Her clothes always look so, so cheap, she has absolutely no eye for color or for pattern, and her basic design skills blow. She needs a new profession. But instead of getting one, she has her sh-tty, cheap designs applauded by Heidi Klum (and it seems like Heidi is the only one who really likes them at this point). Also: I hated how Gretchen emotionally unloaded on Tim Gunn when he came to visit her, like her life was in chaos because she’s such a noble struggling artist. She’s struggling because people are tired of dealing with her, because she’s a horrible designer and a really evil, unprofessional bitch. The whole interlude with Tim was her design to play on his (and our) heartstrings, and it was bullsh-t.

And so the final show happened… and it was disappointing overall. I like both Mondo and Andy, and I think one of them is going to win, and I’ve felt that way for weeks. So it was pretty much down to Gretchen or Michael, and I had hopes that Michael would deliver. Now, the judges seemed to hate Michael’s clothes, and I don’t know why, really. The feather skirt wasn’t great, but I loved the silk dress, and I thought his pants-and-shredded blouse were really beautiful, like vintage Escada. Yes, he was working in a very narrow color palette – so what? If he was only working with black, I bet there would have been no complaints. Beyond Michael’s stuff, Gretchen’s outfits were THE WORST. Worse than Andy’s cheesy little bikini. Worse than Mondo’s bizarre turquoise top with pink piping. Gretchen’s three looks were HIDEOUS. They looked like sh-t you would find in a Santa Fe flea market, or worse, Wal-Mart. They were cheap. They were unflattering. They were ugly.

And Gretchen got to move ahead to the final three. And Michael was cut!!! Such bullsh-t. And Michael was absolutely devastated too, sobbing and having a breakdown, so much so that I was sobbing and Mondo was crying and Andy was crying and Gretchen… sat there with that smug little look on her f-cked up face. Bitch. Team Michael.

So basically, I just have to watch the finale now just because at long last, Gretchen needs to have her smug, unprofessional, nasty ass handed to her. Nina Garcia needs to start trying to pull some rank on Heidi. This is ridiculous. If Gretchen WINS, I will no longer watch Project Runway. I swear.

Photos courtesy of WENN.

******NOTE: There are NO SPOILERS for future episodes of Project Runway here, but there might be a few for past episodes.

Yesterday was the big runway show for the finale of Project Runway at New York’s Fashion Week. This happens every season of Project Runway – because they film the finale while still relatively mid-season of the airing of Project Runway, many, many sites run a series of spoilers as to who made it to the finale. I am not going to do that – because I can’t. I have very carefully avoided all of those other posts, and I hope all of you commenters avoid spoiling it for all of us too.

Because, at long last, I have gotten into this season of Project Runway – and it took me long enough. I think it was Gretchen and her Epic Bitchface that did it for me. I want that piece of work to fail and fail hard, and I will keep watching until she does. It’s not even that I hate her designs – she’s an okay designer, really. It’s her f-cking attitude. She’s snotty, she’s unprofessional, and with her f-cked up attitude, I can’t see how she would make it very far in this or any industry. Another one is Lily IVY – the Korean-American girl – Jesus, she is such a horrible stereotype of the monotone, anal-retentive Asian-American bitch. We’re not all like that, people! I mean, I’m a bitch, but I’m not anal retentive about it. And I f-cking loved last night’s episode when Michael WhatsIt was all “I am absorbing her Crazy.”

But my point, and this is perhaps a very tiny little SPOILER: Jessica Simpson is the guest judge on the finale. That’s right. Jessica “I Dress Pregnant All The Time Now” Simpson. That being said, I will prefer Jess to some of the other nonsensical “fashion girls” PR has had on – Kristen Bell?!? Seriously? And next week it’s January Jones! I prefer it when they have actual designers or fashion professionals on to judge – their criticisms are always better. That being said, I actually can’t wait to see what Jess says during the finale. It should be epic.

I think Jess is wearing Michael Kors too – eh. Her hair should be different – look at how puffy her face looks with that style! As My Gunn would say, Jess is not making it work.

Project Runway finale photos from Sept. 9, 2010. Credit: Fame.

***This whole post is a SPOILER if you have not seen the Project Runway finale, which aired last night.***

Did you think it was going to go down like that? I didn’t. The way the episode was edited, I had a sinking feeling that Emilio or Mila was going to win – it just felt like it was going that way. But in the end, the best man and the best designer won! Hurray! My beloved Seth Aaron took the prize in the end, and he cried manly tears of joy, as did his wife, daughter and son. It was so sweet! Sigh… this is my beloved Project Runway, the show that reward genuine talent over all-black and Coney Island t-shirts (IRINA, winner of Season 6).

So, to recap the finale: You know all of the mean sh-t I was saying about Mila’s dumb, color-blocking ass? Well, I still stand by that, but I actually didn’t think her entire collection was horrible. It was much better than I expected, and there were a couple of pieces that I actually thought, “Oh, that’s really nice, and interesting.” But there was too much black and white, and in general, not every outfit has to have some color blocking aspect. On the rare pieces where she did use color – that lovely eggplant purple – it looked awesome. She should have put more color in her collection, because she has a good eye for it.

You know who doesn’t have a good eye for it? Emilio. What in the 1980s neon hell was that? That electric blue hurt me deeply. During the course of the show, it felt like he really had a great vision for where fashion was going, and then he ends up showing a derivative collection that looked like 1980s Azzedine Alaïa. His saving grace was that he makes fabulous coats. I seriously wanted every coat he made… so maybe someday soon we can look forward to E. Sosa coats? Hopefully. I also ended up agreeing with Nina Garcia – Emilio made a commercial line, not an editorial collection.

Now, for Seth Aaron Henderson. Some of his pieces were derivative too, in my opinion. I was getting a very “Burberry Fall 2009” vibe off of some of the stuff, BUT it still seemed relevant and modern. And I ended up loving all of his leggings! The leggings made me think about Lindsay Lohan, honestly. She wishes she could design cool leggings like that. Here are some of my favorites from Seth Aaron’s collection:

One last word, about guest judge Faith Hill – she was kind of a dud as a judge. For next season, bring a big designer or fashion industry professional to be the judge for the finale. The full slideshow for the finale runway is here.

Photos of the fashion show courtesy of My Lifetime.

*This entire post is a SPOILER if you didn’t watch last night’s Project Runway*

I was literally shouting at the television last night. What the f-ck happened to my once-awesome Project Runway? I’m so, so, SO disappointed. Let me recap: last week, the judges decided that Seth Aaron and Emilio would be going to fashion week, and that Mila and Jay would have to compete against each other in a little mini-runway show, after they had prepared their whole 12-look collections. Mila and Jay did their collections, and selected their three strongest looks for the runway. And that’s when everything went off the f-cking rails.

Mila’s looks were so dated, so ugly, so retro-without-a-wink, so unstylish, I thought, “Well, all Jay has to do is not vomit on his pieces, and he’ll win.” And then Jay’s three looks came out, and they were fabulous. They were well made, they were beautiful, they made the models look gorgeous, they were unique, and most of all, they were modern and “editorial” – a favorite adjective of the judges. To see the two designers’ three looks, go here.

So the judge deliberated and I realized, with growing horror, that Heidi actually loved Mila’s trashy, retro, uninspired looks. And that Nina Garcia was on the fence! Michael Kors was the only one who was like, “No, Jay is the clear winner.” And then Heidi talked Nina into voting for Mila! UUGGGHHH.

So Mila gets to go to fashion week. Are you f-cking kidding me?!?!?!? A parade of f-cking black and white retro clothes, uninspired and dull. This one incident has me convinced that there are some serious shenanigans going on with Project Runway. I’m not saying the whole thing is fixed, but that certain people get promoted and get to stay, just because they make for better television. They did that on season 4 too, with that horrible, weepy bastard Ricky, who couldn’t design his way out of a paper bag, but made for “good television”. I think that’s happening again – someone didn’t like the idea of three male designers competing against each other, and made sure that Mila got ahead. Plus, Mila makes for “good television” because she’s such a pissy brat who doesn’t deserve to be there – her color-blocking ass should have gotten thrown out several episodes ago, when she made that f-cking beige teepee dress.

As far as the competition between Emilio and Seth Aaron, and who I want to win (because Mila won’t even be in the running, in my opinion), my money is still on Seth Aaron. He’s the stronger designer, and I just like him more. Emilio’s attitude is starting to piss me off, and from what I could see of his collection, it didn’t look all that groundbreaking.

Photos of the final three courtesy of Google images and My Lifetime’s Project Runway site. Tim Gunn in Massachusetts on April 15, 2010. Credit: WENN.

Heidi Klum is the lovely cover girl for the May issue of Cosmopolitan. She looks amazing – I really like how she’s been subtly going darker with her hair for the past few months. It’s a whole other look when she’s got brownish hair. But I’m all over Heidi and everything she does (mostly Project Runway). Which is what I’m going to talk about, because Cosmo didn’t release many interview excerpts, just these quotes:

On her and Seal’s famous love of dressing up for Halloween:
“I’m not big on costumes in bed, to be honest. I wouldn’t say no if he wanted to try, but it seems so inorganic. Maybe it’ll come later – in 5 or 10 years, I’ll start buying funny outfits. But for now, we’re nice and spicy in that department.”

On starting out as a model and landing in New York:
“I could not get a job to save my life. I was in a sh-tty apartment, I didn’t know anybody, and my English was terrible. But it was my last stop, so I thought if I just try harder – if I just stick around a little longer. I didn’t want to go home having failed.”

[From Cosmopolitan]

I love how much she talks about her sex life with Seal. For other people, it would TMI or I would think they were trying to hard, but I totally buy it for Heidi and Seal. They seem like a real couple, and they seem like they probably can’t keep their hands off of one another. I mean, she keeps getting pregnant, so obviously Heidi and Seal are all over each other.

Now, back to Project Runway - hasn’t this season turned out to be pretty decent? I think they got infused with new life by coming back to New York. My favorite is Seth Aaron - he’s my pick to make it to the final three, and he’s my pick to win. He’s like Jeffrey from season 3, only not an a–hole. Like, all of Jeffrey’s talent and edge, but Seth Aaron is mature and nice and generous. I think he’s going to take it. My mom thinks Emilio is going to the final three, and he’s her pick to win. All I know is that I will be very, very, VERY disappointed if that f-cking color-blocking uber-bitch Mila makes it to the final three. Color-block my ass, BITCH.

This is Heidi Klum’s April Marie Claire cover. As fans of Project Runway know, Heidi is wearing a beautiful turquoise one-shoulder cocktail dress designed by one of the designers competing in this season’s PR. They actually made the cover outfit a challenge for the designers, and a dude named Anthony Williams won. I actually agreed with the judges’ decision that time around, and you can see why. This color and style just pops on the Marie Claire cover, and it feels very “fresh”. Plus, you know, it’s really hard for Heidi to take a bad photo. Well done!

Anyway, it doesn’t look like there are any significant interview excerpts. Williams, the designer, told the magazine: “Heidi’s pregnancy was happening right before our faces! he laughs. I thought, this woman is not sacrificing fashion at all. She is 100 percent full frontal ‘I am pregnant, I am fashion, and I am fierce.’ I was really inspired by that.” Here’s one short excerpt from Marie Claire:

Ask any woman to strip down for the camera five weeks post-childbirth, and she’ll laugh in your face. Ask Heidi Klum, and she’s totally game. At our cover shoot, the supermodel, mother of four, designer of two maternity lines, singer, host of Project Runway, and now virtual host of the series’ video game, joked that she might not fit into anything — then easily slipped into everything. The MC fashion team had one objective: Create strong, powerful looks worthy of the königin of all media. Minimal, architectural pieces in dark, sophisticated tones highlighted the woman who has it all — and does even more.

[From Marie Claire]

Nice. Something I’ve noticed about Heidi through watching all of the seasons of PR is that she’s gotten much more vocal and opinionated about fashion and everything else. I think she’s really come into her own throughout the series, and I hope PR continues for years to come.

Sidenote: I forgot to mention this in the Oscar fashion posts, but Chris March from Season 4 not only designed Meryl Streep’s Golden Globes dress, but her Oscar dress as well! Sigh… I love PR!

Marie Claire cover courtesy of CoverAwards, and additional images courtesy of Marie Claire online.