New York Fashion Week Spring 09 **SPOILERS**

[Kao]

Man, some of these clothes are simply yummy from EVERYONE at the show. Why didn't we see this all season?

[Google]

 

[MFWalkoff]

Based on the photos I've seen, I think Leanne has this in the bag.

If she is somehow a decoy, they should burn every recording of this season and never speak of it again.

[lobeck]

Originally Posted by MFWalkoff

Based on the photos I've seen, I think Leanne has this in the bag.

If she is somehow a decoy, they should burn every recording of this season and never speak of it again.

I dunno, MFW, I think it's a real toss-up between Korto and Leanne. Based on the pictures I looked at, here's how I'd rank them:

1. Leanne/Korto
2. Korto/Leanne

(a gap the size of Texas)

3. Kenley

(another Texas-sized gap)

4. Joe

(a gap the size of the continental U.S.)

5. Jerell
6. Suede

[lobeck]

A USA Today blow-by-blow report on the PR shows...

Live from 'Project Runway'

The Project Runway finale at the Tents at Bryant Park got off to a dramatic start Friday. The guest judge's seat was empty just one minute before showtime, prompting chatter among guests. Then, the perpetually perky Heidi Klum popped up to welcome the crowd, announcing that: "Jennifer Lopez was scheduled to be our guest judge today, but she canceled yesterday due to a foot injury." Collective gasp from the audience. Tim Gunn to the rescue! The mentor filled the empty seat and the show started. All six remaining contestants —Jerell, Korto, Leanne, Joe, Kenley and Suede — showed collections. Here's a minute-by-minute account. -- Alison Maxwell

9:31 a.m. Heidi in a form-fitting green dress, towering heels and lots of diamonds, Nina Garcia in a yellow dress and Michael Kors in sunglasses walk to the end of the runway for a photo op with the gaggle of photogs stationed to shoot the show.

9:33 a.m. Lights dim. Dead silence in the audience.

9:34 a.m. "We had a great five years at Bravo. We had a great run. We all loved it," Klum says acknowledging PR's final season on the cable network. "Thank you, Bravo, for putting this beautiful show on your network."

9:38 a.m. Tim Gunn takes his seat among the judges, after Klum announces Lopez's cancellation.

9:40 a.m. Jerell pops out onto the runway. "Hopefully you guys enjoy what I've created for you as much as I've enjoyed creating it," he says, adding in a shout out to boyfriend Dan. The collection is heavy on evening wear with loads of metallics and sequins. Several dresses had what appeared to be intentionally elongated sleeves that covered the models' hands. A purple gown with a bejeweled waist and a gold ball gown with a visit tulle underskirt capped off the collection.

9:47 a.m. Jerell strolls the runway hand-in-hand with the last model and flashes the peace sign to photographers.

9:48 a.m. Suede takes the stage and gives a special thanks to Tim Gunn, his amazing mentor. "I was really inspired by the Bluefly.com challenge," Suede explains. "You guys are gonna see where I've taken linear to a new level. Suede's gonna rock it!" His collection kicks off with a summery madras gown, followed by a silver-bodiced gown with a bright purple, blue and green tiered skirt. Next up: a tie-dyed sequin gown and a wedding gown with a corseted top and a short, full-lace skirt with an exaggerated long train.

9:53 a.m. Holding a bouquet of roses, a teary-eyed Suede walks the runway holding hands with the last model.

9:54 a.m. It's Joe's turn. "I'd like to thank my wife who is the sun in my solar system," he says. His inspiration? Americana. "Very multicultural, western, motorcycle and rock 'n' roll." The first look is a full denim skirt with a brown leather corset top. Skin tight leather pants paired with a Chanel-esque jacket follow. Other looks: A paisley, printed tea-length casual dress with a western-inspired turquoise belt. A navy silk slip dress with oversized silver stars down the side. A motorcycle jacket-inspired corset paired with a red formal skirt.

10 a.m. A clearly elated Joe walks the runway, twirling his last model for the photographers.

10:01 a.m. Kenley's up. "I was really inspired with painting and Alice in Wonderland. I made my dream wardrobe," she says. Not surprisingly, each model sported some form of trendy headgear -- from Kenley's trademark feather clips to small rosettes and even towering elaborate pieces. The very feminine, floral line first featured a cocktail dress with a tulip printed overlay. It was followed by a green mini-leopard print gown with puff sleeves and shoulder pads. Other designs included a dress with a pink-and-black striped bodice and billowy, black tulle skirt. A sleek, black, long-sleeved cocktail dress was accentuated by five-inch long black feathers pointing upward at the neck toward the face. A luscious, strapless wedding gown with cream feathers applied from just above the knee to the decolletage concludes the presentation.

10:06 a.m. Korto takes the mic. "You guys ready for me?" she asks. "My collection is inspired by nature. The pleating detail is from my native land (Liberia). There's some hot jewelry I added because, you know, Korto is jewelry too." Korto worked within a yellow, green, teal and rust color palette. A short, printed, backless dress and a floor-length, rust-colored, one-shoulder dress seem to encapsulate the theme of the collection. African-inspired jewelry with plenty of stones and beading punctuated the looks.

10:12 a.m. Korto walks the runway with her young daughter.

10:13 a.m. Leanne is the last to present her designs. "This is my beautiful collection that I've lost millions of hours of sleep over. And I'm in love with it," she says. Leanne's is the most minimalistic of the bunch. She sticks with mostly formalwear in creams, teals and combos of the two. Many designs use an elegant pleating technique that give the dresses the illusion of movement. The crowd is wowed by a strapless wedding gown with this cascading pleating effect.

10:18 a.m. A humble-looking Leanne walks the runway wearing glasses even larger than she usually wears.

10:19 a.m. Auf Wiedersehen! Heidi thanks the crowd and the attendees head for the exits.

Link

[hutchlover]

Jerrell also had Eugenia from Cycle 7.

Oh, and Leeann is the Fashion Asassin! TO DIE FOR! Though I loved Korto's color pallette, I just thought it wasn't co-hesive at all, and Jerrell's was fun & funky, but not cohesive either.

[roses4me]

Originally Posted by ManySkills

Thanks for letting us know the Getty images were up!

Random thoughts ...

1) I clicked on the pix that I liked, and found Leanne's name coming up again and again, with a couple of Kenleys mixed in. Are we sensing a pattern here?

2) I could almost always predict which designs were Kenleys. That indicates she has a particular design aesthetic, doesn't it? Isn't that something to be desired, assuming there is a market for that aesthetic?

3) Why, oh why, oh why does Michael Kors have to wear his shades indoors?

I found some pictures by entering each designer's name in the search box.

Michael Kors might have sensitive eyes. I have to wear sunglasses a lot indoors because macular degeneration runs in my family. I have a student who wears a sun visor in class because the lights give her headaches.

[MFWalkoff]

My (limited) take:

Jerell: Well made, but the pieces are too archtypical/near-costumey, making the whole collection seem stereotypical.

Suede: He made 10 entries for the Barbie Challenge. BZZZ!

Joe: Interesting, not entirely cohesive; more about the fabrics and the details than an overall design aesthetic. Not overly joyous. More suited for Fall/Winter.

Kenley: Nice dresses. Less ridiculous than I thought they would be. But her Wal-Mart roots are showing. Looks like a set of knockoffs of someone else's high-fashion collection.

Korto: Bold but very structured. Oddly reminiscent of Chloe Dao, but with a faster pulse. Not very modern, but impressive.

Leanne: One of the few who remembered this is a Spring/Summer show. All structure, a little short on detailing. Matchy-matchy and a little "blank canvassy", but a bright, bold, interesting look all around.

So I retract my "Leanne has this in the bag" statement from earlier. It's a toss-up between her and Korto. I would place Kenley third (surprisingly), then Jerell, then Joe, and I would put Suede in the corner to continue playing with his dollies.

[hutchlover]

Yeah, Joe's getting slammed, but people should remember that Schott makes sports wear & biker wear. That is his background and there's no reason why he wouldn't make it for a runway show.

What concerns me is why is Tia not Leann's final model and why does Joe have Karalynn and Kenley have Topacio? Obviously Jerrell stuck with Nicole (blah!), but only Karalynn and Nicole do the final looks. And with Nazri being in Suede's show, my guess is that Leann, Korto, Kenley & SUEDE are the final four (not three). (please God, let me be wrong.) Because they have clear-cut wedding dresses, my guess is that was the final challenge thrown in.

[PhoneGrrrl]

Now that I've seen them all, it is clearly a Korto/Leanne contest. Korto's designs were something closer to what I'd wear and very interesting with the incorporated jewelry, but Leanne's construction is so intricate and well-executed, it is fabulous. I usually don't like pastels and light colors for clothing, but she made that work...unlike Suede's collection. Jerell's was okay but not great and way to busy for me and Kenley's was just a bag of ugly-ass prints in shapes we've seen too many times from her.

[Aceon6]

Originally Posted by hutchlover

What concerns me is why is Tia not Leann's final model and why does Joe have Karalynn and Kenley have Topacio? Obviously Jerrell stuck with Nicole (blah!), but only Karalynn and Nicole do the final looks. And with Nazri being in Suede's show, my guess is that Leann, Korto, Kenley & SUEDE are the final four (not three). (please God, let me be wrong.) Because they have clear-cut wedding dresses, my guess is that was the final challenge thrown in.

The only logical explanation is that Joe or Kenley won one of the next two challenges. My guess is Joe won one of them and snagged Karalynn. If that was the case, the magical black bag would have determined the order of the next picks, causing a big flip flop.