Project Runway! Take your leave

Whoa, my fashionista-testant-watchers. Last week's Project Runway was almost as confusing as an episode of Lost! So, the challenge was to make a red carpet gown for Heidi. See, that seems pretty straightforward. It's a variation of a challenge they do every flipping season. However, then Maya suddenly left. The shots of the mannequin with her name on it, then the door, then the mannequin, with tense music, actually made me giggle. I can completely understand her reasoning. She is a talented designer, and it seems that the pressure and the criticism actually enlightened her to a point that she realized she wasn't ready for the competition. She'd been out of fashion school for about a month when the season started, and I can't imagine how difficult this situation must have been for her. So, good luck, Maya. You made some rocking stuff this season. Also, someone's model dropped out. People were just going in and out of the Parson's workroom door like it was the ladies room at Wal-Mart.

Here is the winning gown, from Emilio. It's a lovely gown. I'm still mad at Emilio from last week. No, I'm still mad at Emilio from the make a bikini out of dental floss and wing nuts challenge. Eh, whatevs, the dress is beautiful, and it's a perfect, sparkly, lean red carpet dress. There's no denying it, but that does not mean that he and I are friends.

Surprise! Here is your second winning gown from. . . surprise number two! Anthony! Who was ripped off a plane home to Alabama after his aufing and carted back in when Maya left. He's a great and loveable character. However, this dress does not translate to photos very well. It was lovely on the runway, and moved so well, but in pictures, it looks off-balance and badly constructed. That's a bit of a problem, because most Red Carpet dresses are judged by how they look in photos. Anyway, there were two wins this week, because guest judge Jessica Alba wanted to wear this dress, so it got to win? Or something. Yay for two wins?! Because this is the second time they've done it, and it feels a bit lame-o. Also, can I say that Jessica Alba was truly uninspiring as a guest judge? She made Nicole Ritchie look like Anna Wintour.

And here is your losing dress, from Jonathan. I love Johnathan, but this dress is suckatron. If you've watched this show as obsessively as I have, you can sometimes see when a designer, no matter how creative, talented and dear-hearted they might be, just hits the wall. Nothing they do is working. They're tired, they're frustrated and the judges keep saying mean stuff about their garments. Sometimes, the designer can rev up and drive right through the wall. Sometimes, the designer ends up with a tragedy like this. Jonathan reached that point where he was sure that the judges would hate anything he made that he loved. So, he made something he hated. They hated that, too. Jonathan has a sublime, sophisticated style, and I honestly appreciated his presence on the show. Sad to see him go.

Now we're down to five designers. Next week, two will be eliminated, and we'll know who the final three will be. Why do I think something convoluted is yet to happen? Predictions: Seth Aaron, Jay and possibly Emilio (ick) as the final three. Although, I hate to count out Mila, because the judges love her. Who knows? My fave all season has been Seth Aaron, so I'm cheering for him.

Bring back Jay McCarroll! Project Jay!