Ryan on the Runway: PR21 finale

Of course i was curious to see how the high drama moment of Antonio's walk-out panned out. We saw a TMZ-esque shot of him and a production assistant out on the curb somewhere, hiding behind a parked car, his pink cowboy hat serving as a flashing sign saying PROJECT RUNWAY MELTDOWN.

And in the workroom! Since the situation was still brewing, I guess it's not a post mortem - - would you call it a mid-mortem?

The judges had their own discussion. I was pleased it was based mostly on the work of the designers and not their drama. Of course they had to discuss the drama but it is a design competition.

Antonio was talked into coming back into the building (maybe TMZ has footage of someone giving him a cookie, as I had predicted last week) and he and Jesus had a touching moment together. They both seemed to have accepted that Antonio was being eliminated and Jesus was moving on to the finale. Jesus said he was going to win it for both of them.

The winner of the challenge was Ethan. Surprise, I would have given it to Jesus, I thought his look was stronger. Of course Ethan was moved forward. Next up was Jesus, no surprise there. And another no surprise, Veejay was moved forward to the finale. Belania and Antonio were rather gracious in their exit (somewhat surprising).

The three designers left on the runway were, left to right: Jesus, Veejay, and Ethan. They stood there, quiet and well-mannered, listening to Heidi rattle of the list of prizes for the winner. They applauded mildly when the list was over. Call me rude but I was waiting for Jesus to turn to the left and give Veejay a sucker punch. POW and DOWN.

Straight to Mood. Jesus was choosing lots of pink because (holding back tears) Antonio would have done a lot of pink if he had made it to the finale. He was also inspired by his mother, his primary inspiration in life. His goal was to make a collection that would make women feel beautiful and sexy, the best version of themselves.

Ethan was choosing fabrics with crystals and jewel tones. He wanted his work to look rich, expensive, and regal, the way that his drag alter ego Utica makes him feel. I was worried we'd have a repeat of my beloved Laura Bennett from season 3 - - the judges basically said, "Yes, a collection of evening gowns, stunning. But can you do a suit? A blouse, a pair of slacks? Something a woman would wear in the daytime to go to work or to lunch with a friend?" Ethan would be smart to include a day dress or pantsuit in his collection.

Very interesting - - Veejay went to a leather specialist rather than to Mood. Her inspiration was the chrome villain from the *Terminator* movies, she saw herself as a compatriot of his, you can try and get rid of her but you can't. She found a chrome leather that looked fab. If she did it right, her collection could be totally high fashion.

The designers typically go home to create their designs but this season they were planted in the workroom. With the other designers, which I would see as a major distraction. Ah well, not my call and maybe that was the whole point...? They got to choose an eliminated designer as an assistant: Jesus chose Antonio (natch), Veejay chose my beloved Joan, and Ethan chose Yuchen.

They did model casting on day two (of five) and what a treat to see the return of Mimi Tao! I follow her on Instagram, she's amazing, the first transwoman model to be on PR. Veejay was determined to get her.

Oh no she didn't. Christian randomly picked an order for the three designers, the order they'd be using to choose their models. The order was Veejay, Ethan, Jesus. Of course Veejay instantly chose Jessica, Jesus's favorite model. And of course Jesus went from 0 to 60, called her a bitch about six times, et cetera. Ethan made the insightful observation that it was bad form for Jesus to have a hissy fit in front of Christian.

I thought for a minute that Veejay was doing this strategically. It is a competition, she had the first choice, and of course that gives her first choice of any of the models who they'd seen. But then wow, major surprise - - she decided it wasn't worth the trouble and gave Jessica to Jesus. He said thank you but said she was still a bitch. Does he have no concern about how his behavior will come off to potential collaborators or investors...?

Christian did check-ins. You wouldn't have to look at Ethan's five pieces for more than two seconds to see that they were all not-at-all divergent variations on the pieces he'd made throughout the season, especially his piece for the PREVIOUS CHALLENGE. How can he not see that himself...?

How do I feel about Jesus's hot pink Breast Cancer Fashion Gala collection. Feathers, sparkles, appliqued flowers, blah blah blah. I was reminded of something Chanel said about Dior (I'm paraphrasing): he didn't design for a woman, he designed for his IDEA of a woman. Thank you, Christian, for talking him into doing one look that was not pink.

Veejay was the only one of the three who didn't have any pieces on her dress forms, she only had pattern pieces on the forms. Christian encouraged her to stop conceptualizing and start cutting into the fabric, sewing the pieces together, and making a damn collection. Veejay said (accurately) that Jesus and Ethan were doing repeats of what they had done already whereas she was doing something totally new. We know the judges would respond to that but it also needs to be GOOD.

Day three, model fittings. Jesus's pink collection was looking totally one note. Christian was concerned that Veejay only had four pieces to fit, nothing for Mimi. I had a feeling that Veejay was going to pull that rabbit out of her hat. Ethan had done a major pivot and while Christian was pleased he still wasn't convinced. Ethan wasn't sure he could do a second pivot.

Day four, the reveal of the finale judge. Oh dear, the KING, Michael Kors! I was so excited for that. Jesus, not so much! They showed a clip from Michael critiquing him in season 7: "You took a checklist of everything that can turn tacky and combined it in one garment." Timelesss, hilarious!

Day five, final model fittings. Nothing of note there but an impressive moment in the green room - - the three models and their assistants were sitting around the table after dinner and Veejay asked them to look back on their time together. She turned to Jesus and said, "I really want to apologize," and Jesus said, "Same." An impressive moment of maturity from both of them, especially Veejay.

The finale! Ethan was the first to show his collection. His collection was all too similar, too costumey, too expected. All of the pieces were well made and beautiful but nothing surprising. He would have been smart to use some color - - I could see a collection of five solids, one black, one purple, one acid green, one electric blue, one red. That would have been much more impressive.

Veejay! So much variety and yet totally cohesive. She made looks that were different from what we had seen over the season yet somehow they also expressed her point of view. And the gray knit wrap dress was the most effortless and beautifully draped garment I've seen on a large-size model maybe even in the history of Project Runway. I was knocked out.

Oh Lord I was laughing out loud. Jesus made a teary little intro speech and in the two seconds before his show started they had a reaction from Michael Kors saying, "I remember him...!" Ouch, the reactions from the judges said it all. They were not impressed. It was all too similar, nothing particularly fresh, and yikes, some of those satin pieces looked wonky in the fitting.

We saw a few reactions from people in the audience. Christopher Palu, season 10 - - he's the guy who said, coyly, "Thank you, Debra Messing!" Alex Foxworth from last season. Are these people contracted to attend the finale show...? Laurence Basse, season 15 and All Stars season 20. I had forgotten about her, love that gal!

OK on to the judging. Ethan first. Michael loved the finale gown. Law called him a storyteller, which he responds to, but he felt like it was too Utica. Michael thought maybe he could have toned down the hair and makeup. Nina urged him to learn to EDIT - - to temper the extravagance with elegance.

Michael loved Jesus's first outfit and everyone liked the finale gown though everyone hated the big clunky exposed zipper. Nina thought maybe the gown would look better without the sleeves - - they were removable and voila, it looked so much better without the sleeves. Why did he not see that himself? I would have had her take off the sleeves on the runway and throw them into the pools of water on the sides. Big laugh from Law, he said with the sleeves she looked like a Muppet. Not the challenge!

They had nothing but praise for Veejay's collection. Nina was "killed" by the pants outfit, that was a stunner. They were also taken with the draped knit dress.

Heid was not fond of all the pink in Jesus's collection but Michael said, "The meek will not inherit the earth in the fashion world." Ha! Law asked Michael what the Yiddish word was and Michael said, "chutzpah." The boy's got chutzpah.

I was so thrilled that Veejay was the winner, she was so deserving.