![](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/14031f4645152bdb78c29c21019892db16-projectrunway-22-ep10.rsquare.w400.jpg\")
<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
Project Runway<\/a><\/p>\n The Finale<\/p>\n \n Season 22<\/p>\n Episode 10\n <\/p>\n \n Editor\u2019s Rating<\/p>\n 3 stars<\/p>\n ***\n <\/p>\n \n A skimpy finale episode ends with a fine but not necessarily exciting Project Runway winner. I\u2019ll give Project Runway this, after an uneven season: This format still works so well that 44 minutes for a finale episode simply is not enough. It felt like I was watching this thing on 2x-speed, but also like it was full of time jumps. Have you ever listened to an audiobook with a male narrator who simply cannot do a female character\u2019s voice without it feeling kind of misogynistic, so you end up skipping through the chapters and missing half the story just because his voice is so grating and off-putting? That\u2019s what \u201cThe Finale\u201d felt like, like we were being whizzed through an episode and missed out on a bunch of good stuff. The shape of a Project Runway episode was discernible here \u2014 conversations with the designers about their inspirations, an in-depth look at their design process, backstage time at the runway shows \u2014 but the execution was Temu level. I\u2019m frustrated by how thin this episode felt, when the final four contestants all had interesting perspectives, and I would have loved to have spent more time with them.<\/p>\n Now, do I think the right person won? Let me put it this way: I don\u2019t think Jude was the wrong person to win. I think he made a perfectly fine collection, but personally, I\u2019m with Christian. I wasn\u2019t excited by the clothes, and I think they were all silhouettes that Jude had already presented. I don\u2019t think he pushed himself, either in the collection\u2019s concept or in the five outfits. Beautiful clothes, for sure. Beautiful clothes that I think are already being made in the industry.<\/p>\n We can all rejoice about one thing, though \u2014 no Bryan in the finale! \u201cThe Finale\u201d immediately picks up on the preceding episode\u2019s cliffhanger, with Heidi announcing that Joseph is going forward as one of the final four. I know a lot of commenters wanted Naheim, and I agree that his wedding dress was far sleeker than Joseph\u2019s \u00dcber-crotch pants. But I think Joseph was getting an increasingly noticeable \u201covercoming his haters\u201d edit throughout the season, and frankly, I know that Joseph going through to the finale ruined Bryan\u2019s day, and I\u2019m happy about that. (Nina telling Bryan he has a \u201cgift\u201d \u2026 for what, misunderstanding how women\u2019s bodies are shaped?) Christian then lays out the finale\u2019s mandates, which, just like last season, are dramatically slashed down from what Project Runway used to be. The designers have one week to design five looks with a budget of $7,500, and they\u2019ll have design assistants. (Noticeably, not Bryan.) Anna is paired with Jeffrey, Joseph with Aaron, Jude with Naheim, and Bi with Bao, and then \u2026 suddenly they are in the workroom with all their fabric? We didn\u2019t get a shopping montage, right?<\/p>\n This is when a chill went down my spine, as I realized that the Project Runway editing team was going to commit violence against us. How else to describe how quickly this episode zoomed through the actual design content of a design-centered show? In total, the episode spends about 15 minutes in the workroom over the designers\u2019 five days. We\u2019re there long enough to hear some of the design inspirations and see some struggling looks, and that\u2019s about it. Anna is visualizing the anxiety she experienced over the competition by starting with designs that purposefully restrict her models, and then opening up the outfits to be more free; she\u2019s using unconventional materials again, like trash bags. Bi is taking inspiration from the Vietnamese card game ti\u1ebfn l\u00ean, with each look representing a certain playing card suit. Jude thinks he\u2019s \u201cbuilding armor to take flight\u201d with this collection, so he\u2019s going back to subtle suits. (I really wanted him to do something with chainmail, but alas.) And Joseph is being Joseph, using bright royal blue and primary red fabrics in a boxing-inspired collection about how Joseph is a \u201cfighter.\u201d It is wacky and literal, with tons of street-style swagger, and absolutely unlike anything anyone else is doing. Christian does a lot of sighing when Joseph says he\u2019s \u201cdoing it my way,\u201d but I have to respect that Joseph really stuck to his design aesthetic all season.<\/p>\n There are some hiccups over the five days, like Anna getting very emotional about what this final means for her 8-year-old self who grew up watching the show, and Joseph, with only three hours to go, deciding to redesign a wrap dress that Christian didn\u2019t like. But everyone basically has their shit together when it\u2019s time for the final runway, which is attended by designers from seasons 22 and 21 and judged by Heidi, Law, Nina, and guest judge Fausto Puglisi<\/a>, the creative director of Roberto Cavalli. Bi goes first, with numerous looks using beautiful molded red leather, a standout look in an incredibly puffy tank top and slim pants, and a white leather dress with an exaggerated off-the-shoulder neckline. I love this collection unreservedly, even The Chronicles of Riddick\u2013style white dress. Next up is Anna, whose collection \u201cThe Breakdown\u201d includes a gorgeous lace dress on Liris, a soda-tab bra, and a faux-leather jacket made of trash bags. Jude\u2019s collection is very streamlined, with lots of swingy panels similar to his Dancing With the Stars outfit: a houndstooth suit with an open back, a full-length coat dress with epaulettes. Finally, we get the \u201cfucking Joseph McRae Show,\u201d with huge puffer jackets, beanies, harem pants, crop tops, and a final outfit that I love: a red-and-white tube top that looks like a sweatband and a structured and pleated red skirt. \u201cJoseph was Joseph, whether you liked it or not,\u201d Nina says to Law, and I don\u2019t even know why she added, \u201cwhether you liked it or not,\u201d since we know Law hated it.<\/p>\n During deliberation, as soon as the judges start talking about Jude\u2019s collection, it\u2019s obvious that he\u2019s going to win. Law says his tailoring ability at only 23 years old is \u201cincredible,\u201d Nina praises his taste level, and when Heidi says that the collection lacked \u201chead turners,\u201d Nina passionately objects and calls the clothes \u201cchic\u201d and \u201csophisticated.\u201d (This whole conversation proved to me that Heidi\u2019s vote does not carry as much weight as Nina and Law\u2019s. Which most of the time is fine, since she can be a little tacky, but I did feel bad for her at this moment, when Law and Nina were so dismissive.) Law and Nina also praise Anna\u2019s outfits, especially the fit on Liris\u2019s dress, but Law calling Anna\u2019s last dress \u201cviable\u201d made me think that they already thought all of Jude\u2019s outfits were sellable, and therefore more worthy of the win than Anna. Bi, unfortunately, gets torn apart for his white dress with the weird collar sticking out the back; when Law and Heidi both call it a \u201cdisaster,\u201d it feels like he falls out of contention because it\u2019s such a miss. I think Bi\u2019s other looks were so strong that he should have won anyway \u2014 I\u2019m with Fausto in calling Bi\u2019s use of leather structural without being theatrical \u2014 but for some reason, I do not get a vote? But I guess I\u2019m just aligned with Fausto anyway, because he calls himself a \u201cbig fan\u201d of Joseph\u2019s collection, and I\u2019m there with him! It was a huge swing, and although it had some low-brow elements (I didn\u2019t like Joseph putting his own name on that shirt, for example), it was refreshingly bold and playful. Nina called the looks \u201ccartoonish,\u201d but Joseph wasn\u2019t pretending they weren\u2019t. Law, of course, gets way too heated about it, and I really had to laugh when he claimed no one would wear Joseph\u2019s clothes. Seriously? They are fun streetwear pieces, and I absolutely think Joseph could transition quite easily into pop-star stage wear. And I do think Joseph got the last laugh with his talking-head quote of, \u201cEven Law is a character on The Joseph McRae Show.\u201d<\/p>\n Who has \u201cthe full package,\u201d the judges wonder, and who is worthy of their \u201cinvestment\u201d? When the judges announce Jude as the winner, Bi, Anna, and Joseph don\u2019t look surprised, and each gets a small hopeful comment at the end. Anna learned to deal with her anxiety. Bi feels \u201cat peace.\u201d Joseph is proud that he never strayed from his aesthetic. It\u2019s a tidy, pleasant ending to a season that was shaped by a diminished budget, populated by needless influencers, and increasingly polluted by the toxic Bryan, but still reflective of how pleasurable the Project Runway format inherently is. Whether Jude is really \u201cthe new Saint Laurent,\u201d as Sergio Hudson says, remains to be seen. But for now, let\u2019s all giggle at how fully Naheim ignored Bryan when going to congratulate Jude. Thanks for reading!<\/p>\n \u2022 Many thanks to Rafaela Bassili for recapping last week! Rafaela recaps many shows for us, particularly the Below Deck universe, and writes about movies too. You can read here<\/a> and here<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u2022 Quotes of the episode: a lot of contenders! \u201cMy name is Bi, and it\u2019s short for \u2018Bitch,\u2019\u201d and Joseph\u2019s \u201cYou can go to JosephMcRae.com<\/a>\u201d when he was scoffingly asked by the judges, \u201cWhere would you buy these clothes?,\u201d are my top two.<\/p>\n \u2022 Fausto was being a little hyperbolic when he said of Joseph\u2019s clothes, \u201cWe need American freedom right now,\u201d but I understand and empathize with Heidi\u2019s desire for a \u201cringmaster to win this show one time.\u201d And good for her for pushing back on Law\u2019s treatment of Joseph, with her \u201cHe needs to be loud, because you\u2019re giving him so much s-h-i-t.\u201d Someone needed to say it.<\/p>\n \u2022 Speaking of judges butting heads with Law \u2026 Tyra-gate! As has been discussed in the comments, Tyra did not return as a judge after that argument with Law earlier in the season. I want to note that in the marketing emails I received about the season, she was referred to as a \u201cguest judge\u201d and a \u201crecurring judge.\u201d In the premiere episode, Heidi described her as an \u201ciconic new judge.\u201d Personally, I am very willing to believe that her and Law\u2019s friction caused her to leave. (It\u2019s also interesting to me that I don\u2019t think she promoted Project Runway in any way on her Instagram<\/a>.) If anyone has any other tea, please share.<\/p>\n \u2022 If Law doesn\u2019t snag Bi\u2019s finale top-and-pants look for Zendaya for a Dune: Part Three red carpet, we riot.<\/p>\n
\n Photo: Spencer Pazer\/Disney\n <\/p>\n