The Finale
Season 22
Episode 10
Editor’s Rating
3 stars
***
A skimpy finale episode ends with a fine but not necessarily exciting Project Runway winner.
Photo: Spencer Pazer/Disney
I’ll 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’s 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’s what “The Finale” 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 — conversations with the designers about their inspirations, an in-depth look at their design process, backstage time at the runway shows — but the execution was Temu level. I’m 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.
Now, do I think the right person won? Let me put it this way: I don’t think Jude was the wrong person to win. I think he made a perfectly fine collection, but personally, I’m with Christian. I wasn’t excited by the clothes, and I think they were all silhouettes that Jude had already presented. I don’t think he pushed himself, either in the collection’s concept or in the five outfits. Beautiful clothes, for sure. Beautiful clothes that I think are already being made in the industry.
We can all rejoice about one thing, though — no Bryan in the finale! “The Finale” immediately picks up on the preceding episode’s 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’s Über-crotch pants. But I think Joseph was getting an increasingly noticeable “overcoming his haters” edit throughout the season, and frankly, I know that Joseph going through to the finale ruined Bryan’s day, and I’m happy about that. (Nina telling Bryan he has a “gift” … for what, misunderstanding how women’s bodies are shaped?) Christian then lays out the finale’s 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’ll have design assistants. (Noticeably, not Bryan.) Anna is paired with Jeffrey, Joseph with Aaron, Jude with Naheim, and Bi with Bao, and then … suddenly they are in the workroom with all their fabric? We didn’t get a shopping montage, right?
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’ five days. We’re there long enough to hear some of the design inspirations and see some struggling looks, and that’s 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’s using unconventional materials again, like trash bags. Bi is taking inspiration from the Vietnamese card game tiến lên, with each look representing a certain playing card suit. Jude thinks he’s “building armor to take flight” with this collection, so he’s 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 “fighter.” 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’s “doing it my way,” but I have to respect that Joseph really stuck to his design aesthetic all season.
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’t like. But everyone basically has their shit together when it’s 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, 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–style white dress. Next up is Anna, whose collection “The Breakdown” includes a gorgeous lace dress on Liris, a soda-tab bra, and a faux-leather jacket made of trash bags. Jude’s 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 “fucking Joseph McRae Show,” 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. “Joseph was Joseph, whether you liked it or not,” Nina says to Law, and I don’t even know why she added, “whether you liked it or not,” since we know Law hated it.
During deliberation, as soon as the judges start talking about Jude’s collection, it’s obvious that he’s going to win. Law says his tailoring ability at only 23 years old is “incredible,” Nina praises his taste level, and when Heidi says that the collection lacked “head turners,” Nina passionately objects and calls the clothes “chic” and “sophisticated.” (This whole conversation proved to me that Heidi’s vote does not carry as much weight as Nina and Law’s. 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’s outfits, especially the fit on Liris’s dress, but Law calling Anna’s last dress “viable” made me think that they already thought all of Jude’s 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 “disaster,” it feels like he falls out of contention because it’s such a miss. I think Bi’s other looks were so strong that he should have won anyway — I’m with Fausto in calling Bi’s use of leather structural without being theatrical — but for some reason, I do not get a vote? But I guess I’m just aligned with Fausto anyway, because he calls himself a “big fan” of Joseph’s collection, and I’m there with him! It was a huge swing, and although it had some low-brow elements (I didn’t like Joseph putting his own name on that shirt, for example), it was refreshingly bold and playful. Nina called the looks “cartoonish,” but Joseph wasn’t pretending they weren’t. Law, of course, gets way too heated about it, and I really had to laugh when he claimed no one would wear Joseph’s 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, “Even Law is a character on The Joseph McRae Show.”
Who has “the full package,” the judges wonder, and who is worthy of their “investment”? When the judges announce Jude as the winner, Bi, Anna, and Joseph don’t look surprised, and each gets a small hopeful comment at the end. Anna learned to deal with her anxiety. Bi feels “at peace.” Joseph is proud that he never strayed from his aesthetic. It’s 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 “the new Saint Laurent,” as Sergio Hudson says, remains to be seen. But for now, let’s all giggle at how fully Naheim ignored Bryan when going to congratulate Jude. Thanks for reading!
• 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 and here.
• Quotes of the episode: a lot of contenders! “My name is Bi, and it’s short for ‘Bitch,’” and Joseph’s “You can go to JosephMcRae.com” when he was scoffingly asked by the judges, “Where would you buy these clothes?,” are my top two.
• Fausto was being a little hyperbolic when he said of Joseph’s clothes, “We need American freedom right now,” but I understand and empathize with Heidi’s desire for a “ringmaster to win this show one time.” And good for her for pushing back on Law’s treatment of Joseph, with her “He needs to be loud, because you’re giving him so much s-h-i-t.” Someone needed to say it.
• Speaking of judges butting heads with Law … 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 “guest judge” and a “recurring judge.” In the premiere episode, Heidi described her as an “iconic new judge.” Personally, I am very willing to believe that her and Law’s friction caused her to leave. (It’s also interesting to me that I don’t think she promoted Project Runway in any way on her Instagram.) If anyone has any other tea, please share.
• If Law doesn’t snag Bi’s finale top-and-pants look for Zendaya for a Dune: Part Three red carpet, we riot.
• No influencers this episode, thank God! Instead, Marc Karimzadeh, senior director of content and communications for the Council of Fashion Designers of America, swung by the workroom. I wish Project Runway would release his entire conversations with the designers as a bonus online clip; like everything else in this episode, his chats with the designers were so abbreviated.
• If you didn’t watch until the very end, “The Finale” ended with an appeal for new designers to apply for a future season of Project Runway. Will you watch? My Stockholm syndrome is too strong … I will probably see you there!
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