Project . . . Tim's Disappointed in Daniel

I love this show! How long do we have to wait for the next season?

It's so interesting to go home with the designers and see a little bit of them in their own element. As always, I'm a complete sucker for anyone's "I'm just insecure, and that's why I'm being an asshat" excuse and ended up feeling bad for Santino. I know he's said some horrible things, but I think (despite last week's reunion show) that he actually does regret some of them. And watching him so nervously approach the hotel where Daniel and Chloe were waiting, and immediately introduce a neutral subject ("time flies by") to forestall any immediate attack . . . like I said, I'm a sucker. (The fact that at least some small children obviously adore him didn't hurt either.)

And then the cruel twist! One more piece? That's just so mean. Did the producers think they weren't going to get enough drama out of the designers desperately trying to finish and fit their collections? I'm thrilled that we'll get to see more of Nick, Andrae, and Diana though at first I was a little surprised at Chloe's pick. For some reason I expected her to pick Daniel Franco or Kara . . . but . . . I don't remember anyone ever complaining about Diana's construction or sewing skills, and she's just so nice . . . I imagine Chloe picked her at least as much for the pleasant company as her ability to help her pull one more design out of her exhausted brain.

On to the collections. I love what I've seen of Santino's. The color palette is gorgeous, I just adore the brown, blue, and muted violet. So beautiful but not so vibrant as to overshadow the construction or silhouette of the clothing. This of course stands in contrast to both Daniel and Chloe. What little of his collection they showed seemed well edited. It makes me wonder if it was just the stress of the short deadlines on the show that made him go so crazy with all the embellishments. The things they showed looked more like what he did with the muslin when he actually had time to think and edit.


As for Chloe: Fuschia and gold? Really? But I am very excited to see Chloe's look on the runway, I think it could be amazing. The dress that Grace was being fitted with looked stunning. I was so nervous after Tim's home visit with Chloe when all she had was that one pineapple dress with the horrid ruffled skirt (did it remind anyone else of the summer of 2004?) and some bolts of fabric. Poor Tim. I thought he was going to have a heart attack when she said she had no sketches and each piece had to develop organically.

And what to say about Daniel . . . Tim seemed so intrigued during his preview, and so horribly underwhelmed once Daniel arrived at the studio. Is it just the construction? The incompleteness of it all or did Daniel just not take enough risks? The complete reliance on neutrals is a little scary for me. Without color to enliven the show, the details have to be perfect. I really hope he can pull something off.

But after this episode, Santino is definitely my favorite to win.