Project Runway: Never out!

Thank god for Project Runway. This has been the most tedious summer, television-wise, that I can remember. Sure, I have a lot of shows sitting on my DVR: America's Got Talent, Supergroup, Windfall. But none of them make me want to rush home and grab the remote. But now that Runway has returned, there is no longer a fear that my lifestyle will become less sedentary.

Last night was the season premiere and Heidi looked super-adorable, as always. Is there anyone out there who is cuter than Heidi Klum? I think not. As for the rest of this post: Spoilers ahead!

This debut challenge required each designer to use materials from their shared home to make an outfit that reflected who they were as a designer. Not a shocking assignment--it's a twist on season one's first challenge of using materials found in a grocery store and season two's challenge of using the clothes each designer was wearing to make a new outfit. It is a challenge that generally awards creativity and innovation.

Which is what made the winner of this challenge so surprising to me. Keith used bedsheets to make a dress with an asymmetric hem and used necklaces from the "Macy's accessory wall" (what happened to Banana Republic?) to add a little excitment. Oh, and the back of the dress had some red buttons he used from a duvet cover. I agreed with Tim Gunn's comments which were basically: "so what?" Where is the innovation in using bedsheets to make a dress? It's just like using some cotton one would get at a fabric store. I was quite surprised that not one judge pointed this out as a negative, and that he won the challenge. I was really disappointed.

My favorite? Michael's coffee filter dress. Now I recognize this was done with muslin underneath, which makes it not quite as exciting as if it was completely and totally coffee, but at least it was innovative! And I thought quite cute as well (I admit I am a sucker for white dresses). I was surprised that Michael's dress wasn't in the top three--I would have kept Keith out of the top spots and replaced him with Michael.

Speaking of white dresses, my other favorite was Robert's white dress with red sash. The best part of the dress was definitely the back of the dress, which was open but for the jeweled wall-hanging he used as straps, which were then tied together with cute little red bows. The front of the dress also featured the wall-hanging. Usually I don't like dresses with built-in jewelry, but this one was really cute. I also liked Angela's leather concoction, although I know Tim Gunn wouldn't agree with me, and Kayne's dress was really innovative, as it combined a rubber floor mat and the plastic from a barstool. Definitely original!

I did think that they got the bottom ones right, although I probably would have included Brandon's piece. What was up with that cape? It honestly looked like the blanket the homeless guy next to my office uses in the winter time. And I have never been a big fan of homeless chic.

I haven't watched the "Road to the Runway" episode yet, so I'm thinking that will be my project for tonight. And then I have to wait a whole week for the next episode. But at least now there is something to anticipate!