Project Runway – All the World’s a Stage! Carol Hannah Steals the Spotlight as Christina Aguilera’s Top Pick; Shirin Askari Exits Stage Left

The designers (especially Nicolas) were practically giddy this week when they found out from none other than costume designer to the stars Bob Mackie himself that their next challenge would be to design an over-the-top stage look for–wait for it–Christina Aguilera.

Now, whenever there’s a celebrity on Project Runway, someone inevitably exclaims something along the lines of, “This is, like, the biggest star project runway has ever seen!” But this time, such a statement might actually be accurate.

With such an enormous task at hand, the designers were given two days to complete the challenge, which of course means another full day of work as well as another full day of  D-R-A-M-A.

Even though she had immunity from her win on the previous challenge, Gordana broke down almost as badly as her garment did when it started raining strings of beads all over the workroom floor. Christopher was once again adorably overconfident in his design which the judges would ultimately chew up & spit out like a slimy wad of gum. Irena reached new heights of cattiness and the other designers are starting to take notice. Oh yeah, and they also tried to reintroduce the Logan/Carol Hannah subplot–using the same cut of Carol Hannah saying ‘He’s really hot’.

…Stop trying to make it happen, Lifetime. It’s not going to happen.

But I digress!

In the end Carol Hannah received the prize (And no, Lifetime…the prize isn’t Logan) for a theatrical, texturized black gown that impressed the panel and guest judge Christina Aguilera, who alluded to the fact that, at some point, in the near or distant future, she may or may not actually wear the costume that Carol Hannah designed for her. Wow! So keep a look-out, Carol Hannah! Or, ya know…don’t.

In a heartbreaking turn of events, the little girl with big dreams (and arguably, an even bigger mouth) Shirin Askari was asked to take her final bow after presenting a similar black gown which the judges dubbed ‘an upscale Halloween witch costume’…at least they called it ‘upscale’?

You will be missed, Shirin. The workroom will be significantly less zany without you.

Project Runway ‘Divorcee Challenge’: Everything Old is New Again! Gordana Gelhausen Gets the Gold; Epperson Misunderstands the Assignment

Last night presented us with potentially the most innovative challenge of the season, when the designers were asked to create a new look for nine real women, all recently divorced.

Sounds easy enough, right?

Wrong!

Aside from up to 2 yards of additional fabric & trim purchased from Mood, the new outfit had to be fashioned from the divorcees’ old wedding gowns.

…Yeah. That sounds more like Project Runway.

Of course, drama ensued. Shirin got stuck with a dress with no fabric & a client who wanted to look like a “Cher half-breed” (complete with headdress), Irena said nasty things about Logan’s pants (surprise, surprise) and Gordana called home in tears (don’t worry Gordana! Things will be looking up soon!)

In an unfortunate turn of events, Epperson “misunderstood the assignment” and tried to create a garment with as little fabric from the wedding gown as possible (still not sure how such a misunderstanding is possible, but…all right), forcing him to reformulate his plan in the middle of the challenge.

In the end, Epperson was sent home for a thrown-together look that reminded the judges of an Oktoberfest waitress (ouch.)

Gordana Gelhausen was awarded the win (see Gordana? We told you!) for a chic & edgy gray strapless cocktail dress that was decidedly un-Oktoberfest.

Along with the win, Gelhausen received immunity from elimination for the next challenge, making her the last designer to receive immunity for the remainder of the competition.

Project Runway – INC Challenge: Irena Shabayeva Wins (Again); Louise Black Sings “The Blues”

For those of you who haven’t been watching Project Runway since the dawn of time (not to brag, but…I have), every season there is a challenge that requires competitors to design a look for a mainstream clothing brand. The prize? The winning garment will be manufactured and sold by said mainstream clothing brand. The win for the this challenge is understandably coveted, so it is always an event when this challenge inevitably rolls around again.

This time, the challenge was to design two looks for INC, a fashion label exclusive to Macy’s department stores. The catch? The designers once again had to work in teams, and, for some unknown reason, the looks absolutely had to be designed entirely in shades of blue.

Irena Shabayeva (who was paired with Gordana Gehlhausen) took her second win with a flowing striped dress and a romantic skirt and blouse set.

Alright, Irena…so the judges might like you now. But you better stop saying all those nasty things about the other contestants’ designs…remember, the cast villain never wins on Project Runway!

Louise Black–who was paired with last week’s winner Nicolas Putvinski and, contrary to popular opinion was not eliminated after the last challenge–was ultimately given the axe for creating two dresses with ruffles and…well, not much else.

However, perhaps the biggest scandal of last night’s episode was famous American designer and beloved veteran panel judge Michael Kors bringing crowd favorite Christopher Straub to tears with witty remarks about his satiny teal bubble dress looking like a ‘disco pumpkin’.