The contestants appear to be the ragtag group of kooks, normals, gays, free-spirits and blondes typical of PR seasons past. The first challenge was boring but I guess they have to play up the red carpet and celebrity factor now that they're in L.A. (Side note: didn't Tim Gun look oddly nervous when he was announcing the challenge? Maybe the smog was getting to him.) I'm sure all the contestants breathed a sigh of relief that their first task wasn't going to involve making a garment out of curtains or palm tree leaves or something. Except Malvin, aka "I'm soooo androgynous" who claims he doesn't care about red carpets or watch TV. Get over yourself and get haircut.
The drama, served on a silver platter, came from Johnny the recovering crystal meth addict. The intensity and pressure of competition was just too much for him and he had to go and take a moment. And cry. Tim Gunn comes to alleviate his fears of being a failure, Johhny wipes the mascara from his face and gets back to work. He turned out something quite decent that the judges liked. If I had tried out for PR but didn't make it and saw some fool crying that he couldn't take the heat before the first stitch was even sewn I'd probably throw my shoe at the TV.
The Runway. Ah the runway. Goddess Heidi steps out to introduce the judges and all is right with the world again. While I applaud Lifetime's success in capturing the "feel" of the show for the most part, it's definitely obvious that Bravo has a higher airbrushing budget. Michael had bags under his eyes I never saw on Bravo and Nina looked almost old, albeit still chic and radiant. But Heidi, Michael and Nina looked like tens next to the surprise guest judge. Yup Lindsay Lohan took a break from peddling spray tan to offer her expert opinion on red carpet looks. God she looked terrible. I'm not even referring to her weight but her face? Not the face of a 22 year old. It's the face of a 45 year old haggard divorcee who's on 3 pack a day habit. Have a glass of water, Linds.
The looks were good, if not that exciting. My favorite was Nicolas's funky LBD with the woven silver design.
The winner was Ra'mon, whose gown was interesting, pretty and elegant all the way around. Great first effort. If it's any indicator of what's to come, I'd say he's going to make it to the top three easily.
Now for the loser. I'm so proud of the judges for voting Ari off even though what she made was technically more innovative than Mitchell's see-through miu miu or Qrystil's tacky Lisa Frank-inspired mess. Ari straight-up didn't give a shiz. I'll forgive her for not sketching but she ignored the challenge, did whatever she wanted, and made up some half-ass explanation. What I did find amusing was her uncanny resemblance to Samantha Ronson, Linds's DJ gf. Coincidence?
A solid beginning to what looks like will be a good, fun season.





