Riot For Design: Project Runway Season 10 Recap- Episode 10

Bitch Slap That Bitch

After last week's goodbye to Gunnar, we're down to 7 designers!

This week the designers are sent to Radio City Music Hall and before we see a single kick ball change, we all know they'll be designing for the Rockettes. Tim Gunn explains the specifics: a new costume for the Rockettes that can be worn year-round and that is practical and modern. The winning design will actually be produced and worn by the Rockettes!

Folks get your bitch- slapping hand ready, it's the costume challenge episode!!! This is one bitch of a challenge. The designers who can successfully bitch slap that bitch will make it through, and those that become the bitches of their designs will be slapped with whole world of bitchiness from the judges. Why? Because having fashion designers make costumes is like casting Ashton Kutcher in a Holocaust movie. It makes absolutely no sense, but is sure to be entertaining for all the wrong reasons. Already I'm expecting big things from Michael Kors during judging. I hope he doesn't disappoint!

To make matters worse, the designers are only given $250 for this challenge. This doesn't go very far at Mood, where sequined fabrics can run around $300/yard, so the designers are really strapped with a lot of tacky fabrics and chintzy rhinestones. No Swarovksy crystals here, folks!

Back in the workroom, the theme of this week is clearly second chances:

I miss Masha

Elena, if that's her real name, is a new vooman. She crumbled like communism after last week's textile challenge and quite literally found her conscience. Now she just can't take the stress anymore. After weeks of spying on behalf of the Soviet shoulder pad industry, Elena wants out. She wants her life back, she wants to return to Minsk, see her family again and pat Masha, her faithful dairy cow and childhood best friend. But it's too late for that, and there's no way out- she's trapped by her own tangled web of lies. And when you make a deal with the Soviet shoulder pad empire, you bet your ass there's no turning back. If Elena blows her cover now people will die, but before her bright flame inevitably extinguishes, she will commit one final act. A good and noble deed; one of rebellion against her superiors. She will be joyful! And she will design without shoulder pads. God help us all, it's not going to be pretty.

Meanwhile, Christopher AKA Ted Bundy has had his fill of evil deeds now that his arch nemesis Gunnar is no longer in the competition. Andrea and Kooan were mere target practice for the under-challenged Christopher. It's a shame they had to go, really. But now Christopher is free to be the show's one and only young sassy gay archetype, which is all he ever wanted. He doesn't waste any time with his "I'm dying!" and cross-dressing and jazz hands and red head-worshipping. It's only a matter of time before he slaps us all with a catchphrase (he just needs another week to narrow down his current list of 33 possibilities). And just like that, the perfect crime goes unnoticed. Well played, Christpher Soze.

Christopher's deal with the devil really pays off this week, with his nothing-short-of-inspired New York skyline-themed costume. You could tell just from the sketch that it was going to be exquisite. However, nearly all of the other designers seemed to struggle with this challenge.

Sonjia makes me nervous

When Tim visits the workroom, it looks like someone went Saving Private Ryan on a Katy Perry concert, and he gives everyone a second chance at Mood, and an extra $100. It was unclear whether this was planned all along, or if it truly was a mercy Mood but I'd like to think it was the latter.

A few of the designers boldly turned down the second trip to Mood: Fabio, Dmitry and Ven. I could understand Fabio staying because he was doing his own Fabio thing, and Dmitry's costume had already been claimed by Dancing With the Stars, so he didn't need to go. But Ven, when you get that look from Tim Gunn, you go. You don't ask questions, you go.

And by the way, can we talk about Dmitry and how I didn't think I could like him any more and THEN he casually mentioned he used to be a ballroom dancer?!!!

Finally, Melissa not only gets a second chance, she gets a third, fourth and fifth chance when Christopher gives her extra money, Ven helps her hand stitch and everyone helps fix her broken zipper.

Who bitch slapped that bitch? Let's get on to the runway to find out!

RUNWAY:

Tonight's guest judge is the charmingly unfashionable Debra Messing.

The TOP:

Dmitry's costume is like a fine glass of whiskey: smooth and sultry. The judges agreed it was flawless. MK said it was exciting and still looked like Dmitry's design, Heidi said it was different but Debra said it might be a little too sexy for the Rockettes.

Melissa was kinda/sorta in the top? Her costume made a good impression on the runway, but upon closer examination was kind of a hot mess. The 1 on the front was unintentional but pretty obvi. Heidi said it was a show stopper at first but the longer she looked the more things she saw wrong, Nina said it looked like a cigarette girl and Debra was confused.

Least surprisingly, Christopher's NYC homage costume killed it. I loved everything except the hairstyling, which felt a little too throwback to me. But Heidi ad Nina loved it, MK said it was a Bob Mackie moment and Debra said it was celebratory, dignified and magnificent.

The BOTTOM:

Sonjia's bird armor dress landed her in the bottom. I agreed with judges; Heidi said the model was too covered up and look boxy, Debra said the Rockettes would moult in feathers and MK said it looked like a disco turkey.

Ven's costume looked like Ice Capades Dorothy. I hate to be a broken record, but EVERY SINGLE VEN DESIGN IS FRUMPY AND UNFLATTERING! IS THIS THING ON?!!! The neckline was way too high and the skirt was unfashionable. Heidi said it was boring, MK said it looked like the MOB (Mother of the Bride mention #2!) chopped her dress off. His best line of the night, however, was saying Origami Rose should be Ven's drag name. Debra, fresh off the worst-dressed list herself, disagreed. She said she liked the costume's simplicity.

Last and possibly least, there was Elena. She knew she'd be there- she did it on purpose. How else can we justify that god-awful cheerleading costume? The judges hated the cheap blue sparkle fabric and the gaudy rhinestone collar. MK said it looked like a Las Vegas cheerleader, Heidi said it didn't look like an Elena design and Debra said it was a great costume... for the circus.

In the end, Christopher won this challenge with flying fan kicks.

I was bracing myself for the inevitable auf wedersehen to Elena and then, something amazing happened. The runway curtains parted and in floated the Goddess of Second Chances (who looked curiosuly like a cross between Glinda the Good Witch and Tim Gunn). She softly floated to the space between Ven and Elena, hovering calmly and knowingly. And then it happened: Elena bitch slapped that bitch. And Ven was sent home instead.

Sweet Justice, the Wicked Witch is dead! For those of you who were Ven fans, may I suggest playing a little Elton John in his memory? "Goodbye Origami Rose" (sung to the England's Rose rendition of Candle in the Wind).

Next week the contestants have to make designs for Heidi's baby clothing line. Who tries to make "diaper exposure" a thing? We'll all have to wait until next week!

Project Runway Season 10 Recap- Episode 10