Season 5 Premiere of "Project Runway": Haven’t I Seen This Before?

Tim Gunn emphasizes innovation to Project Runway designers but what about the producersThe seasonamp8217s premiere episode which aired last night was underwhelming The designers were asked to construct designs out of materials found in a grocery store and then urged by guest judge Austin Scarlett a Season 1 designer to be innovative as he had been with corn husks which ultimately led to his winning this very same challenge that was given during the pilot episode of the design competition series It seems that one of the worst things that judges Heidi Klum Michael Kors and Nina Garcia can say in reaction to a design is amp8220Havenamp8217t I seen this beforeamp8221 and yet that was what I found myself saying in reaction to the episode itself What happened to innovation Years ago when designer Michael Knight auditioned for Season 3 the judges were disappointed when Knight showcased what he would have done if given the same challenges that had been given in seasons prior Of course the assumption should be that each seasonamp8217s designers will be given new and innovative challenges but that didnamp8217t seem to be the case with season 5amp8217s premiere when for the first time in Project Runway history the premiere episode recycled an old challenge The challenges featured on premiere episodes are crucial The cast of designers are still strangers both to one another and to the audience Everyone is still polite and relatively wellrested Without emotional breakdowns and personality clashes to entertain the challenges themselves must be entertaining and innovative And in this case perhaps because the selection of designers was weak or because the challenge had been done before the episode was uneventful as the designers proceeded to make dresses out of tablecloths shower curtains and other clothlike materials that can be found in a grocery store The winning design shown right was constructed out of vacuum cleaner bags and coffee filters I believe the judges were ultimately won over by the hook closures made from a notebook spiral The losing design was disturbing featuring yellow dishwashing gloves and what looked like a hospital gown The judges agreed it was something youamp8217d wear to either perform surgery or a murderOther notables included Danielamp8217s design made entirely out of melted and molded plastic drinking cups and Kortoamp8217s yellow table cloth dress topped off with tomato amp8220broochesamp8221 Both were wearable and well executed Fans of Project Runway seemed baffled earlier this week when it was days before the fifth season was to premiere on Bravo before the show migrates to Lifetime for Season 6 and the network remained mum about what was to come amp8211 no word on contestants challenges or guest judges but Bravo sure was busy pushing that dreadful new show Date My Ex And then earlier this week in an unusual move the veil of mystery was dropped completely and challenges and guest judges were announced for episodes through September But the descriptions of the challenges are rather vague and it seems the only juicy bait is a quote by Tim Gunn in which he said quotThe fifth season has already proven to be the most dramafilled yet and the show hasn39t even premiered I39m on pins and needles to see what the designers will bring to the runway this seasonamp8221 Really Tim Iamp8217m notNext week39s challenge will be greenthemed and wil be guest judged by Natalie Portman

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Season 5 Premiere of "Project Runway": Haven’t I Seen This Before?

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Nina Spezzaferro

Empowering Women in Media: Insights from Industry Leaders (Video) - By E.B. Moss

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Season 5 Premiere of "Project Runway": Haven’t I Seen This Before?

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Nina Spezzaferro

Empowering Women in Media: Insights from Industry Leaders (Video) - By E.B. Moss

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