I knew it! I knew it was too easy to have Kara, Jay and Austin as the final three.
I think Austin’s a better designer, and I don’t think the judges wanted to let him go, but the E! host person (sorry, forgot her name, don’t watch the show) liked Wendy’s dress better, so she got in.
I’m going to miss Austin. 
I still think Kara Saun’s going to win - I will be extremely surprised if she doesn’t, though Jay does have a decent shot also, if he gets lucky.
I thought all the dresses were pretty much Meh, but I don’t understand how Wendy’s atrocity could have been picked as the best one! What’s with these people? I am just sick that Austin got the boot. He may not have been the best designer, but he was far and away the prettiest contestant.
The judges made valid points about Austin not following directions. He usually made lovely dresses; but they didn’t fit the specs, especially this one. I don’t know how Wendy won, though. Her dress looked blah to me. I expected Kara Saun to win that challenge and still expect her to win overall.
Wendy seemed to go stark raving mad as the series progressed. It all seemed to start, IIRC, when the other women went out of their way to help her by adding highlights to her hair and working with her makeup. (Did that really happen or did I imagine that sequence?)
I wonder if Wendy lasted so long because of winning the Banana Republic challenge (art deco dress), since BR is one of PR’s biggest sponsors. There’s a disclaimer at the end that says something about the judges’ final decisions being approved by and having input from the network, so I wonder if they got pressure from BR to hang onto her. Or maybe they just liked the dramas she created.
I loathe her - I was like Jay. “I felt sick when she walked into the room…” Heh. I love Jay!
Poor Austin. His stuff is exactly my style, very Charlotte from Sex and the City, if I had the money/lifestyle/height to carry it off. I was hoping he’d go the distance. I hope he really does get to design What’s-Her-Name’s Oscar dress, so he’ll get some more exposure.
Having said all that, I’m betting that unless she drops a big ol’ stink bomb, Kara Saun will be the big winner.
Having seen the photos from Fashion Week, I think Jay may be the runaway star.
The interesting point I noticed was that Kara used “The Aviator” for her inspiration for Fashion Week and it was distributed and produced (in part) by Miramax who co-sponsors the Project Runway series. Pretty sly product placement or damned fine strategy by Kara?
Also, on the topic of Kara - were her suggestions to Jay helpful or slightly sabotageous? The thing the judges picked on was the top…
I think she was trying to be helpful. Jay’s top was bad either way. If you read Tim’s Take on the website, he notes that all of the designers seem to be aiming to not be cut rather than trying to win.
I think they were helpful. While neither top was spectacular, the second one was huge improvement on the prom-pink top he started with. The guest judge even said she didn’t like hot pink, and the original top was quite pink! I don’t think Kara would try to do that, she doesn’t seem the type, and she’s a wonderful designer in her own right, and doesn’t NEED to sabotage others. I would have liked Jay’s dress best if the top was a little funker and sexier, b/c I love the skirt, and I want one!
I can’t wait until next week when they have them all get back together! Drama!
I had a feeling that fatigue was a factor as well. The tension, the personal issues, the competition and what not was all building up. Safe seemed like a good way to go so they did.
I don’t know that next week’s episode sounds like much fun if all they are going to do is tear Wendy up.
Sure, she doesn’t have to do that, but she had a look on her face through the last half of the show that was sort of out of character. I was trying to decide if she was helping Jay or psyching Wendy. Kara was obviously NOT happy with the winner of the challenge.
Still, NOBODY was happy with the winner except the winnder, Wendy. Jay said he felt “sick”, and Austin was nearly speechless.
Sure, Kara might want to sabotage Wendy, but I don’t think she’d try to sabotage Jay (or Austin, if he was still in).
So, here we are on the eve of the last challenge! (I can forsee myself having withdrawal issues come next week, that’s for sure.)
Anyway, something I am not quite understanding is why Kara is lecturing and fighting with Wendy (again!) and using the same tone and admonishments she used last week in the reunion show. They have both made it to Fashion Week and everybody has to stand on their own work so why is there an argument?
I guess all will be revealed in only a few hours and I think Jay will take the prize. What a ride it’s been!
And they still haven’t said if there will be a second season or not! (unless I missed it somewhere)
I think the reunion show was filmed after all the other episodes, so it’s actually Kara’s argument in the reunion show that’s a repetition. As far as why she’s doing it, I’m guessing that she and Jay are just really tired of being thrown together with her, and any little thing she might do would set them off.
We’ll see. I wish it were time!
Eee, it’s almost time! Will Kara take it all? Will Jay stab Wendy in the eye with a pair of pinking shears?
I am too excited over a tv show. I need a sedative.
Parker Posey as a guest judge! How cool is that?
Agreed, stpauler.
I’m putting a bet out there. It’s not a spoiler, because it’s just my personal WAG: Jay!
YAY JAY!!!
This show was such a guilty pleasure for me. I am about as fashion illiterate as they come. I don’t give a good goddamn about any of it, or what anyone else thinks about any of it, but I still found myself sucked into the show, and I’m TOTALLY STOKED about how it turned out.
Good show/ good series.
Wendy was a pain in the patoot.
Kara Saun was a bit of a diva, but a good designer.
I’m not sorry Jay won. . . if Austin couldn’t have taken it all. But Jay is a very, very strange person. What’s with those idiotic knitted hats? He looked like a total goof! Funny, but a goof!
Here us what I am hearing: The executive producers (Klum excluded) was Miramax’s Weinsteins who are ending their contract with Disney at the end of August 2005 so the actual ownership of the ‘Runway’ series is in a slight dispute. However, there was a tagline at the bottom of the screen during the show that designers who want to be in season 2 should go to the website for more info. Whoopeee!!! Perhaps the rights to the show have been settled!
In any event, I am delighted that Jay won. His collection had the most vision and I am happy for him! I also have to wonder what else Kara might have gotten for free besides the shoes…
I truly wish they had all stopped the fighting during the last week and spent their time reveling in their fantasy-come-true. I wish them all the best in the future.
At the beginning of the show, I was rooting for both Jay and Kara, and wasn’t sure who I wanted to win. By the end, I was all for Jay.
I thought Kara’s thing with the shoes was unfair. The shoes were worth way more than the $15 she was charged for them, so it was still a huge favor from Doll House. I also thought that Jay’s outfits were the most interesting to look at. I want that skirt w/ the dots on it!