Okay, before we start, a quick confession: I haven’t actually had time to watch this season of Project Runway.  BUT I’m pretty sure I can capture the gist of each designer’s collection without knowing them inside and out.   Here’s my (one hour late because of technical problems) live blog of the show:

 

9:38 am: The plastic goes up on the runway, and Michael Kors, Nina Garcia and Heidi Klum walk out to take their seats.

 

9:40 am: Heidi grabs the mike to announce the guest judge and everyone’s holding their breath.  Last season it was Victoria Beckham, so we all know its going to be good.  Drumroll please… Heidi announces… Jennifer Lopez (ahh!!) and everyone gasps.   But then Heidi quickly adds that J-Lo hurt her foot yesterday, so her last-minute replacement is… Tim Gunn.  Are. You. Kidding. Me!  Most anticlimactic moment of the week.  Tim struts out and promises us that he’ll put his relationship with the designers on “a metaphorical shelf” so he can be an unbiased judge.  

 

9:45 am: Lights go down, here we go…

 

9:47 am: Jerell takes the stage.  He thanks his family, his boyfriend Dan and seems absolutely giddy to be “under the tents, okaaaay.”   His collection is bold and dark – lots of purple, gold and black with sparkly accents.  

 

9:58: Suade’s up next.  Seriously, he refers to himself in the third person?  Says he was inspired by the Bluefly challenge.  Lots of light pinks and blues – there’s a little bit of an 80s ice skater vibe going on.  Flippy mini dresses.  Oh, the last piece is stunning – almost a cocktaily bridal gown.  The model is rocking a veil and tiara.

 

10:09 am: Joe dedicates his show to his wife, who is “the sun in [his] solar system.”  What?  Anyway, I’m not loving his collection.  Leather corsets, denim skirts, suede pants, big studded belts – I’m feeling pre-makeover Pretty Woman Julia Roberts.  Ew.

 

10:17 am: Kenley says her line is inspired by her painting and Alice in Wonderland.  I mentally prepare myself for white rabbit couture.  Ohhh, I’m loving the models’ hairpieces – gorgeous floating feathers fastened in pretty barrettes.  Her color palette is purple, green, pink and black.  Feathers everywhere!  My favorite is a black and pink tutu ensemble. 

 

10:26 am: Korto tells us she’s inspired by Africa and Arkansas and that she designed her own jewelry for the show (she apologizes to the Bluefly shelf).  Her collection is very coherent, but not very exciting – her pieces were almost all dresses, with intricate tailoring and a lot of structure.  Walked her adorable daughter down the runway at the end.

 

10: 40: Leanne is last.  She tells us she’s lost “millions of hours of sleep” over her collection.  Beautiful tailoring.  Balloony, swingy designs with flirty ruffles and pleats.  Her entire collection is green and cream/nude with lots of silk and chiffon.  The finale piece is a STUNNING tiered cream gown with intricate pleats and adorable pockets.  This chick better win.

HUGE apologies to everyone who has visited the blog in the past 24 hours.  It crashed last night while we were at the tents and we got it back up, but without the images.   We’ll get them reloaded shortly. 

PS: Just went to the Project Runway show and it was FAB.  Recap coming shortly!

I would like to renta this gown for a night at some point in my life.

Serena Williams and her understated jewelry

 

PS: You can tell by the picture quality that I didn’t have to zoom in AT ALL

to get this photo. Obviously I was sitting front row directly across from her.

 

 

It’s Day 5, it’s raining and people are getting pushy. The main entrance is always a

mad house, but when I ran in to make the Betsey Johnson show today, I got more

than a few elbows thrown my way. I quickly learned that my huge purse doubles

as body armor.

Last night we hosted a reception in the IMG lounge backstage.  The wine was

flowing, the cameras were filming and our DVD was a big hit.

So it turns out the Nadal lookalike is Mister USA.   I’ll take it. 

 

 
Hello Genna,

 

Sorry for the confusion, haha. My name is Ivan Rusilko and unfortunately I am not Nadal but I am Mister USA! No one seemed to care about that after they learned I was not Nadal though, haha go figure! It was a pleasure talking with you and you can check my site for the heck of it, www.ivanrusilko.net. I am leaving for the Mister International competition in Taiwan in Nov. This is the first year the USA elected a Mister USA using a pageant. It was held in Boston Last month. Sorry again and I hope you didn’t get in any trouble!

 

Ivan Rusilko

(Mister USA 2008)

 

Dear Ivan,

 

I know how you feel.  People are constantly confusing me with Reese Witherspoon, Sienna Miller and Heidi Klum.  It’s exhausting having to convince everyone that you’re not actually an A-list celebrity. 

 

Congratulations on being Mister USA!  I remember my pageant days… I had to hang up my Miss Universe hat a long time ago because it was time to give other girls a fair shot at the crown.

 

And yes, I am available to go with you to Taiwan in November, thanks for asking.  As for your marriage proposal, let’s discuss after the Mister International competition.

Love you,
Genna