Oct 19 2006
Say What?
While Tim Gunn and the producers are off investigating the charges lobbied against Jeffrey by Laura, there is much tension in the workroom. Jeffrey and Laura have a confrontation of sorts, where Laura tells Jeffrey that she wasn't 'questioning his integrity.' Except that by accusing him of cheating, she sort of was, which Jeffrey not-so-nicely points out.
The Verdict's In!
There is an attempt to draw out the whole 'did he or didn't he cheat?' subplot, complete with many shots of a stressed-out Jeffrey calling Tim about some mysterious 'pleating receipts.' The next day, Tim arrives in the workroom and gathers the designers around and announces that after a thorough investigation, they have concluded that Jeffrey did not break any rules, except he didn't have proper receipts for pleating work done and he is over the $8,000 budget by $227.85. To rectify this, Jeffrey is not allowed to use a pair of leather shorts he had made that he sent out to be pleated, and he must take something out of his collection to get it back under budget. Jeffrey makes a denim skirt in place of the shorts, and jettisons the wigs he had planned to have his models wear on the runway.
'Go Team!'
Tim gives the final four designers his last (for this season at least) 'go get 'em!' speech. It's actually very touching, wherein he tells them '[they] are all winners.' It culminates with a nice, group hug.
The Big Show
Heidi opens the show by introducing the judges. Besides staples Michael Kors and Nina Garcia, Heidi welcomes Fern Mallis, founder of Olympus Fashion Week. Each designer gets to do a brief introduction and then show their collections. Jeffrey goes first and his collection has everything from trousers to bathing suits to jackets to evening wear. Stripes seem to dominate his collection. Uli goes next and her collection is also varied like Jeffrey's. There's quite a few pieces that are in various shades of brown. Laura follows Uli and her collection is mostly of evening wear. Michael closes the show to big applause, and he describes his collection as 'street safari' and like Uli's and Jeffrey's, there is variety in the pieces. Although the first four pieces in his collection don't show much variety in color - they are all white with gold accents.
Judgment Day
Back on the PR runway, not the runway that was used for Olympus Fashion Week, Heidi has the designers, along with their models who are wearing the collection's 'signature' piece, line up for the judging session. Heidi again lists the prizes the winner will receive and adds that the winning designer's model will also get a spread in Elle magazine. Laura is told that her collection was amazing for the $8,000 they gave her because it looked like 'at least' $30,000. Uli is praised for the great variety and excellent market appeal of her collection. Jeffrey is told that his collection had range and his 'funkier, edgier' pieces were terrific, but the more 'traditional' pieces, like the cocktail dress and evening gown, didn't work.
Ouch!
Michael receives the harshest criticism from the judges, in particular from Fern Mallis, who tells Michael that he was the clear crowd favorite, but his collection didn't stand up to that. We knew at that point that Michael wasn't winning this.
Auf'd
In quick succession, Michael and Laura are both declared 'out' by Heidi. Michael is told that the judges believe in his future as a designer, but he needs to mature. Laura is told that while her collection was 'exquisitely crafted,' it was simply too limited. That leaves Uli and Jeffrey as the final two.
Roller Coaster Ride
The judges seemed to love Uli's collection, saying any woman would want to buy and wear her clothes. But Jeffrey's collection is deemed innovative and cohesive, and he is declared the winner of S3 of Project Runway. This has been quite the finale for Jeffrey who went from flirting with near disqualification because of allegations of cheating, to winning the whole thing.
