After Ten Seasons, Suddenly The Rules Matter

There is no sane person watching Project Runway All Stars this season that actually believes that Jerell, Kenley, Kara, or even Michael Costello is more talented than Rami, yet Rami was sent home this week and those other designers are still in the game.

Being on Project Runway is a nerve wracking experience. You learn pretty fast that you can have all the confidence in the world in your ability, but you never know what is going to happen in front of the judges. You can be sure you have the best constructed, well designed garment on the runway, then be dumbstruck when you end up in the bottom three, heart pounding, lights glaring, standing in the row of shame. I have often said that winning Project Runway it isn’t really about who is the most talented, or who is most likely to be successful in the industry; there are a lot of other factors. Timing, perseverance, how well you make decisions under pressure, and luck, just to name a few.

All creative people slip up from time to time. They create a design that doesn’t really live up to their talent level. Every one is familiar with Picasso’s masterpieces, but here in New York you would be amazed by the amount of crappy work he did that you can see in private collections or at auctions.  The best of the best don’t get it right every time. On Project Runway, you have to be lucky enough not to get it wrong when no one else does, or at the least, not get it as wrong.

The head to head aspect of this challenge was another stroke of bad luck that played against Rami.  Had one designer from each pair not been required to be in the top and the bottom, certainly Kara would have been in the bottom, leaving a safe opening for Rami in the middle.

Another crazy thing that worked against Rami was that the judges, after all these seasons, have suddenly decided to follow the rules of the game and judge the contestants on the garment standing in front of them in the current challenge, without regard for the designers entire body of work.  This has rarely happened in the past. Usually, a favored designer know to be talented is overlooked for the auf on a slip up day.  It’s human nature to let a good kid slide for one error. But in this case, the judges showed no mercy and the complicated neckline and seam that looked like an open heart surgery scar, got Rami the auf.

It was just bad luck for Rami that on the day he didn’t do his best, so many factors worked against him. I doubt that the Lion King or Betty Crocker will consistently produce the level of design that Rami is known for, and Austin better get out of Barbie’s trunk and into present day or he isn’t going to be around much longer.

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