The Great Kini Robbery — Project Runway Recap, Season 13, Episode 6

I was thinking earlier in the week that I was going to start out today by owning up to some misconceptions I had earlier in the season. Mainly, the fact that I wrote Kini off in the beginning, which I must now admit was just plain wrong.  I don’t always share his taste or want to wear his creations, but I have to admit that he is amazing. Everything he makes is impeccably done and beautiful. I don’t know what kind of curse he has hanging over his head that he just can’t seem to shake second place.

I was also going to say that Korina has seemed much more pleasant the past few weeks than she was in the beginning. But that was before she called Amanda a big fat phony and made her cry. That seems uncalled for. And surprisingly, Char seemed to agree. I just chalk it up to jealousy. Yes, we have all been surprised at how well Amanda is doing. I have not once agreed with the judges picking her designs to be on the top. But I have nothing against Amanda personally; in fact, I quite like her. I just wish she’d make better clothes. And while watching someone getting praised when you don’t feel they deserve it is grating, I don’t blame Amanda for that. I blame the judges.

So this week’s challenge has the beautiful Dita von Teese walking down the aisle with Tim Gunn. Everyone is super excited about designing an unconventional wedding gown. Until they find out they have to work with partners. Char is not thrilled about getting paired with Sandhya. And of course, after the morning’s drama, we all knew that Amanda and Korina were going to end up together. Obviously, this is not just coincidence.

Surprisingly, Sandhya and Char seem to be compromising fairly well. But I’m not sure about the direction they’re taking. Sandhya talks Char into a shocking neon yellow leather and lace, which seems scary. Char is having trouble getting the leather sewn properly and her top looks messy. Sandhya tries to explain to her what to do but she gets a bit prickly about taking instructions. Says she knows what to do, the leather is just hard to work with. Sandhya says she has confidence Char will pull it off.

Alexander and Samantha have chosen a burgundy lace. This scares me, too. I think colored lace pretty much always looks cheap. Tim says Alexander and Samantha’s dresses look too much alike and all the crap they’re piling on makes him worry. Listen to Tim, guys.

Fade and Emily are collaborating well. Not sure how I feel about this big hood/veil she’s planning. I agree with Alexander that the nude/peach color underneath the black is kind of icky. How cute are her wedding pics, though? She got married in the Little White Wedding Chapel in Vegas, wedding site to many celebs, including, apparently, Britney Spears. Fun fact — guess who else got married there? Me! (The first time). I’m not sure how I feel about Emily’s dress. I like the cutout fabric in the skirt, but not crazy about the lace (more lace!) I love the textile Fade is making. Tim says they need to make their looks more cohesive.

Kini and Sean’s outfits are already looking good. Kini is super-confident again and says that this is going to be his winning challenge. Doesn’t he always say that? He needs to stop jinxing himself.

Korina is feeling confident in her look and she and Char are picking on Amanda again. Amanda has to leave the room and unload to Fade, who is a super nice guy and says he will always be there to listen to her. I just love him.

Now Korina starts knocking the yellow that Sandhya and Char are using, saying she doesn’t know who would ever wear that color. I’m pretty sure she used that as the main color in her outfit herself just a couple of weeks ago. Tim bursts Korina’s bubble when he comes over and says she can’t just make a plain tuxedo or she’ll be going home.  Amanda’s grinning. Amanda swears she’s not making another fringe dress, but it looks like one to me. Tim likes it though, and says well, the judges obviously like fringe. Really, Tim? Don’t encourage her.

After the break we see, unsurprisingly, that Kini is already done. It’s a gorgeous dress, the best thing I’ve seen him make yet. Wish he didn’t always use black though. Sean’s making tuxedo pants and a flowy top.  Sandhya is spending a lot of time making some kind of ugly braided stuff that she’s sticking all over her bodice & it’s not pretty. Alexander says it looks like a corncob after all the corn’s been chewed off. That’s quite accurate.  Char’s dress is still a mess. Emily’s looks like the bride of Frankenstein. Korina is trying to make her tuxedo jacket “different” and ends up with a sailor top. Amanda just lets Korina stew and do what she wants and decides to wash her hands of it. Loving Fade’s dress. I don’t care for all the crap Alexander and Samantha are sticking all over their dresses. It’s kind of an interesting look, but not something I’d want to wear.

They start running out of time. Korina’s still fretting over her jacket and hasn’t even begun to make pants, so finally Amanda has to step in and volunteer to make them. You can tell she doesn’t want to help her, but it is a team challenge. In the end, the pants don’t fit the model at all, and Amanda just says, oh well, you’ll just have to sew her in. Was this sabotage on purpose? I don’t understand why it didn’t occur to Korina to just make the tuxedo jacket longer and have it be a dress. Then it would have been unique and she wouldn’t have had to make pants. That would have solved all her problems, and maybe even given her a winning look, but she wasn’t able to think outside the box and be creative.

Kini is poking fun of Sean because he has spent all his time making one pair of pants, which of course, Kini could have done in five minutes. Kini realizes he has to step in too, and make the top for Sean’s look, which he does quickly and beautifully. A lot of folks aren’t quite finished, but Tim shoos them down to the runway.

Love Kini’s dress. Perfect. Beautiful. Surely he will win this time. Sean’s look is good, too, but not as impressive, in my opinion. Zac says they are the best of the best and calls them the Dream Team. They are clearly on the top, although, as Nina points out, they do kind of resemble a matador and flamenco dancer when paired together.

 

Alexander’s oxblood lace covered in white appliqued flowers is just too much. Samantha’s shorter dress in all one color is a bit better, but I don’t love it. Nina calls their looks overwhelming, and Heidi says they’re borderline cheesy.

 

Korina’s tuxedo is awful. It’s too shiny, the lapels are all weird and of course the pants don’t fit. Amanda’s dress is not exactly fringe, but it’s close. It’s really cute, though, and I like it a lot. The judges deem them safe and don’t comment on either one, which is disappointing.

Emily’s long black thing is just kind of creepy. Nina has a smirk on her face. Love Fade’s dress more every time I see it. He’s got lace and paint spatters and it’s all woven together into a really cool textile. Amazing. Will it be enough to save Emily from the bottom? The judges are torn. Heidi and guest judge, blogger Chiara Ferragni, kind of like it. Zac says Elvira wouldn’t wear it and Dita von Teese says she’d have to hide if forced to. They mostly like Fade’s, but are not as impressed as they should be, in my opinion.

Oh my. Sandhya’s dress is just awful. She admits that draping is not her strong point. No kidding. It just looks like a bedsheet stuffed into the bottom of her dress. And Char’s is even worse, if possible. Tim looks like he’s going to burst into tears when they come on the runway and the looks on Nina’s and Zac’s faces are just priceless. Heidi calls them an epic fail. Zac calls them Big Bird and Tweety Bird. Heidi says Char’s just looks like a bunch of scraps sewn together. Zac says a toilet paper accident. They’re spot on. Char says she is not ready to go home. I think she’d better get ready.

When asked who should win on their team, Sean very nicely says that it’s Kini’s turn to have a win. However, he doesn’t speak up and let them know that Kini made the top for his look, and Kini is annoyed about that. He should have told them himself, though. It doesn’t pay to be humble on the runway. The judges can’t agree on who should win. Heidi and the guest judges are pushing for Kini. Zac and Nina prefer Sean’s look. OMG, what if they pick Sean?! They just can’t do this to Kini again!

Of course, Char goes home. There hasn’t been much mention made all season of the Tim Gunn save, but he does tell Char that if it had been a few challenges later in the competition, he would have saved her. But go clean up your workspace, girl.

Wow. I cannot believe they give the win to Sean. I have felt bad for Kini, but actually agreed with the judges on the last two challenges where he came in second. Not this time. He totally deserved this win. He smiles and pretends to be happy, but is one hundred percent right when he says he was robbed. He made that gorgeous dress and the top they loved. Sean only made a pair of pants, and they weren’t that special. I can’t believe Sean didn’t speak up. And I can’t believe Tim didn’t tell the judges that Kini made that top. Wouldn’t he have known that?

On the previews for next week, we see that Tim is upset and something is “weighing heavily on me.” Does he decide to speak up and take the win away from Sean? Or does he decide to bring Char back? Or is it something else entirely? The designers are all gathered together and seem to be straining to see someone. Is it Char?  Why is Kini smiling? We’ll just have to wait and see.