Project Runway, Season Three Episode One Recap 7/12

July-12-2006Written by BuddyTV Staff Columnist

Fifteen designers have been selected to start the third season of "Project Runway." The group appears to be a heady mix of strong personalities, big talents and loose cannons.



The new group of fashion designers is still too large to truly get a sense of each and every person as an individual, but here is the cast of characters with some broad brushstrokes:

Malan Breton: A 32-year old designer and "performer," he has auditioned for every season of the show.

Bradley Baumkirchner: Quirky man-child with a unique fashion sense and vaguely shy hipster persona.

Robert Best: Experienced designer who has worked for Mattel - designing clothes for Barbie (!).

Laura Bennett: Has the scarily prominent sternum as displayed in the ubiquitous Runway promos.

Angela Keslar: She lives on a farm in the "middle of nowhere" in Ohio. Her work seems a little artsy-craftsy, but she insists it's been mistaken for couture.

Stacey Estrella: She is 40 years old, has an MBA from Harvard and went to Stanford for undergrad.

Kayne Gillaspie: He owns his own pageant/prom/dancewear boutique in Oklahoma.

Jeffrey Sibellia: He makes clothes for rock stars. He's rock and roll. He makes a lot of black and shredded clothes and has a tattoo on his neck.

Alison Kelly: The young-and-pretty one. She's a doll, looks like Marilyn Monroe, has a sweet personality and seems to have a clear personal style.

Uli Herzner: She's German and her clothes are fun-Florida-casual. Michael Kors wonders if she can be versatile enough to do more.

Bonnie Dominguez: She has designed athletic footwear and worked with Serena Williams.

Katherine Gerdes: She's a snowboarder and designer, also young (24) and seems more R.E.I. than High Fashion.

After some instruction from Tim, they get down to work, and we start to get a real sense of each designer's strengths and weaknesses. Through the questioning and the judges' debrief, it's clear Laura, Robert and Keith are the ones with the highest scores.

Vincent is called to task for his hat, Stacey, for her lack of strong design or execution, and Jeffrey for his hyper-complex garment. Ultimately, lack of skills loses out to kooky hats and ratted dresses, as Stacey the Harvard MBA is sent to pack her things.