Why it’s tailor-made to be great reality TV. It’s not the nation’s top-rated reality show. (Tragically, “American Idol” is.) And it’s not the one that always bags the Emmys. (That would be “The Amazing Race.”)
But nothing in the vast and voyeuristic netherworld of reality TV can beat the sheer bitchiness, glamour and buzz of “Project Runway.”
Like French fries, lottery tickets and Helen Keller jokes, there’s just no resisting the show’s guilty-pleasure pull. Even those who’d rather find themselves arrested on “To Catch a Predator” than admit to watching a reality series, openly proclaim their love for this cherished brand.
The ardor shows no signs of abating as “Project Runway” pulls out the sewing needles for its fourth season.
So, how does the show manage to tower over its competition like a pair of spike heels in a world of flats?
Let us count the ways:
1. Contestants actually have to do things that take – gasp! – talent.
True, a clutch of other reality programs also showcase skills, like those about hairdressers (“Sheer Genius”), foodies (“Top Chef”) and interior decorators (“Top Design”). But the hair and furniture shows haven’t caught on nearly so well, and don’t deserve to. While “Chef” has – and does – there’s a real credibility problem with its judging.
On “Chef,” viewers can’t actually taste the food. So we have to trust the experts that the bee-pollen-infused onion confit was a catastrophe. In “Runway,” not only do we have just as much exposure to the contestants’ work as do the judges, we often have more, having seen what led them to conceive a given schmatte or heard just how a particular contestant intends to reinvent the pump.
2. The challenges are creative – if sometimes sadistically so.
It’s not just that contestants have to do things like make a savvy little cocktail dress out of discarded syringes. They have to endure psychological warfare, too. Like the time they were forced to create outfits for their fellow contestants’ parents. Even the guards in Guantanamo Bay probably never thought of something as ingeniously cruel.
3. Everyone on the show is certifiable, but in an interesting, not repulsive way.
4. Yes, Tim Gunn is that charming.
Of course, even that wasn’t enough to save his ill-conceived spinoff. But within the context of “Project Runway” Gunn comes off as the perfect, caring, fairy Godfather.
5. The judges are every bit as obnoxious, and fickle, as we want them to be.
Admit it. We need Michael Kors, Nina Garcia and the rest to be petty, condescending and, at times, just plain wrong. Otherwise, what would we have to argue about afterward?
6. There is no dating involved in the show and no one gets a rose.
In other words, there’s nothing corny or even particularly sentimental about this program. It’s as hard-edged as life at its most ruthless.
7. Any slob, sitting in his/her sweats, can feel like Diana Vreeland for a day.
Without having to stitch a single hem, or have a clue as to what constitutes proper footwear at a cotillion, we can all make grand statements about fashion and style.
8. It’s just so incredibly gay.
In fact, there’s a deep connection between reality TV and gay identity, dating all the way back to the first program of this ilk. In 1972, “An American Family” chronicled a divorcing California couple who had a gay son (Lance Loud). When the genre was resurrected, in a profoundly bastardized form in the ’90s with MTV’s “The Real World,” it quickly became sport for viewers to figure out which participant was that season’s token gay person. “Project Runway” boldly reverses that trend. Here there are so many gay people, viewers get to play “spot the straight.”
9. Heidi Klum’s ridiculous accent
Somehow, it wouldn’t be the same if Heidi didn’t order people off the show with that Germanic bark: “You’re ooouuut!“
10. And last: Who are we kidding? Can there ever really be a full explanation for love?
On a side note. I love Christian Siriano. The pocket gay boy genius is so gay he makes Austen Scarlett of Season 1 seem like Rock Hudson. Oh wait, I mean Tom Cruise. Oh, that doesn’t work either….Christian is so gay he makes Austen Scarlett seem like Rupert Everett! Shit.
Ok, how about George Michael? Sean Patrick Harris?
Man, is anyone straight?
Christian is only 21 and the baby of Season 4. He’s incredibly talented and has ‘tude for days.
I was thrilled when he won the avant-garde competition in collaboration with Chris March. I was so charmed by his work that I didn’t mind when he proclaimed in the workroom, “If I were a diva, my name would be FEROSH!” — yes, as in ferocious. Sigh. The avant-garde look that he and Chris designed was on a whole other level than anything any of the other designers had conceived. It was sophisticated and directional and creative and artistic and beautifully constructed. Michael Kors was rendered speechless for once, which is just about the highest compliment you can get on this show. I agree with Tim Gunn (note to self: always agree with Tim Gunn) that their rtw look was sorta cheap-looking but could be excused for the awesomeness of the other dress. Team Fierce for the motherfuckin’ win.
