‘Project Runway' Recap: Season 9, Episode 6: The Art of the Matter

The “Project Runway” designers go back-to-school as 11 tween and adolescent painters from the Harlem School of the Arts become their creative consultants.

Here’s hoping there’s pizza, donuts and Red Bull in the workroom.

And sew it goes:

The Challenge: The designers must collaborate on an original painting with their young muses and then, create an avant-garde design based on the teen-spiration. Their designs must push boundaries but not be “too literal.” In other words, go weird or go home.

The Making-it-Workroom Drama: Some of the designers just don’t know how to kid around. Viktor Luna ”needs a cocktail” after painting with a hyper-opinionated, 12-year-old Skye. Laura Kathleen fashions pretty flowers with 11-year-old Kai, the Dali Lama of art, who preaches that “failure” is good. Um, Kai clearly hasn’t been critiqued by judge Michael Kors.
Meanwhile, Olivier Green glues his pretty chiffon bodice to his model, breaking the “PR” rules and gets a tongue-lashing demerit (but not detention) from mentor Tim Gunn.

The Runway Show: Is an Expressionistic mess and we’re avant done with it. The catwalk features bad prom dresses, a hooker wolf suit, a dress Gunn dubbed “Take Me to Geronimo” and a denim interpretation of FedEx delivery boxes.

The Guest Judge: Designer, shoe maven, philanthropist and political activist Kenneth Cole brings his always strong billboard viewpoints to the panel.

Who’s In: Color-blind designer Anthony Ryan Auld wows again with an ethereal gown based on the brushstrokes of his student muse. Heidi Klum is so in love with his frock, Stylelist almost forgot she was desperate to ‘auf him last week.

Who’s Out: Joshu a Christensen gets mauled by Kors for his “Victorian cocktail dress in Las Vegas” wolf-inspired dress and is sent home --again. Stylelist understands it was an obvious choice to eliminate Christensen, who already had been eliminated in episode 2 and was given a second shot on the runway after Cecelia Motwani quit the competition. Still, we were gunning for Green’s glued-on valium gown to motivate the judges to bid him adieu.

Photo courtesy of Lifetime.