PR8EP14: NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

It all started with a reunion show, and me looking at the screen at more than half the people there and wondering, Who is that? I guess that means it's been a long season, and the finale is upon us.
But first, the reunion. Nice to see Pickles, er, Peach, and the girl with the dreads who got Auf'd first. Good times. Nice to see Ivy stirring up trouble again, by outing Gretchen as a backstabbing bitch.
Ivy? Honey? Pot? Kettle? Black.
Mercifully, the reunion was short-lived and it was on to the Finale, so.....
Let's rip.....

ANDY

From the last challenge he was told he needed to produce more range, because his three looks seemed a little safe. One of the three was that god-awful swim-suit with the shorty sheer, and that was the first look tossed from his Tent Show. See, he had another, more interesting swimsuit and sheer cover-up, and when I saw that I thought, Why did he show the other one? This one is modern and edgy and Andy, and the other one was an April knock-it-off.

I think Andy might need more time to polish his collections and his show, and step back and be objective.

That said, I just loved the color in his designs. His inspiration was the Buddha Park in Laos, and the greens and grays really looked the part. Although, I was hoping for more green.

The most telling part of his collection is that once again the judges felt that his last minute piece, the one created for last weeks' show, was the best of the best. Just shows that Andy may have swung too far from Asian Warrior, into Asian Ethereal.

And Michael Kors loved the personal touch of Andy's heritage coming forward in his designs. He liked that it could have gone costume, but held back, though he wished for more diversity. There were a lot of shorts sand short dresses, but they were all impeccable. I think Kors make have wanted a bit more color variation, too, because when the entire collection walked, it seemed a little two-dimensional.

Heidi wasn't wowed when the show started, but it did build, while Nina liked the softness, but missed some on the Andy hard, modern edge. The clothes were lovely, but there wasn't a lot of drama. And we live for the drama.

Jessica Simpson, whom Carlos said looked like a stuffed sausage, said Blah blah blah blah. And, I don't mean she called the collection Blah, I just mean i paid her no mind.

The judges all agree that Andy isn't the winner, and, I, too, agree, but I feel bad because of those colors. I may be going all gray and green Laotian Buddha Temple in my own wardrobe from now on.
MONDO

He was all Day of the Dead, but fun.

if that makes any sense.

His collection was completely Mondo and completely fun and polished and show. But that may have been his downfall, because even last week Nina worried that he was too circus to be taken seriously, though she loved his showmanship.

Yeah, a fine line to walk.

Mondo got the drama edit, with models not showing for fittings and one model not showing for the runway, but it was a throwaway storyline and one PR uses every year to create drama. It gets old, because you just know it'll work out.

And Mondo worked it out in his little shiny suit. I missed the shorts and the wackadoo hats and the suspenders, and marveled at how much he looked like a grownup serious designer.

But that was where serious ended and show time began.

Even though he kept down some of the color by using black-and-white prints, his clothes were sexy and fun and flirty. I got a real Frida Kahlo vibe from some of his pieces. They had the whimsy and the grimness of Kahlo; really beautiful. And, of course, I knew he had this in the bag.

I've known for weeks.

Heidi loved that Mondo's collection seemed to have a wink to it, and Nina agreed that he is an incredible talent. Jessica Simpson woke up long enough to say she loved the polka dot dress, as did Heidi, and Kors and Nina once again said it was horrendous. Nina did love the plaid bubble dress, but thought Mondo's collection looked too young. The styling, and the wee hats and the bangles and baubles, read teenager to her, and she wondered if his clothes would appeal to a woman of a certain age. She thinks his looks are too costume-y, and Kors thinks he needs time to edit down his work.

GRETCHEN

Once again, Gretchen gets the new revised I'm-not-a-bitch-but-I-play-one-on-TV edit. I was going to pummel my television set if I heard her say that the whole experience was humbling, because Gretchen doesn't exude humble. She exudes cold, and calculated; she exudes business not art, and, in my mind, fashion design should lean a little heavier on the art side.

And she appeared on the runway in what looked like one of April's outfits from this season, albeit an outfit even April wouldn't show. It was weird and , well, ugly. And then she starts off with the tears about how she's happy her mommy was there and, cynic in me, I thought it was all forced and fake. She called her show "Running Through Thunder" and I dubbed it "Boring As Hell."

I don't get the granny pants and the pimp hats. I don't know what woman would wear them and where they'd be going. I mean, if you called them swimwear, I could see it, but as sportswear it just looked bad.

It looked Ready-To-Wear, and I thought this was a fashion show.

But Heidi liked it, and thought she could wear some of the pieces, though Heidi in granny pants will never happen--even when she's a granny. Nina liked the accessories; the jewelry that Gretchen told us she designed and had forged, Yeah....whatevs. Kors thought she was true to herself, and Jessica Simpleton, er, Simpson, said she could see her sister Ashley wearing Gretchen's clothes.

And if that isn't reason enough to give Gretchen the boot, I don't know what is.

The judges deliberations turned into a Battle Royal, with Simpson and Klum pitted against Garcia and Kors. The girls--and by girls, i don't mean Nina and Michael, I mean Heidi and Jessica--loved Mondo's work, and could see themselves wearing his clothes.

Kors and Garcia kept saying Gretchen had her finger on the pulse of what's happening next.

Women of the world? If that's what's happening next, and yes, I'll say it again, pimp hats and granny pants, then you need to rethink ever leaving the house again.

I so thought that since Heidi wanted Mondo, that it would go that way. I loved Mondo's clothes, though he did have some misses, but you get the feeling that he creates from his soul. Gretchen, on the other hand, creates from her bank account.

She's cold, he's an artist. He's Auf'd.

WTF?

Gretchen gets the win, and instantly is thrilled that she can get her stuff out of storage. Yeah, she's a designer. Even Tim Gunn, brought back to the runway, could only keep muttering Well, well, well.

Which is Tim-Gunn-speak for Are the judges smoking crack again?

So, there's PR8.

Gretchen wins. And we lose.

I liked the season, though. Very interesting characters, and stories and designs. I think the PR is coming back from the disastrous LA season, and hopefully the next time will keep improving.

Gretchen? Really?

REALLY?