In last season's shocking Project Runway finale, frontrunner and fan favorite Mondo Guerra was scandalously denied the win in favor of dark horse Gretchen Jones. After "Gretchen-gate," many previously loyal fans threatened to stop watching the show, frustrated with the supposedly unjust win and growing weary of the long-running series' repetitive format. As with any show entering its ninth season, Runway producers had some big decisions to make about the future of the once-fresh design competition.
Now a few weeks into season nine, the show's new intro immediately hinted at the producers' attempts to shake up the show. Rather than each designer introducing himself or herself with a catchphrase - the format of each previous season's intro - the judges and show mentor Tim Gunn are featured prominently instead. The first episode also featured 20 designers as opposed to the usual 16, four of whom were brought to New York and then promptly eliminated before being assigned an actual challenge.
The first four episodes of the season featured challenges designed to engage new viewers. In the first episode, Gunn woke up the designers at the crack of dawn and had them design clothes out of their pajamas and a single bed sheet. The second episode featured the "unconventional" challenge, a staple of every season, in which the designers constructed outfits out of items found at a pet store.\nAfter the strong opening episodes, Runway lost much of its momentum during the disappointing fifth episode. The challenge almost exactly echoed a season eight challenge - once again, the designers were expected to design for host and judge Heidi Klum's New Balance line, with the winner's clothes being sold on Amazon. Unfortunately, the challenge played more like a 90-minute New Balance ad than a design competition. The episode was somewhat redeemed, however, by what has perennially been Runway's biggest selling point - the abundance of designer drama. One competitor withdrew at the beginning of the episode, and the team missing a member was allowed to bring back any of the previously-eliminated designers. This twist not only added interest to the episode but also showed that Klum still has the ability to change the rules, adding some much-needed suspense to an otherwise predictable episode.
The fifth episode revealed that the show's creators still have a few tricks up their impeccably-tailored sleeves. As the rest of season nine plays out, the producers would do well to continue mixing things up and surprising viewers. In addition, the show must focus on assigning creative challenges rather than settling for bland product-placement-centered competitions - and, above all, watch out for Gretchens.
Project Runway airs Thursdays at 9 p.m. on Lifetime.
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