"Project Runway" recaplet (5.10): A head for business and a bod for sin

Last night's Project Runway tossed the six remaining Designsketeers what was probably the most real-world practical challenge of the season: to design an outfit for a woman who has just graduated from college and wants to move into the professional world while still maintaining her youth. For the challenge they brought in six recent grads (most of which were in the arts or design) ... and their mothers. 

But before we get to that, let's regroup from last week's double-elimination, which knocked both Blayne and Terri out of the running. As we will soon see, each designer is back to haunt this week's challenge like the Ghost of Runways Past ...

Back at Atlas, we see that Blayne has left a farewell message on the board for "Team 'Licious", meaning that unless one of the remaining guys needs to ask the production crew for eggs or do long-division, that message is going to be up there for the rest of the season. Blayne is officially the herpes of Season 5.  

Upstairs the girls wonder what their next challenge will be and Leanne quips, "evening gowns for infants", which is already more personality than we've seen from her in weeks. Someone has made friends with the editors. And be careful what you wish for, Leanne - I'm sure Bravo could get some of their Real Housewives to squeeze out some models that need dressing by the end of the run if they really want to.

And you can tell that Suede is sad this morning because his fauxhawk is limp. He's like a Manic Panicked Sampson, that one!

Back at Parsons the designers are introduced to their clients and to the challenge, but not before the kids panic when they think that it's the dreaded "dress your competitor's mom" challenge, leading Korto to show an uncommon amount of interest in things when she notes, "I don't want to have to step on somebody because they're talking bad about my mama."

They're paired up and already we see a few love affairs blooming: namely between Kenley and her client, and Jerell and his girl. They split up to talk shop and we learn what fields the girls are going into and hear some alarming words thrown about like "Pucci-esque" (Suede) and see some friction between some of the designers and their client's moms (particularly Leanne, who is really not digging hers).

As they work we also learn a bit about some of the designers' own first jobs. Mighty Joe Straight's first job was in a Gucci stockroom, which is where he discovered his love of fashion (and also, apparently, an ungodly polka-dot tie). Leanne's first job was working for a clothing designer, which just led her to want to have her own line even more. But Jerell takes the cake with his first job, which was at a McDonald's: "I got all sorts of free Big 'N Tasties and bad skin from standing over a fryer."

I'm lovin' it.

I'm also loving his client, Caitlin, who basically has his build and wants something androgynous. She definitely has a little L Word thing going on, and he promises he's gonna polish her up real nice without losing that edge.

Tim pops by for consultations and, like last week, Kenley throws it back and then sass talks him to the camera later, saying that she never listens to him anyway. He suggests that maybe she doesn't need to have so much tulle showing out of the bottom of the dress, and she shuts him down. I'd argue that there's another tulle in this picture, and it ain't on the dress...

Joe's outfit is shaping up to be a disaster of epic proportions with its Brooks Brothers fabric and boxy cut. And when he makes the dreaded "I miss you so much!" phonecall home to his wife and kids, we can pretty much eliminate him here and now.

Suede's outfit isn't going much better, with Leanne commenting back at the apartment that it makes his client look like Selena, not an up-and-coming photographer. Me-ow! Kenley, never one to waste time coming up with such creative insults, just flat-out calls him a talentless poser. Zing!

When we get to the runway, I catch something strange out of the corner of my eye. Remember how I said both Blayne and Terri would be haunting this episode from the beyond? Well, for a second I think that Terri is actually there among the designers ... but it's just Jerell wearing what looks from afar like Terri's wig but is really just a bizarre feather headdress thing:

You may dismiss this as coincidence, but if Jerell starts whipping out killer pantsuits and talking about his "titties", don't come crying to me for an exorcist. 

The Best: Jerell's is perfection. Seriously, it's just what this girl needs and it feels so young and fresh and feminine without being girly:

As Caitlin simply puts it during the judging, "He made me feel pretty." Awww! Kenley's is cute, although the vest is a little Hobbity to me:

And honestly I didn't love Korto's:

The dress was cute (although we've seen it before) but the jacket didn't look comfortable and the peek-a-boo cleavage was a bit distracting. She's safe, though (and grumbles "thank you" in her typically Eyoreian manner).

In the end it goes to Jerell ... for the second week in a row. And Kenley, after laughing at Michael Kors' criticism of Joe's outfit, tears up when she doesn't win for creating what Heidi calls "a Mini-Me" of herself. This girl is seriously nuts.

The Worst: Joe's is 31 flavors of hideous:

To me it looks like something a boozy 40-something stewardess would do to her work uniform to try to bag a First Class sugardaddy. The neckline is embarrassing, the fabric is hideous, the cut is anything but flattering, and those boots look like rubber nubs stuck on the ends of her feet to protect the hardwood floor. Michael Kors nails it when he says it looks like she could go to a Working Girl party. Oh, Tess ... let that river run Joe right out of here.

Suede's isn't much better:

The jacket screams House of Style circa 1992 and it's totally inappropriate for a photographer. Without the jacket it's not quite as bad but still looks a bit trashy. Nina Garcia delivers the ultimate chill when, rather than getting into specifics of why she hates it, she simply says, "That's just the tip of the iceberg, I will say no more." Ooh, the silent treatment. All that maternal energy must be going to her head.

And Leanne's might work better on a taller model but the jacket makes this poor girl look like Mary Lou Retton at a State dinner:

Without the jacket it's quite cute, though.

The Eliminated: Unsurprisingly, Joe is sent packing for the Staten Island Ferry for his nightmare 1980's powerbitch getup, and for daring to miss his wife and kids.

Planet RunGay Status Check

So that leaves us with two Team Gays and three ladies left for next week. Any thoughts on who's auf next?