Tonight On The Fashion Show

It's the big finale tonight for The Fashion Show: Ultimate Collection on Bravo as Dominique Pearl David, Calvin Tran and Jeffrey Williams go needle-to-needle as they vie for the title of Season 2 champ and the $125k prize.

Our loyal crew of party room fans will be watching together live on our sister site Blogging Bravo and we invite you to join us. Even if you haven't been following along, drop in and say hello. It's finale night, who will design The Ultimate Collection?

SeenOn Project Runway Private Sale Now Live!

Priced as low as $99.00!

Click here for the "decoy" collections.

Click here for Michael Costello's collection.

Project Runway "Secret Collections" for Sale on Monday

Our friends at SeenOn are offering more Project Runway finale designs for sale. Click here to shop beginning Monday, November 8th at 9AM PST.

The finale collections of Michael Costello, April Johnston, Valerie Mayen, Christopher Collins, Ivy Higa, Michael Drummond, and Casanova will all be available. In addition. several pieces created by Mondo Guerra and Andy South that did not walk the runway are also included in this sale.

Sign up now for access to this exclusive 72-hour sale at SeenOn.

The Calendar

Team BPR has been privileged to attend six finale shows. Each one is unique but some are better than others.

The season three finale was our first show. Although filming for season three was over the summer, the very excellent editors and producers were able to premiere the show on July 12th and we watched ten episodes before the September finale show. The field was narrowed to four designers and all four showed their collections. There were no decoy shows, no secrecy, no speculation and no fear of spoilers.

The tent was packed and the crowd enthusiastically cheered on their favorites. There was lots of love for each designer. We had watched them triumph through the challenges. We had seen the bickering and the drama. We KNEW these designers. We even knew the models! (We wondered why Nazri was with Uli....)

Click here to continue.

Recapalooza!

Happy Halloween everyone! As you can imagine, the recappers have plenty to say about Thursday's nightmare:

Eric3000 has an appointment with The Fairy Jobmother...

Uncle Nick recalls the boozy days of yore...

Laura Bennett has been brilliant all season long...

Carol Hannah bids farewell...

c(h)oco chanel is baffled like the rest of us...

Ms. Place says she's done...

The Democracy Diva breaks it all down for you...

Katnap wants you to shave...

Brian still isn't quite over it...

Brigitte couldn't contain herself...

Red Poppy didn't see it coming...

Mellie can hardly bring herself to talk about it...

Second City Style has all the quotes...

Maxthegirl wanted a happy ending...

Miz Shoes goes swimming with the sharks...

Erin will never wear adult diapers...

And Toyouke sends us packing.

ETA: It's been a long time since we've had a recap from Moi! I still think she's coming back. And how could we forget JordanBaker?

Thank you dear recappers for making this cycle more fabulous and fun. We hope you come back for Season 9!

Never Again?

First of all, we want to thank all of our readers for your insightful comments these last couple of days. Yes there has been a lot of anger, but there has also been a significant amount of thoughtful analysis and reflection on the state of the Project Runway franchise. We plan to explore different elements of that over the next week and hope to make suggestions to the producers on how to make Project Runway better.

But one comment that keeps coming up is some version of "I will never watch Project Runway again." At first we simply thought this was an immediate emotional outburst after the shocking finale decision. Now we're not so sure. We think some of you may be done. Time will heal some of this wound but we are curious, is this it for you and Project Runway?

poll by twiigs.com

BPR Interview with Gretchen Jones

Project Runway Season 8 Champion, Gretchen Jones talks about her experience on the show.

Highlights: Gretchen is planning to move to New York.

Her collection was made with sustainable fabrics.

Gretchen was not surprised to win.

Gretchen's runway music was by White Hinterland.

Click here for the podcast.

Click here for Gretchen's website.

Thank you Gretchen!

Jessica

There is so much to say about last night but let me get this in - Jessica Simpson was a pretty damn good guest judge. Usually when a celebrity/singer type is brought in they have very little of substance to contribute. Listen to her here, she still doesn't agree with the decision but is playing nice.

I was highly cynical of her going in but her comments on the runway last night were spot on. Kudos to her for sticking up for her point of view. But in the end, she and Heidi never stood a chance against Nina and Michael Kors. The fashion elitists would have their way.

The ultimate irony was how bad she looked in that Michael Kors dress. Jessica Simpson is a gorgeous woman and I love how she embraces her fuller figure. But Kors made her look sad. And when he and Nina went on to bully their way to a Gretchen victory it makes us all question who the real experts are.

Reactions to the Season 8 Finale

Photo: Barbara Nitke/Lifetime Television

We have a winner! Season 8 of Project Runway comes to a dramatic close as it crowns a new champion in what can only be described as a major upset. Did you see this one coming? Go ahead, have at it. Post your reactions to the finale here.

BPR Live Play-By-Play/Party: S8 Finale

Results In - Who Should/Will Win Season 8

The readers have voiced their opinions via our poll:


You felt that Mondo Guerra SHOULD win Season 8 of Project Runway and that he also WILL win. Click here to see how you voted.

Check back with us tomorrow to cast your vote on the finale collections after seeing the garments on the runway tonight.

Image Courtesy of MyLifetime.com

Tonight On BPR

Here we go, Project Runway fans! It's finale time and tonight we find out if Mondo Guerra, Gretchen Jones or Andy South is crowned the Season 8 champion. We will also welcome back all 17 designers from Season 8 for a reunion that will be a part of the special 2-hour finale. The champagne is on ice and BPR is ready for the big reveal. Here's the plan:

• Tbone and suzq will be hosting our last play-by-play/party room for Season 8. Join Project Runway fans from across the land as we watch the finale together. West coasters who want to be spoiled are welcome to join in on the fun as well. We go live at 8:30 p.m. ET.
• After the show, tell us what you thought about the finale and the judges decision in our reactions thread. The post is scheduled for 11:00 p.m. ET but if the winner is announced earlier in the show, we'll put it up then. This is where you can really let it rip!

Andy, Gretchen or Mondo - who will it be? Join us tonight on BPR!

Project Runway Finale Garments on Sale October 29th

This is not an auction, it's s 72-hour sale. Click here to register.

Polls - Who WILL & Who SHOULD Win Season 8

Spoiler note: If you click on the face of a designer below you will be immediately taken to images of their collection.

Once again we ask you the questions:

poll by twiigs.com

poll by twiigs.com

The polls will close prior to the opening of the party room on Thursday, October 28th.

Finale Preview

Our final preview video of Project Runway Season 8. They have been works of art, haven't they? Apparently, Michael Kors plans on sitting in his chair for a very, very long time.

Season 8 Reunion

Photo: Barbara Nitke/Lifetime Television

There have been a lot of questions about whether or not there would be a reunion episode this season and it looks as if we have our answer. Next week's finale is scheduled to run two full hours (!) and from the looks of the preview snippet we saw last night, the reunion will be a part of that.

The skinny we heard at Fashion Week was that they filmed the reunion before the finale runway show, so the designers did not know who the winner was. Either way, it should be entertaining.

Look who is sitting next to Ivy!

Own a Piece of Project Runway History!

Beginning on October 29th at 9am PST, Project Runway fans will have the unique opportunity to purchase the season 8 finale designs from Andy, Gretchen, Michael and Mondo.

Our friends at SeenON.com/ProjectRunway will be offering the collections to pre-registered shoppers. This is not an auction. It is a 72-hour private sale.

Sign up for access to this unique shopping event here.

MBFW - Part 2 -Project Runway Season 8 Finale Show

Photo: WireImage/F. Harrison

On Thursday morning we headed to Lincoln Center for the Project Runway Finale show. We weren't sure how the new venue would be different from Bryant Park, but honestly, I think it's better. Chloe Dao texted me early and we arranged to meet her at the entrance.

It was a lot of fun to reconnect with many of the designers from former seasons and also to meet the season 8 designers at the show. The Scarlett was busy posting updates for you. The first thing we checked was the guest judge's seat.

I'd like to go on record as stating that I believe that Jessica Simpson is a brilliant choice as a judge. According to Forbes, (July 2010) her shoes and accessory designs bring in $500 MILLION a year. That's a lot of success and experience in fashion. I'm looking forward to hearing her insights.

The Scarlett continued to give you updates, posting from her cell phone. Tbone set up his laptop to "Cover-it-live." I relaxed and enjoyed the show. Thanks Team

Valerie's collection was wonderful. I loved the color and the shapes and the fun. I didn't love the wigs, but that's a small issue.

Gretchen is super tall, thin and prettier than she appears on screen. I asked if she had ever modeled and of course she has. Her line is made from sustainable fabrics. Gretchen definitely has a future in fashion.

I have always liked Andy. From the first time I watched his audition video and saw his clever sleeve detail I was enchanted and declared him "my favorite." His finale collection is strong and a definite contender.

I also think April's collection is strong and very original. I loved her inspiration and the timing for this sort of look is perfect. Her collection also read clearly as a "spring" collection with the dusty-doll pastel-ish colors and I really liked it.

My favorite finale collection though, was Mondo's. I enjoyed the whimsy and the bright cheerfulness of his collection. I also kind of love him. He was completely charming and adorable when we met him, and I think he would be a great representative for the Project Runway "brand." What do you think?

From The Mailbox

Please welcome a new recapper, Kenda!

Tampa's Creative Loafing looks at the Project Runway Finale Show. (Purists beware, there are photos of the finale designs.)

CBS New York reviews Malan Breton's SS11 Collection here.

Tim Gunn is at The Mall of America tonight. Click here for more information.

Click here for a new interview with Casanova.