Project Runway 22’s winner undercut the show’s histrionics

“You don’t need a splashy show,” Nina Garcia—back again!—told Heidi Klum during the Project Runway 22 finale.

They were discussing eventual winner Jude Mikulencak’s collection, but Nina might as well have been talking about Project Runway itself.

That’s what Freeform’s version has been delivering week after week, for two seasons now: splash over substance, conflict over craft.

Yet the winner demonstrated—in work and words—the point the show missed. “There’s great beauty in subtlety,” Jude said. Christian gave him the same advice: “To win, you’ve gotta do some unexpected thing.”

Maybe Freeform has won by doing the unexpected thing, trashing the first modern craft competition and trying to wring out every drop of petty drama. We’re all talking about Project Runway, even if we’re standing over its decaying corpse and wondering how it’s still alive.

Tonight’s 10th and final episode opened with the judges sending Joseph McRae on to the finale along with Anna, Bi, and Jude. Christian Siriano sold out to save Bryan, just for Bryan to turn around and waste the opportunity. At least the finale wasted very little time on Bryan’s sniping in confessionals.

The final four had one week and $7,500 to create a five-piece collection. (Compare that to Project Runway season one: a 12-piece collection in 12 weeks, with $8,000—that’d be just shy of $14,000 today when adjusted for inflation.)

While we had more time learning about the finalists’ concepts than their execution, that was a refreshing change.

For example, Anna illustrated her arc through the competition using unconventional materials, trying to show that “trash can be couture”—another metaphor for Freeform’s Project Runway?! Joseph McRae did his thing and even yelled “it’s the fucking Joseph McRae Show” when introducing his mini-collection.

Each chose an eliminated designer to serve as their assistant, but they quickly disappeared—though not before reminding me that Bao was among those actual designers dumped for no reason in those first two useless episodes.

And in another moment where the finale told us what Project Runway is these days, the workroom guest was a rep from the Council of Fashion Designers of America—yet not a fashion designer, but a “content and communications” exec.

Jude won because of his design and tailoring, and because he seemed to especially impress the judges with his age, 23. “The work and the craftsmanship is undeniable,” Law Roach said. Nina Garcia told Jude that “so few people know how to do” what he did with his combination of masculinity and femininity.

By the way, Nina Garcia was in yet another episode! And it’s Tyra Banks who’s now skipping class.

Guest judge Karl Urban—wait, no, it was  Fausto Santini—clapped for Joseph McRae, telling the other judges, “finally I see someone authentic!”

That caused Law Roach’s face to fold in on itself, but he recovered enough to start calling Joseph names again—though Law had one complement. “No matter what I say, Joseph McRae doesn’t give a fuck. And I respect you for that.”

Law first tore into Joseph’s work (“tacky”) and then kicked more sand (“delusional”), before arriving at: “Your arrogance is going to keep you from being great.” Of course, he’s talking about himself there—and maybe Project Runway, too. After all, there’s a lot of self-importance involved in imagining you achieve greatness by destroying an institution.

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