CELEBRITY PROJECT FUNWAY Project Runway Episode Two ‘Pregnancy Chic’

Ra'mon-Lawrence Coleman

Ra'mon-Lawrence Coleman

My “personal choice” design for the Pregnancy Chic Challenge is poor Ra’mon-Lawrence Coleman’s “Baby Bowling Bag.” It was a perfect example of a project seeming like a good idea all the way up until you’ve actually assembled it and then you notice an obvious flaw for the first time. Sometimes the artist maintains a blindspot and it takes the input from someone else to finally see it, like Mitchell stepping in and reluctantly observing, “It kinda looks like a bowling ball bag.” You could see the Joseph Conradian horror on Ra’mon’s face as he realized Mitchell was completely right. It must have been like looking at one of those magic eye stereograms and then finally seeing what you’re suppose to see and it’s something terrible about your future. Anyway, Ra’mon survived, which is the important thing. In honor of Ra’mon’s unforgettable design bomb, I’ve decided to give guest judge Rebecca Romjin the Big Lebowski treatment. So here’s Rebecca in one her most famous roles as X-Men nemesis Mystique. I call it “The Big Lebowstique.”

Big Lebowstique starring Rebecca Romjin. Costume design by Ra'mon.

'Big Lebowstique' starring Rebecca Romjin. Costume design by Ra'mon-Lawrence Coleman.

Shirin Askari

Shirin Askari

Last up is this week’s hands-down winner, the flawlessly crafted sensuous, wine-colored dress and charcoal jacket ensemble designed by Shirin Askari. There was concern early on that she might be taking on too much by doing a dress and a jacket, but Shirin managed to nail them both before time ran out. This was on of those times on Project Runway when I just couldn’t believe what the designer was able to accomplish in such a limited time frame with such a limited budget. There are often great, well-made designs come judgment time, but it is rare to see a complete outfit like Shirin’s that absolutely looks like the model could wear it right off the set of PR and on to any number of events. The pseudo-woven waistline on the dress is subtle perfection. (You can see it better in the super-sized photo on page three of this post.) I liked the dress so much I began to question my heterosexuality! Congratulations Shirin – and in honor of your accomplishment your design gets worn by the currently impregnated uber-host of Project Runway, Heidi Klum herself!

Heidi Klum and the worthy maternity outfit by Shirin Askari.

Heidi Klum and the Heidi-worthy maternity outfit by Shirin Askari.

Check out Shirin’s super-sized winning design on PAGE THREE.