Hannah recaps the premiere of 'Project Runway: Teams!'

First off, I want to say that I turned it to Lifetime 5 minutes before the show started.  Apparently there was some kind of special beforehand that introduced you to the newest designers for this season.  Well then.  I guess I missed that!  Oh well.

It’s the start of the eleventh (yes, eleventh!) season of Project Runway.  There’s a twist though!  This is Project Runway: Teams!  Every challenge this season will be a team challenge.  Why?  This is because in the real design world, you are always collaborating with and receiving help from others.   Heidi and Tim are talking and trying to convince me that this is going to be the best season ever.  I don’t think I believe them.  I do give them props though for trying to switch things up because the show WAS starting to lose some shine.  Well, not too much, season 9 was a fabulous season!

Quick intros to some of the new designers are shown.  I think I have good first impressions of a lot of the designers.  Kate is a bridal designer.  I love everything to deal with weddings, but especially dresses!  She will probably be great in any kind of challenge where they have to make gowns.  I can only hope she gets to stick around for that long!  While entering the runway room and meeting the other designers, James first loses his hat.  Then he almost trips and comes close to injuring himself!  I’m glad to know we have found the Michael Skupin of Project Runway, folks!  We also have Emily, a 24 year old girl, who is originally from Ohio.  (Hannah Fun Fact: I’m from Ohio!  So I love when people on reality shows are also from here, because it’s more rare than you would think!) 

A really interesting designer in this cast is Cindy, a 59 year old woman, who decided that she wanted to go to fashion school at a late age.  She graduated pretty recently before the show started.  She seems like she will be a really sweet person, but sweet does not do much for you on Project Runway.

The group twist is then announced to the group.  The designers all seem pretty shocked and unhappy with this news.   The 16 designers are then split into two groups of 8.

“I’m not a team player.  I just like being on my own team.”

The cast of 'Project Runway: Teams' (Season 11, 2013)

For this challenge, the designers will use New York City as their inspiration.  Each team will be given a different view of the city to have as the inspiration for their designs.  The first team will be going on a boat trip and will be designing things inspired by NYC from AFAR.  The second team will be going to the top of the Atlas building. (Note: The Atlas building is the one in which they live in during filming!  So yeah, it is a great view, but you have to agree that this team clearly got the shaft!)  The second team will be designing things inspired by NYC from ABOVE.

The first team, the boat team, names themselves “Team Keepin’ It Real.”  This name is obviously too long, so I’ll refer to them as Team KIR for short.  This team wants “no fights.”  I see this lasting MAYBE until they get back to the workroom.

The second team, the roof team, names themselves the “Dream Team.”  This name is based off the phrase “Teamwork makes the dream work.”  I like this group name much more than Team KIR.  At this point in the game, I think I prefer the Dream Team, despite the fact that early on, I’m a Kate fan and she is a member of Team KIR.

During the boat trip, we meet Patricia.  She informs us that she goes by Water Lily.  She is CHANTING.  Layana looks to me like someone who could go far in this competition.  That is just based off first impression only.  She just reminds me a lot of women who have gone far on the show in the past.

Then, we move to the workrooms and it’s time for the designers to start working on their designs.  Each team has been given its own side of the workroom.   Cindy LOVES Tim Gunn.  It’s really adorable.

Now, I have a slight bone to pick here.   If anyone reads this and can give their opinions/facts on the matter, please comment because I need to know!  I’ve always been bothered when designers describe their design of, say, a dress by saying “It will be one that a woman can wear to work and then get off work and go straight to happy hour to meet her significant other.”   Maybe I just don’t understand, but when I get off work, the ONLY thing that I want to do is go home and lay on the couch and do absolutely nothing.  And I definitely don’t want to be wearing what I’ve worn all day at work.  Why do they make NYC people out to be these classy folks who wear dresses all the time and go to happy hour after work each day?  Does this really happen?  Are they really that much more classier than I am?

Patricia is designing her own pattern using a square and it is beautiful and crafty, but others find this as a negative thing.  I guess maybe painting your own pattern onto fabric is not the smartest idea with the strict time constraints on this challenge, but if it works out (which come on, it always has before) it could win her big points or at least give the judges a great first impression of her.  It’s definitely winning her big points with me!

Cindy: “The length of the dress that our team decided on for me might not have been the wrong choice.  It’s turning out to be way too long. *shows dress; model is tripping on dress*” Me: “TRIM THE DRESS THEN!”

Cindy can’t stand to watch Emily struggle with finishing on time, so she finishes early to help her out.  No one else was going to help, in hopes of Emily getting cut from the team, allowing them to stay.  Cindy said it probably isn’t a good choice for her, but she couldn’t just stand by and watch her struggle.  Emily says she will never judge someone again, because she had been judging people and especially Cindy throughout the whole episode. 

Now, it’s time for the first runway show of the season!  CHRISTIAN SIRIANO IS A GUEST JUDGE.  SEASON 4 was the best!!! I loved him, but hated that Rami lost to him.  But since Christian won, he has been pretty successful, so good for him!  Zac Posen is a new judge.  WHAT A CUTIE.  I’m really sad that Michael Kors is gone from the judging panel though!  That is sad.  Also, you can see Heidi’s bra through her dress!  Why?

Team KIR:

• Notable favorites:  Patricia (I just really love the material that she painted herself! Dress is plain though), Amanda (outfit I would wear!)
• Notable dislikes: Stanley (shiny jumper), Joseph (SCRAPS put together to look like a dress. What?),
• Meh: Kate (shiny dress, cool straps), Richard (black and grey dress with weird shapes), Layana (dress is too safe, too plain!), Daniel (It’s actually quite good, but I hate the curtain-like material around the waist)

Dream Team:

• Notable favorites: Matthew (CUTE SHIRT AND SKIRT AHH!), Samantha (beautiful cute dress that I would wear), Benjamin (Dress is okay, not bad)
• Notable dislikes: Tu (um what is this madness. The front is white and the back is black so that’s almost cool though), Emily (the jacket that she spent so much time on is so ugly!  The rest was too quickly put together), Cindy (I feel so confused by it and hate the checkered belt around the waist),
• Meh: James (not bad, but too safe and plain), Michelle (weird material though so that’s kinda cool)

Going out of the runway, I think that the Dream Team will be the losing team for this challenge.  The winning team is revealed and it is indeed Team KIR.  That means someone from Team KIR will be the winner of this challenge and someone from the Dream Team will be leaving.  It’s announced that either Daniel, Patricia, or Richard will be the winner of the challenge.   I liked Amanda’s more than the two guys, so I’m rooting for Patricia to win this one.  Patricia rambles on forever about her design! 

Now, it’s time to talk to the dream team.  It’s announced that either James, Emily, or Cindy will be going home.  I think it will come down between Emily and Cindy.  I did like Emily at first, but she should probably go home because Cindy basically did both designs in the end.  Nina says that in all eleven seasons, she has never seen a more unfinished garment sent down the runway.  The top of the outfit is tied together even!  I could have made this outfit.  I would bet money on Emily leaving.  I think the team stepping in and saying that Emily required a lot of help to even finish what she had.  The judges didn’t like the fabrics and/or the mix of fabrics that Cindy’s outfit consisted of.  See!  I told you that checkered pattern around the waist was dreadful!  The judges also felt the dress was old and not inspired by the city at all, so who knows who they will send up.  They’re always surprising me on this show!

Winner of the challenge:  Daniel (dang it!  I thought that Patricia deserved it the most!)

Emily Pollard, the first designer
elminated from 'Project Runway: Teams'

First eliminated designer:  Emily (Ohio people are always terrible on reality TV shows!!)

This concludes the premiere episode recap of ‘Project Runway: Teams!’   They showed previews for the whole season.  It’s looks like a lot of drama as usual!  It always mentioned something about the designers each getting sent to a different European country for inspiration on a challenge, so that sounds like it’ll be really cool!  Also, Miranda Lambert is going to be a guest judge on one episode.  I love her!

‘Project Runway: Teams’ airs at 9 pm on Thursdays on Lifetime!