Project Runway Recap: Trashed Potato

Project Runway's tradition of forcing designers to work with unconventional materials (e.g. groceries, car parts, candy wrappers, bricks, historical documents, outdated Michael Kors faces, discarded Seal albums, an abandoned Zoe Glassner) took a fantastic turn this week. Heidi's prompt: "Make a "party-worthy look" out of a potato sack, because it's funny to me." The designers turn out some incredible frocks, the wrong people win and lose, and I get extra testy! It's a great day on the runway, world.

Last week's near-castoff Jesus starts the show by cooing how "horrifying it was to be in the bottom." Unbearably hilarious from the twink, I know. We have a real Dick Smothers on our hands with these ironic bons mots. Our resident God-lover Pamela, who wowed us last week with her thief eyes, mumbles something about "hoping to make it through," and it's nondescript enough that you know danger lies ahead. Or maybe just God himself, in the form of guest-judge Lauren Hutton. Shh, we'll get there.

On the runway, Heidi addresses the 15 remaining contestants with her newest leprechaun riddle. "You're going on a field trip. To a place that's kind of... out there. And... down there. And... a place. Or... not here. And... over there. Anyway (toots Irish flute), Tim has a learner's permit, so he's going to drive you to some farm. Shit, I said it! Well, it's a farm. There. And it's going to smell worse than Christiane and her sewing skills, so bring your inhalers. And once you're ready, get in the van. There are no seats. Fat people on the bottom."

Indeed, the designers trek off to a farm in New Jersey. They find that Tim is standing in a field and practicing his John Mellencamp gait alongside the 15 remaining models, who are all wearing burlap sacks. "Hello, designers!" he declares. "Do you get it? You're making potato sack dresses. Because there's a stupid cliche about looking good in a potato sack dress, and we're making a challenge out of it. For further anger, your models will now peer through the farm mist and select you for this challenge. Sounds grim, but think of the home viewers and how nice it is for them to laugh again."

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