Kenley Collins, Ivy Higa and the 8 Other Finest Villains in Project Runway History
5. Jeffrey Sebelia
Jeffrey was loud, cocky, antisocial, covered in tattoos, and spontaneously emotional. He was easy to abhor. He regularly fought with season three favorite Laura Bennett (and even anointed her with the nickname "Bad Mommy"), but he really earned his villainous stripes when the three other competing finalists suggested that he cheated. Their cries were useless, of course, and Jeffrey walked home the season-three winner.
4. Kenley Collins
Poor runway behavior is always a treat, and Kenley Collins made her every exchange with Heidi Klum a heated, defensive back-and-forth. She stuck to throwback prints and some silhouettes that some have described as too referential of Alexander McQueen, which made a real ruckus at each judging. She's also the one designer to further her bad reputation after the show, thanks to an arrest in which she allegedly threw a cat at her boyfriend Zak Penley.
3. Gretchen Jones
She's ranked third here, but Gretchen Jones is actually the most enraging villain in Runway history. She judged others' garments with provocation; she pretended to defend a collection before blaming her teammates for their sloppy execution; she actually uttered the line, "I'm just glad the judges gave me the same second chance you guys all got." She is ruthlessly two-faced, and no amount of editing could have manufactured it. Plus, Tim Gunn himself actually criticized her teammates for allowing her to "bully" and "control" them. Unreal and unforgettable.
2. Wendy Pepper
Season one's designers weren't quite sure what Project Runway was all about. Wendy Pepper guessed it had something to do with Survivor machinations, and throughout the season she appealed to models, other contestants, and judges with her strangely malleable character. I'll say this about Wendy: When she made it to the finals and called out Kara Saun for her flagrant amorality, she redeemed herself with the finest evisceration I have ever seen on reality television. "I just heard you on the phone equate a shoe at a sample sale for five dollars to a shoe you custom-designed and had made to your specifications," she said. "That, my dear, is not fair or above board, Miss Perfect." Spectacular.
1. Santino Rice
He was charming, hilarious, a sometimes-excellent designer, and a total pest to his competitors. Santino Rice is Project Runway's ultimate bad boy, a relentlessly dismissive blowhard who infuriated the affable Nick Verreos, the consummate diplomat Daniel Vosovic, and even Tim Gunn. When a jumpsuit he designed started falling apart on the runway and Nick Verreos was still sent home, he became Project Runway's official dark lord. Still, you have to love (read: adore) a man who can do a Tim Gunn impression better than Tim Gunn.
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Wendy Pepper looks like an 80's era Boy George there...except manlier.
Oh, and Gretchen wins hands-down; most other people on the show seem to go out of their way to be catty (makes for good TV?), but she seems oblivious to the fact that she really is just a gigantic bitch. And her name's Gretchen, so there's that, too.
Actually, Jeffrey didn't coin the name "Bad Mommy" for Laura. It was fellow villain and ousted cheater Keith, who deserves a place on this list somewhere as well.
Let the Grisdom reign.
when wendy pepper had those white streaks in her hair she looked like cruella de ville, and i was totally scared of her. but she redeemed herself and showed her humanity when she broke down after someone defaced the picture of her little daughter. kenley collins and ivy higa were true witches, though. also interestingly, laura bennett accused jeffery sebelia of "how can he possibly make all those clothes in the short time allowed?" when she herself sewed every sequin and feather on her clothes. it was ok for laura bennett to accomplish all that work but not jeffery? i don't agree that jeffery belongs on the list; he overcame drug addiction and became a loving father to his son, as well as being a talented and successful designer. i like laura now too for her blogs on the project runway website.
The problem I have with Jeffrey was his complete lack of compassion or humanity, considering the obstacles he overcame. I shudder to think how much of a bigger douche he was on drugs.
To me, Kara Saun was the stealth villain of season 1. Wendy was out there and obvious, but Kara played the holier-than-thou card throughout and then tried that stunt with the custom-designed shoes at $5 a pair.
Jeffrey's villainy in season 3 stemmed mostly from his run-ins with Angela and her mother. He was rude, crude, and verbally abusive, and he pretty much did the happy dance when Angela was finally eliminated.
Also, where was Terri from season 5? She may nnot have been up to Kenley's level, but she was a nasty piece of work, especially in her inteactions with others.
In all, PR villainy needs a Top 20; 10 just isn't enough.
Truth be told, I never disliked Wendy and even felt a little bad for her. Kara Saun, however, I abhorred. I'm right there with you.
Vincent wasn't a villain, he was just hilarious. Emilio had a huge ego, but I don't think of him as a villain either. I think Ivy should be higer on this list. Her behavior has been the worst to me, but then again, I haven't seen season 1 or season 6.
As someone else pointed out, you misquoted Jeffrey. He never called Laura "Bad Mommy", another bonafide villain, Keith did. And how is his villainy cemented when the other designers were the ones crying foul, even though there was no evidence? How did he react? He was quietly hurt and then chose to move on rather than take it out on the accusers when he was proven innocent. I do consider Jeffrey to be a villain, but not as bad as some people make him out to be.
I also think Santino should be lower. He said some pretty bad things, but come on, the guy had charm and can be extremely likable, which you pretty much say. And if you watch his new show, On The Road With Austin & Santino, you'll find that he's VERY low-key and easy to love. It's like all the good parts of Santino without the bad mouth.
Gretchen is extremely grating and annoying, but I never once considered her to be a terrible person, just extremely un-self-aware. It's like she doesn't even understand the things coming out of her mouth. When we saw her home visit, she seemed to be reflecting on her actions once she saw them on the screen and people's reactions to them. I would switch her and Ivy around.
Ivy easily ranks number one. For me, she brought a "darkness" and uncomfortably ugly quality to one of my favorite reality shows. I wouldn't endure another season with as meanspirited a group of contestants as this one. I hope that the producers screen better for character traits when deciding on contestants. Because there is an entertainment component to the show, cast decisions shouldn't be only about one's perceived talent. There is no shortage of upcoming designers as equally good as Ivy, yet multitudes that are more bearable to watch. I disagree that villains add anything worthwhile to Project Runway and wish that the judges had better addressed the negative behaviors of Ivy and others. To me, this was the worse season ever. I don't watch these type shows to see drama conjured up through villians, but to witness talented, hardworking, and good hearted people who I am thrilled to see receive the career break of a lifetime. On principal, I wouldn't purchase anything created by Ivy simply because of her bullying, condescending, and jealous spirit. I am annoyed by people who assume that talent alone is all that is needed to be successful. From what I've read around the internet, most of the viewing public share my sentiments. Take heed Bravo.
I liked them all, if it wasn't for them the show would of been boring.
I completely agree with this. I absolutely hated Ivy and I rejoiced when she was voted off (and quite sad to see her return for an episode...). I think part of what made her worse is that no one told her off and everyone seemed to agree with her. This season was probably one of the least enjoyable to watch for me and the only real redeemable part of it was Mondo.
Along with great talents come huge egos trouble with Ivy is the only thing she has a lot of is her inflated ego as far as talent is concerned she is definitely light weight just a notch above the middle aged peach