The Girlies Are Fighting: Tyra & Law Couldn’t Even Let Project Runway’s Best Challenge All Season Shine

Cleanup on the runway, you guys!

I guess it’s a good thing this was the Viva paper towel challenge, because after the spillage at the judges’ table, Project Runway is going to need it.

It shouldn’t be much of a surprise that the season finally delivered an interesting challenge that actually forced all the contestants to produce some creative pieces, but that got completely overshadowed by two divas at the judges’ table.

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We’ve discussed how underwhelming Project Runway has become.

The editing and structuring of the show has completely robbed the series of the appeal that made it a hit many years ago.

The series somehow manages to put fashion itself in the backseat in favor of drama and whatever it thinks will result in memeable moments.

And a show that was in desperate need of a reset opted not to listen to a single thing viewers were screaming and brought in the controversial Tyra Banks as a new judge.

Because, again, apparently, wanting a designer in the mix is asking for too much.

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Except, shockingly, it wasn’t too much for this week’s challenge.

Not only did the Viva paper towel challenge have the feel of early days Project Runway, where it was less about catering to advertisers and brands and more about pushing designers out of their comfort zone and sparking the creative juices.

But the challenge also placed the designers and their pieces on a totally different runway that was less bleak and showcased the pieces better.

Oh yeah, and they actually had a guest judge who is a legitimate designer. Willy Chavarria was a breath of fresh air because he spoke from a place of someone who is esteemed for his work.

I mean, I didn’t necessarily agree with some of his commentary, but I could at least appreciate that, as a designer, he had a viewpoint that felt beyond just whether or not he specifically liked the personality of a designer.

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His inability to really appreciate the complexity in the deceptively simplistic appearance of Bi’s pantsuit made entirely out of paper towels was grating for someone who has nearly the exact same style.

In that sense, Law wasn’t wrong in pointing out that Bi’s design was flawless, especially in producing a high-fashion, functional outfit completely constructed out of paper towels that looked NOTHING like paper towels compared to Bryan’s costumey forest nymph piece that, well, did look like lettuce.

The entire challenge seemed to really push people’s sense of creativity in a way that none of the others have thus far, and it actually seemed like everyone enjoyed trying to construct an idea.

The hour even sprinkled in those personal touches and background on the designers that made me nostalgic.

They also had more time to work and felt properly inspired; they hit snags, pivoted, overcame struggles, worked unique angles, and still tried to stay true to their own identity and style.

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And, for the most part, everyone did that and did it pretty well.

Nahiem produced one of his best pieces to date, one that I would genuinely wear right this second, and proved why he could potentially be one of the season’s dark horses.

He turned paper towels into denim! Imagine!

Jeffery’s piece was gorgeous, somehow giving us something that really highlighted that it was made from paper towels with the ruffled texture, but still was effortlessly chic. And Bi usurped Jude (who still delivered) with impeccable tailoring.

Even Joseph McRae delivered something that was toned down, strong, and still had his signature all at once.

Through this challenge, we finally got to see glimpses of what Project Runway used to be.

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But then, lo and behold, it all got derailed in the most predictable way imaginable.

The big personalities at the judges’ table, naturally, had to overshadow the fashion, once again highlighting the primary problem with the series in the first place.

We either get judges who are too muted and dull, or who come off so mean-spirited and strong, and there’s no happy medium.

Law Roach came in hot during this particular session, and the worst part about all the drama he stirred up is that, aside from the extremely negative bias against Joseph McCrae for simply existing, Law wasn’t even wrong for most of the judging this time around.

What feels like a one-sided beef with Joseph McCrae is around the time when things started going off the rails, and it stopped being about the fashion, and the focus shifted to what cruel, bitchy, shock-value read would come next.

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But then things kicked it up a notch, and it’s something that I suspected would happen since the moment we learned Tyra was joining the cast.

Law and Tyra finally clashed exactly like one would’ve anticipated, and it was so predictable that it was frustrating.

Both of them have big personalities and very different approaches, but a similar desire to be the most important person in the room.

You have two people accustomed to being the star, sucking up all of the energy, and it was bound to be a moment that would finally put them on a crash collision course toward one another.

The setup of it was interesting in the sense that we know Tyra Banks is still catching flak from all the controversy and the longstanding effects she had on American’s Next Top Model contestants during its tenure.

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Returning to a fashion-related reality TV series was always going to invite some comparison and ignited conversations about all of that.

This new season falling a mere few months after the gobsmacking Netflix documentary meant attempts to distance from scrutiny didn’t necessarily work.

Nevertheless, this inevitable clash of strong personalities also could have served as a “redemptive” moment for Tyra as she gives Law a tongue-lashing for his cruelty, rudeness, and egocentric steamrolling and monopolization of every moment of the show.

We end this strong episode of Project Runway with another irritating cliffhanger, and, of course, it became all about the damn judges.

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Not the designers, not these fabulous pieces, nope, just a Tyra versus Law Roach smackdown that feels so contrived that you know Project Runway anticipated this being the moment of the season.

Fashion, talent, designers making their mark? Oh, you know, it’s thwarted again for manufactured drama.

It’s clear that Project Runway has lost the plot, but seeing that it really is capable of recapturing the magic of yesteryear, it simply chooses not to. Yeah, I’m over it.

But hey, at least Tyra Banks and Law Roach are fighting, y’all.

Over to you, Project Runway Fanatics!

• Project Runway finally delivered one of the best, most creative, strongest challenges in years, and then Law and Tyra Banks derailed it. We vent!

• Project Runway still has potential as a fashion competition, but until it puts design back at the center, it will keep feeling soulless.

• Project Runway returns with an all-new season and a controversial new judge. Have they learned nothing?

• The judges are unaligned, the decisions don’t make sense and I’m starting to wonder if Project Runway has just completely lost the plot.

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