Fitting finish for Project Runway

Sun-Sentinel.com - Fort Lauderdale, FL, USA - With Meryl Streep in the front row and Victoria Beckham as a guest judge, Project Runway got down to the business of staging its videotaped finale in the tents of Bryant Park on Friday, the last day of Fashion Week.

Now you're probably wondering which contestants are the final three.

Well, we still don't know. Not really. The producers are more clever than that. They didn't give any hints whether one or two or any of the remaining contestants would be eliminated and edited out of the finale.

All we know is that Kathleen "Sweet P" Vaughn, Chris March, Jillian Lewis, Rami Kashou and Christian Siriano all presented collections worthy of the catwalk.

Without a doubt, this is the best finale show the series has taped, and all five finalists seem up to the task of making a cohesive collection.

After new episodes tonight and next Wednesday, the two-part finale will air Feb. 27 and March 5.

Sweet P
After a brief introduction by an almost giddy Heidi Klum, Sweet P was first up. In her opening remarks, she teared up and managed to get out, "There are a lot of people I love here."

Her collection was a good one to open with. Her sunny, optimistic color palette never got more somber than sapphire, with loads of gold, violet, sunflower and cherry to pep things up.

Her aesthetic is awfully girlie for a self-described biker chick. There were peplum pantsuits and pencil skirts paired with cascading ruffle blouses. Along with gloves, ruffles made many an appearance among the Project Runway group.

There were also high-waisted trousers (how current of her!) and velvet jodphurs (how clever of her!). She also worked the plaids just like her seasoned counterparts showing their fall/winter lines during Fashion Week.

Chris
Chris was next and he, too, was a little choked up over the emotional impact of a standing-room-only audience and the unblinking eye of the cameras all focused on him. "I never knew my life ... would lead to this day, this hour, this moment," Chris said.

Nevertheless, he had the presence to remember to thank the other contestants, something none of the other finalists did.

He then showed remarkably restrained luncheon suits with hair fringe at the cuffs and yoke, unfortunately with what appeared to be velvet skirted suits.

The fabric worked better with gowns, which were red-carpet-ready and where his true talent seems to lie. Other looks from him at times seemed a tad tricked-up and contrived.