Kenley Collins

Leanne Marshall

Korto Momolu

The PR season 5 finale was a close race. All three finalists displayed strong collections on the Bryant Park runway, unique in their own right. It was a tough pick for the judges.

Leanne’s collection inspired by waves won the viewers hearts and the judges liked the fact that she produced a variety of garments: shorts, pants, dresses, jacket, skirts, tops. I think that her pieces are wearable and feminine and her technique is outstanding, but it was a tad too many petals for my liking.

Korto pleasantly surprised me with the fluidity of her collection. Her garments look better “live” and in movement rather than on hangers or photos. There was a unity in color and cuts and impressive detailing. The little fold-up fans were a nice touch. Previously unimpressed by her use of bright tropical colors, I felt that it all came together really nicely on the runway and translates better in video.

Out of the 3 collections, I would wear more of Kenley’s pieces than any other; I love her hand-painted fabrics and her use of color and cuts.  Sadly she didn’t win, but what’s even sadder is the end of this season…

“Kenley is very damn talented and I’d let her dress me everyday of the week because she makes stuff that I would wear BUT it doesnt cover the fact that her attitude smells like rotten fish.

Yeah she has tough skin, but sometimes I feel like part of the reason why she has tough skin is because she knows her attitude is bad so she gets defensive when she is adressed about it.

Jerrell is super talented and i would have loved to see him be picked for fashion week but his wedding dress was way too ‘out there’.

I LOVED Leann’s wedding dress. I would either wear Her or Kenleys dress.”

Hi Skinny Genes,

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Ok, so my money was on Jerrell for virtually all of the show. Don’t get me wrong, I love Leanne’s eye too – she’s got her detail-thing going on and it works! I would buy some of her pieces in a second. But Jerrell really let me down with his final collection – he had too much freedom and went too far off the tangent. I was disappointed because up until that point he was the most creative and avant-garde. Too bad he went loco. I think that if he has clients telling him exactly what they want then his execution will be flawless.

Kenley… Kenley got under my skin a bunch of times with her defensive remarks, but at the end of the day I get her. Much like Leanne, she has her own style and it’s hard to get her to do anything else because she’s stubborn. The Hip-Hop challenge was her ultimate disaster and frankly, I was surprised that she wasn’t eliminated that week.

But… everyone deserves a second chance. And Kenley really pulled through with her final collection (love the dress above). I also like her unique head-pieces, they add a romantic touch. I think that with enough pressure and support, she could really shine as a designer and a character.

Another part of me can’t help but think that what goes around comes around, and Jerrell and Korto are paying for being mean to Kenley when they didn’t want to share their tulle with her. And… um, she was the only one with the mini bride’s mate’s dress, until Korto and Leanne copied her (after attacking and outcasting her).

As far as the wedding dress winner, for me Kenley’s topped them all.

The countdown to this season’s Project Runway finale is riveting. I had my heart set on Jerrell for a while, because I admired his aesthetic throughout the show, but it seems that he does best when given direction, but if you give him too much freedom, he tends to go over the top. And as a result, last night he lost the wedding dress / bride’s mate’s dress challenge. We’re now down to top 3: Leanne, Korto and Kenley. I don’t know about you, but I’m rooting for the underdog Kenley. Her wedding dress is phenomenal and blows the rest of the contenders out of the water. As far as I’m concerned, that girl deserves to win. She has been ceaselessly berated for her attitude, but that tough skin has come in handy in her fight to the top. It sucks that the other competing designers have ostrasized her from the group, but that also served as a catalyst for her kick-ass final collection. Kenley went all out with hand-painted fabrics and beautifully crafted designs to really prove to the judges that her skills precede her personality. Vote for Kenley!