I NEVER LIKED YOU

Yes well it's overwhelmingly campsexual of me to admit, but I am absolutely loving the Australian version of Project Runway. It leaves the American and British versions for dead. The contestants are so much more entertaining and appear to be far more adventurous when it comes to their designs. They are Kath n Kim meets Vivienne Westwood meets Mr G meets Mad Max. They are hilarious and already there have been catfights galore.

Project Runway Australia (PRA) is based on the American original and it involves fashion designers competing by making specific garments for specific challenges. All contestants appearing on the show are designers residing in Australia. Supermodel Kristy Hinze is the host. I use the term super loosely…she's appeared once in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit edition and you can find her on about page 85 of the Victoria Secret's catalogue. The only thing "super" is probably the billionaire she's dating; Netscape creator Jim Clarke. However she is proving to be quite a good television host. After a shakey start in the first episode where her facial expression appeared to be operated by hydraulics, in last night's episode she's settled quite nicely into the role. She's already offering constructive criticisms to the contestants that easily byepass her american counterpart Heidi Klum's fascist offerings of "I like it"; "I don't like it." The other two permanent judges are fashion buyer and trend forecaster, Sarah Gale and fashion designer Jayson (that's with a Y) Brunsdon. Sarah thus far has had the best line of the show when reviewing one of the contestant's designs. "That outfit is a dog. It's going to go barking off the shelves in no time."

The mentor to the designers is Henry Roth; an Australia fashion designer who has lived in New York for the last ten years. This is a tough role to fill as Tim Gunn in the american version of PR has virtually turned himself into the stylist du jour in the United States with his own spinn off show: Tim Gunn's Guide to Style. It would have been easy for the producers PRA to simply get an Australian impersonation of Tim Gunn. Thank god they did not. Yes Henry's face does seem to resemble that of a bird's stuck in a vice and would perhaps would scare small children without the correct lighting; however he has made the mentor role his own and is proving valuable assistance to the contestants on the show.

The contestants though are the real stars of this show. They are bringing back camp ochre humour to Australian television like never before. Not since Graham Kennedy and Blanketty Blanks has there been so much camp in one hour of television. It's a welcome relief from the Kyle-Jackie O-Rove McManus "eat ya rice bubbles" version of televised entertainment. There were 12 contestants at the start of the show. As of last night's episode, there are now 8.

The Contestants
(in order of elimination)
Alison Davis, 21, West Pennant Hills , Sydney, New South Wales: poor Allison was supposed to design something glamorous but ended up making an outfit that resembled a bowl of fruit.

Deborah Pak, 35, Sydney NSW : In episode two, designers were asked to create an outfit that could go from the beach to the bar. I actually didn't mind the swimsuit Deborah designed. It was the skirt which looked more like a sarong which let her down.

Sophie Spalding, 22, Adelaide South Australia: Ah! I was so disappointed when Sophie was eliminated last night. She was one of my favourites. She had a classic 50s style to her which came out in her designs. In last night's episode designers were paired to design an outfit from spare car parts and the style was to be sporty. It was a brilliant challenge and certainly showed the talent of all the designers as there really wasn't a complete dud amongst any of the designs. Sophie was paired with Petrova. Both girls share similar design tastes. Their design was criticised for not being sporty which was the brief of the challenge. I quite liked their Jetson's style outfit though. It was Petrova's choice of a coil style fascinator/hat which turned the outfit from fashion to costume. The hat was made out of a spring and unfortunately made the model look like the Tin Man. Even though the hat was Petrova's choice, the judges elected to eliminate Sophie as she was the team leader of the group and made the final decision to let the hat in. Bummer!

Oren Nuri, 29, Bondi Sydney NSW (Originally from Israel): Quite a striking looking Israeli boy who seems to be quite a talented tailor and designer but unfortunately tried to make pants out of a tyre in last night's spare parts challenge. The pants just didn't fit the model and she ended up looking like an extra off Mad Max. Still it wasn't hideous. Oren was paired with Mark.It was a double eviction last night so Oren was the second person to go. I found it interesting that the judges did not apply the same reasoning they applied to Sophie and Petrova to Mark and Oren. They eliminated Sophie because she was the team leader and made the final call with respect to the tin man hat even though it was Petrova's idea and was executed by Petrova. On the other hand, the pants were Mark's idea and he was the team leader. Oren simply made the pants and Mark still let them in, yet it was Oren who was eliminated. Odd!

(still in the running)

Brent Zaicek, 32, Sydney NSW: I love Brent. He's a kiwi boy and the only "dude" of the group. He's kinder like a sewing surfie. I love his enthusiam. He just gets in there and does it. Before PRA, he'd never designed anything for women. Everything though he's come's up with has been thoroughly original but better still, sellable. I think JaYson has a crush on him as he seems to gush over everything Brent designs. I'm with him. He and Shane deservedly won last night's challenge. I really think Brett's got a great chance of winning the competition.

Helen Manuell, 38,Melbourne, Vic: Helen is the contestant that everyone loves to hate but doesn't want evicted because she creates a debarcle in every episode. She is like that mature age student at uni who has done not only all the minimum readings but also the recommended ones and spends all the tutorial letting everyone know this. Out of all the designers I think she is the least creative and adventurous. But she's great for the show. Last night she did her block accusing Oren of stealing her block……he designed his ill-fated pants on her block. I am sure it was by mistake but Helen turned into the middle eastern peace process.

Julijana "Juli" Grbac, 29, Brisbane, Qld: I love Julie. Great Brissie girl with that long drawl that is the south-east queensland accent. I have loved all her designs. She was paired with Helen last night. Poor thing. Still she was the one who came up with the great design which won favour with the judges. Helen made a hideous handbag out of a mudflap which literally looked like a handbag made out of a mudflap. Being the team leader Juli made the call not to use the handbag much to her credit. Her running commentary of Helen was hilarious!

Leigh Buchanan, 31, Brisbane, Qld: Leigh is the QUEEN comedian of the group and is thoroughly entertaining. He is a very talented semestress and won the first challenge. I'm not sure whether he is entirely original as say Brent or Juli. His designs, particularly his winning design in the first challenge, show a definite influence by Vivienne Westwood. Regardless he is so much fun to watch…very entertaining.

Lui Hon, 33, Melbourne, Vic : Lui is the quiet one of the group. His designs are well liked by the judges. I just can't seem to remember what they are!

Mark Antonio, 22, Sydney NSW : Mark is second to Leigh in the Queen comedian stakes. He is very entertaining. He won the second challenge for the beach to bar design for a very cool black number. Apart from having a concern about his carbon footprint by the amount hairspray he uses in his hair, I think Mark is a definite top three contestant.

Petrova Hammond, 27, Melbourne Vic : I am biased. I wish Sophie was still in the competition and Petrova evicted for designing that ridiculous spiral hat.

Shane Garland, 41, Sydney NSW: Shane is another quiet one but is also well-liked by the judges. He and Brett worked well together to design their felt, rubber sports outfit. It rocked.

PRA is on Monday nights at 8.30 on ARENA (FOXTEL) and then repeated again sometime on Saturday. I only just realised that the theme song I Never Liked You is actually by the Australia band Rogue Traders. I normally can't stand their music but this song is catchy…..a lot like PRA.

http://www.myspace.com/projectrunwayau

C