On the Project Runway season finale, you could almost hear the collective groaning and swearing across America when Gretchen Jones was announced as the winner.
The battle for the season villain was always down to Gretchen and Ivy. Ivy was blatantly mean to all the contestants, while Gretchen talked a lot of smack about the others' designs, particularly about Michael C.'s abilities. She came off as egotistical and juvenile. Pretty much nothing the producers showed of her made her the least bit likable.
Of course this is a show about talent and not personality, but some of Gretchen's designs, particularly toward the end, were simply atrocious. And I still don't know what Gretchen's affinity for the granny panty look is: Check out the evidence to the right.
I just don't get it!
Need a recap of some of her infamous moments? Here's a roundup of looks from the past few episodes and some of her more memorable quips from the season.
She barely got into the final 3 because what she showed the judges from her collection was so boring and monotone. And then remember how terrible her New York-inspired look was, which somehow was based off of the Lower East Side? She also bombed big time during the activewear challenge, where she created a gray bathrobe.
On the other hand, Mondo blossomed beautifully during all of these challenges, and he was the clear winner and fan favorite up until Nina Garcia and Michael Kors took it all away from us.
In my opinion, Michael Kors came across as terrible during the finale. He seemed whiny and sniveling, and many viewers are surmising that he was jealous of Mondo's vision because the clothes he designs are so boring. But I digress …
Back to Gretchen: When you get a lecture from Tim Gunn about how you sabotaged your team, clearly that's a sign that you should never be the winner of Project Runway. Nearly everyone cheered when Tim said what we all were thinking during the team challenge:
I have a few words for Team Luxe. I fundamentally do not understand your behavior and demeanor and affect on the runway. I don’t get it. I don’t know why you allowed Gretchen to manipulate, control, and bully you. I don’t understand it.
What frustrates me most is that she'll feel that all of her belitting her fellow contestants' designs behind their backs has been validated. She's one of the most narcassistic contestants I've ever seen, and she didn't even have the talent to back up her ego, especially in more recent episodes. Some are even saying that because the show was on Lifetime, they needed a female winner. If that's the case, we all should just stop watching.
Here are some of her more infamous lines from the season. Yep, here is the winner of Project Runway, Season 8.
- “It’s Prairie Home Sex Shop. Michael Drummond, I can’t tell if I should be harvesting wheat or smacking you with it!”
- "Those are my colors and he's using them as well [in reference to Michael C. stealing her colors] … I don't feel threatened by him. I'm just insulted that maybe some boundaries were crossed. Somehow, I've created a monster."
- “It was always about what was going on in [Valerie's] head. I need to focus on me sometimes too.”
- “Michael C. reminds me a lot of how I was five years ago."
- "I’m not a bitch I just play one on TV."
- "A party store is like cheese ball city and nothing about my design aesthetic is cheese ball."
- "I love Christopher, but I don't love what Christopher does."
You stay classy, Gretchen.
What did you think about Gretchen on this season of Project Runway?
Images via MyLifetime.com
