Project Runway Season 19 Finale Recap: Comeback Queen

Christian Siriano is pouring himself an extra glass of champagne tonight—and not only because he somehow survived another season hosting Project Runway. He deserves a second serving as thanks for his mid-season premonition, forecasting how tonight's momentous finale might wrap. But, really, couldn't we all see it coming?

Tonight's episode starts as our remaining designers—Shantall, Coral, Chasity and Kristina—arrive in New York City to present their 10-piece collections for New York Fashion Week. A few months prior, Christian jet-set around the country to visit each hopeful as they prepared their collections, starting with Shantall in Miami. She welcomes him to her studio in a chic white suit, already looking ever bit the accomplished businesswoman, and her collection is a sophisticate's urban dream: blacks, whites, reds, yellows, all knitted together with inspirations from the Mexican mythological quetzalcóatl and the art deco architecture of southern Florida.

That isn't to say Christian has no critiques. In fact, he wants her to ditch her pale yellow hues entirely, and instead of designing a woven print, he wants her to actually criss-cross the fabric, so as to display her skill and precision. A little panicked, she struggles not to laugh: “I'm basically starting from scratch.” But Christian stresses the issue isn't the design; it's the execution. “If she gets there, the collection is insane.”

At Chasity's home in Houston, he dons his sorority-cum-couture “cowboy outfit”—white crocodile boots and a vest—to sort out why Chasity has completed so little of her looks so far. As it stands, she only has a mish-mash of black and purple ruffles to show him, and what does exist is missing a cohesive narrative. As Christian restrains himself from flirting with Chasity's fiancé—“look at this gorgeous person,” he notes—he helps her settle on a theme for her pieces: the black sheep who blossoms.

In Los Angeles, he drops by to see Coral, whose airy workspace is stuffed, unsurprisingly, with macrame: macrame planters, macrame citrus bags, macrame dresses. Her collection, influenced by the embroidery of indigenous peoples in Mexico, spurs Christian's jealousy: “I'm from Maryland. What do I got? Blue crabs?” As she gives him a literal peek behind the curtain, he gasps at her works in progress; so much is already finished! Still, there's a twinge of concern in his voice as he takes in all that macrame. Surely she has some ideas that can spark shock and awe, something a bit more high-fashion?

Finally, he lands in Queens to see “crazy-cool artist” Kristina. “Look at me, I'm in Queens!” he cries, as if such a trip belongs in an absurdist fantasy novel, not in his actual life. Kristina, either failing to catch or outright ignoring the subtle dig, admits she has more ideas than finished work, but what she has is artfully technocratic. Working with a graphic designer, she's dreamed up digital prints and then Photoshopped them onto mock-ups of jackets, pants, and skirts, all of which Christian finds brilliant: “Maybe I should start doing this.” Although most of her textiles are drawn from a poppy, one print features a lime-green celery stalk, which makes me cackle; the girl loves her veggies.

When the ladies finally land in Manhattan for the run-up to runway day, they exchange embraces before getting down to business. They divvy up models to start: Chasity wants strong Black women, Shantall is looking for similar diversity, Coral wants “warriors,” and, well, Kristina's coveting a hoverboard. Yes, that's her one special request: She needs someone with experience “skiing, snowboarding or dancing” so they can float down the red carpet on a motorized scooter, sans handlebars. Why not!

As the minutes tick by, the collections come together, and it becomes clear who needs to make some alternations, both figurative and literal. Shantall's in great shape, but Coral needs to modernize her finale piece. Chasity has beading to finish up, but Kristina's hitting snags as she reckons with the shock-value of the human form. Her sheer looks aren't exactly sheer; translucent might be a better term for them. After one of her models walks out, breasts in full view, Christian blinks and begs her to consider a top. “One person you're gonna have to convince is gonna be Nina Garcia, so I'm gonna put her in your mind, and you decide what to do,” he says. “But if it comes up—I told you so.”

After Kristina opts to stitch together an itsy-bitsy teeny-weeny bra top, Shantall runs into issues of her own: Her clothes aren't falling right on the models she's selected. Christian breezes by, tossing out ideas like darts. Make the pants longer! Tear slits in the sleeves! Send her model down the runway wearing just the jacket! Shantall has learned to trust her Siriano savior by now and follows his advice. Same goes for Coral, who hears his recommendation to open her collection with menswear, and takes it.

The next morning, they have two hours to make finishing touches, but no surprise that it flies by. As all the guests gather around the runway at Hudson Yards—including the previously eliminated designers and guest judge Tommy Hilfiger—you can almost feel the tension creep up your throat. For tonight's looks, I'll spend less time assessing each individual outfit and will focus, like the judges, on the collection as a whole. For the last time this year—sob!—let's dig in.

• Kristina sends out her collection first. Already, this is a noticeable departure from many of the full-coverage clothes she's designed in previous challenges. Her opener, that sheer sheath with the bra top and miniskirt underneath, is simple but whimsical, simultaneously urban and resort-ready. Her prints are what stand out the most: The digitized style modernizes what could have been an antiquated floral print, and I have to admit I love the funky celery pattern. The movement of her silken fabrics is exquisite to watch, in particular on the oversized button-down top. Her finale piece makes it down the runway on a hoverboard, though her model's trying so hard not to fall that it stiffens the overall impact. Still, I'm thoroughly impressed by what Kristina has accomplished here.

• Next is Shantall, and by the time her first model steps out from behind the partition, I'm already giggling like a lovestruck teenager. The jacket-turned-minidress opener, paired with thigh-high boots and edgy cat-eye sunglasses, pays homage to some of the great supermodels of the 20th century without ripping off their styles. Shantall accomplishes this through her clever woven patterns, which take black and white waves and criss-cross them along peek-a-b0o cut-outs. I have a new favorite piece each time another model walks by: The fringe detail on that pencil skirt? Arresting. The button-up polka-dot collar? Sublime. This feels like old-school couture, but with an innovative new interpretation no one else would dare imitate.

• Chasity comes next, and immediately her collection stands out for its focus on high-end evening wear. There's no question Chasity could make a statement on the red carpet, designing for the stars: She has an dazzling point of view, especially in her use of ruffles and beading. Her tiered pants, fishnet tights, beaded necklines and overflowing skirts are the stuff celebrities drool over. In particular, I'm enchanted by the striking purple fringe on her maxi pencil skirt, as well as the transitional black coat that ties into a skirt. I wouldn't say this is the most unique collection I've ever seen, but it's unquestionably gorgeous. Some of these dresses could compete with Siriano staples for a place in Lady Gaga's closet.

• I remain flabbergasted that Coral never won a single challenge this season. This tiny woman is a force to be reckoned with. The “warrior vibe” of her collection is evident from the moment her menswear opener struts down the catwalk. As her looks walk by, they fall into one of two categories: primarily macrame or primarily zippers, and both have clear strengths and weaknesses. Still, her intelligent use of hardware and handiwork is jaw-dropping; no one else is making clothes like these. The penultimate look, with its sheer skirt and trailing purple coat, is one of my favorites of the night. But it's the finale ensemble that could have convinced me to give Coral the winner's ticket. The yarn headpiece, paired with the mind-blowing multi-colored floral jacket, buckled belts, and tiered tulle skirt? It's a revelation.

My gut reaction, after finishing the runway shows, is that Shantall and Coral are vying for the top spot. In my opinion, Coral has some of the best individual pieces, but Shantall has the strongest overall collection. As the judges dig into deliberations, they seem to follow this pattern of thinking. Tommy, in particular, seems thrilled by the new crop of up-and-comers: “This group is oozing with talent,” he tells them.

When analyzing Kristina's work, they praise her showmanship and creativity, especially when it comes to styling. I completely agree. Kristina is an effortless stylist; she rarely misses the mark when it comes to pairing chunky boots with long dresses or sleek hairstyles with edgy fringe. But Tommy and Nina both worry that the prints in her collection were too abstract, and that they'd therefore struggle to sell. As Tommy puts it, they're “relevant for today, but are they going to be relevant for tomorrow?”

For Coral, they can't say enough about the “soul” of her show. But Tommy pinpoints a clashing problem: There were two different ideas in the collection, the zippers and the macrame, and the obviously stronger pieces were the tailored ones featuring zippers. Nina agrees, arguing it's time Coral left black behind her and embraced colorful embroidery. “The pieces where you did show color took my breath away,” she says.

Chasity gets bucketfuls of praise from Tommy, who thinks she has a celebrity styling career ahead of her. Brandon even stands up for her ruffled pants. But Nina takes the praise back a notch, commenting that the abundant use of beads and ruffles didn't display creativity and range.

Finally, we get to Shantall. Her wavy black-and-white coat with the black sheath dress was “one of the most stunning things that went down the runway tonight,” Brandon says, and Nina and Tommy agree that the whole collection screamed “couture.” The cut-outs? “Impeccable.” And while they didn't love the red pants and red belt look, they feel the overall style of the waves is a timeless staple. “Prints are only one season, one drop.,” Tommy says. “The snakes, the cut-outs? You could carry on and on and on and on.”

So, really, is it any wonder that Shantall would be our winner? After Nina finally announces the Nicaraguan designer as season 19's shining star, it seems, in retrospect, like the only correct decision. After Christian rescued her from elimination with his Siriano save in episode 7, she came sprinting back into the competition with renewed drive, as if such a narrow brush focused her mind and sharpened her vision. Suddenly, she had a signature look, a new point of view, and that singularity carried her through to the top. I have plenty of criticisms for the reality competition model, and Project Runway is no exception. How often can you really expect to find the best of the best, when you toss them into a pressure cooker and force them to undergo silly games that say little about their real skills. But when it does work? It works. And season 19 worked. Shantall deserved this win, and Christian knew it seven episodes before we did. Drink your champagne, honey. You deserve it.

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