Oh, the home visits...

So the latest episode of Project Runway was the Tim Gunn home visits. The twist is that this season this episode actually did include an elimination. But we'll get to that. First the visits...

Seth Aaron. His home and family was shockingly normal! :) They seemed like a fun, close family and it was nice to see him with his kids (and Tim on a trampoline!). By the way, come on, Tim. How did you not get stethoscope right away? I guess Pictionary is not your game. Anyway, it was so different from the typical Tim visit. How often does he praise a designers work so much and tell them how popular their collection would be and then tell them to start over. Wow. But I'm glad he did. I agree. I love Seth Aaron, but my fear has been that he'll make exactly what we expect him to. Which is a catch 22 because he makes it so well and it's such great design, but it's too expected at this point. He has done such consistent work that he needs to remember that he's set the bar high. The judges will look for him to give even more now. I hope he listens to Tim and makes it work!

Emilio. Ok, I can't imagine anyone is shocked by how this visit went. Emilio isn't quite on the right path. Tim says so. Emilio says that he doesn't care what Tim says. Sound familiar? I think we've pretty much seen that scenario play out 8 or 10 times so far. I've struggled with Emilio because I believe him to be an incredibly strong designer, but his personality has gotten increasingly difficult to bear. From what I've seen this week, I might be less torn next week. He's a cocky jerk and his collection isn't any good. I should be safe just not being a fan overall next week (which pains me a bit as he really was one of my favorites at first). But if he decides to listen to Tim and does the quality of work that I know he's capable of, he still might pull off a great show. But drop the color you couldn't name, Emilio. It's called pea green. And it's bad.

Mila. Ok, I'm just going to say it. Her boyfriend is gay. Please tell me I'm not the only one who saw this. I have the worst gaydar ever, but come on. Clearly gay. But anyway, her collection...very Mila. What I expected. I had the same concern for Mila that I had for Seth Aaron - that they wouldn't surprise us. And her hint of purple with the black and white aint really enough to shock anyone. Sorry. I liked some of her pieces, but I'm pretty sure I could've picked 'em up at Kohls. So I'm not sure that's gonna fly for fashion week. Tim says matronly and I can't disagree. It'll be interesting to see how she adds some youthfulness to the collection.

Jay. Yup, he didn't disappoint. It appears he has an interesting collection. I'm not in love with all of it, but it does make me curious and I want to see how it looks on a body and all put together. I agree with Tim that there is some overdesigning going on here, but it's a little refreshing after the underdesigning that we just witnessed at Mila's. Jay is so young and unique and a little crazy. I can't quite decide if I love him or not, but I love what he's doing - which is being true to himself. You go, Jay!

After seeing the work from all 4 designers, I'm feeling a Seth Aaron win coming on. Which is interesting since I'm hoping that I've not yet seen anything that he's going to show. But here's the thing - Emilio's is not good but he refuses to see that. Mila's is expected and not fashion forward. Jay's is interesting, but Jay isn't quite there as a designer to know how to edit. I love his ideas and his energy, but I think he's still learning some lessons. So this puts Seth Aaron in a good place I think. He's a strong designer who is willing to listen to Tim's feedback. I'm thinking that could work out well for him. I'm hoping that I'm right.

The elimination. Wow. I'm with Michael Kors on this one. He right away gave an emphatic "Jay" when asked who he wanted to see at fashion week. I was right there with him. I am much more likely to wear Mila's design. MUCH more likely. I love her department store looks. I would buy them. I wouldn't be caught in Jay's designs. But they are runway looks. They are edgy. They are fashion forward. They embrace the model's body. They are show pieces. Like Michael said, his work couldn't be anywhere but now. It's not retro. It's current. It's ahead of it's time. It's Jay. But nope. It's Mila that'll show at fashion week. It seems that Heidi Klum's opinion weighs more than Michael's - which is interesting to me. Michael is an incredibly successful designer. He might know a thing or two. Sure, Heidi models clothes, but have you seen some of her outfits. Not good. But whatever. The judges have spoken.

And I'm fine with it because I like Mila's work. I just was shocked that it was what the judges were looking for. But let the gal have this one. She'll be taking her own hit when that boyfriend of hers comes out of the closet. Ouch.