Slate‘s XX Factor blog defends Kenley, Project Runway‘s bratty tugboat princess:
Michael Kors presented this as the “women’s final,” because this was the first time all three who made it to Bryant Park were women. So I will judge it on those terms. Throughout the season, and especially at the end, Kenley was treated as reality show fodder, the contestant you string along until the end because she is so entertaining, not because she is talented. She was bitchy, rude, disrespectful, even to the ever-gentle Tim Gunn. And then, although she presented the most spirited collection, she was pushed aside for the meek one.
In the last two seasons, the exact opposite happened. Christian, who won last season, was an arrogant snot, which only won him deference and respect from the judges. Jeffrey Sebelia, the ex-addict with the neck tattoos, was an asshole of Eminem caliber. In his case, too, arrogance was conflated with confidence was conflated with talent. But not so for Kenley. If she had been “sassy” or “vivacious” or full of ”moxie,” maybe. But no amount of talent can rescue a young woman who is an outright bitch.
Forget about the “women’s final” angle for a second. Kenley’s collection was just bad, with colors and silhouettes that were unimagininative, unflattering or completely inexplicable. Whether you believe Korto or Leanne should have won (I still say Leanne), everyone I watched the finale with agreed that Kenley had the weakest collection, as well as the least cohesive (after all her tugboat talk and her speech about rope, I was surprised that it only made one appearance, on a dress that looked like the bottom half of her Katamari Damacy look that the judges slammed earlier). You could make the argument that Kenley had the “most spirit,” especially if spirit can be measured in unflattering leaf antennae, but let’s be clear: compared to the other two, Kenley was “no amount of talent.” Being “arrogant” or “an asshole” didn’t make Christian and Jeffrey winners–construction and vision did. I don’t remember much “deference” from the judges, either; they ripped Christian and Jeffrey’s bad outfits as unmercifully as anyone else’s. Implying that The Man was keeping a spunky, irascible woman down while rewarding a meek little mouse demeans good work by Korto and Leanne, and gives Kenley something else she can affix blame to, instead of fixing her clothes.
Links:
We (Heart) Kenley? (XX Factor)
Kenley’s collection, along with Korto‘s and Leanne‘s
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