Monday, April 19, 2010

Top 5 Looks: 4th Place


Ben who?

Early on in every season of Project Runway it is difficult to tell one designer apart from the next but eventually everyone gets to face the judges on the runway. After the first four episodes of Season 7, Ben Chmura had produced consistently strong designs but they only managed to land him in the safe category. And with very little screen time, we barely had the chance to get to know who he was.

We finally got a glimpse in Episode 5, "Run For Cover". In the "biggest challenge in Project Runway history", the 12 remaining designers were tasked to create a design for Heidi Klum that would grace the cover of Marie Claire magazine. And they were given very specific instructions to make a bold visual statement from the waist up.

Ben nailed that message with his teal, yellow and black wrap dress that he called "Madame Butterfly on acid". In a challenge where very few designers heeded the call to color, Ben delivered and found himself facing the judges as part of the Top 3. He would eventually lose out on this challenge to Anthony, but we finally found out a little about who he was - a good guy and a talented designer.

Congratulations Ben, you made one of the BPR Top 5 Looks of Season 7!