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Project Runway: The Final Four

Lights, camera, action! In the case of the Project Runway show this morning, that was quite literally the way the Bravo event kicked off, as it was being taped for the series' final episode, in addition to acting as a fashion world introduction for the four designers who made it to the tents. Kara Saun, Jay McCarroll, Austin Scarlett and Wendy Pepper were all represented (three of them actual finalists, a fourth acting as a "ringer" to throw the press off the scent and keep the surprise intact for the big finale). That said, this was a hit-or-miss affair, fashion-wise, whose outcome seems pretty apparent, whether you've been watching the series at home or were sitting in the audience at Bryant Park.

The Queer Eye guys were on hand to lend support to their Bravo compatriots, as was designer Marc Bouwer and GenArt's Mary Gehlhar. Ousted contestants Nora, Alexandra, Robert, Starr and Daniel were seated front and center and, save for Nora (who is rooting for her buddy Jay), all the other PR peeps told FWD they put their money on Kara Saun. Kevin was — scandal! — a no-show, leaving an unoccupied seat next to celebrity guest judge Parker Posey, who was rocking a crazy-haired Katherine Hepburn-goes-to-Haight-Ashbury look.

We have to agree with their assessment: Saun's 12-piece "Fantasy Fly-Girl" collection was a standout from start to finish. That girl can deliver the goods. From the opening look: a fuschia cracked patent leather aviator jacket with rust chinchilla trim and wearable jodhpurs (which drew rousing applause), through a series of beautifully-cut silk-satin day and evening dresses in shades of chocolate, lime green and white — all with cutaway back detail and short sleeves — to pearlized quilted leather coats and cocktail dresses that were a marvel of construction and engineering, there wasn't a dud in the bunch.

Yves St. L'Austin's collection was a paean to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, but in typical Scarlett fashion, he took it a tad too far. Things started off promisingly enough, with a to-die-for scalloped buckskin trench with leather belt and collar shown with a lacy blouse followed by a wonderfully fitted and flared tweed day dress with matching bolero (cut like a bustier to showcase another jabot blouse). But he quickly descended into the land of clichés (aka, Colonial Williamsburg), with a tiny blue velveteen spencer jacket worn with matching spats and three-point hat — do modern women really long to look like Paul Revere? — and elaborately flouncy or tulle-overlayed evening gowns that just seemed to be trying a little too hard to hew to the founding father's theme. The models' beribboned George Washington ponytails only served to heighten the cloy factor. One red quilted dress was just the thing for burning down Tara, while the final Liberty dress of gold organza and tulle was just (forgive us) tulle much.

A newly-brunette, moderately made-up Wendy Pepper came next (Finally! Those L'Oreal hair and makeup people must have staged an intervention). The woman Formerly Known as Cruella De Pepper showed a relatively uninspired, lackluster collection of dresses and evening gowns that seem defiantly aimed at Middle America, not Seventh Avenue (Pttthh! Take that, Michael Kors!) — save for one lovely fur-trimmed iridescent green velvet suit with unexpected beading on the back and a quilted orange pantsuit whose proportions were just right.

Jay McCarroll closed the show and delivered a defiantly downtown color-coordinated collection (each look was a specific hue) titled "Stereotype." He offered a dozen, mostly multilayered, street-smart looks, beginning with a gold quilted wrap (Chicest. Sleeping bag. Ever.) shown with a turtleneck and sequined appliquéd skirt followed by a shrunken turquoise cardigan with a huge shawl collar (who needs a scarf?), leather mini, hombre leggings and obi-inspired belt. The next look centered around an artfully tattered wrap skirt over punky deconstructed jeans (we want!) and after more appliquéd skirts, hand-knit scarves, crocheted capelets (noooooo!), leggings and big boots — all organized around a color, with each model sporting Cinnabon-sized plastic headphones that matched her ensemble — he concluded with a floor-length pink shredded skirt that resembled a sea of feathers and segued from fuschia to aubergine to chocolate as it moved from waist to ankle.

We'll have to wait until Project Runway's final episode airs on January 23rd to see who the winner really is. But if the expression on judges Michael Kors, Nina Garcia, Heidi Klum and Parker's faces during this show is any indication, Kara Saun will soon be crowned Project Runway's queen (sorry, Austin).

* John Bartlett: Joe College Brings Sexy Back * Project Runway: Baloney but no Umbrellas		* A Very Betsey Birthday Bash * Martha Davis: Industrial Design Meets Shoes