‘Project Runway’ crowns Irina Shabayeva

LISA DENTON: With the finale of “Project Runway” last Thursday, the coronation of Irina Shabayeva is complete. I can’t say I was totally surprised she won — for the past few weeks, she was consistently the strongest contender — but I can’t say I’m exactly pleased by the selection.

Maybe it’s my Southern upbringing, but her attitude left me cold. Don’t get me wrong; confidence is a good thing. It’s probably what tipped the scale in her favor. But Irina seemed to think she could claim the win weeks ago. She was so derisive and dismissive of the other contestants. It was unattractive and unappealing.

SUSAN PIERCE: I have to agree, her arrogance was a turn-off. But as the old saying goes, “It ain’t bragging if it’s fact,” and she backed up her boasts with a win.

Even when the three finalists were told by judge Nina Garcia to use color and steer clear of black ensembles on the runway, Irina bluntly stated in her video aside that she disagreed and proceeded to do a black — almost Goth-inspired — collection. To me, that was Irina’s pinnacle of presumption.

LISA: I’m still trying to understand the editing decisions on these shows. It was clear early on that the judges’ caution that all black can be uninteresting on the runway would come back to haunt Irina, and they did call her on it. But in the end it didn’t matter.

I will say that the sixth season’s finalists were probably the strongest top three since I’ve been watching. The collections from Althea Harper and Carol Hannah Whitfield were visually appealing. Even the things real women would never wear were interesting on the runway, i.e. Carol Hannah’s gray gauze cone dress.

SUSAN: In the very first week of “Project Runway,” I predicted Carol Hannah would be among the final four, and I was rooting for the South Carolinian. I thought her collection was fresh, young, funky but functional.

Even if I hadn’t loved her designs each week, I’d score Carol Hannah extra points for getting her bedraggled self out of the sickbed and up to the workroom so the show would go on.

I thought Althea’s collection was poorly fitted and the continuous use of that gold satin fabric was almost as monotonous as Irina’s black lineup.

But what really bothered me about Althea’s designs were the lop-sided bustiers; i.e., one cup cut higher across the chest than the other cup. They didn’t look asymmetrical; they looked like she had cut the pattern incorrectly. Additionally, they seemed to have no obvious means of support, which made me nervous for the model bouncing down the runway in them.

The hemlines of Althea’s long gowns and the pants weren’t pinned to the right length and almost puddled around the model. Her whole collection left me unimpressed.

LISA: One more thing while we’re on the subject of reality shows. Susan Boyle’s debut CD will be released today. It’s called “I Dreamed a Dream,” which became her signature song after she wowed the judges on “Britain’s Got Talent.” The CD is Amazon’s best-selling album ever in presales.

After hearing that news, I started wondering what happened to the act that came in first. I remember it was a group of some kind, but, honestly, I can’t tell you what their talent was or how well they’ve done since winning.

Maybe it’s not such a bad thing to come in second.