Did I call it or what?!? Jeffrey wins, and I am so pleased. He really deserved it, because his collection was so beautiful.

Beyond that, I feel like my own butt is in the sling because I told everyone about the contest. I mean, I'd better be able to pick the winner, eh? lol So it's a little bit of relief to find out I'm not talking out my butt.

And BTW, as a special note to Nina Garcia- I'd really like a job at your magazine. I've proven I know fashion. I picked Jay when everyone said Kara Saun. I picked Chloe when everyone said Daniel. I picked Jeffrey when everyone said Uli or Michael. You get in touch with me, and I'll send along those writing samples that prove I can actually string a few words together, kay? Love ya, mean it. *insert air kiss here*

Ok, now on to some random thoughts about the finale. The music was especially weird this year. I knew that everyone was expecting Jeffrey's music to have a hard edge, and so I expected he would go the opposite direction because of his inspiration. But for someone like Jeffrey, it was practically classical music. It was a little too ethereal. Michael's music helped Michael's collection, which is definitely a good thing. I did like his collection, but not nearly enough to pick him as the winner. Laura and Uli had weird boppy music, and I am certain I saw Heidi dancing in her seat to one of them. That's a bad thing. If you're dancing, you're not paying attention to the clothes.

Michael's was eh. There's just nothing more to say about it.

Laura's was sooooo dull. Listen to me right now. If you want a career as a designer, you need to be innovative. Otherwise, please, do us all a favor and become a buyer. Influence us that way.

Uli's was lovely, but I stand by what I said before. The stuff that matched was too matched, and the stuff that wasn't was really out there.

Jeffrey's- seeing it on the runway, I wish the blue pieces were gone. It would have been perfect. He had the red section and he had the green section. Send them down the runway with all the reds together, put the dress that has both, then put the greens. It would have been amazing. But the blue ruined that possibility. The innovation was amazing, and you have to have that. More about that in a minute. Anyway, it really was an excellent collection.

Now- not exactly spoilery, but kinda gossipy... At the party, the designers were talking to each other, and a lot of them still don't know what the judges were looking for. They stood on the runway, sometimes for eight hours every other day, and they don't know what the judges want. And these aren't people that necessarily got cut early on. There is one secret. They want innovation. I actually got in a mini-argument with a couple of them over this, but I'll stand by it here. They argued it was beauty, but honestly, almost everything was beautiful this season (despite Laura declaring everything "serious ugly"). So beauty goes without saying. Innovation is what makes a winner. Uli had some innovation with the swimsuit dress and the top Amanda wore, but Jeffrey had garments that defied gravity. He took two colors of the same fabric that would have looked like a Christmas nightmare, and turned it into a beautiful top. He used zippers for trim and fabric that conjures images of a football field, and turned them into an amazing dress. Forego innovation at your peril.

Ok. All better. Rant over. :D