Project Runway Judge Critiques That Left Contestants Stunned

"Project Runway" is almost as well-known for the brutal honesty of the show's judges as it is for the fashion. Hosted by supermodel Heidi Klum, "Project Runway" has not held back on harsh comments for the designers vying for the prize since the show debuted in 2004. Some of the most notorious judges on "Project Runway" were Klum herself, fashion designer Michael Kors, and editor-in-chief of Elle magazine Nina Garcia. Since Season 21, costume designer and celebrity stylist Law Roach has quickly divided fans on how harsh his comments are. In fact, Roach's "meanness" has been one of the biggest complaints about "Project Runway" Season 22.

For those appearing on the show and the fans watching at home, it may seem harsh, but the judges think that is the best way to understand the industry. Garcia has said the judges must be critical to people entering the fashion world. "It's better to cry now than to cry later, because at least I feel like I'm giving them a little crash course on what the business is like," Garcia said during an interview with HuffPost Live (via Us Weekly). "What we're seeing is a real microcosm of the reality of the fashion business." More than once, the judge's critiques have left the contestants stunned.

Sometimes "Project Runway" designers are asked to come up with looks that evoke a certain fashion icon from history interpreted through their own lens. However, even with a fairly clear-cut assignment like creating a women's sports line inspired by Jackie Kennedy, it can have disastrous results. One piece designed by Andy South, a Season 8 contestant, was widely off base for the judges. Heidi Klum began her critique by stating she had a hard time not bursting out laughing at the outfit, and she felt like she was "on a different planet" trying to imagine Kennedy in the baggy pants, ill-fitting shirt, and odd bolero jacket. The biggest issue was the pants that were meant to be oversized but actually seemed too tight in several areas.

South stood, mouth agape, unsure what to say. Klum reiterated, "I don't see it at all. At all. At all." Backing up Klum, Michael Kors said the look would only make sense if it was inspired by M.C. Hammer mixed with the grandmother from "The Beverly Hillbillies." South's only defense was that he didn't consider himself a sportswear designer, but the excuse only seemed to make the judges more annoyed. After that, South remained silent during the judges' comments, even after Nina Garcia summed it up as a "train wreck."

There are strict rules that "Project Runway" contestants must follow. For example, in a "Project Runway" Season 10 challenge, the designers had to create innovative fashion with an unconventional material: candy. With such a different medium, it is easy to see how some designers struggled to create looks the judges liked. Unfortunately, avant-garde designer Elena Slivnyak missed the mark. Slivnyak presented a military-like short dress made out of tan-colored Twizzlers. It seemed like an odd choice to go with something so bland and monochromatic for candy, which is often brightly colored. The dress may have made a better impression if the designer had opted for the classic Twizzler, which is red in color, rather than the piña colada variant.

Always quick with a hilarious yet on-point critique, judge Michael Kors said, "To me, she just looked like a rigatoni Mad Max." The comparison to a post-apocalyptic action hero wearing pasta may have been harsh, but it made clear how badly the dress landed in the challenge. Besides the garment's odd design, it wasn't well put together. Pieces of the flesh-colored candy fell off during the runway presentation and the critique. Needless to say, the judges, especially Kors, quickly soured on Slivnyak's presentation.

"Project Runway All Stars" pitted the best of past seasons' designers against each other. Although all the contestants had been on "Project Runway" previously, it didn't mean they were immune to the stress of the show. One moment in the third season showed how hard taking a compliment can be for some, but taking a harsh critique may be even more difficult. In Episode 8 of All Stars Season 3, designers had to come up with an outfit that would be the next big fashion trend. Christopher Palu presented a take on the trench coat dress. The high-low design and dark mossy-green lace fabric didn't come across as trendy or appealing.

"This lace in this color, it's like seaweed that has come out of the swamp," Nina Garcia said during her critique. Palu didn't seem to know how to respond to such a statement, so he replied with a simple "thank you." It clearly stunned him that the judges disliked his garment so much and used such degrading words to describe it. Clarifying, in case Palu misunderstood, Garcia said, "That's not a compliment." Even though Palu stated he didn't take Garcia's comment as a compliment, it was obvious he didn't know how else to respond.

Western-inspired fashion can go from chic to costumey very quickly, as the designers of "Project Runway" Season 21 found out. Unfortunately, Yuchen Han, a designer originally from China, was at a disadvantage for a challenge centered on creating a new take on fashionable Western wear. Han admitted he had no clue what fashion from the American West would be like. The man hadn't even heard of one of the most famous Western icons, Dolly Parton. With that in mind, it isn't surprising that Han's final look didn't land with the judges.

When Han's all-gray sequined dress, with giant bedazzled horns on the chest, came down the runway to a panel of unimpressed judges, Law Roach summed it up by saying, "We hate the dress. We hate the dress. We hate the dress." Stating it once apparently wasn't enough for Roach. Heidi Klum could only repeat that the taste was "beyond" until Roach pushed her to admit it was "beyond bad."

On "Project Runway," host/judge Heidi Klum is often at the center of the challenge. At one point in Season 12, designers were tasked with helping design Klum's line of activewear for the sports brand New Balance. Although Klum visited the workroom to give the contestants notes during the process, some outfits still didn't meet the judges' standards. Not only were the judges unimpressed with Alexandria von Bromssen's athletic look, but they also found the relaxed crotch workout shorts repulsive.

Michael Kors spelled it out in a way only he can: "If you want guys to leave you alone in the gym, wear that look. No one's talking to you." Kors pointed out how the pants make it appear that "you pooped in your pants." The pants' pockets were also oddly placed, creating what Kors called "pleasure-me pockets." Saying the pockets made the wearer look "creepy" even made Klum laugh hard enough that she had to turn away from the judges. To Von Bromssen's credit, Klum did say she liked the "poopy pants" with the unique silhouette.

Occasionally, the designers on "Project Runway" get the opportunity to create outfits that will be seen by more than fans of the show. In Season 2, the contestants had to make clothes that were perfect for the Mattel Barbie line of dolls called My Scene, as well as the human models. Keeping the styles young and fun, the contestants hoped their clothes would make their way to a real doll produced by Mattel. Some of the outfits looked better on the dolls than the models, while others were misses all the way around.

Raymundo Baltazar said he was trying to capture West Coast, surfer vibes for his doll. Yet that is not at all the vision the judges saw. "She, to me, looked like barefoot Appalachian Li'l Abner Barbie," Michael Kors said. It's hard to recover from a statement like that. Both Heidi Klum and Kors described the model as looking "like My Scene Barbie's mother" and "matronly" — the complete opposite of the goal. Sadly, the design led to Baltazar's elimination.

Michael Kors may be the king of "Project Runway" critiques, but don't count out Nina Garcia's ability to stun a contestant with one of her comments. One of Garcia's most iconic moments happened in a Season 12 challenge when the designers had to make fashion inspired by a glamping trip. Justin LeBlanc explained to the judges that his dress' design came from how water and rocks interact in nature. The gray bodice and sheer skirt were held together with a bunch of white, wispy swirls that LeBlanc said he made with a glue gun.

In a way, the glue gun trick worked to create a realistic frothing illusion, just not in the beautiful way he intended. On the hip of the dress was a huge glob of the wispy glue, which was especially egregious to Garcia. "It almost looks like she has a foaming vagina," Garcia said. The moment went down in "Project Runway" history as one of its most stunning critiques. Even Heidi Klum gasped, while the contestants cringed.

A project focused on the zodiac signs seems like a perfect fit for "Project Runway." In Season 5, pairs of designers worked together to bring the zodiac to the runway. Stella Zotis and Blayne Walsh teamed up to create a look inspired by the sign Libra, normally represented by balanced scales. The outfit was primarily a flesh-colored, head-to-toe bodysuit with a black leather chest harness and bunches of colorful fabric going down one side. Walsh claimed they were going for showing a scale tilted to one side. Nina Garcia didn't agree with the execution, saying, "It's just the one-legged monster." Heidi Klum added that it didn't look pretty to her.

However terrible the judges found the front of the outfit, the back was the worst part. The way the fabric wrapped around the model's body brought a ton of color right underneath her butt. Michael Kors was quick to point out exactly what it looked like. Kors exclaimed, "She is pooping fabric!" Kors explained that he is fine with things being beautiful and odd, but the design was just odd. It is difficult to see how the contestants missed such an obvious flaw.

At the start of every season, each designer is hoping to be one of the most successful stars of "Project Runway." Unfortunately for contestants on Season 21, judge Law Roach was ready to be brutally honest and bring them back to the long, hard road ahead of them. In the first challenge, designers were split into two houses to create looks inspired by Disney villains or princesses. For his first appearance as a regular judge on "Project Runway," Roach made sure to make his mark.

One look, created by Jesus Estrada, was favored by most of the judges and earned the designer a spot in the top three for the week. However, it also brought Roach's ire. "I hated it. I was the only one. I was out-judged," Roach said. When Estrada tried to apologize for Roach not liking the jacket, Roach ensured Estrada knew it was more than that. Roach added, "I didn't just hate the coat, I hated the entire look." Roach's extremely blunt comment caused Estrada to leave the stage in tears.

"Project Runway" likes to keep everyone on their toes by throwing out all the rules, like the one that says never to work with children. When the contestants in Season 7 were asked to design outfits for a group of little girls and an adult model, most of them had difficulty translating fashion into something friendly for all ages. Jonathan Peters didn't seem to like designing for a child, yet the judges harshly commented on both aspects of his final presentation. His short, gauzy dress elicited one of Michael Kors' comedic comparisons. "I get what you were going for, but she looks like she got caught in a tornado of toilet paper," Kors said.

Peters told the judges he already expected that Kors' quips would center on the little girl's outfit looking too much like it was for a "waitress from Benihana." Somehow, Peters wasn't eliminated in the episode, even after creating a look that resembled toilet paper. After the drama of working with children and adult fashions, Season 7 still had one of the biggest "Project Runway" scandals ahead of it when a designer abruptly quit the show.

Early in "Project Runway," Santino Rice made a name for himself by pushing back against the judges and thinking his looks were always the best. His attitude became so legendary that Rice became one of the most successful "Project Runway" contestants who didn't win. During a Season 2 team challenge, the judges weren't pleased with what Rice's team presented. Judge Nina Garcia didn't think Rice's team's collection was as good as the designer thought. After Rice declared the outfits matched his vision, Garcia bluntly stated that the collection was "not aesthetically pleasing" and didn't fit the lingerie category very well because the outfits weren't delicate or made with the right fabrics.

Of course, Rice countered, claiming his design was original and organic. Disagreeing, Garcia replied that similar styles had been done before. On top of that, Garcia added the clothes didn't even look well made. Although Rice didn't fare well on the challenge, he avoided elimination and made it all the way to the finale of the season. Some may be wondering what happened to the "Project Runway" villain, and it seems that after a time as a judge on "RuPaul's Drag Race," Rice has stepped away from fashion.