*WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD*
I hope you kept up with Project Runway this season. If not, it’s your loss; Season 19 has been absolutely fantastic! The designers were so talented and unique; their weekly creations were exemplary no matter the challenges’ strangeness. I can’t remember another season that had so many skilled designers poised to grasp that $250,000.
Season 19 was unprecedented in another huge way: the final four contestants were all women! The season ended with Chasity Sereal, Shantall Lacayo, Coral Castillo and Kristina Kharlashkina presenting their collections at New York Fashion Week 2021.
Each woman is clearly talented. What we learned from their respective fashion shows was they are also gifted storytellers. Chasity Sereal’s “Black Sheep that Bloomed” theme featured black and deep purple gowns and power suits that were expertly embellished.
Coral Castillo incorporated her signature macramé in vivid colors to represent her Mexican heritage with a gorgeous menswear opener and stunning floral embroidered jacket closer.
In my opinion, Coral’s collection was most gripping. It was impressive, cohesive and emotional. If I were a judge, I would have handed her the grand prize from that display alone.
Although I’m partial to Coral’s collection, there wasn’t a bad show among the final four. They all put their best work on display and it was very hard to choose one over any other. Plus judges have more to consider than one show; especially since it comes as the conclusion to months of grueling competition.
And the Winner is…
Ultimately, they decided Shantall Lacayo was the winner of Season 19.
Lacayo is obviously a gifted designer. She’s been excelling at her craft for years; she even had multiple boutiques in Nicaragua and Panama (Unsure if they’re all still open).
Her history played a big part in her Project Runway victory since she used it to create the most commercially appealing collection.
I could imagine many of her runway pieces being sold in major department stores. She had a crossing wave motif on pants, dusters and tops that worked for every design and every woman. They were the most easily accessible pieces to walk the runway out of all the other collections.
Her designs were well-crafted and unique for sure, but so were all the other designers’.
Yes, you can make that argument every season. But, every season doesn’t offer the opportunity to go the other route and take a chance on an emerging designer instead.
Frankly, I would have preferred if Chasity or Coral won instead. As far as I know neither of them have owned a boutique and their careers would have benefitted more from this win. Plus, they were more consistent through all the challenges.
Yes, Chasity had been in the bottom once and Coral had never won a challenge; but considering all the episodes’ panels in sum, Chasity and Coral were nearly always safe. Whereas Shantall was the only one who was so near losing the competition that Christian Siriano used his one-time-per-season save to keep her there!
(From left) Christian Siriano and Chasity Sereal
Image courtesy of bravotv.com
Shantall is obviously talented, driven and passionate. The difficulty is every other woman has those qualities too! And no one else already had multiple boutiques and decades more experience to their name.
What do you think? Did the judges make the right decision with this season’s winner? Let us know in the comments!