Episode Fourteen: The Forties vs. The Sixties vs. The Nineties

Racked is no longer publishing. Thank you to everyone who read our work over the years. The archives will remain available here; for new stories, head over to Vox.com, where our staff is covering consumer culture for The Goods by Vox. You can also see what we’re up to by signing up here.

It's Week Fourteen of Project Runway and the second, final, part of the season finale. The show starts with the three remaining designers showing Tim Gunn their collections. Then it's time to choose, fit and style their models. This segment of the show is loaded with product placement; Bluefly, Garnier Fructis, L'Oreal Paris, and Westin Hotels all get shout outs from the designers. Next year, we'd like to see Dunkin Donuts as a sponsor and then make the models eat vast quantities of their product on camera.

Next it's onto the tents, where everyone pretends that only three designers will be showing and ignores the seven decoy collections (despite the fact that Ben's and Jay's could easily have been top contenders). Two of Mila's models and one of Emilio's don't bother showing up at the tents. Obviously they had something more important to do than walk the runway in a televised fashion show. Perhaps this was the day the Nobel Prizes were announced. Fortunately, the show booked alternate models, just in case.

Our judges for this final runway show are Michael Kors, Nina Garcia, and of course Heidi Klum. Joining them as our guest judge, is Country star Faith Hill. Faith is very sweet to the designers, but her harsh make up is surprisingly aging. Is L'Oreal Paris to blame?

The first designer the judges eliminate is Mila. Much to no one's surprise, her final collection is Sixties inspired and monochromatic. She does gain points by breaking new ground and incorporating a variety of textures into her designs, but then loses points for the inclusion of jarring pieces of black patent leather in many of her garments. This means that our final two designers are Emilio, whose collection is primarily made up of tasteful sportswear, including brightly colored coats over "Esposa" print dresses; and Seth Aaron, whose Russian/German military inspired collection is dramatic edgy and colorful, although at times a bit "costumey." After much debate, the judges choose their victor. And the winner of Project Runway's Season Seven is...Seth Aaron!

And in our As Tears Go By Count, this week there are a torrent of tears. Mila cries during her collection. Emilio cries backstage after he loses. Seth Aaron cries when he wins and then again while giving commentary. Seth Aaron's son cries on the runway after his father is announced the winner. And, for what may be the first time ever, we see Tim Gunn tear up backstage during both Seth Aaron's and Mila's collections! These seven sob sessions bring our final number of crying jags for the season to thirty two. Congratulations producer John Murray, those are Real World worthy numbers!

And now for this week's Top Ten Moments of Project Runway Greatness...

10. Mila says, "I still see Seth Aaron's collection as a glamorous Hot Topic." Mila obviously prefers a grim Mary Quant.

9. Emilio claims, "This collection says a lot about who I am as a person and as an artist." We're not sure about that, but it definitely says that he knows how to spell his own name.

8. Mila's face shows more improvements over the course of the season then her designs do.

7. Seth Aaron says that his collection is inspired by the 1940s German and Russian military. Our education was obviously faulty. We had no idea that Hitler and Stalin were into yellow tartan.

6. With regard to Mila's patent leather, Michael says, "Whenever you play with shine, it really turns me on. I thought there was something about it that was a little nasty, but in a good way." Perhaps that was Michael Kors we spotted shopping in The Leather Man.

5. As usual, Michael Kors wears his sunglasses in the Bryant Park tent. Obviously, seeing the garments' actual colors is not important in judging.

4. In describing Emilio's collection, Mila says, "I'm in a boutique in Harlem in 1994." We're guessing Mila didn't spend a lot of time in Harlem boutiques in the Nineties or any other decade

3. Heidi asks her fellow judges, "What are we judging on?" After seven seasons, shouldn't she have worked that out by now?

2. In describing Seth Aaron's collection, Michael uses the words "Kaboom" and "Pow' but strangely, after watching Mila's, makes no references to Catwoman.

1. After he wins, Seth Aaron lifts Tim Gunn up in the air!

· Tim Gunn Goes Trampolining and Plays Pictionary; Is "Fallopian Tubes: the new "Make It Work?" [Racked]

· Same Tent, Different Over-the-top Circus [Racked]

· Heidi Gets The Designers to Make Her Another Dress [Racked]