The Diane von Furstenberg of Project Runway

I love Diane von Furstenberg. I think she's beautiful. I think she's cool. I think she's real. I think she's a genius with prints. I think she's a shrewd businesswoman.

And she built her empire on one dress.

Tim Gunn (or Michael Kors?) compared Uli's talent with prints to DvF's, but I think the comparison could go further. Uli, like DvF, can build her own empire on a single dress. But I don't think she can win Project Runway by doing that.

One of the flaws on Project Runway is that the judges require designers to show a range. They want something as cool and practical as Michael Kors' sportswear and sometihng edgy and unique enough for Nina Garcia to put on the pages of Elle. They want something chic and wearable enough for Heidi Klum to parade down the red carpet in and they want something exciting and new enough to wow the guest judges.

Which means that designers like Austin Scarlett, who designs beautiful evening gowns and party dresses, can't win. And I think it might also mean that Uli, who designs beautiful party dresses for herself and her clients in Miami, can't win either. Unless she designs something else for the next challenge and the final runway show at Bryant Park. But by doing so, would she be abandoning the point of view that makes her designs so noteworthy?

Just a thought. Whether she wins or not, I wish I could afford and buy one of her dresses. Or ten of them.