But the one thing you can say about this season is: Whoever wins will be a gay guy.
That may seem like a ho-hum moment, but considering just how gay the show is — from the judges to the mentor to the contestants to the audience — it’s rather remarkable how poorly the gays have fared over the years. Last season, every male contest was gay (though one claimed not to be but… I mean, c’mon!); two were in the final three, but lost to a straight woman. Since the beginning, at least seven gay men have made the top three, but none has won since Season 4’s Christian Siriano. He may even be the last truly deserving winner.
That changes tonight. In the second of the two-part season finale, the three finalists are all gay: Austin Scarlett (Season 1’s fourth placer), Michael Costello (8’s fourth placer) and Mondo Guerra (8’s runner-up). Kenley Collins was kicked off fourth.
The fact Kenley and Costello stayed in the running so long — or that either is considered an “all-star” — is another one of the problems with the series: You become acutely aware what flashes-in-the-pan some of these designers were, and that they got further on the show than their talents would bear out. (Costello continues to steal others’ ideas, then drape a goddess dress to eke through.)
Mondo was the deserving loser a few seasons back, and Austin has become such a fun personality over the years (especially after his travel-fashion series with Santino Rice), so our loyalties are divided. But we’ll be watching for sure.
So … who do you hope wins?
