A few months after the final three were each handed $8,000 to create a 12-piece fall collection, sartorial sensei Tim Gunn visited the contestants in their hometowns. Cruising with the top down in a Saturn SkyRoadster—one of the very prizes that would be handed to the winner—Gunn’s first stop was Los Angeles, to check in on the incorrigible Santino, who was masterminding a glamorous 1940s-inspired line. A stunning pleated ombre dress and frothy aqua frock with black trim left no doubt that the wild child was on the road to reformation, replacing his former excess with a newly sophisticated wearability. Back in New York City, Gunn dropped in on Daniel V., who proudly displayed a few pieces from his military-meets-Asian line; the guru responded optimistically, but cautiously so. And finally, in Houston, Gunn expressed serious concerns for Chloe, who appeared to be lagging in the design process. Although she had chosen a rich palette of fabrics, she had no sketches or completed garments to show.

When Olympus Fashion Week arrived, the three flew back to New York City, this time to stay at a Westin suite and complete their collections in a posh Banana Republic workroom. After peeking at their lines, Tim was impressed by both Santino’s and Chloe’s but worried about Daniel’s, pointing out the technical flaws and questioning his choice of accessories. From there, Santino’s models ditched their fittings, and all three designers struggled to put the finishing touches on their collections. But what would Project Runway be without a last-minute surprise? Heidi Klum dropped the bomb in the final hour: They would each be given $250 to design a 13th piece that would also be shown on the runway. The good news: They would have an extra pair of hands at their disposal—those of the formerly eliminated contestant of their choice (Daniel chose Nick, Santino picked Andrae, Chloe selected Diana). From there, the final three left the design and sewing of the 13th pieces up to their fellow designers so they could continue to focus on finishing their collections. When their time was up, Gunn chose names out of a hat to determine the order of the shows and congratulated them on their achievements.

On the runway, each line had its strengths and weaknesses, so determining a winner—a task left to regulars Klum, Michael Kors, and Nina Garcia, along with guest judge Debra Messing—was not going to be easy. Daniel’s ready-to-wear collection demonstrated his ability to create a range of garments (from sportswear to evening, separates to dresses, even handbags), but the line often appeared flat and disparate. Although Daniel said he was fusing Japanese and military influences, the end result looked more standard American sportswear than anything else. Some of Daniel’s strongest showings included a chic white coat, a long-sleeve navy charmeuse shirtdress (which did, in fact, express a military theme), and strangely enough, his 13th piece, a V-neck camel cashmere dress with cowl back (thanks, Nick). Although it should have been the collection’s coup de grace, his final look—a brown charmeuse evening gown embellished with a tassel badge on the bodice—was his most problematic. Not only was the badge perplexing; the dress was too long, causing Rebecca (usually a great walker) to trip on the runway. Ouch!

Next up was Chloe’s line, a rich, voluminous eveningwear mélange that demonstrated impeccable fit, flawless construction, and something we hadn’t previously seen from the designer: risk-taking. There were points of contention, however. Because the collection consisted entirely of eveningwear fashioned almost completely in heavy silk wool twills, it could have been viewed as limited. Plus, the garments themselves were capacious—a direction that would either be interpreted by the judges as haute couture or unwearable ’80s excess. Some of Chloe’s strongest showings included a chic tuxedo suit and three beautifully constructed monochromatic dresses, in black, midnight blue (shown), and dark teal. In each case, the swirling seams and bold cutout backs offered a memorable and unifying dimension. Some of the weakest pieces included the first garment, a disproportionate drop-waist dusty-rose wrap dress, and the prints, which looked somewhat out of step with the rest of the line.

And finally, there was Santino, who, like Chloe, showed the judges something they hadn’t seen before—in his case, a sense of restraint. Several of the gowns, inspired by old Hollywood boudoir looks, were jaw-droppingly beautiful. Especially impressive were the pleated ombre dress he’d showed Gunn a few months beforehand, as well as a golden charmeuse gown with lace corset bodice and a red floor-length frock with leather detail. Other looks, such as a strapless babydoll pleated top with leather Capris and micromini lavender shift with tweed jacket, didn’t fare so well. In addition, many of the pieces looked more suitable for spring than fall, and the judges didn’t feel that the garments fit the models correctly (although personally we didn’t see major problems with the fit). But while Santino’s collection was elegant on the whole, ultimately it was too safe and, much like Daniel’s line, failed to make an impact, rendering Chloe the winner of Project Runway. —Jennifer Ciotta and Jennifer Riley