‘Project Runway’ Season 22 Episode 3 Live Recap: Who Was Eliminated?

It’s Thursday, and you know what that means: Time for another episode of Project Runway! Season 22 of the reality series debuted on Thursday, July 9, and we’ve been tracking the competition each week to keep you up to date with the latest challenges, eliminations and more.

This week’s episode is sure to contain just as much high-stakes fashion and drama as the last two, and we’ll be following along as host and judge Heidi Klum and her team, including fellow judges like celebrity stylist Law Roach and supermodel Tyra Banks, provide critique on this week’s challenge. Christian Siriano, who fans will recall won Season 4 of Project Runway back in 2008, also serves as a mentor this season.

What happened last week on Project Runway?

Last week, the episode picked up on the premiere’s cliffhanger, which resulted in Plane Jane, Robby Crone and R’Bonney Nola being eliminated from the competition. Following Episode 2’s “Redemption Look,” five more contestants were up for elimination: Bi Pham, Octavius Terry, Dani Bennett, Bao Tranchi and Yangyang Xu.

On the flip side, Jeffrey Kelly Abess, Anna Molinari and Joseph McRae found themselves in the top of the competition, receiving the highest praise for their “Redemption Look” creations. Ultimately, McRae was deemed the winner of the challenge, and thus, received immunity for this week.

Who was eliminated to start this week’s episode?

As Episode 3 opened up following last week’s cliffhanger, Siriano revealed that Pham had been saved from being eliminated from the competition. Unfortunately, that meant Terry, Bennett, Tranchi and Xu were sent packing, leaving 12 contestants remaining.

What was this week’s challenge?

On tonight’s episode, “In It to Win It,” the remaining designers were divided into four fashion houses made up of three designers each, with contestants tasked with creating runway looks inspired by NFL teams. Bryan Barrientos, Abess, Andriy Volkov and McRae were each named heads of house and drafted their teammates before each group selected an NFL team to “act as their muse.” The heads of house selected the Atlanta Falcons (Barrientos), New York Giants (Abess), Carolina Panthers (McRae) and Philadelphia Eagles (Volkov).

As the designers got started, Siriano provided some constructive criticism to Volkov’s team, noting that several of their ideas—including cropped and asymmetrical jackets—already exist in the world and weren’t terribly original. He also offered up advice to Abess and his teammates, suggesting each of the three focus on a different team color in their designs. Meanwhile, Siriano praised Barrientos and his fellow designers for their “in tune” work collectively.

Toward the end of the first day, Volkov and teammate Bobby Diakonenkova started butting heads, drawing attention to themselves as the competition carried on. As model fittings began, Diakonenkova broke down in tears after making a sewing error and Siriano attempted to mediate the drama. Chloe Magleby also found herself in tears following some critique from Siriano, but head of house Abess was nearby to provide some words of encouragement.

Models took the runway so each house could showcase its three-piece womenswear collection, while judges Klum, Roach, Banks and this week’s special guest judge Ciara watched on. While Molinari received high praise across the board, designs by Magleby and Diakonenkova were met with confusion—and plenty of critique.

Who won the challenge?

Team Panthers (led by McRae) and Team Falcons (led by Barrientos) found themselves in the top two, while McRae and his teammates were deemed the winners of the week. Barrientos and his fellow designers were also deemed safe for the week.

Meanwhile, Team Eagles (led by Volkov) and Team Giants (with Abess as head of house) found themselves in the bottom of the competition. Diakonenkova’s look was deemed a “disaster” by Roach, while the judges told Abess he failed Magleby as a team leader.

With the six members of Team Eagles and Team Giants in the bottom of the competition, the judges deliberated about which two designers to send home—but once again, the episode was left on a cliffhanger. Stay tuned!

When is the next episode of Project Runway?

The next episode of Project Runway airs on Freeform on Thursday, July 30, at 10 p.m. ET. Episodes are available to stream on Hulu and Disney+ the following day.