Project Runway Teams: Surprise Me

Last week was the Heidi challenge. First of all, everyone kept saying "it's easy to dress Heidi because she is a model." Lies. It  may be easier to understand the fit work out the proportions for a model's body beforehand, and that's about it. And the designers are not just "dressing a model" in whatever they want; this challenge is very specific in purpose, and Heidi is self-admittedly picky.

Okay, so the assignment was for each team to design 6 looks that Heidi could wear in promotion of her new fragrance, Surprise. The breakdown was 4 looks as options for the ad campaign  and 2 looks as options for a red carpet press event. The designers were also restricted to using pink, gold, and black in their designs.

Team Keeping It Real wins yet again, which makes me think that they will shake up the teams next week to re-even things out. It's funny because Keeping It Real don't seem to help each other more, but they seem to be more emotionally stable as a whole. That might be taking it too far, but it feels generally true within the editing. 

Since there were two events for Heidi, there were two winners.

Daniel designed for the ad, but he won for the press event. I adore Daniel. I'm not always 100% on board with his designs, but he has obvious skill and great follow through. Plus he's a sweetheart. The dress is nothing new or special, except for what he did with the leather trim. I'm not even sure how he did it, but it looks like it's floating over the dress. And the edges are nice and rounded, but the two layers move as one.

Kate won (with Layana as her partner) for the ad. I was surprised how will their dress turned out. It's not something I would design, but they really did a good job of mixing the hard and soft. (Even though Layana did whatever she could to demoralize Kate in the workroom, and all with a smile on her face.) The bodice front is especially nice with the draped overlay. However the lacing on the back bodice went a little in the direction of...Rocky Horror Picture Show. I don't think Kate will last until the final episode due to lack of experience, and I hope Layana doesn't make it because I fear she might be a jerk behind that pretty face.

Everyone else on the team just did okay--nothing special. Except for Patricia. The judges were loving her dress, eating it with a spoon, but I absolutely hated it. I actually like the textiles she creates, but I hate how she utilizes them. I thought the dress looked sloppy, frumpy, and  drab. I mean, the underdress was made out of cheap fabric that looks manhandled when stitched, and it made the model's bust look odd. I didn't get the mountain of praise at all.

Och, there was not one dress I liked from the Dream Team. I liked the leather yoke on Michelle's dress and that's it. Nothing else was even remotely good. 

But the bottom two is where the real disappointment lies. I don't know why PR keeps casting designers over 50. I don't mean to be agist, but that age group simply hasn't performed on the fashion forward level the judges expect. I almost believe that they do it so they can have a scapegoat when needed. I certainly think Cindy was the Out scapegoat, because although her dress was...not good, Benjamin's was certainly worse. In fact I was surprised that Cindy got that taffeta to look as good as she did. It's an extremely difficult fabric to handle without puckering at the seams and hems.

I've liked Benjamin from the beginning, and I think he has it in him to do better work, but I'm absolutely shocked that he didn't go home. He should have. What he sent down the runway was basically garbage, and I think that's putting it kindly. Fit, proportion, fabric choice, and construction were all terrible. I don't even think the idea was as great as some of the designers said. But, I will wait and hope for renewed vigor and vim from Benjamin, and maybe he can still shine. 

P.S. I want gobble up Zac Posen, or at least caress his eyebrows. He's a charmer and a living doll. Also is it just me, or is all the styling this season lackluster? 

Trailer Tuesday: From Up on Poppy Hill

I simply had to re-debut Trailer Tuesday on a Wednesday, because Studio Ghibli and Hayao Miyazaki and his son Goro are releasing another movie: From Up on Poppy Hill. Ghibli movies are always visually lovely and thoughtful in content, so I'm looking forward to March 15.

Project Runway Teams: Spin Out

This week's challenge was to design new server and "ball boy" uniforms for Spin, a ping pong social club. (Yes, this is a ridiculous idea for a club, but that's not what I'm here to discuss.)

I was surprisingly inspired by this challenge. I never give any thought to uniforms or sports-like clothes in general, but I still have all these little sketches next to my notes. It's probably because I always want clothes to be practical with little fuss while still looking and feeling amazing. And that is exactly what this challenge was supposed to mean. Sadly I think most people worried about the fashions and not enough about practicality. Practicality and wearability must always take precedence with servers who are on their feet for hours and hours.

Oy, there were some painful designs, and the Dream Team had most of them again. The design I like most from their team was Michelle's. I didn't necessarily see it as "server," but there were some good things happening. The elastic detail in the back was creative, and it ensures coverage with a lot of movement. But the collar was too big for all the bending and moving a server has to do. It would drive me crazy as a server for sure.

The top three were pretty good, but there was still much to be desired. I actually thought Stanley was the most successful. Even though he didn't have enough experience with knit construction to produce a polished piece, the ideas were right. Any server could throw that outfit on and not worry about it while they focus on doing their job.

Daniel and Layana were the winners, but for me the vest was far too fussy with that student work collar. If they did a plain, fitted vest, that outfit would been more win worthy. But the practicality of the skort pulled Layana into the winning slot. As I said, practicality takes precedence.

Joseph and Richard's T-shirt was also thoughtful and great in it's simplicity. I may have toyed with the size and placement of the slogan a little more, but time crunches do not beget perfection.

The worst for me were Amanda, James, and Matthew's kilt.

Really, Amanda? Who wants to bend over in that dress and have their boobs fall out while serving? I mean, being sexy for tips is one thing, boobs in a customer's face is quite another.

Really, Matthew? Not very many men would be caught dead even looking at a kilt. Especially American men. But I need to get something out of my craw. If you choose the slogan "Balls are our business," you have already introduced a theme of vulgarity to your company, so you can't blame the designers for expanding and continuing that theme. That's not to say that the kilt was a good idea, because it wasn't, but get real Susan Sarandon.

And lastly, poor low self-esteem James is Out. He resisted critique and help so much that the changes he did make were begrudging and therefore poor. He needed someone else to blame to make himself feel better. And I'm not trying to be mean, I actually feel a bit sorry for him, and I hope that he can figure himself out. Side note: look at the models face. He looks like a sour-faced villain from a BBC period drama.

Project Runway Teams: There Is No "I" in Team

I have mixed feelings about Project Runway doing a whole season of teams. On one hand, it is more like the real world of fashion where nothing is created alone. From my experience it's even rare to find a designer that does any sewing or sample making at all for their company, no matter how small. On the other hand, the show is about the best talent in the bunch. After all, a team won't win the whole shebang, an individual will. But since this new format hasn't created anymore drama than usual, I have no definitive yea or nay.

A warm welcome to Zac Posen who replaced Michael Kors as a judge. I was at FIDM when Zac really became an established designer, and I can safely say that he inspired me while I was in school. Plus, he's totes adorbs in spades, as the kids say.

Since I'm already behind, I'll just list my first impressions from the first episode. These opinions will almost certainly change and will also be based on personality almost as much as talent and aesthetic.

Like: Benjamin, Joseph, Stanley, Michele (mostly), and Daniel.

Meh: Amanda (turns out I know her sister in real life), James, Tu, Richard, Cindy and Layana.

No Like: Emily, Patricia, Kate, Samantha, and Matthew.

And here's the team breakdowns with their boring team names:
Keeping it Real: Stanley, Kate, Richard, Patricia, Amanda, Layana, Daniel, and Joseph.
Dream Team: Matthew, Samantha, Tu, James, Emily, Benjamin, Cindy, and Michelle.

There was nothing surprisingly great or awful in the first episode. Don't get me wrong, Emily's design was disgusting, but it was no surprise. It was quickly obvious that she was all bravado and no work. Creating something on your own time is almost nothing like creating something with a non self-dictated theme and in a time crunch. She couldn't handle it or herself. There's one or two every season.

James wasn't far behind, but I think his problem is more to do with being so unconfident in his own work that constrictive criticism is more like physical torture. It was boring and done, plus his construction skills don't seem on par.

Cindy needed some heavy editing, but at least she can sew and has a sense of proportion. I think I like her because she's not as aesthetically bad as some other...ahem...finely aged contestants have been.

I liked every one of the top three designs, and they were all completely different from each other. Patricia's fabric creation was top notch and thoughtful. But if she only makes generously shaped garments that highlight her fancy fabric work, I will tire of her quickly.

Richard's design looked easy and expensive. And let me tell you, making jersey look this good is no easy task. I would have put a little less volume in the side and shoulder gathers, but that's no big whoop.

Daniel, who I thought would torture me personality wise, is not only a delightful, warm person, but it looks like he's got some talent to boot. While his design wasn't all together original, you can tell he knows his way around patterning and construction. I'm glad he got the win.

Project Runway All Stars: Go Big or Go Home

For the finale the designers had to make a mini collection. They picked their own themes, and they picked the number of pieces they'd put in each collection, which is a frist. Usually the number of full looks is strictly dictated, but no quandary came up about too few or too many looks or pieces.

The designers also got a little help from "out" contestants. I only mention this because I wanted to strangle Casanova. Uli picked him to help her and (at least by how it was edited) it looked like he slept on the lounge couch the entire first day. I'm sure he helped somewhat, but come ON. If you want to stay on vacation, stand up and say "no" like poor Joshua.

Emilio: Urban Plantation
It was easy to pick my least favorite collection. Emilio almost completely missed the mark for me. I understood his concept, but there's almost nothing I liked in his interpretation. First of all his main fabric choice of eyelet felt too 90s and too little girl. My impression was that he was looking at women of color from the past as heroes, and Easter eyelet (even in black) doesn't quite cover it for me. While heroes can come in all sorts of packaging, there are archetypes and symbols that probably shouldn't be ignored when you're trying to get your point across quickly. Also the graffiti fabric was simply an ugly, muddled pattern.

His first dress was such a snoozer in design, and it was so ill fitting that I cringed.

I did, surprisingly, like the idea of his mini bustiers over a shirt. It was kind of neat how the top and skirt evoked dress even though the shirt broke them up the overall silhouette. Unfortunately the proportions were off between the bustier and the volume in the shirts. In fact he had a lot of volume that I didn't understand, but I've never been a fan of voluminous tops and jackets.

 

His best piece was the red jumpsuit. It had the balance of strength and femininity that I think he was going for. And I think it would look even better on a not so teeny weeny model.

Uli: Winter Wonderland
I must say that Uli's collection was spectacular. I didn't love every piece, but everything was cohesive and certainly contributed to the whole. When I saw her collection walk, I thought for sure she was going to win. Her designs, fabrics, stylings, and the models walking slowly down the runway equally evoked excitement and wonder. It was both dreamlike and slightly menacing. But even though I loved the collection, I found much it to be more artistic than wearable, which is perfectly fine.

From the first dress I was hooked. It looks like snow-topped and soft apsen bark.

Don't ask me why I live these metallic cigarette pants, I just do.

It's funny how I should be so tired of Uli choosing white and/or feathers, but I'm not. I'm especially intrigued by the little gold number with feathers on one shoulder, although I don't think it was the right fit for the model.

 

Anthony Ryan: The Thin Line (or Dark vs. Light)
In the end, like the judges, I had to pick AR as my favorite, and it's not only because I've been rooting for him (and overly attached to him) all season. I liked all but one of his pieces to some degree, but that's not to say all his pieces were perfect either. And I hated the shoes. But his collection was true to AR: graphically strong yet feminine and wearable. [Slight tangent: I gravitate toward women's clothes that stay feminine, but are based in menswear or that have strong masculine features. In other words I usually want all designers to keep their frills and fussiness to themselves. I just want to put clothes on, feel good in them, and not mess with them until I take them off. Continual adjusting and tucking will simply not do. So you see, AR's aesthetic and mine greatly overlap.]

His finale dress was terrible. It was the only piece that didn't quite fit with the others, and the construction and finishings look suspect. Additionally the proportions of the color blocking made the model's torso look overly long. If he had to keep it in his collection, he should have hid it in the middle and made his first dress the finale dress.

The first dress is exquisite. It evokes the careful tailoring of a man's shirt and suit, but the tailoring is suited to a feminine figure. This is my favorite piece of all the finale collections.

I'm also particularly fond of this ladder dress...if both the neckline and hemline were slightly lower.

I was scared that this yellow and black 60s piece would read bee, but it's sweet and truly perfect in silhouette. (It also let me say one of my favorite movie quotes from The Baxter: They're picking wedding colors. "Yellow...and black? Like a bumble bee?!")

Congratulations, my sweet southern cherub, winner of Project Runway All Stars!

Next up: Project Runway Teams. I'm not sure how I feel about this. It sounds like more drama than fashions, but the only thing for it is to watch and see.

Project Runway: "Couture de France"

I know that producers of reality TV are always looking for the twist, the shock, the gasps, but I thought this runway was downright mean. Sure, I gasped as Uli and Joshua were given a mini challenge, but then I was angry. Not only is it awful to give a surprise challenge after a long, arduous challenge, which came on the tails of a long arduous season, but they made the designers cut up their couture gowns. It was especially a slap in the face, because deep down everyone knew that Joshua shouldn't be in the top three. While I think he's greatly improved in attitude (and maybe a little in aesthetics) since his regular season, he still lacks construction skills, consistency, and the ability to edit.

But let's talk about the delicious part of the challenge. This week the contestants had to create a couture gown, as you know. But first they got to fly to Paris!, visit the incredible House of Valentino!, see the Valentino runway show!, and shop for couture fabrics at the world famous Janssens & Janssens! I mean, I was overjoyed, and I wasn't even going, so I can't imagine how they felt.

One of my favorite parts is when they visited the work room in Valentino and all the employees look like they're working in a laboratory with their white coats, goggles, and gloves. It was glorious.

Emilio scored the best fabric, it was absolutely gorgeous. I know the glee the judges felt as the walked up to the runway to touch the fabric. I can't describe the thrill of encountering an amazing fabric, but it was written all over their faces.

Whether his fabric choice carried him or not, he had the good sense and taste to pick this fabric in the first place, so I'm 100% behind his place in the top two. And his dress proves that less is more. If he tried to add more design elements to this, like he was originally planning, the dress would have been heavy and cumbersome. So he focused on making a well-constructed and well-proportioned yet simple garment, and it paid off.

Anthony Ryan won the challenge! I'm so glad he's in the top three. And I'm glad he pulled a second dress out of thin air, yipes! It takes a lot of courage to scrap a design under a tight deadline, but I'm sure glad he knows himself well enough to trust his instincts. At first I wasn't sure about his dress, but it really is a beauty. The design lines and panels down the sides only whispered art deco, but it gave the classic touch he needed for his modern, dark mood dress.

Uli's application of her fabric choice was thoughtful and creative. The whole dress looked like it was covered with antique gold leaf rather than gold fabric. I fully agreed with the judges' assessment about the lining and the proportions in the back, which certainly put her in the bottom after what we saw from Emilio and AR, but it was still a beautiful dress.

Oh, Joshua. I don't necessarily hate his idea, in fact I like to play with putting things together that initially seem like they would never work together (The cliché "opposites attract" does not apply only to people, right?) But his odd taste level is once again revealed in his fabric choice. That too small, bright floral looked like a Joann's special, and the white details on the black lace felt forced.  Additionally the skirt silhouette read prom to me. I also wrote in my notes "traditional Spanish on acid."

In the mini challenge, Uli and Joshua had to create whole new looks in one hour while on the runway. Again Uli was clearly the better of the two. Joshua shortened his skirt and tucked the bodice of his dress in, and Uli made a whole new dress with a sweet little jacket. No contest.

Next week we'll see AR, Emilio, and Uli make their mini collections as the battle for the win. I like all three designers, so I wouldn't mind a win from any of them, but a win from AR, my sweet southern cherub, would make me the most happy. Fingers crossed, and good luck designers!

I Guess I Knit Now

I've taught myself to knit several times in years past, but it's never quite stuck. This was before the days of the massiveness that YouTube is now and personal easy access to a local yarn shop that employed competent and helpful knitters. But this past October I decided I would knit a scarf for my mom for Christmas. I bought some yarn, consulted with local knitters, watched some knitting tutorials on YouTube, and went to work. And now I cannot stop knitting (even though I'm still a mistake-riddled beginner). I think about knitting a lot and I dream about it. In one dream in particular, I dreamt that I started growing fur on my legs, which I then spun into yarn and knit into sweaters. Disturbing? Yes. Awesome? Absolutely. 

This is how Mom's scarf turned out. It looks complicated, but it was an easy beginner project because it hides mistakes, and the laciness is just a matter of counting. I got the pattern from Ravelry.com, but I can't find it again. I thought I had a better pic, but apparently I don't. This is when I was blocking the piece into the correct shape. The color is a lovely deep teal in real life.

Project two was Purlbee's Bandana Cowl, and I ended up making four of these: two for myself, one for nephew Adam, and one for niece Daisy (they paid for their own yarn).

Bandana cowl in progress.

Project three was a hat from Twinkle's Big City Knits for a knitting contest. I came in third (because half my family voted for me, and there's a lot of us, ha!), but my head got first place in warmness for sure. I even crocheted the buttons! 

Somewhere in there I crocheted this scarf.

Project four was very exciting for me. I knit my golf pro baby brother three golf club covers. We decided to base them (color-wise, see sweater below) on the family favorite movie How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying. In the movie the boss knits to relieve stress, and he knit his whole golf kit. I used this pattern, again from Purlbee.com. These were challenging because of the small nature of the club cover openings and using double pointed needles, but I got the hang of it...eventually-ish. And I made pompoms, so nothing else matters.

 

 And now I'm working on a chunkiest of chunky cardigan sweater, again from Big City Knits. It's both nerve wracking and exciting, and I really hope it turns out, especially since I made some changes to the pattern. I'm even commissioning some wooden buttons for the project. So that's what I've been up to instead of blogging, I suppose.