Project Runway: Finale, Part II

"Finale, Part I" must have been highly edited, because my expectations for the fashions I'd see for "Finale, Part II" were in the subbasement. But I think this was one of the best showings on a Project Runway finale, partly because each designer had a strong showing on some level, and partly because I agreed with the judges' assessments.

I will only post the best of from each collection, not all 40 looks, but you can see all 40 HERE.

Generally speaking no one had a 100% satisfactory collection, but some were more success than others.  As is my wont, I will break it down from worst to best.

Melissa
With Melissa I simply felt like I've seen all of her stuff before. I thought her new "blood orange" dress looked almost exactly like one she did for a challenge. (I think it was brown.) Also her long white dress was horrific. All she had to do was split one of the seams for a slit; it wouldn't have been a perfect fix, but it would have been far less embarrassing. For me her two best pieces were her white asymmetrical dress, and a simple black dress with the surprise of a white halter in the back. I also liked the mohawk chignons.

Christopher
Sadly Christopher just couldn't make it come together. Again, I loved his x-ray print and splattered leather, but the judges spoke truth about the lack of cohesion in Christopher's collection. I think he focused on showing everything in his repertoire instead of editing for cohesion. He had some great pieces though. I liked his odd, shiny leather jacket, the craggy front opening was especially interesting; the blue, slashed fabric jacket, although it didn't fit into the collection; and his finale dress, which isn't shockingly new, but I thought the train had an interesting, structured yet fluid shape.

Fabio
Fabio and Dmitry sized up almost equally, which shocked me. I never connected with Fabio's point of view during the season, and I can't see myself ever wearing any of his pieces, but he made a strong collection. It was cohesive, it was true to Fabio yet unexpected, it was light and fluid, and it felt fresh. And I have to hand it to him, he really listened to the judges and tweaked his collection just enough to make it look sophisticated and expensive. (Most importantly he hid all his bad craftsmanship.) I liked this little white dress the best. It had a slouchy, freehand sort of drape, but it looked easy to wear and flattering.

Dmitry
I'm pleased as punch that Dmitry won. He worked hard, stayed calm, listened to the judges, has enough craftsmanship to choke a horse, kept cohesion, and ultimately made a strong collection. I certainly didn't love all his pieces--I still hate the mesh tops and I kind of hate those fringe sleeves--but overall it was good. My favorite piece was the black origami bodice dress. It was visually interesting and it looked easily wearable. I also liked his fringed geometric dress and the finale gown, even though both were borderline ballroom. I especially loved the top of the ball gown; the neckline is perfection. Congratulations, Dmitry!

A fond farewell to season 10, you were a good one, and a warm welcome to the start of All Stars next week! The contestants I'm most excited about are my beloved Anthony Ryan, Emilio, and Uli. See all the All Stars HERE.

Project Runway: "Finale, Part I"

I tend to look forward to Tim Gunn home visits, it's a great bit of voyeurism that I don't have to feel weird about. So it was a shame that both Dmitry and Fabio weren't living and working in their own spaces, but in spaces lent to them others more...successful then they. Half of the fun of the episode was destroyed. And since there's nothing else to say about the home visits in a blog post, let's move on to one of my Project Runway pet peeves.

No matter how many seasons air, when the designers have to show a mini part of the final collection, they never show their best or favorite pieces, and the judges always ream them for it. Have the contestants never seen the show? Do they somehow not realize that one of them is probably going to be eliminated before the final runway show? I'm baffled every time, and this week was no exception.

Let me break down what the designers did show in order of worst to best, with the understanding that they all pretty much came out even for me.

Fabio
What I liked:
I liked his color palette, mostly because he was the only one with color. I thought I would hate the tie-dyeing he did, but somehow the incongruity of the tie-dye in relation to his usual aesthetic made me like it. And, shockingly, I liked his weird plastic, Southwest 80s accessories. They tell more about what he meant his collection to be than his clothes.

What I didn't like:
His craftsmanship is subpar, both in stitching and fit. Even though his clothes are supposed to look slouchy, they shouldn't look sloppy, but they do. To me it looks like he doesn't understand or have a relationship with his fabrics. You have to get to know each fabric to understand how it will react to stitching, easing, unpicking, pressing, and more, in order to make a clean-looking garment. Some people have the gift of fabric-whispering, some people acquire the skill through time and attention, and some people never realize they don't understand their fabrics so their craftsmanship will always look sloppy.

Melissa
What I liked:
Maybe I should have put Melissa as the worst, because there's not much that I liked, but I'll keep her in this spot because her craftsmanship is better.

What I didn't like:
Her tank with the shorts was horrific. I don't even have words to describe my horror. On top of that, I feel like we've seen all these pieces from her before. And just imagine what a joy it would have been if she used color in surprising ways. She could have kept her black and white sensibilities, but added a boldly colored lining here or a peek-a-boo of color there. No fuss, no muss, but high-impact touches. C'est la vie. Also, the wigs she chose made puppies weep. Awful.

Dmitry
What I liked:
I'm always raving about Dmitry's craftsmanship, and this showing was no different. He also showed a nice mix of hard, structural pieces and soft, feminine touches, which he aptly described as "flowing architecture."

What I didn't like:
That being said, I hated his sheer tops. I get it for runway, but they're not good for much else. Also the judges were spot-on about him putting so many "special" pieces together that their specialness gets lost in fussiness. His fringe-sleeved jacked was certainly lost, and I might like it better if it was shown with more simple pieces. Warning! Sweeping generalization to follow. In my experience, Eastern Europeans tend to style themselves and others as wealthy, middle-aged women from the 80s, and Dmitry was no exception with his models.

Christopher
What I liked:
I loved the x-ray fabric. Sure, it was literal on it's own, but in the garments it became an interesting, unique fabric. I also loved the bleach-treated leather, and now I'd like to own a bleach-treated leather something or other.

What I didn't like:
I was thoroughly disappointed that not only did he have two pair of leather short shorts in his 10 looks collection, but he showed both pair in his three looks collection. And on top of that, one of the outfits was put together and styled so poorly, that it was a weird, boring, 90s look.

I hope all the designers take the judges' advice and really change and amp up their styling. If the styling is great, it will certainly create more impact for each collection.

Lastly, I'm so pleased that all these designers get along and are kind to each other. I know it's reality TV, but I just want the fashions (and more Tim Gunn), and amicability lets fashion stay in the forefront.

Project Runway: "In a Place Far, Far Away"

What? I'm doing a Project Runway rundown in a timely manner? You're welcome.

Since I knew that this episode would reveal the designers that will be going to fashion week, I made a ranked list of the designers from most to least favorite before I watched the episode.

1. Christopher: I've had him pegged as a top three contender from the beginning. Part of what makes Christopher impressive is that he rarely doubts his designs, his point of view, or his choices. He had moments, but he wasn't an "every challenge is a crisis" designer. It doesn't hurt that I understand and enjoy his aesthetic. On top of his talent, he also has a sense of humor and doesn't take himself too seriously.

2. Dmitry: I waffled between Sonjia and Dmitry for number two, but Dmitry's construction skills, as you know, are mind-blowing, and he's an incredibly thoughtful designer. He has a gift for tailoring that is rare, and it makes me green. I also love the fact that he's so calm all the time; he just puts his head down and gets to work. No fuss, no muss. Also he's hysterical.

3. Sonjia: Sonjia has a decent taste level and decent tailoring skills. I generally like her aesthetic and she's had a couple of pieces this season that I would buy immediately. But her design process drove me crazy. She never had a solid idea when she hit the workroom, so every challenge seemed to become a crisis.

4. Melissa: Melissa was a real hit and miss for me throughout the season. I like the idea of her aesthetic, but I can't really remember ever being very impressed with her designs. She also seems to doubt herself a lot, and of the final five she seems the least flexible or able to roll with the punches.

5: Fabio: What can I say? I could just never quite get over Fabio's South American bohemian food-from-dumpster feyness and aesthetic. Not that I'm against any of those things, I just haven't been able to come to an understanding of all these things. But he does have great hair.

This episode was the avant-garde challenge. Avant-garde is tricky on this show, because true avant-garde is about innovation and experimentation, which doesn't necessarily mean practicality or salability of the designs. Basically the judges don't really want all-out avant-garde no matter what they say, so striking a balance between wearable, innovative, and even more forward than "fashion forward" is the real challenge for the designers. The designers also had to work within the color parameters of Electric Fantasie, a new line of makeups by L'Oreal. So, there's that.

I didn't have a stand out favorite for this challenge, but Christopher and Dmitry impressed me the most.

Christopher made a black "evil crow queen" gown. The back was practically flawless. I loved the double set of hook and eyes as part of the corseting. I agreed with the judges that the bust of the bodice was lackluster in fit and proportion, and therefore a bit distracting, but it wasn't terrible. I think he was just so focused on the padded hips and explaining them to the judges that he forget to think out how everything came together overall. I didn't have a problem with the feather arm pieces like the judges did, but I personally would have left them off. (Or maybe I would have done small feathers up the back of the forearm to make it look like they were growing out of her skin à la Black Swan. You know, keeping it subtle and creepy.)

Of course Dmitry's suit was nothing but impeccable tailoring. The front tails of the jacket could have used either a little more or less structure to help them lie in a more pleasing manner. I didn't agree with the judges that the collar was unnecessary, and I think they would have said it was "too simple" if it wasn't there. It certainly added interesting texture and it was a little unexpected in shape and height for a suit jacket.

Sonjia and Fabio were on par with each other, meaning that I liked and disliked each design in equal parts.

Sonjia made a seemingly Poison Ivy inspired dress. I didn't like the her dress between the neck and the waist. The illusion/floating bodice was unflattering. I did however like the color, the high asymmetrical collar (even though it needed more structure), and the cut and fit of the skirt.

I think I liked Fabio's jacket idea more than I liked the jacket. I mean, wearing a jacket upsidedown sounds like one of the stupidest ideas, but in silhouette it worked. But the fabric looked like the kind of microsuede that is used to upholster midlevel couches. I don't even know how to address the pieces underneath the jacket--they were unflattering and messy to say the least.

I absolutely hated Melissa's design. I was shocked that three of the four judges genuinely loved it. It was confused and fussy and sloppy and not a bit fashion forward. I've certainly seen every bit of it before. Additionally the skirt was poorly finished, especially the opening in the front, and was not impressed with the bodice and vest fit in the least. Sure, she understands working with leather, but that didn't help her design in this challenge. The vest looks too...puffy. She needed some understitching.

The final four are Christopher, Melissa, Fabio, and Dmitry (Dmitry also won this last challenge). But of course, according to the preview, one of them will be eliminated before the fashion week runway show. I think either Christopher or Dmitry could win handily this season, and Melissa and Fabio are the dark horses.

This means that Sonjia went home. In the end I agreed with the judges' overall assessment of Sonjia as a designer. Even though she has talent and skills in design and construction, she really is still working out her point of view. I think that's why every challenge was a crisis for her and why Tim said she is not living up to her potential. While she is not quite ready for fashion week, I believe she will find her voice and place in the design world.

Project Runway Overlaod

No posts. I know. I mean, I've been trying to make some life choices, and it takes a lot of time to procrastinate those decisions.

I have missed three Project Runway updates, which I'm actually sad about. I'm not really up to doing full rundowns of each show I missed, but maybe some general thoughts are in order.

"It's All About Me"
This episode was the now standard challenge where the designers create their own fabric. The difference was that this time the designers were asked to create a fabric that was meaningful and personal to them in the footsteps of Mondo and his HIV-related fabric design.

Dmitry won the challenge, but not necessarily for his print. He created this complicated "floating piece" jacket that mirrored his print. It was unique and interesting, but not my favorite outfit of the night. I actually think it looked a little dated, a little 90s. Also the skirt was too small in relation to the jacket.

Sonjia's outfit was my favorite. Sure those pants were...loud, but the print was fun and the fit was flawless. I also like the surprise of the low backed top.

Oddly, I also sorta liked Elena's part Hawaiian shirt, part swim cover top.  I know, don't judge me, I don't even know why. It's probably because the navy part at the bottom has pockets.

Ultimately there was a lot of blah in this episode. But Gunnar certainly had the worst in print, design, and execution. All three of these elements were overwrought. I'm not sad that he went home.

"I Get a Kick Out of Fashion"
In this challenge the designers got to design a costume to be worn by The Rockettes! The outfit had to be modern, versatile (can be worn in performances year round), and have a great stage presence.

Christopher deservedly won the challenge. He put the New York skyline across the bodice of his whole dress. It was a huge risk, because if it wasn't well-executed, it would've been a complete disaster. But it was lovely.

Dmitry also had an excellent piece. He was obviously and admittedly inspired by ballroom costumes, but that sucker's got a lot of great movement and sparkle. I still can't get over his incredible construction skills. I would let him make anything for me.

Sonjia certainly dodged a bullet with her terrible, half-hearted feather number. It was ill-fitting and it had no movement.

But Ven went home. His look was so incredibly boring and it looked like those little dresses from the 90s both in cut and fabric choice.

And to catch up, "It's Fashion, Baby"
Last week the designers had to design an outfit for Heidi's new clothing line...for babies. Babies. FOR BABIES! I hated this challenge. If I wanted to watch/hear babies, I would watch a show about babies. Designing for babies is a totally different mindset and process than women's wear. Sure, they throw curve balls at the designers all the time, but at least they're always designing for a similar market. As Dmitry siad, this challenge is like "making an outfit for a cat."

I'm not even sure how to even critique everything, because honestly, I simply don't care about this challenge. As expected there were a lot of disasters. But there were two winners, one for a girl's outfit, and one for a boy's.

Christopher won for the girl's side even though it looked like something I've seen before. I loved the Oscar de la Renta fabric in the mother's dress.

Sonjia won for the boy's side with an odd little tailored sweatsuit. I thought the color choice was a little drab for children. She also has a solid mom outfit, even though I'm generally not a fan of maxis.

The design I liked best was Fabio's. It was one piece, so it was easy, but it looked vintage European in style. Especially with the Bermuda-length pants.

Dmitry's piece was...hilarious. At first I saw a definite costume from Fahrenheit 451, then I noticed the crayon influence, which was then corroborated by Nina. (Speaking of Nina, she certainly turned into a mushy fool talking to those babies.)

And miracle of miracles, Elena finally went home. Och, that woman drives me bananas. There was so much talk about how awesome the baby jacket was, but it looked terribly fussy and hard to wear for a baby. The funny thing is I really liked her mom outfit, and I'm still wondering why she couldn't do stuff like this in the other challenges.

Next week is the final challenge, so we're nearing the end. But don't worry! Another round of Project Runway: All Stars starts October 25!

Project Runway: "Starving Artist"

This week's episode of Project Runway was another episode dedicated to reenacting the nightmares of an introvert (me). Meaning the designers had to decorate T-shirts and aggressively sell them or otherwise beg for money on the streets of New York in order to get their Mood spending money for the challenge. If you remember during All Stars, the designers had to ask strangers for the clothes off their backs, which is infinitely worse. At least this time around the designers worked in groups of three and they actually had something to offer in exchange for money.

Here's how the teams and cash stacked up:

Team 1
Christopher
Sonjia
Gunnar
$684

Team 2
Dmitry
Elena
Alicia
$500

Team 3
Ven
Melissa
Fabio
$800.48

The actual challenge (which had nothing to do with the title) was for each team of three to design two fall looks, and at least one look had to include outerwear. Fall is my favorite time of year, season and clothes-wise, so I was excited to see what the designers came up with.

I was also scared of the drama that would inevitably happen around Elena and the potential bearing of fangs between Gunnar and Christopher. Of course Elena was her usual hot mess of roller coaster emotions, but surprisingly Gunnar and Christopher were not only civil, but there was zero drama, and maybe even a little kindness. I was rather proud of Christopher for acknowledging on the runway the great dresses Gunnar made. It's not an easy thing to swallow your pride or your dislike of someone and genuinely compliment and appreciate their work.

It was as clear to me as it was to the judges that Team 1 did the best work in the challenge. Gunnar's dresses were both surprisingly fantastic, excepting that the hem on the longer one was stretched out, poorly finished, and should have been about two inches shorter, hitting at mid-calf.

I thought I would hate Christopher's modified trench, but it turned out good enough. I especially enjoyed the asymmetrical collar, but I would never buy a coat without sleeves no matter how interesting it is on the runway.

The pièce de résistance of the whole evening was Sonjia's green jacket. I loved it and I would buy it in a heartbeat (but only if it had long sleeves, not three-quarter). It was interesting and unique, yet there was nothing impractical about it. I also love asymmetry, so it was an all around win for me, and for Sonjia since she won the challenge!

The judges put both of the other teams on notice for doing a poor job, but since there was the most discord in Team 2, I knew that they would have the worst collection. That's always the way it is, because discord in a team is inevitably reflected in the designs. And as guest judge Anna Sui said, "It's always a team that makes a collection." A designer never does it alone. Ever. I didn't love anything in their collection, but Dmitry's dress was the best piece, if nothing else because it was the most well-made.

Elena's coat was so terribly man-handled. It needed either more or less structure, but instead it sagged in some awful between space. Additionally it could have used a very thorough press. Seriously y'all, pressing is arguably the most important thing when you sew. Press as you go, press and press when you finish. It makes a huge amount of difference in the sharpness and quality of a finished product.

Alicia finally went home for creating yet more snooze-fest garments. It was inevitable, because she never once took any risks or did anything beyond basic. (I do wish Elena would've gone home, but she'll be there soon.) I thought Michael Kors had a rare deep moment when he told Alicia that the detailing she added on her shirt was "intellectual with no purpose." That's a pretty good line for a lot of situations.

Team 3 made a mostly forgettable collection that looked the cheapest even though they raised the most money. I actually liked a lot about the first look. I didn't think the skirt was as matronly or frumpy as the judges suggested. I think the only problem of the skirt was that it was too long for the amount of fullness, so it visually weighed down the outfit. But cut four inches off that bad boy to just below the knee, and it's a fun retro-inspired skirt with a lot of great movement. The skirt also needed to be paired with a shirt and tucked in so that you can see the detail at the top. Melissa's jacket was the best piece in the collection, even if the collar was a little too high for my taste. I also liked the matching socks. I don't know why, but I do.

The knit tees that Fabio made were terrible. It had a lot to do with the fact that the knit fabric choice was terrible. Not only that, but his coat was so poorly made. Who makes a stand collar or front facing with a fall-weight fabric without putting in any sort of interfacing? Answer: No one in their right mind. He didn't necessarily need a stiff interfacing, but he needed something to provide stability and sharpness in the finishing touches. And the buttons were extremely pedestrian and boring. Some big funky buttons or colored buttons could've really worked on that jacket. Maybe in the pink color of the T-shirts? Fabio certainly dodged a bullet this week.

I'm so excited to see Mondo next week! He will always be one of my favorite Project Runway contestants.

Project Runway: "Oh My Lord and Taylor"

This week was the sponsor challenge. This time it means Lord & Taylor furnished the challenge for the designers. Lord & Taylor had about nine past Project Runway designers each design a cocktail or evening dress for a collection that Lord & Taylor is producing. So the current designers' challenge was to make a cocktail or evening dress that fits into the existing collection while staying true to their own point of view. They also had to keep a retail price point of $200-300 in mind, but in the end there wasn't much importance attached to that aspect.

 I am going to subtitle this episode "Channel Your Inner Winner," courtesy of the lovely Tim Gunn, because that's what the women designers needed to get through this challenge. All the ladies had emotional breakdowns except Alicia. Yipes. It's got to be so physically and emotionally draining to be on the show. Additionally, I don't know what was going on, but I think the judges were smoking crack in the green room. Some of their comments and opinions were way off as far as I'm concerned, so let's break it down.

The worst design for me came from Alicia. It was truly awful, and it looked like 90s student work, but the judges did not hate it. The fabric looked overworked and under pressed, the silhouette was boring, the neckline was in ill proportion with the dress, and that collar was crumpled and odd. The construction overall was obscene. I just don't know why the judges were all okay with it.

Gunnar's dress was a yawn fest. The judges had this right saying that it's been seen and done. 

Only Gunnar and Alicia were in the bottom, but I most certainly would've put Elena in the bottom as well. Much to my dismay the judges put her in the top! When her dress turned the corner, my first reaction was "black garbage bag." The fabric choice for the silhouette was bad, and it looked man-handled and poorly finished. I will admit that the  idea of the harness in the back could be rad, but the front didn't work at all. Maybe if it was wasn't floating over the bodice it would be okay, because it wouldn't look like a reverse bra meant to expose rather than support. 

For me the top were Christopher, Dmitry, and Sonjia; the judges choices were Christopher, Fabio, Melissa, and Elena. 

I didn't put Fabio in the top because I thought his dress was a little boring and I was nonplussed with the proportions of the back halter. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't special.

Melissa didn't make it my top three for three reasons: 1) the asymmetrical bottom of her dress was a hot mess; 2) the dress was incredibly tight; and 3) there's no way that top would stay up for more than a couple of wearings, because the fabric would loosen up and that structure would collapse. That being said, it was a great concept, which I appreciate, but it needed a lot of refining in the detials.

Although Sonjia's dress was not perfect in the finishing area, the rest was great. That peplum detail was an entirely delightful surprise. She got the fullness of the peplum just right so that it added interest, but it didn't overwhelm the dress or add fullness to the figure. The seaming details were also fantastic. 

Once again, Dmitry proves himself to be a thoroughly thoughtful designer. It was just too bad that the facet regarding the cost of production was downplayed, because I think that would've made him more of a contender. I don't think Dmitry's dress was perfect, either, but it had some great ideas. The fabric choice didn't lend itself particularly well to the kind of detailing that Dmitry incorporated, and it looked a little tight, but the silhouette and details were great.

But there was no question in my mind or in the judge's minds who the winner should be: my personal front-runner Christopher. I know that he's done that shredding detail before, but the winner of the challenge gets their look produced, and that's his trademark, so he kind of had to go for it. Luckily the dress was gorgeous, so his risk yielded a huge reward. From the color choice, to the silhouette, to the proportions, to the drape of this skirt, I loved this dress. It certainly evoked 40s Hollywood, but in a modern and fresh-looking way. I would buy it.

That leaves Ven out in the cold. He was very nearly in my bottom three, his dress looked matronly and a bit frumpy.

The judges thought there wer "no real implosions" this week, so there were no eliminations. I would have been more than happy to see Alicia or Gunnar go. Maybe double eliminations next week?