Project Runway: "Take It All Off!" and "He Said, She Said"

"Take It All Off!"
It worked out that I'm behind on posting, because there is nothing worth posting about from the Thunder from Down Under challenge. I watched it like I watched a scary movie when I was a kid: mostly with my head down and only peeking through my fingers to see what was happening. Nothing good has ever come out of a PR men's challenge. It's always a catastrophe, a tragedy, and a black mark on the show. I imagine the producers think it clever and twisty to do a mens challenge, and while it is twisty, it's not so clever to demand that the designers do something that that have no training or experience to do.

The fact is that there are different branches and sub-branches of fashion, and those branches require different training, knowledge, and experience. While some methods and techniques transfer, each branch is simply a different beast. So to say "do this thing you've never done and don't have the skills for and make sure it's not complete garbage" is one of the most unrealistic demands ever made. It's like asking someone whose food prep training consists of working a fast food grill to make a four star meal for a shi-shi dinner party the next day. You'll get food on the table, but the chances of the meal being four star are virtually nonexistent.

The best part of the episode is when one of the...ahem..."dancers" said in his Australian accent, "They didn't have time for proper stitching." Like all tragedies, there was no winner. Amanda went home, mostly because of team drama.

Side note: One of my pet peeves is when reality show contestants say "I didn't come here to make friends" when they are being nasty, and this week I finally figured why it bothers me so much. Sure, I understand you didn't come to make friends, but did you really come to make enemies? Civility does not equal making friends, and holding grudges only weakens your focus as a competitor.

"He Said, She Said"
It was a relief to have a straight-up challenge this week. The designers had to create a ready-to-wear outfit inspired by the Lord & Taylor rose. No tricks or twists. However, the winner's garment would be produced by Lord & Taylor and sold in their stores. That's a pretty big deal. Yet again there was a new team breakdown, this time chosen by the judges, but each designer was responsible for their own outfit.

It was no surprise that Richard, Samantha, and Layana were the losing team. Because of last week's ridiculous drama, Richard wouldn't even talk to Layana, so of course they had nothing constructive happen as a team.

Layana was safe because the judges thought her silhouette was perfect, but her fabric choice was terrible. I don't necessarily disagree, but even if she didn't have that dated floral, I don't think the dress would've been anything new or special.

Richard made a dress that is not only similar to one he already produced this season, but one that I could easily see as a $29.99 Target special. While there's nothing wrong with Target clothes per se (I've purchased many an item there myself), it's not something you want to try and sell to Lord & Taylor.

Samantha went home this week with her effort at making a younger look, but walking straight over the junior line. The biggest mistake was the heart cutout in the back. With all the ruffles and color blocking, the heart became too much. It's also very difficult to make a clean-looking cutout that is properly stabilized. I actually liked the idea of Samantha's dress, but as I've seen throughout the season, she clearly needs to up her construction skills and hone her editing skills. I would love to see her on PR after a few years of experience.

Team Stanley and Patricia were safe this week. It was weird, because Stanley continually harassed and bullied Patricia, which of course made her mad, but in the long run it totally helped her. While I still didn't like her design, it was much more current and salable than anything she's made, and it still totally looked like Patricia.

I can't say that I liked Stanley's dress either. If you're going to make a basic, that thing better be the most well-constructed, well-proportioned, and well-fitting garment on that stage. While it was mostly okay, those front darts were so distractingly low, that I can't believe the judges didn't say anything about it. Stanley chose the length for "appeal to more than one market," but I can't imagine that many people want a mid-calf skirt.

After a little drama that I still don't understand, team Daniel and Michelle were declared the winners! I know just how Daniel felt as he burst into tears when he talked about ripping his jacket apart. When you make something, especially something you believe in, it is a heartbreak to have it not work out. (I have certainly mourned more than one project.) Since he used up so much time on that jacket, his dress was basic and not so great construction-wise. But past challenges have certainly showed that Daniel has great construction skills, so I was glad that he was safe under the umbrella of Michelle's win. The thing that's so great about Daniel is that he is amazingly positive, and 99% of the time he has the true gift of taking criticism gracefully and internalizing it to his benefit. All he needs to do is figure out how to make his aesthetic more current and he's golden. Either way he is the dearest, tenderest heart.

Michelle won the challenge, and her design was certainly the best of the lot. It was simple enough, but the layering details, colors, and fabric combinations made it a current and young winning look.

I've had a few discussions with friends, and this season really doesn't have a stand-out talent. But we have what we have so I'm predicting for the final three Michelle, Layana (even though I don't like her), and a toss up between Daniel and Stanley. I keep thinking that Stanley will be this dark horse that suddenly starts showing us amazing things. I'm not sure why I keep having these thoughts, so we'll see if they come true.

Project Runway Teams: A Sticky Situation

I haven't posted about last week's episode, but I haven't watched this week's episode, so I'll just pretend that last week's is this week's and that y'all haven't already moved on. (I hope I reminded you of this clip.)

This was one of my favorite unconventional challenges. Partly because I've actually seen and heard about people doing this in the real world, and partly because some really interesting things came out of the challenge. In teams of two, the designers made one prom dress out of Duck brand duct tape in less than 24 hours.

There were three bad and two good dresses. First, out with the bad.

Even though it was one of the best for the judges, Patricia and Samantha's dress was the worst for me. What the judges found charming in it's insect-like or alien-like qualities, I found off-putting. I didn't like the jittery way the dress walked, I didn't like the colors, and I didn't think it was special. I will admit that Patricia's cutouts were neat, but we already know that she creates mostly good fabrics and mostly bad designs.

I had hope that Richard and Daniel would come up with something fabulously crazy between them, but I was frankly not surprised by their 80s space foil number. It wasn't the worst dress ever, but I feel that's how all Barbies were dressed in the 80s. Their one good idea, that was only slightly successful, was making a corsage. Of course the ladies need a corsage!

After last week's rip about putting denim skirts on the red carpet, Kate and Tu went ahead and used "denim" tape for their prom dress. But that wasn't their only mistake. Kate kept insisting that a long dress was young, and I kept screaming at the TV that they weren't. Especially a mermaid cut that would inhibit dancing. At prom. I admit that some girls probably want a long dress to appear older or because they fantasize about being grown up, but they always look a bit ridiculous. Kate went home for bulldozing over Tu (which she happily admitted during interview sections), and I'm sure Tu will soon follow since he has few construction skills.

In with the good. Stanley and Layana did a decent job. I almost always love a vintage silhouette, because in this day an age it tends to connote young without any hint of trashy. The armor-like style lines in the bodice were a great foil to the exaggerated hot pink bow, and making a petticoat was that extra touch that raised it from good to great. I personally would have put the bow in the back because 1) it wouldn't be in the way, and 2) I always love a good exit dress.

My favorite design, and the winner, was Michelle and Amanda's exaggerated houndstooth dress. It wasn't perfect, but it was young and fresh with that mix of soft and hard that I'm continually drawn to. Is it a dress that every girl would wear to prom? Certainly not, but their challenge wasn't to dress the "norm," and both Michelle and Amanda serviced their own aesthetics. The silhouette overall had great proportions, and I especially loved the cut and lay of the skirt. I didn't love the exaggerated bodice, because I think the dress is strong enough without it, but it didn't ruin the dress either. Michelle was declared the winner, which I was very pleased with. I mean, at this point she's basically held on with her fingernails through a lot of bad luck.

Project Runway Teams: A Little Bit Country, a Little Bit Rock

This week the designers were broken into teams of two to design a red carpet look and a stage look for country music star Miranda Lambert. The designers were advised to celebrate Miranda's curves and to make sure that their designs were chic, young, fresh, and easy.

My absolute favorite look was the red carpet look from Benjamin, and I was sorely disappointed that he didn't win. The fit of the dress and the craftsmanship were impeccable--I barely have the words to do the dress justice. The foundation, which you don't even see, is really what makes the dress perfection and is a testament to his craft. The gown was elegant and classic, but at the same time fresh with just enough details to make the look pop. Plus, the color, amazing. Good on ya, Benjamin, for finally getting it together. Now lets hope he can stay together. (This picture does not do the dress justice.)

And his teammate, Amanda, also got it together this week after being lambasted by her teammates. Granted, this challenge was 100% in her wheelhouse, but at least now we know she is what she says she is. Some designers claim to excel in an area, then when they get the opportunity to excel, they bomb. Amanda's dress was great for stage with all the movement of the fringe. However, a slightly lighter color or maybe a little crystal on the ends of some of the fringe, would have made it stand out even more. (I'm not a fan of sparkle, but it makes a huge difference on stage. Like, for real.)

Team Richard and Stanley were the winning team, with Richard coming out on top as the winner with his take on fringe. Richard's dress will look amazing on stage, and that dude works well under pressure, but I was still slightly disappointed with his win. I can't even tell you exactly why. Maybe it's because he kept saying "It is everything" about his design.

Stanley's dress was more of a great idea then a great design. His hammered paillette belt was beautiful in shape and placement, but for the rest of the dress it was obvious that he didn't think enough about who he was designing for, nor was his craftsmanship of the bodice at his usual level. The main fabric was also a little lack luster and doesn't look expensive.

I don't even really want to talk about the bottom designs. I mean, first of all, both Daniel and Michelle put denim in their red carpet looks. DENIM. I don't care what world you are from, there is a one in a billion chance that a designer could even come close to making denim work on a formal red carpet. And I am emboldened to say that no one in the history of ever will make a long denim skirt chic, not even in a casual look. They are always, always a bad idea. Then Michelle put that finge necklace over her look that covered up any work she did on the vest. I actually didn't think the necklace was terrible per se, but it certainly was terrible with that outfit. I really like both Michelle and Daniel, so their designs were especially disappointing. Zac may have had it right when he said Daniel "might be amazing, but he might not be cool."

 

Samantha was extremely lucky in her immunity. Her look was boring and her construction was barely passable. So that meant that poor, sad Matt went home. I felt really sorry for him, because it's hard to get out from under the weight of self-doubt, especially when everyone around you is moving forward. But designers cannot stay based on their emotional state.

Lastly, special dishonerable mentions to Kate and Patricia. I don't think Kate's idea was the worst, but the color and fabrication mix may have been the worst. The dress fit well and was in good proportion, but the red leather with a different red chiffon looked classless and like a "sexy" 90s vampire. The model just needed black lipstick.

There was nothing redeemable about Patricia's look. The underdress fabric was horrific, and no amount of "gun belt finge" will change that. The only reason she wasn't in the bottom was that Layana's scores pulled them through. I'm ready for Patricia to go home now.

Project Runway Teams: "The Ultimate Hard and Soft"

Welcome to the obligatory unconventional challenge. Sometimes these challenges produce amazing beauty and innovation, and sometimes they produce horror and gore. The beauty produced this time around was a bit overwhelming in awesomeness.

Each team had to make a cohesive line of six looks with items from a hardware store and a floral shop. As predicted, the teams also had a shakeup and were rebalanced. Stanley and Layana landed on Dream Team, and Michele was scooched over to Keeping It Real. Stanley really took charge of KIR; he dictated a theme of vintage Dior and a pastel color palette, and everyone fell in line and got it done. (Stanley's decisiveness and big picture mindedness might put him in the final three.) Meanwhile DT had no theme and it took a toll on their cohesion, meaning their line was not cohesive.

The judges decided not to pick a "losing" team, because both teams did well, which was a joke since someone still had to go home from the "second place" team, KIR. But it is true that both teams did really well.

DT's Dior theme really paid off for them. It was smart to create classic, familiar silhouettes with unconventional materials. Despite all the talk of creativity and thinking outside the box, the truth is that most people really want at least one familiar aspect involved. I believe it makes people feel safe and grounded in a small way.

Samantha won the challenge, but she didn't made it into my top three. The funny thing is that when she started struggling with her original design I thought, "She should just finish the top and make a simple pencil skirt to finish the outfit," which is exactly what she did. I really loved the look of the layered leaves under the skirt, but the hem should have been a baby hem (if possible), or at least no more than an inch. The overall silhouette was particularly lovely, but I didn't see anything particularly special about the bodice mix of materials. Nothing was bad, it simply wasn't for me.

The way Layana communicates with other people rubs me the wrong way. (We all know those people that seem sugary sweet, then one day you realize that they're just saying foul things with a sweet voice and out of a sweet face.) But the twig cage she built really was beautiful. The colors, silhouette, and proportions were all spot on, and the details were surprising and beautiful.The overlap of the textures on the bodice was particularly inspired.

Stanley's dress was meticulous without being fussy. Every piece of flora was placed carefully, thoughtfully, and in great proportion (even though my tastes call for the skirt to be a few inches shorter). Bonus, it also looks comfortable.

And I'm surprising myself by putting Matthew in my top three. That rope and mop bodice was structurally hard yet feminine. I can't say I'm crazy about the skirt shape, but somehow it all works in a pleasing manner.

KIR's too-little-too-late theme of "decades" didn't help them convince the judges that they had cohesion, but the effort had to be made. Nothing from KIR was crazy good, but they held up well enough.

Boy did the whole team throw Amanda under the bus. I mean, I'm sure Amanda's problems in the workroom were edited to be as dramatic as possible, and I didn't think it was dramatic at all, nor was she a burden on the other team members. Yes, she fairly could have gone home, because her dress was not super great, but it wasn't any worse than Joe's or Patricia's. I don't think Amanda will make it to the top, but maybe this kerfuffle will light a fire under her bum.

I didn't care for Kate's dress. Whatever treatment is happening at the hem is really distracting, as is the shape of the skirt made with chicken wire. I was also bored with her application of the unconventional materials. None of it was special or particularly well done.

I don't get Patricia. I just don't.

Joe went home for his pseudo sweater dress idea. It wasn't awful, but it wasn't great, and someone had to go home. Often the fey, alternative perspective contestants are yet another scape goat for judges. I mean, the producers want the various design perspectives to make a more layered show, but the judges generally go for at least some adherence to the conventions of the "now" in the fashion world. Such is life.

Michelle and Richard's dress deserves a positive mention as well. Talk about a nice balance of hard and soft. It was a cool idea to have the greenery sort of pushing out of this cage-like dress (even though I'm not overly fond of the S&M look of the cage). They could have pushed the concept a little more, and I would've liked to see flowers in the midriff too.

P.S. Surprised I didn't say something about Daniel's hip bumps? Yes, they were kind of weird, but they were kind of interesting, and his construction was flawless. Plus those lambs ears are perfect.

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? 

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.