Project Runway Recap: The Top 13 have to deal with their silent
muses....who speak
Yes, the models became the clients (which they
have done before) and as always these designers seem to forget that eventually,
yes, someone has to want to buy their clothes.
I alway crack up when there are Project Runway
challenges that involve dealing with an actual client. The designers look so
horrified and taken aback that someone would speak to them and tell them what
they like and are interested in. I think they have this idea that one they are a
designer no one can ever tell them what to do or create.
There are two ways this is wrong. First of all, the market talks. So, no one may tell you to your face that your designs suck, but lack of sales will send you that same message way further down the road, and that's pretty painful.
But even during the creative process, designers have fashion editors and buyers coming into their showrooms all the time to get early glimpses of lines. Those folks don't just come in, take a look and spin on their heels and leave without a word. They offer feedback. They make suggestions. The designer and staff will actually wait with bated breath to get these early thumbs up/thumbs down indications from these influencers. (I used to work in the garment district many years ago, in case you were wondering.) Sure a well-established designer might not be as cowed by the response of these folks than a new or up and coming one, but none of the contestants on this show qualify as established, so they'll be hoping for a faint smile from a Barney's buyer or Vogue editor for years to come in all likelihood.
Anyway, this week's challenge was for each designer to make a stand-out outfit for their model and an "industry event". (Meaning a party thrown by Project Runway to create a challenge for this episode.)
The designers have 30 minutes to caucus with their "client" and $100 to shop at ErsatzMood, and "it's a one-day challenge". Only, not really, because they got to work a few more hours the next day, but you know, gotta have the Dra-Ma!
All the models want simple, but interesting. Sexy, but not trampy. Except for the one who wants flowing and romantic, but punk. <Insert needle scratching across vinyl record sound to represent Epperson's confusion over this guidance.>
So, what did we learn this week?
-We learned that Qristyl has "never designed in black". WTF? Really? How is that even possible?
-We learned that Christopher wants to defy convention wisdom by creating a drop waist look for a model complaining of a long torso.
-We get all sorts of unattractive visuals when Logan talks about his smurf prom dress.
-We learn that Michael Kors is still MIA, and no one will mention why.
-We also learn the NIna has gone missing too...and I just pray they don't send Heidi off to look for them, or we may not have a show!
What we don't have this week is any particular drama. No bickering teammates, no addiction stories, no spacey contestants left.
So, let's get on to the show. As always, there is a link to the dress in question when you click on the designer's name.
As mentioned above, MK and Nina are MIA, so we've got Martha Stewart, oh, no I'm sorry, it's some guy named Mark Bouwer, some lady form Marie Claire named Zoe Glassner and some stylist named Jennifer Rade as judges.
1. Qristyl, designing for poor Valerie (poor because she always gets stuck with losing designers.) (Oops, spoiler alert!...I forget you're supposed to say that before you give something away, right?)
This was a one-shouldered little black dress that was quite form fitting. There was some frou frou thing at the shoulder, an asymmetrical flirty skirt in the back, and a single thin diagonal strap across the back. It featured many gathers that really looked more like creases. And while form fitting, there was something about the front that made Valerie look a little too straight up and down from chest to hip. Mostly, there was nothing special or original about it. You could pick this up at Forever 21.
2. Nicolas, designing for Celine
Nicolas created a white silk or satin sheath dress with these slightly space-age silver bands around the arm holes and leading up into a high collar. It was very short and had a plunging back. And it fit very well. I thought this was pretty successful.
3. Irina, designing for Kalyn
This was a 40's -inspired silhouette on a 70's-inspired print dress with a black band around the hem, topped by a black, short sleeve, short jacket with a portrait collar and a champagne-colored sash. The sash color was incongruous, but otherwise I liked this outfit and thought it was strikingly different than the others on display. I'm not sure strikingly different in a good way, though, because I do think it was bit aging and serious for a young model's night out on the town.
4. Gordana, designing for Tara
This dress was actually quite intricate and beautifully made. It was a champagne-colored mini dress with elbow sleeves and a v-neck, but the big featured was a plaited, woven panel all the way down the front. The only problem? The color. This was monochromatic, and on a girl whose skin tone and hair almost matched the dress. It made the whole effect a little too bland and casual. If it had been worn by Fatma, on the other hand, it probably would have been more exciting and impactful.
5. Shirin, designing for Ebony
I was a little disappointed, for the first time, with Shirin on this one. Johnny's dress may have been more obviously bridesmaid, but this wasn't that far off. It was a royal blue dheath dress with a deep V-neck and some tribble thing on the right shoulder. (Can they all stop adding tribbles to their model's shoulders? It really isn't that attractive...and by now we've seen it so many times, it's not original either.) There was a sheer overlay over the lining, and it seemed well-enough made. I did like the braided back. But it was pretty dull, and not up to what we've seen from her so far.
6. Logan, designing for Kojii
Logan of the aforementioned smurf prom dress. This featured a blue tank (which could have been the top of a maillot bathing suit) overlaid with a double layer of black lace so the blue barely showed through, plus a blue taffeta skirt pouffed out with, I assume, the help of a crinoline. The skirt was unevenly pouffy, to make matters worse. This was 80s prom. And it is best forgotten.
7. Christopher, designing for Katie
Christopher's overall look was a big "Don't" in my opinion. The green color looks better in the photos online. On my TV it looked pea green. Then he randomly ties a black sash under the boobs and one across the hips. Because, you know, most of us want to be chopped in three pieces and have the wides part of our body accentuated. There were pleats above the boob sash and pleats below the hip sash. I will say that it made the model look curvy, and she's about as rail-thin as it gets, so, you know, it wasn't entirely unflattering for her, the actual client. But in general, not a good look or approach.
8. Epperson, designing for Matar
Epperson took the romantic, flowing, punk guidance and made a pretty cute brown tank dress. He had strips of brown fabric of different textures appliqued across the dress in a random pattern, which I liked. He also had random strips and straps holding it up in the back, which I didn't like. And I gotta agree with Heidi: Help this model's boobs. What do this season's designers have against bras?
9. Johnny, designing for Emarie
This was a purple bridesmaid dress with a deep v-neck and a matching sash around the waist, embellished with a flower. Bo. Ring. Seriously. So boring.
10. Althea, designing for Tanisha
Althea went ambitious and created a three-piece suit. Oh, but this is not your father's three-piece suit. This is the hooker downtown's three-piece suit. I'm sorry, but if Michael Kors had been in the house, he would have questions Althea's "taste level", and the taste level of the judges who liked this. I hated this outfit. The black mini-skirt was way too mini and all bunched up and unflattering. The silver tank was too tight, pulling every which way, and while it's nice to see a model who has an actual rack, a bra would have been helpful. And then there was the jacket. Plain. Boring. No curves or shaping. The whole outfit made her body look like a bug boxy shape from thigh to shoulder. I thought it was appalling.
11. Louise, designing for Fatma
This was a little black dress, with a bug huge circus ruff around the neck. The dress did have a lot of pleating work, but it didn't read well on TV and looked very plain and one-dimensional. It was a very flattering fit, but I felt I had seen this before, and the circus neck was too much as the only standout point of the dress.
12. Ra'Mon, designing for Vanessa
This was a royal blue mini-dress with a big monstrous bow wrapped around her chest, like she was a car being gifted for Christmas. This continued the clown theme Louise started. Seriously, that bow is so big it looks like a joke. This was bottom 3 material, IMO, so he's lucky he had immunity.
13. Carol Hannah, designing for Lisa
Carol Hannah combined a plum Grecian Goddess style toga top with a wide matte black cummerbund and then a shiny patterned black pencil skirt, with a flirty little kick pleat in the back. It was well-fitting, flattering, had some edge to it, in the color and texture combos used. I thought it was a bit improvement on her previous efforts.
So, in the end they called out Johnny, Carol Hannah, Althea, Qristyl, Logan and Epperson. And I really couldn't tell who they liked and didn't until they started talking. I thought Althea's was horrific, and she was top 3. I thought Epperson's could go either way, and he was top 3. Carol Hannah's was the only one where it seemed clear she'd be top 3. Meanwhile, Johnny, Qristyl and Logan were bottom 3.
Shockingly, Althea won. I still don't get it.
Not shockingly, Qristyl was auf'ed. I thought there were worse things up on that runway, but she's been mediocre since day one, so it was about time for he to go. Poor poor Valerie. Auf'ed twice :(
So, any favorites now that we're in the top 12?
I'd say I'm rooting for:
Shirin and Irina
And I'd say the next to go might be:
Johnny or Ra'mon
Your thoughts?
There are two ways this is wrong. First of all, the market talks. So, no one may tell you to your face that your designs suck, but lack of sales will send you that same message way further down the road, and that's pretty painful.
But even during the creative process, designers have fashion editors and buyers coming into their showrooms all the time to get early glimpses of lines. Those folks don't just come in, take a look and spin on their heels and leave without a word. They offer feedback. They make suggestions. The designer and staff will actually wait with bated breath to get these early thumbs up/thumbs down indications from these influencers. (I used to work in the garment district many years ago, in case you were wondering.) Sure a well-established designer might not be as cowed by the response of these folks than a new or up and coming one, but none of the contestants on this show qualify as established, so they'll be hoping for a faint smile from a Barney's buyer or Vogue editor for years to come in all likelihood.
Anyway, this week's challenge was for each designer to make a stand-out outfit for their model and an "industry event". (Meaning a party thrown by Project Runway to create a challenge for this episode.)
The designers have 30 minutes to caucus with their "client" and $100 to shop at ErsatzMood, and "it's a one-day challenge". Only, not really, because they got to work a few more hours the next day, but you know, gotta have the Dra-Ma!
All the models want simple, but interesting. Sexy, but not trampy. Except for the one who wants flowing and romantic, but punk. <Insert needle scratching across vinyl record sound to represent Epperson's confusion over this guidance.>
So, what did we learn this week?
-We learned that Qristyl has "never designed in black". WTF? Really? How is that even possible?
-We learned that Christopher wants to defy convention wisdom by creating a drop waist look for a model complaining of a long torso.
-We get all sorts of unattractive visuals when Logan talks about his smurf prom dress.
-We learn that Michael Kors is still MIA, and no one will mention why.
-We also learn the NIna has gone missing too...and I just pray they don't send Heidi off to look for them, or we may not have a show!
What we don't have this week is any particular drama. No bickering teammates, no addiction stories, no spacey contestants left.
So, let's get on to the show. As always, there is a link to the dress in question when you click on the designer's name.
As mentioned above, MK and Nina are MIA, so we've got Martha Stewart, oh, no I'm sorry, it's some guy named Mark Bouwer, some lady form Marie Claire named Zoe Glassner and some stylist named Jennifer Rade as judges.
1. Qristyl, designing for poor Valerie (poor because she always gets stuck with losing designers.) (Oops, spoiler alert!...I forget you're supposed to say that before you give something away, right?)
This was a one-shouldered little black dress that was quite form fitting. There was some frou frou thing at the shoulder, an asymmetrical flirty skirt in the back, and a single thin diagonal strap across the back. It featured many gathers that really looked more like creases. And while form fitting, there was something about the front that made Valerie look a little too straight up and down from chest to hip. Mostly, there was nothing special or original about it. You could pick this up at Forever 21.
2. Nicolas, designing for Celine
Nicolas created a white silk or satin sheath dress with these slightly space-age silver bands around the arm holes and leading up into a high collar. It was very short and had a plunging back. And it fit very well. I thought this was pretty successful.
3. Irina, designing for Kalyn
This was a 40's -inspired silhouette on a 70's-inspired print dress with a black band around the hem, topped by a black, short sleeve, short jacket with a portrait collar and a champagne-colored sash. The sash color was incongruous, but otherwise I liked this outfit and thought it was strikingly different than the others on display. I'm not sure strikingly different in a good way, though, because I do think it was bit aging and serious for a young model's night out on the town.
4. Gordana, designing for Tara
This dress was actually quite intricate and beautifully made. It was a champagne-colored mini dress with elbow sleeves and a v-neck, but the big featured was a plaited, woven panel all the way down the front. The only problem? The color. This was monochromatic, and on a girl whose skin tone and hair almost matched the dress. It made the whole effect a little too bland and casual. If it had been worn by Fatma, on the other hand, it probably would have been more exciting and impactful.
5. Shirin, designing for Ebony
I was a little disappointed, for the first time, with Shirin on this one. Johnny's dress may have been more obviously bridesmaid, but this wasn't that far off. It was a royal blue dheath dress with a deep V-neck and some tribble thing on the right shoulder. (Can they all stop adding tribbles to their model's shoulders? It really isn't that attractive...and by now we've seen it so many times, it's not original either.) There was a sheer overlay over the lining, and it seemed well-enough made. I did like the braided back. But it was pretty dull, and not up to what we've seen from her so far.
6. Logan, designing for Kojii
Logan of the aforementioned smurf prom dress. This featured a blue tank (which could have been the top of a maillot bathing suit) overlaid with a double layer of black lace so the blue barely showed through, plus a blue taffeta skirt pouffed out with, I assume, the help of a crinoline. The skirt was unevenly pouffy, to make matters worse. This was 80s prom. And it is best forgotten.
7. Christopher, designing for Katie
Christopher's overall look was a big "Don't" in my opinion. The green color looks better in the photos online. On my TV it looked pea green. Then he randomly ties a black sash under the boobs and one across the hips. Because, you know, most of us want to be chopped in three pieces and have the wides part of our body accentuated. There were pleats above the boob sash and pleats below the hip sash. I will say that it made the model look curvy, and she's about as rail-thin as it gets, so, you know, it wasn't entirely unflattering for her, the actual client. But in general, not a good look or approach.
8. Epperson, designing for Matar
Epperson took the romantic, flowing, punk guidance and made a pretty cute brown tank dress. He had strips of brown fabric of different textures appliqued across the dress in a random pattern, which I liked. He also had random strips and straps holding it up in the back, which I didn't like. And I gotta agree with Heidi: Help this model's boobs. What do this season's designers have against bras?
9. Johnny, designing for Emarie
This was a purple bridesmaid dress with a deep v-neck and a matching sash around the waist, embellished with a flower. Bo. Ring. Seriously. So boring.
10. Althea, designing for Tanisha
Althea went ambitious and created a three-piece suit. Oh, but this is not your father's three-piece suit. This is the hooker downtown's three-piece suit. I'm sorry, but if Michael Kors had been in the house, he would have questions Althea's "taste level", and the taste level of the judges who liked this. I hated this outfit. The black mini-skirt was way too mini and all bunched up and unflattering. The silver tank was too tight, pulling every which way, and while it's nice to see a model who has an actual rack, a bra would have been helpful. And then there was the jacket. Plain. Boring. No curves or shaping. The whole outfit made her body look like a bug boxy shape from thigh to shoulder. I thought it was appalling.
11. Louise, designing for Fatma
This was a little black dress, with a bug huge circus ruff around the neck. The dress did have a lot of pleating work, but it didn't read well on TV and looked very plain and one-dimensional. It was a very flattering fit, but I felt I had seen this before, and the circus neck was too much as the only standout point of the dress.
12. Ra'Mon, designing for Vanessa
This was a royal blue mini-dress with a big monstrous bow wrapped around her chest, like she was a car being gifted for Christmas. This continued the clown theme Louise started. Seriously, that bow is so big it looks like a joke. This was bottom 3 material, IMO, so he's lucky he had immunity.
13. Carol Hannah, designing for Lisa
Carol Hannah combined a plum Grecian Goddess style toga top with a wide matte black cummerbund and then a shiny patterned black pencil skirt, with a flirty little kick pleat in the back. It was well-fitting, flattering, had some edge to it, in the color and texture combos used. I thought it was a bit improvement on her previous efforts.
So, in the end they called out Johnny, Carol Hannah, Althea, Qristyl, Logan and Epperson. And I really couldn't tell who they liked and didn't until they started talking. I thought Althea's was horrific, and she was top 3. I thought Epperson's could go either way, and he was top 3. Carol Hannah's was the only one where it seemed clear she'd be top 3. Meanwhile, Johnny, Qristyl and Logan were bottom 3.
Shockingly, Althea won. I still don't get it.
Not shockingly, Qristyl was auf'ed. I thought there were worse things up on that runway, but she's been mediocre since day one, so it was about time for he to go. Poor poor Valerie. Auf'ed twice :(
So, any favorites now that we're in the top 12?
I'd say I'm rooting for:
Shirin and Irina
And I'd say the next to go might be:
Johnny or Ra'mon
Your thoughts?
Posted: Fri - September 11, 2009 at 10:21 AM EmailFeedback
Quick Links
BlogHerAds
Archives
Categories
XML/RSS Feed
Annotated Blog Roll
BlogHer
Elisa's Resume
SF Bay Area Theatre Blog
Groundhog Day
Guy Kawasaki
HealthyConcerns.com
Elisa's Green Scene
Larry Borsato
Lipsticking: Smart Marketing to Women Online
Pause: Jory Des Jardins
Personal Finance Advice
PopWatch: EW's blog
Santa Clara County Democratic Party Blog
ShortWoman Blog
Snappy the Clam
Surfette
Veggie Going Vegan Worker Bees: Buzz Marketing & More
The Worker Bees Blog
The Worker Bees Store
Comments powered by
Calendar
| Sun | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat |
Annotated Blog Roll
Statistics
Total entries in this blog:
Total entries in this category:
Published On: Sep 12, 2009 10:21 AM
Total entries in this category:
Published On: Sep 12, 2009 10:21 AM
