All the gotta-dos and forgot-abouts and the hurry-ups. Sparking my brain at 2:00 a.m., 3:00 a.m., 4:00 a.m. ... [sigh!]
Make the buzzing stop!
There's just way too much going on. Last night, I had to shut down the computer just to get a little rest.
And so I zonked on the couch, watching a rerun of the Fashion Show, Isaac Mizrahi's also-ran, me-too, cheap knockoff of Project Runway. The episode in which design competitor Johnny got cut loose by Mr. Mizrahi for the fashion sin of... creating a knockoff.
Showing posts with label BravoTV. Show all posts
Showing posts with label BravoTV. Show all posts
Friday, July 17, 2009
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Lesson Learned: Trust Your Gut
Oh, Carla, my favorite Top Chef contestant, ever!
You, who showed throughout the competition that being true to yourself, to the flavors that you'd wrought, to all the things that made you you, in the end, was enough to get you to the top 3...
You let whatever tiny shred of insecurity you'd held at bay for months of competition creep up and allow a better trained chef, at least on paper -- but still one who in this very same competition also got into the weeds, if I recall, and didn't stay true to herself -- dictate your final meal? Sous vide? A cheese souffle? Really?
Oh honey, I've been there.
I know you've beaten yourself up over letting that run away from you. But don't worry. The more these things happen, the more you learn to trust yourself.
Hopefully, that's the last time you let someone else tell you how or what to cook.
Because I am convinced we'll see great things from you. Anyone who thinks to approach a competition with love, rather than negative energy and bad vibes, is OK in my book.
Having fallen down on the job by not trusting my own gut, I can totally relate. Those times that something just doesn't feel right, when there's something I can't put my finger on but know I should be doing something else, that's when things come back to bite me.
It's happening less and less frequently, now, that whole thing with ignoring my gut. And the more I see the results serve me well, it's constant reinforcement that my gut is the one thing that won't fail me.
You, who showed throughout the competition that being true to yourself, to the flavors that you'd wrought, to all the things that made you you, in the end, was enough to get you to the top 3...
You let whatever tiny shred of insecurity you'd held at bay for months of competition creep up and allow a better trained chef, at least on paper -- but still one who in this very same competition also got into the weeds, if I recall, and didn't stay true to herself -- dictate your final meal? Sous vide? A cheese souffle? Really?
Oh honey, I've been there.
I know you've beaten yourself up over letting that run away from you. But don't worry. The more these things happen, the more you learn to trust yourself.
Hopefully, that's the last time you let someone else tell you how or what to cook.
Because I am convinced we'll see great things from you. Anyone who thinks to approach a competition with love, rather than negative energy and bad vibes, is OK in my book.
Having fallen down on the job by not trusting my own gut, I can totally relate. Those times that something just doesn't feel right, when there's something I can't put my finger on but know I should be doing something else, that's when things come back to bite me.
It's happening less and less frequently, now, that whole thing with ignoring my gut. And the more I see the results serve me well, it's constant reinforcement that my gut is the one thing that won't fail me.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Eat Your Peas: Or, Yay, Quirky Girl!
Throughout Top Chef this season, Carla did not disappoint with her goofball commentary and wild-eyed expressions. But if last night's Top Chef is to be believed, she dazzled Jacques Pepin with her classical French training and made peas so sublime that it nearly brought the judges to tears.
How about that?
To have made it to the final four based on a very slow-and-steady-wins-the-race pace, building up steam, keeping her cool, showing some humor. Kudos to Carla!
In the end, unfortunately, I think Stefan will win if only because he seems tightly wound yet in control.
If you're watching Top Chef, who do you think will win?
How about that?
To have made it to the final four based on a very slow-and-steady-wins-the-race pace, building up steam, keeping her cool, showing some humor. Kudos to Carla!
In the end, unfortunately, I think Stefan will win if only because he seems tightly wound yet in control.
If you're watching Top Chef, who do you think will win?
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Project Runway Episode 13: Beware the Temptations of Asymmetry
It's the difference between a perfectly executed hairstyle and a 'do where the stylist decided she needed smoking break halfway through but declared you done, pumping you up with talk of the cutting-edge style represented by your new "asymmetrical cut."
Haircuts and clothes, especially, require a solid understanding of the rules so that one can break them effectively. Coloring outside of the lines first requires being able to see the lines and knowing why they exist.
It takes a tremendous amount of skill to pull off asymmetry in design. What looks like randomly placed elements typically treads a fine line between desirable and disastrous.
Jerrellicious
Jerrell's wedding gown represented the latter. From the grayish, shabby-looking tulle, to the swirl of taffeta crinkled around the model's body like gold-sprayed craft paper, not to mention the disaster of a bodice with the flaps over the chest... it was just one poorly executed idea after another. (And don't get me started on those gems plopped in the middle of the chest.) I liked the colors and textures he chose, but little else. The bridesmaid's dress was, well, I hate to say it, but it was dreadful - cheaply shiny and with fake flowers to boot.
Sadly, I knew in my heart, as soon as I saw Jerrell's wedding dress hadn't changed much since Tim's critique, that his days were numbered on the show. Like a Saab driver in the 90s, Jerrell goes his own road, and much of the time it involves piling it on and piling it on. He needs to learn editing so that he can let his creativity really flourish and sing.
Korto Loses Her Way
Korto's wedding gown seemed lumpy in addition to overwrought... with that weird tiered effect at the waist and knees - she actually made the model look chunky. The bridesmaid's dress was only bridesmaid-y in that it had been hacked down to look different in length from the bridal gown. Meh.
Her collection, from the Tim visit, looked very Korto-esque. Well-made. Interesting to a point. But in the end, predictable. She is not an over-the-top, make-a-loud-statement designer.
Kenley: Little Girl Lost
Here's my biggest problem with Kenley's outbursts. First, if you're involved in fashion, you just simply cannot say unequivocally that you're not inspired by a particular designer. Especially if someone far more experienced and knowledgeable calls you on it.
If they see something, there must be something to see, get it?
Sure, you may have steadfastly ignored the videos on the web showing McQueen's similar dress, or held your hands over your ears when fellow fashionistas regaled you with tales of a similar dress, all while shouting "La, la la - I can't hear you, la, la, la!"
But Kenley, tell me you didn't page through a magazine or accidentally click on by some coverage, or spy even a flash as you clicked past the Style network? You're in the business, for crying out loud.
Even if you didn't, just wait - let the judges speak.
Kenley's head-shaking over the McQueen comparison was childish, as was her previous behavior in reaction to the judges' comments. She needs to learn to listen and then defend. It's far more powerful if you hear people out, and then defend yourself with a well thought-out argument. Best comment from Heidi all season came for Kenley's wedding gown: "It's Crazy Good!" Admittedly, the kooky feathered wedding dress was impressive. But from what I saw of Kenley's painted prints, the color scheme for the collection overall seems far from sophisticated.
Leanne: Variations on a Noodle
Leanne's architectural, nature-inspired creations? What an interesting set of ideas she put out there! Those wavelike flaps with the different colors, fluid lovely draping, emphasizing movement in a modern, sleek and interesting way. Love it.
(Actually, I kept thinking that they looked more like ripples on water than waves. But wave is a much cooler and sleek-sounding word to use when explaining work that's inspired by water and how it flows. So kudos to her for thinking like a marketer.)
Leanne's complete rework of her wedding gown, and her willingness to learn from her superiors, to take valid criticism however harshly or randomly it appears to be dealt, to incorporate what's relevant into her solution, and most importantly, press on? That is the mark of a professional.
And even if she doesn't triumph in this trumped-up contest?
She has an interesting career ahead of her, for certain.
Prediction
Leanne wins, Kenley is second, Korto is third.
Haircuts and clothes, especially, require a solid understanding of the rules so that one can break them effectively. Coloring outside of the lines first requires being able to see the lines and knowing why they exist.
It takes a tremendous amount of skill to pull off asymmetry in design. What looks like randomly placed elements typically treads a fine line between desirable and disastrous.
Jerrellicious
Jerrell's wedding gown represented the latter. From the grayish, shabby-looking tulle, to the swirl of taffeta crinkled around the model's body like gold-sprayed craft paper, not to mention the disaster of a bodice with the flaps over the chest... it was just one poorly executed idea after another. (And don't get me started on those gems plopped in the middle of the chest.) I liked the colors and textures he chose, but little else. The bridesmaid's dress was, well, I hate to say it, but it was dreadful - cheaply shiny and with fake flowers to boot.
Sadly, I knew in my heart, as soon as I saw Jerrell's wedding dress hadn't changed much since Tim's critique, that his days were numbered on the show. Like a Saab driver in the 90s, Jerrell goes his own road, and much of the time it involves piling it on and piling it on. He needs to learn editing so that he can let his creativity really flourish and sing.
Korto Loses Her Way
Korto's wedding gown seemed lumpy in addition to overwrought... with that weird tiered effect at the waist and knees - she actually made the model look chunky. The bridesmaid's dress was only bridesmaid-y in that it had been hacked down to look different in length from the bridal gown. Meh.
Her collection, from the Tim visit, looked very Korto-esque. Well-made. Interesting to a point. But in the end, predictable. She is not an over-the-top, make-a-loud-statement designer.
Kenley: Little Girl Lost
Here's my biggest problem with Kenley's outbursts. First, if you're involved in fashion, you just simply cannot say unequivocally that you're not inspired by a particular designer. Especially if someone far more experienced and knowledgeable calls you on it.
If they see something, there must be something to see, get it?
Sure, you may have steadfastly ignored the videos on the web showing McQueen's similar dress, or held your hands over your ears when fellow fashionistas regaled you with tales of a similar dress, all while shouting "La, la la - I can't hear you, la, la, la!"
But Kenley, tell me you didn't page through a magazine or accidentally click on by some coverage, or spy even a flash as you clicked past the Style network? You're in the business, for crying out loud.
Even if you didn't, just wait - let the judges speak.
Kenley's head-shaking over the McQueen comparison was childish, as was her previous behavior in reaction to the judges' comments. She needs to learn to listen and then defend. It's far more powerful if you hear people out, and then defend yourself with a well thought-out argument. Best comment from Heidi all season came for Kenley's wedding gown: "It's Crazy Good!" Admittedly, the kooky feathered wedding dress was impressive. But from what I saw of Kenley's painted prints, the color scheme for the collection overall seems far from sophisticated.
Leanne: Variations on a Noodle
Leanne's architectural, nature-inspired creations? What an interesting set of ideas she put out there! Those wavelike flaps with the different colors, fluid lovely draping, emphasizing movement in a modern, sleek and interesting way. Love it.
(Actually, I kept thinking that they looked more like ripples on water than waves. But wave is a much cooler and sleek-sounding word to use when explaining work that's inspired by water and how it flows. So kudos to her for thinking like a marketer.)
Leanne's complete rework of her wedding gown, and her willingness to learn from her superiors, to take valid criticism however harshly or randomly it appears to be dealt, to incorporate what's relevant into her solution, and most importantly, press on? That is the mark of a professional.
And even if she doesn't triumph in this trumped-up contest?
She has an interesting career ahead of her, for certain.
Prediction
Leanne wins, Kenley is second, Korto is third.
Sunday, October 5, 2008
A Nation of Whiners
When Bravo rewards Project Runway contestants like Kenley with more screen time and artificial praise for projects they have no right to win, merely to keep them in the game and potentially keep eyes tuned to the screen, it's cheapening the entire enterprise.
A competition? Hardly.
TV under the guise of competition? Now we're getting somewhere.
And rewarding the people who complain the loudest, cajole their colleagues and generally behave the worst -- all while trotting out the saved-til-the-end, made-for-tv sob story -- not to mention attitude for miles? Ugh, ugh, ugh!
When Project Runway's first season came to an end, and Jay McCarroll walked away with the well-earned first prize, I kind of mourned the show's newness.
At that time, with Wendy Pepper cast as a villain employing a strategy, most of the other designers, from what I could see, seemed to view the show more purely, as a means to establish themselves, build their businesses and get the word out about their design point of view.
Once the show aired, and a savvy auditioner could see that a persona could get you farther than raw talent, from that point onward, the die was cast.
Project Runway was no longer a competition based on design talent (if it ever was); rather, it was a competition to see who made for the best TV.
This isn't a new and startling development. But it's something that has hit home recently, since I've been tiring of all these reality shows.
And so that's it, with the Project Runway season finale, I'm swearing off of them, at least until I can stand it no longer.
(Thank God 30 Rock is waiting in the wings.)
A competition? Hardly.
TV under the guise of competition? Now we're getting somewhere.
And rewarding the people who complain the loudest, cajole their colleagues and generally behave the worst -- all while trotting out the saved-til-the-end, made-for-tv sob story -- not to mention attitude for miles? Ugh, ugh, ugh!
When Project Runway's first season came to an end, and Jay McCarroll walked away with the well-earned first prize, I kind of mourned the show's newness.
At that time, with Wendy Pepper cast as a villain employing a strategy, most of the other designers, from what I could see, seemed to view the show more purely, as a means to establish themselves, build their businesses and get the word out about their design point of view.
Once the show aired, and a savvy auditioner could see that a persona could get you farther than raw talent, from that point onward, the die was cast.
Project Runway was no longer a competition based on design talent (if it ever was); rather, it was a competition to see who made for the best TV.
This isn't a new and startling development. But it's something that has hit home recently, since I've been tiring of all these reality shows.
And so that's it, with the Project Runway season finale, I'm swearing off of them, at least until I can stand it no longer.
(Thank God 30 Rock is waiting in the wings.)
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Project Runway Episode 12: Pre-Finale Rip Job!
Dear Bravo:
What you deem "Good TV" just won out over good design. Fooey!
It's no longer a surprise - or even mildly intriguing - when you end the so-called competition without the number of winners you set out to. No laughing and high-fiving amongst the winners? (Mr. Spandrel even noted, while passing by the TV on his way to the other room, that "Nobody looks happy?")
That's because they weren't!
Kenley's poor-me impassioned pleas, not her talents as a designer, won her a reprieve for her godzilla-mermaid, flappy-scaled dress. Heck, every creative type has been an outcast at one time or another. I got news for you, Kenley, you are just -- just mean and unpleasant!
And tell me how you can justify allowing some trumped-up pageantry charge dangle Korto over the edge of the Auf Precipice. Just because the woman isn't a loud mouth, she should be punished?
My prediction for the selection of the real final three during the finale?
The designers show up with their collections in tow, but are told they have to make a wedding gown out of muslin or some other weird, restrictive fabric, proving who has the most vision and last-minute chops under duress. In an hour.
And either Korto or Leanne will explode in the pressure-cooker that is the looming-in-the-distance Fashion Week. Kenley will adopt that tough-girl-from-the-50s stance and blabber on and on and on and on until the judges say "Uncle."
Jerrell will summon some kind of kooky muse that inspires him to create something intriguing and over-the-top that gives him the win that legitimately gets him the Bryant Park show. With a tut-tut from Michael Kors and Nina Garcia, telling him he'd better be focused on finishing and touching up those raggedy hems.
And maybe Leanne's Judy Noodles garments will get the nod. Or maybe Korto's African-inspired big-look designs will get her in, all depending on how the nerves fray...
But to think that Kenley, with her Mad Men frocks and her wackadoo prints is showing in New York City with the imprimatur of the Project Runway Final Three?
It almost makes me want to not tune in.
But I will, because I want to see everyone else, and I mean everyone. I just may need to hit the mute button every time Mean Girl opens her big mouth.
Sincerely,
Spandrel
What you deem "Good TV" just won out over good design. Fooey!
It's no longer a surprise - or even mildly intriguing - when you end the so-called competition without the number of winners you set out to. No laughing and high-fiving amongst the winners? (Mr. Spandrel even noted, while passing by the TV on his way to the other room, that "Nobody looks happy?")
That's because they weren't!
Kenley's poor-me impassioned pleas, not her talents as a designer, won her a reprieve for her godzilla-mermaid, flappy-scaled dress. Heck, every creative type has been an outcast at one time or another. I got news for you, Kenley, you are just -- just mean and unpleasant!
And tell me how you can justify allowing some trumped-up pageantry charge dangle Korto over the edge of the Auf Precipice. Just because the woman isn't a loud mouth, she should be punished?
My prediction for the selection of the real final three during the finale?
The designers show up with their collections in tow, but are told they have to make a wedding gown out of muslin or some other weird, restrictive fabric, proving who has the most vision and last-minute chops under duress. In an hour.
And either Korto or Leanne will explode in the pressure-cooker that is the looming-in-the-distance Fashion Week. Kenley will adopt that tough-girl-from-the-50s stance and blabber on and on and on and on until the judges say "Uncle."
Jerrell will summon some kind of kooky muse that inspires him to create something intriguing and over-the-top that gives him the win that legitimately gets him the Bryant Park show. With a tut-tut from Michael Kors and Nina Garcia, telling him he'd better be focused on finishing and touching up those raggedy hems.
And maybe Leanne's Judy Noodles garments will get the nod. Or maybe Korto's African-inspired big-look designs will get her in, all depending on how the nerves fray...
But to think that Kenley, with her Mad Men frocks and her wackadoo prints is showing in New York City with the imprimatur of the Project Runway Final Three?
It almost makes me want to not tune in.
But I will, because I want to see everyone else, and I mean everyone. I just may need to hit the mute button every time Mean Girl opens her big mouth.
Sincerely,
Spandrel
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Project Runway Episode 11: Sayonara Suede
Suede really got the shaft this week. Poor guy. Although his talents were limited and his character was annoying - especially given the third person references - he seemed like a nice enough guy, unlike Kenley, who struck me as evil from early on.
Kenley really crossed a line when she basically dissed Tim and his advice. Especially galling when she essentially took his advice the previous week.
Why didn't Michael Kors really call her on her 'tude?! She should have received the fashion-is-about-criticism-girlie, so get used to it talking-to that he'd given other designers in the past.
Kenley needs to grow up, take the criticism for what it's worth, learn from it, retool and move on.
Another site pointed out that this season, the producers went more for character (oh, really?) and less for talent.
Personally, I'd take talent any day.
It takes more creativity on the editors' and producers' part to make a good season out of it. Picking "characters," as pseudo as they may be, cheapens the show and makes for much more boring television.
Good thing Bravo still has a shot of keeping the show in their stable!
Kenley really crossed a line when she basically dissed Tim and his advice. Especially galling when she essentially took his advice the previous week.
Why didn't Michael Kors really call her on her 'tude?! She should have received the fashion-is-about-criticism-girlie, so get used to it talking-to that he'd given other designers in the past.
Kenley needs to grow up, take the criticism for what it's worth, learn from it, retool and move on.
Another site pointed out that this season, the producers went more for character (oh, really?) and less for talent.
Personally, I'd take talent any day.
It takes more creativity on the editors' and producers' part to make a good season out of it. Picking "characters," as pseudo as they may be, cheapens the show and makes for much more boring television.
Good thing Bravo still has a shot of keeping the show in their stable!
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Project Runway Episode 10: It's Fixed, I Tell Ya!
You could call it divine intervention, fate, karma, what-have-you.
I say those buttons in Heidi's bag were stacked.
That the producers matched up the designer with the model/graduate that would make for the most interesting show.
How else could you explain Kenley getting the vintage mini-me? (And what of the rant how Tim doesn't understand her style, that she's not cutting down that tulle? Yet on the runway, just an inch or so of the stuff peeked out from the hem?)
Jerrell designing for the printmaking major who'll work as an artist's assistant? (Can I tell you? I love-love-love this look! I would wear it myself tomorrow if I could get my hands on it.)
Joe - whose lower-level skills make him fit-challenged to begin with - being given the largest model? (Did that jacket have tails, as in tuxedo?)
And Suede being paired with the photographer who loves pants - an item that he just can't sew? (Toward the end, I could hear the producers nerves begin to fray because, drat! She fell in love with his mall-rat dress.)
Saddling Leanne with the mother-daughter team that was all a-twitter with opinions for just-add-water instant drama? (You could see her head spinning as she had to rework the dress after the first fitting when it was too matronly - and probably "too Leanne." But in the end, her pleats made an appearance, and all seemed well, despite throwing her into the bottom three for a little bit o' drama.)
The only one who seemed unfazed was Korto (who in typical Korto fashion, kept her laid-back cool with her model... but I think Korto's really in the zone, has the skills, knows her stuff, and realizes that she's just got to keep producing whatever she likes and she'll be safe).
This particular episode was poorly filmed edited. I kept wanting to tap people on the back and ask them to get out of the way and let me see what was going on. Obviously, a tactic of the director's, keep things hidden until the runway show, but still annoying.
Are we there, yet? I'm getting so bored with this season...
So, Joe and his interview costume didn't make the grade.
Kenley again looked miffed when the judges didn't give her the highest grades.
Jerrell hitting all the right notes with his artsy-fashionable take on an artist's assistant.
And while the jacket ended up being a fitted, gorgeous triumph, Korto's design would have been more flattering to her model overall if the skirt had been just a couple of inches longer. I think the judges just didn't want to insult the college grad by saying so. Regardless, the client adored it.
I still say the final three remain:
I say those buttons in Heidi's bag were stacked.
That the producers matched up the designer with the model/graduate that would make for the most interesting show.
How else could you explain Kenley getting the vintage mini-me? (And what of the rant how Tim doesn't understand her style, that she's not cutting down that tulle? Yet on the runway, just an inch or so of the stuff peeked out from the hem?)
Jerrell designing for the printmaking major who'll work as an artist's assistant? (Can I tell you? I love-love-love this look! I would wear it myself tomorrow if I could get my hands on it.)
Joe - whose lower-level skills make him fit-challenged to begin with - being given the largest model? (Did that jacket have tails, as in tuxedo?)
And Suede being paired with the photographer who loves pants - an item that he just can't sew? (Toward the end, I could hear the producers nerves begin to fray because, drat! She fell in love with his mall-rat dress.)
Saddling Leanne with the mother-daughter team that was all a-twitter with opinions for just-add-water instant drama? (You could see her head spinning as she had to rework the dress after the first fitting when it was too matronly - and probably "too Leanne." But in the end, her pleats made an appearance, and all seemed well, despite throwing her into the bottom three for a little bit o' drama.)
The only one who seemed unfazed was Korto (who in typical Korto fashion, kept her laid-back cool with her model... but I think Korto's really in the zone, has the skills, knows her stuff, and realizes that she's just got to keep producing whatever she likes and she'll be safe).
This particular episode was poorly filmed edited. I kept wanting to tap people on the back and ask them to get out of the way and let me see what was going on. Obviously, a tactic of the director's, keep things hidden until the runway show, but still annoying.
Are we there, yet? I'm getting so bored with this season...
So, Joe and his interview costume didn't make the grade.
Kenley again looked miffed when the judges didn't give her the highest grades.
Jerrell hitting all the right notes with his artsy-fashionable take on an artist's assistant.
And while the jacket ended up being a fitted, gorgeous triumph, Korto's design would have been more flattering to her model overall if the skirt had been just a couple of inches longer. I think the judges just didn't want to insult the college grad by saying so. Regardless, the client adored it.
I still say the final three remain:
- Jerrell
- Korto
- Leanne
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Project Runway Episode 9: Odd Man Out
Yeah, so I guess the judges decided it was time to let Blayne go out in a blaze of glory, manifested by neon pink and turquoise poufs that cascaded oddly down his model's body-stockinged garment.
He was kooky, but self-consciously so. He was savagely tan, resembling a turkey ready to pop out of the oven. And he wanted to unleash the ideas that rattled around his head onto the runway.
Ah, Blayne, we hardly knew ye. Well, we knew ye enough.
Obviously talented, but very young. Just like Stella called it. "He knows nothing." Live a little, Blayne.
Kenley's model had triceps-on-steroids shoulders pumped full of air, the proportions staggeringly ridiculous. The plaid in the top and the tull-laden puff skirt were just awful. Bad fabric. Bad design. Bad self-promotion. I predict that Kenley's either getting auf'd this next episode or she's in for the long haul, and we'll have to suffer through her like we did Wendy Pepper. And we'll have to sit through her boring Betty Page-inspired collection [yawn!].
But enough of the baddies.
Sagittarius Saves the Day
Jerrell is hitting his stride with his textile mix-and-match skills, which were put to good use these past few challenges. His Sagittarius garment was far and away the best - he earned that win - and he obviously took inspiration from Tim's comment that the design was on the precipice between utter disaster and taking the prize.
And I give Jerrell a ton of credit: Rather than shrink back from his design, second-guess himself, and present something weird and half-baked, he looked like he just forged ahead. We haven't seen much of Jerrell's design process... I wonder if that's because it's being saved for the last 2 episodes. (Or it's just too boring to capture on film?). I couldn't tell what fabric that little jacket was made of, but the colors and just worked together.
My sister's a Sagittarius, and although she'd laugh to hear this, I could totally see her rocking that dress.
Leanne's exoskeletal Scorpio was interesting in concept, but in execution, looked a little, I dunno, flappy.
Korto, I loved the color interpretation of her Aquarius dress, but damn, it looked like a caftan and the same flowy shape she's done a kajillion times before. Is it me?
Other Hot Messes
Terri = disaster (Hello? What does shiny red have to do with a lion - I mean, other than offal?). Suede getting called out by the Duchess for his third-person shenanigans - ha-ha! - clearly zapping his delusions of grandeur.
Oh, yes, and Joe's ruffled rust mess made it all the more evident that he is employing the "I don't have to outrun the bear, I just have to outrun you" strategy. Which is kind of lazy. Or what less talented people do.
Really, if Blayne hadn't indulged in that fabric explosion and instead played it safe with a more traditional garment, we'd still be seeing his goofy betanned grin next week. Ah, well. Can't blame him for going for it, I guess.
Final Three
These are my hopes for the final three:
He was kooky, but self-consciously so. He was savagely tan, resembling a turkey ready to pop out of the oven. And he wanted to unleash the ideas that rattled around his head onto the runway.
Ah, Blayne, we hardly knew ye. Well, we knew ye enough.
Obviously talented, but very young. Just like Stella called it. "He knows nothing." Live a little, Blayne.
Kenley's model had triceps-on-steroids shoulders pumped full of air, the proportions staggeringly ridiculous. The plaid in the top and the tull-laden puff skirt were just awful. Bad fabric. Bad design. Bad self-promotion. I predict that Kenley's either getting auf'd this next episode or she's in for the long haul, and we'll have to suffer through her like we did Wendy Pepper. And we'll have to sit through her boring Betty Page-inspired collection [yawn!].
But enough of the baddies.
Sagittarius Saves the Day
Jerrell is hitting his stride with his textile mix-and-match skills, which were put to good use these past few challenges. His Sagittarius garment was far and away the best - he earned that win - and he obviously took inspiration from Tim's comment that the design was on the precipice between utter disaster and taking the prize.
And I give Jerrell a ton of credit: Rather than shrink back from his design, second-guess himself, and present something weird and half-baked, he looked like he just forged ahead. We haven't seen much of Jerrell's design process... I wonder if that's because it's being saved for the last 2 episodes. (Or it's just too boring to capture on film?). I couldn't tell what fabric that little jacket was made of, but the colors and just worked together.
My sister's a Sagittarius, and although she'd laugh to hear this, I could totally see her rocking that dress.
Leanne's exoskeletal Scorpio was interesting in concept, but in execution, looked a little, I dunno, flappy.
Korto, I loved the color interpretation of her Aquarius dress, but damn, it looked like a caftan and the same flowy shape she's done a kajillion times before. Is it me?
Other Hot Messes
Terri = disaster (Hello? What does shiny red have to do with a lion - I mean, other than offal?). Suede getting called out by the Duchess for his third-person shenanigans - ha-ha! - clearly zapping his delusions of grandeur.
Oh, yes, and Joe's ruffled rust mess made it all the more evident that he is employing the "I don't have to outrun the bear, I just have to outrun you" strategy. Which is kind of lazy. Or what less talented people do.
Really, if Blayne hadn't indulged in that fabric explosion and instead played it safe with a more traditional garment, we'd still be seeing his goofy betanned grin next week. Ah, well. Can't blame him for going for it, I guess.
Final Three
These are my hopes for the final three:
- Korto
- Leanne
- Jerrell
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Project Runway Episode 8: The Day the Music Died
So, I could see where this was headed. Although she lives in the meatpacking district area, Stella is just such a marked contrast to Diane Von Furstenberg, that despite her ability to adapt the challenge to her point of view, we were headed for a terrible train wreck.
Or was that simply the story we were fed?
Kenley's dress, while the fit and execution (sewing-wise) looked pretty strong, I must be the only person in the country that hated that wacky print. I thought the lace lace collar was dreadful and the black belt just wrong-wrong-wrong. She nailed the silhouette, but she came in second for a reason...
Leanne, you Quirky-Girl, you are surprising me! The dress was just beyond chic - it called to mind the Anette Bening character in that movie (from the 80s?) Bugsy. Sexy, flowy, emphasizing all the assets. The jacket looked like a modified hoodie that the judges somehow just decided to ignore in making their choice, which was just as well.
Joe got a major reprieve, and should just pack his bags because he'll be on the road to nowhere sometime soon.
Granted, Stella's heart didn't seem entirely in it, and maybe that's the problem.
And a part of me is convinced she threw the race. (Perhaps the first time anyone's thrown the competition in the show's history? Can you think of another?)
The seatbelt skirt last week barely held together. The trash bags, for crying out loud!
When getting her auf smooch, she acknowledged her own ego was probably too big to last long in this alterna-reality world, and I think she was right.
I mean, she knew she was outta there.
Witness, her exit ensemble: Her leathuh, full makeup and shiny blowout. Brilliant!
Or was that simply the story we were fed?
Kenley's dress, while the fit and execution (sewing-wise) looked pretty strong, I must be the only person in the country that hated that wacky print. I thought the lace lace collar was dreadful and the black belt just wrong-wrong-wrong. She nailed the silhouette, but she came in second for a reason...
Leanne, you Quirky-Girl, you are surprising me! The dress was just beyond chic - it called to mind the Anette Bening character in that movie (from the 80s?) Bugsy. Sexy, flowy, emphasizing all the assets. The jacket looked like a modified hoodie that the judges somehow just decided to ignore in making their choice, which was just as well.
Joe got a major reprieve, and should just pack his bags because he'll be on the road to nowhere sometime soon.
Granted, Stella's heart didn't seem entirely in it, and maybe that's the problem.
And a part of me is convinced she threw the race. (Perhaps the first time anyone's thrown the competition in the show's history? Can you think of another?)
The seatbelt skirt last week barely held together. The trash bags, for crying out loud!
When getting her auf smooch, she acknowledged her own ego was probably too big to last long in this alterna-reality world, and I think she was right.
I mean, she knew she was outta there.
Witness, her exit ensemble: Her leathuh, full makeup and shiny blowout. Brilliant!
Friday, August 29, 2008
Project Runway Episode 7: Saturniquet
Now, I realize that this is just a season full of product placement gone horribly awry.
But making clothing designers work with car parts? Atrocious.
Although like Rachel Zoe (and is it me, or does that girl look like she's ingested too much Ketel One at 4 a.m.?), I think Korto's jacket was something I could wear tomorrow. (OK, maybe not tomorrow, because I'll probably be cleaning up my house if I get motivated, but still, you know what I mean.)
First, I believe Jerrell should have won if we're looking at innovation and technique and point of view.
And while Leanne did something interesting, I don't think giving any woman mega-hips, that she needs to stuff her undergarments with muslin to pouf up, is advisable. I mean, who wants their hips to look bigger? Sure, you could fool people with the whole effect, and by nipping in the waist, create something kind of architectural and not literally against the body (which the "fabric" didn't really allow for, anyway).
I'm betting the judges liked what Leanne did with the fringe and gave her the win for not keeping the seatbelt in its original form (although, I'm sorry, I took one look at those piles of mauvey-taupe seatbelts and thought, "Weaving!" so I'm not sure how innovative weaving seatbelts really is - sorry, Korto).
And Blayne, have you learned nothing if not to make sure the top of your dress actually fits?
Suede's model looked as if she had fashioned a skirt from one of those mylar pom-poms that you'd see at a football game.
While I used to be a Terri fan, I'm definitely tiring of her 'tude. And yes, like someone muttered under their breath, she does seem to just have 4 patterns that she recycles again and again. (To wit: Hasn't she worn an outfit similar to the one she designed?)
What the heck was Kenley thinking? Looks like poor Germaine got into a fight with a lampshade.
And thank God they auf'd Keith, because if I had to put up with one more week of his excuse-laden, bitchy whining and misunderstood-artist rap, I'd put my foot through the TV!
But really... Enough of the bizarro-world materials, Bravo. I'd rather see them give the designers strange constraints like:
But making clothing designers work with car parts? Atrocious.
Although like Rachel Zoe (and is it me, or does that girl look like she's ingested too much Ketel One at 4 a.m.?), I think Korto's jacket was something I could wear tomorrow. (OK, maybe not tomorrow, because I'll probably be cleaning up my house if I get motivated, but still, you know what I mean.)
First, I believe Jerrell should have won if we're looking at innovation and technique and point of view.
And while Leanne did something interesting, I don't think giving any woman mega-hips, that she needs to stuff her undergarments with muslin to pouf up, is advisable. I mean, who wants their hips to look bigger? Sure, you could fool people with the whole effect, and by nipping in the waist, create something kind of architectural and not literally against the body (which the "fabric" didn't really allow for, anyway).
I'm betting the judges liked what Leanne did with the fringe and gave her the win for not keeping the seatbelt in its original form (although, I'm sorry, I took one look at those piles of mauvey-taupe seatbelts and thought, "Weaving!" so I'm not sure how innovative weaving seatbelts really is - sorry, Korto).
And Blayne, have you learned nothing if not to make sure the top of your dress actually fits?
Suede's model looked as if she had fashioned a skirt from one of those mylar pom-poms that you'd see at a football game.
While I used to be a Terri fan, I'm definitely tiring of her 'tude. And yes, like someone muttered under their breath, she does seem to just have 4 patterns that she recycles again and again. (To wit: Hasn't she worn an outfit similar to the one she designed?)
What the heck was Kenley thinking? Looks like poor Germaine got into a fight with a lampshade.
And thank God they auf'd Keith, because if I had to put up with one more week of his excuse-laden, bitchy whining and misunderstood-artist rap, I'd put my foot through the TV!
But really... Enough of the bizarro-world materials, Bravo. I'd rather see them give the designers strange constraints like:
- Sell their drawings on the street for 2 hours to raise the money they need to buy fabrics at Mood.
- Give them just a teeny budget and see what they can wring out of Mood's inventory.
- See what they'd create from the same pile of materials (real ones, not car parts) and how their personalities and design points of view represent. Can you imagine what Stella would do when faced with a dollop of silk organza?
This last challenge is the most interesting to me. I've always been amazed at how people who are into beading and jewelry design will take the same set - a jumble of beads, colors, accents, pendants and thread - and create something totally unique to their point of view.
Sure, you see glimpses of the same color palette; that can't be avoided. But if I hear anyone else say their design is innovative, when really it's only unique to something done in that room that day, I will just spit.
Here are the picks I'd most like to see in the finale:
- Leanne
- Jerell
- Stella
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Project Runway Episode 6: Drama Queens
Last week, when I saw the previews, I was just thisclose to not watching the drag queen episode that was scheduled for last night.
Chris March be damned - and he was one of my favorites last season - I just didn't feel like watching the designers create some wackadoo outfits that I'd never in a million years wear.
That's it. I said it.
The whole reason I watch Project Runway is that I think somehow, it will give me some fashion inspiration.
Day in, day out, I wear suits because they're easy, they fit and I know a few good manufacturers that fit my gigantic frame (I'm tall for a woman, and can't buy off the rack because of it - grr!).
But they're boring. Lowercase "b" they're so boring.
Yet the thought of wearing sequins to the next staff meeting, or a belt the size of a dinner plate, simply makes me break out in hives. That's why I'd mentally written off this episode.
So I was much-surprised when I found myself enjoying this episode. Not only for the design worthiness, since you got to see who really had the chops for serious construction and figure-flattering designs and pretty impressive execution.
But most of all, I enjoyed seeing the drag queens, both in an out of costume.
Seeing these guys like you'd see on the street traipse in during work day to try on the designers' wares, really drove home how much of an art form drag really is.
It takes a lot of artistry, possession of skill for dressing one's own body (and for some, mega workouts, to be sure!), and the ultimate in emphasizing the good and downplaying the not-so-hot aspects of one's physique.
While Varla kind of annoyed me with her Ann Margaret persona, she looked smokin' in that pink jumpsuit! So, Joe, my hat's off to you!
Chris March be damned - and he was one of my favorites last season - I just didn't feel like watching the designers create some wackadoo outfits that I'd never in a million years wear.
That's it. I said it.
The whole reason I watch Project Runway is that I think somehow, it will give me some fashion inspiration.
Day in, day out, I wear suits because they're easy, they fit and I know a few good manufacturers that fit my gigantic frame (I'm tall for a woman, and can't buy off the rack because of it - grr!).
But they're boring. Lowercase "b" they're so boring.
Yet the thought of wearing sequins to the next staff meeting, or a belt the size of a dinner plate, simply makes me break out in hives. That's why I'd mentally written off this episode.
So I was much-surprised when I found myself enjoying this episode. Not only for the design worthiness, since you got to see who really had the chops for serious construction and figure-flattering designs and pretty impressive execution.
But most of all, I enjoyed seeing the drag queens, both in an out of costume.
Seeing these guys like you'd see on the street traipse in during work day to try on the designers' wares, really drove home how much of an art form drag really is.
It takes a lot of artistry, possession of skill for dressing one's own body (and for some, mega workouts, to be sure!), and the ultimate in emphasizing the good and downplaying the not-so-hot aspects of one's physique.
While Varla kind of annoyed me with her Ann Margaret persona, she looked smokin' in that pink jumpsuit! So, Joe, my hat's off to you!
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Project Runway Episode 5: Bungle in the Jungle
Well, product placement is the name of the game with Project Runway, but promoting Lipstick Jungle? I thought that show was doomed!
Anyway, Brooke Shields is just lovely, and I'm glad she's back to work... although when I saw her do that hands-together, Namaste move as she exited the room after explaining the challenge, I rolled my eyes skyward.
So!
Pairing up the designers this early was interesting, to highlight the personalities and see how people do under pressure.
If it were the winter Olympics, I'd compare this to pairs skating.
You know, where one team member is holding the group together and the other is the artistic yet emotional wreck of a human being?
Or the two are high-energy showstoppers, like some hell the Energizer Bunny hath wrought?
Or they're stone-faced and stoic, methodically plodding along to the end of the routine where you wonder how the heck they got here?
Alas, it's not winter, it's summer Olympics time, and all the team summer sports just don't inspire the same metaphors in me, so there goes that...
Anyway, it warmed my heart to see Jerrell welcome Stella with no pity, just open arms even though he had last pick and she was the one nobody wanted on their team for kickball again. (Sorry! Schoolyard flashback!) Something about the way Jerrell totally rah-rahed up as Stella sidled up to him, noting that he had leather in mind and could use her skills? "That Jerrell is a good egg," I thought to myself.
After his laughable, Annie Get Your Gun meets Holly Hobbie ragdoll getup for the Olympics last week, I really thought he was a goner. But while he juuuust squeaked by last week, his design this week should have won the challenge, hands-down. The colors were sumptuous, and that belt around the middle was just divine.
I'm thinking Brooke simply doesn't have confidence in her own post-baby midsection and shrank back at the thought of cinching the waist. But Jerrell? Well done!
Keith's design, I don't know. Those angel-wing sleeves in that drecky print? (Kudos to Tim for steering them away from the sing-songy Kohl's blouse print that Kenley was gunning for - awful!) I just don't see what were the judges oohing and ahing over, with this dress. I just don't get why a skirt of shreds looks modern.
When I see unfinished, shredded chiffon, I think, "How long will that take to unravel?" But then, I'm practical, that way. (And what is it with all clothing taking on that planned obsolescence, made-like-crap so you can toss it after a season business? Who has time or money to constantly replace their clothes? I have a shirt I've worn three times that I noticed the collar was already coming apart - as in shredding away from the seam!)
It strikes me that Terri is the type of control freak who will simply self-destruct if she has to work with others. Heck, at least Suede was honest about his hesitancy to cut a blouse free-form when he knew the fabric was at a minimum - and all she did was berate him for it when it didn't turn out well (I guess it was she who saved the day with the gathered neckline?). While I don't like Mr. Third Person, I think Terri needs to take a chill pill. Outfit score? Just eh.
I'm going to call Korto the Volumizer - everything she makes has gigantic quantities of fabric. This jacket looked like a leftover costume from the local dinner theater performance of The King and I, while the dress was totally ill-fitting. With a plain-Jane sheath, it's all about the fit.
Oh, Kelli-Kelli-Kelli. True, that leopard-trimmed getup for a show with the word "Jungle" in it was way obvious, and the execution was a little mall-diva-wear-ish. But I think Michael Kors was a bit strong with the "Slutty, slutty, slutty!" reference. I've seen sluttier on this show - at least it wasn't short. At least she made Daniel re-do the skirt. At least she made a jacket (although this show's photography is awful when it comes to black; the light is just absorbed by the fabric and you can see Zero details over the tube). She would have done better leaving the leopard in the pile at Mood, and finding inspiration in the teal and black fabric.
Blayne should have gone home - they kept him simply for his weirdo-ness. His outfit was inappropriate for day at a high-powered office or for night. And sure, Leanne should have spoken up. But what makes a good designer isn't necessarily their ability to commandeer and direct and steer a group project in the direction that they solely want it. But at least he had the ethics to stand by his design and insist he'd be the one to go home if voted the losing design.
Personality trumps design, yet again.
Anyway, Brooke Shields is just lovely, and I'm glad she's back to work... although when I saw her do that hands-together, Namaste move as she exited the room after explaining the challenge, I rolled my eyes skyward.
So!
Pairing up the designers this early was interesting, to highlight the personalities and see how people do under pressure.
If it were the winter Olympics, I'd compare this to pairs skating.
You know, where one team member is holding the group together and the other is the artistic yet emotional wreck of a human being?
Or the two are high-energy showstoppers, like some hell the Energizer Bunny hath wrought?
Or they're stone-faced and stoic, methodically plodding along to the end of the routine where you wonder how the heck they got here?
Alas, it's not winter, it's summer Olympics time, and all the team summer sports just don't inspire the same metaphors in me, so there goes that...
Anyway, it warmed my heart to see Jerrell welcome Stella with no pity, just open arms even though he had last pick and she was the one nobody wanted on their team for kickball again. (Sorry! Schoolyard flashback!) Something about the way Jerrell totally rah-rahed up as Stella sidled up to him, noting that he had leather in mind and could use her skills? "That Jerrell is a good egg," I thought to myself.
After his laughable, Annie Get Your Gun meets Holly Hobbie ragdoll getup for the Olympics last week, I really thought he was a goner. But while he juuuust squeaked by last week, his design this week should have won the challenge, hands-down. The colors were sumptuous, and that belt around the middle was just divine.
I'm thinking Brooke simply doesn't have confidence in her own post-baby midsection and shrank back at the thought of cinching the waist. But Jerrell? Well done!
Keith's design, I don't know. Those angel-wing sleeves in that drecky print? (Kudos to Tim for steering them away from the sing-songy Kohl's blouse print that Kenley was gunning for - awful!) I just don't see what were the judges oohing and ahing over, with this dress. I just don't get why a skirt of shreds looks modern.
When I see unfinished, shredded chiffon, I think, "How long will that take to unravel?" But then, I'm practical, that way. (And what is it with all clothing taking on that planned obsolescence, made-like-crap so you can toss it after a season business? Who has time or money to constantly replace their clothes? I have a shirt I've worn three times that I noticed the collar was already coming apart - as in shredding away from the seam!)
It strikes me that Terri is the type of control freak who will simply self-destruct if she has to work with others. Heck, at least Suede was honest about his hesitancy to cut a blouse free-form when he knew the fabric was at a minimum - and all she did was berate him for it when it didn't turn out well (I guess it was she who saved the day with the gathered neckline?). While I don't like Mr. Third Person, I think Terri needs to take a chill pill. Outfit score? Just eh.
I'm going to call Korto the Volumizer - everything she makes has gigantic quantities of fabric. This jacket looked like a leftover costume from the local dinner theater performance of The King and I, while the dress was totally ill-fitting. With a plain-Jane sheath, it's all about the fit.
Oh, Kelli-Kelli-Kelli. True, that leopard-trimmed getup for a show with the word "Jungle" in it was way obvious, and the execution was a little mall-diva-wear-ish. But I think Michael Kors was a bit strong with the "Slutty, slutty, slutty!" reference. I've seen sluttier on this show - at least it wasn't short. At least she made Daniel re-do the skirt. At least she made a jacket (although this show's photography is awful when it comes to black; the light is just absorbed by the fabric and you can see Zero details over the tube). She would have done better leaving the leopard in the pile at Mood, and finding inspiration in the teal and black fabric.
Blayne should have gone home - they kept him simply for his weirdo-ness. His outfit was inappropriate for day at a high-powered office or for night. And sure, Leanne should have spoken up. But what makes a good designer isn't necessarily their ability to commandeer and direct and steer a group project in the direction that they solely want it. But at least he had the ethics to stand by his design and insist he'd be the one to go home if voted the losing design.
Personality trumps design, yet again.
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Project Runway: Que Sera, Surreal?
With the Olympics about to begin, what a surprise that the designers were ordered to create women's wear for the opening ceremonies. This could have been an interesting challenge if we had the designers from last season, wouldn't it? Just imagine what the edgy, Kit Pistol would have come up with--or some of the other more talented Season 4 designers?
Let's see...
About Jennifer, last night's auf'd designer, Nina was kind by noting that Jennifer has a hard time letting go of her own style, and she was absolutely right about that. And Jennifer was glad to get back to her "surrealism." Honey? We saw no evidence of your surrealism. Unless you were hiding a dripping clock in a petticoat somewhere. Last I checked, the element of surprise was one of the harbingers of a surrealist painting. Maybe it was a surprise to her that she was auf'd?
Still, I couldn't see anyone tucking themselves into Korto's winning, color-blocked leather vest and yet another extremely wide-legged trouser (yawn!) completely lucked out that so many people got so many things wrong last night. Terri rocked it more than Korto, I thought, with her gorgeous jacket -- I would buy that in a heartbeat; loved the seams.
Jerrell? You have got to be kidding me, with that Holly Hobbie getup you threw on that model? You are lucky that somebody in that judging room thought the mix-and-match fabrics meant you had a clue. (And what was with the Robin Hood costume? Unless you actually steal from the rich and give to the poor, you should just give that hat the heave-ho.)
Keith's dress with the puff at the bottom should be burned. That was an insult to women athletes, everywhere. Heck, an insult to women.
The gladiator outfit that Stella wrought wasn't as awful as I'd predicted.
There is something about Kenley... I'm not sure if it's pure evil, or if she's just picking apart the competition. With immunity in hand, she clearly saw Daniel as a threat, and I can't help but think she meant to lead him down the rosy path of ruin by suggesting he avoid the Wonder Woman cliche, when it could have been the very thing to save him! (Poor lad, he looks sick to his stomach in every episode; I hope this doesn't do him in.)
Something about Kelli's outfit makes me think, 70s homemaker Mom, smoking a cigarette out back before her kids come home from school - probably the farthest thing from an Olympian outfit you could put out there, aside from Jerrell's monstrosity.
A circle skirt? Really, Suede? Hm...
Leanne, stop adding things onto your clothes. Just make great clothes. Period.
Actually, that's a tip for all of you! Make it sew!
Let's see...
- Chris's design would have employed human hair on the shoulders of a track suit. Like fringey epaulettes.
- Alisa would have imbued the fabric with the sweat of athletes of years gone by. Then after the ceremony it would be recycled into ribbons for the rhythmic gymnasts.
- And of course Christian would have come up with something fabulously skinny and unwearable that only David Beckham would have been able to pull off, most likely featuring denim.
About Jennifer, last night's auf'd designer, Nina was kind by noting that Jennifer has a hard time letting go of her own style, and she was absolutely right about that. And Jennifer was glad to get back to her "surrealism." Honey? We saw no evidence of your surrealism. Unless you were hiding a dripping clock in a petticoat somewhere. Last I checked, the element of surprise was one of the harbingers of a surrealist painting. Maybe it was a surprise to her that she was auf'd?
Still, I couldn't see anyone tucking themselves into Korto's winning, color-blocked leather vest and yet another extremely wide-legged trouser (yawn!) completely lucked out that so many people got so many things wrong last night. Terri rocked it more than Korto, I thought, with her gorgeous jacket -- I would buy that in a heartbeat; loved the seams.
Jerrell? You have got to be kidding me, with that Holly Hobbie getup you threw on that model? You are lucky that somebody in that judging room thought the mix-and-match fabrics meant you had a clue. (And what was with the Robin Hood costume? Unless you actually steal from the rich and give to the poor, you should just give that hat the heave-ho.)
Keith's dress with the puff at the bottom should be burned. That was an insult to women athletes, everywhere. Heck, an insult to women.
The gladiator outfit that Stella wrought wasn't as awful as I'd predicted.
There is something about Kenley... I'm not sure if it's pure evil, or if she's just picking apart the competition. With immunity in hand, she clearly saw Daniel as a threat, and I can't help but think she meant to lead him down the rosy path of ruin by suggesting he avoid the Wonder Woman cliche, when it could have been the very thing to save him! (Poor lad, he looks sick to his stomach in every episode; I hope this doesn't do him in.)
Something about Kelli's outfit makes me think, 70s homemaker Mom, smoking a cigarette out back before her kids come home from school - probably the farthest thing from an Olympian outfit you could put out there, aside from Jerrell's monstrosity.
A circle skirt? Really, Suede? Hm...
Leanne, stop adding things onto your clothes. Just make great clothes. Period.
Actually, that's a tip for all of you! Make it sew!
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Project Runway Episode 3: Bright Lights, Big City (Or, Are The Judges Blinded By the Light?)
Last week, it was Kenley who got gypped. This week, it was Leeanne in favor of Kenley.
Kenley's nightmarish green/purple dress with the bulb of ombre purple tulle forming half the hip of the dress? We're supposed to be impressed with a cheap-looking, garish color scheme and a bubble skirt that looks like she ran out of fabric? Incomprehensible. But then, I don't get Marc Jacobs, either (well, except for the handbags).
With Leeanne's design, you could see the inspiration of the grate around the tree, and how it came to fruition in fabric - just superbly conceived and designed, if a bit literal. (But why she continued to say the shapes were "organic" when it was clearly a man-made iron grate? I mean, if she'd modeled it after the tree trunk, I could see, but I didn't understand that reference.)
With all the interviews with Keith, I thought for sure that the reality show editing-clue machine was out in full force, and thought the kiss of Death was Michael Kors likening his god-awful dress to a swirl of toilet paper.
And then they go and diss Emily for an errant ruffling, albeit over a dress that was clearly well-made, with some shape? I was no Emily fan, but she got totally screwed.
It's a topsy-turvy world, this season.
While I'm the first to admit I'm disconnected and out of touch with club fashion, I must be really far gone. Because although I have been a Terri fan, I just did not understand her outfit. I thought the top looked incredibly dowdy - like the front half of a mother-of-the-bride dress that someone bought on sale.
Although honestly, Terri's design was not nearly as dowdy as Jennifer's clock-watcher dress.
And whoops! Heidi dropping the bomb that she just didn't care to see any more of Jennifer's designs, seemingly evar?! That made me worry for the bookish-looking, earnest girl who somehow found her way to Italy.
Tip: If you consider Salvador Dali an inspiration ("My design style is Holly Golightly meets Salvador Dali!" she eked out, when under pressure from the judges to explain herself), you'd better have melting, dripping clock faces on your garment, not a literal translation of a clock design on a sleeve.
And what of Jerrell? Didn't see a peek at him other than with his nighttime face mask, and then he shows a ruffly display of respectability? While not exactly night-life fare, I say good for you, Jerrell! He kind of came in from left field.
Suede's dress this week looked stiff and cheap, like something you'd find smushed in the racks at Forever 21. The longer he refers to himself in the third person, the more insufferable he becomes.
The Mad-Max themed fire hydrant-inspired outfit that Kelli designed looked interesting, but the detailing got lost on TV, what with all the matte-black fabric that just soaked up the light. It looked interesting, what little we saw of it.
Blayne, surprisingly good and better than anything he's done so far. And I like that when compared with his inspiration photo, you could see where the color ideas came from, although nothing I could ever imagine anyone wearing in reality.
Daniel, shiny-blah lame pageant gown cutoff? Joe, you literal-minded man, you! Eh, let him stay. Korto? Again with the black fabric that we can't really see the detail, but your silhouette looked good. You can stay, too.
But talk about silhouette, and staying true to your vision? The silhouette of Stella's garment showed she was totally in her element with this challenge... Despite not being able to turn on her camera for much of the allotted inspiration-capture time.
(How the woman doesn't set herself aflame is beyond me...)
Sure, it's likely an act, or it could be sleep deprivation, or all the partying she did in the 80s. But girlfriend knows her way around a grommet mallet and managed to annoy the heck out of some of the show's most annoying people, so Stella? Bang away!
What did you think?
Kenley's nightmarish green/purple dress with the bulb of ombre purple tulle forming half the hip of the dress? We're supposed to be impressed with a cheap-looking, garish color scheme and a bubble skirt that looks like she ran out of fabric? Incomprehensible. But then, I don't get Marc Jacobs, either (well, except for the handbags).
With Leeanne's design, you could see the inspiration of the grate around the tree, and how it came to fruition in fabric - just superbly conceived and designed, if a bit literal. (But why she continued to say the shapes were "organic" when it was clearly a man-made iron grate? I mean, if she'd modeled it after the tree trunk, I could see, but I didn't understand that reference.)
With all the interviews with Keith, I thought for sure that the reality show editing-clue machine was out in full force, and thought the kiss of Death was Michael Kors likening his god-awful dress to a swirl of toilet paper.
And then they go and diss Emily for an errant ruffling, albeit over a dress that was clearly well-made, with some shape? I was no Emily fan, but she got totally screwed.
It's a topsy-turvy world, this season.
While I'm the first to admit I'm disconnected and out of touch with club fashion, I must be really far gone. Because although I have been a Terri fan, I just did not understand her outfit. I thought the top looked incredibly dowdy - like the front half of a mother-of-the-bride dress that someone bought on sale.
Although honestly, Terri's design was not nearly as dowdy as Jennifer's clock-watcher dress.
And whoops! Heidi dropping the bomb that she just didn't care to see any more of Jennifer's designs, seemingly evar?! That made me worry for the bookish-looking, earnest girl who somehow found her way to Italy.
Tip: If you consider Salvador Dali an inspiration ("My design style is Holly Golightly meets Salvador Dali!" she eked out, when under pressure from the judges to explain herself), you'd better have melting, dripping clock faces on your garment, not a literal translation of a clock design on a sleeve.
And what of Jerrell? Didn't see a peek at him other than with his nighttime face mask, and then he shows a ruffly display of respectability? While not exactly night-life fare, I say good for you, Jerrell! He kind of came in from left field.
Suede's dress this week looked stiff and cheap, like something you'd find smushed in the racks at Forever 21. The longer he refers to himself in the third person, the more insufferable he becomes.
The Mad-Max themed fire hydrant-inspired outfit that Kelli designed looked interesting, but the detailing got lost on TV, what with all the matte-black fabric that just soaked up the light. It looked interesting, what little we saw of it.
Blayne, surprisingly good and better than anything he's done so far. And I like that when compared with his inspiration photo, you could see where the color ideas came from, although nothing I could ever imagine anyone wearing in reality.
Daniel, shiny-blah lame pageant gown cutoff? Joe, you literal-minded man, you! Eh, let him stay. Korto? Again with the black fabric that we can't really see the detail, but your silhouette looked good. You can stay, too.
But talk about silhouette, and staying true to your vision? The silhouette of Stella's garment showed she was totally in her element with this challenge... Despite not being able to turn on her camera for much of the allotted inspiration-capture time.
(How the woman doesn't set herself aflame is beyond me...)
Sure, it's likely an act, or it could be sleep deprivation, or all the partying she did in the 80s. But girlfriend knows her way around a grommet mallet and managed to annoy the heck out of some of the show's most annoying people, so Stella? Bang away!
What did you think?
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Project Runway Episode 2: Attack of the Zzz...
Well, Project Runway episode 2 just had to wait. After sitting on the sofa, watching the torturous ascent of the Tour de France riders up L'Alpe D'Huez, I was zonked out. And it was only 9:45!
Anyway, today I watched the recording and feel that this episode should have a warning label that reads Caution: Objects being filmed are more boring than they appear.
Now, having the models act as both client and fabric shopper certainly posed some potential for conflict. But actually? All that happened was a whole lotta whining. Stick a bunch of control freaks in a room with stuff they didn't choose and a client that may or may not have ideas, and it could be a recipe for disaster!
But really, aren't the real-world constraints that designers have to work with pretty similar?
You're new, you're just starting out. Your backer won't pay the millions you need for silk shantung, so instead, maybe you have to go with the polyester his brother Jerry just got a big shipment of at his warehouse in New Jersey.
Or maybe you're established, or at least have a name worth licensing, and so you farm out the work to China so you can manufacture your stuff in the quantity that Target needs to deliver to suburbia USA. But... something goes horribly wrong in the translation.
It's probably the most realistic aspect of this challenge.
Throwing in the "Green Fabrics" aspect made it just too overwrought, just like Wesley's dress. And toss Natalie Portman in as a guest judge? Oh, dear.
That's why I'm convinced that unless she sends another trashbag down the runway, everyone's favorite kooky biker/rocker chic Stella is going to be sticking around for quite a while - the producers have got nothing else. At least you want to see what kind of antics she's up to with her wheatgrass shakes and her crazy musings. Is it me, or is Stella like the two-face girlfriend they referred to in Seinfeld? In one shot, she's the slacker kid with no makeup and pigtails who looks like she needs some allergy medication, and the next, she's in full makeup and vixened out for a night on the town.
Stella's dress did manage to inject a little bit of her own style into a cocktail dress, and it looked reasonably well-constructed.
That's more than I can say for the Suede's garment. While I liked the strips zig-zagging all over the place, reminiscent of Eddie Van Halen's Frankenstrat, I didn't like that the straps looked uneven at the shoulders, that the top fit her poorly in the bustline, that the hem seemed uneven and the crinoline was too poufy.
While Suede's persona/character is incredibly annoying (enough has been said about his third-person references), there is one thing for which I will give him a pat on the back: his admission that all he was thinking about what was his Mom would say when she heard he won. OK, you redeemed yourself a bit! For now.
Blayne's dress was just eh, with the black hole on the side threatening to eat the model's spleen.
Daniel's dress: too short, too shiny, but the sleeves were cute.
And talk about short? Emily's dress was a flashing waiting to happen. Too high a skirt, too low a bodice. Too little fabric overall.
Jerrell's model looked like Jennifer Lopez during her Puffy days, a dress cut down to her pupik, skirt too hairy, just all wrong.
Jennifer's dress surprised me - in a good way! Aside from making her model look like a spokesmodel for ING Direct, I loved the fluid, drapey lines and the way the gray and the orange interacted.
Keith's dress looked like slick, satin drapes you might see in a New Jersey McMansion. Too high in the front.
While Kelli's dress wasn't awful, it showed none of the creativity and kick-down-the-door thinking that garnered her first place last week. But then, without having control over the fabric choice, I guess she didn't do too badly. Hers looked like a shorter, mini version of Betty Page's. I mean, Kenley's.
For me, Kenley's dress deserved the win. It was wearable, it was thoughtful, and she utilized the materials her model bought in a measured way.
With a midnight blue (or is it French blue?) to work with, Terri's design definitely stood out... but what I really like was the ruffling at the neck. Nice work! The rest of the design was kind of blah, but hey, having to work with someone else's fabric selection had to have eaten into your design time, right?
And oh, no, Korto! What were you thinking, giving even your model fins? (For me, another Jump the Shark allusion.) The poor girl looked like a Buick! I have high hopes for Korto, and I hope she pulls it out next time. Because she's looking a little out of touch after this design.
That brings me to the sad, brown gowns.
The brown satin trio really took such different approaches. Joe's dress was cute, but not designer-worthy, just meh. Clearly, Wesley's dress was overwrought, with too-tight seams that rippled across the model's body, making her look dumpy in the process.
Leanne's loopy-de-do brown dress, I thought, was the best use of that crappy brown satin fabric of all three. I could have done without the pocket strip on the bottom, and instead if she did something petal-tastic with the skirt, in keeping with the layered theme she started on the top? She could have really had something there. But then, maybe there was a fabric shortage? (But God knows there was enough of it in the house, if not on her own design table. Surely Joe could have spared a square after he was done making his picked-up-at-the-mall gown.)
I'm exhausted. There's just something about the pacing of this and the first episode that just didn't hold appeal for me. It's as if Bravo has its interns doing the post-production, knowing that the show is destined for Lifetime next season.
Even Tim Gunn seems frustrated with this crop of designers. His make it work, and hot mess references sound so tired and shop-worn. This show needs a jolt!
Anyway, today I watched the recording and feel that this episode should have a warning label that reads Caution: Objects being filmed are more boring than they appear.
Now, having the models act as both client and fabric shopper certainly posed some potential for conflict. But actually? All that happened was a whole lotta whining. Stick a bunch of control freaks in a room with stuff they didn't choose and a client that may or may not have ideas, and it could be a recipe for disaster!
But really, aren't the real-world constraints that designers have to work with pretty similar?
You're new, you're just starting out. Your backer won't pay the millions you need for silk shantung, so instead, maybe you have to go with the polyester his brother Jerry just got a big shipment of at his warehouse in New Jersey.
Or maybe you're established, or at least have a name worth licensing, and so you farm out the work to China so you can manufacture your stuff in the quantity that Target needs to deliver to suburbia USA. But... something goes horribly wrong in the translation.
It's probably the most realistic aspect of this challenge.
Throwing in the "Green Fabrics" aspect made it just too overwrought, just like Wesley's dress. And toss Natalie Portman in as a guest judge? Oh, dear.
That's why I'm convinced that unless she sends another trashbag down the runway, everyone's favorite kooky biker/rocker chic Stella is going to be sticking around for quite a while - the producers have got nothing else. At least you want to see what kind of antics she's up to with her wheatgrass shakes and her crazy musings. Is it me, or is Stella like the two-face girlfriend they referred to in Seinfeld? In one shot, she's the slacker kid with no makeup and pigtails who looks like she needs some allergy medication, and the next, she's in full makeup and vixened out for a night on the town.
Stella's dress did manage to inject a little bit of her own style into a cocktail dress, and it looked reasonably well-constructed.
That's more than I can say for the Suede's garment. While I liked the strips zig-zagging all over the place, reminiscent of Eddie Van Halen's Frankenstrat, I didn't like that the straps looked uneven at the shoulders, that the top fit her poorly in the bustline, that the hem seemed uneven and the crinoline was too poufy.
While Suede's persona/character is incredibly annoying (enough has been said about his third-person references), there is one thing for which I will give him a pat on the back: his admission that all he was thinking about what was his Mom would say when she heard he won. OK, you redeemed yourself a bit! For now.
Blayne's dress was just eh, with the black hole on the side threatening to eat the model's spleen.
Daniel's dress: too short, too shiny, but the sleeves were cute.
And talk about short? Emily's dress was a flashing waiting to happen. Too high a skirt, too low a bodice. Too little fabric overall.
Jerrell's model looked like Jennifer Lopez during her Puffy days, a dress cut down to her pupik, skirt too hairy, just all wrong.
Jennifer's dress surprised me - in a good way! Aside from making her model look like a spokesmodel for ING Direct, I loved the fluid, drapey lines and the way the gray and the orange interacted.
Keith's dress looked like slick, satin drapes you might see in a New Jersey McMansion. Too high in the front.
While Kelli's dress wasn't awful, it showed none of the creativity and kick-down-the-door thinking that garnered her first place last week. But then, without having control over the fabric choice, I guess she didn't do too badly. Hers looked like a shorter, mini version of Betty Page's. I mean, Kenley's.
For me, Kenley's dress deserved the win. It was wearable, it was thoughtful, and she utilized the materials her model bought in a measured way.
With a midnight blue (or is it French blue?) to work with, Terri's design definitely stood out... but what I really like was the ruffling at the neck. Nice work! The rest of the design was kind of blah, but hey, having to work with someone else's fabric selection had to have eaten into your design time, right?
And oh, no, Korto! What were you thinking, giving even your model fins? (For me, another Jump the Shark allusion.) The poor girl looked like a Buick! I have high hopes for Korto, and I hope she pulls it out next time. Because she's looking a little out of touch after this design.
That brings me to the sad, brown gowns.
The brown satin trio really took such different approaches. Joe's dress was cute, but not designer-worthy, just meh. Clearly, Wesley's dress was overwrought, with too-tight seams that rippled across the model's body, making her look dumpy in the process.
Leanne's loopy-de-do brown dress, I thought, was the best use of that crappy brown satin fabric of all three. I could have done without the pocket strip on the bottom, and instead if she did something petal-tastic with the skirt, in keeping with the layered theme she started on the top? She could have really had something there. But then, maybe there was a fabric shortage? (But God knows there was enough of it in the house, if not on her own design table. Surely Joe could have spared a square after he was done making his picked-up-at-the-mall gown.)
I'm exhausted. There's just something about the pacing of this and the first episode that just didn't hold appeal for me. It's as if Bravo has its interns doing the post-production, knowing that the show is destined for Lifetime next season.
Even Tim Gunn seems frustrated with this crop of designers. His make it work, and hot mess references sound so tired and shop-worn. This show needs a jolt!
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Project Runway: Bad Mood Rising
Well, this recap is dedicated to fellow blogger FishWithoutBicycle, without whose Comment in my previous post, pointing out my goofball scheduling error, I would not have seen the show in real time! Thanks again, Fish!
Truly, I wanted to be able to stand up and say "Yeah!" in support of this show's last season on Bravo. The bizarro-world move to Lifetime I think is setting this show off its rails and I'm afraid that already, the shark has been jumped. Let me count the ways...
Truly, I wanted to be able to stand up and say "Yeah!" in support of this show's last season on Bravo. The bizarro-world move to Lifetime I think is setting this show off its rails and I'm afraid that already, the shark has been jumped. Let me count the ways...
- Another supermarket challenge to kick things off? Yawn. You will simply not be able to keep the audience excited over something where they already know the inherent risks. We know food is a problem and that tablecloths end up kitschy. All right, already!
- Trotting out - literally - Austin Scarlett to introduce the challenge and judge? Isn't this guy's 15 minutes long gone? He so clearly tries to channel Yves St. Laurent whenever he shows up anywhere that it is just Annoying. Capital A.
- The Safety Dance: As you'd assume, the designers took one of two approaches: Use a fabric substitute and play it safe or go so far out on a limb that you can barely recover. Overall effect? Bo-ring.
- Saving Grace: Kelli, the Vacuum-cleaner bag savant. Spotting the full-sleeve tattoo-age I thought, Sweet P Part B? Then I saw her doing the dippity-do in a vat of dye or whatever she used with the bleach to paint her "fabric." "Oh here we go, another outer-space, artsy-craftsy Elisa," I thought to myself... And so she surprised the hell out of me when she pulled out the resulting marbelized skirt design! The browns and the greens were lovely together! The top was atrocious, those two snowflakey doilies at the chest? Blech. But that hook-and-eye closure in the back made of spiral notebook springs? Damn! What a way to lace up a corseted back! Creative in the extreme.
- Stellllllaaaa! Oy, if I had a dollar for every time Mr. Spandrel yelped this from the office, I'd be able to purchase a Louis Vuitton bag without feeling guilty. The girl's outfitted Blondie and Joan Jett and Sebastian yet she couldn't twist, wrap, slice, dice, twirl, tweak or otherwise beat into submission some trashy garbage bags? Shame on you, Stella! You strike me as a scrapper, and scrappers make do.
- The Yang to Siriano's Yin. Seattle's Blayne is the Season Four Boy Wonder's opposite in so many ways. First, there's the obvious West Coast/East Coast parallel universe. Then, where Christian had talent, Blayne is just a pretender. While Christian's patented catch-phrase generator helped establish his character from Day 1 (even I have mumbled "Looks like a hot tranny mess" from time to time over the past year, although Amy Poehler does it best), Blayne is just a me-too wannabe also-ran. Christian's pasty complexion belied his spending way too much time hunched over a sewing machine, while Blayne works on turning his skin into the consistency of tumbled leather. Don't get me started on his design. You rip up a few sweatshirts, splash 'em with paint and call yourself a streetwear designer? Please.
- In the "Oh my God, what have I done?" camp: Solo-cup boy (aka, Daniel, the sensitive Bird-Man) created something utterly unwearable. I mean, how on earth would this woman sit? Bend? Breathe? Jump on a bus--let alone slide into a cab?! He was saved only by the curvy silhouette and the model's dark hair, which looked fabulous against the royal-blue color of the dress, which, really, was more like plastic armor. There is no way this should have been considered a brush with greatness: the fact that it was one of the two best speaks more about the low-calibre of competition than its inherent goodness as a design.
- Give those girls a cookie. Is it me, or are too many of these designers "camera ready?" Too many lanky-limbed, coltish girls all look like they themselves were strutting down a runway a season or two ago.
- Enough with the quirky characters, already. The blue faux-hawked Suede? The Salt Lake City dude (Keith?) whose bio says he just sort of decided to be a designer one day after doing artwork for a shoot? The mysteriously bland-seeming Jennifer, who does embroidery for Blumarine in Italy?
- The Onion. Jerry's haircut was just distracting from the first time he appeared on camera onward. I once worked in PR for a client whose coworker was described as looking "Like an onion." This guy was a blond version of Jerry.
To be continued...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
