The judges pick the final designers for New York Fashion Week.
Posted by: Eden Dawn on Oct 24, 2011 at 11:00PM0 Comments
Say what? Maxi up front and cat suit in the back?
While I’m normally a pretty cheery person, I’m giving fair warning: I’m about to go on a mini-tirade here, in case you’d like to tune out.
What the hell is going on this season of Project Runway? The judges/producers/magical elves behind the scenes have done everything possible to mess with the quality of the show. This week the lead-up to the finale was supposed to show how the designers had worked tirelessly on beautiful collections and Tim would be stunned during the home visits. Wrong. While the show used to give the designers 12 weeks to complete their collection, this season had only five.
Let’s talk about that for a minute That means they come home from the most exhausting, burnt-out period of their lives, then need to immediately come up with a new concept, sketch ideas, find fabrics and materials, order them, pattern all the items and begin sewing nonstop to create the most important collection of their lives. Oh, and catch up on the weeks of sleep they’ve missed and maybe even say hello to a family member or two. Five weeks sounds reasonable right? (← sarcasm)
So by the time the designers make it back to New York to show the judges their three-look preview, it was no shock to me most weren’t done and the collections looked a little haphazard. Viktor had some cool prints and a beautifully tailored warty jacket with the same texture as the pumpkin sitting on my porch, Anya’s beige pieces felt blah and unlike her. I dug Kimberly’s color palette, but the styling and a bubble butt skirt were frightening. Finally, Josh’s collection had a disco dress from the front and bad, bad cat suit from the back. My eyes are still burning.
With that mix, it’s not a huge surprise the judges pulled a shady move. No designers were eliminated. Why is that shady? Because I feel like the judges are really favoring Anya and sort of side-stepping rules for her. In general, I agree I often think she has the coolest taste, but if you can’t get it together, then should you get a second chance that others don’t? Or has reality television just made me grumpy? We’ll find out this Thursday when the winner is crowned.
We’re reaching the end of the race in Project Runway land. This week’s challenge determined who would get to be part of the final group showing in New York Fashion Week. At this point (9 seasons in) the show is down to a tight formula. While that sometimes stinks (predictable vote offs) it is also awesome because I knew our Portland designers would rise from the dead to help their former backstabbers cast mates.
The final five spent the day roaming around Governor’s island for inspiration and developing a three-piece mini collection that could show their range as a designer. Once they nailed down their concepts (and they all seemed like they were reaching a little), they hit the fabric store where a series of unfortunate choices unfolded. Kimberly that orange is in the bio-hazard category and Laura that circle business is like robots, great in theory, but in reality it can turn on you.
However good news came when the crew got their own design assistants, which happened to be the former voted off cast mates, so we got to see Bryce and Becky one more time. Kimberly matched up with Becky, Viktor picked attitude Olivier, Laura snagged Anthony Ryan, Anya picked Bert and old roomies Josh M and Bryce were reunited. Which then instantly led to Bryce playing the role of critic (trying to tame the over designed elements), therapist (letting Josh M have a bitchy venting session and parent (taming the temper). He got more face time on this episode as puppet master than he did when he was on the show!
In the room visits, you see some bad things happening. I get that everyone is extremely fatigued and just plain out of ideas. After running on 4 hours of sleep, Red Bull and anxiety for weeks and weeks, pulling out your best design work seems near impossible. But, we still have to judge it for what it is and by the looks of it all coming together, nothing was bowling me over. By the time we head to the runway show, things felt potentially bleak.
Josh M began the show with a cool white mini-mod dress. The netting was an interesting twist on a basic. His following look was the 800th circle skirt we’ve seen from him with a miserably ill-fitting vest over a potentially cute tank. I still question why he didn’t just rip that vest off her before she walked down the runway. Finally, his final gown was a gorgeously draped one-shoulder gown in American Apparel type shiny polyester fabric. If it had been in anything luxurious like a floaty silk chiffon, it would’ve been killer. However, as it was, a little on the costumey side.
Kimberly gets an A for effort in attempting to do a wider range of clothing than the other designer. However, that coat was ill fitting and the separates look in that shiny bad skirt fabric combined with a sort of hoochy hunter’s hazard orange top was one of the worst looks I’ve seen from her. Methinks Kim saved her butt with that final cocktail dress. It was edgy and cool and flattering at the same time. Third time is a charm,…
Kimberly
Then we come to Laura’s confused collection. The blazer with the little slip skirt looks like outerwear and lingerie paired up and that second dress that looks right off the clearance rack of a Saturday Market booth had nothing tying it in with the other pieces. Where was the similar line, fabric, detailing, concept, any of it? It just plain didn’t go. And her third outfit was oh-so-close to being good, but never quite made it. The circular fabric didn’t lay right on the body and the white underneath came off a little bedspread like. A swing and a miss.
Anya’s first take on the little black dress was a new twist on the LBD. I loved the front handkerchief hem and the flow of the fabric. Her rust piece resort wear pantsuit floated down the runway on her red-head model in a picturesque moment and finally the white dress with a slit up to there still entertained despite construction issues. Overall, the collection was one of the most interesting ones on the runway easily. However, as far as showing a range, there was none. No sleeves, no jackets, no tailoring, no zippers, no buttons, no anything. She does what she does very well, but it’s quite obvious that is all she can do.
Finally, Viktor the reliable workhorse in the bunch sent a ready to wear collection with pants, jackets, skirts and all kinds of range. But that final black dress with a weird hoop skirt at the hip was a little cringe inducing. I spend most of my life trying to make my hips look smaller, not putting a circle around them. And as far as a wow factor, I might have yawned a little, but the judges were right in saying it was extremely sellable. That is the goal, right?
After the show, the awkward pleas from designers to make it to fashion week always makes me squirm in my seat. We know they want to be there, making them cry seems cruel.The final reveal sent Laura home with her off the target collection and Kimberly just barely squeaked by thanks to that cocktail dress. I actually felt really bad for Laura, it has to be hard to be that close and then leave. But such is life in the reality television world.
In this week’s American Gladiator fashion challenge, the six tired designers break into pairs of two to design looks based off of pretty birdies. But wait! That pairing off isn’t in the friendly, let’s-help-each-other out kind of way. It’s a head to head team mini-challenge. As in the designers who are finally at a buddy-buddy state are now thrown into a pit of death where only one victor (Viktor?) emerges.
Laura and Anya are both working on creating their best raven looks, while Josh and Bert have a bright green Amazon parrot take inspiration from. The final duo of Viktor and Kimberly needed to get cuckoo for cockatoos. Uh, good luck with all that everyone.
Once the designers were knee deep in their work Monsieur Gunn arrived to tell them they would (surprise surprise) need to complete a second look. At this point it appeared sweet Kimberly was going down in flames. She sewed through her finger, couldn’t work with the fabric she chose and eventually also burned through her dress. That’s just plain not a good day. Add on Viktor doing an occasional bitchy glance and you’ve got the recipe for a full breakdown. Thank goodness Papa Gunn gave her a big cheer up hug. Awwwww….
In the other corner, we see Josh and Bert have miraculously become all kinds of chummy. Hmmm it appears they put the infamous “clocks n’ swearing” issue behind them. But Josh… another circle skirt? Those are the easiest things to pattern and we’ve seen about a million from you.
We also see Laura and Anya have a major eye on each other. Laura’s got the skill set, with a couple decades of sewing under her belt, but the taste level keeps edging towards matronly. On the other side of the pendulum, Anya has amazing ideas coming out every which way, but has classic signs of a newbie designer flashing. If I had a nickel for every time I’ve asked a new designer, “How are they going to get in that?” I would have at least $4.35.
Kimberly
The designers were forced to pick only one of the outfits they’d spent the last two days laboring over for the runway show and then we were off. Viktor’s Grecian and feathered gown was lovely, though a touch on the full side. Kimberly pulled a rabbit out of her hat with an amazingly draped, modern white gown. And no one in a million years would guess that was made from a polyester lining. Nice job Kim. Bert’s drab gray gown with the too short hem just wasn’t as cool as some other things he’s done. In contrast, Josh’s mini draped orange cocktail dress was fun and sassy. Finally Anya’s sculptured look she managed to squeeze a model into after seam ripping was a cool interpretation of the mysterious raven, while Laura’s more literal look with actual feathers fell a little short of the “it” factor.
After deliberations, turned out for once the judges and I pretty much agreed. Kimberly got her confidence boost over Viktor’s ego; Josh’s color won over Bert and Anya’s ideas took home the overall victory over Laura’s tailoring. Though, for the record, if I was designing on the show and saw some of the stuff she’s getting away with I’d be mad as hell too. But, the fact is, her actual design was better, the construction wasn’t. Which is more important?
But sadly, we had to say good-bye to Bert, whom I’d become quite fond of for his sassy little comments. Who else will keep those kids in place now?
In this week’s Project Runway déjà vu challenge the head buyer for Piperlime showed up and told them to create a 70’s inspired outfit…like they did last week. Instantly Josh M. started panicking and trying to blame it on not being alive in the 70’s. Hmmm, I think most people can name some seventies trends without having been born in that decade, and especially those of us who have to have an extensive knowledge of fashion history. Because, hey, that’s our job!
Things got a little frazzled during the fabric trip to mood. For the first time in show history, a designer lost their money. Anya had no pockets (we’ve all been there) and searched high and low to no avail. Anthony Ryan graciously gave up his leftover $11 for her to get one small piece of fabric, a zipper and buttons. Everything else had to be made from the show provided muslin (thin, cheap cotton).
The workroom was abuzz with the normal stress, plus some catty accusations of copying. And Bert seemed more jovial than usual making some naught jokes about his time at Studio 54 back in the day. Then, shocking surprise, Tim Gunn comes in to announce they will be required to make a companion look. At nine season into the show, the designer know when Gunn makes an unexpected appearance in the workroom it means additional outfit.
Anya
In the blink of an eye it was time to head to the runway and the tour de 70’s commenced (again). This time around, Kimberly had a mediocre first outfit and a potentially cool jumper with some big time fit issues. Anthony Ryan’s Country Fair looking duo was far below his past taste levels. And the styling? Plain, not good. Bert had a yin-yang combo of sparkly fun disco gal and minimalist cool. I thought they were both super cool. Laura must have got a little weirded out knowing Nina was after her because that atrocious print combo, followed by a grandma outfit seems completely off her game.
None of that compares though to the sheer awfulness of Josh M.’s outfits. I mean 80’s sort of punk plaid pants with a color blocked tuxedo top, followed by an acid print maxi dress? None of that was 70’s and none of it was something I would touch with a ten-foot poll. Then Anya’s print perfect outfits came out and blew away the other competition. That jumper was killer. Viktor’s excellent tailoring skills are impressive, but neither outfit triggered that much excitement, despite the additional work put in.
Deliberations consisted of some taste bashing and it’s true Nina does seem out for Laura a bit. Wonder which thing Laura did irritated her? Lucky for her Anthony Ryan and Josh’s outfit were far worse and after they flipped the “Who will cause more drama if they stay?” coin Anthony Ryan was sent packing. In a happy twist for Anya, she won the challenge despite losing her money initially and Bert’s minimalist ensemble helped him score another win as well.
*Maybe next week we’ll be able to move from the 70’s to the 80’s?
I have to admit with the lost of Becky Ross and Bryce Black, my interest in this season of Project Runway has officially died down some. It’s really a lot more fun to watch when you have someone to root for. But, I think we’re all invested enough to ride this whole thing out and see who makes it to the top.
In this week’s quirky challenge the judges arranged for a product endorsement, er, teamed up with Rolling Stone to design an image for unsigned band, The Sheepdogs.
It did not go well.
Most of the designers took the bold stance of taking the 70’s era looking rockers into different 70’s era looking rockers. Unexpected! And once again, Olivier made a series of comments they were incredibly uncomfortable pointing out over and over again how “big” the lead singer was (who wasn’t that big). Olivier, I have a hunch you aren’t purposefully mean, but I think the phrase “Sensitivity Training” could come in handy for you.
Let’s just cut right to the heart of it and talk about the actual final looks from the runway show. Which was actually a 2-song concert that somehow I think guest judge glam rocker Adam Lambert wasn’t that into (despite his head bobbing).
Photo:
Courtesy MyLifetime.com
Josh M.
Anthony Ryan created a “Rock Jesus” look for the bass player that had promise, but something about it seemed a little more lady like than it should. Anya’s limited sewing stint has finally caught up with her because the only thing successful on that drummer was the headband. That tunic thing probably doesn’t even qualify legally as a shirt. Laura put together jeans, and tie-dyed shirt jacket combo for the guitar player and it wasn’t on my bad list. At least it fit. And Bert put the lead singer into shades of a dirty purple and gave him some braids and I actually thought it was the hippest thing he’s done n a long time. Way to take advantage of having lived the scene Bert.
The second round of looks kicked off with Josh M’s crotch focused pant and an odd fringed vest, Kimberly made a rad pair of cords and the most awful Scooby Doo shirt. I am willing to bet after seeing this episode she hates it more than any of us. Viktor had a fully conceived outfit with distressed jeans and an out there fringy faux leather top. Then Olivier’s karma set in. After making the singer probably feel bad about himself by constantly talking about his size he put out a shirt that was made from antique French drapes and looked like it was for someone a foot shorter. I don’t think that was a happy pairing.
After the deliberations, word was back. Viktor won the challenge with his cohesive look. Olivier and Kimberly ended up in the bottom before Heidi dramatically gave Olivier the Auf Weidersen. And despite the hassle some people have given him on the internet, I have this to say: I think his accent is real, and I’ll kind of miss it…
This week kicked off tugging at my heartstrings right away. Poor Bryce speaks on his frustration with not having won a challenge. Thanks to my long training by the producers of Project Runway I know this instant attention means he is either going to come out and win or go home.
The designers head down to Parson’s where they initially believe they will be doing a menswear challenge and pick from the men on stage based on their body frames. And quiet little Olivier drops this gem, “We’re left with only fat people, and that’s fine. But not when I’m making clothes.” Eeesh. What they don’t know is they have just picked their clients and they will actually be making outfits for their ladies, while trying to please both parties.
Once we see the designers actually begin to sketch, we learn that the boys know…_nothing_. One has no idea what colors she likes; another dude won’t stop talk about his wife’s boobs. We get it, you like them. It’s just getting creepy. Continuing on the breast train Olivier pops out another insightful statement. “I don’t like women having boobs, I just like them to be flat.” So for those keeping track Olivier doesn’t like fat people or women with boobs.
Viktor
The thing about challenges like this is it all depends what kind of person you get lined up with. Not unlike the “Real world.” Designers are hired by clients, sometimes it’s an amazing fit and sometimes things go bust. And sometime you get the boob obsessed guy who motor boated a dress form.
Things got harder for me to watch when I saw how much Bryce was struggling. Not just from the dilemma to use the hot pink his client loved, but to see him emotionally cracking. I’ve known him for years and when I saw him questioning his every move I could see the stress, coupled with the deep homesickness had finally worn him down to one half of his normal self. After a lot of self-doubt he scrapped the first dress he had made and fit to the model and quickly whipped up a new one with no time left to properly fit the model. By the time the designers headed down to the runway challenge, I knew what was going to happen.
The runway show began with Laura’s Barbie doll dress that was deja vu of a million other dresses. Anthony Ryan’s little cheerleading outfit was actually cute and his could was ridiculously adorable. Bert took a woman with great curves and made her look pregnant. I blame that one on the fact he had to deal with the annoying husband and am cutting him some slack. Josh M.’s pretty black dress was lovely, and though I am a fan of a color pop, those blue shoes with the black were not doing it for me. Bryce’s pink dress had a bunch of fit issues after scrapping the original dress. Kimberly’s outfit had a lovely color and the rest went into club gear territory. Olivier managed to pull off his outfit for the most part despite lots of drama with his clients and all his mouthy comments. Anya created a silhouette I was into, but kept flip-flopping on the print. And Viktor’s oh-so-Portland looking ensemble was both wearable and adorable.
Bryce
Once the show was complete, the judges praised Josh M. for finally embracing simplicity (though it was his client that actually did), Viktor for the aforementioned adorable outfit and Anya for the asymmetrical kimono dress. Anthony Ryan’s vintage inspired number, Bert’s unflattering cocktail dress and Bryce’s unfit frock landed in the bottom. After the deliberations the judges granted the winning title to volatile Josh M (out of fear?) and our last piece of Pdx was sent home (in a moment I couldn’t actually watch).
And since it’s already very evident that I am a completely biased writer, I will go ahead and take it one step further. We all saw Bryce lost his footing along the way and didn’t get to show nearly all the design work I have seen from him in the past couple of years. On the very first challenge, he should have been in the top. It was by far a stronger outfit than some of the others up there and was one of the top voted in the fan favorites online. I think if he had made it there when he should have, that confidence would have helped him jump off on a better note. But, it’s unimportant now and I have said my piece.
Next up? The remaining designers are put to the task of making menswear for a rock band. The recaps shall continue!
In a rare, but welcome moment in this season of Project Runway, the producers actually (theoretically) had a challenge I respected. The designers teamed up with tweens and teens from the Harlem School of the Arts to do shared paintings that would ultimately inspire an Avant Garde runway look. Some of the young artists were a little more vocal than others. Skyy, 12 cracked me up with the constant peppering of questions for Viktor, including, “What’s your favorite activity?” Who says that at age 12? Awesome Skyy does. Most of the paintings were really quite impressive, offering up a sky’s-the-limit kind of inspiration for everyone to work from.
At this point in the show, we can see the stress starting to take its toll on some of the kiddos. Olivier admits that sometime after the second challenge, he started to get lost, and he seems more so than ever here. I think that kid needs a hug, a pep talk and a strong espresso. Everything is a little subdued and sad. Poor Josh C. has more pressure than anyone does on him after being eliminated and brought back.
The producers tried to revive my long lost love for Josh M with his heartfelt revelations about losing his mom to cancer. I was just slowly warming back up to him when he goes on camera and talked about his ruthless bullying of Becky helped improve her design skills. Uh what?? We also got to see Bert talk about his partner that passed and again I felt a lump in my throat. Those editors really know how to manipulate your emotions.
Josh C’s 2nd “Go Home” look.
All that mumbo jumbo aside, let’s talk about what really matter: The runway show. Kimberly’s began with her pleather interpretation of the wild eagle. I thought it looked pretty cool considering the potential to make it into a giant bird costume. Becky Ross was up next with her solar system dress. Overall, I thought this dress was pretty rad. The idea was great and the execution was well done. My one critique is I think the dress being made from denim held it back from looking couture.
Olivier’s ensemble was just a sad mess from top to toe. The model even looked sad in her messy hair and the dress that seemed half finished and was glue to one of her breasts. This was obviously a hard challenge for him with his minimalist style, but I had hoped for more from him. Then Josh M sent out his tree concoction, which seemed a little literal for my taste, but that skirt was really quite flattering. And he created his own textile by painting neoprene (scuba diving material) and the judges love when anyone does that.
Bert’s Humpty Dumpty insanity deserves an entire blog post unto itself. Those high waisted Jodhpur pants are officially the most unflattering pant I have ever seen in my life. Then it appears he stole several of my cat’s toys and glued them to the front of a bustier. Avant Garde means forward thinking, not hilarious funny pant. Translation error perhaps?
Anthony Ryan
Viktor’s look appeared to have the most work put into it with his hand shredding each piece and all the complex roughing. I wanted to like it so much more with all that effort, but the heart wants what it wants, and mine didn’t want this. Before I could finish the thought, Laura’s giant peach concoction came out from behind the screen. Initially, I was adamantly opposed to this dress. It seemed very Southern Belle/Blanche Devereaux/Huge Prom Dress to me. The next day I was looking at the runway pics up close and it sort of dawned on me, I kind of love all those things. And with that realization, I did a full pendulum swing into the “love it” category. Sometimes, I even surprise myself.
Bryce was next with his straightjacket insanity look. It turned out well, but after seeing the original sketch I wish he had gone through with that idea. It had a full matching orange creepy face cover with jagged eye slits and the arms were actually tied behind the model. I think that would have turned this look up a notch into full cool cray-cray territory. However, it was still far more dramatic than Josh C’s look. The vampire huntress concoction seemed to be the result of frazzled nerves and you knew the judges were going to have issues with it the second it appeared.
Josh M.
Anthony Ryan’s brush stroke inspired dress initially was one of my favs, but as time wore on it seemed to grow increasingly familiar. Methinks that’s because it had many similarities to his birdseed dress challenge. The neckline, the way the embellishments cascaded down from the top, the form-fitting silhouette…. And the dress wasn’t even hemmed! When Anya’s came our after, it looked like it had a lot more actual sewing work in it, though I felt pretty Switzerland about the whole ensemble in general. It was cool, but a few tweaks and it probably could actually go towards ready to wear.
So once again, we have the designers out on the track and not a clear-cut winner in sight. After some awkward deliberations with Heidi claiming to actually like Bert’s look (Really? Did a producer make you say that?) and discussion of Olivier’s Valium clothing, the results were in. Anthon Ryan won which I think he definitely deserved to be a challenge winner by this point, but it should have been for the bird seed dress – not this one. We also said good-bye to Josh C. again. Perhaps proving that nice guys finish last, then not last, then last again….
HOLYMOLY! There was some serious drama this week on Project Runway. Like Maury Povich level of drama.
The show starts off at the crack of dawn with individual boxes for each designer full of….activewear. Not the most fashionable way to begin your day. We also see Becky trying so hard to get a very depressed Cecilia out of bed who’s obviously lost all competitive spirit. The gang heads down to a running track to meet Heidi and Tim when the drama instantly kicks off when they are informed they will be doing another team challenge.
In a bad flashback from high school, they have to race around the track with the top four runners to become team captains. And as they line up Cecilia drops the bombshell on Tim that she wants to quit the show. What?! Everyone goes through multiple rigorous audition processes to get to that point and after one time in the bottom, she is ready to jump ship. Then she says one sentence that made my right eyebrow arch like Joan Crawford. “I tried my best to get out yesterday.” Gasp!! She was trying to tank the runway challenge with that ghastly dress and she still couldn’t get sent home? Wow. I will say kudos to her for leaving the show if she didn’t want to win; it really isn’t fair to the rest.
Before anyone has time to process the whistle blows and they’re off! Josh M takes off and to my surprise Bryce Black comes in second! I haven’t ever seen that boy move that fast except for maybe once when we were running to the Low Brow Lounge for a much-needed cocktail. Olivier took an awful spill and while they were patching him up passes flat out. What is going on here?!
Anya with Team Josh M.
Anthony Ryan and Viktor are the other two captains and because of the uneven team numbers and Cecilia’s sudden departure Viktor is allowed to bring back an eliminated contestant. They choose Josh C. which I was actually happy about because he just seems like such a sweet guy and that he really wants it. The teams are all chosen and you can smell trouble brewing.
The challenge is to design a non-gym related outfit that corresponds to the sneakers Heidi Klum designed for New Balance. The sketching sessions quickly turned into a snarky bitchy fest, followed by a snarky bitchy fabric shopping trip and ending with some snarky bitchy workroom time. First off, my comedic crush on Josh M is soooo over. He was a self-righteous bully to our Becky Ross and I do not appreciate the ‘tude from that tan dude. He may not care for her more simplistic design aesthetic but to bring her on as a hired hand, ignore any of her ideas and then bully her to tears while throwing insults is just plain shady. Josh M, you just made my bad list.
In a similar scenario across the room Anthony Ryan and Laura were busy ignoring Bert. Although instead of bullying Bert to tears, Bert just got prissy and snarky back. It became uncomfortable to watch and I wished Tim would show up, smack everyone and tell them to shape up or ship out. Exhausting. After Heidi saw everything going on, she gives them 5 extra hours and leaves them to their stress. The next morning is a flurry of more mini-dramas and you sense there are no clear winners leading up to the runway show.
Bryce Black
The show started with Viktor and his super cool motorcycle jacket. I loved it and Josh C had a helluva comeback with his holster tee and pants that totally worked with the sneaker concept. Olivier broke a PR rule: Don’t ignore the judge’s critique. His skirt that Heidi called farm like still looked farm like. I don’t know why he didn’t just chop it off above the knee; it would’ve been so much cuter.
Team Bryce’s collection began with Bryce’s rad dress with pin tuck dart shaping and snaps up the side. Super cool. Kimberly’s outfit also looked great with the shorts and jacket little combo. Then Danielle’s outfit with the one pop of lone turquoise seemed to be party crashing from someone else’s collection, because it didn’t really go with this one.
Moving on to Team Anthony Ryan began with the most hideous romper I have ever seen. And he totally knew it too. This look surprised me because he seems to be quite talented and why he didn’t try something else last minute, I don’t understand. Laura’s look never quite came together but the vest was a cool idea. Bert’s top had a good cut that I liked. Did it look like something to wear with sneakers though? Ummm, no.
Team Snarky Josh M. began with Josh’s shredded vest look which had some promise. Becky’s piece then neither looked like her at all or that good. Considering the drama and lack of input she was allowed to give it doesn’t surprise me at all. Anya’s maxi dress was one of my favorite pieces, but the color strips didn’t appear to actually be sewed down which was distracting.
Viktor (deservedly) winning look
The judges couldn’t find anything they fully liked or hated so they did a team-by-team breakdown that immediately led into Anthony Ryan and Bert having a cat fight on the stage before sending everyone backstage. In the judges breakdown we saw them sort of praise Joshua M for using Becky without respecting her. Not cool. They also spoke very highly of Bryce’s garment. Michael Kors flat out said, “I love that dress.” Wha? Too bad they didn’t rave about it to Bryce’s face, that probably would’ve been a lovely confidence boost.
Then the Pièce de résistance: The judges get into an argument about whether to send home Anthony Ryan who by far had the worst outfit, but the best history. Or do they send home Danielle who’s had two mediocre outfits in a row and nothing really spectacular so far? The show claims to be based on week to week judging but, come on; we know that’s now how it is. And should it be? I’d much rather see a designer with consistent potential and ideas stay then someone who maybe has one lucky week and a lot of narrow squeak throughs. But then again, isn’t the point of fashion that you have to be current and thought provoking every time or you get left in the dust?
At the end of the day promise won out over strict rule following and Danielle was sent home instead of Anthony Ryan’s camel toe romper. Oh and bully Joshua M and Viktor both won the challenge, but after the emotionally exhaustive drama of the whole thing I couldn’t even muster the effort to care.
No more team challenges!! My poor heart can’t take it.
I spent all week excited about what would inevitably transpire in this week’s “Nina Challenge!” Finally, it’s a chance to see the designers actually get to design for a real client, like they do out in the non-reality television world. I like it because Nina was very opinionated and up front from the beginning about her likes and dislikes. Well, mainly her dislikes. Anyone who has ever had an opinionated boss can relate to that situation.
The designers had the luxury this time of meeting with the client to show their proposed sketches. Once again, Nina was quite vocal about what she wanted (telling Kimberly to scrap the dress she sketched and give her pants) and what she didn’t want (telling Bryce “I hate cowl”). Cecilia seemed dazed and confused (and not in the cool Matthew McConaughey way) from the first second of the consultation.
Once they headed off to Mood, the questionable decisions came rolling in. Anya went with a bright shiny mustard color despite Nina voicing her dislike of bright colors. Somehow, both Anthony and Becky ended up with the same fabulous fabric and there were veiled hints of possible copying. For the record, if either copied the other, they did a really good job hiding it to the cameras because they both seemed pretty surprised. Finally, we saw a whole lot of gray tones before Nina came cruising through the workroom and nixed a whole lot of ideas.
The editors of the show secretly let you in on how it’s all going early on. You’ll notice people like Bert and Becky barely get a second of screen time during the sketches or critiques. Interpretation: We know they are going to be safe. The folks that start getting a lot of screen time like Cecilia I start to worry about. The most interesting thing about her is that she knew her garment was not good, but instead of trying to fix it she pitched in and started working on Julie’s coat dress. And out of left field, my wary eye sees Laura pitch in and work on Anya’s jumpsuit.
Photo:
Courtesy MyLifetime.com
Cecilia
This brings on a whole tangent worth discussing. What do we think about designers helping other designers? I have mixed feelings about it. Obviously, the camaraderie is admirable. It’s nice that people have become attached to each other enough to help a competitor. Additionally, out in the real world of design projects are usually made with many helping hands. However, part of the challenge of this particular show is showing what you can do under the limited time constraints and budgeting accordingly. And it’s not very fair that some people might get a Good Samaritan to help out, but others are left in the cold. It had me all abuzz and the next second the looks were sashaying down the runway.
Josh M had an orange color blocked body-con dress that I poo-poo’d for Nina instantly. Bert sent a perfectly wearable, chic dress down the runway that you could also already buy many places. Olivier had an interesting idea that seemed to have a few fit issues. I normally really like Anthony’s stuff, but the skirt he tried to ruche in an “interesting” way just looked like a skirt that had static cling issues. Of course, to pump up the drama the producers lined up Becky’s dress in the same fabric to come out right after Anthony’s. Those little instigators. I actually liked this dress best of what we’ve seen from Becky so far and definitely more than its Anthony Ryan counter-part.
Photo:
Courtesy MyLifetime.com
Julie’s look that sent her home.
Moving on, Kimberly made a pair of her awesome pants that give every wearer a great butt, but I was worried about her gold metallic fabric choice for the top. I thought it would be too flashy for Nina to get into. Cecilia’s one shoulder dress looked like it was from Forever 21 and in the color of my grandma’s pantyhose. It was a long fall from the sewing expectations I had for her. And the shoe choice was just like pouring lemon juice into a paper cut. Anya’s jumpsuit she wisely dyed a darker color was good, but I didn’t love it as much as other’s seemed to. Danielle’s outfit looked like another Kohl’s purchase, though again very well made. Julie’s coatdress was an interesting idea. I thought there was too much orange for it to be up Nina’s alley. People need to listen when a client says they don’t like bright colors!
Bryce Black created a cool color-blocked dress with a puffed sleeve that I would wear in a second. Laura’s shiny green suit was actually beautifully made. I just think the Christmas green color became overwhelming. In a different color, I think this could have been in the top. Viktor’s slightly futuristic take on the LBD was freaking fabulous. Those shoulders slimmed the waist and the proportions were spot on.
Photo:
Courtesy MyLifetime.com
Anya
In some expected and some unexpected moves the top designers, (including a particularly snarky Marie Clair editor-in-chief Joanna Coles) placed Viktor’s LBD, Anya’s formerly mustard jumpsuit and Kimberly’s ensemble into the top three. That left Danielle’s department store pieces, Cecilia’s sad affair and Julie’s color blocked coatdress in the bottom. I thought they actually were harder on Julie than necessary (and she handled it pretty well). The color wasn’t working, but I thought that the design had potential. If it was just in crisp black and white and a black patent leather belt, I believe it could work.
After the deliberations were over, little Julie was sent home instead of the more confused (but previously stronger) Cecilia. Kimberly’s tailored ensemble received top honors a bit to my surprise. Not because I didn’t like it, but Nina seems to steer clear of anything a little flashy. However, when they showed Nina wearing it in an epilogue, the outfit was perfect for her.
It was fabulous to have a design heavy related challenge for a welcome change. It looks like next week were back to more craziness with designers running down a track. What? Don’t the producers know running in stilettos is dangerous?
Let me be the first to declare: I have no idea what is going on this season of Project Runway. Forget the idea of actually designing amazing garments within a budget to show your chops. This has only been about pajamas, pet food and now stilt walkers. I am getting bored. Give me a couture challenge over fake, extended legs any day of the week.
I get that in the real world people are expected to work in group projects all the time. But this is not the real world, this is the Project Runway world and here group projects are a recipe for disaster. Looking at our Pdx designers, Becky Ross was thrown into a partnership with Kimberly who just said, “Hmmmmmmmmmm, her designs are very plain” while giving a beyond questionable look. And just when Bryce Black was trying to crawl out of the bottom of the barrel from last week’s debacle he gets paired with a self-taught designer who appears to not know the fundamentals of sewing. Oh vey.
At least neither of our local kids were thrown into the lions den with Bert or Viktor. Those two found any and all things to argue about. The only thing they never seemed to get around to was saving the hideous fabric combination I’ll dub “Mother of the Bride” from actually walking down the runway.
Photo:
Courtesy MyLifetime.com
Bryce and Fallene’s Black Swan.
Once the camera pans back to Bryce and Fallene, I knew things were going south quickly. Issue number one, the brown polka dot fabric with the black tulle was not good. And Fallene attempting to add a royal blue sash was not going to help that at all. Do the colors black, blue and brown remind you of anything else? Oh yes, a bruise.
Issue number two quickly surfaced and trumped everything else: Fallene doesn’t know the basics of construction. The fact that she doesn’t know how to cut something on the grain is like a cook that doesn’t know to pre-heat an oven before throwing muffins in there. I learned about the importance of cutting on the grain my first day of sewing camp….when I was 11. And one more point here, the fabric was a grid polka dot, which means it’s even easier to see the lines of the cloth!
What does that mean then? It means while everyone else was working in two’s (Except Bert and Viktor who were working in two teams of 1), Bryce was flying solo. Fallene was unable to complete the top, so he had to create every piece for the model under the pressure and was only able to churn out something fair-ish. There was so much drama going on in that room, I felt tense watching it through the television.
Ready or not, the designers and their extra tall models headed off to the first live runway show in the history of Project Runway (which incidentally is, how I broke the news of our Portland contestants) in New York’s Battery Park. The guest judge was a super important player in the world of high-end fashion. Just kidding! It was Kim Kardashian. After one quick shot of Fallene crying in sweet Tim Gunn’s arms over her lack of sewing anything (and leaving Bryce to dress and prepare the model on his own), the runway show began.
The Gucci outfit I kept seeing in my mind after looking at the Laura/Anthony ensemble.
First off was the combo of tomboy Julie and the still hilarious Joshua M with their twist on a Matador look. I actually liked the concept in theory, but the pants were far too high and the model looked dreadfully awkward swishing around her one armed jacket. Next was Bert and Viktor’s monstrous creation. All I can say is there is nothing good that can come from the fabric combination ever. Except maybe a good bonfire. Bryce and Fallene’s combo ended up coming off far too simple and the all black ballerina outfit is ill timed thanks to Black Swan’s massive success this year. Becky and Kimberly sent a solid looking military inspired concoction down the runway and seemed to have some of the least amount of drama of the teams. “Dream Team” Anya and Oliver sent a fairly mundane, but pretty, outfit in tones of gray that I almost instantly forgot the second it left. Immediately following it was the ensemble Danielle and Cecilia created. I thought it looked like something your aunt would purchase at Kohl’s. The pleating of the pants was kind of cool, but the whole thing was so matronly. Finally, Anthony and Laura sent out their dramatic red piece that was obviously the best. However, the second I saw it I said, “That looks like Gucci’s Fall collection.” (Well, to be honest I initially thought Marc Jacobs, but the point is I recognized it.)
Once everyone was back in the judging room at Parson’s surprise, surprise the judges liked outfits that looked more like ready to wear and hated all the outfits that had any idea of costume. Because stilt walking is obviously not the time to have any flair for the dramatic right? What!
In the extended judging Nina called out Anthony and Laura for their design saying it looked similar to something else she’s seen. Hmmmmm, like Gucci’s Fall collection?! Then they miraculously commended the Kohl’s aunt ensemble with pumpkin hair (I’m still in shock over that) before Michael Kors told Kimberly and Becky they were “kick ass tailors.” That’s not something you hear everyday.
Photo:
Courtesy MyLifetime.com
Proof that nothing comes out of bickering: Bert and Viktor’s look.
For the bottom three groups they dove right into hashing apart Bert and Viktor’s outfit while the two bickered back and forth in front of the judges. Then they turned to Bryce and Fallene blasting the simplicity before asking Bryce point blank who should go home. I am extremely impressed at his response when he said that they both should and shared the responsibility for the look, despite the fact that Fallene didn’t sew anything, can’t construct a basic bodice and didn’t even help him prep the model back stage. Most people in his spot would have thrown her under the bus and he didn’t. Fallene then piped up and declared she should be the one to go and it seemed like she secretly wanted to after the pressure cooker of this week. Finally, they bashed on the Matador circus look a bit, which did look even gaudier in close up.
At the end of the day, blondie Laura won the challenge and Fallene was sent packing. There does seem to be a tendency for self-taught designers to go early, so maybe those tuition dollars spent on fashion degrees are well spent in the Project Runway world. I’m just glad our Portland designers both made it through the infamous team challenge.
In exciting news for next week, it appears the designers will be making outfits for Nina Garcia. Now, this is the kind of challenge I’m talking about. Fashion editors have many opinions and this promises to be quite entertaining.
Check out the additional scenes and behind the scenes gossip of Bryce and Fallene’s turbulent pairing.
“This isn’t like fashion, this is like Trashion.” –Anthony Ryan Auld
This weeks’ Project Runway began with the first glimpse of this season’s opening credits. Last week it was still hidden as they narrowed down the finalists. Instead of the traditional bit with the actual CONTESTANTS the opening sequence is an off-putting display of Heidi Klum, Michael Kors, Nina Garcia and even my beloved Tim Gunn in a narcissistic display of themselves talking about “Working It” while the contestant are barely visible. What the bleep?!
Once the show began, in a (not so) surprisingly rude twist this week the crew of designers had themselves an unconventional materials challenge this week. Tim Gunn threw them into a pet store for 30 minutes with a budget of $300 and told them to get materials for an ensemble. The P.R. people love to make the designers create things out of weird stuff. Last year there was the party store challenge, before that we have seen potato sack challenges, car parts challenges, the list goes on. I’ve never been sold that making things out weird stuff equates being a fabulous designer, but I admit it’s entertaining.
Looking around the workroom this week, I’m finally able to begin keeping track of the designers and I’ve fallen head over heels for the hilarious Joshua McKinley who says, “Some people think less is more, but more is better.” And the looks he gives during his camera interviews (including one where he gets a little bitchy about Bryce Black) are priceless. Plus, the blouse he created out of dazzling neon aquarium rocks this week completely “rocked” my world (pun intended).
Laura Kathleen is another contestant that keeps popping up on my radar, and not for good reasons. Last week her “Are you guys speaking foreign?” coupled with this weeks “I’ve been shopping at Neiman’s since I was in single digits.” is enough to make me quite certain we would not get along during an interview (or high school). And when she created a skirt out of a cone dog collar that completely revealed a models bare booty, I (in an uncharacteristically snarky move) wished she would send it down the runway and go home. But, she realized cheeks chilling out on the runway was a no-go and fixed it. Harumph.
Photo:
Courtesy MyLifetime.com
Bert’s “ugh” look.
As Tim Gunn made his way around for the first round of workroom critiques it was a total crapshoot of what was working and what wasn’t. Last week’s favorite and challenge winner Bert Keeter completely phoned in a half-assed garment that I have no problems with calling atrocious, because he knew it too. I cannot even figure out how to describe it. Our own Bryce Black said the word “Wee-Wee Pads” at least 10 times and the more times he said it, the more I worried for my old friend. As comedian Joshua M said, “The top is interesting, but where is she going? Why is she going there?….in that?” (ouch.)
They can show the workroom for hours, but the truth is you never know how it’s going until the models hit the runway. The judges called out the top 3 with Anthony Ryan and his s-t-u-n-n-i-n-g creation of birdseed into a fantastic beaded cocktail dress, Olivier Green and his chic combo of dog and hamster bedding into an ombré effect and Joshua McKinley for the aforementioned rock top. The bottom 3 included Fallene Wells with an unfortunate orange/brown color combo, Josh Christensen with a bit of a ho-hum creation and our own Bryce Black who clearly let the wee-wee pads get the best of him.
Photo:
Courtesy MyLifetime.com
Bryce’s Wee-Wee Pads.
During the judging critiques Joshua M. dropped the amazing bombshell of noting that the mirror hanging from his skirt “It’s for your parrot to look at itself” and Nina only gave a disappointing “Oh.” That’s it Nina? I laughed until a tear slipped down my cheek at that and nothing from you but an “Oh”?
My poor Bryce was ripped apart for his ensemble. The judges stated they had seen the skirt over and over and when I thought about it, it’s true. I remember Amy from Season 7 in the potato sack challenge, Valerie from Season 8 in the party store challenge and so on. Eeeks.
Joshua C. broke one of the absolute cardinal rules of the unconventional materials challenge: He used materials that were like fabric. His umbrella top was a chunk of fabric. I know from watching every season they really hate when you do this. And this was an awkward judging because he seems like a particularly nice guy and I was cringing a bit at his crestfallen look.
Photo:
Courtesy MyLifetime.com
Pretty Oliver’s semi-pretty winning look.
Fallene broke the second commandment of Project Runway commandments: Thou shalt not trash thine own work. As the judges tore apart her simple strapless top and color combo she nodded along and put down her work with them. You cannot do this to the judges. It’s one thing to admit you understand their critique, but it’s another to tell them you also hate your own garment.
The judges battled it out for who the winner would be and I flat out disagree with their choice. Though I think Oliver is a little cutie pie and his look was good, the dress both used fabric and made the model look sizes larger than she actually was. Anthony Ryan’s dress used no fabric at all and looked incredibly chic. I am horrified to say that I think Nina Garcia is losing some of her touchstone with what is cool, and I predict many more fights between her and Heidi to come this season.
To wrap it all up, this week can provide advice to any future contestants for the show. Watch every episode of the show before you start filming, learn what has already been made and, most importantly, memorize the Judging Commandments of Project Runway.
Portland Monthly’s viewing party brought out designers and friends to watch the whole circus begin again.
Posted by: Eden Dawn on Jul 29, 2011 at 11:00PM1 Comments
Photo:
McKenna Johnson
Portland’s Project Runway contestants Bryce Black and Becky Ross have a lot of love for each other after spending weeks filming in the shark pit together.
Portland’s Project Runway contestants Bryce Black and Becky Ross have a lot of love for each other after spending weeks filming in the shark pit together.
Watching Heidi Klum stomp in Black’s feather cape.
It’s here! Last night was the Season 9 premier of Project Runway including our two Pdx contestants Bryce Black and Becky Ross. Ross and Black were both in attendance for our Portland Monthly viewing party, as well as a billion other people and we crammed in together to watch the drama unfold.
The show opened with a particularly fierce twist. 20 designers made it to New York to present their work in front of Heidi Klum, Tim Gunn, Nina Garcia and Michael Kors who instantly cut 4. Not only did our Portland peeps make it through the cut, but Heidi Klum hopped out of her chair to take Black’s feather cape and stomp around. I watched Black, watch it on screen and I have never seen him look happier in my life.
After the selected designers made the cut, they moved into their living quarters and hunkered down for a nights rest after the adrenaline gave way. But before they could finish resting Tim Gunn came pounding down on their door at 5am commanding them to get up at once and head to the Parson’s workroom just as they were. Ross was even denied putting on her bra! (An unfair advantage to the male designers.)
Photo:
Courtesy MyLifetime.com
Round 1 winner – Bert Keeter (Ditch that bag Bert)
The challenge given to the sleepy contestants was to immediately design an outfit using only the pajamas they were in and the one bed sheet they just carried from the hotel to the workspace. As to be expected some controlled chaos ensued and we saw bits and pieces of other personalities as well as garments. Right now there are still far too many people running around to keep track or pick out this seasons’ darlings and demons.
The runway show started with my total teen girl crush Christina Ricci as a judge looking super fabu. Our own contestants easily made it through the first round of cuts, though methinks Black was completely robbed of a top 3 spot. Designer Bert Keeter won the first round with his asymmetrical cocktail dress made from his checked boxers, a tee and sheet. The guillotine fell on Rafael Cox and his awkward camel-toe inducing legging and split open shirt. And it might just be due to, what I call, “The Curse of the Goatee.”
All in all I’m pleased to see Heidi & Co still trying to shake up the game this many seasons in. Looking at the teasers for what happens this season looks like a very strange ride to come. I’ll be blogging weekly so check back in for the rundown on fashion Friday’s and any insider gossip I can squeeze out of Black and Ross. In the meantime you can support these two by voting them as fan favorites. The winner with the most votes at the end of the season gets a cool $10,000 and it should be one of our kids. Check out the Lifetime.com fan page to vote and do it often.
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Eden Dawn (yes, that is her real name) spends her life submerged in fashion (some might say drowning). Born and raised in Oregon, she began her style career while still a child, by cheerfully violating numerous dress codes at her private school. She has designed both apparel and textile and is an instructor in the fashion department at The Art Institute of Portland. She has been a writer “on the scene” since 2007.
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