John Varvatos, absolutely -- and he's by far been the best juror this ep. It's the young girl from ... Marie Claire or whatever that isn't a very helpful juror, in my mind.
Mizrahi at least knows what it means to design. And I'm sorry, his low-cost Target line has some great pieces -- and as we all know too well, it's not easy to design on the cheap. That's earned him mega points in my book. I don't actually find much value in his housewares personally.
ahh, "Zoe Glassner" IS the young woman from Marie Claire. No, I hadn't heard of her before this show.
To be honest, I'm willing to give the judges the benefit of the doubt and assume that production is editing out most of the more meaty comments -- simply because it seems like, with the move to Lifetime, the producers are conciously choosing a less... well, intellectual isn't quite the right word... a less "thought-provoking" approach. There's less actual design discussion across the board. The jury could be a lot meatier than what we're seeing.
However, from what they edit, it really seems like a lot of the comments are more tilted toward emotional, personal reaction (much more Reality TV) than what the show used to be.
You also have to remember that this year's Project Runway has more commercial tie-ins and product placements. And Lifetime doesn't have the same budget as Bravo... you can tell by the living arrangements (and more than likely the move from NY to LA.)
The other part of Project Runway-- and I'll probably get shit for this-- is that it is not as insanely difficult to get noticed in the Fashion world as it is say "Architecture" or even traditional "Fine Art."
Christian Sorriano is probably the black sheep. But these designers are not really destined for "Runway Fashion." They're destined to patterns for large mid-range clothing labels. I wouldn't be surprised if Lifetime isn't trying to cash in on this.
So, in reality, "High Fashion" should be less of a focus and the bigger weight of the decisions should be on commercial marketability.
while all of those knuckleheads were complaining about getting western, all i kept thinking of was how easy it would be; leather and denim...duh.
the ice queen blew, it was not sci-fi, it was Narnia or LOTR.
as soon as Ra'mon said jumpsuit, i turned to my wife and said he's going home.
chris should have won.
epperson's dress was fantastic as well.
having said that the girl should have gone home, but what seems to keep you there a little longer is how many times you appear at the bottom 2 or 3.....
the judges? i could be a better judge, but i like nina, where's nina?
the real question is, "where's michael kors?" oh well, it looks like he's back next week.
i loved epperson's dress. great dress.
ice queen guy is such a douchebag it's hard to see his designs objectively.
really surprised they sent ramon home. it was a terrible dress, but he at least seemed to have a point of view and was also one of the more likable designers on this season (in a season where there doesn't seem to be a lot of likable designers).
it's interesting how all of us share most opinions on the results...is it a question of aesthetic common sense, or just an architectural common ground?! anyways, i am glad to have my opinions validated through the comments on this thread...
simples, I have discussed the results with non-architects also most weeks, and they also agree with us. I wonder whether the judges are being directed to select certain people for other reasons this season. Or maybe they just see things differently when it's in front of their faces...? I can't remember another season where the judging seemed to specifically anti-concept.
What the ladies of Jezebel think -- non-architects.
It occurred to me that in any other season, if that Ice Queen had walked down the runway and Nina and Michael Kors were there to see it, they would have proclaimed it a boring standard sheath with some kind of hot craft mess glued around the top. It's all tacky ornament and no construction. Ugh.
i am going to use hot mess more as well. i can't believe how little people know about film. how could you not do a femme fatale with film noir????wtf? that's a major premise of the genre. double indemnity!!!hello???? anyway i liked epperson's although his story was nothing new,,,ie cold mountain, hello??? who won the quickfire?
I was highly disappointed in the outcome this week. Louise should have gone home, not Ra'mon. Though it was a "hot mess"it still showed a lot more creativity and thought than the flapper shite Louise constructed. I felt the Ice Queen was completely trite and uninspired and was shocked that it actually won. Chris and Epperson's designs were far better. To me both their designs screamed coutoure, while ice queen screamed B-movie... but what do I know.
I am always scared to try out fashion...its emasculating. But whenever I watch P.Runway...I get so inspired..I remmeber the nephew of Rem who designed shoes that sold like hotcakes..Does anybody know how it looks like?...share?
Well there's not much to say about last night's boring boring challenge. I'm glad they didn't cut Christopher, I think I would have quit watching permanently if they had.
I know, manta. If Epperson had been cut I would have stopped caring at all. The dresses that won were so dull. At least that silly shower poof ruffle dress - with the bow in the back, too, oh my god, is she trying to appeal to the pedophiles in the crowd?!? - got Louise booted.
A team challenge, with boring designs for a boring clothing line. Let's hope next week is better.
we were wondering, if the judges had remained the same as the previous couple of weeks, would christopher had made it???
very predictable winner though (although i thought the cut was not flattering at all)
and yes, very very very bland stuff...i wonder if everything has been toned down on purpose due to the network shift...
holy moley i am aghast by this week's episode. so bad. so so bad. it's a sad day in project runway-land when an outfit using black leggings is praised.... as a matter of fact, two of the outfits had black leggings. these designers are getting real lazy. there was nothing fashion forward about any of the designs.
poor epperson, but come on, he should have known better. i'm still rooting for him though.
epperson is out...though i liked the character, and his earlier garments, his last 2 creations were not good...at all...when i saw that coming down the runway, i started saying my goodbyes...
still...nothing creative or cutting edge, at all, last night...blah...
me too - she definitely deserved to win, based on the goal, and the transformation...(i was worried irina(?) was going to win again, and i did not "get" her design, at all) - plus gordana had her issues with the challenge, which made the win better...
but there is not a lot of high-fashion this season, i don't think...
Agreed. It seems as though the judges are looking for more mainstream/sellable fashions. Isn't the winner to get money towards creating their own line for Macy's. Irina's was nice... but boring. Gordana's was a more drastic conversion.
BLAH. This is the very first time I've agreed with the winner (although I probably would have picked Logan to go over Epperson, I agree with it going down to the two of them). Once again did not like Irina's as much as the judges, and once again feel like Carol Hanna consistently produces elegant pieces that get overlooked. I missed how GreasyHaired's monstrosity didn't get him auf'ed -- did he have immunity? His piece was horrible.
ok, in my previous comment I had assumed Mr. Greasy Hair Ice Queen dude had immunity last week! Seeing as how he DIDN'T, then HE should have gone home for his horrid wedding dress re-do. And his "dress" this time was the same Ice Queen as before, but made into an ice-skating dress. AWFUL. Epperson & Shirin should both still be on. Argh.
I totally hear you manta - I turned it on right when Tim was talking to him about his dress and I totally thought it was a rerun. Chrisopher's though was actually quite horrid too. His model looked like she was walking around with a perma wedge.
I'll probably stick it out for the rest of the season, but might not come back for another.
Anyone here watch Top Chef. Now that's some good stuff this season.
I'll watch for the rest of the season too, at least til the final three are selected - I think I've only watched one of the final shows, and never the wrap ups afterwards when they get the whole group back together to make catty comments about each other.
Also, Heidi is just being a total bitch this year. Much, much nastier in her comments than she used to be. I despise the way everyone smiles and fawns up at her every time she walks out. I figure she must have a sense of humor, but it's not coming through in her comments which are all just mean. Maybe Lilo influenced her too much.
That black shirt she was wearing last night was really cool, though.
i like top chef better than pr these days to melty. for one i love padma. and two those people are wicked good chefs. some of them have incredible ink. i was sad when ashley was voted out. i was totally crushing on her.
I LOVED that black shirt. Besides Carol Hanna's dress, it was the only thing I really liked last night.
Although I kind of had a thing for the skirt on Shirin's dress, I'll admit. Even though it had nothing to do with the challenge...
I would have understood more if Cristopher had gone home than Shirin -- but I guess they kept him because of the good work he's done in the past.
I usually love Top Chef but haven't caught an episode yet this season. VR, I am sad to report that I disagree with you on something : I can't STAND padma. CANNOT stand her. The way she talks annoys the heck out of me. The first season, I felt like *I* could read the teleprompter faster, and I'm halfway across the country!
wow manta and vr disagreeing. that is unusual. i love padma. she is smart and beautiful and so much more than a host. the show i really enjoy. i can see why people are becoming foodies. i think it what Ash said after he was eliminated was great. "Cook something. plant a garden. change the world." or something like that. was great. there's a show that i watched a few episodes of called "Shark Tank" that i think is pretty good. its about entrepeneurs who seek capital from a group of rich self made million/billionaires and they are often bidding and battling each other for deals. pretty good.
I didn't watch PR closely last night; I only abandoned the computer to cross the room and watch for the runway show. Two comments:
1. Giordana's jacket was awesome. The guest judge applied the word "architectural" to Althea's outfit, which was a very cool look, but not structured enough to be architectural. Giordana's was the architectural one; I loved the overall softness of it in relation to the hard edges of the stitching. Still, Althea deserved to win.
2. The bitchy back-stabbing nastiness that was emphasized in this episode is exactly why I don't watch reality TV. If that shit comes up next episode I'm done. I want to see design process, not snark.
lb...they seem to be falling back onto the back-stabbing nastiness quite often more recently (though there were some of it in previous seasons, it wasn't emphasized)...this season, it almost seems like they are pumping it up on editing...
althea deserved to win just by making those pants work...althea, carol hanna and irina will be the final 3...i think irina will take it all...
Was I the only one that didn't like Irrina's dress? I felt like it just emphasized the belly area of the model and I know, I, personally am very self conscious of that particular area.
I agree simples, it has been an underwhleming season. It seems to me they have less time this season to devlop and produce their designs. It seems like they've only gotten one day for each challenge. Perhaps it's just me, but that doesn't really give you enough time to allow the design to devlop and evolve.
I actually liked Jiordana's work, too. The seaming / darts on the jacket were cute and interesting. I agree that the color was a weak point -- I think it should have been sharper, more stiff and pointed in keeping with the architectural look of the rest of the jacket. I'm glad she didn't go home. Logan's thing was... kind of slap-dash looking. It could have been good with a little more rigor, I think. I think that's what they mean when they say something looks like student work -- that it lacks focus and rigor and precision... or at least that's what I'd say.
Irina's was ok. I wasn't a huge fan of the dress OR the sweater. The only thing I've liked of hers, literally, was that colorado ski outfit. I loved Althea's and Carol Hanna's, as usual.
Meh. Stupid "backstabbing" nonsense. Don't fault Lifetime for that, Bravo used to put that in too -- especially towards the end of each season, when there's fewer contestants and more tension.
i thought gordanna's outfit looked like it was from target's merona collection. the collar was so small and flimsy. one of her weaker outfits imho. christopher just needs to go - bad, bad taste. the big problem with this season is that the top two designers, althea and irina, have very little personality outside of being petty and catty. they eliminated several of the people who were far more interesting (and talented) too early in the season.
I dislike the format and the amount of time they give. The commercial tie-ins are kind of gross and not as clever as Bravo's usual product placement and underwriting. I think the condensing it down, lack of challanges and lack of general bravo format is probably because of the network shift.
But I mean that's pretty understandable-- Bravo has the power of GE, Vivendi and NBC Universal behind it.
Lifetime is an A&E company-- So, not as big or pockets as deep... but the main players in A&E are Hearst Corp and Disney-ABC with NBC playing a smaller role.
You know who is more than likely behind this all? That bitch Lydia Hearst-Shaw. She's been mucking shit up now that she is the heir to the Hearst empire.
Her and her mother Patricia Hearst have been doing the weirdest and oddly counter-intuitive things contrary to the usual attitude of the Hearst Company.
I mean there's Cosmopolitan magazine which is the shallowest, also awesome, magazine alive and there's the Lifetime channel which aims to debase everything found on the pages of Cosmopolitan.
Don't get me started on biography, history and military channels-- I didn't realize you could base a 24 hour network solely off World War II propaganda and call it "history."
So, like anything Hearst touches, it has to be both oddly hypocritical and sensationalized. But Hearst doesn't have the deep pockets or collection of property like NBC does. So, I think that plays alot into the speed, over commercialization and the fact that a super almost-evangelical publishing company is buying up homoland at an incomprehensible rate.
jafidler, I agree re: the "Merona" look. I think what contributed to that were the fabric choice (looked cheap and thin) and the floppy, under-structured collar. But the piece itself I think was an interesting idea. The long jacket looked great in the back, and I couldn't believe she managed to make those shorts or whatever actually look cute. I think they rejected it because it was too commerical / "wearable" and not high-fashion enough.
She suffers from being both the more commercial AND the more mature, older-women-look designer. Two kisses of death in this supposedly cutting-edge, high-fashion competition.
you know who's clothes i really hate? heidi's! wtf she had on silver shorts that went to the knew with some goodwill looking jacket? wtf? persoanally i look forward to top chef more than p.r. although they have gotten a bit snarky on their as well. i agree though that they aren't getting enough time to develop ideas and these challenges of designing for celebrities is gagafying. its about fashion and not costume.
a couple of things; remember this season has been in the can for a looooong time, i think over a year. the backstabbing has been especially annoying, partly because i don't like the irina thing and because it's a bit passive aggressive in nature. christopher has tapped out on his talent, he needs more schooling/education, his raw talent is not going to get him much further. that said, the remaining women are the most talented in a lack luster season, this has been the worst by far. hopefully they'll go back to new york and get the f out of la.
Next season IS back in NYC (Tim Gunn has mentioned in interviews) but I don't think LA makes any difference. This isn't the strongest group of designers we've seen, and the judges already weeded out some of the most interesting potential. I think the crap judging has had the biggest effect. They waited so long to shoot that they had to do it DURING the season, meaning Nina & Michael Kors had to work around their real life commitments. Crap judging = crap jurying = inconsistent, lower quality projects.
check out the comments in this Jezebel thread for an awesome discussion of how this show could have really used LA much better.
I completely agree... I saw a comment from someone on some other thread saying "I'm loving all the background shots of LA in this season's Project Runway!" and I thought, "WHERE?!" They're barely using the city at ALL -- such a shame considering that all anyone ever sees of LA is the beach & the "stars". Which is all we've been getting from PR. What a disappointment... there's so much more life and interest and culture in LA than that. (see "500 Days of Summer" for a better portrayal of LA)...
Anyway some great ideas for better challenges in the comments of the linked thread.
I agree with most of the comments above regarding Giordana's work (how the hell do you actually spell her name anyway?) I thought the outfit was fine and I'm glad she stood up for herself despite the fickle judges.
In my opinion, this has been the weakest season of Runway thus far. I think the only reason they played up the cattiness in the last episode was because they are starting to realize this, and also to show what a nasty person Irina is. I am positively stunned that her mediocre work has won 3 challenges, BTW. If that's who their "best designer" of this season is, then they might as well scrap it while they are ahead and start over.
I like Christopher and I like what he's trying to do but I do think his lack of formal education is causing him to hit a wall earlier. There's only so far he can take those "voluminous" ideas of his.
I also like Althea a lot, and when she said she interned with Alexander McQueen I was like, "sweet, we'll get to see some cool sh*t" but no... the conservative judging has prevented her from doing anything I think she's capable of.
In the end I think they'll find a way to "auf" Jordanna (ha, spelling) and get rid of Christoper too... and then it will be Carol Hannah, Althea, and Irina. And Irina's collection will be completely dull, so it's Althea's for the winning, but I think Carol Hannah is a sleeper and could come out with something totally unexpected like the little woman who won Season 2... what was her name again?
I think you'd all find it interesting -- this is part 2 of the video -- they let her talk at length and not only is she MUCH more interesting than I ever thought she was all season, but she makes some really good points regarding the nature of being a designer and what the effect of different kinds of design criticism is. Check it out.
She said something about what it means to "design out of fear instead of from inspiration" that I thought was great -- I realized I have totally experienced that, and I know exactly what she means, except that I had never recognized it or realized it before. Kinda changes my viewpoint of my own design process.
I'd be interested to know what you guys think and how this might be compared to design school perhaps.
The Inevitable Project Runway Thread
lb, someday I'd like to have a project runway cocktail party with you. What this thread needs is some drinks and some real-time catty comments.
Mizrahi sucks. Excellent interior design... horrible fashion designer.
John Varvatos, absolutely -- and he's by far been the best juror this ep. It's the young girl from ... Marie Claire or whatever that isn't a very helpful juror, in my mind.
Mizrahi at least knows what it means to design. And I'm sorry, his low-cost Target line has some great pieces -- and as we all know too well, it's not easy to design on the cheap. That's earned him mega points in my book. I don't actually find much value in his housewares personally.
I shouldn't have called her a young girl -- I take that back. Young woman.
ahh, "Zoe Glassner" IS the young woman from Marie Claire. No, I hadn't heard of her before this show.
To be honest, I'm willing to give the judges the benefit of the doubt and assume that production is editing out most of the more meaty comments -- simply because it seems like, with the move to Lifetime, the producers are conciously choosing a less... well, intellectual isn't quite the right word... a less "thought-provoking" approach. There's less actual design discussion across the board. The jury could be a lot meatier than what we're seeing.
However, from what they edit, it really seems like a lot of the comments are more tilted toward emotional, personal reaction (much more Reality TV) than what the show used to be.
You also have to remember that this year's Project Runway has more commercial tie-ins and product placements. And Lifetime doesn't have the same budget as Bravo... you can tell by the living arrangements (and more than likely the move from NY to LA.)
The other part of Project Runway-- and I'll probably get shit for this-- is that it is not as insanely difficult to get noticed in the Fashion world as it is say "Architecture" or even traditional "Fine Art."
Christian Sorriano is probably the black sheep. But these designers are not really destined for "Runway Fashion." They're destined to patterns for large mid-range clothing labels. I wouldn't be surprised if Lifetime isn't trying to cash in on this.
So, in reality, "High Fashion" should be less of a focus and the bigger weight of the decisions should be on commercial marketability.
while all of those knuckleheads were complaining about getting western, all i kept thinking of was how easy it would be; leather and denim...duh.
the ice queen blew, it was not sci-fi, it was Narnia or LOTR.
as soon as Ra'mon said jumpsuit, i turned to my wife and said he's going home.
chris should have won.
epperson's dress was fantastic as well.
having said that the girl should have gone home, but what seems to keep you there a little longer is how many times you appear at the bottom 2 or 3.....
the judges? i could be a better judge, but i like nina, where's nina?
the real question is, "where's michael kors?" oh well, it looks like he's back next week.
i loved epperson's dress. great dress.
ice queen guy is such a douchebag it's hard to see his designs objectively.
really surprised they sent ramon home. it was a terrible dress, but he at least seemed to have a point of view and was also one of the more likable designers on this season (in a season where there doesn't seem to be a lot of likable designers).
christopher is a dreamboat.
i have a "wife-sponsored" crush on Shirin...
it's interesting how all of us share most opinions on the results...is it a question of aesthetic common sense, or just an architectural common ground?! anyways, i am glad to have my opinions validated through the comments on this thread...
simples, I have discussed the results with non-architects also most weeks, and they also agree with us. I wonder whether the judges are being directed to select certain people for other reasons this season. Or maybe they just see things differently when it's in front of their faces...? I can't remember another season where the judging seemed to specifically anti-concept.
What the ladies of Jezebel think -- non-architects.
It occurred to me that in any other season, if that Ice Queen had walked down the runway and Nina and Michael Kors were there to see it, they would have proclaimed it a boring standard sheath with some kind of hot craft mess glued around the top. It's all tacky ornament and no construction. Ugh.
I now resolve to use the term "hot mess" more often.
doesn't it refer to a steaming pile of poo?
i am going to use hot mess more as well. i can't believe how little people know about film. how could you not do a femme fatale with film noir????wtf? that's a major premise of the genre. double indemnity!!!hello???? anyway i liked epperson's although his story was nothing new,,,ie cold mountain, hello??? who won the quickfire?
I was highly disappointed in the outcome this week. Louise should have gone home, not Ra'mon. Though it was a "hot mess"it still showed a lot more creativity and thought than the flapper shite Louise constructed. I felt the Ice Queen was completely trite and uninspired and was shocked that it actually won. Chris and Epperson's designs were far better. To me both their designs screamed coutoure, while ice queen screamed B-movie... but what do I know.
I am always scared to try out fashion...its emasculating. But whenever I watch P.Runway...I get so inspired..I remmeber the nephew of Rem who designed shoes that sold like hotcakes..Does anybody know how it looks like?...share?
Well there's not much to say about last night's boring boring challenge. I'm glad they didn't cut Christopher, I think I would have quit watching permanently if they had.
I know, manta. If Epperson had been cut I would have stopped caring at all. The dresses that won were so dull. At least that silly shower poof ruffle dress - with the bow in the back, too, oh my god, is she trying to appeal to the pedophiles in the crowd?!? - got Louise booted.
A team challenge, with boring designs for a boring clothing line. Let's hope next week is better.
we were wondering, if the judges had remained the same as the previous couple of weeks, would christopher had made it???
very predictable winner though (although i thought the cut was not flattering at all)
and yes, very very very bland stuff...i wonder if everything has been toned down on purpose due to the network shift...
holy moley i am aghast by this week's episode. so bad. so so bad. it's a sad day in project runway-land when an outfit using black leggings is praised.... as a matter of fact, two of the outfits had black leggings. these designers are getting real lazy. there was nothing fashion forward about any of the designs.
poor epperson, but come on, he should have known better. i'm still rooting for him though.
epperson is out...though i liked the character, and his earlier garments, his last 2 creations were not good...at all...when i saw that coming down the runway, i started saying my goodbyes...
still...nothing creative or cutting edge, at all, last night...blah...
I actually really liked Gordana's design.
me too - she definitely deserved to win, based on the goal, and the transformation...(i was worried irina(?) was going to win again, and i did not "get" her design, at all) - plus gordana had her issues with the challenge, which made the win better...
but there is not a lot of high-fashion this season, i don't think...
Agreed. It seems as though the judges are looking for more mainstream/sellable fashions. Isn't the winner to get money towards creating their own line for Macy's. Irina's was nice... but boring. Gordana's was a more drastic conversion.
my man epperson is out. his outfit was pretty clunky looking. some of those divorcees were hot. tim gunn said "cougar".
BLAH. This is the very first time I've agreed with the winner (although I probably would have picked Logan to go over Epperson, I agree with it going down to the two of them). Once again did not like Irina's as much as the judges, and once again feel like Carol Hanna consistently produces elegant pieces that get overlooked. I missed how GreasyHaired's monstrosity didn't get him auf'ed -- did he have immunity? His piece was horrible.
aghh...watched it again last night...another tasteless challenge, resulting in even more tasteless garments...
i think i will give it one more shot at watching the show, but i am quickly losing interest...
I know, simples. I'm losing interest too. Last night wasn't about design, it was about showmanship, and none of the designs was at all showy.
Carol Hannah's was a gorgeous red-carpet look, and I'm glad she won, but it wasn't a stage look at all.
ok, in my previous comment I had assumed Mr. Greasy Hair Ice Queen dude had immunity last week! Seeing as how he DIDN'T, then HE should have gone home for his horrid wedding dress re-do. And his "dress" this time was the same Ice Queen as before, but made into an ice-skating dress. AWFUL. Epperson & Shirin should both still be on. Argh.
I totally hear you manta - I turned it on right when Tim was talking to him about his dress and I totally thought it was a rerun. Chrisopher's though was actually quite horrid too. His model looked like she was walking around with a perma wedge.
I'll probably stick it out for the rest of the season, but might not come back for another.
Anyone here watch Top Chef. Now that's some good stuff this season.
I'll watch for the rest of the season too, at least til the final three are selected - I think I've only watched one of the final shows, and never the wrap ups afterwards when they get the whole group back together to make catty comments about each other.
Also, Heidi is just being a total bitch this year. Much, much nastier in her comments than she used to be. I despise the way everyone smiles and fawns up at her every time she walks out. I figure she must have a sense of humor, but it's not coming through in her comments which are all just mean. Maybe Lilo influenced her too much.
That black shirt she was wearing last night was really cool, though.
i like top chef better than pr these days to melty. for one i love padma. and two those people are wicked good chefs. some of them have incredible ink. i was sad when ashley was voted out. i was totally crushing on her.
I LOVED that black shirt. Besides Carol Hanna's dress, it was the only thing I really liked last night.
Although I kind of had a thing for the skirt on Shirin's dress, I'll admit. Even though it had nothing to do with the challenge...
I would have understood more if Cristopher had gone home than Shirin -- but I guess they kept him because of the good work he's done in the past.
I usually love Top Chef but haven't caught an episode yet this season. VR, I am sad to report that I disagree with you on something : I can't STAND padma. CANNOT stand her. The way she talks annoys the heck out of me. The first season, I felt like *I* could read the teleprompter faster, and I'm halfway across the country!
wow manta and vr disagreeing. that is unusual. i love padma. she is smart and beautiful and so much more than a host. the show i really enjoy. i can see why people are becoming foodies. i think it what Ash said after he was eliminated was great. "Cook something. plant a garden. change the world." or something like that. was great. there's a show that i watched a few episodes of called "Shark Tank" that i think is pretty good. its about entrepeneurs who seek capital from a group of rich self made million/billionaires and they are often bidding and battling each other for deals. pretty good.
Shark Tank is such a slack-jawed crappy ripoff of Dragon's Den.
I didn't watch PR closely last night; I only abandoned the computer to cross the room and watch for the runway show. Two comments:
1. Giordana's jacket was awesome. The guest judge applied the word "architectural" to Althea's outfit, which was a very cool look, but not structured enough to be architectural. Giordana's was the architectural one; I loved the overall softness of it in relation to the hard edges of the stitching. Still, Althea deserved to win.
2. The bitchy back-stabbing nastiness that was emphasized in this episode is exactly why I don't watch reality TV. If that shit comes up next episode I'm done. I want to see design process, not snark.
lb...they seem to be falling back onto the back-stabbing nastiness quite often more recently (though there were some of it in previous seasons, it wasn't emphasized)...this season, it almost seems like they are pumping it up on editing...
althea deserved to win just by making those pants work...althea, carol hanna and irina will be the final 3...i think irina will take it all...
just very underwhelming overall...*sigh*
Was I the only one that didn't like Irrina's dress? I felt like it just emphasized the belly area of the model and I know, I, personally am very self conscious of that particular area.
I agree simples, it has been an underwhleming season. It seems to me they have less time this season to devlop and produce their designs. It seems like they've only gotten one day for each challenge. Perhaps it's just me, but that doesn't really give you enough time to allow the design to devlop and evolve.
I actually liked Jiordana's work, too. The seaming / darts on the jacket were cute and interesting. I agree that the color was a weak point -- I think it should have been sharper, more stiff and pointed in keeping with the architectural look of the rest of the jacket. I'm glad she didn't go home. Logan's thing was... kind of slap-dash looking. It could have been good with a little more rigor, I think. I think that's what they mean when they say something looks like student work -- that it lacks focus and rigor and precision... or at least that's what I'd say.
Irina's was ok. I wasn't a huge fan of the dress OR the sweater. The only thing I've liked of hers, literally, was that colorado ski outfit. I loved Althea's and Carol Hanna's, as usual.
Meh. Stupid "backstabbing" nonsense. Don't fault Lifetime for that, Bravo used to put that in too -- especially towards the end of each season, when there's fewer contestants and more tension.
i thought gordanna's outfit looked like it was from target's merona collection. the collar was so small and flimsy. one of her weaker outfits imho. christopher just needs to go - bad, bad taste. the big problem with this season is that the top two designers, althea and irina, have very little personality outside of being petty and catty. they eliminated several of the people who were far more interesting (and talented) too early in the season.
Yeah, Christopher's dress was awful.
I dislike the format and the amount of time they give. The commercial tie-ins are kind of gross and not as clever as Bravo's usual product placement and underwriting. I think the condensing it down, lack of challanges and lack of general bravo format is probably because of the network shift.
But I mean that's pretty understandable-- Bravo has the power of GE, Vivendi and NBC Universal behind it.
Lifetime is an A&E company-- So, not as big or pockets as deep... but the main players in A&E are Hearst Corp and Disney-ABC with NBC playing a smaller role.
You know who is more than likely behind this all? That bitch Lydia Hearst-Shaw. She's been mucking shit up now that she is the heir to the Hearst empire.
Her and her mother Patricia Hearst have been doing the weirdest and oddly counter-intuitive things contrary to the usual attitude of the Hearst Company.
I mean there's Cosmopolitan magazine which is the shallowest, also awesome, magazine alive and there's the Lifetime channel which aims to debase everything found on the pages of Cosmopolitan.
Don't get me started on biography, history and military channels-- I didn't realize you could base a 24 hour network solely off World War II propaganda and call it "history."
So, like anything Hearst touches, it has to be both oddly hypocritical and sensationalized. But Hearst doesn't have the deep pockets or collection of property like NBC does. So, I think that plays alot into the speed, over commercialization and the fact that a super almost-evangelical publishing company is buying up homoland at an incomprehensible rate.
jafidler, I agree re: the "Merona" look. I think what contributed to that were the fabric choice (looked cheap and thin) and the floppy, under-structured collar. But the piece itself I think was an interesting idea. The long jacket looked great in the back, and I couldn't believe she managed to make those shorts or whatever actually look cute. I think they rejected it because it was too commerical / "wearable" and not high-fashion enough.
She suffers from being both the more commercial AND the more mature, older-women-look designer. Two kisses of death in this supposedly cutting-edge, high-fashion competition.
you know who's clothes i really hate? heidi's! wtf she had on silver shorts that went to the knew with some goodwill looking jacket? wtf? persoanally i look forward to top chef more than p.r. although they have gotten a bit snarky on their as well. i agree though that they aren't getting enough time to develop ideas and these challenges of designing for celebrities is gagafying. its about fashion and not costume.
a couple of things; remember this season has been in the can for a looooong time, i think over a year. the backstabbing has been especially annoying, partly because i don't like the irina thing and because it's a bit passive aggressive in nature. christopher has tapped out on his talent, he needs more schooling/education, his raw talent is not going to get him much further. that said, the remaining women are the most talented in a lack luster season, this has been the worst by far. hopefully they'll go back to new york and get the f out of la.
Next season IS back in NYC (Tim Gunn has mentioned in interviews) but I don't think LA makes any difference. This isn't the strongest group of designers we've seen, and the judges already weeded out some of the most interesting potential. I think the crap judging has had the biggest effect. They waited so long to shoot that they had to do it DURING the season, meaning Nina & Michael Kors had to work around their real life commitments. Crap judging = crap jurying = inconsistent, lower quality projects.
check out the comments in this Jezebel thread for an awesome discussion of how this show could have really used LA much better.
I completely agree... I saw a comment from someone on some other thread saying "I'm loving all the background shots of LA in this season's Project Runway!" and I thought, "WHERE?!" They're barely using the city at ALL -- such a shame considering that all anyone ever sees of LA is the beach & the "stars". Which is all we've been getting from PR. What a disappointment... there's so much more life and interest and culture in LA than that. (see "500 Days of Summer" for a better portrayal of LA)...
Anyway some great ideas for better challenges in the comments of the linked thread.
hint... they talk about how to base a challenge on LA's architecture in the link
I agree with most of the comments above regarding Giordana's work (how the hell do you actually spell her name anyway?) I thought the outfit was fine and I'm glad she stood up for herself despite the fickle judges.
In my opinion, this has been the weakest season of Runway thus far. I think the only reason they played up the cattiness in the last episode was because they are starting to realize this, and also to show what a nasty person Irina is. I am positively stunned that her mediocre work has won 3 challenges, BTW. If that's who their "best designer" of this season is, then they might as well scrap it while they are ahead and start over.
I like Christopher and I like what he's trying to do but I do think his lack of formal education is causing him to hit a wall earlier. There's only so far he can take those "voluminous" ideas of his.
I also like Althea a lot, and when she said she interned with Alexander McQueen I was like, "sweet, we'll get to see some cool sh*t" but no... the conservative judging has prevented her from doing anything I think she's capable of.
In the end I think they'll find a way to "auf" Jordanna (ha, spelling) and get rid of Christoper too... and then it will be Carol Hannah, Althea, and Irina. And Irina's collection will be completely dull, so it's Althea's for the winning, but I think Carol Hannah is a sleeper and could come out with something totally unexpected like the little woman who won Season 2... what was her name again?
from (surprisingly) Entertainment Weekly.
I think you'd all find it interesting -- this is part 2 of the video -- they let her talk at length and not only is she MUCH more interesting than I ever thought she was all season, but she makes some really good points regarding the nature of being a designer and what the effect of different kinds of design criticism is. Check it out.
She said something about what it means to "design out of fear instead of from inspiration" that I thought was great -- I realized I have totally experienced that, and I know exactly what she means, except that I had never recognized it or realized it before. Kinda changes my viewpoint of my own design process.
I'd be interested to know what you guys think and how this might be compared to design school perhaps.
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