Thursday, August 14, 2008

Where's the drama, team challenge?

Hey, remember back in the day when Project Runway used to do these team challenges? And the people would argue and cause all this drama, even if up to this point they always got along? There would be at least one crying meltdown, and at least one angry accusation on the runway and it was when PR really delved down into typical "reality tv" territory?

I hope you remember, because I don't think this season can deliver. The drama we get is:
-Terri fusses at Suede, and he efficiently fixes the problem!
-Kelli tells Daniel that his skirt stinks and to remake it. And he gripes but does it and nobody mentions it on the runway!
-Joe says something to Tim about Korto's design, and she says she's looking out for HIM and wants to hear MORE of his imput! The nerve of her! He apologizes and says it wasn't a big deal! It all is solved with a minimum of fuss!

The interviews were so much more confrontational than the actual moments, and I have a feeling it's because the producers went, "well, crap. We tried to make something drama-rific and they didn't deliver. Quick, bait the questions and make them sound more angry!"

At least this episode the garments were so much more successful than the last, for the most part.



This is the thing about Blayne and Leanne's contribution: it doesn't fit the challenge. This isn't something that's even slightly formal, it couldn't be worn to work as is. BUT, it's really well made. I wouldn't choose most of the pieces to put them together the way they are, but I don't see anything that looks particularly borked up.

And on top of that, I really like that blue shirt. It's a bright and pretty color, it hung really well, and I just liked it. Maybe not with the purple shirt under it, but I liked it.

I think Blayne scraped through on this one not because of the actual look but because it at least was well made. Also, as bratty as he was you could tell that he and Leanne worked well together and respected each other. I like how Heidi tried to call in and say "Why didn't Leanne speak up" when really, the design was approved by Brooke Shields so what would she say? "No, you really need slacks with this." Slacks weren't what he pitched.

Though they would have improved the whole thing enormously.



Laura K. at Blogging Project Runway said that she was impressed with Jerell's attitude and the way he treated Stella. It was really admirable, and I think that the dress really shows how much they respected each other.

It's not my personal taste, but I could really see it working on Brooke Shields and on the show. I can see it working in an office setting with different accessories, and as it is out on the town. A side note, I'm really tired of this "day to night" junk on the show. Everybody seems to think it means some sort of wacky convertible thing, but really it could just be a look that works well in both settings, like this one.

The only qualm I have about this one is that the very top of it doesn't seem to fit the model very well. There's something about the way it flowed on the runway that didn't look fitted properly.

I have to say I really love the skirt. I would actually like to see if I could pull off a skirt like that. It's the type of subtle but fun print that I think they expected out of Kelli.



Am I the only one that is completely reminded of Ugly Betty with this model and the styling here? Yeah? Just me? Okay.

I love the top, I think it's really fabulous. The print is, again, really great. It's a fun bit of design and I really like it. I'm also so glad that the other print that Kenley was advocating was nixed, because seriously, what in the world was she thinking? No, please, no.

I'm not actually that big of a fan of the skirt, but it's just not my style. I can see how it could come off pretty well in the right setting, but something about it on the runway didn't seem right to me. Maybe it was the unfinished edges on the scallops, or just that they looked unfinished.

You know, I don't really like the high-waisted trend, have I said this before? On this dress it almost works, but I think lowering the waist even a few inches would have made it more successful.

But as it is, it's still a deserving win.



I have so many problems with this outfit, and that's why I'm not even that sad to see Kelli go, even as good as her first outfit was.

The colors don't seem to go, the print is just not the right choice, and my biggest problem? That the construction just seems shoddy from top to bottom.

The top is cut strangely, the bustier left this swatch of midriff that was entirely inappropriate, and it didn't look at all like they had the same time as everybody else. It looked like they took three or four hours less.

I would have been okay with Daniel going home too, if only because if you notice, I still haven't seen him repeat anything nearly as good as the cup dress and because I'm so sick and tired of how absolutely APPALLED he looks when anybody disagrees with him or says something bad about him.

Watch his reactions to anything from Joe fussing at him at his machine to Michael Kors' insults last week to Kenley's outburst of laughing (which matched my own, I admit): he's shocked, SHOCKED I tell you, that anybody could doubt him! WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?

Really? Daniel, you haven't even shown the personality and the ego to back up your indignation (see Santino for an example of this) so just let it go.



I know, I must be crazy, but I kind of enjoy this look. The colors are fun and bright, the skirt is a great counterpoint to the jacket, and it might not have as much flash as say, Jerell and Stella's contribution but I like it. It's something I could imagine seeing on stylish women in NYC.

The sleeves are a little much, but only a little.



I'm getting a little tired of Terri's schtick. This is a perfectly acceptable garment, I couldn't wear the shirt at all but I could imagine the girls I work with looking really great in this outfit. It's a little casual for the office, but not too bad for the type of office Shields' character works in.

But I really don't see anything extraordinary about it. What sets it apart? Why does it deserve any praise? I'm not really getting on the Terri bandwagon. I want to see her do something new and different, and something really fascinating. I guess we'll see.

This episode was so emblematic of this entire season. I could write an essay on it. But when they had the bottom four on the runway, all I could think was "As long as Leanne stays, I won't feel at all sorry for anybody else leaving."

Though that weird brown thing Leanne was wearing did try my patience a little.