Friday, September 05, 2008

Back to the same old

Project Runway, the highs and the lows. The great challenges and the fun drama followed by Kenley crying a lot and forgettable designs again.

Ah well, not much to be done about it. I did enjoy the challenge, and I did quite enjoy some of the top looks. I just felt like there were too many people in the middle again. When I went through to save the images, all I could think was "Oh yeah, that is what Jerell made, isn't it?"

Shouldn't I remember these things the next day? I would think so.



I have no idea what this is. The jacket itself is really cute, I like it. But those pants, what in the world are those pants? I understand nothing about this ensemble, even though I can forgive the scarf as just a splash of colors. But the pants...I just keep going back to those pants. It's the wrong fabric for them, and it's the wrong look in general. I just don't understand it even slightly.



Jerell doesn't know how to turn himself down from 11, does he? He can't just make fashion, can he? If you took off the bright blue belt, which frankly doesn't belong at all, and the jaunty little hat, then you have a cute little outfit. But it's like he's compelled to take it up that notch into costume. On the one hand, inventive styling really helps you stand out and be interesting. On the other hand, why is he that way week after week after week?

I do think this is a cute outfit, but like I said, I forgot it entirely in the meantime.



Okay, I would like to point out the absolute saddest part about the previous two outfits. Up until I just looked at this picture, I remembered that the challenge was to create a look to go with Diane Von Furstenberg's collection. I completely and totally forgot about the entire "A Foreign Affair" influence until I looked at this outfit and tried to remember why he wanted an oriental look.

What does that say about the previous two? That they failed utterly to convey the influence of either old Hollywood or the film. That must be where Jerell's jaunty hat comes in.

Back to Joe's outfit, which is a bit of a mess. I actually kind of like the little hooded wrap/shawl that he's got, but I hate most of the color choices he makes. Why the hot pink with the more orangey-pink of the shirt? Why the glittery black with the satiny black? I'm baffled.

The idea is okay, actually. It's the execution that fails completely. Like I said, the colors are off. They're poorly chosen and they don't go together. But then to have an uneven hem at this point in the competition is a little ridiculous, and for everything else to be lopsided in the back? I'm confused. And the open back almost could have worked with the hooded shawl IF the fabric had been a little less...trashy. It could have been pretty if he had done maybe all black or more muted colors. But those bright pinks just don't flatter the design at all.

I might try to make a shawl like that though.



I ponder that pattern. I think the dress looks great, and it could have been the most impeccably made thing that Project Runway has ever seen. But looking at it on the form Kenley HAD to know that it wasn't going to be enough. She obviously knew, she interviewed about it constantly. So why didn't she conceive of even a little shrug or a shawl or something? Why didn't she try? I understand her protests about making the perfect dress, or the collection needing a simple look (and isn't that presumptuous?) but at the same time, she should have known the judges wouldn't buy it and they wouldn't care.

But the thing that kicks it over for me is that I really never warmed to the print. It would be a great print if it had a solid to temper it. Even a wrap or a small jacket could have broken it up and made it really so much better. Making the top in this print and the skirt in a solid could have done something great for it too. But instead I just think the whole thing looks so busy that I wonder who could wear it.



I expected Korto to win as soon as I saw her put that splash of yellow in the underside of the dress. In this picture the dress isn't as flattering as it could be around the hips, so maybe a bit more tailoring could have helped. But I love the interplay of the print and the yellow solid.

This outfit really does seem at home in high fashion, and I could see it on the runways at Bryant Park. My only problem, and what makes me step back from saying it should have won, is that I don't see the exact correlation between the influence of the film and the dress. But then, I often don't see the influence in finished garments.



I have to say, I really love that Leanne won with immunity. It was a great thing to see because she's just so darn cute and excited all the time. But I do have to admit that as far as fashion goes, I like Korto's dress better.

That isn't saying I don't love this one though, I do like it. I think the coat probably could have stood to be a little less bulky. But the dress is fabulous and I can really see the influence of old Hollywood in the design, without it being too retro.

I think I just still have problems understanding how the jacket fits with the dress. I see how it's an intersection of masculine and feminine and such, but at the same time, it doesn't seem to go like an outfit meant to be together. It seems to be an accidental success where the woman put on the wrong jacket or just had to grab something before she went out. I do think the jacket on it's own is really great though, it's the kind of thing I'd like to wear.



Of all the crazy things that Stella has made (and worn) throughout this show, I think that the model really works this look in this picture and makes it hard to understand why she was eliminated when compared to the other bottom level looks. But in motion and on the screen it really was just a mess. It looked to me like it needed another trip through the iron.

I'm surprised about how the fit ended up because Stella makes tight pants as a matter of course. So how did she mess up making pants? Was it just that her heart was not in it? Was it the fabric? I've got no idea. I do think it's interesting how Stella didn't pay a bit of attention to the challenge. Maybe she wanted to be out, I don't know.



I'm actually kind of confused by this print even being in Diane von Furstenburg's closet in the first place. But I suppose it could be used to good effect, it just isn't here. Also, it's boring. The jacket doesn't look well tailored or well made.

I think the positive thing about this episode is that none of the bad designs are THAT bad, but I also think that's part of what makes this season boring. Where is the crazy German lingerie?



I do really love this coat, but I have to say that the designers and their comments about Terri making the same thing over and over are really spot on. She's reminding me of Christian, only with more understandable ego and a lot more imagination. Did I say that out loud? Anyway.

I think the print worked out pretty well here, but I do wish that Terri would bust out a really fabulous floor length gown or something. What else can she do? Where is she going with this? What kind of collection would she make? This is not to say there isn't a market for Terri, there is. She is going to be very good at what she does and make money at it. I just don't know why that makes her a Project Runway winner.

A housekeeping note: I'm sorry these are getting posted on Friday's these days, but I've started grad school and I have class on Wednesday and Thursday nights and it's the first chance I get to write them up. But I should be able to continue to post them up on Fridays. Also, there's now and RSS feed for this blog, click the link over the right that says subscribe and you'll never miss a post!