This episode was a train wreck. You may have seen me rant about it on twitter, but it was essentially an episode dedicated to proving the notion that women become catty and horrible when put in groups together. In this challenge, the designers chose their teammates and formed two groups. The groups had to compete against each other in a paintball war to "capture the fabric," but the fabric they were fighting for ended up being their supplemental fabric, and it was revealed that their main fabric needed to be their paintball-stained jumpsuits. Once they got to the workroom, the teams were given extra white sheets and more paint to work with. TEAM BOYS + MERLINE The Boys (and Merline) were the clear winners. Their unifying theme was "1950s cinched waists," and they really worked together to make every look cohesive with the next. The jumpsuits were used to their top potential and the additional textile that they created was completely stunning. They EVEN PAINTED THE SHOES. Blake's Look I, once again, have to eat my words with Blake. He didn't really participate in the paintball activity, which left him with clean white fabric to work with. The textile on the bottom half is gorgeous, and I would wear this dress in a second. Joseph's Look Joseph used the jumpsuit in it's entirety, which was really smart and successful. He shrunk the top into a jacket, cut the bottom into panels and made a skirt, and turned the sleeves into the tie around the waist. Still a little bit on the matronly side, but significantly better than his other looks. Swapnil's Look This was such a beautiful 50s style dress. While it was mostly supplemental fabric, he used the jumpsuit top as the tie around the waist and took the ties from a shoe for the corset back. Jake's Look This look was probably the most modern and fashion forward. It took inspiration from the 50s but brought it into this year, and the styling kept the model fresh and cool. Merline's Look This is very classic Merline (architectural, coat shape) but much more refined than some of the other work she's done this season. The dip-dyed fabric made this shine. Edmond's Look The judges declared this the winner, and I can understand why. To take the jumpsuit and turn it into a sexy open-backed top was completely genius. The design had an urban quality to it but the textile and styling kept it soft and feminine. It was the perfect finale to a beautiful collection! TEAM GIRLS Annnnnd here's where the train wreck happened. The girls were catty when it came to picking their team members (Ashley was picked LAST, which was a very bad move) and they had no cohesion from the start. They each came to the team with an idea of what they wanted to make and didn't care if it didn't go with what another team member wanted to make. They ruined their white sheets with Easter Egg inspired painting skills, so they were left with supplemental purple fabric to work with. The results were horrendous, as you'll see. During judging, Candace tried to save them and say they worked well together and their girl was "going to San Fransisco," which was never discussed or agreed upon. She and half the team decided to throw Ashley under the bus to save themselves, and luckily the judges were having none of it. Guest judge Kelly Osbourne called it a "Bitch Fest," and I've personally decided that should be the name of this collection. Ashley's Look Not the worst, for sure. She had originally made pants, but they ended up being too tight on the model so she had to scrap them and go with a boring purple circle skirt. The top was made from the jumpsuit material, which at least had detail and promise. Laurie's Look This look was cute enough, but it wasn't really runway worthy. The top was originally the Easter Egg fabric and had to be painted over, and the bottom was supplemental fabric, so she didn't really work with the goal of the challenge. Lindsey's Look This was probably one of the better designs of the bunch, which isn't really saying a lot. The coat (seen on in the previous picture) was made of the jumpsuit material and had a good look to it. The top and pants underneath were not awful in terms of design, but had poor fit. Candace's Look Candace talked a big talk on the runway, but this look was completely hideous. Talk about OVER WORKED. Ugh. Kelly's Look This was definitely the worst of the bunch to me. She came into the design group saying "I want to make a five panel mermaid skirt and a harness top," which had nothing to do with what anyone else wanted to make, and never would have even if the fabric was better. The skirt was made poorly and the top had to be sewn onto the model. Complete. Disaster. Amanda's Look I predicted the previous week that Amanda would not last long in the competition, and I was right. That said, I don't really think she deserved to be sent home for this look. Yeah, it's kind of boring, and the judges felt like she was "dead weight" in the competition, but she used the textile color the best out of all the designers on her team, and the movement in the skirt had decent runway impact. I didn't hate it, and I felt she should have been allowed one more chance. It would seem the judges can't decide whether their policy is "one week you're in, the next week you're out" or whether previous low points count to being eliminated. The latter sent home Amanda, and that was understandable, but still a bit of a shame. Hopefully next week we can MOVE ON from team pettiness and get back on track. ---
All photos from mylifetime.com ---
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This felt like the first halfway normal challenge of this season. No races to get fabrics, no unconventional materials, no teams. Just a trip to Mood and off you go. FINALLY! This week the designers had to take an iconic fashion staple (i.e. the little black dress, jeans and a t-shirt, a business suit, etc.) and modernize them to their own aesthetic. This was also the Mary Kay Challenge, so the designers got a special consultation with Mary Kay to complete their look. My Top Three: 1. Swapnil Shinde This is SO GORGEOUS! A little short for practicality, but I'm in love with the draping in the front and the straps that created the open back. It's feminine and sexy and completely fits the theme of the challenge - he took a little black dress and made it new. Plus I'll always go for a tomato shoe. Umph. 2. Blake Patterson But Jordan, you HATE Blake! But Jordan, you've been saying since week one that Blake should go home! But Jordan, you have a VENDETTA AGAINST BLAKE!!! Yeah, I know. I must eat my words a teeny, tiny bit. TO BE FAIR, I still don't like Blake's personality and I don't think he'll last long in the competition, especially considering he pulled this dress out of his butt at the eleventh hour. That said, I can't argue with how great this is and I understand why the judges gave him the win. It's a beautiful blue butterfly with intricate, never-seen-before strap details. I can concede that it's a job well done. OKAY?!? Okay. 3. Candace Cuoco The fact that Candace made this look in one day absolutely kills me. There are some puckering issues with the leather dress, but that's absolutely forgivable because it's a PIPED LEATHER DRESS with a MATCHING JACKET where the PIPING LINES UP WITH THE DRESS. That's crazy town, and it's beautiful work. My Bottom Three: 1. Amanda Perna This was a total disaster. When you go to Mood for the first time and have all the fabrics of the world at your disposal, this is what you choose?! I get that she was trying to create a modern version of the classic wrap dress, but it just looks like a poorly made version of a dress I might have thought was cool in sixth grade. The choice in accessories was awful and her execution wasn't great. After being in the bottom several times in a row at this point, I'll be surprised if she lasts through next week. 2. Gabrielle Arruda From far away this doesn't look too bad, but I understand why the judges sent her home after seeing it up close. The jacket is solid, but the dress was, as I believe Zach said, the most poorly constructed dress he's ever seen. Seams were puckering, hemlines were cut like they were hacked up by children with safety scissors, and there really isn't an excuse for it at this level of competition. 3. Jake Wall When Jake initially presented his design as "the classic sports jersey, re-imagined as a dress," I knew he was in trouble. You know what is already a sports jersey re-imagined as a dress? An oversized sports jersey. Little did I know that his "re-imagination" was making a PINK SEQUINED sports jersey. It's straight up ugly, and even if it wasn't, it's too basic of a design to be at par with the rest of the designers. I was shocked that he was safe and that he wasn't in the bottom. So YOU WIN THIS ROUND, Blake. We'll see how you do next time. ---
All photos from mylifetime.com --- They certainly aren't wasting any time with making this season of Project Runway dramatic! Week two was an unconventional materials challenge, and week three was a team challenge. Good grief. This week's challenge had a lot of variables. They teamed up with a cruise line that travels to exotic destinations, so each team of designers had to use a destination as their inspiration. In addition, their look had to be a transitional piece that could go from a day at the destination port to an evening of wining and dining on the ship. Oh yeah, and they had one day to throw it together. Not complicated at all, right? My Top Two: 1. Ashley Neil Tipton and Candice Cuoco Ashley and Candice worked so well together as a team, which I didn't remotely expect given their aesthetics or personalities. They pulled off a look that was completely unique but still fit their Venice inspiration beautifully. I want every piece of this outfit - even the 70s print jacket, which I'm normally not about, but somehow and some way I WANT IT. They absolutely deserved to win this challenge, and it was great that they were able to earn a joint win! 2. Swapnil Shinde and Laurie Underwood Particularly with Swapnil's Indian background, this very easily could have gone costume-ey and wrong. But with the traditional Sari in the casual pattern, combined with the bright midriff top and amazing high waist pants, the look was effortless and cool and completely met all the criteria of the challenge. My Bottom Two: 1. Edmond Newton and Hanmiao Yang This look was just a train wreck from the start. Let me break it down for you: the team's inspiration is the Carribbean. Hanmiao wants to make something structured, because that's her aesthetic. Edmond informs her that it's a team challenge and the challenge is to make cruise wear for the Caribbean, so her aesthetic doesn't really matter for the sake of the challenge. She gets mad. He suggests a swimsuit. She gets mad. Tim agrees with Edmond's swimsuit idea. She gets mad. Edmond compromised with Hanmiao and allowed her to make the swimsuit. Not letting go of the structured idea, she chooses to make a swimsuit in structured fabric. As you can see, the result is awful. I'm totally fine with Hanmiao getting sent home. She deserved it! 2. Joseph Charles Poli and Merline Labissiere Based on Joseph's comments in episode 1 that he likes to "make small people feel smaller," I knew that whenever he entered a team challenge it was going to be a rough deal. Sure enough, he was partnered with eccentric Merline, whom he forced into his Lily Pulitzer box. I understand that he designs for a more mature customer, but this is the second Lily-esque look he's made, and if he had allowed Merline to put her architectural flair into it (which, I might add, would have contributed to the St. Petersburg inspiration) it could have been better. Instead it's a mumsy lavender nightmare. Ugh. So far in this season a lot of the designers have been hit-or-miss. Edmond has had a two high points and fell flat this week. Merline hit a high note week one but has been rough the past two weeks. I think Ashley and Swapnil hold the most promise so far, but only time will tell!! ---
All photos from mylifetime.com --- I can't believe they threw an unconventional challenge at the contestants in WEEK TWO. Kind of crazy, but great for TV. In this challenge the designers took over a Hallmark Signature card store, and had to use the greeting cards as their materials for their design. My Top Three: 1. Swapnil Shinde I can't even grasp how amazing this is. I was terrified when he was putting all the flowers on the skirt in the workroom (and when he described it as Alice in Wonderland on acid,) but the result was remarkable. The sheer notion that he did polka dots in the front, a chevron stripe in the back, and a mix of black-and-white with floral is insane, but the fact that he made it out of paper and it looks like something you could take right off the rack is ridiculous. Did I mention this was completed in one day? I can't even. 2. Edmond Newton Even if it wasn't my #1 favorite, I completely understand why this look won. I mean, he made a WEDDING DRESS out of Hallmark cards. The fact that the entire bodice was the "Hallmark Signature" branding was genius, and he really pushed the boundaries in making the flower and jewelry from the cards too. I want to see this in a Hallmark print ad somewhere. 3. Hanmiao Yang A vast improvement from last week. Using the simple color palette with the envelopes kept it minimalist but still graphic, and it's boxy but not unflattering. The length is perfect, and her styling with the loose ponytail and the gold sneakers was flawless. I can't get over the surprise theatrics in taking the card out of the envelope on the runway! So cute. Honorable Mention: Amanda Perna I really didn't think this deserved to be in the bottom. The skirt was a little overkill, but the top was GORGEOUS, and the whole thing was well executed. My Bottom Three: 1. Blake Patterson Especially after last week's too-much-pattern fiasco, I expected this glitter bomb to be in the bottom. The fact that it was in the top makes me furious. Yeah, he used the text of the card in the lining and in the center pieces, but beyond that it's literally a muslin pattern coated in glitter. If your criteria in judging is that it needs to made mostly of the card material, he did not meet that standard, and it proves the point from last week that he's over the top and doesn't know when to stop. I mean, how much glitter does a dress need?!? 2. Merline Labissiere The top half had promise, but she clearly ran out of time for the bottom. *I* could have made a skirt better than that. It's a mess. 3. Joseph Charles Poli Another "ran out of time for the bottom" dress. Tim said in the workroom that it looked very Kate Spade, and I agree. But last week his look was, in my opinion, very Lily Pulitzer, so I worry about his actual ability to innovate or to have a unique voice. I YET AGAIN disagree with who the judges sent home. I knew David Giampiccolo was in trouble because he didn't use much of the cards in his design, but it was still a unique, creative look and it showed a clear voice. If you're going to send someone home who used too much muslin and not enough unconventional material, send home Blake!! Yeah, I have a bit of a vendetta against Blake. I make no apologies. But congratulations, Edmond! Your bride was amazing. ---
All photos from mylifetime.com --- I realized I've been watching Project Runway since 2008 and I haven't really ever blogged about it or talked about it at length. That's all changing this season. PR is the highlight of my Thursdays and I'd love to share my thoughts with you!! EPISODE 1: In this challenge, the designers had to race through Madison Square Garden to choose their fabrics, which they would use to create looks that represented them as a designer. Lots of creative freedom on this one! My Top Three: 1. Ashley Neil Tipton I totally agree with the judges on this one. Ashley absolutely deserved to win!! Her look had fun pattern and texture, it showed skin but not too much, it represented Ashley's aesthetic, and it was well made. I mean, she made TWO of the skirts in two different fabrics, and she LINED THEM! In one day. What even. I would totally wear this look in a second and I'm so proud of her. 2. David Giampiccolo Super bummed this look was only "safe." The mix of patterns was so smart and the result is super cool - definitely reminds me of Amanda's maxi dresses from last season. It has a really unique vibe and I'm very into it. Plus I love me a good Italian boy...I need him to come over and say "couture" to me over and overrrr. 3. Merline Labissiere I have no idea how she whipped this out in the 11th hour, but the result is fantastic. It's an ageless work look and I can't believe she made it in a day. I even like the pumpkin color. How. Honorable Mention: Swapnil Shinde The top on this is FLAWLESS. I love all the piecing and the intricacy, but I don't think you can see it as well being in a pattern. If he had made the skirt in the print and the top in the solid blue, it would have been perfect. My Bottom Three: 1. Hanmio Yang Yeahhh not too much can help this look. If your aesthetic is boxy, poorly made, and shiny orange, you should go home. 2. Blake Patterson Not that bad as a silhouette, but entirely the wrong fabric. If he had made the outside in the yellow fabric and the inside the blocky print, that might have been helpful. Nina said she would prefer a designer with too many ideas vs. one who had too few, but I disagree - the history of this show has proven that those with cukoo crazy ideas CANNOT be reigned in enough to be successful. Aint gonna happen. 3. Gabrielle Arruda The design isn't awful, but it's a boring fabric and the execution is awful. Your first impression to the judges shouldn't be a plain grey dress. Duncan Chambers-Watson should NOT have gone home. Yeah, his styling was bad, and yeah, he should have made it a more open back and it probably could have been better as a calf-length to give a breath of skin. But it was his FIRST TIME DRAPING!! Cut him a break. The fabric was totally not that bad. He tried something new and it didn't work out. That's worthy of a second chance, at least. I'm sorry, Duncan. I liked you. Your portfolio was great, you were humble, and your accent was cute. I would have liked to see more of you. But CONGRATULATIONS, ASHLEY!!!! Honestly, I would love to see a curvy girl take this whole thing. Throw some plus size models on this runwaaayyyyy! ---
All photos from mylifetime.com --- Okay, friends. I seriously debated whether or not to post about the Met Gala, because the Met Gala is not like other award shows or red carpet events. It's an event for really wealthy people to flaunt fashion at a COSTUME institute. To a certain degree, ridiculousness is absolutely expected. In some cases, it's required...it's high fashion! It's avant-garde! Not everything is supposed to look pretty and neat and glamourous, and because of that, the line between "best and worst dressed" can be weird and blurry. This year's Gala theme was "China: Through the Looking Glass," and you guys asked for my humble opinions. I'd hate to disappoint, so here we go: Best in Red
Best in Gold
Best in Black
Best in White
Worst Dressed
All photos courtesy of Vogue and Mashable. SO much has happened since Oscar night. Lupita's dress was stolen (and returned, presumably.) Kelly Osborne quit Fashion Police. WHAT?!? Even the Oscars themselves were weird. Neil Patrick Harris made jokes that probably won't get him asked back to host any time soon. Birdman won Best Picture even though Michael Keaton and Emma Stone didn't win for their acting *in* Birdman. Plus a lot of people weren't even there! Where was Jennifer Lawrence? How am I supposed to go through an Oscar show without seeing JLaw trip over something? And WHERE WERE THE CLOONEYS?!?!? I pay good money to sit on my couch and watch George Clooney show up in an Armani tux and showcase a beautiful woman on the red carpet, and this year that beautiful woman was his WIFE, and THEY DIDN'T SHOW UP. Who do they think they are. Anyway, rant over. Let's travel back to the red carpet moments that won our hearts. Because really...who watches the Oscars for any other reason? ;) Best TV Show Hosts
Best Dressed
Best Couples
They should have changed...
Worst Dressed
All photos courtesy of EOnline, hollywoodlife, celebmafia, and USMagazine. Best Dressed
Best Couples
Best Men
Worst Dressed
All photos courtesy of EOnline, hollywoodlife.com, befta.org, and vogue.com. Best in Black
Best "Ice Princesses"
Best Groupings
Worst Dressed
All photos courtesy of EOnline and TLC Lifestyle. Best Dressed
Best in Black and White
Best Couples
Best TV Show Host / Best Man
Worst Dressed
All photos courtesy of EOnline and celebmafia. |
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