Project Runway: We're in a New York State of Mind
Michael C's winning dress made from the mystery fabric.
Photo: mylifetime.comWe've finally reached the end of the road for the designers in the Parsons workrooms and had their last runway show. For the inspiration this time around, they were to use the city of New York as directed by Mayor Bloomberg himself.
The designers seemed a little punch drunk at this point, and not entirely focused on the task at hand. It appears as though this challenge is always when the designers drop the ball every season, and hardly anyone has any steam left to really produce the "wow factor" the judges are looking for. Perhaps they should have been given more than one night in the luxury sweet to recharge their batteries, or simply not given such a vague challenge.
In the end, Gretchen, Andy, Michael C., and Mondo were all sent away with dreams of Fashion Week still in their heads. April unfortunately was sent home as the latest loser.
So, what do you think? Was April's design and repeat black color palette enough to send her packing? Who do you think will be in the final three spots? And what do you think about Michael C not even knowing what fabric type his dress was made from?
Andy South
Gretchen Jones
Nicole Smith, contributor Posted on Oct 15th, 2010 in sewing, Project Runway
Comments (29)
The second is that there was a lot of time wasted in the early episodes on guest judges who didn't contribute much. Rachel Roy and Naeem Khan and Norma Kamali stood out for me as somewhat insightful; I expected more from Christian Siriano than we got...but of course a lot of this could easily be editing. It would be interesting to find out from the contestants which judges actually gave them useful criticism.
As phony as Gretchen sounded expressing her reverence for Tim Gunn last week, I could totally understand where she was coming from. He's the only voice of sanity!
Posted: 9:34 am on October 21st
I can agree with others that this season has been sorely lacking in talent. So why do we keep watching? We keep hoping that somewhere buried in there someone is going to come up with a wow garment. I, at least used to see things that really made me want to be able to look at the garment to study it. This season though it has really been more personality driven than creative. How many times has Heidi said "so (fill in the blank name) how do you feel about that? It's usually after someone (usually Gretchen or when Ivy was still around) has insulted or trashed someone. What does that have to do with design and creativity? I thought we were watching a fashion/design show, not a "pile on the insults" show. Unfortunately it's not only the designers, as mentioned, the judges seem to be trying to outdo each other for laughs at the designers expense. I mentioned, I often watch just with the sound off because I want to see the clothes, not listen to nasty comments. Yes, there has always been creative tension between the designers but not at the level it's at this year.
Tim Gunn is the one shining light that they should go back to emulating. He offers constructive criticism, not just mean comments for laughs, guidance, not amusement at others expense.
I don't know if they felt they needed to inject this stuff in to boost ratings since they changed networks, but like many other shows, and perhaps their audience is shrinking, but if they dont' find some better talent or their way again they'll end up going by the wayside eventually.
Posted: 5:37 am on October 21st
I absolutely LOVE Project Runway - it is my favorite show hands down, drama and all. This year we did not have the really good designers like we usually do, and I think the judges were going for drama more than the real deal, i.e. when April won the resortwear challenge???? But the show is interesting and I love the challenges and often do sketches and wish I had the time to try some of them myself. Sewing is my first love and anything and everything that has to do with it is enjoyable to me.
This last episode was a little disappointing, I always like when they wow us, and why is everything BLACK??? I really was looking forward to seeing some color. Maybe there will be another Uli next season, somebody has to put some color back in the show!
As for who should go to Fashion week, Mondo, Andy & Gretchen. I was a little taken aback with Michael not knowing what kind of fabric he used. Is there really anyone with any clue that doesn't know the difference between knit and woven????? I agree with Anza, that they kept Michael to somehow get under the other's skin. He really hasn't done one thing that I actually liked or would consider wearing. I don't believe he is a real designer and I am very anxious to see what kind of stuff he comes up with for the pre-fashion show strut-off. I will be very surprised if he makes it. At least Gretchen has a voice - you may not like, but at least it's there, you can tell it's hers, and she has done some really nice outfits - a couple that I would wear - BTW - I REALLY loved her jacket last week. Being a petite person, short & stylish are really hard to come by.
So may the best designer win!!! Let the games begin.....
Posted: 5:20 pm on October 19th
1. Michael admitted that he was pretty much making the Statue's dress, just in black, which I thought equaled cop-out and not actual designing.
2. If April was giving them the same thing over and over, why did they wait until the last challenge to call her on it? I mean, they never mentioned it before except as a good thing (i.e. "we can really see you in it")
3. If April is giving us the same thing, so is Andy, which the judges mentioned in the "are we only going to see more warrior women?"
4. Mondo's on a whole other level and I don't even really see it as a contest. I wish that he could just be given the prize and the others compete for a consolation prize.
5. Gretchen, like others have mentioned, is arrogant and stubborn and won't take any criticism, which has knocked out better designers in past seasons. Why not this season? I agree that perhaps the judges are looking more for drama between people than drama in clothes, which is very unfortunate. It appears Project Runway is selling out.
Posted: 3:31 pm on October 19th
I still don't know what the judges see in Michael Costello. I don't think he is the devil incarnate like Gretchen seems to, but he just doesn't come up with interesting clothes.
Gretchen is a bad joke: I think she's making some kind of upscale grunge or hippie redux, but someone should tell her not everyone in the world lives in Portland. I like having a contestant around to create some human drama but the producers should, by the end of the season, make sure that fashion week is strictly about the fashion. If they were doing their jobs, Gretchen would have been gone. At least April designs.
Mondo and Andy are both very interesting and I have no problem with them going to fashion week.
And to whoever was complaining about so many contestants getting to do decoy collections, that is purely a factor of the timing. If Fashion Week is going to be in the middle of the Project Runway season, everyone still in the game as the shows are being broadcast has to present a collection. Otherwise, we will all know who the final three or four are long before the season is over and Lifetime will lose a lot of viewers.
Posted: 1:56 pm on October 19th
Posted: 1:50 pm on October 19th
Posted: 12:48 pm on October 19th
Posted: 10:31 am on October 19th
Liked Michael's dress but think there was too much movement and a tad too low in the back. Though Andy does good work I didn't care for the matrix dress. Ive liked April a little more than most of the girls (too many divas this year) so I was sad to see her go and not Gretchen. April's model looked preggo in that dress. If the waistline wouldn't have been slanted it would have helped.
I really hope next year they will find some more designers who are gave a higher Emotional IQ and stay away from the same reality tv drama and focus more on the challenges. The judges have list their objectivity and haven't mentored them well this year either.
Posted: 1:34 am on October 19th
Posted: 1:14 am on October 19th
Maybe Andre Leon Tally should replace Michael Kors....get another perspective and a nicer person to judge.
Posted: 10:03 pm on October 18th
On a completely different thread - there are probably many of us watching this show who are not in our 20's, skinny, really long legged, and couldn't fit into most of these fashions regardless of how fashionable we are. It would be really great if the industry would get real about it and have these designers create fashions for a more realistic figure - I remember one designer complaining about a model's bust size as too big - and she wasn't out of proportion. I would love to wear some of these designs created by these talented people, but, if produced, would probably not be in any size bigger than a 12.
Posted: 8:40 pm on October 18th
Posted: 8:13 pm on October 18th
Posted: 8:10 pm on October 18th
Posted: 7:10 pm on October 18th
April wouldn't have been as fitting a climax to the eliminations as Gretchen will be this Thursday!
As they are already sewing for sizes 0 and 2, why was it necessary for Gretchen's skirt to form so many wide & deep wrinkles across both the front and back of that skirt???? Why must everything be too too skin-tight?
Andy's & Mondo's were very body-skimming without binding. Gretchen will go, then Michael; it will be Andy & Mondo, the most creative designers and the two with the best technical sewing skills at Fashion Week.
As for the tape - there were shiny strips showing all along the edges of a red-haired model's bodice about 3 or 4 seasons ago, with very little flak.
It's been done before and will be done again... unfortunately... who's to say...???.... we weren't there?
Posted: 6:30 pm on October 18th
Posted: 5:58 pm on October 18th
What's bugging me? If Michael Costello was the clear winner of this episode's challenge, and if Mondo has been consistent with his work (which he has), is it me or is it supposed to be a four way walk-off to get the third judged spot at Fashion Week? Are Gretchen and Andy competing against each other, or is it indeed all four? I'm bothered by this because again, I think Gretchen's work is too boring to deserve the third spot. My suspicion is that because the majority of the audience is female, the producers are concerned about having an all male finale. It was o.k. in the L.A. season to have all female designers competing against each other for Fashion Week, but someone somewhere feels that they've got to have at least one chick in the top three or they'll offend their audience. They could have taken a chance with April, but I think that Mondo is this year's design prodigy, and that he'll walk off with the big prize. April and Andy would have been competing with each other for most edgy, and looked to be two of a kind, so I fear that they're trying to get three distinctive points of view, and trying to find some way to make the undeserving, opinionated Gretchen stay. Personally, I think it will be Mondo #1, fingers crossed Michael #2, and Andy #3. I think Michael does beautiful resort wear - that's his Palm Springs clientele. I think that April and Andy could both end up as house designers for Hot Topic, with April having the edge there. I'm sort of over Andy's dragon lady Asian inspired tough chick looks, but his construction is beautiful.
The other thing that bugs me. I finally got around to doing some searches for NY Fashion Week, and PR sent 10 collections out on the runway! SEVEN friggin' decoys!!! Which makes me feel especially angry at the drama spewed out of my television screen this season. We have had to put up with all of the backstabbing immaturity and machinations of people who are 30 going on 13. All crying about "my dream," "my spot," "my talent." While they may not be eligible for the big cash prize, not to mention the prestige that goes with being named the winner, those nasty jerks still get rewarded for their appalling behavior by still being allowed to show at Fashion Week. I was thinking it would only be the top six. What a crock. Why are the producers making us sit through this junior high grade drama, when the real cheaters end up prospering this way? I'm feeling manipulated and just about over PR. If it weren't for Tim Gunn, I wouldn't bother watching at all.
Posted: 4:43 pm on October 17th
As to who is going to win Fashion Week, I think it will be the one who creates the best "show." Two seasons ago, I was quite annoyed that Irina won because she had a dramatic show with those odd little hats and mainly gray clothing. I did not think her collection was better than Carol Hannah's. Seth Aaron won with a highly flashy and somewhat stylized show. So whoever puts together a "SHOW" will win.
In regard to the garments this week, I really liked Gretchen's. To me it was wearable. I like the lines in the skirt. The jacket had an interesting design. What she made was fashonable for women who go to work in the real world, not "Sex and the City" world. I think the judges have different standards. She did really try to step out of her comfort zone, which is something they ask of everyone. When Gretchen does, she is criticized for not staying true to herself.
I did like Mondo's dress from the front. However, what woman wants her bottom to look so pronounced with the white and black hounds tooth and curved black seat?
I have not liked most of "Frederick's of Hollywood" April, nor in your face, edgie Andy( I did like his resort wear and thought he should have beaten April). I am not sure about Michale C.'s work. He does seem to be hit or miss with his creations. I wonder what things he will create for his show.
Posted: 12:40 pm on October 17th
Gretchen got lucky in the beginning and any talent that chanced
out of her is gone. Without being able to stir up drama, her
usefulness is gone. Mondo will rise to the top on this next
one.
Posted: 5:07 pm on October 16th
I'm guessing Michael C's dress garnered all the praise because everything else was pretty humdrum. (Correction: Mondo and Andy made very viable garments--just not super wow-factors for me.) His black gown was the sort of thing that looks actually easy to wear, with just the right blend of drama (low back, high slit) and safeness (unfitted silhouette and basic black color), and might well be quite saleable. But was it original design? I don't see it. I still see Mondo as the most original designer of the bunch.
As for fashion week, I secretly think Gretchen could do a pretty good show, much as I disliked her on-screen persona. She didn't seem to take well to the challenges (as she pointed out this week!), and might do better when left to her own devices. She seems to have a one-track mind (Me, me, me, me, my taste, my ideas, my palette, my silhouetts, me, me, me), and that inflexibility, along with her exhaustion, was probably her downfall. That is, it would have been her downfall this week if the judges/producers hadn't pre-determined that Gretchen must stay in order to maintain the desired level of drama.
Posted: 3:07 pm on October 16th
I still think that Gretchen was kept on only because she has so much mouth and creates so much drama. This season has, at least to me, not been too much competition. I don't know what the big deal is about the mystery fabric with Michael C; I buy fabric all the time without knowing the fibre content. I don't dry clean much anyway as far as work clothes so it's pretty much a given to me that I'm not washing it. I buy fabric with my fingers and eyes, feel and sight. From there and depending on what I think I might make I judge the weight and heft, width, pattern (I have so many adjustments to make for fitting (large bust, stomach, rear, stance) so things have to be longer in some areas, shorter in others that crosswise patterns (stripes, checks, etc.) are always something I have to consider if it will be worth the effort and will I be able to successfully match. But if all of those things satisfy me, I buy the fabric.
The show used to be about creativity, now it's more personality driven. I thought you used to at least be assured that at the end the ones remaining would put on a competitive runway show worth looking at. Now, well it's pretty much between Mondo and the others and since I'm mystified about why Gretchen is still around with her often near the bottom finishes, who knows what their judging criteria is.
Posted: 1:16 pm on October 16th
Mondo will win - And he TOTALLY deserves it!
Posted: 11:07 am on October 16th
While I am happy for Michael C on his continued success, I feel he is not capable of making anything that really fits to flatter. Most his things involve drap. The weaving pattern he did has been done before on the show so I was a bit surprised nothing was said about that from the judges.
I like Andy's dress, mostly because of the back detailing made it somewhat unexpected. It was looking so predictable and then the model turns and that detailing was a nice surprise.
I don't know hat Gretchen is doing anymore. Her things are really ugly! That skirt was one of the worst things she has made. It ranks right up there with the robe she made with al the strings attached to it (and the judges thought it was great). I don't think she will get to be in the final three.
I was a little disappointed for April, but her continued black theme throughout the show was a mistake on her part. I sort of liked the dress she made. I thought it was more interesting than Michael C's. She has talent, but she needs to find some color in her life. She is young enough to have been in the crowd of teens that was influenced by the black clothing; Hot Topic look. Slap on the mesh hose and a mesh glove, dark eyeshadow and bright red lips---Halloween!
Posted: 12:54 am on October 16th
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