Heidi sent all the designers to see Finding Neverland on Broadway this week. Their challenge: design something wearable inspired by Peter Pan and the Broadway musical.
The designers mess around at Mood and then are barely back in the workroom before Tim brings them all back to reality: there are only 8 designers left, and now even very good designers will go home. It's almost as if he knows who's going home already.
Designers sing and dance a little bit while working, but Lindsey has a happier song and dance than usual. She designs a green dress which will never appeal to Heidi because of its lack of décolletage exposure, but is less boring than most of her previous designs.
Swapnil decides to buckle down and get to work, and he designs an interesting long dress that doesn't look like he has put more work into it than he has on previous designs. It has an Indian cut and it's fancy but relaxed, so we know he won't go home.
To his credit, Edmund made cigarette pants and a cute fitted crop top that fit the model like a glove. It's pretty obvious that he's made this outfit before. But there's no hint of whimsy or inspiration from the musical until he adds a fluffy purple jacket/vest/thing. I thought it was BAD. He put something really weird on top of an outfit that he's made before and skates by again.
Kelly is inspired by the formalwear that she sees "while standing in line for the bathroom" at the play (most likely because she has never seen a live show that didn't have monster trucks...) and starts designing what looks like a fancy costume for a lady of the night. She has immunity, so the judges compliment her fabric choice, but that's about it. They're too busy trying not to look at Laurie's model.
Laurie TANKED. She buys a fabric with holes in it, uses it as a tube top, and doesn't do a liner at all. Hello...Earth to Laurie. Did she really not think about her model flashing everyone as she walked down the runway? Laurie also picked a boringish fabric to make a weird coat (Tim warns her against it, and rightly so) and then made a weird-looking skort that exposes her model's rear. She sorta covers it for the runway, but the look is bad from every angle.
Merline made a black dress which requires little to no construction, although she did use boning to make an interesting sleeve. Ashley starts making what looks like a gorgeous design with gorgeous ombre purple fabric, but turns out sad (Nina's word).
Candace makes this totally out-there black look with a leather bustier and tulle and TOTALLY pulls it off. I don't have a clue how she did it in so little time, but wow. I really liked some of the layers of the skirt. She (of course) picked a dark moment from the play and went from there. SPOILER: she wins. Duh - not really a spoiler...
SPOILER FOR REAL: Lindsey goes home. I admit that she's not my favorite, and she has deserved to go home many times before. But not this time. She made a ho-hum look, but at least it didn't expose her model's top front quadrant!! Laurie will redeem herself next week, but she definitely should have been the one to go home this week. Lindsey was also surprisingly sweet and not whiny when she left. I felt bad. She will probably be coming back to be a nice, encouraging sewing assistant for the final designers.
Next week: Does anyone have a clue what those hints mean for next week? I was baffled.
Friday, September 25, 2015
Thursday, September 17, 2015
Project Runway - Haute Tech Couture S14 Ep7
We get a SECOND unconventional challenge! I am in heaven!
In Episode 5, Tim meets the designers in a shady part of town and tells them to get their materials from a "dumpster." Lindsey complains about germs, but it's clear that this is a designer dumpster. It's filled with old technology like floppy discs, Rolodexes, and VHS tapes. The designers grab all they can fit into a cart and then have to drive it back to the studio. I liked that touch. Candace says she can check being a bag lady off her bucket list, but more likely it was on most of the designers' list of Things To Die Before I Do...
Back in the workroom, Kelly and Ashley get to work and stick with their materials. Ashley makes a cool textile out of Polaroids, and Kelly cuts up what looks like a dryer vent and uses rectangles of it to shape a dress. Lindsey whines because she can't wrap her head around unconventional materials, which really means she's too lazy to be creative. She does have a moment of clarity when she calls her critiques from the judges "disheartening" and says that if she (and her design aesthetic) were dating the judges, "It's not going well."
SPOILER: Out of nowhere, Jake leaves the show. He leaves because he has to put down his dog. Sorry, man, but you won't be missed. If he parlays this into getting on the next season of Project Runway, I am gonna be so disgusted. He CHOSE to leave...and he wasn't doing well enough to make it through another week anyway. Not sorry to see you go.
Meanwhile, Joseph is trying really hard to make a non-matronly dress. Laurie is making a blah dress with mouse pads and there's no way she's gonna win. Merline is making a dress with crazy shoulders that Tim calls a "Big Bird" look, but she has immunity, so she keeps moving forward confidently. And, no surprise, Lindsey is making something boring. She is not inspired and it's obvious.
Swapnil tells Candace that his game plan is to give challenges 60 percent of his talent and just try to stay in the middle and not get kicked off. Honestly, I think it's brilliant IF you can pull it off. Some other folks have been skating by (*cough* Joseph and Lindsey *cough*) without showing much talent or creativity. Still, it seems like a safer idea to be proud of your looks in case the judges send you home.
Tim tells the designers this challenge has the "potential to be the best unconventional challenge," and the runway does not disappoint. Swapnil's top shows a TON of skin, but it's interesting, Candace made a stiff look but it still complements her model's body, Kelly's dryer vent dress is shiny and fun, and Ashley's Polaroid dress looks both vintage and futuristic. The judges love Edmond's dress, but I think they are on crack. It's hideous. He made his textile look normal, but I just think it's UGLY.
SPOILERS: Lindsey and Joseph are in the bottom, and even though they don't have to do an elimination this week because Jake left voluntarily, they still dump Joseph (finally). Kelly wins and is cute. I like her, but she can't win. She just can't. She doesn't have a taste level compatible with Fashion Week.
Next week it will be a whole new ball game. I hope we get some better judges, though.
In Episode 5, Tim meets the designers in a shady part of town and tells them to get their materials from a "dumpster." Lindsey complains about germs, but it's clear that this is a designer dumpster. It's filled with old technology like floppy discs, Rolodexes, and VHS tapes. The designers grab all they can fit into a cart and then have to drive it back to the studio. I liked that touch. Candace says she can check being a bag lady off her bucket list, but more likely it was on most of the designers' list of Things To Die Before I Do...
Back in the workroom, Kelly and Ashley get to work and stick with their materials. Ashley makes a cool textile out of Polaroids, and Kelly cuts up what looks like a dryer vent and uses rectangles of it to shape a dress. Lindsey whines because she can't wrap her head around unconventional materials, which really means she's too lazy to be creative. She does have a moment of clarity when she calls her critiques from the judges "disheartening" and says that if she (and her design aesthetic) were dating the judges, "It's not going well."
SPOILER: Out of nowhere, Jake leaves the show. He leaves because he has to put down his dog. Sorry, man, but you won't be missed. If he parlays this into getting on the next season of Project Runway, I am gonna be so disgusted. He CHOSE to leave...and he wasn't doing well enough to make it through another week anyway. Not sorry to see you go.
Meanwhile, Joseph is trying really hard to make a non-matronly dress. Laurie is making a blah dress with mouse pads and there's no way she's gonna win. Merline is making a dress with crazy shoulders that Tim calls a "Big Bird" look, but she has immunity, so she keeps moving forward confidently. And, no surprise, Lindsey is making something boring. She is not inspired and it's obvious.
Swapnil tells Candace that his game plan is to give challenges 60 percent of his talent and just try to stay in the middle and not get kicked off. Honestly, I think it's brilliant IF you can pull it off. Some other folks have been skating by (*cough* Joseph and Lindsey *cough*) without showing much talent or creativity. Still, it seems like a safer idea to be proud of your looks in case the judges send you home.
Tim tells the designers this challenge has the "potential to be the best unconventional challenge," and the runway does not disappoint. Swapnil's top shows a TON of skin, but it's interesting, Candace made a stiff look but it still complements her model's body, Kelly's dryer vent dress is shiny and fun, and Ashley's Polaroid dress looks both vintage and futuristic. The judges love Edmond's dress, but I think they are on crack. It's hideous. He made his textile look normal, but I just think it's UGLY.
SPOILERS: Lindsey and Joseph are in the bottom, and even though they don't have to do an elimination this week because Jake left voluntarily, they still dump Joseph (finally). Kelly wins and is cute. I like her, but she can't win. She just can't. She doesn't have a taste level compatible with Fashion Week.
Next week it will be a whole new ball game. I hope we get some better judges, though.
Friday, September 11, 2015
Project Runway - Heidi's Sleepover
This season's lingerie challenge came packaged with a runway sleepover for the designers. Don't get me wrong- I love Bella Thorne, but isn't she a little young to be judging intimates? And how come Heidi Klum doesn't look that old next to her?
We all knew that Blake, who has the least *erm* experience with women's lingerie was going to struggle on this one. And struggle he did. He has had a problem with execution and construction on previous challenges, and this one was all about construction. Merline was pretty quiet, and looked to be in trouble, too, because she didn't use the underwire that was provided to all the designers...but by the end of the challenge she was back to her old self, hastagging EVERYTHING. #annoying
Kelly seems to be on the right track to wooing Heidi because she's focusing on "sexy boobs." But as soon as Heidi enters the workroom, you can tell that she won't be mincing any words today. She calls Edmund "Mr. Tacky" which is spot on in my opinion - not just for this challenge. Edmund has immunity for this one, but for heaven's sake! When is he gonna get kicked off for being Mr. Tacky?!?
Swapnil decides he's going to work with bondage straps, but he doesn't have enough white straps to complete his look. Tim says Swapnil is making pesto without basil leaves, reminding us why Tim is who he is...because he's brilliant. And then after the designers have a sleepover on the runway, Tim wakes them all up in his pajamas, reminding us that's he's just a man after all.
Jake has this weird sob story about how he has to give his model a real underwear, not a thong. Wah wah. But I appreciate that he is sorta getting to know his model. Then I realized, the twist to the challenge was that all the designers had to make a coverup for the lingerie, and the only coverup we saw was Lindsey's. At the last second, Jake "drapes" a sarong (READ: he tied a square piece of fabric around his model's waist).
Lindsey makes a boring top and bottom, and covers it with an even more boring peach boyfriend shirt, but at least she actually made a coverup. She lost three hours because she needed a stitch and a tetanus shot, and she still pulled out an okay look. Way better than most people. Props to her this week for this moment of brilliance: "Joseph's look is boring...and that's not good because they tell me I'm boring all the time."
CHOKE: in the Sally Beauty room, Lindsey and Joseph talk to their hairdressers and after very different consultations, the picture of the same model's makeup is shown. Watch for it!
On the runway, Swapnil's look is a "showstopper" despite its flaws, Candace's look flies under the radar and so does Merline's look, about which Candace says, "No one thinks Merline is a threat." I agree, just not this week. Ashley's look appears to be the most reproducible, Zac calls it "yummy," and it's in her signature lavender color. Kelly's look is her signature trashy, but it fits the challenge okay since it's lingerie.
SPOILER: In the end, Merline triumphs in a big coup. She's coming into her own, despite that a look she calls architectural has no structure. She's most likely gonna be back to her loudmouth self next week. Cant wait for another unconventional challenge!!!
SPOILER: Blake goes home. I don't even like him. Why am I sad to see him go? He was surprisingly nice in his exit interview. He'll probably be back for sassy quotes and to be a designer's assistant in later challenges.
We all knew that Blake, who has the least *erm* experience with women's lingerie was going to struggle on this one. And struggle he did. He has had a problem with execution and construction on previous challenges, and this one was all about construction. Merline was pretty quiet, and looked to be in trouble, too, because she didn't use the underwire that was provided to all the designers...but by the end of the challenge she was back to her old self, hastagging EVERYTHING. #annoying
Kelly seems to be on the right track to wooing Heidi because she's focusing on "sexy boobs." But as soon as Heidi enters the workroom, you can tell that she won't be mincing any words today. She calls Edmund "Mr. Tacky" which is spot on in my opinion - not just for this challenge. Edmund has immunity for this one, but for heaven's sake! When is he gonna get kicked off for being Mr. Tacky?!?
Swapnil decides he's going to work with bondage straps, but he doesn't have enough white straps to complete his look. Tim says Swapnil is making pesto without basil leaves, reminding us why Tim is who he is...because he's brilliant. And then after the designers have a sleepover on the runway, Tim wakes them all up in his pajamas, reminding us that's he's just a man after all.
Jake has this weird sob story about how he has to give his model a real underwear, not a thong. Wah wah. But I appreciate that he is sorta getting to know his model. Then I realized, the twist to the challenge was that all the designers had to make a coverup for the lingerie, and the only coverup we saw was Lindsey's. At the last second, Jake "drapes" a sarong (READ: he tied a square piece of fabric around his model's waist).
Lindsey makes a boring top and bottom, and covers it with an even more boring peach boyfriend shirt, but at least she actually made a coverup. She lost three hours because she needed a stitch and a tetanus shot, and she still pulled out an okay look. Way better than most people. Props to her this week for this moment of brilliance: "Joseph's look is boring...and that's not good because they tell me I'm boring all the time."
CHOKE: in the Sally Beauty room, Lindsey and Joseph talk to their hairdressers and after very different consultations, the picture of the same model's makeup is shown. Watch for it!
On the runway, Swapnil's look is a "showstopper" despite its flaws, Candace's look flies under the radar and so does Merline's look, about which Candace says, "No one thinks Merline is a threat." I agree, just not this week. Ashley's look appears to be the most reproducible, Zac calls it "yummy," and it's in her signature lavender color. Kelly's look is her signature trashy, but it fits the challenge okay since it's lingerie.
SPOILER: In the end, Merline triumphs in a big coup. She's coming into her own, despite that a look she calls architectural has no structure. She's most likely gonna be back to her loudmouth self next week. Cant wait for another unconventional challenge!!!
SPOILER: Blake goes home. I don't even like him. Why am I sad to see him go? He was surprisingly nice in his exit interview. He'll probably be back for sassy quotes and to be a designer's assistant in later challenges.
Saturday, September 5, 2015
Project Runway Paintball S14 Ep5
Does anyone else feel like this whole season is about Queen Frostine (Ashley Nell Tipton)? Some of it is earned - she did win TWO challenges already - and part of it is pity. The first episode of the season touched on how Ashley always felt bullied and out of place in school, and this episode was all about it. Seemed to me like the "bullying" was mostly manufactured...or maybe Ashley's victimhood manifesting?
Tim and Heidi showed up on the runway wearing white bodysuits and holding paintball guns. They Let the designers pick their teams one person at a time: Blake went first and picked Swapnil, then Swapnil picked the next team member, etc. The boys all ended up on a team plus Merline. The girls all picked their roommates and besties until only Ashley was left. Sad? Yes. But then Heidi stepped up and defended Ashley and said that the team pickers were dumb since Ashley had already won two challenges. In an effort not to make this post all about Ashley, I will say that it was notable that Candace said she chose Amanda Returna first because Amanda had been in the bottom and she wanted to raise her confidence. Admirable? Sure. Smart? No - but as Heidi suggested, the girls' team did not choose wisely.
The teams went paintballing and each team had a chance to try to "capture the fabric" while the other team blasted them. The girls went first and had no plan. The boys went second and tried to get cool colors. Blake hid like a little girl so he wouldn't get shot. (and apparently Ashley has experience paintballing, so she was good...yet she still felt "unwelcome" on her team). It didn't matter that the girls had no plan this time because Tim told them that their fabric for the challenge was their paintball bodysuits.
Back in the workroom, the girls continue to have no plan. They start working on a textile with multiple painting techniques and multiple colors and end up with a tacky, "Easter egg print. The boys and Merline decide to go with blue and use multiple painting and dyeing techniques and work together on a 50s concept.
Yada yada yada Ashley doesn't feel like she's being heard on their team. Candace, who worked so well with Ashley last week, is self-appointed team leader, but is doing little leading. Tim tells them that they're all on the wrong track because everyone is coming up with their own individual design, not pieces in the same collection. Eventually the ladies realize that they need a unifying theme and go with purple and pleats. Recipe for disaster.
Then Laurie tells Ashley that if the team is in the bottom, the rest of the team is going to say that Ashley should get kicked off for working least well with the team. Since we only have her word for it, we can assume that the other competitors want Ashley off because she's the biggest competition (no pun intended - sorry, Ashley!). But then Blake starts calling Ashley's team "mean girls." And we have to wonder...
Finally, on the runway, the judges concur and the blue team is on top. They let Edmund win for a gown made of the bodysuits and painted with flowers by Blake. Is it cool? Sure. Should it have won? No way. I have no clue how Edmund has won two challenges so far. He is gonna crash and burn soon. Swapnil should have won this challenge for his clever use of the sleeves of the shirt as a belt and the shirt pocket fetchingly draped as a pocket on his dress. But whatever - the team worked together nicely, and Merline somehow skated through without comment.
Then on the runway, the purple team gets ripped for lack of cohesion. None of the looks are good, but Kelly's is especially tacky and Candace's is way overworked. Kelly Osbourne (bound to agree with Ashley because they are bonded by their purple hair) calls the girls out for not working together and they're sent away for judging.
In the end, the judges decide that Amanda Returna's tent dress is the worst look and she goes home (FINALLY). For the record, Ashley's design was terrible, too. I am sure she will have a comeback again next week, but I hope her self-fulfilling prophecies don't overtake her before the end of the competition! And hopefully the rest of the episodes can focus on other designers, because there are still some people who have skated by without getting called out.
Tim and Heidi showed up on the runway wearing white bodysuits and holding paintball guns. They Let the designers pick their teams one person at a time: Blake went first and picked Swapnil, then Swapnil picked the next team member, etc. The boys all ended up on a team plus Merline. The girls all picked their roommates and besties until only Ashley was left. Sad? Yes. But then Heidi stepped up and defended Ashley and said that the team pickers were dumb since Ashley had already won two challenges. In an effort not to make this post all about Ashley, I will say that it was notable that Candace said she chose Amanda Returna first because Amanda had been in the bottom and she wanted to raise her confidence. Admirable? Sure. Smart? No - but as Heidi suggested, the girls' team did not choose wisely.
The teams went paintballing and each team had a chance to try to "capture the fabric" while the other team blasted them. The girls went first and had no plan. The boys went second and tried to get cool colors. Blake hid like a little girl so he wouldn't get shot. (and apparently Ashley has experience paintballing, so she was good...yet she still felt "unwelcome" on her team). It didn't matter that the girls had no plan this time because Tim told them that their fabric for the challenge was their paintball bodysuits.
Back in the workroom, the girls continue to have no plan. They start working on a textile with multiple painting techniques and multiple colors and end up with a tacky, "Easter egg print. The boys and Merline decide to go with blue and use multiple painting and dyeing techniques and work together on a 50s concept.
Yada yada yada Ashley doesn't feel like she's being heard on their team. Candace, who worked so well with Ashley last week, is self-appointed team leader, but is doing little leading. Tim tells them that they're all on the wrong track because everyone is coming up with their own individual design, not pieces in the same collection. Eventually the ladies realize that they need a unifying theme and go with purple and pleats. Recipe for disaster.
Then Laurie tells Ashley that if the team is in the bottom, the rest of the team is going to say that Ashley should get kicked off for working least well with the team. Since we only have her word for it, we can assume that the other competitors want Ashley off because she's the biggest competition (no pun intended - sorry, Ashley!). But then Blake starts calling Ashley's team "mean girls." And we have to wonder...
Finally, on the runway, the judges concur and the blue team is on top. They let Edmund win for a gown made of the bodysuits and painted with flowers by Blake. Is it cool? Sure. Should it have won? No way. I have no clue how Edmund has won two challenges so far. He is gonna crash and burn soon. Swapnil should have won this challenge for his clever use of the sleeves of the shirt as a belt and the shirt pocket fetchingly draped as a pocket on his dress. But whatever - the team worked together nicely, and Merline somehow skated through without comment.
Then on the runway, the purple team gets ripped for lack of cohesion. None of the looks are good, but Kelly's is especially tacky and Candace's is way overworked. Kelly Osbourne (bound to agree with Ashley because they are bonded by their purple hair) calls the girls out for not working together and they're sent away for judging.
In the end, the judges decide that Amanda Returna's tent dress is the worst look and she goes home (FINALLY). For the record, Ashley's design was terrible, too. I am sure she will have a comeback again next week, but I hope her self-fulfilling prophecies don't overtake her before the end of the competition! And hopefully the rest of the episodes can focus on other designers, because there are still some people who have skated by without getting called out.
Friday, September 4, 2015
The Worst Class Trip Ever by Dave Barry
I haven't watched Project Runway yet! I am dying to! I will comment on it tomorrow.
I just read The Worst Class Trip Ever by Dave Barry. I picked it up because I LOOOOVED The Best Christmas Pageant Ever (not by the same author) and I hoped the two would be in the same vein. I also know a lot of people think Dave Barry is funny.
This book isn't funny. Sorry, Dave Barry. It has a few amusing moments, but nothing to laugh out loud about...and I am an easy lol. If you are looking for a good book, set this one aside and pick up The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson. You won't be disappointed.
Dave Barry's Class Trip is about Wyatt Palmer, an average middle schooler with a Cuban mother and a crush on a girl way out of his league, Suzana Delgado. When Wyatt's class heads to Washington, D.C. for a class trip, Wyatt and his friend Matt unearth a possible terrorist plot against the White House. The boys have to enlist the help of classmates, including the hot and popular Suzana, to foil the terrorists and keep their teachers in the dark so they don't get sent home.
This book just wasn't funny enough and the plot was unbelievable. I would have been an easy sell - I really liked All-American Girl by Meg Cabot, and that has a similar setup. But I just didn't buy it. Stay home from Class Trip. The very first story about Wyatt's dad is somewhat funny, but it all goes downhill from there. 1 Poppy for content, 3 Poppies for brevity, 4 Poppies overall.
Here's my graphic organizer of the book. It's pretty similar to the front cover of the book, and SPOILER: don't look if you don't want to see the only funny quote of the book. This time I started my organizer at the bottom and worked my way up to the kites. I like how it turned out.
I just read The Worst Class Trip Ever by Dave Barry. I picked it up because I LOOOOVED The Best Christmas Pageant Ever (not by the same author) and I hoped the two would be in the same vein. I also know a lot of people think Dave Barry is funny.
This book isn't funny. Sorry, Dave Barry. It has a few amusing moments, but nothing to laugh out loud about...and I am an easy lol. If you are looking for a good book, set this one aside and pick up The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson. You won't be disappointed.
Dave Barry's Class Trip is about Wyatt Palmer, an average middle schooler with a Cuban mother and a crush on a girl way out of his league, Suzana Delgado. When Wyatt's class heads to Washington, D.C. for a class trip, Wyatt and his friend Matt unearth a possible terrorist plot against the White House. The boys have to enlist the help of classmates, including the hot and popular Suzana, to foil the terrorists and keep their teachers in the dark so they don't get sent home.
This book just wasn't funny enough and the plot was unbelievable. I would have been an easy sell - I really liked All-American Girl by Meg Cabot, and that has a similar setup. But I just didn't buy it. Stay home from Class Trip. The very first story about Wyatt's dad is somewhat funny, but it all goes downhill from there. 1 Poppy for content, 3 Poppies for brevity, 4 Poppies overall.
Here's my graphic organizer of the book. It's pretty similar to the front cover of the book, and SPOILER: don't look if you don't want to see the only funny quote of the book. This time I started my organizer at the bottom and worked my way up to the kites. I like how it turned out.
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