Anybody else watch last night’s show? Opinions? Comments?
My main opinion is blah. Blah to the challenge–who thinks making a department store look in blue is hard? Blah to the designs, and blah to the whole damn thing. Blah to the Duchess making people cry, even, and to Irina’s totally unnecessary throwing Gordana under the bus even while their work is being praised. It’s just not been all that interesting a season, and this episode was especially dull.
It’s really obvious when you watch reruns of previous seasons, like I’ve spent the morning doing. The challenges are just…blah compared to what we’re used to. Part of it is probably due to all the upheaval and uncertainty going on with the legal issues. But someone suggested to me that it’s partly due to the model show. When you have a half-hour show about the models right after, it’s harder to have a lot of challenges where you don’t use the professional models. That knocks out the average woman challenges, the make-over a designer challenges, the menswear challenge they did a while back.
So two-faced…
One week, designers get shredded for making garmets that are <gasp!> wearable, and the next week, they’re designing stuff for mass-market sales that must be wearable.
Chris’s garments definitely did not go together, but I liked them individually. The shirtdress wasn’t that dull. The teal outfit looked great from the front, but the back admittedly made her rear look huge.
I hated Althea’s clothes, which crawled up the one model’s rear and made the other model’s chest look droopy.
Good point. The design for another designer, or a designer’s family member, or whatever ones were fun. But ugh, it’s like they’re TRYING to be dull. BLUE? BLUE?!?!
I thought Shirin and Carol Hannah should have won. The blue tunic thing and the other blue dress were both great. I missed the talk at the beginning–so the people who do win, their dress doesn’t get sold in Macy’s? They win a chance to design another dress that will go to Macy’s? O…kay.
It is a sad, sad state of affairs that this thread only has five… now six… responses.
I’m so bored with this season that I can’t even think of anything to post.
How is “blue” a challenge!!
Agreed. I think the designers are boring, the challenges are boring, the judges are boring…
But I will say that having Michael Kors back for this episode (and the next, if the previews are truthful) helps immensely. He’s such a refreshing change from the guest judges who say blah and bland things.
I hadn’t realized it, but you’re right – by making the models their own show, you’ve taken away some of the more interesting challenges.
I wish someone would file a lawsuit against PR for being boring. Maybe then they could move it back to Bravo (and HD) and have Michael Kors back and interesting challenges.
The Models show itself hasn’t been very good lately. I do find it interesting to know a little about the models (like the fact that Celine’s parents apparently don’t know that she is a model?) and to see which designer picks which model, but there’s not enough story there for 30 minutes each week. I think it would serve the viewers better if the model-choosing drama was integrated back into Project Runway proper.
Did this episode feel like Project Bullyway or was it only me? They weren’t holding back, were they. When you’ve critiqued designers to the point of them breaking into tears, maybe you don’t have to critique them again before kicking them out. I mean, if they don’t get the point after being kicked out, then what else will.
I’m just now getting to this, we only watched tonight (DVR). I thought everything looked dull. Interesting how “unwearable” was a sin this week, where “wearable” has always been a sin.
It’s really a boring season. I wonder if there are copyright problems with some of the past challenges, so they can’t repeat themselves. We’re not watching the model show – why would I care? Dangerous jobs, dirty jobs, interesting jobs, OK, but modeling? :: shrug ::
The modeling show is interesting, of only for the reason of getting to know them off the runway. That’s not enough, though, to sustain a wholly separate show.
I like the designers this season – IMO it’s the new production company, the legal issues, and the location that’s running this season into the ground. The production company I can somewhat forgive because, hey, it’s their first season. I can’t do anything about the legal issues. I’m sorry, but Los Angeles is NOT the Fashion Capital. Taking the show out of NYC ruined it more than I think anyone would have ever guessed.
I don’t think LA is the problem. Bravo has been running some of the old seasons, and I caught a couple episodes. They made NY a part of so many challenges (for good or ill) – the Hershey store in Times Square, the Botanical Gardens, the Levi warehouse, the Met. LA has just as many, if not more, interesting/iconic places and things that could become part of a challenge. The LA Times challenge is the first interesting one, but there are literally hundreds of places in LA that could be part of a challenge. They just aren’t using the city well.
I dunno. I’ll keep watching, but I think I’m getting ready to be done with PR. Such a shame, because it used to be so good.
Yeah. Or even when they didn’t use the city it was still good. Like, design for a fellow designer was awesome. Or design a fashion icon’s updated look, or for a drag queen, or for a designer’s family member, or for a look inspired by a lap dog. The challenges were almost always fun and interesting. Or just plain weird, but sometimes that worked out–like update the postal uniform where they were judged not only on looks but on form. (That episode wasn’t hurt by the fact that Jay sent Austin Scarlett down the runway when his own model didn’t show up!)
Now it’s just some variation of design a pretty dress, tack on some tears/drama, and voila.
I read an interview with Tim Gunn in which he said they were constantly dropping challenges at the last minute and having to come up with new ones. Apparently, they had a bunch planned to tie in with some network (ABC?) but had to scrap them during the lawsuit over ownership of the show.
I don’t know why they couldn’t have come up with more interesting substitute challenges – such as designing for the other designers – but I thought it was worth pointing out that the turmoil over the show was part of the problem with this season.
I think Christopher would’ve cried if they said “boo” to him. He obviously was fragile up there. I’m not fond of weepers. But I do feel sorry because he was obviously blindsided by the judges’ opinions. He really thought they had the winning look, and to be crushed like that had to be hard.
Gordana sort of started the bash-fest when asked how it was working together and she said “challenging”. She should’ve made a polite comment about how it’s always nice to work with someone whose viewpoint is different than one’s own, or something.
“Ruffles? Who wears ruffles any more?”
StG
I think part of the problem is that there is no one with a big personality this season, nor is there anyone making audacious clothing. They are all competent, but there is no wow factor.