I’m not going to put any spoilers in the first post, but let me say these things:
[ul]
[li]I liked the challenge and how it was managed.[/li][li]I liked the special guests, although I’m surprised at some of the choices of guest.[/li][li]I was not surprised by 1 auf, and was by the other.[/li][/ul]
But there’s still one there who I wish wasn’t. Annoyance factor set at 11! :rolleyes:
I make no promises about spoilers after this post, but I wanted to get a post on the topic out here.
Is it Suede?
Cause I’m still wishing Kenley were gone.
No, it’s Terri (I had her pegged for Bryant Park.) who surprised me. But it’s Kenley who caused my annoyance factor to go to 11. The piece was abysmal, and the arrogance…!
This challenge was moronic. Without the possibility to rejoin the competition, the returning designers had absolutely no incentive at all to help the designer they were paired with. Had it been me I would have told my partner good luck with the dress and then left to go have a drink with Tim Gunn or something.
They should have either given the returning designers the remote possibility of rejoining the competition (like they did with Angela and Vincent in season 3) or put the returning designers in charge of the design with the contestants taking a secondary role; at least then the returning designers would have had a reason to give a shit about the whole thing.
Keith was extremely irritating from the start with his mopiness (and it really showed that he didn’t want to be there, even before he was paired with Terri; he looked miserable), but Terri was a bitch from the get-go and shouldn’t have expected him to do anything other than exactly what he did given her behavior. I would have peaced out earlier than he did.
Kenley was supremely irritating, and I’ll be shocked if she survives next week. Her dress looked like it was made for freaking Tik-Tok from Return to Oz.
I was very surprised by the judges’ decision. Usually “boring” is a death sentence for any designer, and Suede’s performance has been lackluster for weeks. I actually didn’t think that Terri’s garment was that bad, and I have to wonder if she would have stuck around had she not started tossing out excuses as soon as it was her turn to talk. I was half expecting her to physically attack Keith in the waiting room.
She was talented, but she was a bitch, so I’m not that sad to see her go.
Glad to see Blayne gone. At least he went out in a blaze of Blayne-y glory. Props to Stella for being such a good partner.
Any of the bottom four could have gone and I’d have been OK with it, though I think Terri is a better designer than Suede. Kenley has zero taste. That thing was hideous. I’d love to see her auf’d before Bryant Park.
However… the winner should not have been Jerell. Either Joe or Leanne, for sure. Jerell’s was his usual wickety wack tacky. I’m also disappointed that we didn’t get a second look at the top 4. I really wanted to see them up close.
I was pleased to seek Kenley stay, despite her being annoying as fuck lately. She’s a good designer and I generally like what she puts out there, though this week it was a monstrosity (though it seemed to be a well-constructed monstrosity). She’s had enough success that a misstep one week shouldn’t be cause to bounce her.
Blayne, on the other hand, was an easy choice to go. His outfit sucked, and I just don’t see any reason for him to stay.
I’m disappointed the odious Suede has not been bounced. His thing today didn’t impress me, and he generally has shown me nothing.
On the other hand, I’m fairly indifferent that Terri was sent home. Her designs have been neither here nor there, so she would have gone one week or another, so this was just as good a week as any.
I really didn’t like this challenge. I don’t know what “avant garde” means, other than it’s a chance to design a screwy dress, and the zodiac “inspiration” was useless. I like when they give the designers more constrained challenges, not just “make me an outfit.”
Man, I wish Kenley had gone, too.
And Jerrell? The hell? That thing was butt ugly! It WON?!
According to the Michael Kors blog on the official website, what they liked was the mix-and-match potential of the individual pieces.
Personally, I liked Leanne’s best, but I agree, Joe’s was good too.
And if Kenley doesn’t get auf’d soon, I’m going to go to New York & strangle her myself - annoying little brat! She’s nowhere near as talented as she thinks.
I have been surprised that Blayne lasted this long. He hasn’t really done one design that wasn’t butt ugly. He did seem to go at each challenge with good humor and lack of whining that was rare for this group. I think he outlasted a couple of the others because he was just more pleasant to be around.
Terry going was somewhat of a shock. She did some really cool stuff early on but lately she has been playing extremely safe. It seemed like the designs were done, not to win, but not to get eliminated. Eventually that is going to bore the judges, and if you do it while being an unmitigated bitch they auf you pretty quickly.
Does it seem to anyone else that the people that are rude, annoying, or play particularly cut throat are gotten rid of pretty quickly? I kind of think the producers need someone that isn’t going to go out and ruin the brand of the show by being jerks to the fans or the sponsors. I believe Kenley will not go to Bryant Park for this reason.
I think the final 3 will be LeeAnn (she seems to be growing weekly) Korto and Jerell. I am not sure who the 4th side track person who shows at Bryant Park will be. Will it be Suede or will it be Joe?.. They are both weak in different ways.
They ask for avant garde and they go for something with mix and match potential?!? WTF. The most avant garde design was Leanne’s, and the most successful IMO. Tim Gunn, in his blog, concurs. So I just don’t get it. I truly thought Jerell’s was ugly. One thing I will say in Jerell’s favor is that he seems to work well in a team. He got along great with both Stella and Jennifer. That says good things about him, to me.
As much as I dislike Kenley, I wouldn’t count her out for Bryant Park. They do like to let one asshole go really far (Wendy Pepper, Santino Rice, and Jeffrey Sebelia come to mind). Kenley does seem to have design skills, though her taste does absolutely nothing for me but induce nausea, and her shrill, nasally voice and superior attitude turn me off. Consequently, I’m pretty sure she’s going all the way.
However, I think Leanne and Korto deserve to be in the top 3. The third slot could be anyone at this point, though I hope it’s not Suede.
Well, I wouldn’t have guessed it at the beginning of the episode - but Suede’s was by far the least egregious of the four on the bottom. Blayne’s was awful. Terri’s was bad, but it was still better than Kenley’s. I’ve seen that before, too. I have the Cinderella DVD on my shelf - and her stepmother & stepsisters are wearing that dress. It was ugly and stupid and she dodged a bullet. (BTW, I was reading the “can people hear themselves lisp?” thread earlier. Can people hear themselves talk through their noses?)
I didn’t love any of the top 4. But as I’ve observed in previous avant garde challenges, I don’t get avant garde. LeeAnne’s seemed close to the challenge, but I think she does better when she’s got to edit out those loose floofy things. I don’t like them. Korto wasn’t bad either.
I could see Leann, Korto and Kenley for the final three. Maybe Jerell–he’s been screwing up majorly (IMHO) but the judges seem to love him.
Really don’t get Kenley knocking when Tim Gunn himself was telling her to make changes, and her going, “No, the judges will love it.” Um, Tim’s the person who would KNOW what the judges would like, and you’re blowing him off? And Heidi was right–the boobs on that thing were just out there.
“That dress is pooping fabric!” is my new favorite phrase and I must find a way to work it into conversation! (How is another question … :D)
Leanne’s dress was, imo, the most avant garde of the challenge; Jerrel’s was fugly, but he did work well with his partner at least. I liked Korto’s too.
I was also surprised that Terri was aufed but she was being a bitch and did NOT work well (oh hell, she didn’t even try to) with Keith – although he had issues also. Her design wasn’t that bad, though - not nearly as awful (hideous is definitely the word!) as Kenley’s - OMG that thing was vomitous! I do think she’s talented, but as someone else put it, not as talented as she thinks she is.
I thought the concept of bringing back the auf’d was stupid, and I was surprised there weren’t more Terry/Keith type situations. The way to have made it work would have been to say that the auf’d person on the winning team could return, to give them an incentive.
I thought only the Scorpio design and the blue Aquarius were even vaguely related to the astrological signs. I don’t understand how they can not follow the instructions week after week!
Terri just does not play well with others. On the Brooke Shields challenge she wouldn’t let Suede make any suggestions, gave him the hard part of the outfit, then micromanaged the shit out of him.
I’m glad she’s gone because it spares me the suspense of how many more challenges she’ll respond to with a pair of pants.
Another one who’s glad Terri’s gone. I re-watched most of the season today and lordy, but I wanted her hit by a train. She made nice pants, but there didn’t seem to be any growth, pushing of boundaries, or willingness to learn. Not a lot of willingness to learn on Kenley’s part either; kid can’t take criticism to save her life. I’m rooting for Leanne all the way – she really seems to be growing as the competition goes on. I think she’s only been in the bottom group twice and once was because she wouldn’t whap Blayne upside the head over his design.
When it gets to this point, good people sometimes have to go. Terri is more talented than some of the people still left, but she had a bad day. It’s also been clear to me over the years that they reward good teamwork and punish bad teamwork, or at least they edit to make it look that way.
That said, there’s no way she should have gone home this time instead of Kenley. I generally like Kenley, but that dress was horrid. With campier makeup and accessories it could have been a Chris March design for a Disney-themed drag show–which would be cool if that were what they were going for.
Blayne–no argument there.
Jerrell’s was good, but I liked Joe’s and Leanne’s better. (There’s no way they were going to let Leanne win three in a row, though.) Jerrell might make the top three, but he’s turned in a few clunkers along the way, so it depends on where he goes from here.