So, I wasn't going to write anything and then when I was at the gym last night I was thinking about the "collections" and trying to figure out just why Team Jillian won (besides the fact that everyone else produced pure unadulterated fug), and I decided to write something.
This week’s challenge? Design a collection using fashion trends of the past.
I hate team challenges so much. Maybe it’s because I've never been much of a team player, but mostly it's because the judging seems so fucked up and leader-centric. When a “team” wins, credit goes to the leader, even if it’s an undeserved win by a shit-ass designer who lucked out picking teammates (see, Season 3 Macy’s Challenge, with Angela, Mychael, and Laura). Alternately, a decent designer could get auf’ed for getting stuck with a crappy team and get bounced for someone else's shitty construction skills. Plus, this show has demonstrated over and over that if a team leader actually acts like the leader and takes some responsibility for what went wrong, they're auf'ed. When the teams were nominating their leaders, all I could think was, “Dude, sucks to be you.”
Now for the collections:
I thought I might like Team Jillian’s collection now, but I still sort of hate it. Also, it seems that the trends were Overalls, Poodle Skirts, and 70’s Flare (not denim). This doesn’t change anything, but it does make me wonder, “Why all the fucking denim?” and also, “Oh, 70’s flare. Right.”, which doesn’t really make any sense.
Anyway, looking over stills of the collections, it’s clear that this one had to win, if only for it’s cohesiveness. In addition to the denim, there were similar silhouettes (see the necklines on Jillian’s piece and Rami’s dress) and there were common details like the buttons on Jillian’s piece and Kevin’s shorts and the fabric from Kevin’s top being used as trim in Rami’s dress.
Plus, the interpretation of trends wasn’t totally literal. Jillian’s piece looks like a wide-legged jumpsuit my mother owned in the 70’s (it was sleeveless purple polyester with a ruffled v-neck), but the denim is evocative of overalls. Rami’s dress isn’t really a poodle skirt, but the volume is reminiscent of one. I’m not really sure what’s going on with Kevin’s look. Maybe the fabric in the top or the high-waistedness of the shorts is supposed to be 70’s. I do like that the belt/waistband detailing is like the hook things on a pair of overalls.
It turns out that Team Christian had Zoot Suit, Fringe, and Pleather. Looking at the pictures, I have no fucking clue where those things come in to play. From what I understand, Zoot Suits tended to be sort of broad-shouldered affairs that were done up in bright-ish colours. I guess the pinstripe fabric, pencil skirts, and the vest on Christian’s look were evocative of suits, but still.
Looking back over this one, though, I like Kit’s outfit more than I originally did. I’m a sucker for a black & white outfit, the contrasting prints actually work together, and the cap sleeves are a nice detail. The jacket on Christian’s outfit looks like a cardigan and it just doesn’t work with the puffy top. Jack’s dress still make me cringe for all the same reasons it did originally (leggings, shapeless, crazy Vincent-esque pockets, whickety-whack trim), but I do like the neckline on it.
Seeing Team Chris’s collection makes me wonder just what the hell went on there. They don’t look like they belong together at all. Steven’s especially stands out, but Chris and Sweet P’s pieces look like they just happened to be made in the same colour.
My original assessment stands. Chris’s bolero was fug, Steven’s outfit was meh (and sort of looked like he basically copied the picture he was given), and Sweet P’s dress looked great in comparison.
The obvious downfall was the original decision to design their own pieces using their own trends and just do them in the same fabric. What made Team Jillian's collection successful was that they seemed to incorporate elements from each other’s work.
For all the sturm und drang, Team Rick-torya put out the worst collection. The pieces were just as disconnected as they were for Team Chris, but they didn’t even seem to include two of the required trends. And, that’s if you accept the pink and yellow detailing on the pieces as “neon”.
Seriously, it’s a set of three satin mini-dresses that look like they were pulled from the clearance rack at an “everything’s $10” store in one of those depressing strip malls that also houses a dollar store and an on-the-verge-of-closing Walgreens. At least Team Chris managed to put out pieces that looked well-made.
Considering that Ricky is a former lingerie designer, a fact that has been mentioned multiple times and is probably on his little title card thing they show, you’d think that there would be something that looked like underwear. His dress in the first competition would’ve worked better for this than anything that actually got made here. Plus, cut outs? Anywhere? I think a keyhole top would’ve sufficed. I suppose the one thing that didn’t make me want to projectile vomit was the fact that Victorya did own up to getting construction help from Ricky.
This episode was so full of faux drama that I didn't bother to rewatch. It's clear that in terms of their technical abilities, this is probably the best group of contestants, but the episodes have been painfully uninteresting. What initially drew me in to the show was watching people designing great (ant not-so-great) clothes, not watching people act like douchebags.
There's nothing else on TV right now, and I still have to force myself to watch this show. Come on, Project Runway people, do something other than annoy me.
NextWeek (okay, tomorrow): Some stuff is going to happen. Let's see if I can pretend to give a shit.
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