Project Runway S13 E15: "Reunion"

Can I just give it up for Adrian? He totally went through the season with grace, and didn't devolve into the bitchiness I would have. He did a great job.

Because, this was the most boring useless season of Project Runway we've seen. Tom and Lorenzo have sworn off Project Runway now that they have a modicum of fame (as if people go to their site for anything else). When two of your most famous recappers spend a whole recap giving almost all of your designers the one-word review, "Basic," something's wrong.

We all know what it is. Time. The challenges have shortened to one-day challenges so that we can knock off a season in just over a month, because we have another season to film in the same workroom before the summer is over. Project Runway has too many designers, and thus too many episodes, causing the quality of the show to falter. Reducing the number of designers and episodes would increase the time for the challenges, and quality of the clothes.

Because, for fucks sake, we're getting sponsored by Red Robin and Aldo. It's one thing for All Stars to get short shrifted by sponsors, but last year's All Stars looked like a class act next to Fade wowing over a fucking refrigerator and then being knocked out in the half-assed Samsung challenge ("try to be inspired by a curved TV that nobody really wants").

Nevertheless, there were the occasional wow moments, and the half-assed Samsung challenge was one of those because it was also the rainway and avant-garde challenge. This was the best avant-garde challenge in ages. Which contrasts with one of the most snooze-worthy finale episodes we've ever had. Yes, the best collection won (Sean), but if the finale collections weren't dull (Sean, Amanda), they were a freaking mess (Char, Kini). 

In the wake of the dullest season, we have to go through an hour of trying to rekindle the drama just so you remember the designers (in case they come back). In light of that, let's return to my original list of designers. Because, I know that some of you were like me with "Who the fuck was Jefferson?"

In reverse order of elimination:

• Sean Kelly: New Zealander who designs androgynously, and New Order Replacement Star
      Reality Show Personality: The Brit
• Amanda Valentine: Originally from Season 11, Sister of Maroon 5.
      Reality Show Personality: The Elder Statesman
• Char Glover: Single Black Woman from Detroit
      Reality Show Personality: Sassy Black Woman
• Kini Zamora: Hawaiian who designs in denim
      Reality Show Personality: Hawaiian (yes, it is a personality type unto itself)
• Emily Payne: San Francisco punk mom with a kids line
      Reality Show Personality: The Mom
• Korina Emmerich: White-looking American Indian from Eugene, OR who designs for NYC woman.
      Reality Show Personality: Wannabe Villain
• Alexander Knox: The Tall Gay Guy with Hidden Style
      Reality Show Personality: The Affable One
• Sandhya Garg: The Subversive Indian
      Reality Show Personality: The Oppressed One
• Fade Zu Grau: The elder German who has a moment with Heidi
      Reality Show Personality: Dieter, Gay Edition
• Samantha Plasencia: Texas Hipster not from Austin
      Reality Show Personality: The Hipster
• Kristine Guico: Grey Haired woman?
      Reality Show Personality: The Soon-To-Be-Cut Quiet Type
• Mitchell Perry: South Florida guy with bad clothes; Zac Posen might want to sleep with him
      Reality Show Personality: The Obnoxious Bitch Who Throws Shade Because He's Untalented
• Hernan Lander: Spanish Guy who has previously shown at Fashion Week
      Reality Show Personality: The Hispanic
• Angela Sum: Asian immigrant, Computer Engineer
      Reality Show Personality: The Quiet Nervous Talented One
• Carrie Sleutskaya: Babygoth who can design
      Reality Show Personality: The Youngster
• Jefferson Musanda: Black Male, Hip Hop Dancer.
      Reality Show Personality: The Eager Beaver

OMG, remember Carrie? I thought she had such promise, and was going to be in Emily's shadow for a while. And, Hernan, the Spanish guy with no taste? Or, Mitchell, the low rent Miami version of Big Gay Josh from Season 9. 

The funniest thing about this episode was that Egg Samantha, the designer that nobody could remember having ever existed, was not even at the Reunion (due to a mystery surgery). Did you know she was in six episodes? I mean, forgetting about Jefferson or Carrie is understandable because they were cut quickly, but Egg hung around for ages.

I totally called it with Korina. She was a wannabe villain who was really just a shade-throwing bitch. Sorry, but all she did was insult everybody, then throw a fit at her best friend because she lost. Even though a lot of people correctly observed that her elimination was in no small part due to producer manipulation, the fact that she aimed a lot of her wrath at Char was unseemly.

Sandhya never emerged from her The Oppressed One archetype, and continued with it in this episode's second most hilarious moment. "I feel ganged up on." "WE'RE NOT GANGING UP ON YOU! WE LIKE YOU!" And, also, Korina saying "had you asked me to me face, I would have told you I liked you" was the most hilarious of backstabbing bullshittery I have witnessed.

The only person who was really developed into a semi-multidimensional human being was Char. I think that was, in large part, due to the Tim Gunn Save. Since she really is a young designer in her mind (she hasn't been designing for long), her style wasn't aligned with fashion. She may be better in future All Stars where she'll either be fan favorite or a controversial WTH designer.

The big drama was from the obvious Producer manipulations. Korina being pissed off that she had to run off with Char. Based on her final dress, though, she deserved to be out (and I hated her ski chalet outfit that caused her to have to do the dramatic run off). They milked that for a good segment+. 

Overall, the drama for this season was almost as dull as the fashion. They had to fight to find moments to comment on. The reunion special didn't dwell on the positive. They didn't find the time to comment on Fade's awesome repertoire with Heidi, and throwing shade in a foreign language. 

That they went out to talk to people on the streets of New York in order to create filler for the reunion should tell you everything you need to know about the season. Ah well, it's on to On Stars!

Stray Observations

- Tim Gunn: "Tell me more." Translation: "Please, talk more about how good Project Runway is."

- Yes, bitch can be a Term of Endearment. Yes, bitch can be an insult. Hernan did not use it as a term of endearment. No sale.

- Did Mitchell really get any time this week? It seems like the characters got a backseat to the drama. Even the memorable craziness of Angela (in 2 episodes!) was given short shrift so we could ruminate for AGES on Sandhya's oppression and Korina's bitchiness.

Project Runway: S13 E14: "Finale Part 2"

What's the ultimate "point" of Project Runway? I think this is an interesting question that PR can be asked that other reality competition shows don't have to. The "point" of Survivor is mostly entertainment these days since the more social experiment element of the show passed within the first few seasons. How people survive and interact within the confines of that game is a subject that's been exhausted. We really haven't seen a new way to play the game in a long time no matter how many new wrinkles the producers toss in to the rules. But Project Runway exists in a different kind of space. The winners have the ability to really effect the future of fashion in a manner that the winners of other shows simply don't. Can you name the title of a single album from an American Idol winner since Clarkson? Have you seen any of the dancers from So You Think You Can Dance anywhere? Chances are unless you're deeply into those worlds, you probably haven't, but one only need be aware on a basic level of the world around them to have seen something from Mondo or Christian Siriano around somewhere. So in that sense, PR is uniquely placed to seriously effect the general outcome or trajectory of the fashion industry as a whole. As such, do we watch PR thinking primarily that we need drastic amounts of entertainment, and the rest can be damned? Is it the show's job to find the next great fashion talent and reward them? Or maybe it's just the show's job to shine a light on aspects of the design process within the fashion industry? I'm not sure the answer is any one of these things. It's more likely that the show should be striving to hit each at some point in time, but I also think that this fact makes PR into something of a mixed bag from season to season. Specifically, since this show has the ability to do all of these things, it sometimes has identity issues because we can't be sure which of these aims we're watching at any given moment.

Along those lines, let me introduce this final competition episode of the 13th season. The first portion of this episode seems mostly dedicated to providing both drama (read entertainment) and something of an insight into the design process. Kini is still reeling from his horrible critique, and trying to figure out how to remake his entire collection in two days. Tim comes in to offer his notes on what just happened. He tells everyone what they should do, and his points to Kini are mostly about just mixing and matching pieces from the collection instead of redoing everything. I don't think Kini really was listening though. This sit down wraps up with another trip to Mood for anyone who wants to go and get fabric for another look.

Amanda stays and chooses to just edit her looks. Sean goes to buy some great orange fabric in order to get in one non-fringe based look. Kini and Char buy a lot of fabric in order to make a lot of looks, and the divide between the remaining designers is established. The amount of work that needs to be done on Char and Kini's collection seems to ensure that they won't be in the running. Or at least that Kini will rush through and pull a collection together in two days and achieve this Rocky style come back in the 11th hour that will make this the single most dramatic PR finale ever. Which is clearly what the judges and producers are hoping for. We'll see how well it plays out.

Everyone gets to work and Tim comes in to consult once more. When he's meeting with Kini, he says to him, “That’s already looking youthful.” And Kini responds with “And that’s what they want to see.”This brings up another possibility for what the show could (but certainly shouldn't) be, which is just a vehicle for the judges to get what they want to see and wear placed into collections and onto the runway at NYFW. The judges' comments to Kini weren't about trying to get him to create the best looks he was capable of within the scope of his own personal vision; they were about shifting his collection to fit a set of circumstances that they themselves would prefer. Or at least I think that that's true. The result is a collection that I don't feel as though he fully believes in. It's cute and sexy but some of the looks don't scream Kini to me. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

Tim tells Char everything she does should be done in an hour. It reminds me of the one hour run off she had against Korina and I said much the same thing after that moment; she’s better off working in one hour than she is over the course of an entire challenge.And it's an accurate point as I think the two brand new looks are the best in the collection. They still seem to butt heads over some of the earlier looks that Tim thinks should be scraped all together and she ends up using one of them anyway because if she didn't, she wouldn't have a full collection. Not surprising since she doesn't really deserve to be here at this point, but hey. That ship is sailed, I guess. 

Another moment in trying to bring the best NYFW runway that they can is found in Kini and Char having to have new consultations with hair and makeup. Don't get me wrong, I think this would have been an element either way, but when Tim tells the group that they're doing so, he specifies that Char and Kini will need this because of how unhappy the judges were with their styling. So it left me wondering if this is more about PR trying to protect its brand than it is about getting these designers' visions out there in a pure form. If that was really what the show wanted to be about, they'd allow the first time the judges see any of the clothes to be during the NYFW runway. So you get to the point where you see that after 13 seasons, PR is used to putting on good shows at fashion week and they aren't going to risk that streak by putting down a collection they haven't vetted first. I'm not a fan of this. 

So onto Fashion Week where the point of the show tends to be about the chaos of putting on a show like this. It's about shining a light on the dark aspects of the fashion industry and the kinds of drama that happen in the background. We've seen it all at this point, so the major drama of one of Amanda's models having changed shoes on her own rings a bit light. No one spills anything on a dress, no article of clothing is lost, the best they could come up with is a model wearing different shoes. It turns out the shoes Amanda gave her to wear were too small and she just went with her own. After a quick swap with a pair that fits, the crisis is averted and we're back to being a bit bored. In a lot of ways, this is the perfect microcosm of the season as a whole: when there's nothing there from the designers to give us drama, we'll make something small and basic into something huge and melodramatic. So good job on that one guys. 

New York Fashion Week:

Amanda's Collection: I will say that the only look where I think the jewelry is front and center and really noticeable is the last one. But that doesn’t take anything away from the rest of the collection. Perfectly cohesive, the use of color is jaw dropping, the cut outs and the amount of skin is always tasteful and sexy and worth it, and the pattern looks are all great as well. It feels original and beautiful. The looks I don’t care for are the shorts looks. Although I recognize that it’s good to mix things up and not have dresses or skirts on everything, the shorts just didn’t work for me much. Everything else is just great. 

Char’s Collection: Her third look is great. I like the forth look too. Both of these are the looks she threw together last minute. The last look is something I think rides the line. It’s almost tasteless, but it’s also almost elegant. I want to like it, but I don't. Overall I think we can see the cohesion better in the full collection than we could in the mini collection she sent down last time, but it’s still not very good. And the look that she calls the most “Char” is really simple and right-off-the-rack-boring. She shouldn’t be here, but what more can we say that hasn’t been said thus far? Also each look with that expensive Rome fabric was horrible. 

Kini’s Collection: I want to like the second look so much, but I hate it. The open back details are nice and the cut of them is unique. The shoulder pads look is way way better in this version than it was with the coat. But overall, I do not like this collection. And he used the umbrella cut of his rainway skirt a lot more often here to mixed results. The one look that had it on the top was really just…no I hated it. I’m not a fan of this.

Sean’s Collection: I don’t know what to say about this. To start off with that stark white look which is so crisp and clean and just wonderful, the transitions are just perfect, the dart of fringe on the back of that white look that I didn’t like in the mini collection out of context works so much better here as you see it transition into the the full orange look. I still don’t care for the first fringed black pants look, but there’s a much better version of that dress later on in the collection that has fringe all around instead of just on the front. The full orange look that he created after going to Mood is just sheer perfection; it perfectly matches the wonderfully draped white look from earlier. And the final look is breathtaking and perfect. It is still a lot of fringe, but I’m not going to fault him for that. Sean’s my clear winner after these collections. 

 Emily Rossum is my all time favorite guest judge on this show, and she actually has the remark that gets at the heart of what I think the show should be about. She says, in talking about why she thinks Sean should win, that for her this show is about finding the next great voice in fashion. So you should be looking for someone innovative and unique. The judges comments make it pretty clear that this is between Amanda and Sean. The judges compliment him on his fun and unique vision, and they compliment her for her brand ambitions. To those ends, I do think Amanda is great for that. If we've ever seen anyone with an aesthetic that could be brand marketing ready, it's Amanda.

The judges have polite things to say about Char's use of color and how fun her own personal style is, and by extension how fun her clothes can be when she brings that personal style into her designs. They praise the hoodie and black and white looks as the two best in the collection, reaffirming the way she seems to thrive under the pressure of time constraints, but that's about it. 

As for Kini, they are at least happy with how much sexier the collection is, and everyone's impressed with how quickly he pulled these looks together, but they're still split on a lot of the looks. They seem to think he's not editorial enough and allows his designs to get away from him. Emily at least likes the coffee filter top look, but no matter how much she compliments it, I hate it. The key comments that I responded to here were about how much he needs an editing eye. I think if they had said that during the mini collection more than "It isn't sexy enough" I would have been on their side a little bit more. 

So the debate after the designers leave the runway is about does the Brand Ready designer get the win, or does the designer with the most refreshing and interesting voice get the win? And the fun part about it to me was that there wasn't really a wrong answer. If you're judging based on these collections, Sean and Amanda both equally deserve to win. If we judge by the competition as a whole, then I think it's more between Sean and Kini, but that's neither here nor there. In the end, Sean is crowned the champ of PR season 13, and I'm happy with it. Granted I'm happy because I think he's cute and I'm far more interested in jumping his bones after he wins than after he comes in second place, I mean who wants to sleep with a loser, amirite? But this was one season where I honestly think PR did well to leave themselves in a position where either outcome could have been celebrated. This won't go down as the best season in Runway history. There was a serious lack of talent that we talked about often enough in these threads. But I do think that the three most talented people from the season found themselves in the finale, and I think the winner was chosen with an emphasis on effecting the future of fashion and the design world, and that's certainly something I think we can all be proud of. 

Final Thoughts:

--In case anyone was wondering, I won't be watching the reunion episode. i never do and have no interest in starting now with these boring people. If anyone else wants to do so and wants to writeup a review of it, I'd say let Julius know and that could be worked out? 

--Speaking of things that won't be watched, we had a discussion about PR Threads last week, where did everyone fall on that? Will you watch it, won't you? If you do watch it, is it something we should should be reviewed on here? I haven't fully decided yet, but I'm thinking I might at least check out the first episode. Maybe we can write it up and see what kind of response it gets to determine if we keep going?

--The Mood cashier asks Sean, “No fringe today, huh?” He really has become Fringe Man hasn’t he? In my Mood based fanfiction, there's a constant office pool going on each day about how much fringe Sean is going to but during his next visit. 

--Within the episode there were a lot of contestant retrospectives as they looked back over their time on the show. It all felt like a cheap way to fill out the time. 

--The overall theme from Heidi's responses to everyone was "I liked some things, but didn't like some others." I was like, yeah, no shit, it's a 10 piece collection. When was the expectation that every single piece would be loved start, because I don't recall that ever really happening.

Project Runway: S13 E13: "Finale Part 1"

Ok here we are at the first part of the Finale, AKA the most boring episode in the show's run. Don't get me wrong, meeting family and loved ones can be fun, and the early looks at collections are always nice, but no one goes home, no one wins, nothing really happens in this episode. I don't think I want them to scrap it because its a PR staple, but I wouldn't mind them making it a bit more interesting if possible.

Along those lines, the designers are sent to Rome for three days for inspiration. Needing to be inspired by The Eternal City is an expectation for the collection, but it doesn't feel like a real parameter for a challenge. In the case of Amanda and Sean, I think the inspiration is palpable. Kini and Char's collections feel like something they would have done even without the trip overseas. And no one is ever criticized for not being Rome enough, so there's that. This season lacks the element of needing an unconventional materials look that we saw last season, and I don't know if that's a good or a bad thing. I guess it just kind of "is" at the end of the day.

The trip to Rome is rather uneventful, but it fills the time better than the meetings with families does. The designers get the equivalent of a high school book report on the city and the sites therein from Tim. It was cute, but I was left thinking "Yes, Tim, we know. We took social studies in high school too!" There are a couple of touching moments as Tim sits with each of them and asks them about what's coming up next. Sean's need for a design space before he even gets into thinking about what to design is compelling, but not overly dramatic. I think we all knew he'd have a space in enough time to have looks put out before Tim comes a callin'. During lunch, Tim looks at Char and asks what it's like to be the only designer left who has never won. It felt a lot like "Hey Char, how does it feel to be a loser?"

Other than that, nothing much happens. The group goes to the single most expensive fabric store on the face of the earth, but no one is required to buy fabric there. Tim convinces Char to spend a bunch of money on some of the ugliest fabric you'll ever see, but whatever I guess. Not that I'm suggesting he's trying to punish her for forcing him to explain why he used his save on her or anything. Because I don't think Tim would do such a thing. But you guys can make up your own minds about that.

The big shock from the home visit is that Kini doesn't actually have an entire collection or two created already. He says he hit a wall when he first got back and has been slowly working past it and doing what he does best: well constructed denim. The few pieces he does have are great, so I don't think he has anything to worry about. Kini's family is adorable. And Tim Gunn does a hip roll. I can now die happy, Runaways. Honestly, I don't know that I didn't die and this is just my ghost writing the review.

Char and Amanda's visits are kind of similar in how simple and boring they are. Tim points out moments in both collections where things bump up against being a bit too much or a bit too costume and tell the girls to scale it back where needed. Amanda's designed and had someone create a lot of really nice jewelry that accents her pieces exceptionally well. But she's looking like she's bit off a little more than she can chew. Char's looks don't appear to have much direction or anything to say, but that's to be expected.

Sean's visit starts with a clean shaven Sean having a skype date with his parents, then cuts to a grizzled looking Sean in a confessional and then waiting for Tim. The cutting of these two scenes is really weird and seeing these two versions of his face in scenes that are supposed to take place in the same day (he tells his parents that he's got a meeting with Tim that day) is very jarring. Also, Sean shouldn't try to grow a beard. Let it go buddy. He tells Tim his Rome inspiration is about the betrayal Caesar, and so his collection will progress from light to dark to murder. It's a great concept and a very unique thing to be inspired by, but I don't know about the execution at this stage. The first looks are boring. He keeps using the word "Bright" but the colors are just white and grey, so how is that "bright?" The transitional look and the looks of the murder are nice, but Tim points out that they don't seem to go together. Sean says he might have to scrap it all and start over, but I thought it was just an element of needing to pull aspects of the later designs into the earlier looks. Hopefully the elements he pulls through won't be fringe, but no promises.

Everyone gets back to New York and unpacks their collections and compliments and complains about each other as expected. There's hair and makeup stuff, and then the "surprise" that the judges want to see the looks before hand. Char says "In my mind, I’ve been thinking I’ll see the judges at fashion week" and again I wonder have you not watched the show before? Of course you're going to show a mini collection here, it's how the justify making this its own episode. 

The Runway:

Amanda

Look 1: The pop of the blue back literally made me OMG out loud. I love this. I love it because it doesn’t scream Amanda to me, which is a back handed compliment, I know, but still. The cut of the top isn’t my favorite, I feel as though it’s open in a way that feels messy or lazy instead of conceptual, but I also wonder how I’d feel about it on a less busty model.

Look 2: This one lives or dies by the print. I don’t see anything interesting in the design of the dress, but the print pops in a cute way. I can’t tell if I like it better from close up or from far away though.

Look 3: This one is probably my favorite because I like the color, I think the jewelry works well, and I really like the cut of the dress. Down towards the bottom it almost looks like they could be pants instead of a dress. I like the cohesion of the collection as far as these three pieces go. I also feel like it just doesn’t scream Amanda, which I like. Or at least it doesn’t give in to Amanda’s baser tendencies.

Sean

Look 1: hm…. I like how clean and simple it looks. I love the draping. I love it a lot when paired with the Caesar inspiration—it has a kind of toga feel that I appreciate. But I think that’s all the good things I can say about it. The orange fringe piece on the back looks very out of place without any context attached to it.

Look 2: I’d love this look 100x more without the fringe. I think the cut and tailoring on those pants and that top are to die for. The way the neckline plunges and then honestly plunges some more if you look closely at it is just brilliant. But I think the fringe is distracting and makes it feel like the look exists in a no man’s land between dress and pants that I don’t find flattering.

Look 3: This is fringe done right. Granted it’s fringe done the same was a he did Heidi’s red carpet look, but still. It’s the best use of it out of the three we’ve seen. The top I like from the front but don’t like from the back. I don’t know what that is called, but I hate it when tops are cut that way in the back, it looks horribly unpractical. But there’s a nice symmetry in those last two looks where the neck line plunges on the first but then the slit comes up from the bottom on the second. I like that. I’m not in love with these three looks, however. I think he could have done better.

Char

Look 1:  No. I hate it!

Look 2: This I like a lot. The shear fabric is perfect. I love the length of the dress for some reason, I don’t know why but that really stood out to me, and I think the two pieces (is it two pieces or just one?) really went well together. I also even like the bow on the shoulder, which I didn’t expect.

Look 3: Is the hemline elastic? It looks like it is a bit, or it’s just puckered in an odd fashion? Either way, I like this look except for the hemline. I’m going to question the cohesion of Char’s collection based on these three looks. I think the last two go together well, but the first one comes out of left field. I can’t bring myself to believe that the same girl is wearing all three of these.

Kini

Look 1: My breath is gone. I have no breath. The top is the best portion of this for me. It’s just so well constructed and everywhere I look I see something new and pleasing. The skirt is cute too though I don’t know how I feel about the one band that just going around the middle of it.

Look 2: Another out loud OMG moment here. I don’t even know where to start with this. I have never worn a dress in my entire life, but I want this for myself. Oh My God! It’s just perfect!

Look 3: Ok here’s the thing, I think this look is exactly what it should be. It’s bold, it says something, and it’s so Kini, but I hate shoulder pads. It’s a personal nitpicky thing, I know, but I hate them. So the boxiness of the top throws me a bit, but I don’t think that has to detract from the look overall. As for what these three looks say about the collection as a whole: they say that Kini will win this season. There’s no other option here. 

 So the judges are just here to offer a little feedback, no strings attached. They like Sean’s looks a little bit more than I do. Nina’s point about him being brilliant but not needing to narrow in on the Fringe is really accurate. I want to see more and everything from him too, and I know he can do it so it’s disappointing to see him narrowing his view. 

Heidi points out the lack of cohesion in Char's collection, and no one really has anything overtly positive to say about her looks in general. Nina hates the look that I actually like the most. But nothing here is surprising. They all tell her that the looks need a little more of her own personal style brought into them so we'll see how that works. 

I like Nina’s point about the jewelry on Amanda’s looks making the dresses look more expensive. And they want her to get rid of the second look which I find interesting. Or maybe at least shorten it? After I just complimented the length. Yikes. 

And then there's Kini... Every so often, I watch this show and I write these reviews and I admit to you guys that I know nothing about fashion. And this might be one of those moments, because in spite of all my glowing praise for Kini's looks (which I totally stand behind, mind you), the judges hate them. They make points about the styling, which I agree needs work, and they point out that he could do without the coat, which I have to agree with since it's my least favorite piece, but the rest of it? I felt like they didn't actually engage with the clothes themselves so much as talk about overall elements of the show and the outfits. So when they say the clothes aren't sexy enough...well what does that mean for the outfits themselves? I don't disagree with the point, I didn't look at any of the clothes he sent down and think to myself "WOW she looks sexy as hell!" but if his collection isn't meant to be sexy, is that a bad thing? Doesn't he have that right? The fact is the clothes are impeccable, the looks are gorgeous, and a lot of them are also really wearable. So why is he thrown under the bus so much for not fitting his looks into some kind of nebulous poorly defined idea of sexy? The only reason I can think of is that they all really like Kini and want to offer him responses that will push him to be even better. Also I'm betting the show wants to add more drama to the finale. So when Kini pushes through his stress and changes one or two looks and then gets the win, it'll be this great heroic kind of a thing. Either way, I find this highly problematic. His looks didn't deserve that kind of a reaction, and I for one feel like it might cheapen instead of enhance his eventual win because of just how staged it all feels. But that's just me.

The Eternal Thoughts:

--Sean in that sleeveless shirt in Rome did very funny things to me. Yummy!

--Amanda's boyfriend sitting on the porch swing waiting for Tim is the most staged thing on the face of the earth. 

--I was planning on pointing out the hypocrisy of complaining about Sean's fringe (which has clearly become his thing) but not complaining about Kini's use of denim, but since the judges didn't praise Kini's denim, or his anything for that manner, I guess it's moot. But honestly, do you guys think that's fair? Because even I have a problem with the abundance of fringe and the one way monkey (hahaha) aspect of it. But I also think that if that's going to be his signature, then there's no reason for him not to use it. Just like I think of Kini's denim.

--I felt like Amanda's looks don't feel like her, but I will say that the color blocking aspect of them did. And that's a good thing because I think that that's something she does well and that I don't mind seeing from her. 

--In the "previously on" segment, they show Korina's bitch fest again. They've done that for the last couple of episodes, and it's left me wondering if they aren't doing so in an attempt to poison the well for her amongst potential clients? It no longer has any bearing on the action going forward, so I'm left wondering why they feel the need to bring it up again and again.

Project Runway S13 E4: "A Suitable Twist"

Unfair:

adjective

1. not fair; not conforming to approved standards, as of justice, honesty, or ethics:

an unfair law; an unfair wage policy.

2. disproportionate; undue; beyond what is proper or fitting:

an unfair share.

Someone should remind the producers of Project Runway of this fact.  Because nothing screams unfair more than an undeserving designer picking fabric for everyone else in the competition. Is my selective memory acting up, or is this the first time we've ever done that on this show? It's also possible that my extreme hatred of Sandy plays a part in my anger over this development, but I find this to be horribly problematic. In their defense, pretty much every suit to choose from was equally unappealing, but in a challenge where a significant part of the expectation is to be "inspired" by the fabric you're choosing, how does it make any sense whatsoever to have someone else choosing your suit? Speaking as an artist, it's not easy to get inspired by something you have no say in. You can't just pop up with an image and ask me to get inspired to write a story about it over the course of one day. Maybe this would have worked better with more than one day; give the designers a little more time to mull over the looks they've been unfairly assigned and find something within it they can be passionate about. But under these circumstance? I think this left the deck unfairly stacked against some designers and it left a bad taste in my mouth. 

Now that we've got the rant out of the way; welcome back Runaways! The designers start with a trip to Red Robin, Yawn Yum! I don't know if it's simply because we don't have Red Robin's here in Florida, but I couldn't bring myself to be excited about this particular piece of product placement.

We're introduced to Jason Rusk who is someone with Red Robin. I wasn't paying much attention because I was too busy cooing over how little he is. At 6'1", I tend to really like short men (who am I kidding, I like tall men too, I really don't have a "type"), and as such I just found him so adorable. I wanted to put him in my pocket... ok things just got weird, let's get back to the challenge. Jason says something about putting a spin on something "as classic as a burger," so there's that, plus men in horrible suits which have to serve as inspiration and fabric, and the finished look has to be high fashion, and Sandy gets to choose everyone's suit because she won last week, and probably about 100 other things. Has anyone else noticed how convoluted the challenges have been lately? It feels like they all have multiple layers which tend not to have anything to do with each other, and never combine to make any sense.

Anyway, that's when the man candy comes out in horrible suits. Sandy chooses suits for everyone "based on their specific design aesthetics," and then everyone goes inside to sketch and eat free fries.  Much to my disappointment, the men didn't hang around the restaurant in their underwear after having the suites ripped off of them. Talk about missed opportunities. Then it's off to Mood for Swatch! Or I mean supplemental fabric. But really, are we even watching the show for any reason other than Swatch and HMG at this point?

I normally love Tim Gunn forever, and to be honest I still do, but I have a bone to pick with him over his workroom visit this go around: I feel like he's giving very bad advice. Admittedly, the first moment of bad advice proves to be my not having a full vision of what the finished product would be. But when he tells Amanda that the increase of fringe towards the bottom was a good idea, all I could think was Car Wash Crotch." Which shouldn't be the goal for anyone. But Amanda certainly pulls it out by the end and I had to eat my words. On the other hand, however, when he meets with Sean, and sees the tragic mistakes he's making, never once does he offer any real advice that could potentially save the outfit. He tells him to go with the unfinished outside of the dress instead of the boring, but smooth, inside of it because it's more interesting. But never once does he voice a concern that this is a bad idea. I understand that Tim comes in close enough to the end of the day that scraping an entire look in favor of something new isn't feasible, and thusly he's mostly there to try and tell them how best to save or edit the looks they've already got, but we've seen him offer strong words of caution before and I don't feel like he did that here. And that he does it to my PR Crush of the season hurts my heart and had me panicking that Sean would be going home and I'd have to write the review through tears.

On to the runway: Bethany Mota is guest judge this week, take from that what you will.

Korina: I think it’s beautiful. I don’t think it’s really innovative to conflate “edge” with “leather,” I’d like to think that time is behind us, but with that being said, it’s clean cut, the color is beautiful, the slit in the skirt is sexy, I really like the belt, and it’s wearable.

Char: This feels more like high fashion to me. It’s nice, I like the dramatic neck and the bow on the hip. I’m not jumping up and down about it, but I like it. 

Fade: I think the textile is beautiful, but I also think it could be the sort of thing that’d make someone a little dizzy looking at it. It’s nice, but the entire cut of the look just screams “safe” to me.

Samantha: Who the hell is Samantha as a designer? Nothing I’ve seen from her sticks out in my memory thus far, and this look tells me nothing at all. I find this to be offensively boring.

Hernan: Very unflattering placement of the V (pun intended), and the look feels very costume. Get rid of the V (I think only a gay man would say that) and it’s at least an OK costume. I think this is purely a Taste Level issue. It's not hideous, it's just tasteless. And that's not the first time I've felt that way about his designs.

Alexander: I think Alexander has redeemed himself, though I don’t think it would have taken much for him to have done so after last week. At least this proves he has an aesthetic and is capable of design. I think the skirt is a little boring, but the design elements of the top feel High Fashion. I also really like his model’s styling. Good job.

Mitchell: The interesting this about this look to me is that I never would have guessed it came from Mitchell if I just saw it on the runway. I don’t think it’s great, it’s got a costume feel to it too, and outside of that it’s a little boring. But I don’t think it’s the worst thing I’ve ever seen either.

Sean: Oh my poor Aussie baby. This was just… no. The top is too simple (though it’s certainly better than what he had before), the skirt looks messy and unfinished, nothing about this says high fashion. I hope he’s safe, and I think I can make the argument that this is another example of a designer with the deck stacked against him doing the best he can with what he’s given, but this was just bad.

Kristine: The fit on those pants is just horrible. But she recognizes that, so I don’t feel the need to throw her under the bus much. For all the drama about her and Korina doing the same jacket (and Korina’s bitchy “nice jacket” comment is just perfect), I think they still look like two different looks. It turned out to be nbd. I do like this jacket though, the horrible fabric notwithstanding.

Amanda: Ok allow me to say that I actually do like this look, and I do think that the fringe saves it in a lot of ways. She certainly pulls it out, and I respect that. But when I look at it, it immediately puts me in mind of her Unconventional Materials look, and that makes me hate it a little bit.

Kini: I almost, kind of, mostly love this look. There’s something really odd going on with the hemline in the front. And I think there are construction issues with the skirt as well. But the design is beautiful and I really like the sleeves (I didn’t think I would) and I love the back. For having so much time given how fast he was going, you’d think he could have cleaned up the construction a little more.

Sandy: I’m so done with this woman. I don’t hate the top if I’m being honest, but I do hate the rest of it. Get the fuck off of my show!

Emily: She’s quickly becoming one of my favorite designers to be honest. I love every aspect of this: skirt, pants, top, all beautiful, well designed, and well-tailored.  

Kini, Amanda, and Alexander are in the top, and Sean, Kristine, and Hernan are in the bottom. How Emily is just safe blows my mind, and again we're set up for an episode where a deserving designer isn't going to win. But it's compounded by the possibility that my man might lose. And to be honest, his look this week is really horrible and probably deserves to lose. I also think his defense of the look is a little condescending. If he'd simply gone with more of a "I did the best I could to be innovative with a suit and a fabric that I never would have touched in my life if I could have avoided it," I think it would have made more sense. I'm sorry, but I really do feel like the designers hands were tied in a lot of ways by their "inspiration" being chosen for them. Nothing can excuse Hernan's final look, perhaps, but how do you really justify sending someone home when they were forced to work with a look that didn't speak to them and a fabric that they couldn't work with. No matter what the judges say when they touch Hernan's dress, if the fabric wasn't his choice, it wasn't his choice. All of it comes back to doing the best you can with what's handed to you; which might sound fair, and in some ways I understand that everyone's at least got some of the same restrictions, but everything about this feels wrong to me.

In any event, Amanda wins, which gives us 2 different winners over the course of 4 episodes, and I mean, really judges? Are you even fucking trying anymore? And Hernan goes home allowing Sean one more shot to redeem himself. Sean's look is easily the worst of the night, but typically when it's just poor construction vs bad taste, poor construction tends to win out. I only hope he can have an Alexander type turn it around moment next week and rocket to the top where he belongs. (Insert joke about him being a top here)

Stray Observations:

--This is also another place where I think Angela holding her team back in the unconventional challenge hurts everyone. The judges say something about never seeing any imagination from Sean, but I feel like had they been able to talk to him and Fade during that week, they wouldn't feel that way. But instead they were judged as a group and we're still feeling the aftermath of that. 

--I'm sad that Hernan went home because this felt like the first time we got to see fully bitchy Hernan, and I loved every minute of it! His calling everyone a bitch, and his catty behavior, which I thought was more friendly to at least everyone who wasn't Sandy, was just so much fun! I laughed so much and wanted more of him. 

--Do we really honestly think Sandy picked those suits trying to match up contestants aesthetics as best she could, or is that just the company line? I tend to think intention matters in most places, but I don't know if it does here. If she really does think that that's the suits most of them would have chosen themselves, then she's insane. And if she doesn't feel that way, then she's a jerk. 

--I know most people hate Korina, but I think I love her. Her "Great jacket" snide to Kristine and the look on her face when everyone in the greenroom was saying they loved that jacket were just priceless. Shade 101.

--What's the over/under on how long we can all stomach watching this season if the judging doesn't get better?

--Also, I almost forgot to draw attention to Jack Mackenroth (he was a contestant way back in season 4) and the awesome work he's been doing with HIV awareness.

--And also, I fully expect Julius to let us know what the designer vote break down was for this episode. I'm very curious about these developments every week. Not having cable sucks, but downloading the episodes and watching them sans commercials and over the course of like an hour 15 minutes really does make them far more enjoyable.