"Make it work!" - Project Runway 3

Tonight's the night! Who's gonna get the axe????

 

I wonder if we'll lose two people tonight? Because if someone gets kicked off because of the rule violation, and then they have a runway elimination too...

 

I know, I'm curious about that too.

 

Well, I certainly wouldn't weep if Keith got the boot.
But really, I'm just glad we are now within mere HOURS of the suspense being over!

 

I never got around to my critique of last episode, and we are already hours away from the new one, so here goes:
http://www.bravotv.com/Project_Runway/rate/season/3/episode/3/results

Uli: I was torn between Alison's white poodle ensemble and Uli's mad print combo.
First of, some of the contestants this season are such sewing energizer bunnies.
How did Uli have time to fashion a perfectly tailored jacket, a lovely dress AND the cute doggie outfit with lettering/message. Other contestants struggle to get a sleeveless dress done, and she is churning out jackets with sleeves. I think Uli is a strong contender for the top 3.

Alison: Tres Chic and well executed, and again a dress, jacket and doggie outfit all on such a short deadline.

Michael: The tan dress worked really well with the cute as a button tan doggie. And the crisscross detailing was neat. But why are they not showing Michael working on his garments and Tim talking with Michael? Stop overlooking Michael, I want to see more of him and his designs.

Kayne: Very cute, but it reminded me a bit of Nick's My Scene Barbie Dress. But again, kudos on sewing up a fully lined jacket in such a short time.

Laura: Again, how is she churning out perfectly tailored jackets in such a short time frame? I don't know if Laura has the scope to be a mainstream fashion house designer, but she certainly could design for a house that specializes in tasteful ladies that lunch: frocks and suits. And why was she so skittish around her adorable doggie? She has what 5 kids, and that doggie was much cleaner than a baby with a diaper that needs changing.


Keith: What an arrogant SOB. If you received a commission to design an outfit for dog and owner, and only deliver a dress; you would either not get paid for the work or have a huffy customer demanding a dog outfit before payment. And he lied when he said he made several dog outfits and decided against them. He had that "I know better than everyone" attitude. You know dude, if you really knew better, you would already have your own line, or your own business. So stop all the posturing and posing, and just follow the challenges. And the thing is, if he had made an outfit for the dog, he could have won, his dress was great. But I'm rooting for Keith to be the one that gets kicked off, just because he is sucking up air (and airtime) that the other designer could be putting to better use.

Bradley: Wow, what was with him? He had a meltdown and forgot how to sew. I was glad that his model let him know she didn't want to be eliminated from the show by his spazing out and not making a garment. He pulled it together, but I didn't think his blouse was all that.

Robert: A perfectly nice Chanelish outfit, but nothing new.

Jeffery: Wow a beautiful dress, and cute pants outfit for the dog. Why does he do all that deconstructed junk, when he can do this?

Bonnie: Was she even in this episode? Why are they not showing her?

Vincent: He spent too much time on the cute doggie outfit, and not enough time on the garment. He should have worked the b/w dot fabric into the tunic. The outfit was meh.

Katherine: Her layered green dress was not that bad and her hoodie for the dog was supper cute. I don't think she should have been out. And if she had completed the hoodie for the model (like Tim suggested) she probably would not have been out.

Angela: She is this season's "are the judges blind, why are they keeping that designer?" . Angela has done nothing to impress and should have been out already.

 

I just want to chime in about staying away from the dogs..

I have not heard ANYTHING (this is PURELY my speculation) about the dog issue- but I will give my analysis (since it is how I am).. I am allergic to dogs, think they are cute, but need to stay away from them (or suffer the consequences later).. perhaps that is why she stayed away from the dogs in the episode for as long as possible before getting hers..

Jen

 

According to Tim's podcast, Laura was even done early and was napping! It does seem like half the group this time is super ambitious and super-talented to get these things done on time!

Apparantly also, Katherine didn't have time to do a hoodie for the model. It's too bad. She shouldn't have been out. Angela should have!

 

I bet Angela skates by again tonight too because they are going to be working in teams and she has strong members on her's that will probably save her, getting her by to the next round.

 

My EP 2 PR sum up
http://www.bravotv.com/Project_Runway/rate/season/3/episode/2

Kayne & Robert: I thought they would have to bring out the smelling salts for Kayne when they announced the challenge. But have to give Kayne credit, he did not approach the challenge like it was a slam dunk (which is always a sure way to loose and loose big). The choice of fabric was great, it was not earth tone, but it worked with the jeweled collar. I was debating between Uli & Bonnie's dress and Kayne & Robert's, but Kayne's design just had more of a "wow" factor.

Uli & Bonnie: Beautifully simple and nice take on earth tones, good flow on the runway, but not just a bit too understated for a TV pageant.

Keith & Bradley: A nice dress but too simple a design to have any impact for an evening gown competition.

Laura & Michael: Elegant, beautifully constructed and Laura & Michael seemed to work really well together. But didn't Miss USA say she didn't want white?

Jefferey & Alison: A wrinkled mess, enough already with the deconstructed stuff.

Vincent & Angela: An iffy design with crap construction. And the worst teamwork. They failed both parts of the challenge, and either Vincent or Angela should have been out.

Malan & Katherine: What was Malan thinking? Maybe his concept was more interesting than the final product with heavy bodice and too short a hem. But they didn't fail on teamwork, so still think Vincent & Angela should have gone. Would have like to see more of Malan, even though he was kind of smarmy.

OK, now I'm caught up and ready for tonight's ep !!!!!!

 

(This might be spoilerish if you haven't seen it yet....)






Well...I thought it was obvious who would win between the two top teams because they surely weren't going to award the outfit of the designer who got kicked off for breaking the rules. Too bad because I preferred his look over the winning one.

Allison and Jeffry did a great job! Loved those pants.

Angela was lucky she had such good team members, that's all I have to say about her. Laura was cracking me up with her comments about the 'granny circles'.

I was surprised at Robert's look. It didn't work for me at all.

Concerning who got kicked off early:
I had read that he left the production for a while without a camera crew and that it was against the rules to do that, but I had no idea about the books. Did he actually just have them in plain sight of everyone in their apartment? Not too smart.
So long to that tricky guy.

 

Yeah, I didn't like what he said about having more "tricks up his sleeve" - uh, it's called cheating. He cheated in the fabric store too, getting the sales person to give him a deal. Between that, the books, and his disappearance and probably internet usage...

I thought Laura was funny too - her and Michael horrified over the embellishments Angela wanted. It's not thanks to her that the outfit looked good!

 

Yeah, I think Angela really has her teammates to thank for her win. If she'd been left to her own devices-- yikes. Laura and Michael were great about toning her crazy stuff down. And man alive, does Laura make gorgeous jackets. Someday maybe we'll see if she can do anything else! *g*

Glad to see the back of Keith. "Bending the rules," my-- er, my left foot. It's called *cheating,* moron.

 

Wow...with as exhausted as I've been this week I didn't think I'd be able to catch the show last night. Lucky for me I woke up at 1am and got to see it anyway. Spoilers ahead for those that didn't see it...





Wow...a night of surprises! Keith DID have the books out in plain sight. Plus the "illegal" internet surfing and absence off camera were all reasons Tim gave for Keith's dismissal. I really felt bad for Jeff and Alllison as that was not really their "vision" but they really pulled it together quite well despite the fact that they lost their "team leader". And despite the fact that Keith said he didn't USE the books...you have to wonder how a guy that had never made a dress before won the first challenge.

BIGGEST shocker of all was ANGELA -- see she DID know "how" to sketch...and she apparently is smart enough to learn from her last mistake that you can't just talk to your client and expect them to get your vision. But that babble about "sunrise over the Empire State Building" yeah...whatever blah blah blah and what was with the excitement over that lining print? Is that print CALLED "Empire State Building" or something because I didn't really see the connection.

Secondly, I was shocked to see Angela was intelligent enough pick team mates that worked well together already and had a real knack for construction. But thank GOD that Laura was there to "reign in" Angela's stupid "signature rosettes" - she's gonna HAVE to give that up soon because they just look like rejects from a kids' Summer camp project! UGH And I'm pretty sure she would have used the PRINT fabric for them too had not Laura and Michael stopped her from "hanging herself".

I was disappointed in Robert's outfit but in his defense, it really did look like the sketches he presented. Though, I can't see wearing an Anorak jacket with a skirt and blouse as an actual "outfit" you would market together. He erred on the "conservative" side. But I think he's about to make a break out. What do you think the "icon" is they are "modernizing" next week? If it's Barbie...he's GOLDEN! LOL

Well, that's two down...looks like things are just getting more and more exciting!

 

SPOILER.....



YES! You can't be that arrogant and obstinate and not have it kick back at you.

 

Tim's podcast is on the Bravo site and he tells the whole story, even the off-camera stuff:

http://www.bravotv.com/_content/projectrunway/podcasts/Project_Runway_Tim_Gunn_Podcast_304.mp3

 

That was a great podcast from Tim this week. Keith really did dig a hole for himself which sucks because I really did enjoy his designs. If the pants Jeffry made from Keith's design last night were for sale I'd order them in a heartbeat.

 

http://www1.macys.com/campaign/runway.jsp?bhcp=1
INC International Concepts® Project Runway Cropped Jacket
$129.00
INC International Concepts® Project Runway Trouser
$89.00
INC International Concepts® Project Runway Ruched-Sleeve Tee
$39.00

Wonder if this stuff will make it to the INC sale rack? I actually like it.
I only buy stuff from INC when it hits 60 to 75% off (and maybe a extra 10% off on a one day sale) I recall getting a suede INC skirt for like $12 !

Note: the Macy*s site only credits Angela for the design. It should say Angela and her design team of Laura and Michael. That outfit was a team effort and w/o Laura and her tailoring skills, the jacket would not look so good. Angela doesn't seem to do crisp tailored.

 

Agreed. I daresay the entire ensemble would look much different if Laura and Michael had not been involved.

 

Yeah, giving Angela full credit for the outfit is lame!

Here are two intesting articles:

First an interview with Bonnie:

http://www.ew.com/ew/report/0,6115,1222433_3_0_,00.html

Here are a few highlights from it:

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Not to be all Tim Gunn or anything, but what happened there with your three-piece vision?
BONNIE DOMINGUEZ: It was a group challenge, so it always comes down to the team leaders, and I completely misinterpreted the dossier. I was thinking of the consumer as a conservative woman. I don't really go to Macy's. I think of them as more conservative.

Yeah, I don't exactly think couture when I think Macy's. Sometimes they lean a little more toward the tacky side of fashion.
Exactly. I didn't want to say that. Based on the information they gave me, I thought it was appropriate. The final garment looked almost exactly like the sketch.

And as much as I loved Keith's team's design, I thought there's no way those items would sell well at Macy's. There seemed to be a disconnect. They were designing for Barney's, and yet they almost won.
Yeah, H&M, Target, Barney's, I understand. It's a hip brand. In the dossier it said it was for women all over the United States. Obviously she's not a size 2. I was designing a look that would be appropriate for all women. I didn't think it was as terrible as Nina Garcia said. Obviously someone is delusional ? me or Macy's.

Were you all shocked that Angela, who's been mocked week after week, won the challenge?
The thing about Angela's team and Keith's team was they designed for themselves rather than listening to the dossier. Robert's team and my team were designing for the consumer. We obviously missed the mark, but I don't see women in the Midwest that are bigger bodied wearing a cropped jacket any time soon. I'm curvy. I would never wear a cropped jacket, and I'm young and funky.

And another Entertainment Weekly commentary on the episode that was interesting:

http://www.ew.com/ew/article/commentary/0,6115,1222429_3_0_,00.html

 

Um, INC and Macy*s are a sponsor of this season of PR and Bonnie didn't scurry out to Macy*s (the second she got the word she was a finalist), to see what INC clothing looks like? Didn't she watch previous season of PR where Banana Republic was a sponsor and see that they did a BR design challenge?

I know the INC line (in fact I worked at Macy*s while I was in collage) ,and it's the only clothing I buy in Macy*s, except for big name designer clothing (on supper final clearance).
http://www1.macys.com/catalog/index.ognc?CategoryID=3481&PageID=3481*1*24*-1*-1&kw=INC%20International%20Concepts&LinkType=EverGreen

The INC clothing line is fairly fashion forward and body conscious and is located on the women's floor (not Junior floor) They also do a Plus Size and Petites line.
The line will have several color stories and if you pick ANY top and ANY bottom piece with in the story you can't go wrong; kind of like fashionable Granimals for adults (do they still make those coordinated Granimals clothes for kids?)

How Bonnie got the idea that INC was for big bodied Midwestern customers is beyond me. Maybe she had it confused with their Style & Co. line ?
http://www1.macys.com/search/results.ognc?Keyword=style&sortOption=*&resultsPerPage=24&Action=searchdrilldown&attrs=Brand%3ABRAND%3AStyle+%26+Co.|

Bonnie should look at the size model they use for INC vs. Style & Co. The INC models are much slimmer. I'm a size 2 to size 4 live in NYC and wear clothing from INC. So I guess I'm part of the customer base they are targeting. Bonnie's sketch looked great, but the end result garments could be worn by Bea Arthur in a Maude episode.

 

How Bonnie got the idea that INC was for big bodied Midwestern customers is beyond me. Maybe she had it confused with their Style & Co. line ?

She did say that the dossier that they got said the garmet was supposed to be something any women could wear, which would seem to include big bided Midwestern customers.

Admittidly, I missed the beginning of the episode so I didn't actually see the challenge introduced.

 

YAY! Keith is gone!! To think he would think that he could get away with crap like that.

I have to agree with Bonnie's impression of the challenge, that any woman should be able to wear this outfit. I didn't really like her finished outfit, but I can agree with her that I would never be able to wear a cropped jacket and not look ridiculous. Anyways, while I've never been to Macy's, the description they were given should have been thorough enough to get the desired result.

That is horrible that Angela is the only person credited with designing that outfit! She would have killed that outfit had she worked on her own. I do like how Laura and Michael got her to use those stupid little rosettes in a good way since she insisted on making them. In this case they came out nicely. I couldn't help but laugh when she mentioned that those details were her "signature rosettes", I know there must be someone out there that does the same thing and is upset their idea is being stolen lol. I didn't really like her design concept and for me I couldn't see the whole Empire State Building thing she kept talking about.
Definitely happy to see more of Michael this episode!! =)

In general I don't like these team challenges. If the judges are only looking at the runway to decide who leaves, that's not really fair. Even if they are told about the teamwork they still don't see it themselves. I like working on things by myself though anyways so I guess that's part of why I see it that way.

I also think it's fun to see some of the past challenges left on dress forms around the work room. =)

 

Maggie, I love the second commentary you linked! ("Lesson no. 1: never screw with a Southern pageant queen." LMAO!) Does he write regular episode commentaries? I need to read them.

 

I liked that commentary too, Jaina! I'll have to see if they've done past ones!

I don't know anything about INC or Macy's - I never shop there. Nor am I a 2-4 - so while I didn't love Bonnie's outfit, I probably wouldn't be in the market for a cropped jacket or skinny leg jeans either.

 

Katherine, who was booted after the dog challenge, is doing some of the challenges on her own, with the same budget and time - and I actually thought the one that is up there now is fun to watch - it shows her drafting/draping, and sewing - and it's fun to see how other people work! You can check it out here:

http://www.katherinegerdes.com/