Project Runway, Season 10, Episode 12: Avant Grrrrrr!

Greetings, Project Runway Fans!

This week, I only caught the last half of the show.  As far as I was concerned, that's the only half I really needed to watch.  The judging on this show and the ultimate results infuriated me to the point where I had no desire to go back and watch the rest.  So if my theories on what happened seem a bit hackneyed, so be it.

This week was a return of the avant garde challenge.  Project Runway has done this before and just about every single time, I get frustrated beyond belief.

Avant garde means "advance guard" or "vanguard."  The term was first applied to art in a French essay written in 1825. There have been many avant garde movements in visual art, literature, theatre, and music over the centuries.  The term most often describes art for art's sake, applications of form over function, or any artistic expression that challenges conventions.

Sophie Tauber-Arp, 1920's

Alexander McQueen - Fall 2008, Maxi dress with cape

And on Project Runway, it usually means "design the most outlandish thing you can make in one day...."  unless it doesn't.  Let's take a stroll down memory lane.

Remember this Chris March/Christian Siriano dress from season 4?  The designers were in teams and had to create an outfit based on their model's hairdo.  This was the only challenge that was vague enough to allow the designers a complete flight of fancy.  The challenge occurred late enough in the season so that the strongest designers were left.  The results, as you can see above, were spectacular.  Even the runner-up, designed by Victorya and Jillian (in a much argued decision) was top notch.

But then...Project Runway started fiddling around with themes and this is where things started going downhill for this challenge.  Remember the Zodiac challenge in Season 5?

Blaine's...outfit still gives me nightmares!

Next year, they tried it again...only on the beach this time.  Most viewers would have picked Chris and Logan's outfit for the win.

But Nina Garcia fell in love with a little neoprene dress that was dyed in the toilet.

We're STILL scratching our heads over this one.  Perhaps reeling from that outlandish result, the Project Runway producers retired this challenge until last year, when the designers were teamed up with students from the Harlem School of Art.  The designs were to be based on artwork on which the designer and artist worked together.

We can argue forever whether Anthony Ryan's dress is really avant garde, but it did successfully follow the brief of taking inspiration from the artwork without becoming too literal or costume-like.

And last year's All Stars did an avant garde challenge using lights.  The results were underwhelming, given that the throw-away "24-Hour Catwalk" did a one-day light challenge with three looks and a runway show that was way more spectacular.

Austin Scarlett's winning gown.

Which leads me to my four rules about Project Runway avant garde challenges:

1. If you give designers too much specific inspiration, they will concentrate more on the inspiration than they will on making something avant garde.

2. If you run this challenge too early in the season, the designers will just give you garbage.

3. If you don't give your designers enough resources in time and materials you will get garbage.

4. The judges need to have an intelligent definition of "avant garde" and not just judge how pretty or wearable something is.

So since none of that occurred, kindly toss discard everything I've written thus far.  Let's just get this week over with.

Dmitry

Dmitry concentrated on the cockamamie story that producers gave the designers about designing for some sort of queen.  Really, I'm not making this up.  The contestants were to design an avant garde outfit for a queen.  Whatever.

What would you, dear reader and Project Runway fan, have criticized about this outfit?

It's too safe, don't you think?  Except for some teeny tiny details that you cannot see BECAUSE THE DRESS IS BLACK, there is very little that says "avant garde" to me.

So I settled in to hear the judging. Michael Kors said that the collar and the shoulders were not exaggerated enough overdone.  Wait...overdone?  I will agree with everyone that this suit is impeccably made and the details are exquisite....but this outfit is in no away avant garde, except for the collar...maybe.

Melissa

I guess on Project Runway, avant garde = exaggerated collar.  It's the only thing that propels this look forward.  That's about it.  I thought the skirt was something of a mess.  Yes, she works miracles with leather and the outfit was well made, but the challenge was avant garde, in case anyone remembers or cares.

Christopher

Apparently, feathers = avant garde, too.

   

Someone should have told Kim in Season 9!

My point here is that a treatment that the judges thought was like a costume in Season 9 was not a costume in Season 10.  Yes, it was another beautifully designed outfit, but the challenge was to push the envelope and I don't think it was avant garde...but by now, it should be clear to you that avant garde is not the subject if this challenge.

Fabio

At some point during the judging, Michael Kors remembered that this was an avant garde challenge and when the other judges started piling on Fabio's outfit, he reminded them that Fabio actually followed the brief.

Fabio designed a polymorphic jacket.

Yay!  Polymorphic outfits rule!

This is the jacket flipped over.  While it was a nice gimmick, was it the entire outfit avant garde?  Look at Fabio.  He knows how to dress himself in a style that defies convention.  Why can't he translate that to a queen female model?

Sonjia

Sonjia suffered some kind of producer-manipulated fabric loss textile malfunction this week.  Because I refuse to go back and watch this episode, I cannot venture a guess as to whether this effected the outcome of the garment.

Michael Kors hated the green and the wrinkly, flesh colored material underneath.

Nina and Heidi debated whether her queen would wear green.  Because I refuse to go back and watch the first half of the show, their argument will forever remain one of the silliest judging exchanges I've ever watched.

It's a shame that she created an entire bodice from the light-weight illusion fabric.  That stuff really bunches up.  It would have been enough just use a little to hold the pieces in place.  It's also a shame that the back of the dress is so conventional.  Had she played with the shapes below the waist in some way to make it look like the entire dress was just folded fabric in strategic places, perhaps it would have been interesting enough for the judges.

So you know where I'm going with this.  Sonjia was given the boot this week.  Not only that, for some reason ONLY Sonjia was given the boot, so now the other four designers go to Fashion Week with another elimination to face.

Thing is, the judges agreed with me.  None of these looks really fulfilled the brief.  But no one really collapsed this week, either.  It was a five-way draw.  So the judges turned to the guest judge, Zoe Saldana and told her that it was nice that she joined them for the week, but they would proceed to judge the designers on past work.

After talking endlessly about what the designers did to date, they came back to the folded illusion on Sonjia's outfit.  Why the retrospective when it didn't really mean anything toward the outcome?  What would have been the problem with sending five to Fashion Week with two eliminations or giving both Sonjia and Fabio the......come to think of it, the optics of sending two designers of color home in the same week look pretty bad.

So there goes my favorite designer, Sonjia, from the competition.

Until next week's elimination before the Fashion Week show....

Project Runway, Season 10, Episode 11: Baby, Baby, Baby, Oh!

This is Project Humiliation!

Greetings, Project Runway fans!

This week's blog is posting a little late, due to a family trip to Italy.  Stay tuned to this blog for more of that later.

Project Runway is at its best when designers are utterly humiliated.  Designers have had to run laps around a gymnasium, pick through garbage, design outfits for each other, and beg complete strangers for money and clothes. This week, the humility came in layers, like a good collection of separates.

First layer: Promotional Product Placement for Heidi.

"This week, you'll be designing for my new line for babies and toddlers at Babies R Us!"

Heidi would pick a "girl outfit" winner and a "boy outfit" winner and sell the winning outfits in her collection.

It's so nice that Heidi produced a fabric design in honor of Project Runway contestants!

Second layer: Real people!

"Just what I wanted...another scratchy, designer outfit to drool on."

"Listen, designer dude...don't you go dressing me up in silk chiffon!"

Third layer....

"Just one more thing.  A little twist.  We've provided producer manipulated computer babies that you have to care for.  If you knew more about babies, we wouldn't have to do this."

Fabio had the most fun.

"I would make a good father."

I agree.  You'd be a much better father than Dmitry!

I realize that Dmitry understands the physical properties of fake babies and that they pretty much stay put wherever you put them...but...

"C'mon babies, let's make a break for it.  These designers have no idea what they're doing!"

Actually, Heidi, they didn't need to spend 24 hours with an infant to understand the special needs that mothers have with toddlers.  All they really needed was 20 minutes to dress a wriggly, fidgety toddler in clothes from Heidi's collection.  They would have immediately been grateful for velcro and snaps.  But then we wouldn't have precious moments like this.

Fourth layer: make an outfit for the mom, too, but this won't be part of the score.  It will just be another opportunity to see Chris work with chiffon.

However you feel about babies, children or parenthood, personally, you have to admit that children make up a huge portion of the fashion industry.  We were all babies, once and we all know people who are parents.  I have two kids of my own, born three years apart.  Between the first and the second, I was amazed at the new things designers created to make dressing the little tykes more interesting and fun.  

Both Heidi and Nina are moms, so wouldn't that be enough?  Apparently not.  Cue new mom, Hilary Duff.

So let's sit back and enjoy the show!

How cute is Arjun?

What a cutie pie!  Dmitry was clearly inspired and produced a fun outfit.

Michael Kors said the pointy hood looked like a crayon.  And I thought the pants hiked up too much.  But as jumpers go, the bright color was cheerful and the car on the front was a strong, playful, graphic touch.

And it cleverly zips open, creating a cape-like effect.

Michael: "It looks too much like a superhero's cape."
Nina: "Kids like pretending they are superheroes."

Fabio came oh, so close this week.  Bobby was so full of personality and energy.  Fabio also went for a one-piece and after advice from Heidi to make it more whimsical, he went full-bore with a unique take on a nautical design.

With colorful designs on the front and back as well as a cute outfit for mom, Fabio was a real contender this week.  I loved the outfit but just wish that the pants were a little longer.

My girl, Sonjia channeled her boyfriend this week and made an outfit that he would probably like wearing...because all men are really just grown-up boys.

"We're so totally ready to crash P-Diddy's party, Mom!"

And that was just the runway.  Then came the judging.

He's got the royal, princely wave down pat.

Gotta love that.  Sonjia made an outfit that was as soft as a sweatshirt but with the addition of a collar, pockets and elbow patches, made it look as formal as a suit.  It could be dressed up with a plain undershirt or dressed down, as she did, with a t-shirt made from Heidi's monster fabric.  She was the "boy outfit" winner.

Nancy was very opinionated, for some reason (cough, producer manipulation, cough...)  She wanted a white jacket with 3/4 length sleeves made from non-dyed and chemically treated organic, free-range cotton.  Ok, I'm making up that last part.  

Melissa tried to stir up some drama.  Apparently, she invented the white jacket.

Christopher had bigger fish to fry.

Nancy: "This print looks like my grandma's table cloth."
Chris: "Yeah, if your grandma sets her table with silk Oscar de la Renta fabric..."

Had she no idea that he was up all night with a screaming, fake baby?

Sonjia gave Chris a talking to about making too much of "Mary J. Blige's" unsolicited opinions.  The next day, she was apologetic.  Perhaps the producers took pity on Chris, seeing how well his designs were turning out.  Or perhaps Nancy had a talk with her grandma about Oscar de la Renta.

Seriously, these two look perfect...although, I thought I caught Chris saying that the little flowers and leaves were attached with snaps.  They might want to change that for the final design as some kids would have all those flowers snapped off in a gnat's heartbeat.

Oh, there was some debate about how practical an all-white outfit would be for a toddler girl, but thre was never any question that this was the winning "girl design."  Here's Heidi with the two winning outfits.

Which leaves us with....

Melissa's client's aesthetic was feminine and frilly and as we know from past challenges, this stymies Melissa a bit.  She's not a fast seamstress to begin with, so what she had planned to be a jacket ended up as a vest.  She threw together a quick top, cardigan and shorts for the mom's outfit at the very last minute.

The back of the vest was very cute and certainly in keeping with some of the fun fabrics in Heidi's line.  She decided on a sheath style dress as the underlayer.  The look on Tim's face says it all.

The dress looked too grown-up for such a little girl.  Furthermore, the ruching on side kept bunching up, exposing her diaper, like a little Lindsay Lohan.

Did I hear Nina blurt out that this was one of the best mom looks that she saw?  Really?  If so, Dmitry would like to have a serious talk with you.

But what's worse, a clever layering piece with an ill-fitting inappropriate outfit or a clever accessory piece with a mishmash of an outfit?

The mom wanted a blazer.  

Elena did backflips.

Heidi: "This is a very nice jacket.  DON'T SCREW IT UP!"

Well....

I dunno...you be the judge.

It really is a mess, but I think Elena's jacket was better constructed than Melissa's outfit.  I would have given Melissa the auf this week, but it wasn't my call.

Melissa, we'll miss you, but I think Tim will miss you most of all.

"Whatever will we do with out your f*ck, f*ck, f*ck, f*ck!"

Yes, it was the LONGEST STRING OF EXPLETIVES IN PROJECT RUNWAY HISTORY.

On the toddler show, yet.

Next week is the avant garde challenge, with two designers getting the boot.  Heidi kicks off the festivities with her Xena, Warrior Princess outfit.

Whoa.

Until next week, good bye for now!