Project Runway Blogging: Season 5 - Episode 1
First episode of the season and we're back where it all started, at Gristides, the food market where Austin Scarlett made his memorable debut with the corn husk dress. This shouldn't be such a hard challenge. There are lots of materials in a supermarket that would do well for a garment. And if you learned anything from season one, you know not to use garbage bags...
Emily Brandle: I don't know why designers insist on skimping on skirts. Sitting down in a lot of these hems would be an adventure in modesty. Points off for hems that begin at the pubic bone. Interesting use of materials (balloons, napkins) at the collar, 'though, and the collar itself is nicely dramatic. The tablecloth doesn't look like a tablecloth, so points for that as well.
Jerell Scott: Another tablecloth, also well done. Wonderful use of the umbrella fabric on the bodice, and the construction is well-proportioned and does not look at all like a compendium of scraps. Nicely done. Oh, and bonus points for a hem that someone could actually wear and not trigger a stay in the vice squad holding tank.
Leanne Marshall: Another tablecloth, not so well done. The whole look is a bit bulky, which is further aggravated by the pubo-hem. This dress manages to make a lean, fit model look chunky. An admirable feat if you're David Copperfield, not so admirable if you're a designer. Points for humor and point of view, as the gown looks like a lighthearted confection of good-natured silliness, replete with sugar cookies and coffee filter frills.
Korto Momou: Another tablecloth. Spectacularly done. Here's someone who knows that sex isn't all about how much the gams are showing. This is a phenomenal effort. The color is bold, the draping dramatic, and although the silhouette is wide, it all works. The asymmetrical, kale, bell pepper, and cherry tomato collar balances the color and proportions of the voluminous yellow of the main part of the gown. The model looks like a queen, and not the kind you find doing cabaret.
Jennifer Diederich: I appreciate all the work that went into this garment (working paper towels must take great care and patience), but the design itself is rather boring. The blotted lipstick prints are a clever addition, but do not save the overall design.
Daniel Feld: Major kudos -- major kudos -- for not using a tablecloth. The blue plastic cups that were melted and molded and cut wound up looking like a non-ridiculous Thierry Mugler creation. The fit was a bit poor, due to the inflexibility of the materials. The overall effect was extremely bulky. Again, major kudos for using something other than a fabric-like material.
Terri Stevens: Tablecloth again, but, like Momou's regal, yellow gown, tweaked enough that it's not obvious. Brilliant use of the mopheads for the top, which is itself wonderfully designed. Major points awarded for creating two separates that can not only stand on their own, but look smashingly powerful and beautiful together.
Suede: Another tablecloth. The overlay of doggie bags is a good use of materials, and doesn't go the easy route of letting the tablecloth do all the work. However, the overall effect isn't very compelling.
Stella B. Zotis: Speaking of doggie bags, someone had to step in it, and it looks like it was Zotis. Too bad Daniel Franco didn't come back for a third season to warn Zotis away from this material.
Joe Faris: Courageous use of multi-color pasta, as kindergartener who has struggled with the structural integrity of a macaroni project can tell you. Aside from courage, the dress just looks damn good. The proportions are right, the color palette masterful, the cut of the bodice original and interesting. Spectacular.
Kenley Collins: Another fabulous effort. And another one that doesn't betray its grocery aisle origins. Fantastic use of the classic, rubber dodge ball in the bodice, and That bold, red color that traumatized so many during gym class now redeems itself when paired with the striped lawn chair fabric.
Jerry Tam: I didn't hate this as much as the judges did. After all, it is supposed to be a raincoat (even if it's not a very becoming one). When Tam tried to insert the phrase "out on the town" during the critique, however, that was just a drowning man reaching for some flotsam from the wreck. If the model is supposed to go from a rainy street to the secret, government lab in which she autopsies aliens...well then, she's very chicly attired. I think it was the yellow, rubber gloves that put the Y-incision in this presentation.
Wesley Nault: I'm glad the camera angle isn't lower; that skirt is just too short. Non-interesting, non-innovative use of the yellow tablecloth (see Momou on how to do it right), but points for the use of flyswatters and yellow cups as a sort of plastic ruffle bonanza.
Blayne Walsh: Good lord. This makes street hookers look classy. This is lacking in everything: taste, proportion, skill. Kudos for the use of original materials, like jumprope, drawer liners, shoelaces, and potholders.
Kelli Martin: Vacuum bags, bleach, dye, coffee filters, thumbtacks, and notebooks never looked so good. This is what it's all about. Taking ordinary materials and elevating them so one's perceptions of them, notions of what is possible, are radically changed. The proportions were nice, the use of color and pattern on the skirt (as well as the palette) were great, and the cutouts in the bodice an intriguing idea. The only drawbacks: the waist/belt seemed a bit amateurish and clumsy, and there's hardly ever an appropriate scenario in which one should place round objects directly over the breasts. And major points off for not continuing the pushpins around to the back -- that always strikes me as cheap and bargain basement.
Keith Bryce: Another tablecloth, this time with the accompaniment of a car shade and laundry bags. Not the most original selection of materials, and not the most original use of them, either. And it still, kinda, looked like a tablecloth.
Judges' Pick: Kelli Martin
Judges' Wiedersehen: Jerry Tam
My Pick: Korto Momou or Joe Faris
My Wiedersehen: Blayne Walsh. Hands down.
Emily Brandle: I don't know why designers insist on skimping on skirts. Sitting down in a lot of these hems would be an adventure in modesty. Points off for hems that begin at the pubic bone. Interesting use of materials (balloons, napkins) at the collar, 'though, and the collar itself is nicely dramatic. The tablecloth doesn't look like a tablecloth, so points for that as well.
Jerell Scott: Another tablecloth, also well done. Wonderful use of the umbrella fabric on the bodice, and the construction is well-proportioned and does not look at all like a compendium of scraps. Nicely done. Oh, and bonus points for a hem that someone could actually wear and not trigger a stay in the vice squad holding tank.
Leanne Marshall: Another tablecloth, not so well done. The whole look is a bit bulky, which is further aggravated by the pubo-hem. This dress manages to make a lean, fit model look chunky. An admirable feat if you're David Copperfield, not so admirable if you're a designer. Points for humor and point of view, as the gown looks like a lighthearted confection of good-natured silliness, replete with sugar cookies and coffee filter frills.
Korto Momou: Another tablecloth. Spectacularly done. Here's someone who knows that sex isn't all about how much the gams are showing. This is a phenomenal effort. The color is bold, the draping dramatic, and although the silhouette is wide, it all works. The asymmetrical, kale, bell pepper, and cherry tomato collar balances the color and proportions of the voluminous yellow of the main part of the gown. The model looks like a queen, and not the kind you find doing cabaret.
Jennifer Diederich: I appreciate all the work that went into this garment (working paper towels must take great care and patience), but the design itself is rather boring. The blotted lipstick prints are a clever addition, but do not save the overall design.
Daniel Feld: Major kudos -- major kudos -- for not using a tablecloth. The blue plastic cups that were melted and molded and cut wound up looking like a non-ridiculous Thierry Mugler creation. The fit was a bit poor, due to the inflexibility of the materials. The overall effect was extremely bulky. Again, major kudos for using something other than a fabric-like material.
Terri Stevens: Tablecloth again, but, like Momou's regal, yellow gown, tweaked enough that it's not obvious. Brilliant use of the mopheads for the top, which is itself wonderfully designed. Major points awarded for creating two separates that can not only stand on their own, but look smashingly powerful and beautiful together.
Suede: Another tablecloth. The overlay of doggie bags is a good use of materials, and doesn't go the easy route of letting the tablecloth do all the work. However, the overall effect isn't very compelling.
Stella B. Zotis: Speaking of doggie bags, someone had to step in it, and it looks like it was Zotis. Too bad Daniel Franco didn't come back for a third season to warn Zotis away from this material.
Joe Faris: Courageous use of multi-color pasta, as kindergartener who has struggled with the structural integrity of a macaroni project can tell you. Aside from courage, the dress just looks damn good. The proportions are right, the color palette masterful, the cut of the bodice original and interesting. Spectacular.
Kenley Collins: Another fabulous effort. And another one that doesn't betray its grocery aisle origins. Fantastic use of the classic, rubber dodge ball in the bodice, and That bold, red color that traumatized so many during gym class now redeems itself when paired with the striped lawn chair fabric.
Jerry Tam: I didn't hate this as much as the judges did. After all, it is supposed to be a raincoat (even if it's not a very becoming one). When Tam tried to insert the phrase "out on the town" during the critique, however, that was just a drowning man reaching for some flotsam from the wreck. If the model is supposed to go from a rainy street to the secret, government lab in which she autopsies aliens...well then, she's very chicly attired. I think it was the yellow, rubber gloves that put the Y-incision in this presentation.
Wesley Nault: I'm glad the camera angle isn't lower; that skirt is just too short. Non-interesting, non-innovative use of the yellow tablecloth (see Momou on how to do it right), but points for the use of flyswatters and yellow cups as a sort of plastic ruffle bonanza.
Blayne Walsh: Good lord. This makes street hookers look classy. This is lacking in everything: taste, proportion, skill. Kudos for the use of original materials, like jumprope, drawer liners, shoelaces, and potholders.
Kelli Martin: Vacuum bags, bleach, dye, coffee filters, thumbtacks, and notebooks never looked so good. This is what it's all about. Taking ordinary materials and elevating them so one's perceptions of them, notions of what is possible, are radically changed. The proportions were nice, the use of color and pattern on the skirt (as well as the palette) were great, and the cutouts in the bodice an intriguing idea. The only drawbacks: the waist/belt seemed a bit amateurish and clumsy, and there's hardly ever an appropriate scenario in which one should place round objects directly over the breasts. And major points off for not continuing the pushpins around to the back -- that always strikes me as cheap and bargain basement.
Keith Bryce: Another tablecloth, this time with the accompaniment of a car shade and laundry bags. Not the most original selection of materials, and not the most original use of them, either. And it still, kinda, looked like a tablecloth.
Judges' Pick: Kelli Martin
Judges' Wiedersehen: Jerry Tam
My Pick: Korto Momou or Joe Faris
My Wiedersehen: Blayne Walsh. Hands down.
Syndicate
to this blog