9/29 Show Discussion **West Coast Spoilers**

[pikachu]

My critiques:

The judges were clearly passing around the marijuana brownies during the runway because I completely disagreed with most of their likes and dislikes. Or maybe I’m harboring some latent resentment of 70‘s style because my sister and I grew up in that decade and my mom mercilessly dressed us in bellbottoms and fabrics too ugly to use on a couch in our childhood.

Anthony: Anthony’s first look, the short dress with the jacket, reminded me way too much of the outfit Laura made on the 8/25 episode. Both have that weird sleeveless jacket/vest thing. The dress itself wouldn’t have been so bad but the belt needed to go. As for the maxi dress, I actually liked it, although it does look like a tablecloth strapped to the model with a big, ugly belt. LOL at the judges saying they looked like two members of the same cult.

Anya: Ironically, the cheaper outfit looked better to me. I hated the dress the judges loved so much. The boxy pattern makes the models’ body from the waist down look miles wide. Perhaps if she had run the fabric on the bottom the same direction as she did the fabric on top it would have looked ok. I couldn’t believe the judges chose this as the winning look. Ick!!

Bert: While Bert was working on his first outfit, I worried that it was too disco but the sequins ended up not being overpowering. He could have done without the overwrap, though. I thought it looked trashy and dumpy. I didn’t like his second little dress at all. Too plain, too monotone, plus how many times have the judges chewed out designers for making a dress you can find anywhere? I think this look has been done to death. It’s nothing original.

Joshua: Joshua was trying to channel Mondo with his first outfit but I think he got interference from the spirits of past bad designers. It didn’t help that he did his usual trick of adding everything but the kitchen sink to the design. I liked the second outfit. The judges said it wasn’t 70’s but I disagree. In the late 70’s, ladies wore dresses with patterns like this to go clubbing.

Kimberly: Kimberly apparently doesn’t know how to design an outfit for women’s breasts any better than Olivier did. So many of the tops she’s created are badly fitted. No wonder the challenges she’s done the best at was where she made a jacket to cover the shirt. The model for the second look looks like she ended up nude in the park and the singing nun gave her a habit to wear as a shirt and a kindly gentlemen gave her his jacket to cover her lady parts. I think it’s awful.

Laura: I’m not sure why the patterns in Laura’s first outfit don’t work together. From watching What Not to Wear, I know that black and white are neutrals and should go with any pattern. Perhaps if she had dyed the white in the top one of the colors found in the skirt, the look would have been more harmonious. I liked the outfit but it was pushing the envelope. The second look, I didn’t like the top. With the blouse tucked in and the skirt having no definition at the waistline, it looks frumpy to me. I would have liked it better if the top had been more form-fitting or if the skirt had had a more cinched-in waistline.

Viktor: I hated Viktor’s first look, despite the judges gushing over it. It looks cartoonish to me with the defined hemlines, pockets, and pinstripes on the pants. Plus, the snakeskin shirt didn’t go with the whole look. You really couldn’t even see it with the jacket on. I would have liked it if he had either ditched the jacket or made a skirt with the snakeskin to pair with the jacket. The second look was forgettable. I didn’t remember it when I started editing images today and don’t recall my impressions of it from the runway.


Here’s how I would rank the fashions:
1. Bert (disco hotpants)
2. Joshua (top and long skirt)
3. Anya (pantsuit)
4. Laura (chevron top and flower skirt)
5. Viktor (top and skirt)
6. Anthony (maxi dress)
7. Laura (sliptop and skirt)
8. Kimberly (top and skirt)
9. Anthony (dress with jacket)
10. Bert (basic dress)
11. Viktor (pantsuit)
12. Anya (jumper)
13. Joshua (top and pants)
14. Kimberly (pantsuit)

[Endit]

I think Laura should have gone. I loved her prints but it was not 70s at all... one was extremely busy and mismatched, the other one, just blah.

Anthony Ryan's may have had 1 horrible outfit, but the other one only runs the risk of being boring. But it still had the nicer print to separate it from Laura's boring oufit.

I'm glad Joshua stayed for this challenge. He takes more risks than others and I think the judges like people who are forceful back to them. Remember all the arguments Santino made? And they were not little quips back... he'd go into matches with the judges. I think deep down they like designers with fight, not only for TV, but because they want tough players.

And yeah, Joshua's clothes were not the best, but I could see some of it on a runway IRL. The show is called Project Runway, but it should be called Project Ready To Wear. Even when they have stilts or do avant garde, they STILL apply a "can you wear it in real life?" criteria to it. So I find his risks tame... if there was any real runway look sent down, they'd have the same reaction (too over the top). But the runway is not where designers tell you HOW to wear something, usually it's a show and is ok if overdone. But dissect the pieces coming down and then they work. Nobody wears OTT stuff from the runway in real life (save Lady Gaga). This is where I think Joshua is coming from and I agree.

I'm also glad he's staying because he told it like it was... with very little money and time, you cannot expect great clothes to be made. Yes, it can happen, but only a few get lucky and it's not a formula that encourages quality.

[Bearcata]

When you look at the photos it is pretty obvious Josh has the worse pieces and you wonder why he was not sent home.

[mushybrain]

Hey Pikachu,

Thanks for always posting the photos of each look. It helps when I am reading everyone's posts.

[Dragonlady]

Designers are expected to make clothes that flatter a woman's body...something that Josh forgot. I didn't mind the plaid so much as plaid was pretty common in the '70's but this wasn't the right kind of plaid. But if a model's body looks awful in what you designed then you're not doing your job right.

As for Bert's short shorts, they weren't too short. Hot pants started off a little longer but crept up pretty high as time went by.
He's still my choice for winning.

Viktor probably hasn't learned that being kind and helping your fellow man (woman) will not prevent you from winning if you use your talent and imagination to your best ability.

Josh and his ego drive me nuts. He always has an excuse for everything, even his cranky personality and so what if you weren't born during the '70's? Don't we all know what cavemen were wearing? What Victorian people were wearing? The roaring Twenties's flappers and dandy playboy types? What a jerk.

[Jexter]

I'm bummed about Anthony Ryan. When his dresses came down the runway, I actually liked them. On close-up, however, I have to agree that they were on the beatnik side of the 70's. Even though Josh's and Laura's outfits were butt-ugly, they at least had some pizazz about them. As much as it makes me sad to see him go, it was the right decision.

Coming down to the wire, I think/hope top 3 will be Viktor, Anya, and Bert, but I could see Josh sneaking in some how. Designers who make it to the end seem to have clear points of view. Love him or hate him, Josh has this.

Reg. Laura's design with the loud print and chevron blouse....I like the outfit in some wierd sort of way. The patterns do not match at all, but there is something gutsy about it which I like.

Kimberly is sooo quiet. Too quiet to draw attention to herself and her designs. While I have liked her work, I don't remember much of it.

I was surprised Viktor didn't help Anya. I was a little disappointed in him. He was right to take the high-road where Josh is concerned...his reasoning being that he didn't have to worry if Josh stole his ideas because his work is better than Johs's. I theorize that he didn't help Anya because Anya is more competition than Josh.

Bert seems to be getting along with everyone now-a-days which is very nice to see. I'll be excited to see the reunion.

[Shoepie]

Nothing here reflected the 70's very well to me. I was in my 30's and on top of fashion. It was a bad fashion decade, granted.

[pikachu]

Thanks, Mushy! I'm perfectly willing to post the pictures each week because it helps me in the show discussions, too. I've been on other online forums over the years and have posted pictures there, too, for Project Runway and Next Top Model.

I actually didn't mind that Viktor didn't help Anya. This is a competition and it was her own fault that she lost her money. If it had been some random act of weirdness, like a pipe burst during the night and ruined her fabric or another contestant sabotaged her materials, I suspect he might have been more willing to help her.

[AcookerTV]

I think Anthony Ryan's problem was that he didn't realize what decade the inspiration came from. He kept on talking about Woodstock, hippies, pot smoking and music. I think he was getting inspiration from the late 60s instead of the 70s. My problem with Josh is that his design doesn't back up the arrogance of his talk. He's constantly offering commentary to explain high fashion to everyone else, tell them what the judges care about, etc. You get the impression that the only person in the room that he sees as his equal is Michael Kors. That would be fine if he was constantly winning challenges and dominating the competition. But he's not. He's losing, struggling, and misunderstanding, but then trying to be the voice of wisdom for everyone else. In addition, they've shown over and over again that he gets his inspiration by copying other ideas instead of from his own head.

[Allie]

Just took a look at the Piperlime website. Anya's jumpsuit is selling for $198.00 and Bert's dress is $98.00

Women: Seen on Project Runway | Piperlime

Bert's is sold out already