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As Gene Wilder said in Young Frankenstein, "Igor, help me with these bags!"
Accessory begins at 10PM tonight, after Tim Gunn's "Behind the Seams" special at 9. (Each show has its own discussion thread)
Please keep all discussion in this thread until 11PM PT / 2AM ET.
Enjoy the show!
Loved James' shoes, though I think the headband was unnecessary. The cuff was also lovely but I do agree it might've been too much of a statement with the shoes. I also liked how Nicolena - the gal almost eliminated last week - had a great standpoint and turned it around. Her necklace accentuated the inspiration piece. Both of these I'd wear, though I'd have to have James' shoes as flats because of feet issues.
OK, on the bottom two, I liked the guy who was deemed safe, but in all honesty, he should've been eliminated because he didn't do the complete challenge. YES, he had better shoes, but still, she had the complete outfit. If he had shown the one earring - which BTW, I thought would work on his design overall, I'd not be as disappointed. I do agree if they did go based on shoes though as the primary challenge (and they seemed to imply it given the inspiration basis on the challenge), yes, he won that battle because his shoes were wearable.
Oh, and the guy who was third from the bottom with the "Nude" shoes... I agree with the judge who thought the cuff looked like it could cause bodily harm. It along with the ring were made too much of a statement being curled that far away from the finger/arm.
Admittely, being someone who has done at least the jewelry and hat part of accessories (I have tried one bag but it was very basic and had issues beyond my control - I plan on trying again soon though), I'm enjoying the show a lot. I still would like to see ONE challenge where they have to cast or sculpt a jewelry piece instead of it being all fabrication, but I am starting to think they won't do that due to time constraints they're giving. Kinda sad though - the cuttlefish casting would be relatively fast and I'd think they've done these projects enough they could use shortcuts as far as cutting buttons* off the cast and then drill holes before polishing the piece.
*button - a button in casting is the leftover metal that forms at the top of a cast piece after filling the mold. Some people cut these off like they do sprues - which are rods attached to rings if cast in a sling cast method, while others use the buttons as part of a bail for pendants. I personally took this rout for my pendant.
A couple of other points:
1. The person criticizing James for teaching how to make a shoe - I personally don't mind it. He wasn't helping them actually create the shoe, just showing how to do it. That makes me respect him because he wants the designers to have a fair shot in the challenge and win on his own merits, not because he's the only one for example who knows how to make a shoe (not exactly true, but you get my point).
2. I have to admit I liked the idea of creating rocky gemstone wedges, and keeping a couple of the crystals in there to added shine. That really was the most creative shoe there.
3. I have now found out there are way too many variations of Swarvoski crystals out there - I haven't ever seen any that looked like flat out quartz crystals. There are some odd gemcut like crystals, but these looked almost literally like the six-sided crystals nature makes.
My problem with the accessories that were created this episode was they were all too much. Given the piece they each chose, then combine that with all the other items they created, you end up with way over the top and sometimes, gaudy looks. I realize they needed to produce two accessories plus what they chose from the crystal store but extremely overworked items just looks tacky to me.
I think you can produce amazing but simple accessories. I got the impression they felt they had to put as much glitz as possible in each and every piece. Or maybe I just like a more simple look, that highlights one piece and with others that compliment it. I just felt each piece they created could have been the "statement" piece but not worn all together.
As example, I thought James' shoes were fabulous but the rest of the accessories could have complimented them but not fight them.
Just too much razzle dazzle.
But maybe that's just my taste.
Whoops! I didn't realize this show had threads until this week.
At first I had mixed feelings. I didn't like that it was an exact clone of PR, but now I'm getting used to it. I love seeing all the craftsmanship that goes into the accessories. It's cool seeing the designers use a range of skills instead of just one, i.e. sewing.
Let's see, about this week:
James--agreed that he should win. Beautiful shoes and cuff. What was up with that dippy headband, though? That and the weird crystal necklace she wore made her look like an actress from one of those cheesy 60's alien flicks.
Nicolina--what a comeback! I admit I thought she should have been eliminated last week, but in all fairness she produced some beautiful stuff this week. I thought the shoes were blah, but the necklace and cuff were gorgeous. One tiny little note: what was that holding her cuff together? Was it deliberate or desperation?
On a side note, I will say that I was put off by her attitude, though. She was the one who criticized James for helping the other contestants (which I thought was really sweet). "I wouldn't do that. I'm only here to win." Yuk.
Brian--loved the shoes and the purse, but the earrings were only average. All of the Top 3 designers deserved to be there, but my personal favorite was James because I like colors.
Kelly--I actually liked her shoes by themselves (although I felt sorry for the model who had to wear them, since she nearly turned an ankle). However, I did agree with the judges that what on earth did they have to do with her crystal selection? Even though the earrings were lovely, I still would have put her in the Bottom 3 because of the mismatch.
David--oh my gosh, where to begin?The shoes were blah (I agreed that they looked cheap), and that cuff and ring were hideous. Honestly, I would have put him up for elimination instead of Kelly.
Adrian--I don't know why the judges raved about his shoes. On the runway it looked they had way too much ribbon and that he had double-laced them on the model's ankles. If it hadn't of been for that, I agree that they would have been lovely.
And yes, I agree that he should have been eliminated for only sending down one accessory. Those earrings were lovely; why didn't he send down at least one? I was disappointed, because I really liked those hats of his they showed last week, so I was wishing him well.
I think Adrian will make a comeback and definitely learn from his error here. Yes, it's normally an eliminating offense, but at least he made wearable shoes. I think that's what saved him - the other shoes didn't match and they really weren't wearable.
It should be interesting, though I'll probably be a broken record here - they should use more than fabrication challenges. It just would be more interesting.
And yes, on rethink, James' model did look like a sci-fi chick. That said... given that necklace (which is lovely but much too big to be wearing on a daily basis), it was a proper look... well for a sci-fi chick in a little black dress for some sort of convention.
I think Nicolina is wacko but at least this episode the right person went home. I can't believe she thought those yellow shoes were anything but bad.
My feet were hurting just watching the model walk in those yellow shoes. I'd be on crutches from breaking my ankle!!
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