10/8 Show Discussion **SPOILERS**

[shoepie]

Originally Posted by KinmokuPrincess

I think people should cut Kenley some slack about the whole stealing designs thing...lets face it, I'm sure she wasn't the first person to come up with that design, but I'm also sure that McQueen or whatever wasn't the first either. Goodness sakes, there's only so many ways a dress silhouette can look, none of the dresses that any of the designers have done in any of season are the FIRST of its kind, and thats the TRUTH. What really counts is what Michael said after that comment, its if you can see the designer within that dress, and yes, that outfit was very Kenley and true to her aesthetic.

I agree.

I have a soft spot for Kenley. She is trying and desperately wants to succeed. Her apology was huge for her and a step in the right direction. When Michael said he that he wished he didn't have the McQueen dress in his head, she said I do to. I was pleased that she was not combative but truely disappointed and sad about it.

Jerrel is a nice guy but he has a long way to go. The correct 3 are in the top.

When I first viewed the collections I was sure Leanne would win. I can hear Nina saying that her collection is beautiful, well done but somber and Michael saying "where is the fun?!" Though beautiful it lacks excitement.

Korto. I believe she will be asked to leave first. Her collection lacks continuity. A couple of pieces are beautiful and some others leave me scratching my head.

Kenley may have a better shot at this than I previously thought.

[Google]

 

[shoepie]

I am confused. I just looked at the Bryant Park pics again and Korto has a beautiful white dress, the wedding dress I assume. They were all asked to do one and did. The last minute challenge was to design a bridesmaid dress to go with it. Okay. So what happened? Why did we see Korto with another wedding dress, not in her collection? The white one is beautiful, why on earth did she not use it?

[Nativenewyorker]

Originally Posted by shoepie

I agree.

I have a soft spot for Kenley. She is trying and desperately wants to succeed. Her apology was huge for her and a step in the right direction. When Michael said he that he wished he didn't have the McQueen dress in his head, she said I do to. I was pleased that she was not combative but truely disappointed and sad about it.

Jerrel is a nice guy but he has a long way to go. The correct 3 are in the top.

When I first viewed the collections I was sure Leanne would win. I can hear Nina saying that her collection is beautiful, well done but somber and Michael saying "where is the fun?!" Though beautiful it lacks excitement.

Korto. I believe she will be asked to leave first. Her collection lacks continuity. A couple of pieces are beautiful and some others leave me scratching my head.

Kenley may have a better shot at this than I previously thought.

I have to agree with you on all points. After my first few viewings of the collections, I thought Leanne had it in the bag. I really like it and think it's well done and shows her point of view, but something is missing.

I think Korto has stumbled both in these last two weeks. She seems to have lost her focus. It could be the pressure and stress getting to her. I did not particularly care for her gown last week and I really did not like either her bridal gown or bridesmaid's dress. I was kind of shocked by how bad they both looked on the runway. It's not what I would expect from her. I don't think her collection is cohesive enough to reflect a strong point of view. She always creates well-made designs, but I don't think it really worked together.

I also think that Kenley might have a shot. But judging from next week's previews, it looks like her evil, nasty side is going to return for an encore. That is not a good thing. She has real talent. Her creations made me remember why I liked her from the beginning. It's true that you could argue that her bridal gown lacked originality because of how closely it resembled the McQueen design, but somehow I think she put her own stamp on it enough to justify it. I absolutely loved her bridesmaid's dress. That is where her talent really shows.

[azluna]

But is Kenley the best overall? I don't think so. Aside from her one-note designs, remember what Michael Kors said about her attitude? Something about if a client didn't like something and what Kenley might do. That remark stands out to me. Can they endorse that as a runway winner?

Then again, what to they care? Maybe Bravo wants them to go out with a boatload of controversy...

[busilis32]

Originally Posted by Nativenewyorker

I absolutely loved her bridesmaid's dress. That is where her talent really shows.

And yet it was so reminiscent of what Leanne has been doing all along. She is just too derivative, even in a field where originality is very hard to come by. I mean, how many times can you make a different skirt? This might be Leanne's competition to lose. She comes across as innovative enough, and the judges love that, even if she is a bit of a flat-liner personality wise.

[Nativenewyorker]

Originally Posted by azluna

But is Kenley the best overall? I don't think so. Aside from her one-note designs, remember what Michael Kors said about her attitude? Something about if a client didn't like something and what Kenley might do. That remark stands out to me. Can they endorse that as a runway winner?

Then again, what to they care? Maybe Bravo wants them to go out with a boatload of controversy...

Ah, yes, I remember that comment all too well. Michael Kors asked what would happen if a buyer told her that they didn't like her design - would she take out a knife and stab them. Yes, that is a real concern. She is so very thin-skinned in a world that requires some toughness and ability to take criticism.

I think one of the critical questions may well be how Kenley's attitude, hostility and rudeness influence the judges in their decision. Will it be a factor? Should it be a factor? One would like to think that the winner does it on merit. But the fact that Kenley has been disrespectful to Tim and all of the judges may just be the one thing that does her in.

I think Kenley blew a huge opportunity. She had a chance to learn from experts in fashion. If she had listened and taken their suggestions, she might have been a stronger designer. She hasn't progressed because she doesn't have the ability to listen and learn. She may have also burned bridges, big time.

I think we will have our answer next week. It did appear that Kenley exploded and had one of her signature meltdowns, so that may be it for her.

I am still going back and forth here. I just looked at the collections again today. I haven't seen them for a while and I wanted to see if my initial impressions changed at all. I still think Korto's collection is the weakest of the three. I do like Leanne's but I just don't know if it's strong enough. Her collection was the one I liked best initially.

No matter what happens, I think Kenley will not be able to sustain a career in the fashion industry. She has too many personality issues to make it.

[graycat11]

I hope Leanne wins and not Kenley, Kenley doesn't deserve it. Korto will not win, she is too inconsistent with her designs.

[Kao]

Originally Posted by Cairon

Had Korto or Jerell stood next to Kenley or LeAnne, I would have been surprised, because that would have meant that either Jerell or Korto got a free pass, one not based on their dresses.

The same argument could be made for why someone who had been faltering for weeks was given yet another opportunity while the person who actually WON the challenge was made to compete yet again instead of going to B.P. Yes I admit he was probably the best choice to go home this week (since apparently now you can plagarize other designers with impunity on this show) because if he'd just taken Tim's advice and EDITED it would probably been Korto walking the plank. But he shouldn't have been made to compete for a spot in the first place.

If the world was fair, Kenley and Korto should had battled it out being the lowest two last week. Or, if you wanted to make the pot more interesting Leanne, Korto and Kenley should had battled it out. Or, if they really couldn't decide let all 4 designers show, do the bridesmaid gown anyway and have the incentive be either opening or closing the PR Runway show (the prime slots). That way, the designers would all felt more relaxed knowing that they were all going to show and continue the competition and we would had been treated by Tim's visits to the home, the rush of the bridemaid dress competition and knowing that we would get to see all 4 designers show their stuff.

But life isn't fair. And it was very painful watching the last 5 minutes. Even more painful was the fact that Kenley slipped by with a beautifully executed knockoff of a McQueen dress that was just shown on the runway in February of this year while Jerrell went off in tears.

I want things to be fair. And the fairest outcome would be that the lilttle mouse who could (Leanne) wins this thing because by god, I loved her designs. I admit to not liking that monotone mousey girl in the beginning, but gosh, I love her now. I love Korto and her designs but not the bridal one, so I want her to have an extremely successful career creating clothes for the tons of people who want their clothes to represent who they are as well as the non-ethnocentric who want soemthing elegant, yet different. I want a famous crazy European designer who embellishes like mad (ie: Lacroix) to swoop Jerrell out of Cali and make him apprentice with them for at least a year so he can learn how to EDIT and make his own designs opulent with just enough "over the top" without crossing the line. And I want Kenley to be successful and make a lot of cash as that designer who people go to when they want a beautifully done knockoff, because that's what she's showed me she can do.

And it's a shame, because when this show started, Kenley was one of my favorites.

[Nativenewyorker]

Originally Posted by Kao

The same argument could be made for why someone who had been faltering for weeks was given yet another opportunity while the person who actually WON the challenge was made to compete yet again instead of going to B.P. Yes I admit he was probably the best choice to go home this week (since apparently now you can plagarize other designers with impunity on this show) because if he'd just taken Tim's advice and EDITED it would probably been Korto walking the plank. But he shouldn't have been made to compete for a spot in the first place.

If the world was fair, Kenley and Korto should had battled it out being the lowest two last week. Or, if you wanted to make the pot more interesting Leanne, Korto and Kenley should had battled it out. Or, if they really couldn't decide let all 4 designers show, do the bridesmaid gown anyway and have the incentive be either opening or closing the PR Runway show (the prime slots). That way, the designers would all felt more relaxed knowing that they were all going to show and continue the competition and we would had been treated by Tim's visits to the home, the rush of the bridemaid dress competition and knowing that we would get to see all 4 designers show their stuff.

But life isn't fair. And it was very painful watching the last 5 minutes. Even more painful was the fact that Kenley slipped by with a beautifully executed knockoff of a McQueen dress that was just shown on the runway in February of this year while Jerrell went off in tears.

I want things to be fair. And the fairest outcome would be that the lilttle mouse who could (Leanne) wins this thing because by god, I loved her designs. I admit to not liking that monotone mousey girl in the beginning, but gosh, I love her now. I love Korto and her designs but not the bridal one, so I want her to have an extremely successful career creating clothes for the tons of people who want their clothes to represent who they are as well as the non-ethnocentric who want soemthing elegant, yet different. I want a famous crazy European designer who embellishes like mad (ie: Lacroix) to swoop Jerrell out of Cali and make him apprentice with them for at least a year so he can learn how to EDIT and make his own designs opulent with just enough "over the top" without crossing the line. And I want Kenley to be successful and make a lot of cash as that designer who people go to when they want a beautifully done knockoff, because that's what she's showed me she can do.

And it's a shame, because when this show started, Kenley was one of my favorites.

I do agree that it was blatantly unfair of the judges not to award a spot in the final three to Jerell. If they had such serious reservations about him as a designer, then they simply could have chosen someone else. Leanne also did a very good job with her gown, except for the piece of blue fabric that she stuck on the back. This way they would have avoided the ridiculous situation in which they found themselves. It was fairly obvious to many of us here that they just wanted an excuse to keep Jerell from sailing into the final three. Again, if they had that much doubt, why give him the win in the first place?

However, based on the bridal and bridesmaid designs, I can't justify sending Jerell to the final three. Once the judges opened it up to everyone, then all bets were off. Jerell did have his chance. He chose to ignore Tim's very good advice and paid the price. The bodice of that gown was just hideous, garish, costumey, whatever adjective works. Not good enough and tacky in the bargain. I guess the rationale would be that if Jerell was good enough, he would step up again and finally earn his place in the final three. He didn't get it done. In fact, I think his designs confirmed the judges worst fears.

As far as Kenley, it's not like this is the first time someone has tried to copy a design. She still managed to do it well and put her own little touch on it. I can live with that. She does more than just copy other designers. She has shown her own creativity and point of view at different times during the season. The problem with Kenley is that she is very limited with her 40's and 50's vintage niche designs. She can't always successfully translate them into contemporary fashion. That is her problem. But I do think she earned her spot in the final three.

[Kao]

Originally Posted by Nativenewyorker

However, based on the bridal and bridesmaid designs, I can't justify sending Jerell to the final three. Once the judges opened it up to everyone, then all bets were off. Jerell did have his chance. He chose to ignore Tim's very good advice and paid the price. The bodice of that gown was just hideous, garish, costumey, whatever adjective works. Not good enough and tacky in the bargain. I guess the rationale would be that if Jerell was good enough, he would step up again and finally earn his place in the final three. He didn't get it done. In fact, I think his designs confirmed the judges worst fears.

I have to definitely agree with you on that, and it's really a shame; from the bodice down it WAS a really, really beautifully done dress and the top had some potential; if he had taken Tim's suggestions it would have been a showstopper I also think that Korto fell victim to the editing disease as well because when Tim visited her at her studio space I absolutely LOVED where the bridal dress was at that point. It still had the ruffles at the top (but not as many), but the neckline, detailing on the sides and bottom was gorgeous. All she really had to do was tie up some loose ends and that would have been it.

Instead I think she panicked, and the end result was her arriving to New York, unpacking that dress and me thinking "Oh my God! What the hell happened!" So much stuff added on that didn't need to be there. Sometimes, it's just good to stop while you're ahead, and in her case less was definitely more.

I will say something nice about Kenley's design (not the one she stole): The painted butterflies on the fabric she was working with was beautiful, and the dress she created with it is one of my favorites from the entire fashion show.