Jesus Estrada Fall 2010 Collection

Mexi-Twink on the runway!

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Auf-Wiedersehen

Well, who didn't see THAT coming?

To be honest, it happened exactly how we knew it was going to happen and it happened pretty much right around the time we figured it would. But we were rooting for him, y'know? He's just so Disney-cute and unaffected and we were hoping for a Kaynebow-style blossoming under the tutelage of some real NY fashion bitches, but alas, it was not to be.

He seemed like a nice enough guy. Certainly, there was no drama centered around him. But his downfall was his nice-guy stubbornness because he was getting the feedback all along and he just wasn't hearing it or applying it.

This is, essentially, the dress we've been waiting for him to make since we first saw his portfolio.

And the funny thing is, we were getting the sense that the judges felt the same way. Like we said after the judges savaged his big leather dress, once they decide you have a taste issue, the clock is ticking.

There was this whole, "Okay, it's about time we addressed the tacky elephant in the room" quality to the judging. In fact, we don't recall a time when the judges were that blunt to a designer regarding their taste issues. Normally, they either dance around it or they euphemize it.

"You basically took a checklist of everything that could turn tacky and combined it into one garment."

Alrighty then! Can't argue with that, Michael.

And there are two points to that critique. It's not just that this dress demonstrated taste issues; it's that it also demonstrated a lack of imagination. A checklist approach to design.

There have been plenty of designers slapped with the "taste issue" label in the history of the show. The memorable ones, like say, Kayne, managed to stay in the game for a good chunk because they could still design and execute the hell out of a dress even if it was a little tacky for the judges' taste.

This was just so...unimaginative. And worse, it demonstrated something else we mentioned after his leather dress: he doesn't have such hot instincts. Because if he had good instincts, he'd have taken one look at those rhinestone straps and said "GOD, no."

So El Frodo the Mexi-Twink is gone. It always happens. We come up with a great nickname and then they go home. It could be argued that there were worse dresses on the runway last night but we think he confirmed to the judges their suspicion that he wasn't going to offer them the surprises they needed to remain interested in him.


Tim Gunn's Workroom:


Extended Judging:


Exit Video:



[Photos/Videos: myLifetime.com - Screencaps: Projectrungay.blogspot.com]


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Jesus & Amy

Let's bang this one out while we're getting the RuPaul screencaps, kittens.

We never could have predicted that these two would work well together. Not that either of them are problematic from a personality point of view, just that their styles seem so different. And yet, they were really cute together. If we were skinny little 21-year-old queens, we'd think Amy was the most fabulous and glamorous fruitfly we could wish for. We're telling you: it's that Streisand eye makeup. It just kills us.

Model: Holly Ridings

And it has to be said, they managed to put together a pretty fabulous look.

We love that they essentially created their own fabric from dozens of little pieces stitched together. Frankenfabric. It's a unique look and - we know we're not supposed to say this - it looked expensive.

And we REALLY loved that shrug/vest/ruffled tire thing.


Although we didn't quite love the way it came together in the back.

Still, we thought it was a really well done look with some innovation added. We honestly can't tell who was more responsible this design. From what little we know of the two of them at this point, it doesn't really look like either one of them. We suspect that's because, unlike a lot of the other teams, this was a true collaboration. Sharp-eyed minions point out that Amy wore a shrug like that to her audition. And since the gown kind of fits Jesus' over-the-top aesthetic, we guess this really was a true collaboration.

Models: Brandise Danesewich/Sophia Lee

And while we know how much most of you minions hate harem pants, we have to say that this was a truly ingenious way of reinterpreting Ping & Jesse's lace toga.

Also, we need to note that we were kind of sorry to see Sophia sent home. She's a bitch and a pain in the ass and we understand why no one wanted to work with her but she had a hell of a walk.

Anyway, this look. The reason we admire it is because the harem pants actually mimic the line of Ping's over-the-shoulder skirt pretty effectively.

And the tank top with just the hint of lace showing was a nice down-market way of interpreting the look. We don't LOVE this outfit from a style perspective, but we applaud it from a design perspective. In the immortal words of La Nina, they "really thought about it."

Tim Gunn's Workroom:



[Photos/Videos: myLifetime.com - Screencaps: Projectrungay.blogspot.com]



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El Frodo & Ping

It's an International House of Horrors, bitches!

It's not that we think Tim is infallible. Sometimes his instincts tend too much toward the practical and conservative and sometimes he tends to forget that he can't predict what a guest judge can do to throw the decisions. What he is very good at is predicting what the three main judges will say, especially Nina. He doesn't get it right 100% of the time, but when Tim says "I'm afraid the judges will..." then it's a good idea to listen, especially when he called it exactly on your previous effort.

Model: Brittany Oldehoff

It's not that what he did was "against the rules" so much as it was against the spirit of the challenge. Most of the other designers - and all of the top 3 - went with the idea of transforming the burlap and using it in unexpected ways.

He mostly just covered it up. Yes, he used it in the bodice, but in the most basic, minimalist fashion and dyed a color that practically makes it invisible.

No, clearly the focus of the look is the skirt and it's entirely made out of ribbons, let's be honest.

Technically, he used the burlap, but he never put a moment's thought in to how to use it in an interesting way. That's really where he failed.

And as Nina pointed out, his color story so far has been surprisingly drab. We have to say we're a bit surprised. We expected over the top fantasy pieces in the Kayne mold but he's been putting together some really depressing-looking fashion. Come on, little hobbit. We know you have it in you.

People don't love Ping?

Really? How can you not?

Model: Elizaveta Melnitchenko

Okay, well there is that. That's a love-killer of a dress.

We basically said most of it in the Pam post, but here it is: she at least attempted something unusual and expressive in her design. She clearly failed on all fronts, from practical to aesthetic, but the judges will almost always reward an entry with a point of view over a bland design or a design with "taste issues." Fashion's a bitch, but that's the way it is.


So yeah. Awful design, no arguments from us.

Okay, tangent time: Look at the way Elizaveta is holding that clutch. Honey, if we were your runway directors you would be viciously slapped by our assistants when you got back behind the scrim. That is the exact opposite of "workin' it."

Moving on...
One thing we can say in its defense: she started out decently on the bodice. Not earth-shattering, but the braiding and the construction was nice.


It's just... how do you get to here from where she started? How does she not stop along the way and realize, "Oh shit. This looks awful?"

Hello?! How do you not notice that until she's out on the runway? Tim noticed it before she even made the skirt.

Let's face it: the likelihood of her being a finalist is slim, given the parameters of this show. But S6 taught us a lesson about the whacky, impractical, "character" designers: if you get rid of them too early, you have a boring season, from both a design and entertainment value point of view.

Tim Gunn's Workroom:



Extended Judging:




[Photos/Videos: myLifetime.com - Screencaps: Projectrungay.blogspot.com]



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Boys on the Bottom

Kittens, we WILL NOT STAND another season of disappointing gays. We're hoping this will be the last time we're forced to use another variation of "bottom" and "boys" in the post title.

We think Lifetime is really missing out on a merchandising opportunity by not offering Jesus dolls. Come on! Don't you just wanna prop him up on a pillow somewhere and make little outfits for him?

Model: Brittany Oldehoff

Unfortunately, cute as he is, he may not be here much longer if he sends more efforts like this down the runway.

Darlings, the word to keep in mind here is "instincts," as in:

Not having them.

Let's start with the fabric choice. Right there, you've got to question the instincts. While this might have been used to make a great jacket OR a great skirt OR a great pair of pants, to look at this and think of making an entire dress out of it...well. Those are some questionable instincts.

And to think you can go from a mini-dress to a gown just by adding some extra yardage...well. That too is a questionable instinct.

And finally, to not stop anywhere during this process and step back and say to yourself, "Shit. I just made a shoe," well.

You know the rest.

The actual design of the dress is fine. Had it been rendered in a more appropriate fabric, he probably would have skated through without comment.

And he even has decent technical skills.

But the fact of the matter is, there is, in the immortal phrasing of Señorita Garcia, "a taste issue." And the bad news for Jesus is, once the judges decide you have a taste issue, it's virtually impossible to convince them otherwise.

Darlings, it is a little-known phenomenon that young southern black queens sound almost exactly like old southern black church ladies. All Anthony needs is a fan and a little hat with some netting and he could be Oprah Winfrey in The Color Purple.

But Miss Sophia, we're here to tell you...

Model: Alison Gingerich

Child, you made a mess.

That is just too much dress for that fabric.

This is an instance where someone shouldn't have listened to Tim because we thought he was heading in a better direction by introducing a complementary fabric to break up the heavy floral-ness of that pattern. Granted, we didn't like the direction he was going in with it, but discouraging him from using it at all sent him on a path that was not much better than the one he was on.

Miss Sophia's going to need to learn some editing skills in order to stay in the game. It seems to us like he wanted to throw every trick he had at this one dress.

The result was that none of his tricks were particularly well done. The fit on the butt was terrible and the hem was a mess.

Plus, the bust was a nightmare...

And that thing on the hip just took it past the point of no return.

But, if he'd toned down some of the elements and did them cleanly, and if he'd stuck with his instincts and used other fabrics, he could have had a truly interesting and pretty dress. There's potential there and we think the judges can recognize a designer who just might blossom with a little hand-holding.

Tim Gunn's Workroom:



Extended Judging:




[Photos/Videos: myLifetime.com - Screencaps: Projectrungay.blogspot.com]


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