Ripping the Collections: Carol-Hannah - Part 2

The turkey has settled and Black Friday is a mere memory, so it's time to get back to dress ripping.

The proportions are off, unless she was trying to make the model look 10 months pregnant. We do like that frippery on the bodice, though. She just needed to make it a bit more fitted.

We don't know if it was Christopher's influence as her 13th-look helper, but she managed to bring the editorial eye to this look. It's got all of CH's trademarks but for once, she hasn't gone overboard on any of them. Beautifully done.

DULL. When the only thing of interest is the big Carrie Bradshaw circa 2002 fabric flower, then you need to step back and ask yourself if there's a place for this look in your Bryant Park collection.

We realize that there's a place in fashion for those high-waisted shorts and we've even trained our eye to see how they could work under the right circumstances. These are not the right circumstances. The proportions are really weird here and there's nothing at all flattering or pretty about this Little Blue Riding Hood look.

We like the idea behind this look. We just don't like the outcome. Again, it's a matter of proportion and knowing when to edit. Half of that effect, starting about a foot lower, would have made a huge difference.

We're not fans of that trademarked exposed and deconstructed seams thing that she does, but even if we were, we'd recognize that - yes, we're going to say it again - a little editing would have gone a long way here.

The girl clearly has a strong point of view and a range of techniques and tricks in her arsenal, but at the risk of repeating ourselves (too late), she needs to develop an eye that lets her know where the line is for going too far. She also needs to step away from the design every once in a while and consider the woman underneath who she envisions wearing it. As it is, there's a lot of concept and technique here, but no real understanding of a potential client base.

Additional pics:

[firstVIEW.com]


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Dr. Whitfield's Bed

Moving on from the auf'ings...

Dr. Whitfield does solid work once again. In a season that, by destiny or design, wound up with a parade of blandness on the runway, she's nonetheless been a notably solid performer.

Model: Lisa Blades

We really only have one criticism of this dress, which we'll get to in a minute. It's pretty, no doubt about it.

It fits her well and we even like the twisted straps, which is weird for us because we rarely like twisted fabric.

Our problem with it is that, though it's fitted well, it's not particularly sewn well.

Pucker City.

Plus, it only barely touches on the piece that supposedly inspired it.

Okay, that's two criticisms.

We get why the judges praised it. It really is a classically pretty design. It's just that it's not particularly wedded to its supposed inspiration, and once again we're looking at technical issues that in past seasons would have had Nina foaming at the mouth.

Extended Judging:


Tim Gunn's Workroom Critique:



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


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Dr. Whitfield

CH for the win!

Or at least, that's the way it should have gone.

Model: Lisa Blades

Not that we think it's a set-the-world-on-fire dress or anything, but it's cute and stylish, well-made and interesting. So of course the judges passed on it. Ah, Season 6, why can't we quit you?

Granted, we would have liked to have seen a dress that had something to do with the original design other than just its color. Even just a couple of sequins or a feather here and there would have been sufficient.

And granted, there's a minor titscrepancy there, but still. It was a sassy little cocktail dress with some interesting detail (and we don't mean the pockets).

Seriously, why was that the one thing the judges raved about? "Pockets! She really thought about it!" No, what we like, and what bumps this up from being a somewhat plain LBD, is the detail in the bodice.

What IS that, exactly? The doom and gloom lighting isn't helping us figure it out. Are they frayed seams? Pleats? Regardless, it's a technique Dr. Whitfield likes to pull out of her trick bag and it really helped the design this time.

Additionally, the look had some nice proportions to it. Love the skirt. It doesn't look like she took Tim's advice to use the green fabric underneath. We wonder why.

Edit: Apparently she did use the green. Chalk up its non-appearance to the medieval lighting.

Still, it was a solid entry from Alex's favorite designer and even though she doesn't get enough love from the judges, who have collectively decided that only Irina and Althea are deserving of their constant love, it's obvious that she's the constant #3. Think about it: she's rarely had a misstep at all in the competition. It's just solid work, week in and week out, without the technical issues of Althea or the occasional taste issue of Irina. Good job, Dr. Whitfield.

Extended Judging:


Tim Gunn's Workroom Critique:




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



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The Loneliest Little Girl on the Runway

We've forgotten Althea again!

Okay, no we didn't. It's just that there's always the top, the bottom, and then there's Althea. Sort of like Maude.

Model: Lisa Blades

Well, Maude did a pretty damn fine outfit, we have to say.

It's stylish, it looks expensive, and it's perfect for St. Tropez (because it's stylish and looks expensive).

We love the metallic shorts, and the easy, breezy, sexy quality of the whole look.

Our criticism (and you know there is one) has to do more with the technical aspects.

It seems to us that Althea has some good design skills but not-so-good technical skills, which is why she winds up in the middle so much. If we had to guess, we think the judges tend to like her work quite a bit but give it a pass because it's often a little clumsy-looking, execution-wise.

Not that this looks is awful or anything. Just that the sheer top looks a little half-assed, and since the whole look revolves around that top, it needed to be flawless for it to work. Althea said as much to Tim in the workroom. It's a pretty good design and perfect execution could have bumped it up to the top three.

Tim Gunn's Workroom Critique:



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


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