"I would say that I sort of define myself as an artist and I'm working in the direction of fashion design."
Feh. Too much was made of this fairly innocuous (coming from a recent college grad) remark, we say. Hello? She's like a fetus. Give her some breathing room. You said shit like that when you were fetal too.
Model: Cerri McQuillan
And uhhh....thus ends the "defending her" portion of our program.
Hey, we're all for simple. But here's the thing about that: if you're going to go very simple in form, then, a) It should be a tasteful and interesting material,
and b) It needs to be FLAWLESS.
She kinda failed on all counts.
It's a dull dress and a poor choice of fabric for it. Somehow she managed to make glitter look depressing.
"The most famous pirate you can probably think of," Jesse?
Captain Hook? That guy on the rum bottle? Help us out here.
Model: Megan Davis
And while you're at it, help us out here. Because man, we just don't get it.
She's like a business woman, then? With the pencil skirt and the plaid and all that?
But her shoulders get really hot? Is that it?
And she slept in this outfit last night? Is that the story? Or wait, she put on everything upside down for some reason? We're confused.
All joking aside, we really didn't get this look at all and we REALLY didn't get it when he went on and on about his tailoring skills being evident in the piece. Credit where it's due: he did make three pieces and lined one of them. It doesn't excuse the bizarre fit and incomprehensible concept behind the outfit, but points for ambition.
"I like fashion that takes risks."
Okay, fair enough.
Model: Monique Darton
We'd argue that slapping a big ruffly fungus on a dress ain't exactly unheard of in the fashion world, though.
Like so many of this year's crop of designers, she's gonna have to figure out how to self-edit on the fly. We like the basic concept of the dress and we like the way she used the colors, but that piece is simply way too big. One third the size and she'd have an almost perfect look.
But there's a second problem here besides lack of editing. This dress fits her terribly. Tight around the ass and weirdly loose in the front. That looks like a technical issue rather than a design issue. The basic dress is as simple as it gets. She should have been able to pull off a better fit than that.
Jonathan sez: "I'm trying to discover the place where gritty meets pretty."
T Lo (after Jonathan says this two more times) sez: "Is this gonna be a thing with you?"
We can't be mad at him, though. Because if we were contestants on Project Runway, "So what are you guys going to wear to the judging tomorrow?" would be EXACTLY the question we'd go around asking.
Model: Brandise Danesewich
Okay, we get it now. That whole gritty/pretty thing.
The bodice is really cute and kind of interesting. It would have to be because except for that and the belt, there's not a lot of visual interest going on in the front.
He tried in the back but the execution failed him.
But there's enough going on there to leave us intrigued. A decent first entry.
Amy sez: "I like being different."
Model: Valeria Leonova
T Lo sez: "Honey, there's 'different,' and then there's putting a soap dish on your tit."
It's a shame, because we really like the skirt, but that light fixture on her boob is driving us to distraction. WHY?
Cute from the back, even if the skirt's a little diaper-y.
She almost had something really cute and stylish, but she ruined it with that boobtrocity. She needs editing skills.
Ben sez:"I like to see someone evolve into another personality when they put something on of mine."
Model: Sophia Lee
T Lo sez: "Yeah, we used to wish we were Wonder Woman too."
We get it, where he's coming from. That whole space queen/superhero thing. It's kind of interesting how they cast designers with some fairly rigid design aesthetics. It just occured to us because we're about to utter a criticism that we just realized we've said more than once already.
Namely, that if he's going to keep pulling out these comic book looks week after week, the judges are likely to get bored with it quickly.
He's also going to need to ramp it up in the technical department. That back looks a right mess. Interesting seam placements, but the shininess of the fabric and the puckery of the seams doesn't help with the statement.
Still, another interesting first entry. We'll see how well his genre-inspired aesthetic will work when he has to make a dress out of kitchen utensils.
"I cannot send it down the runway. But I think I can fix it. I'm going to fix this. I have to fix this!"
Janeane, honey, SIMMER DOWN. Pace yourself. If you play your cards right, you'll have plenty more opportunities to burst into tears in front of millions.
Okay, you know what our absolute favorite thing is about Boo Boo Kitty here?
It's the way she keeps right on talking while she's crying, which only serves to provide us with an endless array of absolutely hilarious facial expressions. Honey, the rule is cry OR talk, never both at the same time, especially when you have a camera on you.
It's kind of a shame she talked herself out of her original design. It looked like it was going somewhere.
Model: Lorena Angjeli
This, on the other hand, is a dead end.
We were almost ready to defend it as a Calvin Klein-esque minimalist take, but that's being awfully kind.
The fact is, this looks exactly like what it is: a last minute attempt to stitch something - anything - together and send it down the runway.
We suspect it got a pass from the judges because you just don't notice how lame it is on first glance. It's like the illusion of an outfit.
"I'm totally a type A personality. I like to be at the top constantly."
If you're new to the world of reality television, this is code for "I plan on being a huge pain in the ass."
Model: Sarah Bell
Enh.
Again, there's not a lot of there there.
If the brief is to show who you are as a designer, now's not the time to pull out the simplest, easiest designs you can think of.
We like the back on this dress, but we just can't get behind the insect wings for sleeves.
They throw off the whole silhouette and they just look weird from the back.
If these two looks are them trying to wow the judges, then the bar has been set a little low going forward.
And what's with the hair and makeup? Both girls look 15 years older than their age.
Let's spend some time rifling through Nina's closet. She won't mind. We're likethis.
After last week's episode the internet cried out with one voice and said: "NINA LOOKS FABULOUS! I WONDER WHAT SHE'S WEARING!"
Marc Jacobs Fall 2009 Collection
