Auf Wiedersehen 2

No WTFery this time, kittens.

Poor guy. He really is very likeable and it was endearing how appreciative he was to still be there this late in the game, but let's face it: the writing was on the wall a long time ago.

We give him credit for choosing an inspiration way off the beaten path, but it kind of reinforced the idea in our heads that he doesn't have great instincts and he's amazingly unself-aware as a designer.

He's at his best when he's doing romantic, conventionally beautiful clothing. He's not, so far as we can tell, a conceptual designer. He was standing in front of one of the world's finest art collections. He could have picked almost any artwork in that museum and it would have been a good fit for his aesthetic. Instead, he picked the most challenging and least-like-himself inspiration he could find. Not that we're arguing he should have played it safe, but he really should have played to his strengths.

Model: Katie Sticksel

When this first came out, we momentarily thought, "No volume. Good for him." We were ready to applaud him for trying out a new silhouette.

But then we saw how the bottom half moved and we realized why he does voluminous skirts so much: because he doesn't really know how to do otherwise. A skirt with a slimmer silhouette requires a sense of flow and movement and this heavy thing just hung on her as she walked down the runway.

The top is very cute but he's done the exact same top several times this season. It was just more of the same. The corset waist just looked incongruous to us. It didn't really add any thing to the look.

And we have to say, while the execution wasn't bad exactly, it wasn't "set the world on fire" good either. Anyone who's ever watched the show knows that the final challenge is basically an audition for Bryant Park and it's the one moment where all the stops really needed to be pulled out.

Even if all the elements came together and worked perfectly, it's still not a terribly ambitious design.

Nor is it a particularly pretty dress. That skirt fabric, besides being too heavy, was just plain ugly.

In season 2, Andrae famously made a dress inspired by dirty gutter water. What made that dress so memorable is that he took something ugly and turned it into something beautiful. The fountain wasn't exactly ugly, but it did pose roughly the same challenge. This needed to be a uniquely beautiful dress and it just wasn't. It was kind of sad and stiff and depressing.

We really do think he's a sweetheart and we hope he's learned a lot from this experience. There's definitely a lot of potential there, but in our opinion, he either needs to go to school or he needs to intern for a design house to learn some of the basics. It was cute in the beginning when he admitted he didn't know what smocking is, but after weeks of demonstrating that he doesn't know how to edit or interpret, he's proven to us that he needs guidance in order to move on.

Extended Judging:


Tim Gunn's Workroom Critique:


Exit Interview:




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


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Chinstrap

Oh, honey.

"When my garment walks down the runway, they're going to look at it and go, "That's a Christopher piece."

Oh, honey.

Oh, HONEY.

This concludes our summary of reactions to Christopher's decisions this episode.

Actually, that's not quite true. At some point when we saw the direction he was heading in (i.e., the same direction he always heads) we actually yelled out "Jesus Christ, Christopher! Really?!"

Model: Katie Sticksel

Because how unself-aware do you have to be to not realize that this look is just a basic retread of every single other look he's done this season? How unself-aware do you have to be to realize that doing the same thing week after week is exactly why you've been in the bottom so much?

And how unself-aware do you have to be to not realize that this is in fact the worst version of your typical "volume, volume, volume + needless frippery" aesthetic that the judges lost interest in weeks ago?

There's a question here that needs to be asked and it's such a basic question that we're surprised the judges didn't haul it out: Who is wearing this dress? Where would anyone wear a dress like this? We'd say it looks costume-y except we wouldn't be able to figure out what exactly it's supposed to be. One of those old toilet paper roll covers that you can buy at church bazaars maybe?

Not to mention how cheap and badly made this thing is. The black portion of this look, the "over dress," as they called it, fits her terribly. What's with all that extra fabric hanging off her left hip?

Sure, it looks similar to the original dress but only in that he made the same dress and removed anything interesting or stylish about it.

The ruffles on the bottom look cheap and way overdone.

And those petals are ridiculous. This kid has absolutely no tools to self-assess or edit his work.

Wow. We're cranky this morning. But we can't help it, kittens. This isn't just a terrible entry. It's the latest in a long line of terrible entries representing all the same mistakes. And to watch the show and hear Christopher say over and over again that he loves what he's doing and he thinks the judges will love it too is just painful to hear. He can make pretty dresses when he sets his mind to it, but as a competitor in a design competition he's severely lacking in the skills one needs to make it to the end.

We know a lot of you are pissed that he's still here and that he should have gone a while ago. We can't say we disagree with that, but we will say this: we suspect that he's still her because he showed so much promise early on in the competition and the judges are loathe to let go of that image that they had of him starting out. Besides, it may be cynical of us to say this but let's face it: at this point it's all about biding our time until they whittle the pool down to the final three that we all know is coming. Maybe he should have gone home this week (or last week or the week before that) but we're fairly convinced (in fact, we're sure of it) that he won't be walking a collection down the Bryant Park runway.



Extended Judging:


Tim Gunn's Workroom Critique:



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


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Girls on Top. Again.

Sparkle!

Dr. Whitfield seems to have settled into her role as "strong contender." She's only got one win under her belt, but it seems like it energized her a bit, mainly into talking about what a bitch Irina is.

As for her look...

Model: Tanisha Harper

Well, it's Uli 2.0. We don't like to make those types of comparisons ("She's totally ripping off Leanne!!!") because let's face it, fashion is about a limited number of elements that get reused time and again in various combinations. It's all variations on a theme and looks that remind us of other, earlier looks are an inevitability.

But seriously, this looks EXACTLY like an Uli dress.

Except Uli would have picked a better print. The judges all moistened themselves over this print and sure, we can see how they might like it, but it's only just alright to our eyes. To be honest, we thought it looked a little bedsheet-y.

She really bumped it up with that braiding detail. Nina really loved it and we have to say we agree. We normally find braided fabric to be clumsy and uncomfortable looking but she managed to give it a delicate nature it rarely has.

Even in the back. Braided straps often look a little like a yoke, but not here.

So, good job, CH. It's a bit of a cliche from an inspiration point of view, but it's extremely well made with some interesting details, which automatically sets it far ahead of the rest of the pack.

And Blue Hands comes roaring back strong with an "In your FACE, BITCH!" to Heidi.

Just when you think the little slav who could is down and out, she finds something inside her and pulls out a great, eye-popping design with which no (leggy, German, bitchy) detractor could find fault.

Model: Katie Sticksel

This is, in some respects, similar to CH's in that it comes right up to the border of cliche.

But, similar to CH, she did such a good job in the detailing and the execution, that the superiority of the look simply can't be denied.

Long story short: she nailed the look on very little money and with very little in the way of embellishment. She kept it simple and between the near-flawless execution and the shiny details, it gave the outfit a classy, understated, expensive look.

To be honest, we were not sold on the necklace until it showed up on the runway. It was looking a little "crafty" to us when she was working on it. But paired with the dress, it really works. We know she made it removable for use with other outfits but to our eyes, it's meant to be paired only with this dress.

There was a lot of pulling and puckering in the dress, but that all appeared to depend on how Katie was standing. For the most part, it's beautifully fitted and technically well done. We especially like the lines running through the dress, which lift it up from being boring.

So good job, Gordana! Show that leggy German how you don't take shit from no leggy Germans! It was practically killing her to admit it, no?

" I think it's a really sexy. sophisticated, sleek dress..."

"You want me to say what? No."

"It's urban...it's all of the things that really are very Park Avenue."

"I don't WANT to. She looks at me funny. And her hands are blue. And she cries all the time. Oh, fine."

"The little voice in my earpiece told me to say 'Good job."

"Oh. Uh, well thank them for me."

"Of course, the dog collar is not something I would wear. In fact - what? I'm just saying! I can't even say that I hate the collar?"

"Fine. Whatever. Good job. Get off my - I mean, you may leave the runway."





Don't miss this week's T Lo Awards, bitches!

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


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X

Bottom Boys - The Sequel

They're a modern stone age family!

You know we love you all like a gay kid loves sequins, but there are times when the commenters reach a consensus and all we can do is sit back and wonder where it came from.

When did adorable, weepy Christopher become the guy everyone hates? Sure, his work has been less than stellar these last few challenges and we can understand why people think he should have gone home, but the anger, kittens. Where is the anger coming from? He's like a little fluffy bunny of fashion!

Model: Katie Sticksel

Here's the thing: we think this earned its spot in the bottom but we actually would have been a bit pissed if he'd been sent home over it.

Cliche? You betcha. Not so great execution? No argument there. Tacky? Well yes, but we're talking about stagewear for Christina Aguilera here. If you really want to be pedantic about it, most of Bob Mackie's oeuvre could be considered tacky.

We actually like the bustier, although it could have been fitted better.

And we honestly don't mind the idea of hot pants, except these hot pants look decidedly flimsy. Nina went off on the whole Lady Marmalade thing but it's not uncommon for singers to wear costumes that hearken back to earlier looks when they're singing their greatest hits. Cher does it all the time and even Madonna broke out the wedding gowns and pointy bras in concert years after she made them famous.

Note to Katie: You may think your ass is your worst feature, and we realize we're not the demographic your ass should be appealing to, but you're nuts, girl. That ass is FINE.


For us, what makes this entry defensible is the fact that he was the only designer who conceptualized it in terms of stage wear. He gave her two distinct looks with quick-change capabilities. And to be honest, we kind of liked this look.

On the other hand, it's looking more and more obvious to us that Logan's being kept in the game in the hopes that he trips and falls and accidentally winds up with his penis inside one of the other contestants.

Model: Kojii Helnwein

Because this strikes us as pretty much indefensible.

Okay, that's not entirely true. We can defend it on the grounds that it least attempts an over-the-top stagewear sensibility. That's commendable since so many other designers for some inexplicable reason made gowns.

And he did use color, so points for that in a sea of black and white.

The problem is it's just drab and a little ugly.

And what is that? Seriously, WHAT IS THAT?

She kinda looks a little like she's being attacked from behind by some sort of animal.

Thankfully, Nina was finally home where she belonged.

"HAHAHA! Oh, 'Edgy?!' You think this sad piece of crap is "edgy?!"

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!'

"Oh, kid. You're killing Nina here. She looks like a hooker in Bedrock."

"Nina! Say something about Christopher's look! Go ahead!"

"There is nothing amusing about Christopher's look. It sickens me."

"Why oh why am I forced to look at these tasteless, style-free garments? Why are these designers still here?"

"We should have kept the fish girl and the egg boy instead of these catalogue designers. Nina is sickened by the lack of talent. SICKENED."

"I leave you people for a couple of weeks, and this is what you have waiting for me when I come back? Shitty retreads? Why? Why can't I trust you to do the right thing when I'm not here, Heidi? Didn't I leave you extensive instructions? Didn't I tell you what to say?"

"Well, they haven't really done anything too bad. We just figured when you and Michael came back, we could --"

"HA! I'm just fucking with you. Now let's send one of these losers packing. Send the girl home. She's too perky and she gets on my nerves."

Extended Judging:




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


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