New (Reality) Love

I don't want to say I'm over Project Runway. But after a few seasons of on-and-off watching? It's not vital to my being. I might still comment on it - because I do still watch it - but, you know what? I've found someone else.


None of the designers, or the styles, on Project Runway have really caught my eye the way Ashley of Top Chef already has.

Of course, I might be biased by the fact that the first challenge was completely dull. Red carpet? Seriously? The place where boring = classic, and actually expressing an ounce of individuality = worst dressed list. I know we're under new management here, but usually the first challenge of Project Runway is about throwing everyone out of their comfort zone and seeing who doesn't lose their shit. Not "make a pretty dress for pretty people - that's it, ok, go!"
So, time will tell if I'm actually interested enough to write anything on this. But don't wait patiently on it.

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My Ada Lovelace Day Conrtibution: Diana Eng!

Today is Ada Lovelace Day, and I'm joining many bloggers by celebrating women excelling in technology. The first one to come to mind was one of the first people I wrote about in this blog. If you've been here before, you may remember it all started with a little show called Project Runway, just before their second season. My favorite contestant on that season, and I contend the most kick-ass person to ever be on the show, nay, reality television:

Diana Eng, self-proclaimed "Nerd and Fashion Deisgner". She was an automatic favorite of sorts because she graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design, not twenty minutes away from where I grew up, but I was completely swept away when in her audition, she introduced a hoodie that contained a small camera and a heart monitor. When the wearer's heart rate increased, the camera snapped a photo of whatever they were viewing.
Eng didn't make it to the final rounds on Project Runway, unfortunately, because, among other things, Michael Kors doesn't understand how magnets work. (Me? Bitter?) There's also the fact that the time and material constraints of the show didn't make room for her skills with technology (though in 2006, she did design and create ablogging purse with two teammates in less than 24 hours).

Of course, Eng is too good for me to define her through the show. When she was only 22, an inflatable dress she designed had been featured on ID Magainze. Here's the cover, and her blog entry marking it:

"I've dreamt of making it into ID magazine since I was 13. As a child I made really awful pamphlets and brochures documenting my latest design ideas for things such as nesting tea cups and landscape inspired furniture. Then I would send the brochures off to ID mag editors positive that they would feature me the next month. I was never selected. And after going to art school I've often wondered what they thought of my subpar entries. But this month I made the cover with the inflatable dress I made with Emily Albinski. The gorgeous girl in the photo is my roommate JungIn You."

Her first book, Fashion Geek, came out March 17th, full of projects for tech-savvy. She also helped found the hacker group NYC Resistor, where members "meet regularly to share knowledge, hack on projects together, and build community". She's included in their own Ada Lovelace day post, wearing what I believe is the same fibonacci scarf pictured above - a fibonacci scarf!

You can follow what Diana Eng is up to at her blog, Fashion Nerd.
Thanks Diana, for being my technology heroine, and showing literally millions of girls and women how fashionable math and science can be!

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Needed Noting...

I'm not 'back' yet, or maybe ever, but I have a story concerning the last episode of Project Runway (which Korto should have won, in my little opinion- I think she or Leanne would be my favorite, were I actually watching on a regular basis). Let me say first that I've been waiting for a drag queen challenge since season one. I predicted RuPaul as a judge way back when I started blogging about this show. I was incredibly excited about this. But it occurs to me that this challenge was a bit strange to some folks. My mom brought home this heart-warming story from work the other day:

A woman she works with always watches Project Runway with her five-year-old daughter. When the models entered out of drag, the young girl asked her mother,
"Mom- why are they putting boys in dresses??"
"Well, some boys just like to wear dresses."
"They do?" The girl said with shock, then asked: "Is that ok?"
"As long as they're open and honest about it," The mother, a psychiatrist, replied, "It's perfectly ok."
"Oh. Ok."

One small step for a man, one giant leap for a man in high heels, eh?

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Dying of Fierceness

Seriously?

This won the last challenge?


Again with the triangle thing. Here's hoping the judges realize the errors of their ways when, at fashion week, one of Christian's models fall over from a combination of top-heaviness and no circulation in their legs.

Disclosure: I DON'T GET PUFFY SLEEVES. Not at all. Not one bit. Not just when Christian does it, either- I never understand puffy sleeves. Even the tiny poof of the sleeve on Victorya and Kevin's dress in the Bitten challenge was enough to prevent me from buying it. How am I supposed to wear a jacket over that without feeling awkward? Won't the layers of material make me look like (as grieved as I am to quote Michael Kors as we usually disagree on everything) a Power Bitch? What normal person gets away with puffy sleeves off of a runway? Are giant, swollen arms suddenly attractive?
Enough about the sleeves. Sorry. They drive me crazy.

I'm glad Jillian's in, because, you know, I guess she's my favorite now, dammit. I never saw this coming. The twist I thought was- worthwhile, but not particularly suspenseful. It's really irrelevant to me if Rami or Chris are in, because Jillian is the one I want to win and Christian is the one I think is going to win. I am madly sick of Christian. I don't feel bad talking smack about him at this point because his self-confidence should really be donated to science for further study; if it can be harnessed it may be the solution to the energy crisis.
My number one peeve (though they're hard to rank, really):
HE TOTALLY KILLED THE WORD "FIERCE".


When you look at a word that much, it's just an amalgamation of letters, now isn't it? When I hear it now, alas, due to Christian's intense over-use, it is only a noise. What is Tyra gonna tell her girls to be now?

Anyway. On to the one I care about.
Sweet P. If I made a farewell video for that darling, I think I'd use Joni's "Big Yellow Taxi". See, I watched the whole season with the possibility that she could be aufed in the back of my mind- I didn't want to get too attached- so I never fully appreciated what a gentle, lovely little person she is, and how much I am really, really going to miss watching her.
Also, I loved her peacock dress.


I want one. I don't think I've ever wanted a dress on PR this much. What can I say? I'm a sucker for bright colors and big pockets.

I know someone had to go (they couldn't pull that "everyone wins!" gimmick two years in a row), but how unfortunate. Her style was so... the opposite of Christian's. Which I love! And how shitty that she was the only one who was officially out. Way to say "we have faith in everyone but you". Meanies.

I don't know that I'll have much to say next week, I'll probably keep my girlish squealing about Steven, Elisa, Kit, Kevin, Ricky and of course Sweet P's last appearances to myself. I have some other less TV-y posts planned, however. Though I could post about Lost, since it's back on- and of course, so fucking intriguing. But I wouldn't have much to say beyond "Fuck, eh?". And perhaps to mention that Daniel Faraday is my favorite TV character in- well- memory.

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The Tackiest Thing I May Have Ever Done Out of Fandom

I should have seen it coming, what with no immunity for the winner last challenge. I almost think it was planned that way- because Ricky's wrestling outfit, while not a traditional one, pleased his customer and was clearly not the worst on that runway. Of course, Rami has Golden Boy Syndrome and can't be voted out- mrah.

So in lieu of a big long entry, I prepared a little farewell for my boy Ricky. There's so much Ricky hate going around; I wanted to bring in some big-type love. While this is kind of a hate song, I thought it was, you know, appropriate, and expressed the heartache I feel.



I love a man who's not afraid to cry.
Though- as I'm sure many bloggers have already pointed out- no tears in his exit interview. He's clearly grown (or at least gotten more sleep). That's my boy.
Sorry for the jumpy or choppy bits of this video- apparently one of the features of Windows Movie Maker is shutting down every twenty seconds. Not exaggerating.
Edit: tweaked the video a bit, should be at least a little smoother now. Also, I forgot to mention that the cover of Cry Me A River is done by The Cliks.

So, who am I rooting for now? Well, Sweet P is still my underdog. However- and this surprising, since I've been so hard on her for so long- I think I want to see Jillian take the whole thing. Her wrestling outfit really charmed me.

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Episode 9: Nyah nyah!

I love, love, love challenges in which all of the designers have to use the same materials. Their technical skill and their ability to innovate is much more apparent when they're all working from the same starting point. How perfect is it that my favorite won, and my least favorite got aufed? This episode was so validating for me.


I'll admit it- at first I thought Ricky's win was highly producer-influenced- that while his dress was great, it probably didn't hurt that there was pressure to justify his presence. But the more I look at the above image, the more I am certain that Ricky won this one on talent alone. It's stellar. The seams are beautiful, the fit is great, it looks like jeans (while I loved Sweet P's and wanted her to win, it did not look like a pair of jeans- which you would think would be good, but this is of course Project Illogicalway), it's polished, and very wearable. Sweet P and Ricky's pieces were the only instantly wearable ones on that runway, which was apparently important in this challenge because they secretly planned to sell the winner online, but didn't think to tell the designers that, at least on camera.


Christian's biker look, for example, was a good concept, but certainly couldn't be worn straight off the runway and would be incredibly difficult to reproduce. I admired his idea of making a pant out of a sleeve. However, I also thought it was kind of tacky and not helping to change his emo kid image, which he must change if I or anyone over the age of 19 is ever to take him seriously. Also: if he makes another puffy sleeve I am going to die of barfness. Also: what the fuck does dying of barfness entail? Also: if Lisa put her feet together, she would be a isosceles triangle.


The main thing Rami's dress had going for it was the zippers. And I know a million bloggers are going to say it, but come on: been there, Jeffrey done that.


I liked Chris' look more than the judges did, but I did not get the boob armor. It's my only remaining question about Ricky's dress, too. What is with the chest flaps? Did I miss a fad or something? They're bizarre.

I don't have anything specific to say about Jillian or Victorya's pieces, since they were the same idea taken to different extremes- Jillian did too much, Victoria didn't do enough. I'm glad Victorya went. She seemed to be sleepwalking through this episode. Maybe she was- that would explain why she confused Sweet P with Kit twice.

Victorya was also one of three people I felt were in danger this episode, based entirely on the fact that she shared some personal details about her life, as did Rami and Sweet P. It was smart of whoever made the call to include a slew of personal stories. In the candy episode, I knew right away that it was Elisa's time- she told a long and moving story about her past, and no one else got nearly that much interview time. They had milked her; she was doomed. Shame, however, on the person who made the call (probably the same call-making person, eh?) to keep stating how fabulous Ricky's outfit was and how he was doing this for himself and everything but never showing us the dress until the end. A little obvious on that one.

These call-making people also love filming the designers running:


Seriously, is this a subtle message that they need to lose weight, or just suffering for suffering's sake? Can't they stroll jovially to their materials sometime? Or skip merrily? Even a relaxed jog would be a nice break.

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GIRRRRRRL

BAM, RICKY HATERS

(more to come)

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Sporadic Project Runway Coverage!

I could not agree with Elisa's face more. Smirking disappointment all around!
Actually, I took a lot of screen caps of Elisa's face before her departure, and this one was my favorite. All of her expressions are stunning, however, and will be missed:


I call this one "How Elisa Stole Winter Solstice".


This one is of course "OH MY FUCK CANDY FUCKING CANDY!"

Of course, I want to honor Kevin and Kit too, especially considering they were the two people I considered most likely to make it to the final four- seriously, screwed my predictions right up. If Victorya and Jillian make it I will be pissed. I prefer to be awake during the finale, thank you.
That's a bit harsh, I suppose- their avant-garde look was pretty good, though the post-apocalyptic punk thing I think was a bit obvious, it was well-executed. And Jillian has been growing on me. Not as a designer, but a person.


Good thing she wore her rainbow suspenders that day, right? I love me some rainbow suspenders. I also loved how she was all, "We were in Times Square, so we thought we were costuming a musical". That was her first thought. Not clothes stores- theaters. She's adorable, if a bit pouty for my taste.

Anyway, yeah, I really had Kit and Kevin picked for the final four, and when I saw this:


I had Kevin picked to win. I'm not so sad, though- his prom dress was not ok. The taste level was just not there. Period. I was shocked to discover that people overwhelmingly voted for Ricky to be aufed over at BPR- sure it was a bit boring, but it was pretty, and made his model look pretty. Kevin's was not flattering, at all. I'm not exaggerating: there was nothing I liked about Kevin's dress that episode, which was staggering considering his consistent skill.
Unfortunately I don't have any screen caps from that episode, so my tribute to Kevin is from the candy episode, as all these screen caps are:


Alas, no more shirtless Kevin.
My only picture of Kit is also not very flattering:


I felt so bad for her. White tank tops are a bad scene- she had to do that stealthy nipple coverage the whole time.

The only underdogs I have left (I did consider K&K underdogs, though they were well-liked, they were always just under the radar. The front runners are obviously Rami and Christian, and to a lesser extent Jillian and Victorya. Chris is in a state of constant limbo) are Sweet P and Ricky, whom I love, but who have a much smaller chance of winning the whole thing than Kit or Kevin did. Sweet P did give me some hope on the prom dress challenge. I'm sorry, Victorya's dress was great, but not prom, not at all. They judging panel really should have had someone high school age on it, or at least someone who's been to a prom in the past ten years- a high school principal or a design teacher or something. Prom dresses are supposed look ludicrously fancy. They were afraid Sweet P's was too Hollywood glamor and not enough high school, but Victorya's short, funky dress was the one, to me, that looked more at home on a red carpet. Sweet P's dress for the avant-garde challenge was good, too. All the problems were on Rami's side, but I think his head is so big it's affecting his eyesight. That insult sort of makes sense, right?

Ricky is still my love, and I thought his prom dress was adorable, but he needs to step it up. Isn't that right, Elisa?


Oh Scarecrow, I will miss you most of all.



Sorry the coverage is not so comprehensive, but my semester is already crazy- I've had three days of classes and I've already written two papers. I have four readings, two papers and a presentation all before next Wednesday. I'm working ten hours at my office job, where I just got a promotion, and the RA job can be better described as a constant gnawing pain instead of broken down into hours. To top it all, I have to wake up at or before 9 every. single. morning. I'm praying my boss will eventually learn the true extent of my not-morning-personhood, most likely when she comes in to find I have passed out over my laptop, and my drool has rendered it completely unusable.

That said, I like my classes and I like my jobs, unfortunately for you five faithful readers, more than I like Project Runway. I get to talk about the portrayal of gender in Frankenstein, rip on how douchey the New Critics were, write newsletter articles about the ordination of women or Margaret Cho or breastfeeding, and watch documentaries about the portrayal of disability in art. I mean, I love pretty clothes and all those wacky designers and everything, but they don't give me the same sort of satisfaction. I'm pretty enthralled with my work right now, so expect more content with political themes than pop culture coverage. The best scenario is when pop and politics intersect, as they often do in advertising, and have before on Project Runway. I also enjoy when I get to flaunt my geekiness in my work, as I got to in my Women's Center article on female superheroes, I will for the LOST season premiere party I'm hosting for my residents, and I did on this poster advertising the RA position:



P.S. I didn't know where to squeeze this in, but it made me so mad: I think having four people in the bottom on the prom challenge was not only unnecessary, but a slap in the face for the "safe" designers: sure, one of you got a top three score, but you were not good enough to be considered for a win. My anger with the judges/producers (since they have a hand in judging, too), week after week, knows no fucking bounds. I would seriously suggest at least setting some new guidelines for judging for season 5, and following them. They don't have to be too constrictive- just things like, you know, always have a top 3 and bottom 3, and maybe, if you don't follow the rules of the challenge you shouldn't win the challenge. It's a bit ridiculous.

P.P.S. Also ridiculous: how Project Runway, before the season started, touted some of their designers (Simone and Elisa, to memory) as "green", but some of the most ridiculously wasteful challenges have been featured this season. Season 3's recycling center challenge was green- this:

Is the damn opposite of green. I guess on the color wheel that would be purple. 45 yards of fabric on one dress (while really cool looking) is damn purple.

P.P.P.S. I guess depending on the shade of green, it could be purple, but is really more likely red. Purple, however, is more fun to say. Go on, say it a few times.

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Episode 5: Finals > Blogging

Hey all. Sorry I haven't blogged in a long time. The semester is ending and I'm struggling to get everything done. There won't be full Project Runway updates until my break starts and I have a little more time on my hands.

Let me make a few notes:

Tim Gunn Objectification continues. This week: sexualization of his advice. Sheesh, these people make it such a hard world for Tim Gunns to live in.

What is with the Ricky haters? Look at this poll on the PR livejournal community. At the time of this post, 81 people want to give Ricky the boot. And the person second to him is Elisa! I just don't get it. I know his last outfit was kind of gross, but everything else has been totally inoffensive to me, and heck, I thought he deserved to be in the top three this time.
But who is there instead? Jillian. Infuriating. It was boring, it was bad, and she used even less material from the original than Steven did. I really thought it was going to make the bottom.
But who is there instead? Elisa. The judges claimed that the outfit didn't fit her client. DEAR JUDGES: Would you shut your projectionist mouths for a second and bother to ask the client if she liked the outfit? She seemed to really enjoy herself in it, and it was really toned down for an Elisa piece while still retaining her point of view. The judges just baffle me.


I know, Ricky, I know! It's infuriating. Even the rays emanating from Sweet P's smile don't cheer you up.

To hell with the haters. I love Ricky.


You're so very, very special to me.

On Jack leaving: the circumstances are sad, but I won't miss him too terribly. Though, I suppose this means my Jack/Christian suspicions will never come to fruition, but I already knew that, considering he's dating Dale from Top Chef. That there's a happy ending, right?

On Chris returning: He called Tim Gunn a guardian angel in his note. It's just a better show with him on it. Good call, Bravo.

On Steven leaving: He just didn't pull it out this time. It was bound to happen sooner or later, I think. I'll certainly miss him a lot, but c'est la vie.

On Christian winning: Whatever. I'm hoping the judges will pull out the one-note comments on him soon enough.

In other news: my friend Melissa, whose artwork you may remember from this post, once again proved her overwhelming amazingness, and this time on TV. And it's totally Project Runway related- she walked the same runway as Heidi Klum!
She was one of thirty young women chosen to be stand-ins (or walk-ins, I guess?) for Victoria Secret models during rehearsals. You can see a video about it here, and I captured the best shot of her:


She's the one on the right. Isn't she angelic?
Go Melissa!

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Episode 3: Don't Go Home Too Soon- Oops!

Hey all. Sorry this is being posted basically the day before the new episode. Technology is failing me and time is sparse, I think the last entry being so thorough was a direct result of it being Thanksgiving break, and also, of the boy needing to take time out of cuddling to work on Nanowrimo- which he won, by the way! Yay!

Anyway, I have some things to say about this past episode, so I'll just jot them down as fast as I can.

On Carmen leaving: I think she's a perfectly capable designer, but not making the shirt before the jacket smacks of a lack of common sense. This is sooner than I thought she would go, but it's not big loss for me. I expected Ricky to be out around this time (a little awkward that they were in the bottom two after that little West Side Story style song and dance fight that was almost drama, eh?), but that would be tragic, because as it turns out, Ricky really is my favorite, just as I predicted. Personality-wise, anyway. I still don't know who's my favorite as far as design, considering this week was a whole lot of either disaster or boredom with not much in between, and last week was a team challenge, and, oh yeah, next week is a team challenge. Bah. Anyway, I love Ricky- he's so cute and sensitive, and also fierce and bitchy. "Fierce" in the biting-you way, not the, uh, way Christian intends it.
I really thought Christian was getting more tolerable until he pulled out that "Asians are fierce" crap- Christian. Think about what you're going to say. Then, think about it again. Then, think about it again. Then, if it's still a good idea and not racist, say it out loud. I know you're on a deadline and everything, and you were filmed in the past and can't heed this advice, but you're not doing yourself any favors by attempting to suck up to a race. However, I will tolerate his bragging a little more now that I've witnessed that he is, in fact, a fucking fast on a sewing machine.
On Jack winning: Bull. Shit. Kevin could have won, but, only if he had finished the jacket. It would have made the purple more subtle. Kit really came out on top of this one. She sewed all three pieces, she had an eye for what would work on camera, and she is an albino Pippi Longstocking.


But in seriousness: why was Jack even in the top three? I'm not a stickler for following the challenge to letter as long as it looks good, but Rami's or even Christian's looked better than this stripey-stripey non-suit. I think they picked Jack's because it wasn't too safe to be called boring (i.e. it was too ugly to be called safe), but it was also mind-numbingly safe (boring) from the waist up, which is what one actually sees of a news correspondent. Safe equals boring, "shows you have a perspective" equals ugly, mens wear challenge for a man in a career in which the outfits are nearly required by law to be safe and boring equals stupid, stupid, stupid idea. There will be a quiz.


Uh, do they not let the contestants buy their own food, or is this really sneaky product placement? Also, I read another blog stating that the P.M.A. (Positive Mental Attitude) message that appears on the chalkboard at the beginning of the episode is obviously from Elisa, but I think it's more likely Carmen, considering its similar catchphrasiness to "Don't Go Into the Fear Box". (If I'm right, I guess that's a bit sad, considering The Secret did not seem to work for her this time. Oh well. Follow your bliss, Carmen.) Also, I'd like to think that Elisa is above acronyms. It's more her style to leave toast around the kitchen with poems written out in condiments.

Speaking of that lovely lady, she gets more and more precious by the minute:


I love how they play mystic flute music behind her, as if shyness about undressing is part of her mystical river religion. And of course they paired her with an ethnobotanist- I refuse to believe that's a coincidence. Ethnobotany! Swoon.

I was going to do a chest count instead of a cry count for this episode, but I think the amount of skin on one page would just be blinding. Also, Kevin shirtless- another prediction was fulfilled!


Although I think Jack was the one they were aiming the camera at. Speaking of Jack's muscles, am I the only one sensing (or at least hoping for) some sexual tension between Jack and Christian? The piggie-back ride, the drawing of the cherries on the ass, the putting Christian into his man purse as if he were a tiny fashionable dog- that's flirting, right? My flirtation sensors aren't broked, right?

Steven, I love you. You're hilarious, coming further out of your shell every episode. But dear, this is not a pimp's hat.


This is a pimp's hat:


And Kevin needs to take it OFF.
By the way, Kevin, listen- we get it.


You're straight. It's fine by us. But, jeez-


Do you have to flaunt it?

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Stereotypelicious!

So, obviously advertisements are made to play on our insecurities and biases, but why do fast food commercials continue to be goddamn oppressive? You're selling food, for goodness' sakes, it's a basic human need, all you should need to do is make it look appetizing. Even "edible, cheap and not revolting" is a good marketing scheme. But, no- as I've discussed before on this blog, men are attacked if they don't act like men, and apparently eating meat is a masculine trait. Of course Burger King's "I am Man" commercial made that clear, and a new spot from Wendy's has made the point a little more subtly, by cutting up and pasting together male and female bodies so that they can have the series of events they want but without any pesky gender role variation.

The ad freaks me the fuck out. If you haven't seen it, go to their website and click the black and white cut-and-pasted head on the bottom right. They did not put regular male actors in this commercial, because, duh- being overexcited, fanatic and hysterical are totally femmey. Please, talk to some wrestling fans for ten seconds if you want to prove male fanaticism exists. You would also find a ton of female wrestling fans, and surprise! Women eat bacon, too! But you'd never know it from a fast food commercial. Women actors couldn't be cast in this commercial because, duh, meat is for men! So the obvious solution is to impose pictures of men on the bodies of women, so the womanly parts can act crazy and the manly parts can eat meat. What the fuck?

Another commercial currently on the air that bothers the fuck out of me with its subtle prejudice is KFC's heartwarming family's-favorite-moments commercial. After some searching I thankfully found that I wasn't the only one that has an issue with this one. It seems like a sweet moment over dinner at first, but after they panned around the tables a few times I realized it was a black family, enjoying a bucket of chicken, and they were fatherless. Oh, dear.

Anyway, if you're here it's probably due to Project Runway and not my analysis of advertising. Though I would love to draw an analyzing-advertising audience because, hell, it's just as entertaining as watching PR and feels way more productive. But, I'll end with my prediction for the next episode. From the previews it's pretty obviously a men's wear challenge, but that by itself is a little boring. Even if it wasn't, PR always needs a second twist (you're designing for SJP's line- with $15, ha ha ha!), so I'm hoping the real challenge is designing a look for Tim Gunn. Though it may be problematic were he walking around giving advice during the process, but think about it- Tim could finally be on the judge's panel! Also, Tim Gunn objectification ahoy!

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Episode 2: Cheer Up!

I think Rich at fourfour (probably the reason I started this blog, by the way) is totally missing out by not covering this season of Project Runway. I understand his reasons, but if the season continues like this, the cry count will rival ANTM’s.

1. Chris


He’s crying because Sarah Jessica Parker entered, and Sex and the City was the reason he moved to New York City. He’s precious. Not quite our little lamb, but perhaps our big teddy bear.

2. Ricky


He’s crying because in the last challenge, he, in his own words, sucked. How sadly self-defeating. However:

3. Ricky


Sarah Jessica Parker liked his design, so these tears are out of joy. I couldn't tell if he was also crying when his model from the last challenge got aufed, but I'll leave it as just verklempt.

4. Carmen


She got very upset because she had to say Christian should go home. She seemed surprised that they were asking- does she not watch the show, or was this just dramatics? When Steve was asked the same sort of question, he opted for mumbling instead of waterworks. His "I don’t like the idea of that, no", was so very Milton-esque. I, I believe you have my chiffon?

5. & 6. Sweet P and Marion


Heidi’s exact words: "Your look left us very sad". Maybe that’s why there’s so many tears in this episode- Marion’s depressing Xena Chic.

You know who I love? Elisa.


I love her. Whatever grass-staining yoga-practicing spit-marking happy planet she’s from, I want to visit (and by the looks of things, the other designers could use a vacation there, too). It's a shame Sweet P doesn’t know the name. Even though I find saliva really disgusting, when Elisa explained herself with this tone of, “Well, duh, to imbibe it with energy and essence, of course”, I got weak in the knees. She totally owns her crazy.

You know who I DON’T love? Carmen.


Leave the irritating self-promotion to the Bluefly Dot Com Wall, Carmen! Am I culture illiterate because I didn’t get her second reference? I would spend so much time trying to figure out who she was talking about that I would totally forget her design.

Something I found totally hilarious in the pitches to SJP- we totally would have guessed that Kevin was the straight man of this season without him telling us in the first episode. Because when others reacted something like this-


Kevin reacted like this.


Totally left her hanging. Tsk.

Tim Gunn Objectification Watch Alert: In this episode, an image of Tim Gunn was accompanied by...


an image of Tim Gunn. I understand promoting his show while he’s on the screen, but displaying him from two different angles? Demeaning.

It may be cliché, but these teams of two reminded me of high school cliques. The idea really started with this team:

Marion and Steven: Team Nerds


All they need is a pocket calculator and a 30 sided die. I think it’s fairly obvious what would belong to whom.


Christian and Carmen: Team Rich Scene Popular Kids


They’re elite, they’re full of themselves, and they’re really, really irritating.


Rami and Jillian: Team Valedictorian/Salutatorian


Which one is which, you ask? I imagine all valedictorians and salutatorians switch back and forth constantly, with a great deal of bitterness and scorn involved.


Victorya and Kevin: Team Cool Dark Drama Kids


They’re talented, they’re sexy, they appear often in 90s teen movies.


Kit and Chris: Team Other Drama Kids


They’re probably just as talented as the really serious dark drama kids, but they don’t quite have the same ambiance. Some may call them a little out there. But, of course, not as out there as:


Elisa and Sweet P: Team Stoners


Like, totally, you know, it’s all about, like, the materials, right? And like, energy, man. Sweet P kind of gets this one by association, but considering she’s been in a motorcycle gang, I don’t think it can be too far off the mark. Thank goodness Elisa got matched with Sweet P. Besides making a really nice product, I don’t think anyone else would have enough patience for her. Also, if there was indeed a challenge to design for Snow White, Sweet P would rock it.


Ricky and Jack: Team Jocks


This one was kind of a default thing. Check out those guns.


I really liked Ricky and Jack’s final product the most, but as Jack pointed out, it might be because Ricky’s model was gorgeous. I’m also confused as to what the second piece of this was, as it was supposed to be a two-piece challenge, unless it was the belt, and if so, did Ricky actually make it? Whatever, it was gorgeous, and could definitely be worn in an array of looks.






My own ranking and the judge’s coincided for the other top two spot- Elisa and Sweet P’s dress and cape. It’s beautiful and all, but I don’t know how many women would invest in a cape. Of course, if it’s featured on Project Runway, that point is pretty moot: people are going to buy it. Though I didn’t mind it on this piece, I am going to get sick of this shade of blue pretty soon. I know it’s not all exactly the same- Team Ego’s was a more fluorescent, for example, but this range of blues that hearken back to Chloe Dao are being done to death. I'm also wondering, do they teach this deer-in-headlights look in modeling school? I think Katie perfected it.

Victorya and Kevin’s dress, which actually won, didn’t do much for me, but I suspect it fit the line more than the other pieces. Rami/Jillian’s and Kit/Chris’s pieces were a little dull, except the strange choice of headwear in both cases.

My bottom two would be the same as the judge’s- Christian/Carmen’s dress was just not flattering at all. I pray that Elisa will go farther than Christian. Though he’s been pegged as a genius and she as a nutcase, she at least has the common sense to listen to Tim Gunn. If Tim calls your piece too retro and you tell him it’s perfect, I’m pretty sure it’s legal to burn you at the stake. Or at least tie you to a real giant spool of thread, or stuck in a giant pincushion or whatever.

Marion and Steven’s final product was indeed, as aforementioned, very sad. You know what I was happy about, though? Marion got to at least reference one comic book character before his departure.

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