New Year Runway Retrospective

New Year Runway Retrospective by Roxanne McDonald

To bring in the new year with “Project Runway,” we revisit the richest of challenges, the greatest of design moments, the finest of lines.

Hell, one could have a great piece just by reviewing all of the cheeky, fuzzy, funny, smart-ass comments.

Anyway.

It’s refreshing to watch a program championing creativity that is actually creative in its approach to challenges for the contestants. Some of the individual ones [and some highlights] appear below, though not all inclusive, due to this writer’s missing some episodes and having other things to do (believe it or not) besides, for Hell sake….

SEASON 1

Best Line: “Don’t sell your soul to go anywhere because you may need it someday.” Kara Saun

“Design for the Future” Imagine design for the year 2055, Tim Gunn advises: “Will it be for “The Jetsons” or Blade Runner?”

“Design for the Red Carpet” Create a dress for Nancy O’Dell, then host of “Access Hollywood.” Watch out for sequins and evening gowns, kids. Oh, and the contestants get an invitation to Michael Kors studio, which according to them rocks.

SEASON 2

Best Line[s]: any Santino imitation of Tim Gunn: “Designers, look out for Andrae. He’s our little lamb;” Santino saying, “If Van Gogh had had my personality, he wouldn’t have had to cut off his ear;” Tim Gunn’s comment about Nick’s poofy design: “She’s like an elongated marshmallow.”

“All Dolled Up” A surprise design challenge has contestants fighting to avoid elimination by creating a look for Barbie…the doll.

“Window Shopping” Design for a “world-renowned” clothing company: Banana Republic.

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The Year in Project Runway Fashion

The Year in Project Runway Fashion–Thus Far by Roxanne McDonald

The approach of the new year always makes for good retrospective—looking at who did what, who had what done to them, and how they all came to do….

As in what challenges turned “Project Runway” season 4 designers in and out:

EPISODE ONE

“Sew us What You’ve Got,” a.k.a. Make it Work with the Worst(ed) :
A literal race on foot to a booth of fabulous fabrics and faux furs—to express their

personal silouettes–yields a last to pick (but sour grapes happy) Chris, a groovy Elisa who spits on fabric to mark it and imbue spirit into it, and a first-to-be-auf’d Simone LeBlanc.
EPISODE TWO

“I Started Crying,” a.k.a. I Started Crying and Never Stopped:
Marion Lee and Steven Rosengard’s team design for Sarah Jessica Parker’s challenge was so complex and left so little time to perfect before runway that it rendered Marion right out of the competition. This made Ricky cry. Okay, this isn’t why Ricky was crying—again—and will cry—again and again. Who knows why Ricky is crying this time? But he has that right, as an artiste. So back off.

EPISODE THREE

“Fashion Giant,” a.k.a. Oh. My. Gawd. Another Celebrity to Impress, and This One Has a Penis:

While the presence of Tiki Barber, Today Show correspondent and former “legendary” running back for the NY Giants, may not have wowed too many of the designers, the chance to work with hunky, delicioso, drool-inducing (for everyone ‘cept Rami and Elisa) male models did.

And this episode in particular challenged this viewer (whose only claim to design knowledge is in a history of having a mother who sewed all her and her sibling’s clothes, but who, nonetheless, knows what she likes). This viewer asked—okay I…, I asked—what was up with overlooking some of the sharpest designs. My sister also happened to come in and get her first “Project Runway” experience (being a bright girl who doesn’t watch television and who instead does her own brilliant art twenty hours a day) and watching the runway agreed with me on the coolest of designs: the sleek dark (which Barber said he liked when introducing the challenge) casual and sexy designs like the jacket with the Nehru collar and tailored backside and fitted slacks. We didn’t question, however, poor Carmen’s bungled mess of what Tiki’s wife called a Members Only throwback and what was bunched and puckering at the zipper and screwed up at the pant waist and was really distinguished by the absence of any shirt at all (a folded material ascot-style instead).

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Smell a Bravo TV Spin-off Comin On

Smell a Bravo TV Spin-off Comin On–with Bravo TV Contestants Dale and Jack by Roxanne McDonald

It is so awesome that “Top Chef” and “Project Runway” contestants Dale Levitsky and Jack Mackenroth have met and fallen for each other; and the possibilities are endless for this talented twosome.

“The Top Chef 3: Miami” Dale Levitsky, who made it exceptionally far into the competition (was a finalist), is a self-taught chef and consultant out of Chicago, Illinois. He’s the one with the brilliant sense of humor.

“Project Runway 4″ Jack Mackenroth, who is still (as far as we know) battling with scissors, is a triple titlist in several disciplines, a degreed designer from Parsons School of Design, and menswear store owner in New York, New York. He’s the one with the pretty smile that will go nicely with his new love’s cracking wise.
And, believe it or not, they did not meet working the Bravo TV circuit. (That actually makes sense, as Dale would have been well beyond the competition process as Jack began his…provided there was no pre-taping overlap.) Anyway, Dale and Jack apparently met via MySpace communiqués.

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Spit, Sweat, and Swoon on Runway

Spit, Sweat, and Swoon on Runway by Roxanne McDonald

If the second installment is any indication of what “Project Runway” 4 will offer avid fans, then holy Sarah Jessica Parker, people!

What an engaging and delightful episode was episode 2:

Not so thrilling was the first round of model matching, when one—Wendy—had to be ousted, but once the first challenge of the night began, the drama ensued.

We viewers were squealing as loudly as Chris was crying devotedly (or as passionately as does Ricky seem to cry each week): A surprise fashion icon was promised and then introduced, and in walked the New York style fashionista trend setter Sarah Jessica Parker, to explain the next challenge. Besides your being able to just see the wheels of Parson participants high-speed cranking over the flouncy dresses and stylish and matching hats and gloves, you got to hear Carmen gush about how we’re-not-worthy lucky they were to have THE Sarah Jessica Parker and hear Chris express, weepingly, how his first experiences watching “Sex in the City” compelled his future of moving to New York and designing fashion like Carrie wears.
With the guidelines—a mere $15 to build a Bitten design—and the excited ambience (for all but either clueless or too-snooty-to-prostrate-himself Christian), the designers delve into thirty-minute designing, quick, unnerving pitches to the couture queen, and teamwork.

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Project Runway 4 Premiere Prime Cut

Project Runway 4 Premiere Prime Cut by Roxanne McDonald

Project Runway 4 Competing DesignersTop Back, Left to Right: Jillian, Carmen, Marion, Simone, Elisa, Jack, Chris, Steven, Rami, and Kit.Front and Hunkering, Left to Right: Kathleen, Ricky, Christian, Victorya, and Kevin.

Oooh is “Project Runway” gonna be fuuun, she says, rubbing her hands together in sweet anticipation, rolling tape, and hearing and seeing the familiar, long-awaited sights and sounds: “Alrighty, then.” “One of you will be the winner; the other will be OUT.” “Make it work.”

The tough thing is watching the teaser re-runs of the previous season (season 3), and thinking how you are going to miss sedulous Michael, eccentric Vincent, quirky Kayne, freaky deaky Angela, or the awesome winner—Jeffrey Sebilia! Aww.

But then season 4’s premiere episode changes your mind, settles all your hesitations:

Heidi Klum is just as beautiful and brusque; Tim Gunn is even more dignified and debonair; and from snappy to snooty to downright silly are the returning judges.

But of course what makes the show are the “central characters,” the contestants—clueless, cutting edge [er, yeah, weeeak pun], classic, camp, and, well, on the verge of coo coo:

Elisa snatches up some airy fabric, throws to the ground, and knees it—to grind it into the grass and hence “feed” the material natural color/characteristic.

[Tim has pegged her aesthetic as one which struggles with being between “fashion and wearable art.” Her first piece was gorgeous, and yet not functional as a runway design.]

Christian, in a haircut that can’t decide if it wants to be Victoria Beckham look-alike (on one side) or a Beatle who hasn’t had a trim since, well, the Beatles were on tour, decides Elisa is the weird one of the group.

[Tim at one point has already called him a “fashion prodigy,” though, so just ignore his pre-emptive cattiness for now.]

Kit, aka Kit Pistol, does edgy. She dresses edgy. She speaks to all of the above. But for some reason, I don’t even remember her 1st runway piece—never mind one that was abyss-teetering or ground-breaking.

[Tim, however, points Kit Pistol out as not only experienced but a risk-taker. So okay, maybe she will go to greater extremes as the weeks wear on.]

Kevin seems like an amiable, mind-his-own-business-until-irritated type. He of course got less air time than the kookier types, but he also brought on one of the coolest designs.

[Tim has determined Kevin to be serious, “too serious,” even, so let’s hope that doesn’t translate to tendentious tantrum type.]

Jillian seems serious, too, in a keep-to-herself so she can create stunning, high-end couture that is really expertly executed. [Did you SEE that perfect red dress?] I always appreciate the quiet, darker types, despite how my mom admonishes that “still water runs deep”—in a BAD way—whatever that means.

[Tim confirms Jillian has a “girly, flirtatious” aesthetic and is “her own muse”…ala Diane von Furstenberg and Betsey Johnson.]

Simone is/was [first one sent packing her knives—oh, no, wait; that’s another Bravo wonder] attempting to marry two eras or times, using vintage colors and vintage-looking fabrics [ though what the hell was up with that “jacket” without sleeves?] with modern colors and fabrics. A bit too ambitious, Simone sent her design onto the runway unfinished, sewn onto the model, and unfortunately lacking to the point of being offensive to the judges.

[Tim had said of her that her textile aptitude was excellent, right on. Shame she didn’t have or account for time to pull it all off.]

Marion, for some reason, goes against the bias for me [clothing designers and seamstresses at home will appreciate that metaphor]—but not in a good, color-outside-the-lines, iconoclastic way. A floral shop owner who now does clothing design in his shop (complete with roses and big fat flowers on a number of the pieces, of course), Marion seems to have something just a little off about him. I have to see him more to figure out just what.

[Tim says, and okay, I appreciate the implication, “Designers design.” So it doesn’t matter what or where—flower shop to flower suits….]

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Stalled on Runway

Stalled on Runway by Roxanne McDonald

Season 4 of “Project Runway” will not air this summer, but will premiere in late 2007. Man, does that bum some of us fans of the show.

The next “Project Runway” has been announced and promoted—but minimally. So it’s little more than a tease to our summertime TV schedules that “Project Runway 4” is still in the making rather than ready to watch!

According to Reality TV World, et.al., season four will premier in quarter four of 2007. Also different is how “Project Runway” will follow “Top Chef Miami” (rather than the other way around). And mixing up the format of the finale,

according to Realty TV World’s Steve Rogers and Christopher Rocchio, “ season four will see ‘only three finalists… face-off… at New York Fashion Week’ — a change from the third season format that featured four finalists presenting collections.”
The casting call and auditions began in late March/April, and Dean of the Sewing Machine, mentor Tim Gunn, discussed the upcoming talent: “We’ve moved about 125 people through to the next level,” quotes ET Online. “The talent is there and, as a group, the people have anywhere from six to 15 years of industry experience, and strong points of view.”

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Project Runway Winners: Where are They Now?

Project Runway Winners: Where are They Now? by Roxanne McDonald

Well, more to the point, what are they creating?

I jumped on the “Project Runway” watchers’ wagon when it was in its third season (though I did get to see a re-run of Chloe win season two), so I not only miss the creative output of designers like Jeffrey Sebelia but am curious about what he is doing with his new title, and all.

Thought I’d therefore check-in on all three “Project Runway” winners.

Season 1 Winner, Jay McCarroll

I was impressed and intrigued with the first winner, Jay McCarroll, for when he won, though he said he needed a lot of money, he “opted to pursue other financial ventures”—rather than accept the $100,000-prize money! The Banana Republic mentorship? I don’t know.

McCarroll also stayed in New York part-time, continuing to create new projects while working on his branding—efforts he would soon thereafter do a documentary on called Project Jay (which aired on Bravo in February of 2006).

When it came time for the season two cattle call, McCaroll was there at Parsons to help choose the next contestants.

In September of 2006, McCarroll presented at Fashion Week his “Transport” collection—one which, as an anti-fur collection, was sponsored by the Humane Society of the United States. The “Transport” collection as he defined it would, he said, “take the fashion consumer to a higher plane of consciousness and encourage people to see fashion from a different perspective.”

Reportedly, he then changed the collection’s theme, first inspired by Pet Shop Boys’ “West End Girls,” to feature looks for men and women that carried a more “futuristic” theme.

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Jeffrey Sibelia Rightfully WINS Project Runway

Jeffrey Sibelia Rightfully WINS Project Runway by Roxanne McDonald

Contrary to the comments that Jeffrey was no “fan favorite,” this utterly brilliant designer deserved to win…for many reasons.

If you read the recap of the unnamed BuddyTV staff columnist, you will note how he or she says of Jeffrey Sibelia that “Well, he’s no fan favorite, that’s for sure, but his vision is certainly individual and unique.” The writer is spot on about Sibelia’s skills, but is actually not one hundred percent accurate in his/her point regarding the designer’s following.

Check out, for example, the wonderfully comprehensive blog for Project Runway, which features/featured weekly polls, and you will see how Jeffrey’s designs were often preferred as those that “should have won” the individual competitions. Or consider the poll that asks whose designs fans of Project Runway were most looking forward to see in full collection on the Project Runway finale. Jeffrey’s.

Granted, Michael won the “Fan Favorite” check for ten grand, a poll sponsored by Bravo, but other stats indicate Jeffrey was a winner long before he got the title in the final episode of Project Runway. Likewise, his often stoic countenance (mistaken for gristly uncaring) and his creative genius, along with his brittle wit, make Jeffrey Sibelia the star of the show.

He had to put up with the self-indulgent and distorted egos that were part of the “Everyday Woman” challenge.

He had to listen to the blather of lesser designers sniping at his technique.

And he had to do a fire walk for a fellow competitor’s oddly timed and falsely put accusations that he outsourced beyond what was allowed in the competition regulations.

(This still bugs me, especially after learning that Laura didn’t even have the intuition or observational skills of her own to fuel the allegations, but, rather, she heard from her mother who heard from etc etc etc. And the very phenomenon of L’s mother befriending J’s mother seems terribly odd and questionable to begin with, so hmmm.)

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Project Runway: Are We Still Sticking up for the Underdog?

Project Runway: Are We Still Sticking Up for the Underdog? by Roxanne McDonald

The latest scandal for Project Runway is one many of us doubt should be happening. Shouldn’t Laura be minding her own business?

So the Project Runway final four, all geniuses in their own right and all coming to the finals with their own sob stories, are now up against the intrusive and insulting accusation by Laura that Jeffrey hasn’t made his own clothes line. Is she jealous? Threatened? Feeling a bit too sorry for herself? Acting a bit too nosy?

Granted, it was heart-rendering to hear that she has never had enough money for her own clothing business. It was equally poignant that Michael has had a hard life, Uli was a refugee wannabe in Eastern Germany for all of her childhood, and Jeffrey was a homeless drunk.

In fact, it was sadest to hear that Jeffrey couldn’t, he said, imagine what

a parent goes through when he or she learns the son is on the streets—when he could barely handle it when his baby son fell down and started crying.

But keep in mind, too, that Jeffrey is the most popular designer at this stage, with the greatest number of call-in and text-message voters (at Bravo.com’s site) wanting most to see Jeffrey’s final line of clothing over all the other designers’ lines.

And as one character in Amelie (2001) says, “Généralement, les hommes que j’aime sont particulièrement défectueux.” “By and large, the men I like are particularly unsound.” So…we are rooting for the underdog. So…we are most appreciative of the creative genius that comes out of such a depraved history. Yeah. Jeffrey is brilliant and deserves this final shot as much as if not more than one or two of the others. Or, regardless of who deserves what for which biggest boo-boo, Jeffrey is the most creative, the most innovative, and the most prolific. Likely in part because he minds his own damned business and therefore has enough time to get his work done.

So what business is it of Laura’s to find some loophole? Does she not realize that 1) Jeffrey doesn’t have eight million brats sucking up his time; and 2) Jeffrey may have more of a need than she to succeed at this task. The more depraved are not necessarily the more deserving, but from my own experience I have found and do believe that the more needful you are to succeed (if you have talent and drive) the more intensely you struggle and the more successful are your results.

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Bumpy and Wavering Project Runway

Bumpy and Wavering Project Runway by Roxanne McDonald

Project Runway keeps on putting a ding in the shears, a snag in the cloth, a stone on the runway.

Vincent is gone. It is, as one of the remaining five says, “the end of an era!” The next challenge is not announced on the runway or in the workroom. Instead, Jeff, Kayne, Laura, Uli, and Michael are told they have been invited to a party put on by L’Oreal. There they will be joined by “special guests”.

Jeffrey says it’s a trap.

At a chic club the surprise guests turn out to be Vincent and Angela, returned to compete in a task that requires they use black and white fabrics to design a cocktail party outfit.

Because they

won previous challenges, Vincent the everyday woman and Angela the Macy’s challenges, they have been reinstated in the competition. However, three people will be out this round.

Kayne is gulping champagne, and Jeffrey is stating, “Whatever. I don’t have to like it.” Besides, he adds, the “good news is …” and finding nothing to say to fill in that blank just shrugs in his usual apathetic fashion.

In the workroom, Kayne, ever the sport about things, pats Vince on the back and asks him if it is good to be back. Vince is cautious and says he is just ready to get at the next project. (more…)

Project Runway is addictive!

Project Runway is addictive! by Roxanne McDonald

I was already taken in the most unlikeliest of ways by America’s Next Top Model, and having supposedly no interest whatsoever in a bunch of clothing worn by a group of beauties I would have nothing in common with save a heartbeat, I was determined to avoid watching Project Runway.

I mean, knowing my penchant for reality TV, combined with my tendency to get hooked, I had to keep yet another show from taking all my attention.  But one day when the other 500 channels had nothing I was too thrilled about, I tossed caution to the sky and tuned in to what appeared to be the third episode of Project Runway.

Now I am looking for ways to let go of the time slot shows originally on my schedule, which I work out daily, and insist on fitting this show in to my watching repertoire.  The show has the cliché gender-bender designers, the typical panel of judges (with the atypical guest judges like Ms. Trump and Ms. USA contestant), and the standard line-up of challenges to exempt one from elimination and to cut one from the running.  (more…)