Project Runway - Week Eleven

Welcome one and all to the newly designed review blog! Do you like it? I did it all for you guys ya know! Make sure you add yourself as a loyal reader here ------------------->

So newly designed blog aside, I was pretty amused with last night’s designs. And incredibly angry at the actual person going home. In a clear case of Bravo producers stepping in, the obvious choice to go home last night was overlooked in favor of someone else. Why? Because the person that stayed could provide more “drama”. Ugh. All Bravo has done has earned my wrath.

The challenge for our final five designers was to create an outfit for each other, inspired by a certain genre of music. The breakdowns were interesting to say the least.
Kenley had to design a hip hop look for Leanne. Leanne had to design a country look for Korto. Korto had to design a punk look for Suede. Suede had to design a rock look for Jerell. And finally, Jerell had to design a pop look for Kenley.

Some of the designs were spot on, while others were so off the mark, it was laughable. (Looking at you, Kenley). With the finale due in the next few weeks, I can see maybe two designers locked, but the other spot? Let’s just say I’m hoping for one over another, but considering the results from last night, I’m worried about the producers stepping in to keep the drama.

Before I get to the individual breakdowns of each design, thanks to the new format, I can add poll questions at the end of the review. Below, you’ll find 2 such questions I’ve proposed to my readers; one in regards to this week’s elimination, and the other in regards to what some readers have emailed me about, that being review blogging something else when Runway ends. Please take 2 seconds to answer them!

Now that we go that out of the way, we can get to the designs.
Let’s see how our designers made out:

Jerell - “Kenley Spears”. That’s how Jerell described what Kenley looked like in his well-designed outfit, made for pop music. Jerell got the perfect genre to make an outfit to. I can imagine Britney herself strutting around onstage with an outfit just like this one. I do tend to agree with Heidi when she commented that there could have been a bit more support in the cup area, but over all, it was a very solid put together look that screamed “pop queen”. I think the adding of the mesh on the sides was a perfect touch, and as LL (should I call him LL, or Mr. Cool J?) pointed out, once that tiny little purple vest came off, it gave up enough skin to make it a truly great pop outfit. I think this was definitely better then the winning outfit, though I am just as happy with what won. I can see Jerell going into the finale by this point, because of his consistency, attitude and ingenuity. Safe for this week, but unfortunately not the winner.

Leanne – Leanne’s look for Korto had to be country. When one looks at Korto, I don’t think the first thing that comes to mind is “good old fashioned country girl”, so Leanne’s work was definitely cut out for her. I’ll give Korto credit for getting into it later, slipping on some country-style boots and doing a little line-dance jig. (who knew this angry black woman had such a funny side?) Leanne did what she could, and she barely pulled off the look. At one point, one of the judges pointed out that they wouldn’t even think “country” unless they looked down and saw the boots. I liked the top, which was a perfect color to accent the black skirt. However, that skirt was waaay too long. Granted, Korto is a healthy black woman with a lot of what they call “junk in the trunk”, so I’m not sure what Leanne could have done differently to fix it. As it stands, she gets a pass to next week, as it wasn’t a downright mess. With a few tweaks this could have been a great look, though looking at it, I’m not sure what could have been done to bring it to that level.

Korto – I have to admit, Korto is pulling ahead of being one of my favorites in this competition. She turned Suede into a punk stand out. The jeans she constructed fit Suede perfectly, and the accents with the bleach were just enough to cross it over into “rebellious”. I loved the way she connected the shirt to the jeans, using the chain. The styling on the shirt were also standing out, raising the shirt style from simple to stylish. She turned what could have been a simple outfit of “shirt & jeans” into an outfit that fits perfectly into the whole retro punk style. Now, as far as what outfit in the challenge looked more like their genre this week, it most definitely is a toss up between this one and Jerell’s. This one obviously won, but I personally think Jerell’s was better. But I’m not upset this won, because I liked this one just as much. Korto should sail easily into the finale at this point, unless she seriously messes up in the next couple of weeks.

Suede – Oh Suede. I will say off the bat, I am so not a fan of him, or his work. Yes, his third person references get on everyone’s nerves; yes, his outfits never ever matched his boasting. But last night, much as I was pining for Suede to go home all these weeks, he just shouldn’t have gone home last night. While the rock outfit he designed wasn’t “blow me away” or “rock personified”, it certainly was 1000 times better then that awful horrid rag that clueless Kenley designed. Was Suede’s outfit boring? Yes, it was definitely something we’ve seen many times on many rock stars. (heck, to me, Jerell looked like a younger, black version of Billy Idol.) But was it worse then Kenley’s? Really? I don’t think it was, and hence we finally see the producers hand in the judging. You know what I’m talking about. At the end of each episode, week after week, there is that message that flashes on the screen that tells you in some cases the producers over-ride the judge’s decision. Why? For RATINGS. This was a clear case to me, of the judges deciding on sending Kenley home, and the producers stepping in and telling them to send Suede instead, and keep Kenley to cause more drama. Ugh. I am not a fan of Suede, but what’s fair is fair. His outfit was not the worst out of the final two. At least Suede’s outfit looked a little rock influenced. Kenley’s was supposed to be hip hop. Does it look hip hop to you? (see next paragraph) Bye bye Suede. Nick will not miss your third person speak.

Kenley – You are kidding, right Kenley? This girl had no clue….NO CLUE…what hip hop style is. I’ll be the first to admit, I’m no hip hop expert, but I watched enough of So You Think You Can Dance and music videos to get a pretty good idea of what hip hop style is. This ----------------------->
isn’t even close. What kills me is not only did she insist that this is what hip hop artists wear; she totally gave Tim Gunn attitude when he was asking her about it. This woman has gotten on my last nerve, because this is the first time I’ve ever seen Tim get bitchy with someone. The attitude she was giving Tim was uncalled for, and considering the monstrosity of an outfit she put out, she would have been better off listening to him. Then again, as we know, this isn’t the first time she’s blown off Tim’s advice. So where do I begin about this outfit? Should I start with the booby-high waisted mommy pants? The ridiculously patterned fabric she chose for the shirt, because “it looks like graffiti”? (I mean, graffiti? Really?) Poor Leanne looked as ridiculous, and did not, at ALL, resemble the hip hop style. That whole outfit was about as hip hop as The Sound of Music. She was so off the mark, I thought for sure, she just dug her own grave, and I thought she was digging even deeper when she argues with our favorite bitchy judge, Nina. But in the end? She is safe and they send Suede home?! What?! Yeah, I see you Bravo producers. Thanks. Thanks a lot. I get to put up with this incredibly annoying woman another week.
Hmm….guess that was the point, huh?

As usual what did you guys think?
Was I off the mark? Take the poll below, and see if you agree! Did the right person get eliminated? Should it have been Kenley?
Also, if you want me to continue blogging another show, vote below! As usual, chat it up!! Let me hear from you!
And of course, until next week…..auf wiedersehen!

Project Runway - Week Ten

I can’t believe we’re down to only six designers. It seemed like yesterday I was commenting on Wesley’s short-short school boy outfit. We’re really seeing who’s starting to get ahead of the pack, and who’s overstayed their welcome.

To refresh, last night the designers were tasked to create a look for six newly college graduated young women, pertaining to the career path they had chosen to pursue. To make the challenge more...interesting? (Annoying?), the young women also had their mothers along, to put in their 2-cents where it was (obviously) not wanted. Chaos and drama ensued, as was expected, but nothing that extreme. Half the designs were great, but half of them were...pretty bad. (Props to Jerell...the guy does seem to have pulled ahead of the pack.)

Apparently, poor Leanne wound up with the “Hedda Lettuce” of the challenge, (as Jerell so accurately stated). Leanne’s client’s mom had so many changes for her, Leanne had to re-work the whole outfit. I would feel bad, but to be honest, I kind of agreed with the mother’s suggestions. Sorry Leanne, I do still like you, but her changes were legit. (except for that constraining jacket – it was so not needed - I would have said remove completely)

Let us begin! It’s not like you haven’t waited all week for my insightful mind to comment on the designs, right?

Right?

Umm...are those crickets I hear?

To the designs:

Kenley – Okay this girl is really starting to get on my nerves. Granted, I will give you that she is a great designer of 40s/50s style dresses, but her personality is really starting to grate on me. This week’s outfit was, as the judges said, really cute. Not really good enough to win, but cute enough to get a pass. But who does this girl think she is? Did you see the surprised look on her face when her dress wasn’t chosen as one of the top two designs? Plus on top of that, she consistently ignores Tim Gunn’s advice, and she freely admits it! Yet, she wonders why she is either in the bottom or why her designs don’t get chosen as the top choices. (and don’t get me started on what I saw in the previews for next week...unless Bravo edited to seem that way, Tim really tells off Kenley and her poor attitude. Now to the outfit;like I said it was cute. Loved the belt, and the way it gave a soft separation of the dress. The vest was a nice addition, and fit into the over all style of the dress. Was it cute? Definitely. Was it a winning outfit? Not really.

Leanne – Poor Leanne. I have to admit though, she didn’t crack. Having that mother basically telling her to start over would have made me scream. But much as I agreed with the mother’s suggestions, the final outfit wasn’t as eye-popping as I would have wanted. And that jacket was just sooo unnecessary. It looked so constricting and unflattering. Once she took the jacket off, I saw a very cute, yet professional dress, perfect for a school teacher. No wonder the judges asked her to take off the jacket. Leanne’s outfit would have been fine, but she went a little overboard adding a jacket to the ensemble. (actually, now that I think about it, and look at all the outfits...every designer added some theme of jacket/sweater, except for maybe Kenley, who opted for a vest. Yeesh.) I was disappointed in Leanne this week, but I still don’t see her not making it to the finales. She at least takes Tim’s advice, unlike the laughing hyena, Kenley. (wow, I really dislike her, don’t I? No one gives Tim sass! No one I say!)

Korto – Finally, we get to see Korto’s funny side, and we get away from the impression of “angry black woman” that seemed to float around her. I saw her personality when she says she is a “cool hip mom”, knowledgeable to trendy current fashions for the younger generation. I also saw her funny side, commenting on now that Stella is gone, she is the new queen of “leathah”. Hysterical. Her design fit perfectly into what we’ve come to expect from Korto; clean, beautiful construction, amazingly fitted garments, with a great eye for patterns. The green print was a perfect choice for her client’s personality, which came off to me as bouncy and fun. And if you’re going to design a jacket, then the rest of the designers should take notes from Korto. That jacket was perfectly fitted and stunning. One of the judges described the jacket as looking expensive, and they were right. It was a great fit, complimenting the pattern and breaking up the outfit without disconnecting from it. I don’t remember what her client’s choice of career was at the moment, but I do remember thinking this was a totally appropriate outfit for it.

Suede – You hear that clock ticking, Suede? It’s the clock ticking down to your time on the show. You are sooo lucky that Joe’s outfit was way worse then yours...but not by much. What bothered me most about this outfit was not the dress itself (even though his client did tell him she wanted pants – but Suede does what Suede wants), but that awful awful jacket thing. I call it a thing, because not only was it ill-fitting, it didn’t even look finished. It looked half done and sewed together haphazardly. And don’t get me started on those ridiculous cuffs. Is that supposed to be stylish? Take off the jacket, it was a decent looking dress that probably might have given him a pass to next week. And I do remember his client worked in a lab, but I seriously do not believe that type of pattern and dress would look good under a lab coat. Maybe that’s just me. All in all, Suede has most definitely overstayed his welcome, but nonetheless gets a pass this week, mostly because Joe’s idea of female business style is stuck in the 80s.

Jerell - I loved this outfit. I thought it was the epitome of a designer “getting” his client, because not only was the outfit flattering and perfect to the girl’s style, it fit her personality flawlessly. I don’t remember what this girl was doing career wise, but I do remember thinking “Perfect! Perfect! Perfect!” when I first saw it. The colors created a beautiful blend, and the top was styled just enough to add a little femininity to a somewhat androgynous look. (which is exactly what the client wanted and asked for) The cardigan sweater completed the outfit well, which blended into a stunning outfit for someone with the girl’s tall, lanky proportions. Very impressive Jerell, I give you props, you definitely turned around from the boring outfit from last week. Is that the finale I see in the distance? We’ll see.

Joe – As most of my readers know, you can guess I wasn’t too upset to see Joe go. I really was never a fan of Joe, but I did give the man credit when he deserved it for great outfits. (the drag queen challenge, the Olympic challenge) But this outfit? What. A. Mess. Where should I begin? I knew this poor girl’s outfit was headed for disaster when Joe headed for men’s fabric at Mood. This outfit was cliché beyond belief, and a horror show of bad 80’s women’s business fashion. The blouse was so badly constructed and ill-fitting, it looked like she was going to “flop” out if she bent over. It looked way too loose and sloppy. His client told him she didn’t like the pinstripes, and she doesn’t like the idea of the jacket. Joe, of course, doesn’t listen. Cliché or not, this was just a bad looking design period, regardless of what time period it was extracted from.
Talk about being out of touch, Joe just proved he is not up on current women’s fashion trends. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t profess to be an expert, but I do see enough and interact with enough female coworkers in my office to know that Joe was waaaay off the mark on current women’s business fashion. So bye bye Joe, I won’t be missing you.

So what did you guys think? Would you wear any of the outfits designed this week to your job? Did you think Joe’s outfit was modern or cliché?
Chat it up!! Let me hear from you!
Until next week…..auf wiedersehen!

Project Runway - Week Nine

I hated everything.

That’s right, I didn’t like any of the designs last night, and what’s sad is that this was one of the more successful challenges last season. (remember Chris March and Christian’s designs for last season’s avant garde challenge? Brilliant! – This season? Not so much.) There was no winner in my opinion, only which of these sucky outfits is the least sucky of the bunch?

What exactly happened? The designers didn’t wow me at all, and at this stage of the game, I should have been blown away, especially in this challenge, which, in my opinion, separated the truly skilled from the mediocre last season.

So to begin, the designers were paired up with the last eight designers who were eliminated. The challenge was to design a winning avant garde design, inspired by one of the two astrological signs of each team. The past contestants’ official jobs were to help inspire and create the winning design for the designer they were paired up with. Their unofficial job? Cause as much drama and annoyance as possible to their teammate. Truth be told though, I found the designers still in the competition to be the ones causing the drama. (looking at you, Terri) On top of all that drama, the designers were told not one, but TWO designers would be eliminated with this challenge. Stakes were high, but after seeing the results of this challenge, it was more then just two of them that needed to go home.

Even though they were given 2 days to finish their garment, at the end of the first day, the designers were told to dress their models and go to a party held at the Hayden Planetarium. Once their, former contestants and winners of Project Runways past were introduced and mingled with the designers. They were to vote and choose the design they liked the best. Once the voting was done, everyone returned to Parson’s the next day to finish their garment and start the fashion show.

I say again; I hated everything. There were maybe two or three that had some promise, but some of them were so off-base that I wanted to scream. There’s a big difference between avant garde and just plain bad. Was there a winner this week? Yes, but as I explained before, it was only because the winning design was less sucky then the other designs. (still means it sucked though)

Anyway, you know I talk too much during this section, so just tell me to shut up already and move on.
Go ahead, say it.

There ya go.

And here we go:

Blayne (and Stella)– “It’s looks like she’s pooping fabric” exclaimed Michael Kors to the clueness tan head. And the truth is, he made a pretty accurate assessment of this awful mess Blayne (and partner Stella) dared to call avant garde. Stella was encouraging that this was a great way to go for a design. Umm…hello? How in the world did clueless and no-clue wind up as a team?! Do I even have to begin to tell you what’s wrong with this outfit that you can’t see for yourself? Take your pick at the number of things wrong with this outfit; the ridiculous bouffants of fabric literally puking out from the sleeve and leg; the almost skin-colored body suit, criss-crossed with leather straps (?); the ill-fitting crotch area, which looked lop-sided and unfinished? Do I need go on? Big shock, Blayne finally gets to go back to what he does best; tanning. And the funny thing is? He was actually surprised he was eliminated. Blayne, you really need to buy a clue and get in the touch with the world.


Jerell(and Jennifer)- Tim Gunn said it best, when he came across Jerell in the work room; “This is either gonna win, or it’s gonna be hated”. (or something to that effect). I thought the pattern was ugly, and not suited for a skirt of that length. I also thought the skirt came up way to high and made the model look frumpy in a weird sort of way. I don’t see how in the world this represented the astrological sign they chose. It was so off the mark, I don’t even know what it was. (and if this was a good design, I should at least be able to figure it out from the outfit, no?) This was the winning design for this challenge, and it’s not because it’s good. I will give this dress this much; of all the dresses, it was the only one you could at least see a good dress, with some alterations and changes. Congrats on the win, Jerell, but your design is nothing to be proud of.


Kenley(and Wesley)– If Kenley didn’t want to make enemies when she came into the competition, then she’s got plenty now. How arrogant and over-confidant can someone get?! This was one of the most ridiculous looking outfits I’ve ever seen. Michael Kors was right in saying that this is not a new design…I know I’ve seen this type of design before. But it looked ridiculous then, and it looks ridiculous now. Tim Gunn was so on the money when he said it looks “Glinda the Good Witch”, that I almost fell off my chair laughing. Pure and simple this was a costume in every sense of the word. And, proving once again that the current designers haven’t watched any prior seasons before coming onto the show, she ignores Tim Gunn’s advice. Flat out! Are you insane Kenley? Are you seriously that delusional? I could bet money that almost everytime Tim has made suggestions to past designers, his advice was spot on. This was a much needed reality check for Kenley. Don’t like the view from being in the bottom, Kenley? I suggest to kill the over-confidence and the arrogance, and start to count how lucky you are to still be in the competition. (on a side note, how adorable was Wesley, saying he hated the outfit, but saying he’s staying out of it? I was proud of him, after all, he has no stake in this at all now, so why should he be any more involved then he was?


Leanne(and Emily)– I don’t remember Emily. (so I assume she really didn’t make much of an impression on me. All in all though, I liked this outfit. Liked it, but didn’t love it. I think I’ve actually seen this design in some form, so I would hardly call it avant garde. Heck, considering the choices, I would have chosen this design over the actual winning design. I can sort of see the Scorpion idea with the “exo-skeleton” of the dress. I liked the way it sweeps down like a hood, and the way it gives the dress a beautiful shape. I am really starting to like Leanne as a designer. I can see this “quirky and cheesy” quiet girl in the finale if she continues on her current path.


Korto(and Kelly)– Korto is one of those quiet, focused designers who doesn’t involve herself in the drama of the show. Seriously, besides her talking about the challenges, and the occasional remark about a fellow designer’s work, does she ever cause or involved in the drama like the rest of them? Granted, I wish she would smile more (as one of my co-workers pointed out), but other then that she is a very solid designer. This was a beautiful blend of blues, and I could see the sign of Aquarius all over it. It was flowy and airy, and was a great representation of its sign. But again, just like the problem with every design this week, was it avant garde? Nope. I’ve seen something like this before, and it didn’t stand out to me. I think it was constructed well, and looked graceful, yet elegant, but it was not a stand out piece. Korto deserved the pass to next week, but she would have won if she would have made her outfit a little more “out there”.


Joe(and Daniel)– When I first saw this dress, my first thoughts were that the model looked like a Spanish can-can girl. I didn’t see avant garde, nor did I see the astrological sign present, except for the upper bodice. Loved the way the front of the dress became the horns of the ram, and the top was low-cut enough to be stylish and not trashy. But the bottom of the dress? Ugh, it was a Spain-influenced nightmare. When the only influence from the astrological sign you chose is in only one part of the dress, it could hardly be considered avant garde. I guess that’s why Joe got a pass to next week. I have a feeling if he didn’t have that great looking top, Joe would be in just as much as trouble as our last bottom two designers.


Terri(and Keith)– I’ll be honest, I really didn’t see much wrong with this outfit. I definitely agreed with the removal of that fake-fur monstrosity. The addition of the red shawl was a nice splash of color. It was really well-designed. But was it avant garde? Not really. Granted, Terri finally did something other then her usual pants, blouse and jacket outfit, but it really wasn’t something I haven’t seen before. On top of that, it really did say to me that it was representing Leo. I think we’re seeing a very skewed version of Terri’s working relationship with Keith. I’m not saying Terri is completely innocent, but I don’t think she was as difficult to work with as Keith pointed out. I think Keith is still bitter about being eliminated last week, so he’s holding a grudge, and refusing to help someone else. We didn’t see this obviously, but I think that may have been a factor. Personally, I think Keith turned out to be a whiny brat who couldn’t just deal with the fact he was eliminated. I didn’t think Terri deserved to go home. She should not have been the one eliminated, considering she had won tow prior challenges. And considering who the other person was who she was paired up against to go home, I think this was a clear case of the producers stepping in to say, “eliminate the good designer, keep the personality, for more entertainment value”. Terri should have been here longer, as opposed to the person who actually wound up being safe, which was...


Suede(and Jerry)– Remember Jerry? He was the first designer eliminated this season, and here he was teamed up with our resident loony-toon, Suede. Finally….FINALLY….the judges have called him out of his third person speak. Loved that Michael Kors said “he hasn’t earned the right to refer to himself in the third person. Who does he think he is, Prince?” And as for his garment? BORING. Yes, I did see that is was Aquarius. The colors were not my issue with the design, it was the design itself. For something that was supposed to be avant garde, it looked just too ordinary. It had no pop, no pizzazz. I thought the top was ill-fitting, and the long baby-blue pieces hanging from the pack looked out of place. I’m not surprised to see Suede in the bottom, but I’m even more surprised he was not sent home. Instead, they chose someone who, though her garment was bad, had two prior wins, as opposed to Suede’s one. Do they not take past winning designs into account at all at judging time? Suede is safe this week, but it’s obvious his time is running out.


So what did you guys think? I personally feel last season’s designers completely rocked last season’s avant garde challenge. Do you agree? Do you think I was off the mark? Were there some dresses that were avant garde?
Chat it up!! Let me hear from you!
Until next week…..auf wiedersehen!

Project Runway - Week Eight

Was I missed?

My apologies go out to all my readers on my lack of review last week. Timing and work got in the way, but I’m back this week.

To begin, a few words about last week’s challenge:
For one thing, I love the challenges where the designers need to be innovative and make a garment out of strange materials. This is one of the reasons why I enjoyed the supermarket challenge this season. The idea of making a garment made from parts of a car is…bizarre to me, but most of the designers made it work. Here are my quick, 1-3 sentence thoughts on each garment, and a pic to remind you.

Blayne – Described perfectly by Michael Kors as the “car wash” skirt. Top looked ill-fitted and poorly made. Blayne continues to get on my nerves, but has reached my breaking point with this week’s challenge.







Jerell – Not a bad little outfit per se, but I think the hair and walk from the model sold it. Wasn’t bad enough to be in the bottom, wasn’t good enough to be in the top. Good enough for a pass.







Joe – Ugh, this was awful. It looked like a cross between very ugly European sportswear and...actually that’s exactly what it was.








Keith – WOW! No swatches! And the dress turned out to be...just as bad as if he would have used them. It was Keith’s time, and this disconnected, uninspired outfit proved it. Touching that he broke down at the end, but this “auf-ing” was coming, considering his constant presence in the bottom for the last few challenges.





Kenley – I thought this outfit was cute and well-made, though that zebra print mini-skirt thing around the waist was totally out of place.








Korto – I have to say THIS surprised me. Seeing this seatbelt constructed coat on the display dummy, my first thought was, “this is gonna be a disaster”. I mean, it was so bulky and obtrusive, there was no way it could work. Well, I stood corrected once it was sent down the runway. Amazing coat, well-fitted and gorgeous. Korto is slowly gaining my respect and admiration.




Leanne – Loved it. It looked like a great cocktail dress, and not only was it well-constructed, but looked sexy, yet chic. Leanne, all of a sudden, is shocking the heck out of me. I like her work.







Stella – Is it me, or does that skirt and vest/blouse just does not go together? Even the judges pointed this out. Completely disconnected pieces, and they look it. The skirt wasn’t bad at all, it just did not go with that top.






Suede – The top wasn’t horrible, but it was poorly constructed. It wasn’t totally Suede’s fault due to the material being used, but still he should have made better choices. And that skirt? Looks like a disco ball melted all over it.






Terri – This was a pretty decent outfit, though Terri is starting to bore me. (as is proven with this week’s challenge). Great looking top, love the way it looks. And the pants fitted the model perfectly. All in all, a good pass to this week.






Those are my thoughts on last week. So how about this week? Well, first things first; Diane von Furstenberg (DVF) had a very showy, over the top introduction with her walking down this seemingly endless staircase to meet the designers. Don’t get me wrong, I think this woman is a fashion legend, but couldn't they have made her introduction a little bit less soap opera? Kenley gushing over meeting and designing for her was touching, but I’m not too sure how much of it was genuine.

The challenge this week was to design for DVF’s fall line inspired by the 1940’s, in particular, the Marlene Dietrich film, A Foreign Affair. Interesting challenge, and one I thought would really inspire some cool looking outfits. On a side note, Blayne has officially gotten on my last nerve with this challenge.

When this blond buffoon was walking through the meat packing district, and was thinking of all the fashion celebrities he could be designing for, his first thought was Mary Kate Olsen. I am left speechless of his sheer stupidity and complete lack of any other pop culture knowledge other then that of the last 10-15 years. Thank goodness there wasn’t a clip of him saying he never heard of Marlene Dietrich, or I might have wound up with a hole in my TV after I kicked it. (though I’m sure he really doesn’t know who she is). Okay, enough ranting about Blayne.

This was a great challenge, and the designers got to choose fabric from DVF’s personal fabric room. The winning design would go on to have their dress sold by American Express. (shameless, shameless product placement – but that’s usual for Runway, isn’t it? Remember, Tim’s pre-runway show mantra, “Please accessorize using the Bluefly.com wall wisely.” – Yeesh.)

Anyway, have I talked enough this week? Is it that time yet? To just get to the designs? Okay then, onward we go:

Blayne –I’ll try to put my annoyances with Blayne aside for the sake of judging fairly, but honestly, how could I justify this outfit? It basically looked the same as his business-to-casual outfit from a couple of weeks ago. I liked the jacket, but that’s about all I liked about this outfit. It didn’t fit the challenge in my opinion. I didn’t see a 40’s era spy, nor did I see 40’s era style. I’m actually really surprised he wasn’t in the bottom, but to be honest, as much as this outfit didn’t fit the needs of the challenge, it was still better looking then the horror shows that did wind up in the bottom three. Your days are numbered Mister “licious”.

Jerell - Was I the only one that thought “airline stewardess” upon first sight of this outfit walking down the runway? I don’t know what happened with Jerell, but this outfit was...off. It wasn’t horrible, but it really didn’t blow me out of the water. I like the combo of dark blue over brown, because it looked chic and elegant, but that hat threw the whole outfit out of whack for me. Good enough to make it to next week I suppose, but Jerell needs to up his game.


Kenley – In between crying about designing for DVF, Kenley decided to make a standard dress, even though the book of DVF’s fashions that was given to each designer clearly shows dresses and outfits in layers; dress, coat/vest, etc. The bigger shock to me is that DVF actually liked it! I don’t get it. I didn’t see anything special about this dress. Granted, it was well-constructed, it fit very well, and I could definitely see the Asian influence. But...it had no “wow” factor. It was a simple dress, and this was a great chance for Kenley to bust out a great outfit. Again, like much of the designers this week, this dress was only good enough to get her to next week.

Leanne – I loved this outfit. Leanne is all of sudden, bursting from her shell. (I’ll forgive that ridiculous play acting of her being a spy) Even though she had immunity from winning last week’s challenge, she pulled out another win by creating a gorgeous two piece ensemble. The dress was elegant and definitely fit into the 40’s style. The short jacket accented the dress perfectly, though I have to wonder if it would have looked as good as it did if my hero, Tim Gunn, hadn’t suggested to Leanne to shorten the length. Regardless though, she did something that the other designers continually fail to do this season; listen to Tim’s suggestions. (I’m looking at you Suede...and Blayne). Well deserved win for Leanne, and congrats on winning even though she had immunity.

Suede – Ah yes, Suede is back to speaking in the third person again. Just when we thought we were done. Believe it or not, I kind of dug the pattern he picked out for the skirt. I thought it fit into DVF’s design pretty well. It was that atrocious top that ruined this outfit for me. What is it with designers mismatching tops with the bottom half of their outfits?! Talk about a disconnect, this couldn’t have been more apart. First things first, the skirt was too long. And that top was a bit too tight and ill-fitting. I’m not sure if having the buttons off-center was intentional or not, but either way, it didn't work. Suede is very lucky to have been given a pass for next week. Suede came close to leaving this week, so Suede best stop trying to leave a character impression and start trying to woo over the judges with better designs.

Terri – I was very skeptical when Terri picked out the fireworks patterned fabric. I thought it was awful, but you know what? It didn’t look half bad under that gorgeous black coat. This outfit was great, but it had no “wow” factor, just like a few of the other designs this week. It was good enough to get a pass to next week, which I do agree with. But I have to admit, Terri is starting to bore me. (and according to some reviews I read, she is boring those reviewers too). I mean, how many times can you make the same pants/blouse/jacket combo? This is basically all we’ve seen Terri produce, and though she stuns me that she can produce this in such short time, I still have to question as to whether or not this is all she has. I like Terri, but she needs to show me something different.

Korto – I am really beginning to like Korto and her design style.I will forgive that horrible salad creation from the first challenge, because almost everything she has produced since then, I’ve been impressed with. This design was no exception, and though I questioned the use of yellow up on the straps, it worked. (Someone else also mentioned the straps to her, pointing out they look like yellow bra straps). This design was beautiful, and I love the way the bottom half of the dress flows. The yellow perfectly complimented the pattern below. The short black jacket was exquisite, and a perfect addition to the outfit. I can see Korto in the finale by this point, unless of course she begins to falter.

Joe – Wow, this was awful. It was a bad outfit from top to bottom. The color choice was poor, the backless top did not work at all, and the outfit was poorly constructed. I don’t like Joe, as I’ve pointed out before, but I gave him credit when it came to his designs when he deserved it. He did not deserve any credit this time. I thought the color choice was bland, and didn’t work for the “Asian” influence he was going for. The skirt was fitted unevenly and the sleeves bothered me. It just didn’t seem to fit the 40’s style and I’m not sure what Joe was thinking when he designed this. This had “bad construction” written (and seen) all over it. I wouldn’t have been shocked if he got sent home for this monstrosity, but as it turns out, our resident loony toon was honored with Heidi’s “You are out.”

Stella – Now really, in all honesty, how much longer do you think she could have lasted? The woman has made it a mantra that she only works with leather, and given that none of the challenges up to now utilized leather, I’m very surprised she lasted as long as she did. This outfit started out a good idea, but was horribly executed. I see the vision she had, sort of like a German-inspired look, but it just went all wrong. That crotch! Oh, that crotch! Michael Kors said it perfectly when he said it was “every woman’s nightmare”. So true. But that wasn’t the only thing with this outfit. The cape was way too long, and the vest was too...sexy? What I mean is, if we’re talking 40’s style, then this blouseless vest top just did not fit into the period. (I don’t even think it fit into the current period either).
It was a great run Stella, but I think you summed it up best with your exit interview: “I'm a rock star. That's who I design for. If you like my stuff, come buy it. If you don't, keep walking. I don't care.”
Thank you, Stella, your wisdom will be missed.

So how did I do guys? Did you miss me terribly last week? Was I accurate in my assessments? Or was I way off the mark?
Chat it up!! Until next week…..auf wiedersehen!