heavysnaxx

Here's why I think this particular take - which is anybody's right to have! - matters in the context of this season of PR, which took on barriers to the industry. This take frames an innocuous exchange as remarkable. Literally. As in, of all the episode's details to choose from, a few words spoken in Spanish are remarked upon as significant, and evidence of a personal connection between a judge and a contestant, both of whom are immigrants. It all signifies attitudes to me. Attitudes that assume Nina Garcia's professional decisions can be easily swayed by a few words in her native language and personal feelings - strongly "feminine" feelings like "enchanted" and "affection." This subtle shading of her motives taints Sebastian's win and marginalizes them both, despite their seeming accomplishments. There is literal language and there is coded language. This is the latter and it was a sad reminder that not all barriers are dismantled by success.

Welp, since Garo and Hester and every other judge but Nina were also speaking to each other in their shared native tongue, I think we can trust Sebastian and Nina to have a native language moment without reading stuff into it. And, as another person already pointed out, this "personal connection" of speaking a language millions share, was displayed after the final decision.

I'm with you on all this. I think of Hester as the garnish on the plate of fashion. But nobody wants an entire meal of carved radish roses or smoked pink Himalayan sea salt. Hester did something so telling and bizarre (to me), I was shocked. She opened her own show in a watered-down version of her first model's look. It seemed incredibly stupid to dilute the impact this way. Then I got it: Hester's not a clothing designer. She's a Hester designer. She showed the Hester Sunshine Collection by Hester Sunshine for Hester Sunshine. Which - every designer does but not in such a blunt-force-trauma, literal way. The judges even said as much when they said her generation of designer (which is not different from Sebastian's, I'm pretty sure so...?) is into designing a persona. But her whole deal is so solipsistic it just makes me exhausted. Thank god Sebastian won. As someone who had scoliosis and wore a Milwaukee back-brace from age 4-13 - a prescription-strength corset - I think Hester should avail herself of an industrial-grade Garo corset. Honestly, his obsession with them - and everyone else's - is annoying AF to me. There was a reason why women felt liberated by designers like Coco Chanel who eliminated all that constriction. To me, fashion is what you want to wear endlessly; costumes are what you wear as long as you can stand it. LIKE A CORSET. Yes, I know well-fitted support can be comfortable. Still not buying it. But YMMV. Also: Corsets with visible lacing will never not scream "Ren Fairre tavern wench" to me. They seem the opposite of futuristic to me. Unless the future is Roger Vadim's Barbarella. I thought Nina's money quote, "And you did it on talent alone," (I may not have her exact wording but "on talent alone" was used) was an essential and pre-emptive rebuke to the inevitable complaint that their shared heritage = affirmative action win. It was simple humanity that she was touched by Sebastian's victory. It was a feel-good moment for everyone (well, not for Garo and Hester) and it was entirely appropriate that she say something about why his win made her happy.

The whole vast difference in skill level between Sebastian and both Bishme and Hester made me think about the mentorship, too. 9before we said good-bye, sniff, to Bishme.) These latter two would need a mentorship around design and construction, themselves, before even getting into the business side of selling. I'm reeealy side-eyeing the idea that Hester is ready for much of anything, given that she's freaked out before about doing one custom piece for a client. Sebastian, OTOH, seems perfectly teed-up to be connected with a business and marketing mentor. He does not need a design or sewing teacher. A marketing person can come up with the frikkin' "story of who Sebastian's girl is." (I personally hope she's an iron-worker who dances in a seedy club by night and dreams of being a ballerina. And then he can use the score from Flashdance for his runway show.) Garo - hard to say. He might benefit from a design mentor, but specifically around editing his costume-y edges. "My girl is a boxing nun finger-puppet who loves to hang with her pals, Giant Squeak Rat and Flying Rubber Chicken." See, I'm very entertained by Christian but I think he's a crap mentor, compared to Tim. He explains how to fix things whereas Tim knew how to flag potential problems and encourage the designers' confidence that *they* could solve them. I like that PR is trying to increase industry access but casting alone doesn't level the playing field. Which - ok, if casting is seen as "enough," then that's it. But when one designer is living in what might be their country get-away home while another considers himself homeless, that disparity undercuts a claim of a substantive effort to diversify the industry.

OMG, Luann went next-level in this episode -- her narcissism in this scene made the jump to hyper-space --when she then said, all outraged, "And did anybody think to come and check on ME?!" A word to the wise to Berlin, CT's prodigal ex-nurse: Proper triage treats possible concussion before bruised ego. Even when there's a concurrent cranial rectal inversion. Later: "Of course I was worried about Sonja! She's my friend! That's why I couldn't go see if she was ok! I was too upset about being worried about her!" I am now certain Luann practices facial expressions in front of a mirror. I predict she's gonna start referring to herself in the third-person, next episode. "Lu's gettin' pretty angry now!" And finally, as Jerri Blank once said, "I am dealing with this the same way I dealt with my own alcoholism and drug addiction, with lies and delusions." Image description: Amy Sedaris as 46 year-old loveable boozer, user, and loser Jerri Blank on Strangers With Candy. Am I the only one who sees a resemblance between Lu and Jerri? Put a statement necklace on my girl here and it's the Inner Lu made outer. OMG I just remembered! Jerri - like Lu - has done time in Florida!

"My girl likes her baked goods and enjoys patisserie openings, pie-eating contests, and feats of strength. She needs a look that can transition from freezer-to-oven-to-dishwasher. For a color story, it's all about golden-brown-and-delicious with a little green to garnish." And for the following, all I can say is: I KNOW, RIGHT?!

"My girl is on her way to a sedentary nonprofit job where a polished look means, 'How's the job hunt going?' She's also a little gassy and her feet swell up on hot days." I NEED to go back and relook at Garo's designs now that he's "Gary." Somehow, it's going to make a huge difference in how I perceive them. About Tessa and her newly articulated - but foundational! - design philosophy of Wabi-Sabi: A dance friend told me about how Merce Cunningham's philosophy/technique of chance movements was misused by some dancers who thought citing it could mask their lack of preparation.

My point is that Elaine is inconsistent in applying for what I understood from her to be a core value in her work.

I think much less of Elaine because of this. She's supposed to be the judge who brings the social awareness of how the industry needs to be more inclusive of marginalized designers. Both because it's the right thing to do and because so much talent is wasted. Sebastian should get her respect for his work alone but that she is apparently unimpressed by his tenacity as an immigrant doing domestic work, as a gay man of color, and as someone who has ESL (English as a Second Language) - WTF? ITA that Sebastian's strength is that his designs seem to consistently enchant the people who see them, especially up close. That is so much more powerful than some external narrative he has to explain. Enchanted people don't need or want explanations.

I'm gonna have to rebut that. And not just because serial killers also keep their cool like nobody's business. KIDDING! Luann is not a serial killer. She may have killed any nascent affection I had for cabaret but that just makes me one of the millions who are grateful for late-onset agoraphobia that's triggered by auto-tuning. Luann kept her cool in this particular episode because she was the not-drunk person and because girl is stone. cold. Luann's looking meaner and meaner these days - she may be keeping it tight but, damn, that is some resting lizard face she's developed. Sonja was a mess but she was telling the truth about her messy messy feelings. And her so-called friend - who has very recently been even more of a mess - doesn't even register that it was all coming from something painful. Or maybe she just doesn't care. Yeah. That's it. Girl. doesn't. care. She didn't show an ounce of self-awareness or empathy. From the sound of it, friends rallied around Luann when she was hitting bottom (conveniently off-camera) and protected her from herself. A person who was genuinely working a recovery program could have looked at Sonja's behavior, heard her complaints, and still not disparaged her for fucking up. Sure, don't be a doormat but don't act like you haven't been Sonja. Cause you have. You've been even more out of control. And people in your life were kind to you, not judgemental. UNLIKE YOU. Dorinda, Sonja - yeah, they behave horribly but that's when they're drunk. Luann - well, as Churchill said, "My dear you are ugly, but tomorrow I shall be sober and you will still be ugly."

Nailed it! On all points. Tessa is just Backwardsville. Her job was to design a dress that blends her aesthetic with her client's requests. So she designs pants. I love that. It's reverse-commute fashion. I actually think Christian should have asked about her doing that neutrally and then dropped it. Jeebus, she's choosing to compete with the challenge itself and then her own client, whose two DRESS preferences were pink and short. So our Tessa gives her a long, black thing with a detachable scarf rack around the waist. So flattering with those d-rings. Like "Ace Hardware Presents the Dance of the Seven Veils." Or, you know, Tessa could have simply designed a pink cocktail dress, and made it her own with charcoal hem tape and a removable Venetian blind. For the reveal. Yeah, Elaine really dissed Sebastian's client when she got all snooty about it being a poodle skirt. Which it wasn't. C'mon, that was way more New Look than Happy Days - you don't have to like it, Elaine, but you should understand and respect the reference. I like Garro and his dress was...nice but straight up boring, to me. I thought Bishme pulled off a way more nuanced sexy vibe. Both did a great job in making the client comfortable outside of their comfort zone, in colors. Oh Jamal. That stuff about how you don't know how to make your art for an actual person is at least understandable in someone who's as young as you are. Tessa and Hester have NO such excuse for still not having any such understanding. And who the hell are they designing for? Are they saying they don't need to sell their work to get by? (Which would explain A LOT about their respective atitudes.) I'm also of the mindset that skills (like construction) can be learned but character flaws (like lying about your poor client, TESSA) are much bigger problems.

First: Thank you LibertarianSlut! Laughing about your boss because when I was a little kid, we lived in a suburb of Rochester - Greece - and nobody in our extended family in the Finger Lakes, Syracuse, etc. called it western New York. (Most of my family were farming or trades people who'd grown up there.) It was either "purt' near" or "purt' far." Brrr, Plattsburgh. I get almost as cold thinking about that place as I do thinking about Lu's tile floors. And all those windows! I think that stove is there to warm the room.

At first I thought this was just another signature line from Lu that she pulled from her Statement Non Sequitor Statements collection, But Enough About You. BUT. Your post has ripped the veil from my eyes. Lu is Otto from A Fish Called Wanda. Not over-bright, vain, incapable of apology, she's Otto. As you said, she is really smelling herself. Image description: Still from the movie. Kevin Kline as Otto, in the act of love, taking a moment to refresh himself with his own smell by taking a dramatic whiff of his armpit.

I think "upstate" has shades of meaning depending on where your starting POV is. Kingston is obviously upstate from Manhattan but it's a far cry from the upstate of Greece, Canadanigua, Cazenovia, where I grew up and have family. To me, the distinction is as much about going into NYC as it is about geographic distance. The upstate I'm from is the kind that has little to no interest in, or active antipathy toward, going into NYC. Lu would plotz at being identified with such folk. It's a cultural difference versus a mileage thing. That said, if Lu ever moves to Horseheads, I'll reconsider my position.

Now you've done it! You mentioned EJ + Liberace and that means I have to share this exquisite SCTV parody from around 1982-ish. I could NOT stop thinking about Rick Moranis's Elton John in a onesie with festive holiday ornamentation throughout this entire episode of PR. Garo who? Watch the video and you'll see SCTV's own amazing costume designer, Jules Haalmeyer, trying not to laugh as he whips Liberace. Seriously, Haalmeyer created the most hilarious costumes with basically no budget and unconventional materials, week after week. He also got roped into performing - they made him, a non-dancer, the head of the show's Jules Haalmeyer Dancers. This week's judge was delightful and, I'm sure, a fine costume designer, but no one can hold a candle (in the wind, or anywhere) to Jules Haalmeyer, in my book.

The show explained that: Andrew is Selina's "Achilles cock."

Thank you for that correction! I never would have guessed that.

I had one of those! I confess my own strongest Dapper Dan association is with George Clooney's beloved pomade in O Brother Where Art Thou. About Rakan (and Kovi): I, too, at first thought they were just at a cultural disadvantage in this challenge that's being judged by American streetwear folks. But doesn't have every culture have some subset of fashion that's youth-centric, that pushes boundaries in what's beautiful and "proper"? Rakan chose to tap into the women of farms, in for the market day. But what do the young people wear to impress reach other? It may be me but: Brandon's repeatedly calling a Syrian contestant's look genie-like struck me as...not optimal. But then, he seems like he always seems revved up for his Weekly Zinger, to me. The George Costanza is strong with that one. About the Christian/food comment: My reaction was, "Scolding at least one larger, older guy ON TV for eating is your idea of coaching?! You blew it - your point was time management and you made it into Real Designers Don't Eat by bragging about not eating for 3 days?" C'mon, show. That's a terrible message.

Honestly, I wondered if the whole schtick was actually the "Bear Naked Chef" cause he looked a lot like a bear to me. The "bare" thing was supposed to be a play on words. I could imagine the guy in this episode making good money booking gigs during Lazy Bear Week and other times.

Yeah, Luann is a world-class spelunker in exploring the deepest levels of rudeness, selfishness, and snobbery, aka The Caves of the Countess. I don't want to call her behavior "low-class" because being poor and lacking social status doesn't mean you don't care about other people's feelings. While I would always prefer that Luann say, "Wow, being a guest of the County really helped me appreciate the hospitality of my friends," I have officially given up hope that there's any there, there with her. Luann is as fundamentally shallow as her self-absorption runs deep. All that said, I've got a simple solution for who gets Dorinda's fish room: Shark Week get the Shark Room. Because the above just wasn't enough menstrual vaudeville* for me: "Tonight, she bleeds with the fishes." Image description: Screenshot of Bethenny asking, "What are the odds that somebody here has a tampon" *Any comedy act that opens for menopausal cabaret.

Please make room for me at the Renee table, too. I like her fine but her silhouette this week was just awkward and ugly. I thought she might get auf'd for sheer lack of imagination. It was like if the challenge was to create a look that embodies NYC and she dressed her model like a big red apple with bagel earrings. I found it a bit disturbing that none of the judges seemed to consider that Afa, as the only designer from the global south, might reasonably interpret the challenge differently from the more local designers. I loved his whole look and thought it had integrity as a concept. He drew from the same materials as the other designers to craft something beautiful with survival elements - that was the challenge. Are the judges seriously ragging on him using netting to create an arresting train while their winning look is a hacked-up tarp with a tin cup hanging off it? I was also pretty shocked by how Christian and Marni were both identifying problems for certain designers - and then actually solving them for some of the contestants! Take about 10 giants steps BACK, y'all. Not cool. Not a fan of this week's show at all.

May I suggest a sign that reads: FISH LIPS' SINGING STINKS

I swear B is making it up as she goes along. Image description: An image of Jan Brady, scrambling to prove she has boyfriend. "His name is George. George Glass." Cripes, if it had been my fish room and Luann acted like that, I'd have gotten Google Maps out and texted her the route to the nearest police station - accommodations she's put up with before. Her choice. Was it Dorinda's house where, when Lu arrived late, she got all miffed because they didn't save her the nicest room? Which, according to Luann Logic (sic), she OBVIOUSLY deserved as an engaged woman?

"The feral Ramona is indigenous to coastal Long Island, and has responded to rising population density by scavenging human food when it comes to water itself from suburban swimming pools at sundown. Easily startled but with a dachshund-like stubbornness, a feral Ramona can display sudden aggression rooted in the species' genetic connection to the wolverine. Past studies have hypothesized that the feral Ramona is also descended from ursula apologia, or "apologizing bear" that rampages lobster traps, clam bakes, and girls' brunches then shrugs before lumbering off."

When I first read this, I honestly thought you meant side dishes. Like, to go with the lobsters in your tote-bag.