bibblebop

In American agricultural businesses where money and productivity are paramount, animal welfare is at best, referential. According to the AVMA, (veterinary guidelines) neither the captive bolt method nor dislocation by itself are humane methods of slaughter, the practice only being as good as the practitioners' skill. When the method is off or misses, nobody is saying "hey, we missed one that seems to be still alive, how to best handle?" The process continues down the line. I'm very thankful that segment made it to air. It's a step in the right direction when Runway shows that fashion needn't be harmful to be relevant. YMMV.

PR is cruelty free. This doesn't just mean "no fur." Or"sustainable." It means that there is a consideration for life. No animal wants to willingly be butchered for any reason. The brutality involved in skinning rabbits is horrifying. The rabbit is alive when flayed -- stripped of its skin. And then left to bleed out. No sentient being, animal or human, should suffer this fate, esp. for the sake of fashion. Gucci will be fur free in the next year. Stella McCartney carries vegan goods (which are priced higher than leather equivalents.) Puffy coat with down like alternatives are warmer than fur, and a great design challenge. Interesting that most went with a melton wool of some sort. Margarita's faux fur had texture and ironically, life. The rabbit skin was flat and... dead. Her casual complaining over how not being able to use something more expensive is sorta gross -- YMMV. Her super complaining over how none of the other contestants wanted to bring her to fashion week and then cussing them out speaks volumes. When Heidi said she deserved a "second chance" I was thinking, uhm, she had one, the Tim Gunn save, remember? Note: In the late 90s, Gianfranco Ferre made whole collections using both fake and real fur and plumage in coats, gowns and the like. He said one could hardly tell where the faux and the real met each other. Earlier times of course. I used to work for a designer during that period who told me that ANY designer could take $200 a yard of fabric, lace or fur and make it look good. The challenge was in making a dollar and fifty cent a yard goods look great. Faux fur has come a long way. At Mood, you can find goods that have more fashion appeal than any skin ever could.

Part of the issue i have with this season, and maybe this challenge this season in particular, is that the set ups don't support good outcomes. Most ended up either using gauze affixed to muslin, or hoses that became essentially a stiffer fabric. There is little opportunity for Austin Scarlett corn husk genius, or coffee filter dresses when 75% of the contestants use the same process. it's time to access whether that process needs a stronger base to begin with. Yes, unconvetional materials, but maybe materials that can still see more varied, and varied in what you can really do. Though I thought good use of cotton swabs, maybe cotton swabs aren't the best thing to begin with for a foundation -- so it all winds up as decorating muslin, rather than designing. That said, I feel as if most of the contestants, give or take a Kini or Dom, are turning out garments that are lackluster in idea in addition to execution. If Mitchell is the best you can do for All Stars, time to reaccess the brand altogether. (Nothing personal at all, and JMHO, but a designer he is not, -- there is a lack of undertsanding of the female figure, and how to drape in a purposeful way to accomodate, enhance, flatter, or purposefully negate the form.) I just wish this show could really go back to being about the creative process -- not about the speed of completion, or the inherent drama of selecting pre-disposed to drama contestants. (And I say this as someone who would equally collapse under the pressure) Give the group the chance to succeed and soar... not just hobble to a completion of another challenge.

I'm a total veggie person anyway, and man, that meat challenge just felt like Hellraiser to me. We had to fast forward through most of the episode. I get that people eat meat. I get that other countries have different customs, cultures and that meat may be a big part of this culture... but still.. just really uneasy and queasy for us to watch.

It's funny, I didn't think ANY of the dresses were really party dresses. Dmitry -- sure it was a really well constructed dress. But beyond that, I didn't think ANY of the dresses, including his, felt modern. Just once I would loike a judge, rather than gushing to say, "eh.. I didn't really love anything up there, but we have to pick a winner I guess?" Why ooh and agh over such shoddy work? Kate in particular felt as if she has fashion myopia, She has been doing bridal for so long that it affects everything she does, She can't design without making it about wedding apparel. But every designer in this challenge is turing out old looking clothes. I feel like Runway Threads is actually more fashion forward. Given, a 100 budget and a day to make anything is a challenge -- big stupid on the producers part. But these folks should know the drill, and figure out the best way to present what would work. Jagged scissor hems, badly sewn darts etc -- it's just not good stuff. Not even presentable. And I hate the personal story challenges when in the end the judges say to ignore the story. Why not weight it out or not have a story challenge at all? 20% of your grade for who well you incorporated your story, 10% sewing skill, 50% raw design, 20% overall look? Been watching Fashion Fund on Ovation, and its such a delight to see the STORY behind who a collection gets made. How the creative process works. What the nuts and bolts behind the business of making a brand are. This makes PR feel so ... pedestrian... when really, with so little at stake, (these clothes aren't going into production or sold), they could be wildly innovative, imaginative clothes if PR gave them time. I long for earlier seasons Rant over.

Ugh. Just ugh all over this show. -- I dont love Korina by any means, but after one day, heck, one week, I'd still be pretty raw about being eliminated. MOST contestants on this show are not eliminated in a one hour challenge, I can think of only one other time it was done. And sorry, but I'd be super frustrated too if during that one hour challenge, the contestant who has construction issues was bale to use a mega sewer to help with the look. -- I think Sean read Korina wrong. Her attitude was way more "I want out of this situation and dont want to be here" than "I am above all this" And frankly, its sort of refreshing to see a contestant say "This isn't cool by me, and Id like to be excused from this because its raw and I hope you understand that." While it isn't as gracious an act as Emily, who really is just such a good soul, it WAS as polite as it could be under the circumstances. She said she wanted out, she said why, she explained herself. I wouldn't want to rework my losing project that I had faith in, against a contestant who I thought had an unfair advantage either. -- I call out Tim/production actually. At that point, he would have to know Char picked Korina's look, and that the two of them would work together. This was a conversation that could have happened with Korina off camera to explain "Look, you are going to have to work with Char, etc" but clearly that didn't happen. So yeah, again, if I were Korina, I would feel put into the crosshairs. -- NOT EVERYONE needs to act as graceful or be amazing in an exit. I think it is important to acknowledge that different people take rejection differently. So calling someone out for not behaving with the grace others muster, still not relevant to me. It doesn't mean others dont want it as much for sure, and Korina's self perceived special snowflake quality doesn't make her better, but no, I wont deny her the right to feel awful about it and vent. Plenty of other people have vented on this show. Other things -- I dont understand the up close looking at the garments bit. With so many one day challenges. ALL THE CLOTHES are sewn badly. (Notable exception: Kini) So for Zac to always be lifting up skirts and touching on the models is a very creepy thing. I feel as if this segment was added to let Tim gripe or throw people under the bus. HE NEVER says "oh, you hated that? I led that contestant down the wrong path (In this case Kini adding the circular ruffles into the bottom of the skirt) or "Oh, I hated that and told her to remove it, but she kept it and you liked it?" -- I miss Kors. He was/is an industry veteran who gets the BUSINESS of fashion in a way Posen just doesn't. In a way that allowed for looks that skewed older were still sometimes ok. With quips that never landed about the person or seemed hateful. Petty, yes. B$tchy, yes.. but i always got the feeling the only thing Kors was truly offended by was awful fashion. Garcia and Posen seem truly MEAN by comparison. -- Awful season overall. And I never thought I would say this, but yeah, I guess I will finish ti up to see who wins, but I never want to watch another season with Tim. I'll move on, or catch All Stars with Joanna Coles who, in another thing that I thought Id never say, I am liking more now. How much this show has fallen. Oh well.