ivyfree

I didn't really love many of the looks- Kini's coat was terrific, but the outfit underneath was way too ornate. The red dress did need some editing at the hem- why will designers make dresses that trail on the floor? They're impossible to walk in. As far as Korina goes.... they always have returned designers help. I can't think of a season where they haven't done it. Same thing with Top Chef. I agree that it was only a couple of days, but Char was the one who was massively insulted on national television, and she had the grace to applaud when Tim announced that Korina would be working with her- and she can't have liked the idea, and already had a plan in place for talking with Korina and moving on- which I'm sure Korina would like even less. Really, I wouldn't buy from Korina. I don't know who her customers are, but it's a competition. Show some sportsmanship. You weren't owed anything.

When Hernan commented that Sadhya was a bitch when cameras weren't around, I chalked it up to his own inadequacies. Mind you, I'm not a Sadhya fan because I think she's a legend in her own mind. But I hadn't seen anything other than Sadhya being a rather inadequate designer, and consequently booked to be a Project Runway high achiever. When Hernan commented during judging and ended with a casual "bitch" which I think is a word he uses a lot without meaning anything specifically unpleasant, and Sadhya told him never to speak to her that way, I was amused in a "good for you, Sadhya" sort of way. When I rewatched the show, and spotted Sadhya giving him the finger while ordering him not to speak to her that way, I realized that he was very probably right. She may not have realized how ugly the finger gesture is, or how commonly used the word "bitch" is. But she certainly came across poorly. I think Hernan was right. She's not as nice as she tries to make herself look. I don't think you get to proclaim yourself as the Fashion Voice of Crushing the Menz when you marry somebody that someone else picks out for you. Nor when you fold any time Tim Gunn makes a comment about your design. It makes me wonder how long Tim Gunn can keep her in the competition. I'm betting he'd be happy to use his Special Save to keep her around.

From what I saw, Sandhya didn't have a clue what her teammates were trying to tell her. I'm not saying she should be asked to compromise her esthetic completely, but she was the one person who could not be sent home. She agreed to work with her teammates and appeared to agree on the direction the team was taking and then decided to do everything her own way, claiming that she was ready to go home and ignoring the fact that no, she wasn't going to go home, but they were. Either she didn't understand what was going on- which seems unlikely, given how fluent she is in English- or she was fine throwing them under the bus. I think she could have attempted to move in their direction, and once she'd agreed on the approach, she should have followed through. That said, I didn't think they were picking on her. They were trying desperately- and rather badly- to establish communication. And then whining to Tim about being picked on- I think THEY have some justification for annoyance with her, but I didn't see what happened as picking on her at all.

There was a basic flaw when they established this program: they haven't decided if it's about fashion or mentoring. If it's about fashion, then the mentor thing should be completely separate and judged by how the mentors interact with others as well as their designers. If it's about mentoring, then go ahead and have the runway and have the designs critiqued, but the designers should bring out their original designs and talk about their design process, what changes they made in design, any construction details that didn't work for them, and how they utilized their mentors to improve their performance..The designers would then be kept separate from one another's mentors. When both the designers and the mentors are in competition, there's an unseemly struggle for who is seen as the "best" designers or the "best" mentors. That should be completely random because not everyone is equally talented. Mentors should not be interacting with other mentors' designers. That ugly scene where Mondo (whom I previously liked) yelling at Natalia for making excuses- hey, Natalia wasn't making excuses. None of her ideas were accepted and she wasn't allowed to make any independent decisions. That's a clear failure of mentoring on Mondo's part, because Asha was completely unprofessional and not a team player. She should have been reminded that professional designers are supposed to work with others. But from the mentors' POV, if they could do anything to make the other mentors' designers anxious, or throw them off their game, that's the sensible thing to do. Natalia may not have had a shot at winning- wouldn't have, against Oscar, I believe- but she had original ideas. The judges like good construction but more than that, they like good, interesting designs. What designer is going to do her best if others' mentors are sneering and their competing designers are talking behind their back? The way it was set up, the mentors had a vested interest in creating stress for others' designers. We didn't see all those problems with Natalia? Why not? They're not shy about showing problems. They showed Eesa-belly and her terrible time management. They showed Gretchen starting out from "let's all support one another" to "let's toss Michael under the bus because I don't like him." No: I don't know what happened with Natalia, and nobody really does except the people who were there- who are all following Tim's lead. Odd, that: with all the willingness that PR has had in the past to show problems- heck, it makes it more interesting- the one designer who was treated like crap was only shown as being teary. There's a weeper in every season. Boy, I'd like to see Laura Bennet being "mentored" by Mondo. He'd wilt like a dying tulip. And as I said. I LIKED Mondo. I admired his work with prints. I respected him for realizing that Michael Costello actually had skills and also wanted to learn, and for announcing that. I could never wear his designs, but I thought he had a great eye. I don't know what he's doing with fashion now, but he really can't mentor worth a damn. And sorry, Mondo- but it was unfair for you to have TWO chances to win because the judges were too gutless to pick a loser.

I wish they'd make this show about talent. I, too, am tired of the Designer I-have-a-dead-relative facing off against Designer I-was-bullied, Designer I-have-a-chronic-illness and Designer my-parents-don't-believe-in-me. I have never bought any garment solely on account of the designer's backstory, and I don't care about it. I want to see good-looking clothes. For a brief happy moment, I thought both Mondo's designers would be aufed. Asha for the sad sack and the tacked zipper (seriously, why do designers hate color?), and Sam- well, poor sweetie, I think I may have been the only one who saw brown paint smeared on the back of the dress and thought, "explosive diarrhea." But no! They both get to stay! And I thought- well, crap. Now Mondo has two chances to win. And I kind of like Mondo. During his first season, I liked the way he apologized to Michael Costello, because it takes guts to announce to a gang of bullies that you're sorry you hung with them. I kind of liked Anya. During her season, I thought that even though her sewing skills were marginal, she used her pageant Miss Congeniality skills to get other people to help her, and it was refreshing to see somebody who actually realizes that there's going to be a life after the competition and maybe you don't want to present yourself as a total jerk. During Nick's season, I thought he showed some talent but he was up against people who not only had amazing talent but killer skills. During UtG, I think he's the one who really really is proud of "his" designers and wants them to do well. That's probably his teaching background. Watching Under the Gunn has been a slow-motion train wreck. During the first seasons of Project Runway, Tim was dignified, he was professional, he actually mentored, and when he said something spontaneous it was funny because he was so dignified. Anybody besides me remember Season Four's black-and-white challenge, where they were limited to just black AND white? Not black OR white? Kayne had a black dress and realized he had to use some white so he took some trim and decorated the scoop neck in the back, and when Tim heard that was the only white on the dress, he blurted, "Oh Jesus!" It was funny because Tim was so dignified. When one contestant was found with pattern-making books and was expelled from the competition, Tim took it seriously and presented it professionally. Now Tim is in a role that he's not quite comfortable with and doesn't appear to know how to approach. He's not the interviewee as he is on talk shows. He's not explaining the rules. It's more like he's trying to recap recent events which we've all seen, so his comments don't seem to add much. It's a shame, because he has a wide range of knowledge, and this isn't presenting him at his best. I don't really care who wins- but I don't think either of Mondo's chances are much. It should probably be Shan, but for Nick's sake, I hope it's Oscar. What the heck- the judges will probably decide that they ALL win and will divide the money up before holding hands in a circle and singing Kum-By-Yah.