S18.E05: She's Sew Unusual

[stormy weather]

To me, the entire prerequisite of this challenge was a bit confusing. Did they say punk or 80s? Because they are two different things. Punk is Nina Hagen, Siouxsie Sioux or Lydia Lunch, and it's dark make-up, almost only black, safety pins and chains and mostly 70s. If, instead, they were referring to the more colorful, tulle and plastic accessories-ridden, big hair aesthetics pushed forward by Madonna and Cyndy Lauper, that's a whole 'nother thing, so I'm not really sure what they were asking for here.

Other than that, I am now entirely convinced that the judges must be somehow visually impaired because:
1. they put Victoria in the top 3 AGAIN with the EXACT SAME outfit she has been putting out every. single. week. What's wrong with them?! Why do they love her so much? Is there something about her I'm not seeing? When Nina said she'd put Victoria's dress in an Elle editorial in a heartbeat I think I skipped a few. 
2. Elaine telling Marquise the shoes with the lace anklet were "too on the nose"? They were the most 80s looking thing on the runway! Wasn't that the challenge? 
3. It might be it's just me and fashion/style-wise we're just polar opposites but I disagree with almost everything that comes out of Brandon and Nina's mouth.  

The entire runway (except for Geoffrey's suit) was kind of disappointing. There was SO MUCH they could've done with the 80s theme and yet no one seemed to know how to go about it. Brittany's business suit with a corset was bad, Chelsey's romper was a cute idea but those outlined boobs looked like temporary stitching and fell flat (quite literally) on a boobless model. I can't believe no one on her team told Dayoung her dress was too bland before Christian did. I admired Nancy's attitude though, the other team members did leave her out on multiple occasions but she handled it well. It mustn't be easy for her.
Sergio's confidence is truly unshakable and it kind of amuses me at this point to see just how far he can take it. That said, his dress was hideous and his attitude awful, but they're not sending him home anytime soon because he creates drama and people love it. Let's not forget that ↓

 

[BusyOctober]

During my early college years in the 80's, I had a pair of black & white stripe shorts that I wore with an off the shoulder hot pink cotton sweater, and black Doc Martins. Hair crimped and worn in a high, side ponytail, hot pink lip gloss and heavy black eyeliner.  Thais was my go-to weekend party ensemble.  As much as I thought that outfit was THE BEST, when I saw all the mathcy-match black & white and pink, my first thought was "Garanimals- the Beetlejuice Collection".

Does Sergio even hear himself speak?  The level of smug insufferabilty is just...wow.  But whether I like him or not is apparently not his problem.  Says someone who is trying to make a name for himself (and earn a living) by providing a unnecessary "luxury" commodity to consumers.

Cyndi Lauper looked great on the judging panel.  Softer & more natural makeup, but still Cyndi.

Like Nina,  I could not remember anything Melanie put on the runway.  I'll go a step further and say I couldn't remember a "Melanie" was even a contestant on this show.

[MBJ]

3 hours ago, jacksgirl said:

Agree the talent seems to be lacking this go round. Also, they editing monkeys made it so clear Team Chaos would win. Lastly, I do love Christian as a mentor  and I get we don't see all he does, but he really saved Team Chaos IMO

Maybe it was the years on Lifetime, but there was definitely a long stretch of this show where the host and judges hammered again and again on the runway, "We can clearly see that you worked well as a team together, this is why you won" or "We can clearly see you worked badly as a team, this is why you lost".  Remember how much drama they'd force down our throats by forcing every single person on the runway to answer who should be kicked out of PR that round?

Meanwhile, the team that fought the whole time often won, and the team that was happy the whole time often lost (as we saw this episode), so the host and judges looked extremely disingenuous and stupid pushing this narrative again and again.

The funny thing is that when the team that fights win, and the team that loves each other loses, what is PR showing the audience?  That there's no real reward to good teamwork.  LOL.  So what is the point of the team challenges again?

That was something that used to drive me nuts about this show.  I'm glad that this new iteration is not pretending any of this, but it still makes the team challenges look pointless.  (Although as a viewer, I do like them.  So I guess that's the point.)

Edited January 10, 2020 by Ms Blue Jay

[backgroundnoise]

10 hours ago, MerBearStare said:

I hope Sergio continues to get smacked down by the judges. Cyndi looked at him in disgust when he said that thing about designing for women over 40. Um, guy, Cyndi is over 40! So is Nina! And they hate your shit.

I'm in Sergio's supposed age group and I've hated everything he's designed.  Designing for older women doesn't mean dowdy, but that what I think of his stuff.  Last night was dowdy punk.  Only Sergio could do that I guess.

Based solely on design, I think Sergio would have gone.  But as soon as Nina said she couldn't remember a thing Melanie designed, I knew she was toast.  

Edited January 10, 2020 by backgroundnoise

[dleighg]

Safety pins. Yeah, really original there. And they thought if they *all* did safety pins that would be a wow moment? I would grabbled some of those wildly colored feathers. That seems way more Cyndi Lauper to me.

[dleighg]

3 minutes ago, backgroundnoise said:

Last night was dowdy punk.  Only Sergio could do that I guess.

That "overcoat" of mesh reminded me of his prairie dress from a few episodes ago. What older lady is he designing for?

[TexasGal]

4 hours ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

Shavi's striped dress and corset look was cute. I liked that it clearly referenced the 80s without being an exact duplicate of something Cyndi had worn before.

Nancy's look wasn't punk or pop or 80s. That big poufy shrug/wrap looked like something a 60 year old woman wears over her dress when she goes to the opera.

 

I thought Shavi’s dress was the best outfit of the night.  They even showed Cyndi smile when it was walking. Too bad he was on Team Beetlejuice.

I THINK I like what Nancy had under the pouf - the corset/bodice thing looked cool when they showed it in the workroom.  But she didn’t listen to the suggestion that she leave the poof off.  Did her model even do a pouf reveal at the end of the runway?  We all know Brandon loves a reveal!

45 minutes ago, stormy weather said:

To me, the entire prerequisite of this challenge was a bit confusing. Did they say punk or 80s? Because they are two different things. Punk is Nina Hagen, Siouxsie Sioux or Lydia Lunch, and it's dark make-up, almost only black, safety pins and chains and mostly 70s. If, instead, they were referring to the more colorful, tulle and plastic accessories-ridden, big hair aesthetics pushed forward by Madonna and Cyndy Lauper, that's a whole 'nother thing, so I'm not really sure what they were asking for here.

I thought they said to design something inspired by Cyndi, but in the judging that said it was to do a modern look inspired by the 80s or something like that.  I agree it was confusing.  But, in none of those descriptions does everyone using black and white stripe make sense.  I can see the hot pink but otherwise nope.

[Ashforth]

5 minutes ago, backgroundnoise said:

I'm in Sergio's supposed age group and I've hated everything he's designed.  Designing for older women doesn't mean dowdy, but that what I think of his stuff.  Last night was dowdy punk.  Only Sergio could do that I guess.

"Dowdy Punk" is my new fashion goal. Because I'm a sophisticated lady over 40.

[kitmerlot1213]

1 hour ago, stormy weather said:

I admired Nancy's attitude though, the other team members did leave her out on multiple occasions but she handled it well. It mustn't be easy for her.
 

Delvin and Brittany both had such a nasty attitude towards Nancy.  Delvin sitting there with a bored look on his face while Nancy talked as if nothing she said was of interest to him was appallingly rude and couple that with Brittany's annoyance that Nancy didn't immediately remove the embellishment off of her model's belt because Brittany told her to speaks to an all around dismissive attitude that sets me off.  

And then Team Chaos had the meeting to talk about their models makeup where they somehow forgot to tell Nancy that they were meeting?  Blatantly rude and Brittany's "Well you should have come outside" when they were called out on it was obnoxious.  How could Nancy have come outside when she didn't know they were meeting in the first place? Turning around and blaming the victim of deliberate exclusionary actions is classic mean girl behavior. 

Glad that Jeffrey won and it's damn sad his father was such a jerk to him when he was growing up--living well is the best revenge.

Edited January 10, 2020 by kitmerlot1213

[backgroundnoise]

Sergio really made an ass of himself by saying, even after he knew his team was in the bottom, that he had made the most sophisticated outfit on the runway--with Geoffrey's gorgeous jumpsuit on display six feet away.

I thought Brittany wanted Nancy to remove the whole jacket thing, but it happened so quickly with Nancy's immediate "Nope" I could be wrong.  Even with the poufy jacket, I like Nancy's better than Brittany's.  The only outfits I really liked at all were Geoffrey's and Victoria's, since I've liked Victoria's the last two times she made it, too. 🙂 

Edited January 10, 2020 by backgroundnoise

[ElectricBoogaloo]

[pasdetrois]

I just realized that Brittany's look was a callback to Madonna's outfit in her Respect Yourself video (I think that's the one). Madonna wore a black tailored pant suit with a corset as part of the jacket, and she had old-fashioned garters that lay on top of the thigh and flapped around when she danced. Madonna's corset had the bra cone thingeys.

[Pepper Mostly]

 

10 hours ago, Archery said:

Sergio, like Tyler, has committed to his carefully constructed TV character and took it too far in this ep. You can’t show the judges that. 

Sergio's been grinding his molars to powder since Tyler's "dinner with the Kushners?" moment last week. "How can I be more overweening, obnoxious and bitchy than Tyler?" Looks like he managed OK.

9 hours ago, LennieBriscoe said:

But looking back on what I remember about her outfits and style, Cyndi would never have worn all black, well-done or not. She originated the wacky and bright color combos. Now, Chrissie Hynde, OTOH,....

That's exactly what I was thinking! The 80's were all colorful excess. Sure you had your moody artistes, all in black, but we also had Cyndi, Madonna, Boy George, Bowie.....

40 minutes ago, TexasGal said:

I THINK I like what Nancy had under the pouf - the corset/bodice thing looked cool when they showed it in the workroom.  But she didn’t listen to the suggestion that she leave the poof off.  Did her model even do a pouf reveal at the end of the runway?  We all know Brandon loves a reveal!

I thought they said to design something inspired by Cyndi, but in the judging that said it was to do a modern look inspired by the 80s or something like that.  I agree it was confusing.  But, in none of those descriptions does everyone using black and white stripe make sense.  I can see the hot pink but otherwise nope.

I think Nancy was at least headed in the right direction. The poufy thing was a misstep but I thought she was trying to do a spin on Cyndi's exuberant, fluffy, tulle-y outfits. The dress under the pouf looked good to me. My theory is that she was so demoralized at this point she got thrown off and didn't try to maximize the impact of the outfit.

27 minutes ago, kitmerlot1213 said:

Delvin and Brittany both had such a nasty attitude towards Nancy.  Delvin sitting there with a bored look on his face while Nancy talked as if nothing she said was of interest to him was appallingly rude and couple that with Brittany's annoyance that Nancy didn't immediately remove the embellishment off of her model's belt because Brittany told her to speaks to an all around dismissive attitude that sets me off.  

And then Team Chaos had the meeting to talk about their models makeup where they somehow forgot to tell Nancy that they were meeting?  Blatantly rude and Brittany's "Well you should have come outside" when they were called out on it was obnoxious.  How could Nancy have come outside when she didn't know they were meeting in the first place? Turning around and blaming the victim of deliberate exclusionary actions is classic mean girl behavior. 

Glad that Jeffrey won and it's damn sad his father was such a jerk to him when he was growing up--living well is the best revenge.

Brittany completely lost me this episode. So uncalled for, and so unnecessary. And yes, classic mean girl with her wide eyed "well you should have come outside then!" In Delvin's case I think its more a case of resting bitch face. I think he and Nancy get on well--I've often seen them walking in or out together, sitting near each other and so on. I've been thinking of them as the unlikely workroom pals, like Laura Bennett and Mychael Knight back in the day. I do hope so, I'd hate to see a pile-on on Nancy. I like her. As of now I most emphatically do not like Brittany.

I was glad for Geoffrey too. He's so sweet. Though I worry, he seems so fragile. I was worried about DaYoung earlier in the season, but she seems to have rallied. Geoffrey, on the other hand, is so often teary and rattled. Hang in there Geoffrey!

[Ladyrain]

I've re-watched last night's episode twice......and I still don't understand how Sergio didn't get auf'd.   The other two weren't anywhere near the levels of hideous that his was.  Melanie's was bad, but his was seriously worse.    Then you throw in his comment about not caring if the judges liked his designs or not, and well - buh bye now.   I hope they're just setting him up for some ginormous fall in a future episode because he really needs to be brought down a peg or 50.    And then GONE.  

Melanie's downfall was she didn't bring the drama, I think that's why she got booted.   I hate how the show values that as much, or perhaps even more, than actual talent.

[milner]

Can someone please put up the link to  the site that shows the clothes from tonight’s show. Thank you

[piedmontgirl]

Brittany should go, and soon!

[jackjill89]

None of this was punk. Punk was dirty and grungy. There was no refinement. Cyndi Lauper, The Go-Gos, Madonna, Flock of Seagulls, The Cure -- there were these punk-esque elements, but they were taken to a quirkier place. Spiky hair, exaggerated eye makeup and mixing materials in fashion. The colors popped -- not necessarily neon, but splashes of color. Color blocking, not stripes. True punks stuck their safety pins in their cheeks, used glue to spike their hair and their t-shirts were ripped an unwashed. 

I agree about Brittany's look -- Madonna Express Yourself all the way. 

I wasn't fond of either Brittany or Nancy this episode. Sergio should have been eliminated. His garment was horrible and his attitude worse. He's really not all that. I knew Melanie would go though, she was so bland. It's TV and bland will always go first, especially if bland hasn't shown tremendous talent.

[dleighg]

1 hour ago, milner said:

Can someone please put up the link to  the site that shows the clothes from tonight’s show. Thank you

https://www.bravotv.com/project-runway/season-18/season-18/blogs/project-runway-season-18-episode-5-recap

(I always go to the main Bravo Project Runway page and then look for "Runway Recap" which is usually a ways down the page.

And this picture shows exactly why that black zipper was such a disaster

Edited January 10, 2020 by dleighg

[Lisapooh]

the mentorship is supposed to be such an important part of winning. Sergio clearly knows everything already and will not listen, learn or benefit in any way from a mentorship. To me, that's the perfect excuse to cut him when he lands in the bottom. I knew it wouldn't happen last night—but his arrogance is going to keep him on their radar. 

 

[milner]

Thank you dleighd it was kind of you to take the time to post that for me. 

[sempervivum]

I'm sorry for the way Geoffrey was treated as a child, but I'm sick of his weeping and his disorganized (yes, 'chaotic') shopping drama every episode. 

I remember Cyndi in her heyday as cute, bright-colored, and kinetic- she did a lot of twirling and prancing around. The 3 top outfits were none of those things.

I don't care for Cyndi's current Miss Haversham meets the ghost of Marie Antoinette look; she looks tired and sad.

[TattleTeeny]

Well, what do you know--there WAS a new episode. Someone should tell my asshole (and correctly set) DVR that. Ugh, gotta love Optimum for its impressive consistency in the category of inconsistent service.

[LotusFlower]

12 hours ago, LennieBriscoe said:

So I waited too long to edit my above post.....

But looking back on what I remember about her outfits and style, Cyndi would never have worn all black, well-done or not. She originated the wacky and bright color combos. 

This is so true.  I like Geoffrey and I liked his outfit, but it’s so clear that the fix was in to hand him the win.  Notice how the challenge started with Karlie spotlighting his love for Cyndi - I’m sure they learned about that from his audition and pre-show interviews.  Then they made a point to air his story throughout the episode (makes for compelling drama), and then lo and behold - he wins!  

[Lovecat]

Oh, man, Sergio's FACE when Nina started bagging on his look...that smug smile just WILTED, and I enjoyed it so much I had to rewind and watch it again.  All that was missing was a sad trombone noise on the soundtrack.

Also, after all of the "Who the hell is Melanie?" and "There's a Melanie??" comments I've seen over the past couple of weeks, I just about died laughing when Nina said she couldn't remember anything Melanie had designed.  You and pretty much every other viewer, Nina.

None of those outfits were FUN enough for Cyndi Lauper, except maybe the little twirly striped dress that was in the safe pile.  BOR-innnnnnng.

[leocadia]

13 hours ago, njbchlover said:

This is one of the things that bothers me about the judging - it's so inconsistent.  Victoria gets praise for her outfits, which are similar to past looks, but other designers in past seasons get lambasted for sending the same look down the runway week after week. 

So true.  If it's a designer they like then it's their "signature style", but if they don't like you then it's called repetitive.  /eyeroll.  The same applies to designs that are perfectly elegant vs too simple or bold and new vs trashy.  It happens every season but it's still aggravating.

I sincerely thought they called Brittany out to give her a warning that she had the worst look on the winning team and was lucky to be safe, but no, they actually liked it.

 

[MBJ]

3 hours ago, TexasGal said:

I thought Shavi’s dress was the best outfit of the night.  

Oh - that's right.  I forgot about that.  He did really great work and of course he got no feedback on it!  😞 

3 hours ago, kitmerlot1213 said:

Delvin and Brittany both had such a nasty attitude towards Nancy.  Delvin sitting there with a bored look on his face while Nancy talked as if nothing she said was of interest to him was appallingly rude and couple that with Brittany's annoyance that Nancy didn't immediately remove the embellishment off of her model's belt because Brittany told her to speaks to an all around dismissive attitude that sets me off.  

The best part of Brittany trying to "tattle" on Nancy was that Christian couldn't give two shits about it.  He spun around on his heel and was like "Hahaha okay byeeee"

Edited January 10, 2020 by Ms Blue Jay

[MBJ]

3 hours ago, pasdetrois said:

I just realized that Brittany's look was a callback to Madonna's outfit in her Respect Yourself video (I think that's the one). Madonna wore a black tailored pant suit with a corset as part of the jacket, and she had old-fashioned garters that lay on top of the thigh and flapped around when she danced. Madonna's corset had the bra cone thingeys.

Madonna, Express Yourself video:

Madonna, another corset and suit:

There could be other examples too.

Thinking more about the challenge, I think I would (I can't even sew, but you know) have tried to do a one shoulder power blazer or something.  A power blazer with the styling of the Robert Palmer women or Janet Jackson Rhythm Nation shoulders.  I know, they're not even punk but I don't even know what 80's punk fashion is.   The Clash?

I think they hated Melanie's attitude on the runway, which was basically "I have an aesthetic and I can't form it to any of your challenges."  And they got REALLY offended that she didn't know how to translate the 80s, and that her outfit basically had no reference to the 80s (except for pink) and no reference to punk or Cyndi whatsoever.  

If Melanie's a minimalist she could have done all black like the aforementioned Robert Palmer look or a suit like the Clash would wear, or a motorcycle/biker jacket or something.  I don't know.  But I assume she was not alive for the 80s anyway.  I'm going to assume the 80s are the opposite of minimalism and instead of trying to "rally" like somebody said upthread, she just wilted.

Edited January 10, 2020 by Ms Blue Jay

[MBJ]

28 minutes ago, Lovecat said:

Also, after all of the "Who the hell is Melanie?" and "There's a Melanie??" comments I've seen over the past couple of weeks, I just about died laughing when Nina said she couldn't remember anything Melanie had designed.  You and pretty much every other viewer, Nina.

This reminds me of Tim Gunn's famous "Where's Andrae?  Where has Andrae gone?"  And Santino's imitation of it "Where's our little lamb?  Is our little lamb lost?"

Edited January 10, 2020 by Ms Blue Jay

[Calamity Jane]

Ha, I only remembered Melanie when I saw her last name, which I believe is Norwegian. I recall thinking a week or so ago that her runway look might be bad enough to get eliminated, so no surprise at her leaving. I have no recollection what the design was, so I guess she bored us all, not just Nina. 

[RoxiP]

1 hour ago, leocadia said:

So true.  If it's a designer they like then it's their "signature style", but if they don't like you then it's called repetitive.  /eyeroll.  The same applies to designs that are perfectly elegant vs too simple or bold and new vs trashy.  It happens every season but it's still aggravating.

I sincerely thought they called Brittany out to give her a warning that she had the worst look on the winning team and was lucky to be safe, but no, they actually liked it.

 

I agree with everything you said...and I'm still scratching my head trying to explain their Hester Sunshine love.

[Sesquipedalia]

Not a fan of the circus stripes, but the design of Shavi's dress was very cute. I could see Cyndi Lauper wearing it. Dayoung's looked very 80s, but not in a good way! 

Like others have said, I want to see Nancy's without the cape. It might actually have been one of the best.

I could barely enjoy watching the show because I was so worried the whole time that Cyndi Lauper was not going to like Geoffrey's outfit. Seeing the gay icon crush the soul of the sweet gay misfit was not something I was down for. Whew!

Cyndi still reigns.

Edited January 10, 2020 by Sesquipedalia

[HunterHunted]

8 hours ago, Corgi-ears said:

Well, Madonna was there in spirit, in the sense that Brittany's design was basically the "Express Yourself" outfit, but make it pink.

5 hours ago, pasdetrois said:

I just realized that Brittany's look was a callback to Madonna's outfit in her Respect Yourself video (I think that's the one). Madonna wore a black tailored pant suit with a corset as part of the jacket, and she had old-fashioned garters that lay on top of the thigh and flapped around when she danced. Madonna's corset had the bra cone thingeys.

2 hours ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

Madonna, Express Yourself video:

Madonna, another corset and suit:

There could be other examples too.

 

 

4 hours ago, jackjill89 said:

I agree about Brittany's look -- Madonna Express Yourself all the way. 

 

Yeah what everyone is remembering is Jean Paul Gaultier's costuming for Madonna's Blond Ambition with the suiting and cone bra corseting that recalled Horst's Mainbocher Corset. The second costume is Gaultier. The blush cone bra corset over trousers is Gaultier. It is one of the most iconic musical performance costumes of all time.

When I said Brittany's looked like a rejected first pass sketch for that tour, it's because it did. Someone should have clocked her for that.

Gaultier made 1500 different sketches for the tour costumes. There are actually other really great costumes in that tour like riffs on Charlotte Flemming's designs for Sally Bowles in the film version of Cabaret directed by Bob Fosse.

Edited January 10, 2020 by HunterHunted

[tunajune]

The editors must not like Sergio much either.  That clip where he was telling his model:  You'll always get a good fitting from me because I know what I'm doing. . .   He seems to be looking for approval from everyone to feel validated.

[carrps]

17 hours ago, raven said:

I thought "she's pooping fabric" (thank you Michael Kors, I think said it).

Speaking of Delvin, I would have put him in the top over Brittany - I thought her pink monstrosity was the worst of the winning team, though her model almost saved it.  I'm also enjoying Delvin's side snark.

Yeah, Michael Kors definitely had the "pooping fabric" line. I think Heidi did it, too, but later than he did. Victoria seems like a nice person, but if she doesn't do something in a different silly-ette she's gonna get aufed. Oh, that's right. Brandon lurves her. Barf. Not going anywhere until the finale.

I also had Delvin in the top over Brittany. Brittany did not work for me this episode. Mean girl, indeed, and her pantsuit was ugly. That fabric did not work for a tailored design, and it was very derivative.

 

11 hours ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

Shavi's striped dress and corset look was cute. I liked that it clearly referenced the 80s without being an exact duplicate of something Cyndi had worn before.

Yeah, that dress made in impact on the runway. Definitely channeled Cyndi without being a slavish copy. I noticed her face when she saw it, too. Made her smile.

Sergio. Dang. How old is he? And he's still this delusional? Those Houston ladies must really go ga ga over him. That outfit has to go in the worst of all time line-ups. Just fugly and stupid looking No one of any age would wear that monstrosity.

P.S. I meant to add: in the intro bit where Karli is wearing that red pantsuit? She has tits as saggy as Goopy's. If they're at your waist, you need a bra. How much flat chest was she exposing in the neckline of that jacket? Acres?

 

Edited January 10, 2020 by carrps

[lovinbob]

Sergio is seriously the worst. I suspect producer interference when the designers are on-the-nose awful, but not sure how you could manufacture that nonsense. What a dick.

I was rooting the whole way for Team Chaos to climb the ladder (h/t Littlefinger) just so Sergio would be put in his place and Nancy would not be scapegoated. I'm not 100% convinced Nancy isn't annoying, but Brittany's arrogance coupled with Delvin's dismissiveness are very tough to take.

I wanted to hug Geoffrey and I really did LOVE his look which, along with Shavi's, was by far my favorite.

Brandon Maxwell really looks like Elton John.

[cinsays]

17 hours ago, Mindthinkr said:

I may be standing alone on this but...when Victoria’s model was going down the runway it looked (the rear view) that the white lining was a piece of toilet paper that got stuck while she was in the loo. It was a nice outfit, but that detail bugged me. 

that is exactly how it looked to me - that material ruined the look for me

glad they gave the win to Geoffrey - loved his look

[DaphneCat]

7 hours ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

Meanwhile, the team that fought the whole time often won, and the team that was happy the whole time often lost (as we saw this episode), so the host and judges looked extremely disingenuous and stupid pushing this narrative again and again.

Yeah, the editing monkeys were NOT great this episode.  I knew from when they were in Mood that team stripe was going to be in the bottom.

6 hours ago, dleighg said:

Safety pins. Yeah, really original there. And they thought if they *all* did safety pins that would be a wow moment? I would grabbled some of those wildly colored feathers. That seems way more Cyndi Lauper to me.

Cohesive does NOT mean match.  I thought there would at least be one comment from the judges that there was WAY too much of that stripe.  The same thing with them all using safety pins - cliché much?

6 hours ago, kitmerlot1213 said:

And then Team Chaos had the meeting to talk about their models makeup where they somehow forgot to tell Nancy that they were meeting?  Blatantly rude and Brittany's "Well you should have come outside" when they were called out on it was obnoxious.  How could Nancy have come outside when she didn't know they were meeting in the first place? Turning around and blaming the victim of deliberate exclusionary actions is classic mean girl behavior. 

Maybe it's just editing, but it seems like a lot of the younger designers just assume they are better than Nancy because she is old.  Someone that age can't possibly have fresh ideas, right?

6 hours ago, backgroundnoise said:

I thought Brittany wanted Nancy to remove the whole jacket thing, but it happened so quickly with Nancy's immediate "Nope" I could be wrong.  Even with the poufy jacket, I like Nancy's better than Brittany's.  The only outfits I really liked at all were Geoffrey's and Victoria's, since I've liked Victoria's the last two times she made it, too. 🙂 

I'm too lazy to go back and rewatch, but I thought Brittany was saying that Nancy's TOP was too pretty - like she shouldn't use it.  And the obnoxious comment about "trying to give her feedback and she just walked away."  Giving your opinion is fine, expecting someone to immediately do whatever you tell them to is almost as obnoxious as Sergio's behavior.  Who died and made you the fashion expert?

 

[Yours Truly]

Sergio's overthing.. All I kept thinking was that it looked like a sheer fitted sheet. I was like WHAT IS THAT?? Why would someone purposely make the fabric bunch together around the edge to look like a fitted sheet facing OUTWARD? I mean in wasn't even tucked under facing toward her body. It was flipped back looking all kinds of crazy. That's the best way I can describe how it looked to me. 

[LennieBriscoe]

6 hours ago, jackjill89 said:

None of this was punk. Punk was dirty and grungy. There was no refinement. Cyndi Lauper, The Go-Gos, Madonna, Flock of Seagulls, The Cure -- there were these punk-esque elements, but they were taken to a quirkier place. Spiky hair, exaggerated eye makeup and mixing materials in fashion. The colors popped -- not necessarily neon, but splashes of color. Color blocking, not stripes. True punks stuck their safety pins in their cheeks, used glue to spike their hair and their t-shirts were ripped an unwashed. 

I agree about Brittany's look -- Madonna Express Yourself all the way. 

I wasn't fond of either Brittany or Nancy this episode. Sergio should have been eliminated. His garment was horrible and his attitude worse. He's really not all that. I knew Melanie would go though, she was so bland. It's TV and bland will always go first, especially if bland hasn't shown tremendous talent.

Epiphany City here! What if a designer made an outfit of an artfully ripped t-shirt and, say, wide cropped pants or a skirt, or both layered, with various bits of hardware, but in zany colors? Same for footwear: are there hot pink Doc Martins? Use eyelash glue to attach safety pins to a forearm or the face, or maybe colorful paper clips! 

IOW, Punk with color!

[seacliffsal]

Okay, I have a nitpik.  It warmed my heart when Geoffrey asked for, and received, a hug from Cyndi Lauper.  But then, Victoria, who earlier said she had never even heard of Cyndi Lauper prior to this challenge, also asked and got a hug.  I felt that Victoria took some of the 'specialness' of the moment away from Geoffrey.  Cyndi Lauper had great meaning to him throughout his life; Victoria seemed to want more time in the spotlight.  

I think the judges may choose the winning team based on to whom they want to give the win.  I really thought Shavi should have won.  His outfit was fun, 80s inspired, and unique amongst all the other designs.

[carrps]

Just now, seacliffsal said:

Okay, I have a nitpik.  It warmed my heart when Geoffrey asked for, and received, a hug from Cyndi Lauper.  But then, Victoria, who earlier said she had never even heard of Cyndi Lauper prior to this challenge, also asked and got a hug.  I felt that Victoria took some of the 'specialness' of the moment away from Geoffrey.  Cyndi Lauper had great meaning to him throughout his life; Victoria seemed to want more time in the spotlight.  

I think the judges may choose the winning team based on to whom they want to give the win.  I really thought Shavi should have won.  His outfit was fun, 80s inspired, and unique amongst all the other designs.

Agree with all of this! I meant to mention Victoria's horning in on Geoffrey's hug. I was starting to like her more, but that seriously turned me off. And agree Shavi was robbed by being on the "wrong" team.

[meep.meep]

Was Shavi's the one with the big twirly skirt that was lined in pink?  Loved that.

And to everyone who says Victoria just made the same thing she always does - you're wrong.  This one didn't have any cut outs on the sides so it was completely different. 😄

[WaltersHair]

Yes to all the posters who said Circus, Beetlejuice, and 'girl you got toilet paper in your stiletto"

I think we would have seen far more creativity with this challenge if it had been an individual one. I'm frankly appalled by what was presented.  If any challenge deserved a double elimination, it was this one.

The 80's were a weird time. I remember my mom showing me an article in Newsweek about the battle of the Pop Princesses- Cindy and Madonna and asking who would win. I think we all know.

 

[howiveaddict]

19 hours ago, Mindthinkr said:

I may be standing alone on this but...when Victoria’s model was going down the runway it looked (the rear view) that the white lining was a piece of toilet paper that got stuck while she was in the loo. It was a nice outfit, but that detail bugged me. 

After that comment by Sergio, I’m sure he is going good bye. 

I thought the same thing about Victoria's design. I don't get all the hoopla about her.

[dleighg]

I kind of like the safe one with the "handkerchief skirt." It was at least fresh. And I agree with those who said that the all black ensembles, while pretty, were not at all what I can imagine Cyndi Lauper wearing. Back to my earlier comment-- why didn't someone do something with those colored feathers, instead of the damn safety pins? Did Cyndi ever do the safety pin thing? And they all used safety pins in a way that was very prim and proper-- in nice little neat lines. And those pink ones on Sergio's monstrosity? They reminded me of those "native american" bead things you can get at roadside tourist traps. 

Edited January 10, 2020 by dleighg

[Jsage]

Quote

I can't put my finger on it, but I think there is an element of misogyny in Sergio's conception of the "over-40" crowd he designs for, as if younger women aren't tasteful or classy enough to wear his clothes. There's more to it than that, but this is the only way I can explain it at this moment. 

 

Quote

Sergio is such an asshole. He doesn't care about fashion, he cares about rich old ladies that he can get money from. He doesn't think younger women aren't as tasteful or classy, he thinks they aren't as rich & that's all that matters to him.

I completely agree with both these comments. I'd also add that Sergio clearly only signed up for the show to win the cash prize. Can you imagine him being some poor person's mentee at CFDA?

[Archer27]

7 hours ago, jackjill89 said:

None of this was punk. Punk was dirty and grungy. There was no refinement. Cyndi Lauper, The Go-Gos, Madonna, Flock of Seagulls, The Cure -- there were these punk-esque elements, but they were taken to a quirkier place. Spiky hair, exaggerated eye makeup and mixing materials in fashion. The colors popped -- not necessarily neon, but splashes of color. Color blocking, not stripes. True punks stuck their safety pins in their cheeks, used glue to spike their hair and their t-shirts were ripped an unwashed. 

I agree about Brittany's look -- Madonna Express Yourself all the way. 

I wasn't fond of either Brittany or Nancy this episode. Sergio should have been eliminated. His garment was horrible and his attitude worse. He's really not all that. I knew Melanie would go though, she was so bland. It's TV and bland will always go first, especially if bland hasn't shown tremendous talent.

Ahh, the good ol' days of music and fashion - Cyndi Lauper, the Go-Gos, Madonna, Flock of Seagulls. And yes - Sergio needs to go-go! I cannot stand his smug attitude. His garment was embarrassingly hideous! 

[atlantaloves]

Sergio needs to go go go, that outfit was hiddy! And, he's a stuck up creep.

[carrps]

Maybe it's an unpopular opinion, but I was always a bigger fan of Cyndi Lauper than Madonna. I played She's So Unusual to death. I don't think I have any Madonna CDs in my collection anymore. I have at least three of Cyndi's.

Yeah, I still have CDs! Get off my lawn!!! 😉

 

[auntlada]

18 hours ago, LennieBriscoe said:

So I waited too long to edit my above post.....

But looking back on what I remember about her outfits and style, Cyndi would never have worn all black, well-done or not. She originated the wacky and bright color combos. Now, Chrissie Hynde, OTOH,....

I really liked Geoffrey's, but it looked a lot like Joan Jett to me, not Cyndi Lauper. (I like Joan Jett, too, though, so I'm OK with it.)

17 hours ago, nb360 said:

I can't put my finger on it, but I think there is an element of misogyny in Sergio's conception of the "over-40" crowd he designs for, as if younger women aren't tasteful or classy enough to wear his clothes. There's more to it than that, but this is the only way I can explain it at this moment. 

I think he's misogynistic to older women also, and he thinks that dowdy is tasteful and classy to them. And also that old equals classy. I think he thinks that anyone over 40 wants to dress like Miranda Priestly all the time. (OK, sure, I like her style, but do I want to wear that stuff all the time? Absolutely not. It looks very uncomfortable. And I am enough over 40 to have been in high school and college in the 80s.)