S01.E03: The Suit

[Ms Blue Jay]

I've added the Netflix episode description below.

 

Well, once again, the judges don't like this team yet this week I did like them:  Farai and Kiki.

I love how they use such bold colours and never do a typical, safe design.

To the judges this seems to translate to dated, or whatever.

It's just disappointing!

I really side eye Charles, I think his name is.  Was he the one that kept pulling fabric poles down right on top of people's fucking heads?  That was really dangerous.

I loved Angel and Minju raving about how cute they think Daniel is.

Oh my god, Carli and Daniel won this?????   Oh my god.  It's a nice suit and all, and totally my style, but it was just so safe and dull!

I can't believe the pinstripe suit or the white suit by Angel and Minju didn't freaking win, or the grey wool shawl one.  Ugh!!!!

Edited January 30, 2020 by Ms Blue Jay

[Aulty]

Daniel is cute. sorrynnotsorry.

Philip Lim said 'You understand construction, and that enabled you to do a deconstructed look' or something along these lines and I thought that was the most poignant comment in this episode. There was some pretty decent tailoring, but I didn't expect Daniel;s team to win.

Its cute how excited they get over the guest judges.

[leighdear]

Hmm....Angel & Minju did another flowing, billowy look.  Surprise.  

Ms Blue Jay, I liked the tan suit too, but didn't really see anything unique or innovative about it either.

However, I did think the look by Farai & Kiki was horrible.  The drawstring bottoms were so 70's disco, and not in a cool, retro way.  And it didn't look to me like you could wear either piece with other separates. 

I know the pieces of suit are supposed to match, but I've always thought a GOOD suit allows you to also wear the pieces with other things in your wardrobe.  

[Straycat80]

Daniel and Carli won!? So boring and the shoulders looked like a blazer from the 80’s with the giant shoulder pads. It looked better on Tan than on the model.

I loved The other two top designs. Angelo needs to stop with the over accessorizing tho. I didn’t like Kiki and Farai’s but glad they stayed. I’m rooting for them. I didn’t think the losing design was that bad but that team was not working well together. 
Poor Marco, I’m glad he got to stay in the competition. I knew as soon as I saw all that blood he was going to need stitches. 

Edited January 31, 2020 by Straycat80

[Megan]

Are they going to be teams through out the whole competition? If not, what will Angelo do once he has to sew?

 

I really like Angel and Minju but can they do something other than billow-y triangle?

[MerBearStare]

I really loved the gray suit with the wrap top/jacket and gaucho pants and was bummed it didn't win. Tan was right about the styling, though.

I did not care for the stylist guest judge. I felt like he was playing up the bitchy comments and quips for the camera. Loved Phillip Lim, though. So far all the designer guest judges have been great.

I felt bad for Julian and Hayley because they were at such a disadvantage over the other teams because they didn't already know each other and they have such different aesthetics.

[dleighg]

I like the female host (though I'm clueless so have never heard of her). She's a lot more approachable and self-deprecating than the typical on these sorts of shows (Carly, Padma)

[Jordan Baker]

On 2/2/2020 at 4:41 PM, dleighg said:

I like the female host (though I'm clueless so have never heard of her). She's a lot more approachable and self-deprecating than the typical on these sorts of shows (Carly, Padma)

I agree, but I was a bit surprised to see what she was wearing for the runway. She usually looks so put together, but the pants (in particular) seemed way too casual and didn't really flatter her all that much. 

I agree with those who dislike the team aspect of the show. I'm not sure how I feel about the fabric closet. I always enjoy the excursions to Mood (on PR), especially when Swatch is included.

[GaT]

That pole jammed into his face waaay too close to his eye, I freaked. I hope he isn't permanently scarred.

I thought the winning suit was dull, and I hated Farai and Kiki's, especially the ties at the ankle.

I'm glad Julian & Hayley are gone, they were just too painful to watch. 

On 2/2/2020 at 1:41 PM, dleighg said:

I like the female host (though I'm clueless so have never heard of her). She's a lot more approachable and self-deprecating than the typical on these sorts of shows (Carly, Padma)

Alexa Chung has been known as a fashion icon for years.

[Ilovepie]

Just found this show, and I have to say this episode blew me away! I am not sorry it's team challenges because there is very little drama over it on this show - it's more collaborative (with the exception of Julian and Hayley). And having two people work on things enables them to produce something better in such a short window of time. This episode proves it: almost every one of those suits was fantastic and well tailored. I personally loved the winning suit. It was classic, elegant, and fit the model impeccably. I also loved the gray shawl thing with the gauchos. I would wear that.

Tan and Alexa are also great. They work well together, and they don't overdo it. Another plus is that they don't seem like robots (I'm looking at you, Karly Kloss).

[snarktini]

On 1/29/2020 at 3:03 PM, Ms Blue Jay said:

Oh my god, Carli and Daniel won this?????   Oh my god.  It's a nice suit and all, and totally my style, but it was just so safe and dull!
 

I can't believe the pinstripe suit or the white suit by Angel and Minju didn't freaking win, or the grey wool shawl one.  Ugh!!!!

 

I would have put any of the other 3 above the winning camel suit. It was a lovely, well-crafted suit, there is no question about that. But it is very now & commercial, something they usually get dinged for. The stylist saying he could see it at Bergdorf should not have been a compliment! The others also had great craft AND they were more creative. The shoulder on the pinstripes was gorgeous, as was the vibe of the charcoal wrap. In the end, I'd have dinged charcoal wrap for styling and given it to pinstripes.

On 1/31/2020 at 5:09 PM, Megan said:

Are they going to be teams through out the whole competition? If not, what will Angelo do once he has to sew?

I really hate when fashion design contestants can't sew. Is his entire plan "have the other guy do all the implementation"? They are creating really good work, I can't fault the output of their partnership. But I want to smack Angelo on the regular. Also, Creative Director seems slightly wrong when he doesn't actually direct anything. He creates good ideas, then floats away. (FWIW, I went to art school. I have been a Creative Director. It's more than having big ideas, it's also overseeing the team to get the work done.)

On 2/1/2020 at 11:14 AM, MerBearStare said:

I felt bad for Julian and Hayley because they were at such a disadvantage over the other teams because they didn't already know each other and they have such different aesthetics.

Such a disadvantage. They haven't explained how they were matched, right? My impression was singles could apply and then be matched or select each other. That was a terrible fit.

I believe strongly in standing up for your creative vision and finding your voice. Especially for women! And yet, after she was so sure he was putting them on the bottom in the last challenge but they were on the top, I'd have thought she'd see that Julian's aesthetic was more in line with the judges. I didn't see the muddled conflict judges saw in their design this week -- I heard/saw only her, and it wasn't successful. Julian did the "right" thing by deferring to her since he bulldozed last week. That didn't pan out, just like the guy who went home last week for the same reason.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Ooh, suits. Now we'll see who can tailor and who is a one way monkey!

One thing that this show definitely has over Project Runway is a wide range of very well known and respected guest judges. So far we've had Monique Lhuillier, Prabal Gurung, and now Phillip Lim. Compare that to Project Runway's guest judges, especially in the later Lifetime seasons when they had lots of celebrity reality stars.

On a shallow note, I hated Alexa's hideous Birks.

I also hated the shoulder pads on Carli and Daniel's camel suit. The model looked like a linebaker in that. I also didn't like that it was just a plain suit with big shoulder pads. There was nothing different about it to set it apart from suits you could find at the mall right now. I did laugh when Angel and Minju when talking about how Carli and Daniel were good at making suits and then they took an abrupt turn into talking about how hot Daniel is.

When Claire and Adolfo said they were going to make a green suit, I thought yowza, they need to be careful or they are going to be told they made a leprechaun outfit. It ended up looking better than I thought it would but I think that it would have looked less mother of the bride if they had chosen a different material. For me, that was what made it look dated and gave it kind of a formal daywear vibe. For the record, Claire, you don't need to announce to the entire room that you forgot to wear deodorant again!

Julian said that the issue he and Hayley have been having is communication but I don't think that's completely it. Their issue is compromise because the have completely different design aesthetics. They do not have the same vision so one of them will suggest something and the other one says no. They need to get past that being a conversation ender and keep talking until they find something that they can agree on. Case in point: Julian wanted to do a pastel Easter suit. Hayley said that would be a huge risk. The next step should have been more discussion about color. Well, what color do you see for this suit, Hayley? And then keep talking about it from there. I hated the Elvis inspired suit. There was nothing about it that I liked. I hated the salmon colored collar, the floppy lapels, the gold zippers on the pockets, the loose fit of the jacket, the baggy pants, the lack of a shirt, the scarf around the model's neck, the multiple gold necklaces. Just EVERYTHING. If they didn't have enough fabric to line the jacket, why didn't they just get different fabric? It's not like the light blue Hayley chose tied the whole look together. They could have chosen just about any other color for the lining. Julian clearly kept his mouth shut to let her do what she wanted and what I learned from that is I don't like what she makes. I didn't see anything of Julian in that suit.

Credit to Marco for remaining totally calm after getting a metal pole to the face and just trying not to bleed on the fabric. And credit to Ashton for getting so much work done on his own while Marco was at the hospital getting stitches. Credit to both of them for not getting all reality show evil about how they were going to destroy Charles for this. It was clearly an accident and I think all of the designers learned that they need to be careful when getting down the bolts of fabric on the upper shelves (didn't someone else have a slight problem trying to get fabric from up there in one of the first two challenges too?).

Or here's a thought, show producers (from someone who is short and has had to climb onto shelves at Target and the grocery store to get things from the top shelves), DON'T PUT SHIT THAT HIGH. You have a huge fucking soundstage so would it kill you to just make the area for material a little bit wider so that everything is accessible without having to reach over your head?

Anyway, Marco and Ashton's suit was gorgeous. The cut was perfect, the fabric moved beautifully (I loved that they chose a grey wool with a blue pinstripe), and the model looked amazing. The only thing I didn't like was the stupid cut out shoulders.

Kiki and Farai made me nervous when they said they were just going to start draping the fabric without making a pattern. I think some things (like a flowy) dress are more suited for draping and experimentation, but a suit needs more construction. The end result looked like a sloppy ill fitting shirt underneath the jacket version of suspenders. I liked the patterned fabric they chose for the shirt which was very colorful, but I did not like the drab olive color they used for the pants and jacket(ish). There was too much going on - the ties at the ankles, the pleated bit on the back, the straps. Overall, it just looked messy and like it didn't fit the model. It also didn't really fit the assignment to create a suit.

When Angelo said that he's not a good sew-er or tailor, I thought how in the hell did you think you would get very far in this competition? Then I remembered that Anya won her season of Project Runway. But it's not fair that the brunt of the construction falls on Charles to do. While I really liked their runway look (particularly the cross over grey top), it didn't really read "suit" to me. Aside from that, it looked really chic and I could picture a lot of different fashionable celebrity women wearing the whole outfit or just the wrap jacket part.

Angel and Minju's white suit was a great runway look - very dramatic with a big silhouette. I agreed with Jason the stylist who said it was more of  a red carpet look. It was cute how much Minju was fangirling over Phillip Lim.

I would have given the win to Marco and Ashton. There was nothing interesting about what Carli and Daniel made. It was well made but boring as hell.

I agreed with the judges about the bottom two teams. Farai and Kiki's outfit was a mess. But it was so sweet to see everyone wiping away their tears while Farai talked about how much she loves Kiki. Hayley and Julian's Elvis suit was awful.

[Mabinogia]

13 hours ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

I would have given the win to Marco and Ashton. There was nothing interesting about what Carli and Daniel made. It was well made but boring as hell.

I am assuming that Carli and Daniel got the win based on their impeccable tailoring because yeah, it was pretty boring but I think their keeping it simple allowed them to show perfect tailoring while some of the more interesting "suits" were sloppy looking. 

While I liked the color of Carli and Daniels, I HATED the shoulder pads. I lived through the 80s. I don't ever need to see shoulder pads again. unfortunately I can't find pics of the other suits to remind myself of them but I did loathe the one Kiki and Farai did. At first I thought I'd like it, I loved the color palette and some of the ideas but there were just too many ideas. I vaguely remember the pinstripe one being my favorite though. 

[scruffy73]

Julian and Hayley should have sent down something with a SHIRT! I knew it wouldn’t work out when he was shirtless. That’s just a start. It is unfair that others are friends/familiar with each other and that these folks have not only never met but have nothing in common. It takes the joy out of some of it for me.

and as much as I like Kiki and Farai, they certainly deserved to be kicked. That was horrific.

[TexasGal]

On 1/29/2020 at 5:03 PM, Ms Blue Jay said:

 

I loved Angel and Minju raving about how cute they think Daniel is.

 

Me too!  This reminded me of one of my prior jobs - I worked with an international team and the women on the team in Taiwan used to gush over one of our execs.  They called him “Hugh Grand.”  He was a good looking guy, but did not look like Hugh Grant at all.

I’ll miss Hayley’s accent.

[carrps]

On 2/18/2020 at 2:19 AM, ElectricBoogaloo said:

Ooh, suits. Now we'll see who can tailor and who is a one way monkey!

One thing that this show definitely has over Project Runway is a wide range of very well known and respected guest judges. So far we've had Monique Lhuillier, Prabal Gurung, and now Phillip Lim. Compare that to Project Runway's guest judges, especially in the later Lifetime seasons when they had lots of celebrity reality stars.

On a shallow note, I hated Alexa's hideous Birks.

I also hated the shoulder pads on Carli and Daniel's camel suit. The model looked like a linebaker in that. I also didn't like that it was just a plain suit with big shoulder pads. There was nothing different about it to set it apart from suits you could find at the mall right now. I did laugh when Angel and Minju when talking about how Carli and Daniel were good at making suits and then they took an abrupt turn into talking about how hot Daniel is.

When Claire and Adolfo said they were going to make a green suit, I thought yowza, they need to be careful or they are going to be told they made a leprechaun outfit. It ended up looking better than I thought it would but I think that it would have looked less mother of the bride if they had chosen a different material. For me, that was what made it look dated and gave it kind of a formal daywear vibe. For the record, Claire, you don't need to announce to the entire room that you forgot to wear deodorant again!

Julian said that the issue he and Hayley have been having is communication but I don't think that's completely it. Their issue is compromise because the have completely different design aesthetics. They do not have the same vision so one of them will suggest something and the other one says no. They need to get past that being a conversation ender and keep talking until they find something that they can agree on. Case in point: Julian wanted to do a pastel Easter suit. Hayley said that would be a huge risk. The next step should have been more discussion about color. Well, what color do you see for this suit, Hayley? And then keep talking about it from there. I hated the Elvis inspired suit. There was nothing about it that I liked. I hated the salmon colored collar, the floppy lapels, the gold zippers on the pockets, the loose fit of the jacket, the baggy pants, the lack of a shirt, the scarf around the model's neck, the multiple gold necklaces. Just EVERYTHING. If they didn't have enough fabric to line the jacket, why didn't they just get different fabric? It's not like the light blue Hayley chose tied the whole look together. They could have chosen just about any other color for the lining. Julian clearly kept his mouth shut to let her do what she wanted and what I learned from that is I don't like what she makes. I didn't see anything of Julian in that suit.

Credit to Marco for remaining totally calm after getting a metal pole to the face and just trying not to bleed on the fabric. And credit to Ashton for getting so much work done on his own while Marco was at the hospital getting stitches. Credit to both of them for not getting all reality show evil about how they were going to destroy Charles for this. It was clearly an accident and I think all of the designers learned that they need to be careful when getting down the bolts of fabric on the upper shelves (didn't someone else have a slight problem trying to get fabric from up there in one of the first two challenges too?).

Or here's a thought, show producers (from someone who is short and has had to climb onto shelves at Target and the grocery store to get things from the top shelves), DON'T PUT SHIT THAT HIGH. You have a huge fucking soundstage so would it kill you to just make the area for material a little bit wider so that everything is accessible without having to reach over your head?

Anyway, Marco and Ashton's suit was gorgeous. The cut was perfect, the fabric moved beautifully (I loved that they chose a grey wool with a blue pinstripe), and the model looked amazing. The only thing I didn't like was the stupid cut out shoulders.

Kiki and Farai made me nervous when they said they were just going to start draping the fabric without making a pattern. I think some things (like a flowy) dress are more suited for draping and experimentation, but a suit needs more construction. The end result looked like a sloppy ill fitting shirt underneath the jacket version of suspenders. I liked the patterned fabric they chose for the shirt which was very colorful, but I did not like the drab olive color they used for the pants and jacket(ish). There was too much going on - the ties at the ankles, the pleated bit on the back, the straps. Overall, it just looked messy and like it didn't fit the model. It also didn't really fit the assignment to create a suit.

When Angelo said that he's not a good sew-er or tailor, I thought how in the hell did you think you would get very far in this competition? Then I remembered that Anya won her season of Project Runway. But it's not fair that the brunt of the construction falls on Charles to do. While I really liked their runway look (particularly the cross over grey top), it didn't really read "suit" to me. Aside from that, it looked really chic and I could picture a lot of different fashionable celebrity women wearing the whole outfit or just the wrap jacket part.

Angel and Minju's white suit was a great runway look - very dramatic with a big silhouette. I agreed with Jason the stylist who said it was more of  a red carpet look. It was cute how much Minju was fangirling over Phillip Lim.

I would have given the win to Marco and Ashton. There was nothing interesting about what Carli and Daniel made. It was well made but boring as hell.

I agreed with the judges about the bottom two teams. Farai and Kiki's outfit was a mess. But it was so sweet to see everyone wiping away their tears while Farai talked about how much she loves Kiki. Hayley and Julian's Elvis suit was awful.

I can't figure out what to edit out and comment on, so, I guess, ditto?

Carli's and Daniel's was boring except for the shoulder pads which I hated. It made the model look like a no-neck wonder.

Hated Hayley's suit with the fire of a thousand suns. There was no Julian in that. I agree, Hayley finely got her way, and it wasn't a good way. Buhbye.

 

[truthaboutluv]

On 1/29/2020 at 6:03 PM, Ms Blue Jay said:

Well, once again, the judges don't like this team yet this week I did like them:  Farai and Kiki.

Bingeing the show this weekend and I absolutely agreed with the judges about this outfit - it was over-designed. There was way too much going on and I think that was definitely a result of neither having experience in making suits and so they just threw everything and the kitchen sink.

I also think they're a team where knowing each other and maybe being too similar in aesthetic is hurting more than helping them. And I think that's exactly why Tan asked the question he did. They could both do with someone with a more subtle aesthetic,to help rein in their too much-ness. It's basically like needing an editor for your work. 

Quote

I personally loved the winning suit. It was classic, elegant, and fit the model impeccably

This.

Quote

I am assuming that Carli and Daniel got the win based on their impeccable tailoring because yeah, it was pretty boring but I think their keeping it simple allowed them to show perfect tailoring while some of the more interesting "suits" were sloppy looking. 

And this.

The one thing Alexa and Tan kept stressing from the start, when announcing that the challenge would be a suit, is how important excellent tailoring and construction is to a good suit. And I think that's what put Daniel and Carli above the others. 

No, it didn't reinvent the wheel, but it was very, very well made. I'd say the one other one that came close was the one by the team where the guy got hit in the face (sorry, still don't know all their names). 

I loved Angel and her partner's suit but that was a MET Gala suit, not a particularly practical one, as the stylist guy noted. And Marco and Angelo I think, the one with the off-shoulder and gaucho pants, there was too much accessorizing and it got a bit busy with the bow thing at the back. 

Edited March 2, 2020 by truthaboutluv

[chaifan]

I equally disliked Julian & Haley's "Elvis" suit and Kiki & Farai's outfit.  But at least Julian and Haley's suit was a suit, even it was a complete hot mess.  Kiki & Farai's outfit was not a suit, by any measure of the word.  It was simply a two piece outfit.*  And an ugly one at that.  And it looked like it got pulled out of some 1984 music video.  I won't say the judges were wrong to eliminate Julian & Haley, but Kiki & Farai really didn't deserve to stay, either. 

* Angel & Minju and Marco & Angleo's outfits were also more "outfit" than "suit", but at least they both incorporated at least some aspect of traditional suit tailoring.  Angel & Minju's was obviously more of a runway concept piece, and was stunning, so I give them a break on that. 

[morakot]

On 2/24/2020 at 2:35 PM, scruffy73 said:

Julian and Hayley should have sent down something with a SHIRT! I knew it wouldn’t work out when he was shirtless. 

Just watching the episode now and Hayley clearly said, "You do the shirt and the accessories." So shirtlessness is on Julian.

I'm also wondering what Patrick (of Saville Row and Great British Sewing Bee) would say...

 

[SemiCharmedLife]

I'm enjoying many aspects of this show, but I can't get onboard with the team eliminations. It just seems so unfair up to this point.  ALL of the eliminated teams have been individuals who had no prior experience working together, or even knowing one another.  This is such a disadvantage, as we have seen.  Also, it has been heartbreaking for me to see both team members be eliminated at the expense of the mistake of one.  On the first episode, Nasheli worked her buns off using fabric she disagreed with.  Her partner made all the bad decisions and she did the work and ultimately paid the price.  In the second episode, I felt so bad for Narresh, who is extremely talented in creating prints, for being graceful and allowing his partner to take the lead in print choice.  He could have excelled In this challenge!  Now, we have a similar situation with Julian going home over choices his partner forced on him.  I didn't like his print choices last week, but they appealed to the judges for making a statement.  I feel bad for these eliminated contestants and far prefer the way Project Runway usually handles team challenges, where only one person is eliminated.  I would love to see these partners get another chance in an individual challenge (ala Top Chef's Last Chance Kitchen...)

[Ashforth]

On 2/18/2020 at 4:19 AM, ElectricBoogaloo said:

I hated the Elvis inspired suit. There was nothing about it that I liked. I hated the salmon colored collar, the floppy lapels, the gold zippers on the pockets, the loose fit of the jacket, the baggy pants, the lack of a shirt, the scarf around the model's neck, the multiple gold necklaces. Just EVERYTHING. If they didn't have enough fabric to line the jacket, why didn't they just get different fabric?

There was nothing Elvis about that suit. Fashionwise, Elvis was famous for his jumpsuits. And yes, as for the lining, why not go back to the fabric room and get something else? Was it quarantined for cleaning because of all the blood? I got the feeling that Julian went all passive aggressive and didn't do much of anything because he was letting Haley "take the lead." Jerk, much?

But it was at least an attempt at a suit, which leads us to:

On 3/1/2020 at 7:41 PM, chaifan said:

Kiki & Farai's outfit was not a suit, by any measure of the word.  It was simply a two piece outfit.*  And an ugly one at that.

I thought it looked like an ugly, busy, ugly, ill-fitting, ugly jumpsuit. Did I mention that it was ugly? They should have been cut, in my opinion. And then (shallow alert) I wouldn't have to look at Kiki's gross long pointy fingernails again.

I think that the team thing wouldn't bother me as much if they only cut one member of the losing team. That way whoever either slacked or insisted on a crap design/fabric choice/styling wouldn't necessarily drag the other down as well.

I liked Charles' look (I'm barely including Angelo here) but also not a suit. 

I thought that Ashton and Marco should have won. Maybe they would if not for the long train. It was dramatic on the runway but not terribly "suit"-y. But the judging is so inconsistent that if they had given the jacket a more traditional hem, it could have been too wearable. But look at what won. *Confused*

On 3/23/2020 at 12:44 PM, SemiCharmedLife said:

I would love to see these partners get another chance in an individual challenge (ala Top Chef's Last Chance Kitchen...)

THIS.

[Leeds]

On 4/26/2020 at 5:40 PM, Ashforth said:

. And then (shallow alert) I wouldn't have to look at Kiki's gross long pointy fingernails again.

 

Can someone explain how you can do anything with those?  How do you open a door/put your clothes on/wipe your bottom/stroke your child's hair/open a drawer (never mind get something out of said drawer)?  I'm genuinely curious.

[Cora Casey]

I agree with the judges on Farai and Kiki's look this time; it felt dated to me. I was also surprised by the safe choice for the winning outfit. Excited about the guest judges though! And yeah, Angel and Minju seem to have a signature style that's quite predictable.