S18.E12: The Height of Avant Garde Fashion

[BusyOctober]

11 hours ago, raven said:

The woman doing the hairstyling was annoying because everything was "cool".  Did she not know another adjective?

I'd add Christian as one in need of a thesaurus.  His many variations of "amazing" were over the limit last night....you will do AH-MAY-zing things, your talent is ama-ZING, you are an a-MAZ--ING designer, we'll miss your AAA-mazing work...

I'm happy Geoffrey & Nancy are in the final four.  I would be really happy for either to win.  I guess I'm OK with the other 2 in the finals if it's based on work only.  I'd swap Maquis for Victoria for a personality based final.  Sergio is smug, but that guy can sew!  His designs are derivative, but honestly, who's isn't?  I'm not a fashion history maven, but just watching PR for years, I've seen a lot of derivative stuff on this runway.  Shirts as dresses, pants as shirts, menswear on women, women's wear on men, latex and neoprene gowns, backwards clothes, chains and strings and human hair...someone at some point has done all of these things.

 I think Sergio's main faults are 1) he chooses very high profile designers for his "inspiration"- so much so that even casual fashion TV show watching people can say "hmmm, that reminds of something I've seen..." 2) Sergio doesn't acknowledge he was borrowing or riffing!  He has convinced himself he alone is some bottomless font of originality. 

If avant garde is French for "WTF?", then I guess Victoria's earring boob hammock makes perfect sense. SO, I guess that means I have to admit, Victoria did do something we haven't seen on the runway.  I don't think I need to see that again.  

The Vessel looks incredibly cool!  I wonder if any other designers would do a show there?  Now that PR did it, it seems like a natural breath taking venue.  Or have other shows been done there, and PR was derivative?  Although, if I were a model, I'd petrified to walk down even one flight of those stairs in gowns and heels!

 

[Mindthinkr]

I sincerely do not understand how Victoria has slithered through this competition. Many times I thought she played the pout and tears routine and hasn’t deserved to be moved forward. The discussion about a boob peek was what? They made it up that if a breast popped out that it made it avant garde. On no, that makes it tacky. I will never understand why the judges have been making excuses for her all season.  Another thing that bothered me was that the dress was attached to an earring. What if  some fabric (all those added little squares) caught on something?Ouch. Also it probably wasn’t comfortable. 
  I’m rooting for Nancy or Geoffrey. 
I’m tired of Sergio’s politics, although I do think he has talent as a tailor. Also Victoria for her wha wha attitudes and lack of finesse. 

[Darian]

Go, Geoffrey, you lovely man, go. 

Still adore Christian as mentor.

Can't disagree one bit with the judges, but so sick of Victoria and Sergio. I've seen others speculate that editing favors Geoffrey as the winner, but I worried that the clip of Sergio saying his insecurity is why he's so insufferable (my word, not his) is redemptive editing pointing to his win. Then again, he did say his whole high school voted him most likely to succeed, which is an insufferable way of saying he was voted likeliest to succeed. Most people would just say, "I was voted likeliest to succeed." Sergio had to pump that up a bit. 

I never knew what The Vessel was called; always thought of it as The Ribcage. 

 

[DEL901]

I'm glad one of the judges acknowledged just how much growth Geoffrey has shown, when they were deliberating.

I also laughed when one of them was shocked that this is the first time Geoffrey has used latex on the show.   I guess he thought that wouldn't be appropriate except for this challenge.

[Ms Blue Jay]

With a two day challenge, the work was so much better and the designers so relaxed.  There was no meltdowns, and nobody sent out unfinished garments.  We got to see what every designer would present and it was much better work than usual.

Should always be like this, a la Netflix's "Next in Fashion". 

Edited February 28, 2020 by Ms Blue Jay

[mightysparrow]

I keep reading about how great Geoffrey is but I honestly don't see it.  The only one of his designs that I can remember is his menswear jumpsuit.  THAT was fantastic.  The rest is a mishmash of 90s club kid fetishwear that didn't really interest me the first time it came around.  Geoffrey seems like a nice person but he also seems like a man with a lot of emotional problems.  There's been times when I thought there might be substance issues as well. I think the producers are counting on a BIG meltdown from Geoffrey.

I've worked with a lot of designers over the years.  Every season, designers decide what the 'theme' is going to be and create an image board for inspiration.  Some of them include pictures of iconic fashion looks.  There are companies that go around the world, seeing what the people they think are trendsetters (Black/Brown kids, Japanese kids, Black/Brown gay men, the ballrooms) are wearing and sell that information.EVERYONE 'borrows' and makes reference to past designs and designers. 

What I find offensive about Sergio is his refusal to acknowledge how much his work is borrowed from other (better) designers.  He claims he buried himself in fashion when he was young.  Yet he also claims that he never saw Galiano's backwards tuxedo.  I'm convinced he's lying.  EVERYONE who is slightly interested in fashion knows about that tuxedo.  And I'm sure Galliano had seen something like it somewhere in his travels.  I used to wear cardigans backwards with a necklace down the back after I saw someone do it somewhere.  St. Laurent probably sent a backwards tuxedo down the catwalk during all the years he dedicated to 'le smoking'.  Fashion is taking everything you've seen and learned, mixing it up and putting your own spin on it.  Fashion is NOT STEALING.

I don't care for Nancy because her 'story' doesn't interest me.  I think the producers are riding how 'inspirational' she is; Elaine said as much.  And it seems to be working.  I don't know how much the judges like Nancy herself which means a lot, especially with this group of judges.

I've disliked Victoria from the very beginning, back when people thought the way she pronounced 'faux' was cute.  She was able to pronounce it last night, interestingly enough.  What makes me dislike her the most is how churlish she is.  Victoria seems to think that she DESERVES to be there.  Her head is so far up her own ass that she doesn't realize that she's been given break after break after break.  Designers way more talented than her in this season screwed up ONCE and were sent home.  Victoria was allowed to screw up over and over and over again.  And she never once acknowledged her insane luck.  Chelsey and Delvin were much better and more consistent than Victoria, yet Victoria is the one going into Fashion Week.  That's just pure unadulterated fuckery.

This season has been a disappointment for me.  I've only been impressed by a few of the designs I've seen.  I can't stand Karlie.  The judges haven't impressed me with any particular insight.  And I didn't care for most of the designers.  This show has become less about how well you design a garment and how well you can SEW a garment.  That's not design; that's home ec.

[RoxiP]

4 hours ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

She said: "I definitely didn't think I was going to go home. I was so close. Do I feel like none of the people that are in the top four deserve it? Not necessarily but do I feel like I deserve it more? Most definitely."

I would hope that anyone who enters into a competition has this attitude - if you don't think you are good enough you shouldn't compete.  You might be delusional and wrong but you should always go into something like this with the attitude that you can succeed.  Her statement didn't make me mad.

I had to laugh when I saw scenes of Geoffrey for next week's show - he looks like one of the guys from the Village People with that black leather hat.

In one of the scenes after the judging they showed a side picture of Victoria's model and sure enough her breast was about to slide out of the hammock.  

When Sergio started talking about his design I could have sworn he first said he was modeling his "strong" woman after a geisha - was I wrong and he said female samurai?  Because those are two incredibly different types of women (I just kept thinking about those poor geisha feet that were so mutilated).

Is there a point to the Vessel or is it just a shell of a building with stairs and an elevator?

Edited February 28, 2020 by RoxiP

[Vanderboom]

 

10 hours ago, Nordly Beaumont said:

Sergio's "political" statement of the week: "Women can do anything men can do." Groundbreaking. 

Sergio is just a bunch of banal thoughts and sayings wrapped in a yawn.

This is the reason I can't stand Sergio. He has undeniable talent and skill, but the pretentiousness is so irritating. And the fact that his "political statements" are so inane and obvious makes his smugness unbearable. "Woman Warrior" has been a fashion trope for decades, even during the Lifetime seasons. I would like Sergio much better if he came with a mute button.

 

1 hour ago, stormy weather said:

As much as I love Marquise and think he's the only one who deserves and would truly benefit from that CFDA mentorship, I have to admit his design wasn't so great. I loved the choice of silver, but all those eyelets and buttons were distracting and the sleeveless shirt underneath the jacket was too long. Maybe if he had styled the pants in a different way (sneakers, a shirt tucked in instead of that long vest and the silver jacket on top) it would've looked a bit more cool.

I was really rooting for Marquise, too because his work is genuinely interesting, but over-designed. The mentorship would fine-tune his taste while letting his design skills shine. I hope this isn't the last I've seen of his work.

 

42 minutes ago, TexasGal said:

When Karlie and Elaine pulled out opera glasses to look at the models I snort laughed.  Yes, very dramatic.  But ridiculous.

If I could get away with it, I'd whip out opera glasses at every possible opportunity  just to be extra and crack myself up. (Note to self: Google "Easter hat and opera glasses combo on sale")

[hula-la]

When the designers were choosing which of their previous designs to include in their show, I could remember each designer’s look, and which challenge it was in. Except Victoria. Couldn’t tell you when or why she designed each. Tells me a lot about her work on this show.

I showed my students the first episode of Project Runway yesterday (Austin and his corn husk dress—I loved that season!). Their budget was $60.  

[Tabbygirl521]

I HATED Victoria’s. I realize I have trouble being objective about her designs because she annoys me so much but that  STRAP attached to an earring made me shudder. I like to wear long earrings and all I could thing of was an earring getting snagged and ripping an earlobe. It smacks of constraint to me. The whole bodice looked saggy and cheap and weird, and why is it suddenly “interesting” and avant-garde if it looks like a woman’s breast might suddenly pop out? Talk about questioning someone’s taste level. 

[Tabbygirl521]

12 hours ago, mightysparrow said:

I honestly don't see how 'avant garde' latex knickers are.  Unless 'avant garde' is French for 'hot and uncomfortable'.

Hello, infection!

[meep.meep]

12 hours ago, Lemons said:

And apparently Nina thinks Galliano or Dior invented Traditional Asian makeup. Like they didn’t lift it from Opera or anywhere else we’ve all seen it before.  

I lost any respect for Nina Garcia when she launched into that speech.  Sergio may be a drip, but the makeup and styling were appropriate for what he designed.  If anything, Galliano and Dior were appropriating traditional Japanese geisha makeup in their own time.

The fact that all the judges were pissing themselves over Sergio's dress during the runway show made me sure that he would survive, but Garcia's attack was ridiculous.

[pasdetrois]

Quote

I'm convinced he's lying.

Me too. And I think this is the reason Nina seems to despise him. Although I'm not sure if she was privy to his repeated talking-heads stating that his looks were original and "never done before."

On a side note, I just glanced at Sebastian's latest collection, which features pleats,  corsets and woven leather. All done before (Fortuny, Westwood, Bottega Veneta) but Sebastian did not claim to originate them.

That said, I think Nina's time is done. She doesn't really offer any specific helpful suggestions, just sniping.

Edited February 28, 2020 by pasdetrois

[Josiemae]

I don't get why Sergio is criticized for borrowing designs when Victoria gets all her ideas from street hookers.

[carrps]

1 hour ago, RoxiP said:

When Sergio started talking about his design I could have sworn he first said he was modeling his "strong" woman after a geisha - was I wrong and he said female samurai?  Because those are two incredibly different types of women (I just kept thinking about those poor geisha feet that were so mutilated).

That wasn't geisha. That was Chinese high-born women. And if you really want to be grossed out read about how "lotus feet" are made. Ugh. Lisa See described the process in one of her novels. It made me very sad.

[Josiemae]

3 minutes ago, meep.meep said:

I lost any respect for Nina Garcia when she launched into that speech.  Sergio may be a drip, but the makeup and styling were appropriate for what he designed.  If anything, Galliano and Dior were appropriating traditional Japanese geisha makeup in their own time.

The fact that all the judges were pissing themselves over Sergio's dress during the runway show made me sure that he would survive, but Garcia's attack was ridiculous.

Agree! And why didn't he get a lecture from Elaine about "cultural appropriation" like she gave us last season? Could it be because the whole notion is beyond stupid? Or did she just forget to be offended?

[AZChristian]

1 hour ago, RoxiP said:

Is there a point to the Vessel or is it just a shell of a building with stairs and an elevator?

The website refers to it as a "landmark."  So it's a shell of a building with stairs and an elevator.

[pasdetrois]

Sergio said that female samurai fought alongside men. Which may be true, but I saw a commercial last night - Mulan? - for a movie that features a female samurai who faced death because being samurai was forbidden to women.  Just an interesting TV coincidence.

[AZChristian]

2 minutes ago, pasdetrois said:

Sergio said that female samurai fought alongside men. Which may be true, but I saw a commercial last night - Mulan? - for a movie that features a female samurai who faced death because being samurai was forbidden to women.  Just an interesting TV coincidence.

Wait . . . you mean Sergio bent historical fact for the sake of his pseudo-intellectual social posturing?  I'm SHOCKED!!!!  I mean, it's not like he did something really offensive like having other people embroider the names of dead children on a dress to make a social fashion statement.  Oh.  Wait.  Never mind.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

1 hour ago, RoxiP said:

When Sergio started talking about his design I could have sworn he first said he was modeling his "strong" woman after a geisha - was I wrong and he said female samurai?  Because those are two incredibly different types of women (I just kept thinking about those poor geisha feet that were so mutilated).

Sergio said he wanted to highlight onna-bugeisha who were female warriors in Japan. Foot binding was done in China, not Japan. Two totally different countries and cultures. Geisha did not have bound feet.

1 minute ago, pasdetrois said:

Sergio said that female samurai fought alongside men. Which may be true, but I saw a commercial last night - Mulan? - for a movie that features a female samurai who faced death because being samurai was forbidden to women.  Just an interesting TV coincidence.

Mulan was Chinese, not Japanese. The onna-bugeisha were women who were trained to fight alongside men. Mulan was a woman who disguised herself as a man in order to fight in her father's place when he was conscripted to serve in the army.

[TVbitch]

Likeability aside, based on today, I think the right 4 went through, and I look forward to the finale. Victoria would have been out a long time ago for me, so that sucks for the others.  

I don't mind that Sergio is confident to the point or arrogance. I don't want to be his friend or anything, but he's got the goods.  

The show at the building seemed a bit ridiculous and even dangerous for the models. I don't get the point of it ...perhaps that means it was avant garde?! 

[mightysparrow]

32 minutes ago, pasdetrois said:

Me too. And I think this is the reason Nina seems to despise him. Although I'm not sure if she was privy to his repeated talking-heads stating that his looks were original and "never done before."

On a side note, I just glanced at Sebastian's latest collection, which features pleats,  corsets and woven leather. All done before (Fortuny, Westwood, Bottega Veneta) but Sebastian did not claim to originate them.

That said, I think Nina's time is done. She doesn't really offer any specific helpful suggestions, just sniping.

I'm sure the judges get to see the behind the scenes footage of the contestants.  How else are they going to know who to favour?  Because it sure as shit isn't the designs.

I don't blame Nina for despising Sergio for being a liar.  I do too. 

 

[sempervivum]

I amazed to hear that Sergio was voted Most Likely to Succeed in high school. I wouldn't have been surprised to hear that he got beaten up on the regular. That said, as annoying as his pretentious, un-self aware pronouncements are, he does seem to be kind (better than Brit or Victoria, for sure).

I can't even imagine how scary it was for Victoria's model to negotiate all those stairs with her dress suspended from her ear, and her boob about to escape. And Geoffrey's wasn't much better off with the skyscraper heels and skin tight rubber panties.

I'm increasingly annoyed by the ad for Tresemme with Elaine W. lecturing us. Elaine claims when she was a girl in love with fashion magazines, there was 'no one who looked like' her. Elaine looks older than she is, but she was born at the end of 1986, so she would have been a girl in the late 90's. How did she manage to avoid seeing Naomi Campbell, Tyra Banks and Alek Wek ?

[lovesnark]

Dear Sergio,

There is a difference between being confident in your abilities and being an arrogant, self important prick. You're the latter.

Signed,

Everyone

 

I agree with the posters upthread about Sergio being an extremely talented tailor, but not a  designer. Everything he sent down the runway was very well made, but nothing made me think "Oh! That's so cool, I want to see more!"

Geoffrey, Nancy and Marquise all have ideas that make me want to see what they can do with enough time to think about it  and to execute what they dream up. I also believe they would benefit from the mentorship.

 I wish they would have sent Victoria and her hair home instead of Marquise. I have no desire to see an entire collection of uneven hems, cutouts and weird straps. However, it will be interesting to see how she can make a $10k budget look like she hit the closeout wall at Joann.

 

[dleighg]

12 hours ago, njbchlover said:

And, while Nancy's was very similar to her sheer challenge garment, I liked it, and thought it was very avant-garde compared to the others.  I loved the sculptural piece around the model's head, and the dark gold piece at the waist reminded me of a seashell.  

I also really liked her look, and especially the "seashell."

I really rolled my eyes at Sergio's comment near the beginning about his Samurai warrior women: "women can do anything men can do!" Like he's the only man on the planet who is so evolved to realize this, and can I get a pat on the back for saying this? It's sort of back to his 50s mentality, when it *would* have been rather woke for a man to say "Sure, a woman can be a doctor, or an astronaut." Now? You just sound like a jerk. 

[dleighg]

1 hour ago, Tabbygirl521 said:

STRAP attached to an earring made me shudder.

YES! When you get an earring caught on a bit of your clothing it's scary as hell! That's all I could think of-- plus the dress top looked like your basic halter top from 1977. I don't see what was so awesome about all those little stitched on pieces of faux leather.

I thought the vessel looked kind of cool, but also think that gold-bronze thing is going to look dated in a decade.

[jrlr]

Is Nina Garcia going blind or just in the tank for Victoria?   At least she could show the same shitty attitude towards all these mediocre designers, but she's so blatantly biased that I can't stand listening to her sniping or seeing her active bitch face when she's critiquing.

Nina: Sergio, you are a POS for stealing gorgeous, elegant looks from from Galliano, Dior, etc. and not copping to the "borrowing."

Nina: Victoria, you are FANTASTIC for stealing cheap crappy looks from Wet Seal and Forever 21 and not copping to the "borrowing." 

[kicksave]

13 hours ago, mightysparrow said:

Christian made a good suggestion.  A menswear season would be interesting.

Edited to add:  God knows this show could use some fresh ideas.  This season has been sooooooooo TIRED.  The skill level has been shockingly low and the original ideas are few and far between, if the glimpses we got of the home visits are any indication.

I couldn't agree more...they need to shake this format up. I would like to see Nina Garcia go and replace her with someone else in the fashion magazine business. Also...why not move the show to another city for some fresh ideas and surroundings then have the final four meet up for NYC fashion week. And a menswear theme would be refreshing and challenging since a lot of designers are not menswear designers.

[gingerella]

14 hours ago, Lemons said:

Victoria’s dress looked straight out of Forever 21 just like the outfits she wears.  If the model took off the shapeless coat they would have seen the same asymmetrical hem she’s used all season. 

And apparently Nina thinks Galliano or Dior invented Traditional Asian makeup. Like they didn’t lift it from Opera or anywhere else we’ve all seen it before.  

^THIS^ times a bajillion. Why the everloving fuck does Nina think that just because some top designers have used kabuki/geisha make-up in the past means that others using similar Japanese-inspired make up means they're copying previous designers? It's a preposterous preposition (heh, I like those two words together!). Yes Sergio is a pompous asshole, but he DOES bring his A Game every single challenge, and he has a beautiful vintagey aesthetic and is a great tailor to boot. I get they don't like him and I get why, but for fuckssake Nina, make it about the clothing, not harping on the hair and make up. To me, if that's all she had then she ought not to have said anything because she just came off looking like a bitter betty.

I didn't think THE VESSEL was such a great venue for a show. They could barely see the clothes and isn't that what this show is all about? I'd like to have seen a regular PR runway for this challenge.

Loved Britt's bitter face when Nancy got accolades, but did not understand why anyone liked Britt's outfit. The dress was pedestrian at best, like something Ladies Who Lunch in Palm Beach would wear to a luncheon, and the hot pink thing just didn't go together well with the whole ensemble and the dress was anything but avant garde. Nancy, YEAH! Serge deserves to be in the finals despite his obtuse personality. Geoffrey really surprised me and I guess I'd like to see him in the finals. But I wished that VicBoria was sent packing along with Brittany, those two bitches deserve one another. I thought Vic's outfit was hideous, I don't care how many squares she had to cut out, it looked boring, the color palette looked dated AF, and that schmata coat thing was awful. What the fuck are these judges smoking that they keep her ass there? I.Dont.Get.It.

ETA: Add me to the growing list of viewers who think this show is done with it's current judges. Brandon does NADA for me. Nina is overcooked at this point and just needs to go. Elaine has good moments but is so sanctimonious at times. And then there's Karli, just, uch! Like a piece of human Wonder Bread, she has zero anything interesting to offer. Keep Christian, or don't, I don't care, and get all new judges, people who will truly tell designers what's what. Can you even imagine the critiques that would come out of Anna Wintour's mouth? That would be glorious though it will never happen. But yeah, this entire team needs an overhaul.

Edited February 28, 2020 by gingerella

[kicksave]

17 minutes ago, jrlr said:

Is Nina Garcia going blind or just in the tank for Victoria?   At least she could show the same shitty attitude towards all these mediocre designers, but she's so blatantly biased that I can't stand listening to her sniping or seeing her active bitch face when she's critiquing.

Nina: Sergio, you are a POS for stealing gorgeous, elegant looks from from Galliano, Dior, etc. and not copping to the "borrowing."

Nina: Victoria, you are FANTASTIC for stealing cheap crappy looks from Wet Seal and Forever 21 and not copping to the "borrowing." 

Well said...Nina is just awful. She's always lecturing everyone on "taste" and originality in their designs but never mentions Victoria's terrible taste level or unoriginal/repetitive designs at all. Her avant garde design wasn't avant garde at all. It was just a poorly designed fancy bra with a skirt that she's made one too many times in this competition and a cheesy earring/bra holder that was tacky and cheap looking. And Brandon Maxwell's comment that if the model's boob fell out at the dinner table that would be fine AND avant garde was just the epitome of bad taste...something that Nina Garcia should have responded to since she's the guardian of taste level.

1 hour ago, Josiemae said:

I don't get why Sergio is criticized for borrowing designs when Victoria gets all her ideas from street hookers.

LMFAO!!!!!!! 😂

[Tabbygirl521]

45 minutes ago, dleighg said:

YES! When you get an earring caught on a bit of your clothing it's scary as hell! That's all I could think of-- plus the dress top looked like your basic halter top from 1977. I don't see what was so awesome about all those little stitched on pieces of faux leather.

I thought the vessel looked kind of cool, but also think that gold-bronze thing is going to look dated in a decade.

I also laughed when Karli marveled that Victoria had cut out all those millions of squares. Has she never heard of a rotary cutter? I don’t imagine V used shears for that.

I’m watching Next in Fashion right now - just got into it yesterday. And I am loving it. (They just mentioned an “extended size model.” I like it.)

Edited February 28, 2020 by Tabbygirl521

[RoxiP]

1 hour ago, carrps said:

That wasn't geisha. That was Chinese high-born women. And if you really want to be grossed out read about how "lotus feet" are made. Ugh. Lisa See described the process in one of her novels. It made me very sad.

I have and I agree.  

[RoxiP]

Maybe the judges liked Brit's hot pink look because it was really the only thing they could see clearly in that venue?

[Snewtsie]

1 hour ago, sempervivum said:

I amazed to hear that Sergio was voted Most Likely to Succeed in high school.

Home schooled?  Voted by his mom?

[Madding crowd]

The show gave some examples of avant-garde pieces at the beginning, but if any of the designers would have made outfits like that they would have been accused of making costumes. I actually really like Sergio’s clothes and he seems nice to his fellow designers despite his annoying talking heads.

I don’t think his dress looked all that much like the Galliano dresses but I could also give examples of famous designers who made silver jackets with pleated shoulders, over sized coats with puffy sleeves and Lycra wear. I like looking at pretty clothes but given the non costume wearable parameters, I don’t expect something never seen in the history of fashion. Brittany and Victoria made cheap and ugly clothes, I liked everyone else’s.

[Yours Truly]

14 hours ago, violet and green said:

 

Criticizing Sergio's makeup was ludicrous. It was part of why the whole look was so stunning, and previous designers using Kabuki makeup/Geisha makeup is really no reason to rip into him. Normally, I enjoy Meana's critiques - I have to think she was using it as a jumping off point, to really get through to Sergio, to set him up well for the next 5 months.

 

My thing was, when Nina was going on about seeing the styling before, didn't she reference like 3 different designers? Sergio isn't my favorite and I like Nina but that just sounded so extra and pretty ridiculous. Here you've just rattled off 3 well know designers names who have used THE SAME styling in their shows at one point or another. So ummmmmm, I'm not understanding the scolding. Main stream designers repeat styling. What's the big??

[SuprSuprElevated]

5 hours ago, hookedontv said:

Nancy’s flashback pic to her and her hubs. Who is with me to start a petition to have Nancy wear her hair short again? That said, it was refreshing to see her in braids, that looked cute. I think it’s that top knot that really ages her. 

From the beginning I have really disliked her look.  The haphazard updo, the dated eyeglasses...all of it.  She looks much better in the beforelife photos.  It seems an ill-conceived attempt at capturing a youthful look that she no longer has, but shouldn't need.

[SuprSuprElevated]

5 hours ago, hookedontv said:

Brandon to Geoffrey on the runway: “There’s a nervousness and self doubt about you.” Ya think? Even when they show Geoffrey’s hands sewing or working they are actually shaking. And from scenes from next week, that man is even more of an emotional mess. I hope he can get it together! Not just for this, but for life. 

Exactly what I was thinking.  Geoffrey seems ill-equipped to handle the stress.  I can't decide if his shaky, nervous affect is because of an anxiety disorder or from the meds he may be taking for an anxiety disorder.  Not shaming, just wondering if he will be mentally able to not only produce a runway show, but accept the inevitable criticisms from it.  I really, really like him.

[lovesnark]

Nina's obvious dislike of Sergio makes me think she's seen the footage of him dismissing Christian's attempts at mentoring him, his repeatedly saying he's so far above his competition and just all of his general assholishness? Every time he tells us that he's miles ahead of everyone else in the competition and has done hundreds of runway shows, I actually yell at the TV and ask him why in the hell he's there if he's already at the top of this business.

[BlackberryJam]

I really don’t get the Brittany hate. She’s just not interesting enough to be worthy of such a strong emotion. She seems unseasoned. I suspect she will do really well with a nice boutique in Georgia/Texas or somewhere else in the South. She’s like Peach. I’m not interested in either of them showing a full line.

I am disappointed not to see Marquise show a full line. I wish he were on Next in Fashion, where they use professional sewers to make the garments. I think he should shine if he had the technical skills. I wanted him to have MORE chains in the pants. No offense to the models and it being heavy, but that’s their job. Christian’s latest line had some weird and awkward pieces and the models did just fine. That’s what they are trained to do.

Nina seemed to me to be annoyed with Sergio not acknowledging that other designers had done that styling ON THE RUNWAY, not that he wasn’t acknowledging that it was a take on Japanese makeup. Honestly, I fond that whole section of the show choppy, like it was a 15 minute conversation that they had condensed into 90 seconds. That being said, Sergio made a beautifully fitted garment that again felt it was brought out of storage from a much older collection. Sergio bragging on his originality is much more annoying than Sergio being referential. 

I don’t get Victoria at all. And I’m not even fussed enough to try. I feel like this is a Gretchen/Mondo situation. Nina sees something in Victoria and is going to push it. I don’t know what Nina sees at all. But like Gretchen, Victoria is going to go no where fast in fashion.

I am pulling for Geoffrey for the win. 

[dleighg]

42 minutes ago, BlackberryJam said:

No offense to the models and it being heavy, but that’s their job. Christian’s latest line had some weird and awkward pieces and the models did just fine. That’s what they are trained to do.

That was my thought exactly. Sure, for ready-to-wear you care about comfort, being able to sit down, etc. Not for avant garde. Models for that kind of thing have to put up with all sorts of nonsense.

Edited February 28, 2020 by dleighg

[AZChristian]

4 hours ago, Darian said:

Then again, he did say his whole high school voted him most likely to succeed . . .

 

Most elections like this are won by a plurality of votes FROM THE SENIOR CLASS.  That means he got more votes than anyone else, not votes from the "whole" high school.  So if his high school was full of people as pompous and self-absorbed as he appears to be, two votes (one from him and one from the only other student who did not vote for him/herself) would have given him that "award."

[SuprSuprElevated]

The top half of Geoffrey's garment was wonderful!  The bottom half was at best unfinished, and at worst indulgent.  Victoria's look was typical of Victoria's look; I saw nothing noteworthy.  Sorry, unpopular opinion here; Nancy's look was not avant garde to me, but simply a frenetic, jumbled mess.  I don't share the love of this designer.  Sergio's look was interesting and as usual, well made, but I question if it should be labelled avant garde.  Brittany's garment was nothing special; no judges, not even the color.  Not impressed with Marquise's creation nor any of the individual elements of it.  I am probably most interested in seeing Sergio's runway show, followed by Geoffrey.  Not really interested in the other two.    

In order of final judgement:

[Lemons]

20 minutes ago, AZChristian said:

Most elections like this are won by a plurality of votes FROM THE SENIOR CLASS.  That means he got more votes than anyone else, not votes from the "whole" high school.  So if his high school was full of people as pompous and self-absorbed as he appears to be, two votes (one from him and one from the only other student who did not vote for him/herself) would have given him that "award."

He went to a public high school school outside of Austin Texas with more than 2,000 students. It’s remarkable to me that he was actually considered for most successful at a Texas high school where sports rule.  Usually it’s a football captain or someone heading to Harvard.  A gay fashion designer in A Texas public high school?  I’m impressed with the students.  

[carrps]

1 hour ago, SuprSuprElevated said:

From the beginning I have really disliked her look.  The haphazard updo, the dated eyeglasses...all of it.  

Her glasses are really unflattering. Speaking of which, has Victoria worn non-sunglass glasses before? Those dated aviators she was wearing in the beginning of the ep were also very unflattering.

I loved Victoria saying the two black previous looks were completely different. In what universe? Where people all wear the same uniform? Didn't like her avant garde look at all. Looked like an old lady's peignor that been shredded by wolves.

My sister thought Brittany should have made her butterflies much MUCH bigger, but I don't think it would help much. A plain sheath with a bunched up sheet on top? Nah.

When they liked Marquise's better without the jacket I thought they'd probably rag on it for being too plain if he'd done that.

Geoffrey's was great. He deserved the top spot.

Nancy's was o.k. After seeing a microscopic peak at her collection, my heart kinda sank. More drab, dark, muddy colors piled on each other. Not a fan of that look.

[dleighg]

8 minutes ago, carrps said:

I loved Victoria saying the two black previous looks were completely different. In what universe? Where people all wear the same uniform?

It reminded me of the scene in The Devil Wears Prada where Andy is in the room where the "experts" are finishing a look, and the stylist holds up two nearly identical, skinny, teal belts. They all mutter, and one says "it's difficult, they are SO DIFFERENT." Andy chuckles under her breath.

It was like that.

8 minutes ago, carrps said:

Nancy's was o.k. After seeing a microscopic peak at her collection, my heart kinda sank. More drab, dark, muddy colors piled on each other.

I like Nancy's stuff generally, but I was also disappointed with that peek at her collection. No color!

Edited February 28, 2020 by dleighg

[carrps]

 

2 hours ago, gingerella said:

And then there's Karli, just, uch! Like a piece of human Wonder Bread, she has zero anything interesting to offer. 

Heh, she always looks like a little kid talking to the grown-ups when she leans over to give her opinions. She really seems pretty shallow.

[HurricaneVal]

I can't speak for everybody, but my Brittany hate comes from the fact that she's demonstrated over and over that she's quite the "Mean Girl" with regards to the other designers, but most especially to Nancy.  She and Delvin and Marquise all had this giggle clique dissing on the other designers and Nancy was a favorite target.   Remember that awkward moment when Nancy was sitting on that bench by the door waiting to leave for the day, and overheard the giggle clique's mean comments about her?  Sergio was very kind to her there.  He's got his issues, and lord knows I want to reach through my screen and slap him most of the time, but he was very kind there.  Brittany with her eyerolls and stank faces was doing it practically in Nancy's face, and my slappy hand always got itchy with that too. 

Sergio is arrogant and borderline nasty in his talking heads, but nice to people in person.  Miss Brittany can't be bothered to do that.  She clearly mentally demoted Nancy to "other" status and treated her as such.  I'm no Sergio fan, but when he's offering his superiorly nasty critiques, he's nasty about the design, not the designer.  Brittany doesn't seem able to make that separation.

I understand that Brittany has a fairly successful custom wedding/bridesmaids dress business back home.  I'll bet that some customers, after watching her behavior all season, will look elsewhere for their wedding needs.  Who wants to think their dress designer is making fun of them behind their back?  Most people got enough of that in middle school.  I know I did.  Those who have been on the receiving end of Mean Girl treatment will find someone else.  Sadly, those who were Mean Girls back in the day will see this and think they've found a soul sister in Brittany and flock to her business. 

So, that's where my Brittany hate comes from.  I also don't really care for her designs, but that's a different issue. 

[BlackberryJam]

But...Brittany was the one who sat there and sympathetically listened to Nancy rabbiting on. Brittany has not done anything to sabotage or bring Nancy down. She doesn't like Nancy's work (and doesn't enjoy her personally) so she talked about it to her friends and had a laugh. That is NOT honorable behavior, but it is NOT mean girl either. Brittany didn't trick Nancy, lie to Nancy, steal Nancy's boyfriend (or fabric).  

Talking about someone behind their back is NOT mean girl behavior. It's just snarky gossiping. I mean, dislike her all you want for being saying mean things about Nancy behind her back while being nice to Nancy's face. I can get on board with "two-faced" as a reason to dislike Brittany, but honestly I don't care about that unless it's combined with a deliberate act to impede Nancy's advancement in the show.

They all talk about each other. I mean, we wouldn't have the hilarity of One Way Monkey if the designers didn't (and weren't encouraged to by production) to talk about each other negatively.

[30 Helens]

17 hours ago, mightysparrow said:

I honestly don't see how 'avant garde' latex knickers are.  Unless 'avant garde' is French for 'hot and uncomfortable'.

Apparently Victoria thinks “avant-garde” means “sideways mullet”, because that’s what she gave us. Again. 
 

When Brittany starting talking about her butterfly idea, I thought, but you’ve already done that! And then I thought about Victoria, and realized repetition no longer matters.

Like some others, I thought Nina’s critique of Sergio was unwarranted. Borrowing from other designers is commonplace. As long as you’re building on those ideas in a new way, and not just copying, I don’t see the problem.  Nearly every design I’ve ever seen on this show resembles something I’ve seen before, in some way.  I’ve seen big puffy coats like Brittany’s. I’ve seen poofy clouds around the head and shoulders like Nancy’s. I would be surprised if nobody has ever done a flowy latex cape before, but it was awesome.  And damn you, show, for making me defend Sergio.

And also, Sergio: Thank you for letting the world know we womenfolk can be strong and courageous and good for more than birthing babies.  I feel so much better about myself now.

7 hours ago, Ellaria Sand said:

I question how much Victoria or Sergio would benefit from a CFDA mentorship since neither seems particularly adept of accepting constructive criticism. Marquis seems to have the raw talent that would benefit from that type of guidance.

Good point. I’m sorry Marquise got eliminated. He wasn’t always the strongest designer, but he was more consistently interesting than most, and I think he could have made a great runway show.  But of the four remaining, I hope Geoffrey gets the mentorship. I think he would benefit, and maybe they can teach him to calm down, already.