S01.E02: Haute Couture

[raven]

Quote

27 Mar. 2020

Heidi and Tim meet up with the designers to give them their next assignment: a two-look, Haute-Couture inspired mini collection for a fashion show that will take place at the historic Musée Des Arts Décoratifs. As the fashion show draws near, an indecisive designer struggles to stay on track, while another designer attempts to push their creative boundaries.

 

[Linderhill]

So glad that twit Martha was sent home.  She had no reason to be there except be cannon fodder.  

[SemiCharmedLife]

2 hours ago, Linderhill said:

So glad that twit Martha was sent home.  She had no reason to be there except be cannon fodder.  

I agree!  I can't believe she had a show during New York Fashion Week.  How???  No wonder she had a huge stock of safety pins.  I can't fathom her having her own line, with no pattern making skills, unable to sew...  Maybe she should be a stylist.

[SemiCharmedLife]

I'm not fond of the way they are judging:  "Have you changed your mind? no, no, and no." Seems strange, but maybe I'm just not used to it.  

Plus, I'm not a fan of Naomi Campbell.  From what I have read in the tabloids, she is not a nice person.  I have a feeling that her opinions will be quite narrow.

[Fake Jan Brady]

I kept waiting for Naomi Campbell to throw something at a model wearing something she didn't approve of. I laughed out loud when she declared Sander's accessible look as "too loud" while standing there wearing Twizzlers hanging from her Sydney Opera House inspired shoulder pads.

The other comic highlight was Martha's "You would never know I just pinned these up and it all came together" immediately followed by Judge Joseph's "This looks like it was just wrapped around the body".

The budget for Eurotrash extras at the fashion show must have been through the roof. We get it, Amazon, you're loaded.

Heidi is trying way too hard to show PERSONALITY! Did she feel stymied at the other show?

[hurrrz]

The runway location was cool. I enjoyed the piano music for the first one, as it was very elegant and fitting. Too bad they killed that shortly thereafter. 

 

Naomi Campbell annoys me. As does fake-Hester. How does anyone make it onto a show like this without basic sewing skills, nor skills to instruct a seamstress? Her choice of fabrics was very juvenile and gaudy. 

 

I am over the whole fake Tim and Heidi date-night stuff. It's fake and annoying. 

[SemiCharmedLife]

5 hours ago, Fake Jan Brady said:

I kept waiting for Naomi Campbell to throw something at a model wearing something she didn't approve of. I laughed out loud when she declared Sander's accessible look as "too loud" while standing there wearing Twizzlers hanging from her Sydney Opera House inspired shoulder pads.

The other comic highlight was Martha's "You would never know I just pinned these up and it all came together" immediately followed by Judge Joseph's "This looks like it was just wrapped around the body".

The budget for Eurotrash extras at the fashion show must have been through the roof. We get it, Amazon, you're loaded.

Heidi is trying way too hard to show PERSONALITY! Did she feel stymied at the other show?

I agree with all your points.  I thought it was hysterical to see Naomi shoot down several designs as being too bold while wearing her get-up, which you described perfectly!

[SemiCharmedLife]

Another fun highlight: when asked to bring out her dress, Martha brings out a hanger with a piece of rectangular fabric clipped to it!  

[watch2much]

I know this is supposed to be a more serious show. But I kind of miss the snarky comments of Project runway. Couldn’t agree more with you about Naomi Campbell. What she was wearing look like a clown costume and she had a particularly nasty way of saying she didn’t like something.

[sandwoman]

Martha has an interesting aesthetic (which I like a lot!) and the complaints of not being able to sew doesn't make a lot of sense when they have sewing help. She just didn't make a plan? It was weird. Maybe she just wanted to go home to her kids. 

Naomi is hilarious to me. I like how she tries to intimidate Nicole. She knows her role is to be HBIC.

Kinda awkward how Esther and Ji Won are such the obvious favs. But I like them both a lot.

I do feel a little bad when someone is dismissed and they just walk off and don't really get a good-bye from everyone. 

Otherwise this is the show I NEED now.

Here is the store: https://www.amazon.com/b/ref=MTC_2020_Bubbler_land_2?pf_rd_r=KHT49PN2E1YKMAB3AR4H&pf_rd_p=6f5daa4e-268c-494c-ae3a-c34da633e65d&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=merchandised-search-2&pf_rd_t=&pf_rd_i=20968995011&ie=UTF8&node=21131728011

You have to search a little for the actual dresses for sale.  

[leighdear]

I normally hate Naomi Campbell, but I'm liking her here more than usual.  Maybe she's mellowing a little in her old age.  But of course her claws will come out soon.

I loved Esther's looks too.  I like her attitude and her aesthetic, but the unrelenting black is already a little monotonous.  

The white dress Ji made that's going on Amazon just looks like it belongs on Serena Williams.  The model reminded me of her.  

They need to tone down the music a bit.  The right tunes are good for setting the mood, but the songs are fighting the commentary and get distracting. 

Heidi is still saying "Let's start the show".  Because it's still Project Runway, even though we don't have the scowling Nina Garcia, the Dollar General Makeup aisle and they all get to look at the clothes close up. 

I'm still on board until the "on board" becomes "bored".  

[Fallacy]

I enjoyed the first two episodes, and since I don’t have cable anymore, I can’t watch Project Runway until it comes on Hulu, so I’m in with this version. Lol. 

I guess I did miss Heidi and Tim after all because I did buy into their excitement about this new show. 

I checked out the winning looks on Amazon, and they are very reasonably priced. As best as I can tell, Esther’s black dress from episode 1 is already sold out. It was around $55, and I would have bought it if it was available in my size. I also liked the white dress from this week. 

I like fashion that makes me want to look like the model so I can wear the outfit, and I think the winning looks so far have met that standard. 

Finally, I loved both wedding dresses from the one designer who lost his mother recently. They were gorgeous. I think he didn’t win because of the Amazon connection though. I can’t imagine either dress being sold on there. 

PS: If you do shop “Making the Cut” on Amazon, you’ll find a link for “Tim’s Staples,” which is an excellent list of staple ready to wear pieces at a variety of price points and sizes. His list may be a little generic for some, but I want several of the pieces on it for both work and play. 

Edited March 28, 2020 by Fallacy
Spelling

[KnotsLanding]

This episode was a lot better than the first one. I'm so happy Martha went home. I just cannot fathom not knowing how to sew, make a pattern or sketch it seems. She seems like someone who had money to start a line, but I don't believe she designs anything. At home she probably can verbalize an idea and an actual designer creates the design for her. A person like that can't have success on a show like this. 

On the subject of Naomi, I loved her lol. I do agree she is very direct, but I think that's because she takes fashion seriously. It works for me because the panel is very balanced. Every judge feels useful to me because their perspectives and personalities are unique. I feel Naomi is balanced out with the other judges. For me the only part of the show I enjoy is the runway and judging. Due to the seamstresses doing most of the work I find the first half of the episodes to be pretty dull. I miss seeing them make the clothes.

[StrictTime]

The music is terrible.

I want the next challenge to be a print/anything but black challenge. 2 episodes and I’m sick of black already.

Couture in TWO DAYS. I hate that they want to inspect a fabulous design (the woman from Kansas) and hate on it being imperfect when they have two freaking days.

Nicole Ritchie is a breath of fresh air and is the only judge I like so far. She’s just so pleasant.
 

[GaT]

So glad they got rid of Martha, I was afraid they were going to keep her for the drama. Esther wins again, that must be making the other designers crazy.

Not enjoying the Heidi & Tim date night scenes at all. Watching Heidi trying to dance at the Moulin Rouge was cringeworthy. Notice that there was no audience there to see it? 

[ElectricBoogaloo]

I got secondhand embarrassment watching Heidi "dance" at the Moulin Rouge. Girl, you have a rocking body so just walk around in the costume and look cute.

I like that the first two challenges have been pretty open to the designers' interpretations (after 18 seasons of Project Runway, I am over the extremely specific challenges like make a prom dress out of duct tape). And when they are given such open ended challenges, there's really no excuse for the designers to fail because they aren't being hemmed in (no pun intended) by a million superficial constraints and requirements.

And that's why once again I had no sympathy for Sparkle Princess Glitter Unicorn Martha. First of all, you picked a gingham cotton for an haute couture challenge? I'm not saying it's totally impossible to create haute couture with gingham but it seems a lot less likely than if you picked another fabric. That sparkly bronze material looked so cheap and tacky. It looked like something you would see as a costume at a kids' dance recital (and I say this as someone who has seen and worn a lot of cheesy inexpensive costumes bought from dance catalogs). Both the bronze dress and the pink dress were "constructed" by wrapping a length of fabric around the dress form, which looks suspiciously similar to the dress she sent down the runway in the previous challenge. On a shallow note, I hated the hideous denim dress with a million holes that she was wearing in the workroom. The brown boots with long fringe did not help. And will someone please tell her that couture is not pronounced "ki-chir"?

I'd like to know if there are any restrictions on how much work you can have the seamstresses do. If you totally lag and have nothing to send to the seamstress on the first day OR if you have them sew something on the first day and then change your mind, can you give the seamstress two things to make in one night? One thing I liked is that when Martha changed her mind about that basic as fuck gingham outfit, she was allowed to go back to the fabric store and buy new fabric.

I was willing to give the show a little bit of leeway with the first runway show having so many long shots because I'm sure they wanted to highlight the Eiffel Tour in the background but they did it again in this episode and I HATE IT. There is no reason to have shots like this during the runway show:

Also unnecessary: the multiple shots of the models between the judges' heads.

Another thing I hated about the runway show was the volume. The judges obviously have microphones on them but the volume on their voices is low and the volume of the background music is high so I had to keep turning the volume up to hear what they were saying but as soon as they were done talking, the music was BLARING.

Esther's couture gown seemed too simple, even with the sequined skirt. I wasn't a fan of the strappy situation in the back and I really did not like the chinstrap with the model's hair. Where she placed the waist was not very flattering on the model. Her ready to wear look was so basic aside from the strip of fabric running across the bust. It was a fit and flare dress with leggings.

Megan's couture look was so graphic and precise and beautiful. The placement of the cutouts was great and I loved how the lines moved when the model walked. I thought the ready to wear look was a good companion piece but nothing amazing. I liked it because it was pretty and had obvious ties to the other look. I don't know how fair it was for the judges to ding her for not having perfect construction when (1) she had two days to create an haute couture look and (2) we don't know how much of the construction issues were due to her versus her seamstress.

I liked Ji Won's white ready to wear dress in theory but looked like it would add extra bulk to a lot of women's bodies. I didn't hate it but I didn't really like it. I agreed with whichever judge said it was too short. When the model left the runway to sit down, I thought I hope she has underwear on underneath that dress or her entire ass is going to be on that chair. I didn't like her couture look because it looked like when I grab a blanket to get up from the sofa.

Josh's ready to wear look had that horrible side mullet thing going on which I loathe. I didn't love the color of the skirt either. I get wanting a contrast from black (and I'm always glad when designers don't put their models in head to toe black) but the color was too anemic. Unfortunately we didn't get a very good close up shot so I couldn't tell what the fit and construction issues mentioned by the judges were from the way that we were shown this dress. His black couture dress looked like what a grandmother would wear to the opera. It was a shapeless sequined dress.

Will's blue couture dress didn't look couture at all. It looked like a cheap prom dress. The cut was not very flattering to the model and the material did not elevate the dress to couture. She definitely needed a slit cut in the skirt so she could walk. Even though her cleavage was completely covered, it looked like her breasts didn't have much support in that dress. We didn't get a shot of the back of the dress so I don't know if she wasn't able to wear a bra or if the dress was just cut in a weird way but I felt bad for this poor model. The blue and gold ready to wear dress looked slightly more couture than the actual couture look.

Sabato's white couture dress was a little too similar to what he made for the first challenge, but it was still beautiful and it fit his model perfectly. I loved the draping in the back. The ready to wear look had a slightly more flapper vibe due to the sash.

Rinat's orange ready to wear look gets major credit for such a bold color. It looked like a fun prom dress. I didn't like her couture look though. It looked like a cut up blazer worn without any pants. I definitely did not see any connection between her two looks.

Troy's black and white couture look was sleek but boring. I did not get his ready to wear look at all. Layering that blue skirt and top over the long white dress just made everything look unnecessarily lumpy and sloppy. I also hated the long ties hanging everywhere. The ties also made me suspect that he didn't really fit the top and skirt to the model really well.

Jonny's ready to wear look was too simply. A black bathrobe over black leather pants - WHY? Who would ever wear those two things together? His couture look was a little better. I liked the cut of the skirt which looked nice in motion. The black leather jacket looked like every other black leather jacket I've seen.

Martha's ready to wear look was a nice jolt of color after all the black on the runway, but it looked like exactly what it was - a single piece of fabric wrapped around the model without any actual design. It was beyond insulting that Martha safety pinned her pink dress together. Not only did she not have a zipper, buttons, or other kind of closure but she didn't sew a single seam. I hated the top of the bronze couture dress. Why would you ever cut across a woman's bust like that? Her model looked like a shapeless brown Christmas tree covered in sad tinsel.

Sander's ready to wear look fit his model well but I didn't like the little sprouts of feathers. His couture look definitely had a wow factor. His negative space concept was interesting but I agreed with Heidi about the hole in between the legs.

Martha deserved to go home for NOT SEWING A SINGLE STITCH on that pink dress. I still can't believe that she sent a piece of fabric wrapped around the model and pinned together down the runway.

Usually I'm not a fan of celebrities who become designers (heh, or "designers"), but at least Nicole Richie knows about different materials and how they affect design.

[dleighg]

Does anyone else feel like Tim has very little worthwhile to say to most of the designers in the workroom? It seems like he just puts on a concerned look, then walks away.

And a too short dress does NOT mean you can see a woman's vagina (much less her fallopian tubes for *&^& sake)

[dleighg]

1 hour ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

And that's why once again I had no sympathy for Sparkle Princess Glitter Unicorn Martha. First of all, you picked a gingham cotton for an haute couture challenge? I'm not saying it's totally impossible to create haute couture with gingham but it seems a lot less likely than if you picked another fabric. That sparkly bronze material looked so cheap and tacky. It looked like something you would see as a costume at a kids' dance recital (and I say this as someone who has seen and worn a lot of cheesy inexpensive costumes bought from dance catalogs).

It was HORRIBLE. I bought stuff like that to make my 4-year old some "dress up" costumes. And her "design" looked pretty much the tube with elastic at the top that I "designed" for my 4-year old.

Edited March 28, 2020 by dleighg

[leighdear]

1 hour ago, dleighg said:

Does anyone else feel like Tim has very little worthwhile to say to most of the designers in the workroom? It seems like he just puts on a concerned look, then walks away.

And a too short dress does NOT mean you can see a woman's vagina (much less her fallopian tubes for *&^& sake)

Nina Garcia started the trend on PR of calling every design that could possibly expose a models crotch area as showing "the vagina.  She's not smart enough to know the vagina is INSIDE the body, and not ever going to be seen in a too-short skirt. 

But of course, using the V-word back then was oh-so shocking! and daring!  Of course now, nobody even thinks twice about saying it.  

That bronze sparkle material reminds me of what you got back in the day when  a cassette tape got stuck in the stereo and you tried to pull it out.....Yards and yards and yards of bronze cassette tape, mixed with tears and teenage angst about what just happened to your  precious Cars "Candy-O" tape......*ROFL*

[ElectricBoogaloo]

43 minutes ago, dleighg said:

It was HORRIBLE. I bought stuff like that to make my 4-year old some "dress up" costumes. And her "design" looked pretty much the tube with elastic at the top that I "designed" for my 4-year old.

Ha, I'm glad it wasn't just me being judgy about how cheap and basic that tinsel dress was.

[dleighg]

3 minutes ago, leighdear said:

That bronze sparkle material reminds me of what you got back in the day when  a cassette tape got stuck in the stereo and you tried to pull it out...

Oh man, I was trying to grasp what it reminded me of --- and that's it!!

[ElectricBoogaloo]

1 hour ago, leighdear said:

That bronze sparkle material reminds me of what you got back in the day when  a cassette tape got stuck in the stereo and you tried to pull it out.....Yards and yards and yards of bronze cassette tape, mixed with tears and teenage angst about what just happened to your  precious Cars "Candy-O" tape......*ROFL*

 

1 hour ago, dleighg said:

Oh man, I was trying to grasp what it reminded me of --- and that's it!!

Better get a pencil from your desk and start winding the tape back in (while praying that the tape would still play if you could detangle the mess)!

[marys1000]

I'm in, I'll watch the whole season for sure.  But I am a bit underwhelmed.  
The first challenge was a retail garment and if not haute coutre something new and fancy.  Yea sort of blah. Especially the fancy.  I couldn't even tell which was supposed to be which with a few of the designers.  
 So the second challege is a no kidding we want haute coutre and...the only thing that came remotely close I thought was the donut hole.  When I think haute coutre I think unwearable art that is used for inspiration.  Some of the retail stuff has been nice but nothing that great.  
I wonder if because these guys have been in the industry, designing for others or customers, that they don't really know how to be really original or take it there. Even the Italian guys stuff was, backless with droopy thing, seen it on red carpets a thousand times.  

Project Runway made me a fan of Klum.  Here she is  irritating, like she's trying too hard.  

And the music is fine but way overbearing. 

And the woman who was the French Vogue editor?  I just....cant....give her any credibility with those smudged eyebrows.  Honey I know that one model made them a thing but you wouldn't wear a dress that made your body type look like a cow would you?  Dial them down a notch at least.  Or not at all would be better.  

[dleighg]

1 minute ago, marys1000 said:

I'm in, I'll watch the whole season for sure.  But I am a bit underwhelmed.  
The first challenge was a retail garment and if not haute coutre something new and fancy.  Yea sort of blah. Especially the fancy.  I couldn't even tell which was supposed to be which with a few of the designers.  

Even in the second challenge I couldn't tell which one was the "Haute" for some of them. Like the two white wedding dresses-- there was hardly any difference. And some of them I would have completely swapped the labeling on them-- I think there was one little swingy dress that was supposed to be the Haute Couture one.

[Linderhill]

1 hour ago, marys1000 said:

And the woman who was the French Vogue editor?  I just....cant....give her any credibility with those smudged eyebrows.  Honey I know that one model made them a thing but you wouldn't wear a dress that made your body type look like a cow would you?  Dial them down a notch at least.  Or not at all would be better. 

I completely agree.  What was with those awful eyebrows? and they didn't even match her hair color.  It made me truly doubt any fashion judgement there.

[Straycat80]

I liked this episode better than the first. The designs were so much better IMO. Esther deserved the win, I loved both of her outfits. I’m so glad Martha is gone, she  sucked up so much airtime. And she didn’t belong either, the other designers are in a much higher level of experience and taste than her. Still couldn’t believe she didn’t even know basic sewing. 
The judging is still odd to me. And sorry Naomi fans but I hate her. There’s a way to be critical without sounding so insulting and nasty. And agree up thread with all the comments about HER fugly outfit. 
I agree with the post below. So if the judges change their mind about the designer after their talk, do they let a losing design make the cut? 

On 3/27/2020 at 12:59 AM, SemiCharmedLife said:

I'm not fond of the way they are judging:  "Have you changed your mind? no, no, and no." Seems strange, but maybe I'm just not used to it. 

[Emmeline]

Johnny’s black robe looked like what I have to put on when I get my hair cut and colored.

22 hours ago, sandwoman said:

Martha has an interesting aesthetic (which I like a lot!) and the complaints of not being able to sew doesn't make a lot of sense when they have sewing help. She just didn't make a plan? It was weird. Maybe she just wanted to go home to her kids. 

Naomi is hilarious to me. I like how she tries to intimidate Nicole. She knows her role is to be HBIC.

Kinda awkward how Esther and Ji Won are such the obvious favs. But I like them both a lot.

I do feel a little bad when someone is dismissed and they just walk off and don't really get a good-bye from everyone. 

Otherwise this is the show I NEED now.

Here is the store: https://www.amazon.com/b/ref=MTC_2020_Bubbler_land_2?pf_rd_r=KHT49PN2E1YKMAB3AR4H&pf_rd_p=6f5daa4e-268c-494c-ae3a-c34da633e65d&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=merchandised-search-2&pf_rd_t=&pf_rd_i=20968995011&ie=UTF8&node=21131728011

You have to search a little for the actual dresses for sale.  

Thanks for the link.  By the time I got there they were all sold out.  I couldn’t find the price.  Anyone that knows, please post.

Edited March 28, 2020 by Emmeline

[Straycat80]

6 hours ago, leighdear said:

Nina Garcia started the trend on PR of calling every design that could possibly expose a models crotch area as showing "the vagina.  She's not smart enough to know the vagina is INSIDE the body, and not ever going to be seen in a too-short skirt. 

This! It’s always bugged me when they say that, and Tim even said it to one of the young male designers (don’t know names yet). Tim probably doesn’t even know what a vagina is. 
 

Another thing I’ve noticed with this show is how dark the work room is, it looks like they’re in a basement. And agree with everyone hating the filler of Tim and Heidi’s ‘dates’. Dumb filler. 

15 minutes ago, Emmeline said:

Johnny’s black robe looked like what I have to put on when I get my hair cut and colored.

Thanks for the link.  By the time I got there they were all sold out.  I couldn’t find the price.  Anyone that knows, please post.

Yesterday I looked at Esthers winning black dress from episode one and it was around $64. 

[Whimsy]

8 hours ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

Megan's couture look was so graphic and precise and beautiful. The placement of the cutouts was great and I loved how the lines moved when the model walked. I thought the ready to wear look was a good companion piece but nothing amazing. I liked it because it was pretty and had obvious ties to the other look. I don't know how fair it was for the judges to ding her for not having perfect construction when (1) she had two days to create an haute couture look and (2) we don't know how much of the construction issues were due to her versus her seamstress.I liked a fun prom dress. I didn't like her couture look though. It looked like a cut up blazer worn without any pants. I definitely did not see any connection between her two looks.

Someone liked her two outfits enough that they used them for the “examples” they showed on the screen for what the “runway” look was and “ready to wear”. Weird since they made a point to comment how bad it was up close. 

[nb360]

Making the Cut's version of  "Bless your heart":

Heidi about Martha:  "At least she has imagination!"

[dleighg]

21 minutes ago, nb360 said:

Heidi about Martha:  "At least she has imagination!"

yeah Heidi was .... not very helpful in the judging. If it's sparkly and short "I'd wear that!!!!"

[qtpye]

On 3/27/2020 at 1:27 PM, hurrrz said:

The runway location was cool. I enjoyed the piano music for the first one, as it was very elegant and fitting. Too bad they killed that shortly thereafter. 

 

Naomi Campbell annoys me. As does fake-Hester. How does anyone make it onto a show like this without basic sewing skills, nor skills to instruct a seamstress? Her choice of fabrics was very juvenile and gaudy. 

 

I am over the whole fake Tim and Heidi date-night stuff. It's fake and annoying. 

 

16 hours ago, GaT said:

So glad they got rid of Martha, I was afraid they were going to keep her for the drama. Esther wins again, that must be making the other designers crazy.

Not enjoying the Heidi & Tim date night scenes at all. Watching Heidi trying to dance at the Moulin Rouge was cringeworthy. Notice that there was no audience there to see it? 

 

11 hours ago, dleighg said:

It was HORRIBLE. I bought stuff like that to make my 4-year old some "dress up" costumes. And her "design" looked pretty much the tube with elastic at the top that I "designed" for my 4-year old.

 

9 hours ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

Ha, I'm glad it wasn't just me being judgy about how cheap and basic that tinsel dress was.

 

9 hours ago, dleighg said:

Oh man, I was trying to grasp what it reminded me of --- and that's it!!

Martha’s fabric choices are some of the ugliest I have ever seen. One looked like cheap Christmas tinsel.  A talented designer can make amazing things out of ugly fabrics but that is not what happened.

It was embarrassing that she was competing in a  liters million dollar design competition.

Heidi has an amazing body, but pretending to be a show girl when you have no clue about dance felt desperate.

What next? Another date night where Heidi does the Carlton dance from Fresh Prince and Tim claps like a trained seal?

I like Tim and Heidi but it almost feels like they are out of place here.

Edited March 28, 2020 by qtpye

[GaT]

4 minutes ago, qtpye said:

I like Tim and Heidi but it almost feels like they are out of place here.

Yes, it feels like someone decided to make a "Tim & Heidi" show instead of a design competition, & the designers are the background people instead of the other way around.

[Wicked]

I will keep watching, I do enjoy all the designers, I didn't even mind Martha, but she should never have been cast.  I'm not enjoying Heidi and Tim and I don't understand why since I enjoyed them both on PR. (at least the early years, I did stop watching once it went to Lifetime) The clips of them off by themselves just seem forced and awkward. And the editing over all is off. So far, I prefer the new version of PR to this. 

[Mabinogia]

Since Martha is gone I might actually give this another try. Not quite liking it but it's...something. I do like Esther and Sabato (I LOVED his two 20s inspired wedding dresses) and like all the others except Sanders, who seems to think way too highly of his talent which seems pretty average at best. 

I do agree that Tim and Heidi seem to be trying way too hard. Maybe it is an attempt to distance themselves from PR but I hope they tone it down a lot in the upcoming eps. 

I wasn't sure what was lacking in this one but some of you have pointed out the lack of sewing themselves and I do think I miss that "workroom rush" PR had. I do find it interesting, as I assume they did the whole seamstress thing to avoid the backlash PR got from having a winner who couldn't sew but then not having to sew on this show didn't help the one moron who designs clothes but can't sew. How does that even happen? 

I mean, I can understand maybe not knowing how to use one of those fancy sewing machines, but they showed most of the others just hand sewing. Could Martha not even manage that? I knew how to hand sew since I was a child making dresses for my Barbies. It's not exactly complicated. But it didn't even seem like she could do that much! YIKES

She did come across as some spoiled special snowflake who pays people to make the things she imagines and calls herself a designer. UGH

After ep one I had to read this thread to see if she was still on. It was only because I realized she was kicked off that I kept going. 

[qtpye]

https://tomandlorenzo.com/2020/03/pop-style-opinionfest-does-making-the-cut-actually-make-the-cut/
 

Tlo starts talking about the show around the 18 min mark.

They have some good insight to what is wrong like because the winning design will be sold, the simplest designs will win.

The show is not horrible but it is a giant ad for Amazon instead of a high end design competition.

[Emmeline]

Many celebrities come out with fashion lines and probably don’t necessarily know how to sew.  However, they have the funds to throw out some ideas and have someone with the knowledge develop them from there.  
 

As do designers once they become successful.  However, even those successful designers had to have some background in sewing at their beginnings.  Either self taught or through formal education.  They have to learn about fabrics, pattern making, production, processing and marketing.  As the poster mentioned above, they have to understand that the ready to wear look has to be easy to manufacture.

I too find Heidi especially annoying.  When they started the segment about her dancing at the moulin rouge, I did a major eye roll and had to look away.  Of the three shows, Project Runway on Bravo, Next in Fashion on Netflix and Making the Cut, is have to put this on the bottom.  I want a design show not travel and leisure.  I’ll still watch out of boredom.  Stay safe everyone out there!

[leighdear]

Every reality show has to have obvious cannon-fodder & expendables for the first 2-3 episodes, and obviously Martha was hand-picked for one of those roles.  Pure luck she wasn't first. 

I don't think "Next in Fashion" has anything to worry about, as I think it's a MUCH better competition than this re-tread.  But we have to have something to watch until it returns.

So yes, many of us will watch this for the few glimpses of creativity, luscious textiles and innovative looks & techniques, though they'll be sandwiched between Heidi's giggles and Tim's pontificating.  At least we KNOW these two, so there probably won't be any surprises.

[howiveaddict]

Martha's  designs reminded me of the dresses I made for my Barbies when I was young.  I used safety pins to hold them together also.

[Cape Cod Cat]

 

 

8 hours ago, Straycat80 said:

I liked this episode better than the first. The designs were so much better IMO. Esther deserved the win, I loved both of her outfits. I’m so glad Martha is gone, she  sucked up so much airtime. And she didn’t belong either, the other designers are in a much higher level of experience and taste than her. Still couldn’t believe she didn’t even know basic sewing. 
The judging is still odd to me. And sorry Naomi fans but I hate her. There’s a way to be critical without sounding so insulting and nasty. And agree up thread with all the comments about HER fugly outfit. 
I agree with the post below. So if the judges change their mind about the designer after their talk, do they let a losing design make the cut? 

I think Martha was trying to make the dress Naomi wore in the first episode

[staphdude]

I quite enjoy this new venture by Tim and Heidi. The format is good and given what they are aiming for, I like that there is an accessible version of each garment. While there are glaring changes compared with PR (no Mood silliness and added seamstresses) I am quite quite happy with the changes. The pacing seems better and the judging sharper. Hell I don't even mind the Tim and Heidi interludes.

Happy this is paced out so that I don't blow through anything else while stuck at home for god knows how long.

[dbell1]

Unlike the world, I like Naomi’s dress. 😂 If anyone can pull it off, it’s her. I want someone to hold down French Vogue and wax her eyebrows. Those things look like tree trunks.

Martha should have gone last episode. Imagine being considered for this show and realizing that sequined safety pin made it over you. Gingham for couture? Totally out of her league.

I love the idea of seamstresses, but wish they could have at least video chats with them. If it’s a language issue, get a translator. I love how they can go back to the fabric store, that always bothered me on PR. 

The music sucks. Are they trying cross promotion with AmazonMusic? Or just trying to annoy the audience? I’m not tuning to put on closed captioning. 

[Brookside]

18 hours ago, dleighg said:

Does anyone else feel like Tim has very little worthwhile to say to most of the designers in the workroom? It seems like he just puts on a concerned look, then walks away.

 

I never felt Tim had anything useful to say on Project Runway, and often when designers followed his advice, they were dinged for the results.  And I lost any respect for him after his cruelty on Under the Gunn.

 

14 hours ago, marys1000 said:

 
 So the second challege is a no kidding we want haute coutre and...the only thing that came remotely close I thought was the donut hole.  When I think haute coutre I think unwearable art that is used for inspiration.  Some of the retail stuff has been nice but nothing that great.  
 

I felt the donut-vagina was more avant garde than haute couture.

3 hours ago, howiveaddict said:

Martha's  designs reminded me of the dresses I made for my Barbies when I was young.  I used safety pins to hold them together also.

I used paper clips.  Less chance of hurting myself.

[Lemons]

On 3/26/2020 at 11:52 PM, Linderhill said:

So glad that twit Martha was sent home.  She had no reason to be there except be cannon fodder.  

That was awful.  Why did she “make the cut “?  To humiliate her?  

They claimed they traveled the globe to find the best designers in the world to give $1 million dollars to so that they could  create a global brand. Yet more than half of them are from the US and one of them can’t sew.   
 

And THEN they waste the first two episodes on the woman who can’t sew and picks out fabric to do arts and crafts on. I hope it gets better.  I still like Project Runway the best. 

1 hour ago, dbell1 said:

Unlike the world, I like Naomi’s dress. 😂 If anyone can pull it off, it’s her. I want someone to hold down French Vogue and wax her eyebrows. Those things look like tree trunks.

 

I loved that dress!  
 

Maybe while they’re holding the French lady down they can take out those plastic balls someone installed in her cheeks. 

[buttersister]

Stop the Tim and Heidi date shtick. Stop it now.

Esther deserved her win again. I thought they liked Megan’s stuff until they got close to the couture. And when Naomi Campbell says you’ve insulted couture, pack your bags, ya burnt.

As long as the runways are in extraordinary locations, they can do all the long shots they want. 

Au revoir, Martha.

[Mystery]

12 hours ago, Straycat80 said:

I’m so glad Martha is gone, she  sucked up so much airtime. And she didn’t belong either, the other designers are in a much higher level of experience and taste than her. Still couldn’t believe she didn’t even know basic sewing. 
 

If she had stayed again, I would have stopped watching until she was out. She sucked so much energy out of the show. For instance, in this episode we got to see the judges looking at the outfits up close. I imagine that they filmed that for the first episode, too, but instead decided to show us endless moments of Martha standing in fright, afraid to make that first cut. 

Martha could have made it further (well, not this couture episode, probably -- I actually laughed out loud when she was nodding her head seriously at the description of couture at the beginning, and then she picked GINGHAM, my stars) even without sewing skills, if she had confidence in her designs. For both episodes she scrapped the first material she chose. And in both episodes she wasted a lot of time dithering. She *had* someone to sew, if she could have just decided what she wanted and pinned it up. 

Taking me to my second point...

7 hours ago, Mabinogia said:

She did come across as some spoiled special snowflake who pays people to make the things she imagines and calls herself a designer.

This was what I was thinking the whole time I watched her. People have told her her whole life that she's great. She's had shows, and she said she's sold things, but for goodness sake, to whom?

I don't really blame the judges for choosing her. They looked for people who had shown at Fashion Week. They assumed a very slight knowledge of sewing. No one expects the Spanish Inquisition Martha. 

Thanks to everyone for the heads up about the Netflix show. 

Edited March 29, 2020 by Mystery

[dleighg]

2 hours ago, Mystery said:

This was what I was thinking the whole time I watched her. People have told her her whole life that she's great. She's had shows, and she said she's sold things, but for goodness sake, to whom?

I took a look at her online store. It's full of stuff just like she was wearing (the little shell top with Sparkly cap sleeves). For outrageous prices (hundreds of $). Now whether anyone has actually PURCHASED those things is another story.

[Pepper Mostly]

I'm enjoying the show and am definitely all in for the duration. It has its clunky moments, to be sure, and Heidi needs to switch to decaf but I'm enjoying it. I join the rest of you in breathing a sigh of relief that Martha is gone. WHY did they keep her in episode one? That poor girl who got axed must be so annoyed. I confess to a sneaking fondness for Sander. He's young and a bit full of himself and "more of an artist than a designer", but he's full of ideas and enthusiasm. I look forward to seeing more from him. I want to see stuff that's out there. And now that Esther has established herself as the early favorite, I'm hoping we can see some attention paid to the other designers. 

[Mabinogia]

9 hours ago, buttersister said:

As long as the runways are in extraordinary locations, they can do all the long shots they want. 

So far the locations have far exceeded any of the fashions so I am quite happy with the long shots. I also kind of like the casual judging table. It can be quite catty, but since I don't have any real love for the designers I'm okay with that. 

I loved the white gown with the black pipping and probably would have given her the win. I wish they had gone into the "shoddy" workmanship, in the sense of, did the seamstress do exactly as instructed, perhaps not get clear instructions, not understand the instructions or did the designer do that bit of sewing herself? I don't think I care for the seamstress twist to this show. It makes me appreciate the PR scene's of the designers chatting/joking/bitching with each other at their sewing machines. 

[Mystery]

44 minutes ago, Mabinogia said:

 I don't think I care for the seamstress twist to this show. It makes me appreciate the PR scene's of the designers chatting/joking/bitching with each other at their sewing machines. 

Bitchin and stitchin, someone on this show called it. 

I'm going to try the next episode with closed captioning to see if they managed to pick up the judges' runway comnents, which I'm having a hard time hearing over the music.