S01.E02: Haute Couture

[Lemons]

24 minutes ago, Mystery said:

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. 

I use closed captions and they get all the comments.  

[Ashforth]

I'm glad that Martha was cut because it was actually, in my opinion, a kindness to her. I thought she seemed like a genuine, nice, enthusiastic person who was in completely over her head and knew it. On top of that she had just had a baby, which had to make the stress that much more difficult to handle. And then she can't sew? Even with unseen mystery seamstresses with whom one can only communicate through notes, if you don't know how to sew, you can't instruct someone how to sew a garment.

The producers (that would be Heidi and Tim) should never have cast her. I think they were shooting for a controversial, attention-getting Hester Sunshine-style wacky clothes designer and so they chose Martha. It was a bad call and unfair to her.

Her style is certainly not to my taste, but neither are those of a few of the other designers.

[Mabinogia]

58 minutes ago, Ashforth said:

Even with unseen mystery seamstresses with whom one can only communicate through notes,

I just got this sudden image of Jock and Gus from Cinderella as the unseen mystery seamstresses and it made the show 100 times more enjoyable...for about a second. lol 

I think I've been self isolated for too long. 

[leighdear]

Regarding the Martha baby blue gingham, when she was showing the original crop-top to Tim, it had a layer of thin, white gauze with embroidered mirrors over it, and Tim hated it, so she brought out the crazy pink shredded tablecloth. 

So in defense of the gingham, I had a weird flash of this, one of the most unexpected evening gowns in PR history, by Jeffrey Sebelia.  Seriously?  Yellow & red cotton plaid should NEVER have worked, but it did.   Sometimes the most unlikely fabrics can produce brilliant fashion, and we just NEVER know what crazy look the whacko judges are going to latch onto and rhapsodize over...

It's possible that gingham could have been genius in the right hands.  

Edited March 29, 2020 by leighdear

[Mabinogia]

1 hour ago, leighdear said:

It's possible that gingham could have been genius in the right hands.  

I remember that dress. I couldn't stand Jeffrey but I did love his designs. 

I don't think gingham was the problem so much as gingham on top of that Muppet fur skirt done by Princess Sparkle Can't Sew was the issue. Gingham done as haute couture by someone with talent could have been "refreshing", "daring" even "edgy" but I don't think there is anyone on this show with the talent to have pulled it off. 

 

[heyjupiter]

Just took a look at Martha's website and Instagram and it's a lot of overpriced sparkly, boxy pieces, which is fine if you can find someone to buy them. It's about the loudness of the fabric vs the actual design of the clothes. It may be her authentic self but much of it feels forced. Remember Erin from PR 15, she had a similar cool girl that's loud and outrageous persona but as affected as she seemed, she fully embodied it, where as Martha seems to be badly play acting. I'm not down on the aesthetic, she just wasn't the right one to bring it and I'm not sad to see her go.  

[leighdear]

20 minutes ago, Mabinogia said:

I remember that dress. I couldn't stand Jeffrey but I did love his designs. 

I don't think gingham was the problem so much as gingham on top of that Muppet fur skirt done by Princess Sparkle Can't Sew was the issue. Gingham done as haute couture by someone with talent could have been "refreshing", "daring" even "edgy" but I don't think there is anyone on this show with the talent to have pulled it off. 

 

I wasn't a fan of Jeffrey either, but could you imagine that gingham in the hands of Christian Siriano and the late Chris March?  *LOL*  MAAAAAAGGGGIC!  

And you know if it was bedazzled, skintight and cut up to the crotch, Heidi would have climbed right in it!

[jacksgirl]

Bye Martha. I get it that these designers don't do much sewing now, but my question is wouldn't you think that virtually all designers sewed at some point in their career? She was in the words of my dad "Tits on a boar".

[pasdetrois]

I like the use of seamstresses, talented designers, and the location. I don't always love Tim's behavior, but I'm glad to see him again. I like his quiet reticent feedback to the designers.

However, he's coming off as Heidi's sycophant.

Some of the review comments were unnecessarily mean and very high-school clique. I'm surprised to see Naomi, given her well-known disturbing behavior.

And I'm just flat out embarrassed at Heidi's manic shenanigans. Someone please hose her down.

Edited March 30, 2020 by pasdetrois

[SuprSuprElevated]

On 3/27/2020 at 8:41 PM, leighdear said:

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

My husband said, as it walked down the runway, "oh, a tennis dress".   I would have loved a longer, more sane version of it.

[SuprSuprElevated]

I hate the production values of this show.  Too dark, cameras mounted 50 yds in the air or shot through someone's armpit...  I can't see the fkn designs!!  Is it too much to ask that we actually see the finished products, perhaps actually displayed either on dress forms or models?  I'm not tuning in to "Making The Show Making The Cut", and that's what this feels like.  

Naomi is dutifully playing the stern bitch that we're supposed to expect, based on her long-held reputation.  I was feeling her "it's disrespectful to the word" comment to Martha though.  She was right of course.  Martha simply unwound a bolt of fabric back onto a model.  Ridiculous.

I too want to lop that hank of hair off of Esther's head.

Heidi and Tim are ironically unnecessary on their show, regardless of their EP titles.  

Edited March 30, 2020 by SuprSuprElevated

[Ashforth]

20 minutes ago, SuprSuprElevated said:

Is it too much to ask that we actually see the finished products, perhaps actually displayed either on dress forms or models? 

They should take all of the time that's spent on "date nights" and inspiration/sketching time and long shots and use that to show critiques of each designer, along with a good look at each design.

[Jessa]

Some of the pieces featured in Jonny’s introduction gave me David Rose (Schitt’s Creek) vibes, so I love that! I hope that he has better weeks to come. 

Watching the judges touching the clothes on the models made me appreciate how on PR, they frequently show the judges ask if they can take a closer look, and they often show Brandon say hello to the model. Maybe the same happened here, but it felt off - maybe because most of their comments were so harsh.

Overall, I preferred this to the first. Looking forward to the next two! 

[only1kcm]

On 3/27/2020 at 4:44 PM, 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.  

Thank you for this! I had a heck of a time finding it, which...what?? I thought that was the whole point?! Irritated that they only have s, xs, and xxs - did they really sell out that fast??

[only1kcm]

On 3/29/2020 at 3:34 AM, Mystery said:

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...

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. 

Martha, if she truly had talent, could have taken her (and apologies for not remembering who said this first) “sparkly sequined unicorn” aesthetic and upped her game a la Bob Mackie. There was definitely room for her in the competition had she had the self-awareness (like Esther) that she had to grow and challenge herself in order to stay and compete.

I agree she came across as a spoiled, special snowflake princess, but she was so obviously out of her league and out of her depth that it was almost painful to watch.

But you knew she was history from the editing. Spending that much time on her so early on meant she wasn’t long for our screens!

[lh25]

I went to Martha's store, and on the first page is a pair of overalls for $895.00.  WAY too much IMHO.  Defiantly her aesthetic 

 

https://www.neubyrne.com/collections/shop-all/products/ophelia-bow-print-overalls-preorder

[gorgy]

57 minutes ago, lh25 said:

I went to Martha's store, and on the first page is a pair of overalls for $895.00.  WAY too much IMHO.  Defiantly her aesthetic 

 

https://www.neubyrne.com/collections/shop-all/products/ophelia-bow-print-overalls-preorder

OMG. This can be described as high-end clown

[Omeletsmom]

On 3/27/2020 at 6:57 AM, 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.

 

I kept wondering if Nicole could actually see past those monstrosities.

[Corgi-ears]

https://gfycat.com/wavypeskygraywolf

 

Edited April 1, 2020 by Corgi-ears

[qtpye]

7 hours ago, gorgy said:

OMG. This can be described as high-end clown

Maybe the woman Martha is hoping to dress is Harley Quinn?

[hilaryvm]

On 3/30/2020 at 5:02 PM, only1kcm said:

Thank you for this! I had a heck of a time finding it, which...what?? I thought that was the whole point?! Irritated that they only have s, xs, and xxs - did they really sell out that fast??

Yeah, I went to the store after I watched the first episode to see how much they were selling Esther's winning dress for, and was incredibly surprised by how hard it was to even find the store, let alone the winning design.  I mean, all Amazon does is sell things...how could their website for their very expensive show be so incredibly poorly designed?

[ElectricBoogaloo]

16 hours ago, lh25 said:

I went to Martha's store, and on the first page is a pair of overalls for $895.00.  WAY too much IMHO.  Defiantly her aesthetic 

 

https://www.neubyrne.com/collections/shop-all/products/ophelia-bow-print-overalls-preorder

Wow, that is eye searingly hideous, and I say that as someone who wears bright colors and prints. But I guess if you want to look like a four year old toddling around the playground, this is the look for you.

[TexasGal]

On 3/27/2020 at 3:44 PM, sandwoman said:

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

I'm surprised to say I like anything about Nicole Richie, but I love that she doesn't blink an eye in contradicting Naomi.  I don't like Naomi.  She makes Heidi seem reasonable.

I loved Ji Won's dress.  I would totally buy it if it were a few inches longer (and if it were still available!).

Don't miss the sister dress to the overalls.  https://www.neubyrne.com/collections/shop-all/products/margot-sequin-sleeve-dress-preorder  I mean...ok.  For the woman who never wants to lift up her arms?

[ElectricBoogaloo]

2 hours ago, TexasGal said:

Don't miss the sister dress to the overalls.  https://www.neubyrne.com/collections/shop-all/products/margot-sequin-sleeve-dress-preorder  I mean...ok.  For the woman who never wants to lift up her arms?

Further confirmation that she needs someone with better grammar skills to proofread the copy on her website. I don’t understand when things like this are on “professional” websites. Do you not have a single friend with a halfway decent grasp of the English language who would tell you to fix the mistakes on your website?

[SemiCharmedLife]

On 4/1/2020 at 6:45 AM, TexasGal said:

Don't miss the sister dress to the overalls.  https://www.neubyrne.com/collections/shop-all/products/margot-sequin-sleeve-dress-preorder  I mean...ok.  For the woman who never wants to lift up her arms?

OMG!  It looks like she went shopping for her "fabric" at the gift wrap section of Walmart.  "Let's make a cylinder out of this wrapping paper and add a chic fringe look- never knew holiday tinsel could look this good! Oh, no!  I'm out of staples..."

[RealReality]

On 3/27/2020 at 1:44 PM, 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.  

Ha ha, we are of the unpopular opinion because I loooove Naomi Campbell.  I squeed when I saw she was a judge.  

But I was also kinda secretly rooted for cruela DeVille as a child so I like a strong personality.  

I really like the show and I love that amazon has enough moola for two day challenges.  

I understand that this show gives each contestant a seamstress ...but damn, maybe at least take a sewing 101 class just to be on th safe side.  Why come on national TV and be in a position where you literally cannot create something on your own?  

Maybe she is hoping that if this show is a success she will be brought back for an "all stars" season.  

ETA - like it if they could get Michael kors to guest judge just once.  I miss that little tangerine man. 

Edited April 3, 2020 by RealReality

[RealReality]

On 3/30/2020 at 1:20 PM, Jessa said:

Some of the pieces featured in Jonny’s introduction gave me David Rose (Schitt’s Creek) vibes, so I love that! I hope that he has better weeks to come. 

Watching the judges touching the clothes on the models made me appreciate how on PR, they frequently show the judges ask if they can take a closer look, and they often show Brandon say hello to the model. Maybe the same happened here, but it felt off - maybe because most of their comments were so harsh.

Overall, I preferred this to the first. Looking forward to the next two! 

I'm not sure why they do the up-close inspection on this show.  Isn't the seamstress doing most of the sewing?  It's a design show, it doesn't seem like they are getting that up close to see any design elements.....it seems like mostly did it to bust Martha.  Which is fine because she had it coming.  

[RealReality]

On 3/30/2020 at 11:27 AM, SuprSuprElevated said:

 

Naomi is dutifully playing the stern bitch that we're supposed to expect, based on her long-held reputation.  I was feeling her "it's disrespectful to the word" comment to Martha though.  She was right of course.  Martha simply unwound a bolt of fabric back onto a model.  Ridiculous.

I too want to lop that hank of hair off of Esther's head.

Heidi and Tim are ironically unnecessary on their show, regardless of their EP titles.  

Agreed.  Those comments about respecting the word couture felt very real and very passionate to me.  Good for her.  Wrapping brown foil fabric on a model and then patting yourself on the back for not sending the model down the runway naked is disrespectful to couture, particularly as Naomi described it.  So was that hairstylist smock Johnny sent down the runway.  He took it in stride and wasn't stubbornly standing behind it.  

I totally want to do the same thing to that rattail Edith has going on.  But I LOVED that high end dress.  

Funny enough the ads I see for this show features the dresses that the black girl (brain fart) made do this challenge, so I had assumed she was the winner. 

On 3/29/2020 at 5:26 PM, Mabinogia said:

I remember that dress. I couldn't stand Jeffrey but I did love his designs. 

I don't think gingham was the problem so much as gingham on top of that Muppet fur skirt done by Princess Sparkle Can't Sew was the issue. Gingham done as haute couture by someone with talent could have been "refreshing", "daring" even "edgy" but I don't think there is anyone on this show with the talent to have pulled it off. 

 

I totally agree about Jeffrey.  I loved almost everything he made, but I wouldn't wear any of it.  

[raven]

Very happy Martha's gone.   She was only slightly more annoying than Heidi's over the top enthusiasm.   I know it's all subjective, but Martha's clothes were hideous.

I'm not as in love with Esther as the judges are.  I like her designs but I think Megan and Ji Won are better and more creative.

I also like Sabato, just because!

 

[ArtFossil]

On 3/29/2020 at 3:59 PM, Ashforth said:

I'm glad that Martha was cut because it was actually, in my opinion, a kindness to her. 

The producers (that would be Heidi and Tim) should never have cast her. I think they were shooting for a controversial, attention-getting Hester Sunshine-style wacky clothes designer and so they chose Martha. It was a bad call and unfair to her.

Any one who applies to be on a reality TV show does not get any sympathy from me if they are cast and it is "hard."

[Ashforth]

10 hours ago, RealReality said:

ETA - like it if they could get Michael kors to guest judge just once.  I miss that little tangerine man. 

I'm your plus one on this!

[Love2dance]

I 100% blame whoever chose Martha to be on the show. How could the “doll clothes” on her website qualify her for a million dollar prize design contest? Her inability to sew AT ALL just made it worse.

Edited to add: Do I live in an alternative world? HOW can she possibly sell those “designs” for the prices on her website?

By the way, I like Martha as a person. She is just wrong for this contest.

Edited April 5, 2020 by Love2dance

[RealReality]

4 hours ago, Love2dance said:

I 100% blame whoever chose Martha to be on the show. How could the “doll clothes” on her website qualify her for a million dollar prize design contest? Her inability to sew AT ALL just made it worse.

Edited to add: Do I live in an alternative world? HOW can she possibly sell those “designs” for the prices on her website?

By the way, I like Martha as a person. She is just wrong for this contest.

Maybe those prices are more aspirational.  Or it's a drug front.  Those are my working theories.  

UO - I like the print on her $900 jumpsuit.  But I wouldn't want it in that jumpsuit.  It's such a narrow audience, you have to have $900, want to be colorful and NOT have an issue with backrolls (cue Alyssa Edwards).  

[Mabinogia]

9 hours ago, RealReality said:

Maybe those prices are more aspirational.  Or it's a drug front.  Those are my working theories.  

Call girls? Buy that outfit and you get the girl in it for the night? IDK I wouldn't pay that much money for nice clothes, never mind something I would have made with my mum's scrap material when I was 6.

[sasha206]

I did not like the tennis player dress.  How did that not get the "vagina" treatment?    I thought it looked boxy on the model too (no pun intended). 

Martha is an absolute disaster.  I also don't understand how you can be in the business and not know how to sew.  To me it's like owning a hair salon w/o ever having cut or colored hair. How can you understand the nuances?   How can you ensure that you are technically getting things right?  It seems like you'd have to understand the foundational aspects of the job to be able to design correctly.  

It may not be a "sewing" show, but you should at least have taken sewing 101 so your model isn't draped and pinned into fabric.

I'm sure she was fodder for the show and that's why she got a spot.  But I want people that are actually talented at design and understand the technical aspects of it, not someone who just uses loud fabrics and then sends it to a seamstress.

 

[sasha206]

Heidi needs to not wear white eyeliner.  Also her over animated reactions to the judge's comments were strange.

[sasha206]

Also odd to me how the judges that were judging Haute Couture designs were wearing what didn't look anything like I'd consider that to look like.  Heidi is wearing bizarre cow black and white print suit that looks ill fitted.  French Bangs lady is wearing some loud polka dot matronly dress.  Nicole Richie looks like she's wearing a Coachella flowing summer beachwear cover, and what the fuck was Naomi wearing?  The Carole Burnett Scarlet O'Hara curtain rod dress?

Edited April 8, 2020 by sasha206

[Silver Raven]

I had to laugh at Naomi complaining about Sander's stick in the first episode when it looked like in the second one, she had one across her shoulders to hold her sleeves up.

Does Ji Won have resting bitch face, or is she just a bitch?  She looked like she would cut somebody when Esther was announced as the winner, and when they told her she was going to have her dress in the shop, too, she didn't seem particularly grateful.  But thanks, cameraman, for catching her look when Esther was announced the winner.

Sabato has such a calm personality.  He's a joy to watch.

 

[Auntie Anxiety]

Next season on The Amazing Race: Martha and her husband team up for a race around the world but neither one of them ever learned how to drive a stick shift.

[Stats Queen]

21 minutes ago, Auntie Anxiety said:

Next season on The Amazing Race: Martha and her husband team up for a race around the world but neither one of them ever learned how to drive a stick shift.

😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

[ElectricBoogaloo]

12 hours ago, Auntie Anxiety said:

Next season on The Amazing Race: Martha and her husband team up for a race around the world but neither one of them ever learned how to drive a stick shift.

Or read a map. Or swim. Martha will then follow her TAR appearance as a contestant on Hell's Kitchen despite not knowing how to cook risotto or scallops properly

[AuntieDiane6]

Quote

Next season on The Amazing Race: Martha and her husband team up for a race around the world but neither one of them ever learned how to drive a stick shift.

C'mon, producers!  Surely you knew she'd wash out... typical misogyny. 

Second, if I knew I was going to be on this show, I sure as hell would learn how to sew. Even Anya on Project Runway learned to sew well enough to win.

I remember Mychal Knight visiting Sheree of Real Housewives of Atlanta ("She by Sheree!) and telling her that she needed to know construction and materials and sewing techniques to tell her seamstress exactly what to do.  (The outfits she created were so awful, Sheree had a fashion show with no fashions.)

Quote

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.

Hey, remember Season 4 of Project Runway when they had that couture challenge?  Christian Siriano and Chris March hit it out of the park with that 39-yards-of-fabric gown and their accessible outfit and even Jillian Lewis and Victorya made that gorgeous COAT in just two days. 

 

[Irate Panda]

Martha STUNK!   I just started watching this show but felt like this needed to be said even though it’s 3 years too late. She’s tacky and can’t sew, I can’t believe people buy her products.