S01.E09: Pop Up Shop

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Quote

TBA

Original air date: 4/24/20

[SemiCharmedLife]

I know it makes for good t.v., but I am very disappointed that only 2 of the designers will get to move on and show their collections.  The amount of work they each put into their pop-up shops, final runway show and brand presentation should have earned each of them a place in the finale.  For one of them, all that effort for nothing.

[DangerousMinds]

4 minutes ago, SemiCharmedLife said:

I know it makes for good t.v., but I am very disappointed that only 2 of the designers will get to move on and show their collections.  The amount of work they each put into their pop-up shops, final runway show and brand presentation should have earned each of them a place in the finale.  For one of them, all that effort for nothing.

I felt the same way. Unfair.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Wow, one month to design 12-14 looks, come up with a business plan, and come up with a pop up shop? That is A LOT of work! And then for one person to get cut without getting to the final runway? That sucks.

Sander can be a bit much but I related when he said he is surprisingly shy. I'm the same way - people don't believe me when I tell them that. I can be loud when I'm comfortable but my natural state is being quiet and shy. People don't realize that because I make myself interact even when I'm internally screaming WHYYYYYYYY did I come here?

Even for people who don't like a colorful look, Sander still had an advantage because his store was so different from Jonny's and Esther's which were austere and serious. In comparison, Sander's seemed so much more fun and youthful. Having custom tailoring was a great idea. As someone who is short waisted with a booty, NOTHING ever fits me properly. Pants have always been my nemesis. If I could fit my ass in them, the waist was way too big (so much so that if I sat down, you could see all the way down the back of my pants). Tailoring everything costs money so providing that as a way to ensure a good fit was an idea I can get behind.

But my question is how the tailors were actually achieving that. Normally when I get my clothes tailored, I put them on, the tailor pins everything so that it fits perfectly, and then he tailors the garments based on where the pins are. Did Sander have multiple pieces of each design available so that each customer could have that specific piece taken in to the exact spot where it was pinned?

My favorite decision that Esther made was mirroring her lasercut piece with a shirt that had the same design. I liked that she thought about what sells and she had jewelry too. I'm always in favor of free ice cream but the charcoal food trend drives me crazy because most people who serve it do NOT inform their customers that this will counteract any medication they've taken recently. It's really irresponsible.

Jonny's store looked like so many boutiques I've seen - cement walls with ivy and the store name in all caps on the wall. It's fine but boring. And I hate the popularity of cement stores/floors/walls. There is no sound absorbing material so everything echoes and sounds way too loud.

[leighdear]

Quelle Suprise, Jonny & Esther both went with industrial, concrete concept pop-ups, and Sander went full on JoJo Siwa, toddler, rainbow unicorn mode.  

And I REALLY don't think Esther could REALLY say the word REALLY more times if she REALLY tried,  I mean, REALLY!   

"Hungry for Life" sounds like a charitable program for celebrity chefs to provide meals to underprivileged kids.  Sorry E, stupid concept. 

And could Sander squeak, squawk, shriek and mug for the cameras more?  I know he's young, we keep hearing that, we KNOW he's young, but he's 24, not 12.  Christian Siriano was 22 when he won PR, and he didn't act a fraction as juvenile.  In-house tailoring?  And who's doing the professional sewing, and how much does that add to the price?  Silly stunt for the show, totally impractical for casual teen clothes.

I'm skeptical that the "orders" are actual sales.  I think it's all aspirational, and just a way to tally up a score.   

[Tiggertoo]

That’s just what I was thinking about the in house tailoring.  Dumb idea.

And also, the sales probably weren’t actual sales.

i thought when Sander first started, he talked about how successful he was, but this show was all flipping burgers.

[SemiCharmedLife]

I felt a bit bad for Sander because he didn't have shoes and accessories like the other two. However, I completely understand.  He is a beginning designer without a label or company to whip up these products.  I hope it won't count against him.  

16 hours ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

Wow, one month to design 12-14 looks, come up with a business plan, and come up with a pop up shop? That is A LOT of work! And then for one person to get cut without getting to the final runway? That sucks.

I can't even imagine asking contestants to get all that together in a month.  At least Jonny had a factory in Bali to do his bidding.  It just seems like too much to accomplish in such a short amount of time!

[Wicked]

The clothes were so under represented in this episode, I don't understand, how is this show about fashion??

[Megan]

Jonny seems to have a Balinese sweat shop..

[dleighg]

22 hours ago, leighdear said:

"Hungry for Life" sounds like a charitable program for celebrity chefs to provide meals to underprivileged kids.  Sorry E, stupid concept. 

It wouldn't have been *quite* so bad without the added graphic of forks and knives-- way to really make us think of literal FOOD, Ester!

[dleighg]

Those vogue-ing models in Jonny's shop would have bugged me. I'd be afraid they were going to bop me in the face.

14 hours ago, Tiggertoo said:

And also, the sales probably weren’t actual sales.

yeah, no prices I noticed.

ETA: ok later when the judges were there I see they talked prices

Edited April 25, 2020 by dleighg

[ElectricBoogaloo]

2 hours ago, dleighg said:

Those vogue-ing models in Jonny's shop would have bugged me. I'd be afraid they were going to bop me in the face.

I used to be a dancer/performer and my least favorite kind of performance situation was when I didn't have a separate space with some kind of physical separation from customers/non-performers because people are careless and they WILL walk into you or come too close. The pop up spaces were not big enough to have a stage or even a taped out space on the floor without sacrificing the retail displays so I get why the voguers were just wherever, but I would have hated being hired for that kind of gig. On the flip side, I would have hated it as a customer too.

[Ashforth]

On 4/24/2020 at 1:29 AM, SemiCharmedLife said:

I know it makes for good t.v., but I am very disappointed that only 2 of the designers will get to move on and show their collections.  The amount of work they each put into their pop-up shops, final runway show and brand presentation should have earned each of them a place in the finale.  For one of them, all that effort for nothing.

I don't think it even makes for good TV. The designers should all get to show  their collections, especially since Sander and Esther (and maybe Jonny) specifically said that the pop-up store garments were deliberately more casual and sell-able, while they had more sophisticated garments for the runway show. I wanted to see all three have a show.

17 hours ago, Megan said:

Jonny seems to have a Balinese sweat shop..

Exactly! I was taken aback that the first thing Jonny did after getting home was jet off to his sweatshop in Bali. It seems unfair. Then he gets praised for "making" his accessories and candles. *Jonny* didn't make them, his minions did. Meantime, Sander is sewing at home with his sister and a seamstress, then gets questioned about his lack of accessories.

Esther seemed to be working relatively solo (even though you can't tell me that she handmade those hideous shoes). She also had a ton of ugly, cheap-looking accessories made. Utensils? Really?

I haven't watched the judging yet. If I were a judge, I would ding Jonny and Esther for a lack of imagination in their pop-ups. How original can a concept be when another contestant does the EXACT SAME THING. "I'll have dancers/models vogue in the store, it will be so awesomely hip and fresh." Bah.

Sander's idea of an on-site tailor in the shop was actually fresh and great for a brick and mortar store, but since the point is to sell the clothes online, I think it may undermine him. I liked his store and that it had COLOR! His clothes, well, probably not anything I would buy, but I can see an audience for him.

Which leads me to, since sales count for who wins, I thought it was completely unfair for Heidi and Naomi to buy things. Let the public make that choice and you do your judging afterward. You'll be able to get the clothes anyway.

Finally, Heidi, it turns out, may be the most annoying person on the planet.

Edited April 25, 2020 by Ashforth

[violet and green]

Poor Sander, but he went too literal with the idea of accessible in his final month. I wish we could have seen his collection, but all I saw in that crowded pop-up store was that huge tailor box, taking up too much space in the area and blocking the spectacular psychedelic back wall, and some colorful t-shirts with sparkly collars and some colorful rather naf loose blouses, and what seemed a few colorful t-shirt dresses -- hardly the innovative shapes he'd been presenting all season, and that won him the judges' praise.

Now I see why they included that moment in Japan when he spat out something petulant about them wanting and him not giving them t-shirts... I assumed then it was foreshadowing his ouster later that episode, but instead it was this mistaken about-turn.

The other pop-ups were more impressively thought out and detailed, if equally overcrowded. Jonny's candles were a nice touch. Product, product, product! I thought Esther's ropes were too thick; in her design they were more art-deco, vinelike, and slender.

Even though Heidi and Naomi kept saying "love" I didn't like any of Johnny's new clothes. And, going beyond literal to corny, that forks and knives logo of Esther's and "Hungry for Life" was worse than "Live your dream" or whatever in Japan. Again, I much preferred her previous competition designs to what I saw.

But the last two episodes seemed to flow a lot better.

[SemiCharmedLife]

I must admit I really liked seeing Heidi and Tim pack their suitcases!

[Tony]

Sander's unique selling point was having a tailor ready on hand. Did he forget that his target was Amazon, an online retailer? That was the nail in the coffin for him.

[SuprSuprElevated]

5 hours ago, Tony said:

Sander's unique selling point was having a tailor ready on hand. Did he forget that his target was Amazon, an online retailer? That was the nail in the coffin for him.

I feel stupid.  I never thought of that!  

[leighdear]

17 hours ago, Ashforth said:

Exactly! I was taken aback that the first thing Jonny did after getting home was jet off to his sweatshop in Bali. It seems unfair. Then he gets praised for "making" his accessories and candles. *Jonny* didn't make them, his minions did. Meantime, Sander is sewing at home with his sister and a seamstress, then gets questioned about his lack of accessories.

But that was the whole point, as we now see.  

This show was about the "designer" simply being a figurehead and a Brand.  No need to actually know how to design, craft, finish, market or sell clothing.  Having minions to do all of that work is the point, as the "winner" only needs to provide the initial inspiration.  Amazon does the rest. 

They should have just called the show "Making the Brand", because the only thing Jonny Coda is supposed to do NOW is simply be a brand.  

[sasha206]

I think Sander thought he was a "go" when Jonny won the pop up shop, thinking there is no way they are going to have 2 designers who seem to thank black = edgy.  I wasn't a huge Sander fan, but I didn't want to see two similar designers and their overemphasis on black.

[Stats Queen]

From the get to, before I even saw the episode or the designs, I knew Sander would be eliminated and in the previous episode I knew Meghan would be eliminated before the episode started. So disappointed as it was so predictable.

[rollacoaster]

What annoyed me the most with Jonny is that, at least twice, the judges dinged him for having pieces that they have seen before. That spoke to a certain laziness and lack of creativity. And yet, he kept getting rewarded for it. 

And, yup, dude definitely had a sweatshop.  

[scruffy73]

On 4/24/2020 at 1:29 AM, SemiCharmedLife said:

I know it makes for good t.v., but I am very disappointed that only 2 of the designers will get to move on and show their collections.  The amount of work they each put into their pop-up shops, final runway show and brand presentation should have earned each of them a place in the finale.  For one of them, all that effort for nothing.

They do this on project runway too. It is heartbreaking.