S13: Fade Zu Grau

[yeswedo]

Age 45, Coral Gables, FL

[TudorQueen]

I didn't particularly care for his audition garments or his introductory tape, so I was quite surprised at how much I loved his runway dress. I do wonder why they chose not to show it at all in the workroom - we didn't see Tim's critique or the later model fitting.

[Kromm]

He's like the cartoon version of a German artistic type.  Little round glasses (often shades).  Jaw half clenched whenever he talks.  Short but spiky hair under a little artistic cap. Non-ironically worn striped shirts.

[walnutqueen]

He's like the cartoon version of a German artistic type.  Little round glasses (often shades).  Jaw half clenched whenever he talks.  Short but spiky hair under a little artistic cap. Non-ironically worn striped shirts.

 

Und - Vat iss ze problem wis ziss?

 

 

ETA - 100% kraut, so I'm allowed to speak it.  :-)

Edited August 2, 2014 by walnutqueen

[Indy]

He's like the cartoon version of a German artistic type.  Little round glasses (often shades).  Jaw half clenched whenever he talks.  Short but spiky hair under a little artistic cap. Non-ironically worn striped shirts.

Seriously.  He's such a little cartoon villain but I kind of love him.

 

I have a feeling he's going to be on the show for the long haul because we haven't seen much of him.  Often the editor monkeys ignore a good designer or two in the beginning in favor of featuring the designer that's about to be kicked off and the ones that create lots of big drama.  Fade is just kind of in the background making nice clothes right now.

[Kromm]

Seriously.  He's such a little cartoon villain but I kind of love him.

 

I have a feeling he's going to be on the show for the long haul because we haven't seen much of him.  Often the editor monkeys ignore a good designer or two in the beginning in favor of featuring the designer that's about to be kicked off and the ones that create lots of big drama.  Fade is just kind of in the background making nice clothes right now.

Huh?  We've seen and heard plenty from him.  He's had a fairly decent number of Talking Heads.

[RealityGal]

Seriously.  He's such a little cartoon villain but I kind of love him.

 

I have a feeling he's going to be on the show for the long haul because we haven't seen much of him.  Often the editor monkeys ignore a good designer or two in the beginning in favor of featuring the designer that's about to be kicked off and the ones that create lots of big drama.  Fade is just kind of in the background making nice clothes right now.

I feel like Mike Meyers Sprockets character might be based on him.  But I really like him.  I find him amusing, when he was like "well, I had to create clothes because no one was making clothes for me" and they cut away to a sketch of a striped unitard I was dying.  Oh Fade, with his little moves and his tinted glasses, too cute...

[Kromm]

I feel like Mike Meyers Sprockets character might be based on him.  But I really like him.  I find him amusing, when he was like "well, I had to create clothes because no one was making clothes for me" and they cut away to a sketch of a striped unitard I was dying.

When they did that I was half expecting to see a monkey on a unicycle to be riding behind a model wearing his outfit, as well as a scary clown, pointing accusingly at the viewer.

Ah well. If he makes it to Fashion Week I suppose we'll see those two then...

Edited August 5, 2014 by Kromm

[RealityGal]

When they did that I was half expecting to see a monkey on a unicycle to be riding behind a model wearing his outfit, as well as a scary clown, pointing accusingly at the viewer.

Ah well. If he makes it to Fashion Week I suppose we'll see those two then...

One can only dream.....

[TudorQueen]

That's funny, because when they showed his 'home movie' and audition my first reaction was to say, "Now is the part of 'Sprockets' where we dance..."

 

So far I like his work, though.

[Lurifax]

Sorry if everyone else on earth has already realized, but on the off chance that only Walnut Queen and Heidi have noticed:

His name is a deliberate joke and means "Fade to Grey" as in the Visage song.

Again, apols if I'm the only clown whose penny has just dropped ....

[yeswedo]

Sorry if everyone else on earth has already realized, but on the off chance that only Walnut Queen and Heidi have noticed:

His name is a deliberate joke and means "Fade to Grey" as in the Visage song.

Again, apols if I'm the only clown whose penny has just dropped ....

 

 

You are not alone!

[Julia]

Sorry if everyone else on earth has already realized, but on the off chance that only Walnut Queen and Heidi have noticed:

His name is a deliberate joke and means "Fade to Grey" as in the Visage song.

Again, apols if I'm the only clown whose penny has just dropped ....

I didn't notice (my husband is the german speaker in my family).

I expected to be annoyed by him after the quirkiness of his home visit, but he's really growing on me, as much for his demeanor as for his designs.

[walnutqueen]

Sorry if everyone else on earth has already realized, but on the off chance that only Walnut Queen and Heidi have noticed:

His name is a deliberate joke and means "Fade to Grey" as in the Visage song.

Again, apols if I'm the only clown whose penny has just dropped ....

 

I am honored to be in such elite company, Lurifax!  walnutqueen & the supermodel mentioned in the same sentence?  Ach du liebe zeit!   :-)

 

Never heard of Visage.

[alrightythen]

He's been my favorite since the beginning.  I like his quirkiness and tasteful designs.  Fade to Grey - lol.  I don't know a lick of German so this is news to me.

[Kromm]

He's been my favorite since the beginning.  I like his quirkiness and tasteful designs.  Fade to Grey - lol.  I don't know a lick of German so this is news to me.

If you think about it, it means that unicycle riding monkey and evil clown are only a step behind.

Any clues out there what his real name is? While I wouldn't put it past some family named Grau (it's a real surname apparently, if not necessarily his) to actually name a kid something weird and artsy (I doubt the Zu would be legit though), he's old enough and comes from the wrong side of the Berlin wall for that to be likely.

 

Heh.  On his Lifetime page he says his fashion icon is Karl Lagerfeld.  I'm guessing that didn't take much mental energy for him to decide on.

 

Edited August 15, 2014 by Kromm

[Lurifax]

Adore him and holding my thumbs he wins!

Visage had Midge Ure before Ultravox - god I'm old .........

[Xazeal]

He is definitely my favorite, and I can not believe that he hasn't even been in the top yet. He's done well in every challenge and in my eyes he clearly should've won this one.

 

However, I'm not too worried about his chances here, because despite his quirky behavior, he's not getting all that much screentime. If he was pure fodder who went early, they would pump him for all he's worth. If he sticks around for a long time, they may as well save him for later so that the early aufs can get their 15 minutes. In almost every season, there's one finalist who we don't really see much of until halfway through the season. 

 

Long story short, this guy is awesome and if he doesn't win I'll be really sad.

[Jobiska]

Although I don't identify as an atheist, I think it's kind of cool that he wears a necklace that says "atheist" (and in one episode a shirt that did also).  I wonder if he designed them?  No different from wearing a cross really...last episode his shirt said "Mental as Anything" though!  

He's one of my faves too--hope he goes far/wins.

[raven]

I liked his outfit in the 20 year challenge and he should have won this past week, or at the very least been in the top with Kini and anyone-other-than-Amanda.

 

Hopefully he is safe in the middle as a prologue to shining later on, I am interested in seeing more from him.

[LBFilmBuff]

How do you pronounce his name?  Even just his first name?  I don't recall it even having been said so far and we're, what, four episodes into the season?

[RealityGal]

How do you pronounce his name?  Even just his first name?  I don't recall it even having been said so far and we're, what, four episodes into the season?

In my mind I've been making his first name rhyme with Sade...but I'm almost sure that must be wrong.

[Kromm]

In my mind I've been making his first name rhyme with Sade...but I'm almost sure that must be wrong.

Consider that the German word "Fade" MEANS... "Fade".   

 

So... I suspect that other than the minor general ways that German vowel pronunciations vary from English (actually not as much as with some languages, since you know... English is a Germanic language), it probably sounds pretty darn similar, if not identical.

Edited August 19, 2014 by Kromm

[RealityGal]

Consider that the German word "Fade" MEANS... "Fade".   

 

So... I suspect that other than the minor general ways that German vowel pronunciations vary from English (actually not as much as with some languages, since you know... English is a Germanic language), it probably sounds pretty darn similar, if not identical.

 

You're probably right.  I think next episode its gonna be even more clear, because at some point, Heidi is going to say his name, even if just during her visit to the workroom.  In fact she has probably already said his name, but I just wasn't paying attention.  Since they are both German, I think her pronunciation will be spot on.

[Mabinogia]

She said it in the first ep, when they were being picked but oddly, I can't remember ever hearing it since. It was something like Fade (like English version but I think the a was less pronounced) tsu grou (like growl without the l).

I love him. It saddens me that he's not getting recognized, but also gives me hope that he will "break out" when there are less designers and the judges will be all "wow, where have you been all this time?" and finally love him.

[ratgirlagogo]

He was robbed this week for sure.  Hard to believe that Amanda's crummy cheap-looking crooked beaded schmatte won out over his look - especially given that he managed to match the more complicated striped patterns, and Amanda's beaded bands were completely off-kilter.

[KimberStormer]

I mentioned this in the episode thread, but isn't it funny that Fade never seems to understand Heidi when she speaks German?  Just nods and chuckles like he has no idea what she's saying?  Designs aside (and I've liked Fade's stuff fine, especially this episode) I'm glad he's there, because I have a childish delight in hearing Heidi speak German, but it would be hilarious if his whole persona was a put-on and he was from Milwaukee or something.

[Kromm]

I mentioned this in the episode thread, but isn't it funny that Fade never seems to understand Heidi when she speaks German?  Just nods and chuckles like he has no idea what she's saying?  Designs aside (and I've liked Fade's stuff fine, especially this episode) I'm glad he's there, because I have a childish delight in hearing Heidi speak German, but it would be hilarious if his whole persona was a put-on and he was from Milwaukee or something.

We probably are being a bit ethnocentric as a viewing audience assuming that every German can understand every other one easily.  Germany is a pretty big country, and in the case of Heidi and Fade we know they came from radically different parts of the country (Fade from the other side of the Wall when it was two countries, and Heidi comes from the Rhine region, which is practically in Belgium). Add to that Heidi working in America since she was like 19, and I bet there's a decent chance they may perceive each other as having different accents, even if we can't hear it due to unfamiliarity with the language.  

[millielee]

I mentioned this in the episode thread, but isn't it funny that Fade never seems to understand Heidi when she speaks German?  Just nods and chuckles like he has no idea what she's saying? 

 

Yeah, I've noticed this, too. But then again, it could be that he's just so lost in thought that he's caught off-guard that he's even being talked to (like in the work room when it wasn't his time for critique), let alone in a language he's not expecting. And I can't speak for Fäde, but I've experienced that when I'm in an English-speaking country, I get used to speaking and hearing English. If someone suddenly spoke to me in my native language, I'd look a bit lost and confused for a while and struggle to make a coherent reply. If his German persona was really put on, it would be really hilariously brave for him to come on a show that is hosted by Heidi Klum.

 

Anyway, Fäde is still my favorite this season, and I've loved every single thing he has put on the runway. I really hope he starts getting some recognition along the way. 

[walnutqueen]

Edited to add: Jeez, I hope he's not a fake. I'd have to slap him with a Wienerschnitzel!

 

 

You Lower Franconians have some strange ways, AKraven.  We still use a meat hammer to pound our schnitzel thin.  ;-)

[auntlada]

Hochdeutsch ("High German," Standard German) is taught in schools and used in business, formal communication, media, etc. In addition, there are numerous (probably hundreds of) regional dialects/accents spoken and those various dialects can be difficult to understand, even for born and bred Germans. My family and I hail from Lower Franconia in Bavaria and my friend in Berlin still laughs at my "accent," and vice-versa.

 

Anyway, having babbled all that, I think Fade should be able to understand (at least) the basics of what Heidi says. To my "(un)trained ear", she still speaks German fluently.

 

Edited to add: Jeez, I hope he's not a fake. I'd have to slap him with a Wienerschnitzel!

 

My husband, who took German as part of his multilingual communications major in college, has no problem understanding Heidi (and he isn't a native German speaker). I thought Fade had a conversation with Heidi in German in the first or second show. The one where the designers showed the judges three looks and the judges picked the designers.

[BradandJanet]

Fade was deep in his work when Heidi blurted out her jacket question in German. It took him a minute to shift attention, but he answered Ja, appropriate for the question. I'd love to imagine he's from Milwaukee, but I think he speaks German fluently. Given that he gets so little camera time, I'm not surprised we don't hear more exchanges between Fade and Heidi.

[PepperMonkey]

Honestly, I don't care if he is faux German. I like him, I like his weird little persona and I think his designs so far are too cool to be on Heidi's and especially Neena Vageena's radar.

He's not designing with sequins, solid black or with a 70s vacation bible school esthetic (Amanda!) so he's just been safe in the middle. I, too, hope that they're saving him for when more of the dreck is gone (Korina, Alexander, almost anyone else) so he can have a Dmitry-like comeback.

FADE FTW!!!

Edited August 23, 2014 by PepperMonkey

[TudorQueen]

I'm liking Fade more and more, both his designs and his charming, quirky but not too over-the-top personality. Now that Char is fading (my original favorite) I'd like to see him, Kini and Sandhya in the finals.

[KimberStormer]

Just to be clear because I'm afraid of hurting feelings or something, I am completely kidding about the not-German thing.  I just remember in the first episode when Heidi started talking to him in German he didn't really answer, and then the same thing happened this episode, and I thought it was funny.  I'm sure that he was lost in thought, not expecting Heidi to talk to him, not expecting to hear German, and he doesn't seem like the most gregarious guy in the first place.  Plus The Klum Of Doom is pretty intimidating to the designers.  It's not really surprising that he took a minute to respond.

[Mabinogia]

KimberStormer I figured you were kidding, but I kind of loved the idea that Fade was faking it. I would love someone to do that just for the silliness of it. I figure he was just thinking about other things, lost in thought when she spoke to him. Or he could even have been awestruck. The woman is stunning, and famous, and the boss, and he could have just been OMG Heidi Klum is talking to me! Wait, what did she say? *shake head and hope that's appropriate*

 

He does, though, strike me as one of those super creative types who is usually thinking about eight different things at once and startled when someone interrupts. But then, I love him so I'm biased to put a positive spin on whatever he does.

 

I just checked out his website and I want to buy ever single thing he designed. Even his interior design stuff is interesting. I love the woven headboard. But his shirts are the best. I love humor in design and his designs have such a great sense of humor to them. I hope that he lasts to the end because I am just dying to see his collection more than anyone else's (though I really do want to see Kini's too and possibly Sandhya's. I don't think I'd wear her stuff but I do find it really interesting). So, there's my top three. TudorQueen, you've got excellent taste. lol

[millielee]

Yeah KimberStormer, I also figured that you were kidding, but like Mabinogia, I kind of love the idea that he's just faking it - it would be really hilarious. I checked his Facebook page and he seems to be aware that his edit has been pretty much invisible so far. He linked to a preview video of the Heidi episode, and added:

 

 

heyyy... i have two (!) appearances in this, combined at least 2.3 seconds long! that's the most i've been seen all season and it's only the preview. WOW!

 

He also mentioned that there have been many German moments between him and Heidi, but most of them have been left out. I really want to see more of him and I can't figure out why he's not getting that much screen time. He seems hilarious and interesting, and I'd rather hear from him than... well, anyone. I hope it's just the "Dmitry treatment" and he's gonna rise to the top later on in the competition and get more screen time. 

[Mabinogia]

I would watch a clip show of him and Heidi speaking German together. IDK why but I just think I would love it. I think she gets excited when she can speak her native language, as one would, I imagine, having to speak a second language most of the time, and I find Fade adorable.

 

I like that he seems to have a sense of humor about how little he's being shown. Doesn't sound bitter like some of these people do.

 

Win or lose, I hope that he makes a collection at some point so I can have a Fade Zu Grau original. He is the first PR designer in a loooong time who makes me actively want to buy something they design. Jillian was the last one I can think of.

[BradandJanet]

Fade seems a quirky, neat guy, but I stopped short of loving the Heidi dress because the stripes didn't match very well. Expensive clothes don't have patterns that don't match at the seams. Still, it is an interesting dress, and I hope Fade gets some love for his work before this show ends.

[walnutqueen]

I love humor in design and his designs have such a great sense of humor to them.

 

 

But we Krauts don't have a sense of humor, dontcha know?!  :-)

 

As an aside, before anyone gets all ballistic about the Kraut pejorative, I must tell you that I've heard it as that in the 50s, but I've also heard it as a term of endearment from my stepmom to my bioDad since then, and have decided to embrace the endearment.  (Because I'm old, and my intolerance seems to be tempered with acceptance).

[Calamity Jane]

On the Lifetime website, the name is fade zu grau, no capitals, and an umlaut on the a in fade, which I can't figure out how to do on my keyboard.  That would make the pronunciation very similar to fade in English.  The first time I saw it, I figured it was a moniker, not a real name, because it means fade to gray, it's not capitalized, and it might be a hint about the designer's aesthetic.  Given how much he likes to work with gray, I think I might have been right.  

[Julia]

But we Krauts don't have a sense of humor, dontcha know?!  :-)

 

As an aside, before anyone gets all ballistic about the Kraut pejorative, I must tell you that I've heard it as that in the 50s, but I've also heard it as a term of endearment from my stepmom to my bioDad since then, and have decided to embrace the endearment.  (Because I'm old, and my intolerance seems to be tempered with acceptance).

The french use choux as an endearment. Why not?

[Calamity Jane]

Thanks for the tip -- I'm using a MacBook at the moment.  I can get the umlaut on my iPad, but haven't figured this one out yet.  :-)  And although I had a year of college German, I thought it might well be a German-English mash-up.  

[Xazeal]

I'm glad he got a bit more attention tonight, and that most of it was positive. I'm still not sure if his team was in the top four or bottom six, since they were mostly negative towards Emily's dress but mostly positive towards Fäde's, but either way it seems like the judges are responding positively to his aesthetic. I still don't know how he's only been safe all these weeks, but I hope that's about to change. 

 

His interactions with Amanda were pretty adorable. I'm not a big fan of Amanda, but I liked that Fäde was there for her when she was upset. He seems to be very kind and easy-going.

[Mabinogia]

He made me actually rethink Amanda. I still find her rather insufferable, but thought "well, she can't be all bad if Fade likes her".

 

Also, I covet his reception dress. It hurts how badly I want that dress.

[KimberStormer]

Fade was a sweetheart this episode.  But no German spoken, alas.

Edited August 30, 2014 by KimberStormer

[millielee]

Also, I covet his reception dress. It hurts how badly I want that dress.

 

You and me both! It was amazing. It was so stylish and gorgeous and just the right amount of sexy (I don't care what Heidi says, sexy does not always need cleavage all the way to the belly button). 

 

On Fäde's Facebook page, someone speculated that the reason for Fäde's limited screen time could be the atheist themed clothes he wears. Can't say that the thought hasn't crossed my mind, too. 

[Mabinogia]

I thought it was sexy because it wasn't low cut. I'm one of those who go by the either show the legs or the boobs rule because showing both looks cheap. So a dress that short looks, to me, a lot classier with a slightly high neckline like he made. I wish I could see it live to really appreciate the work he put into it.

 

Interesting idea, about the atheist clothes. Have we seen the atheist shirt on the show? I can't remember if I've only seen it on his website or on the show? My theory is that he's not causing enough drama to get camera time. He's not being bullied like Sandhya was, or being bitchy like Korina and one of the random 20 something special snowflake boys I can't tell apart, or being stressed out. He's just there, doing his work and making beautiful things. At least I know his name, which is more than I can say for purple haired girl who is gone, or long dark haired girl, or most of the people who left. I just learned Emily's name this ep because she worked with Fade.

 

And honestly, I know more about Fade in his short screen time based on his designs than I know about the 20 something boys I can't tell apart, don't know what Dark Haired girls asthetic is, don't even know how many of them are left. Fade stands out in my mind, in a good way because of his designs. His personality, what we've been allowed to see of it, is just a bonus.

[RealityGal]

You and me both! It was amazing. It was so stylish and gorgeous and just the right amount of sexy (I don't care what Heidi says, sexy does not always need cleavage all the way to the belly button). 

 

On Fäde's Facebook page, someone speculated that the reason for Fäde's limited screen time could be the atheist themed clothes he wears. Can't say that the thought hasn't crossed my mind, too. 

 

I don't know, the camera always seems to catch the wording on his clothes, and I think they could simply ask him to stop wearing the shirts if it was bothersome.  

 

I think its what someone else said - he hasn't been cast to cause drama, or as an OTT personality, he really really has talent, so I think they will get rid of the cannon fodder and once the pool of contestants gets to be fewer they will focus on him.

[millielee]

Ah, crap. So the reason for so little air time was that he was just a regular mid-season elimination. Tim Gunn save was so wasted on Char, even though I have nothing against her. Then again, Fäde's past two looks were not as great as the first looks of the season, so even though I disagree, I do understand why he was eliminated. 

 

He wrote this on his Facebook page:

 

 

okokohhhKAY... now, finally, i can say it >>> i thought this whole "rainway" thing was just sooo... ugh... stupid. so there, i said it.

 

I guess I would struggle with this, too, if I ever went to a competition like Project Runway (if I, you know, had designing/sewing ability). Some of these challenges are so stupid and uninspiring, that I would get stuck on that and just couldn't do my best work - so I would probably get sent home just like Fäde.  Then again, surviving these stupid challenges is part of the competition.