S13: Amanda Valentine

[yeswedo]

Age 33, Nashville, TN

[Shelby]

Everything about Amanda bothers me. The way she talks, what she says, her facial expressions... I have to FF whenever she speaks. I wish they had not brought her back. Plus, her designs were nothing special.

[Julia]

Usually it bothers me when (usually Nina) trashes a design because it's not designed for (Nina's idea of a) a fourteen year old, but Amanda's clothes really do seem old to me, like something the Golden Girls would have worn if they had the figures for them. There's a place for princess seams, but geez, stretch a little.

[fivestone]

I like Amanda so much and I am SO glad she got chosen to come back! I felt like she got such a raw deal by being selected on the lame disaster of a collaborative Season 11. Ugh Season 11. Yay Amanda!!

[evilandproud]

Agreed! I like Amanda a lot. I think she has a great eye, and she manages to come across as a sweetheart while still having some good one liners and barbs thrown in. 

 

I thought that what she designed was beautifully made, wearable, and still unique enough to be runway ready. I am a big fan. 

[Maya]

Ugh I can't stand her. She seems so fake to me, like she's playing a role or acting or something. Did she make those pants once before? They looked familiar. And so NOT spring.

[TudorQueen]

I enjoy Amanda's dry wit and energy and she gains points with me for NOT being Ken (as soon as he was announced as a possible returnee, we all screamed "Hell, no!!" at the tv). I don't think she has the vision and flexibility to win the whole thing, but she's not untalented, she has sewing skills, and she's fun to watch. I'm not crazy about the 'returnee' twist, but at least Amanda is palatable to me for however long she's there.

[Beden]

 

Agreed! I like Amanda a lot. I think she has a great eye, and she manages to come across as a sweetheart while still having some good one liners and barbs thrown in.

With respect, I disagree. She impresses me as an entitled bitch who's take on her return is that an injustice has been righted while she passes snark judgement on her competitors. I also find her attitude of knowing the ropes about PR a bit much--bitch was eliminated, sent home and lost, right? Not my cup of tea, I'm afraid.

[TudorQueen]

I thought Amanda and her team had a terrible mini-collection and I was very disappointed with her win, on an aesthetic basis only. But I loved the way she took pleasure in her very first win, without being obnoxious to the other designers. I'm enjoying her dryness (again) and her everchanging hairstyle.

[Christi]

Harry Connick Jr in a wig...can't get past it

[RealityGal]

Everything about Amanda bothers me. The way she talks, what she says, her facial expressions... I have to FF whenever she speaks. I wish they had not brought her back. Plus, her designs were nothing special.

 

 

With respect, I disagree. She impresses me as an entitled bitch who's take on her return is that an injustice has been righted while she passes snark judgement on her competitors. I also find her attitude of knowing the ropes about PR a bit much--bitch was eliminated, sent home and lost, right? Not my cup of tea, I'm afraid.

 

I agree - and I want to like her......I just can't.  Maybe it was the whole mean girl gang she was with during her season, because I couldn't stand any of them, Leyana, Michelle....and so she just got painted with the same brush in my mind.  But I just can't with her.

[Julia]

I think she's trying to be fabulous this time around and she's not really sure what that is.

 

I agree, though, that the treating judges like peers thing is completely out of line. She's trying way too hard to establish that she's being judged on a different level from the other contestants, which if true is something they should be trying equally hard to hide.

 

And, I'm sorry, I can't get past the fact that the woman really, really needs to wash her face. I don't know where she got the idea that tyrolean head braids and brick-colored makeup was a sophisticated look for her, but it really does strip what prettiness she has away.

[One Tough Cookie]

just cant stand her, she's a legend in her own mind.

[magpye29]

She looks like Katherine Heigl and Anne Hathaway to me.

[Beden]

She's Gretchen redux.

 

Edited this because I was just reading the latest episode comments and it seems that Amanda=Gretchen is a common analogy. Remind me--wasn't Gretchen eliminated or was she actually in the finals. I swear, I don't remember. I do remember her throwing a team-mate from some challenge under the bus with enough lack of self-knowledge that even the judges called her out on it when her team's clothes totally sucked after she claimed (thinking they were fabulous and would win) that she was team leader...until it turned out the judges hated their stuff. Then she din't know nothun' 'bout birthin' babies and it was everyone else who made it awful.

 

Please don't tell me she won????

Edited August 16, 2014 by Beden

[TudorQueen]

I'm over Amanda from a design perspective. Still enjoy her personality but... I'm fringe'd out.

[Oldernowiser]

She's Gretchen redux.

 

Edited this because I was just reading the latest episode comments and it seems that Amanda=Gretchen is a common analogy. Remind me--wasn't Gretchen eliminated or was she actually in the finals. I swear, I don't remember. I do remember her throwing a team-mate from some challenge under the bus with enough lack of self-knowledge that even the judges called her out on it when her team's clothes totally sucked after she claimed (thinking they were fabulous and would win) that she was team leader...until it turned out the judges hated their stuff. Then she din't know nothun' 'bout birthin' babies and it was everyone else who made it awful.

 

Please don't tell me she won????

You mean did Gretchen win that season? Horrifically, yes.

Many of us are not over it and that was five season ago!

[Coquette]

I really hate to say this. But I agree with Shelby. I don't know what it is. But something about Amanda irritates me also. I was unhappy that they brought her back. Sorry.

[Beden]

 

You mean did Gretchen win that season? Horrifically, yes.

Many of us are not over it and that was five season ago!

Yes, that was my question. Crap...clearly I Iblocked it out. She sucked and now it looks like we have her doppleganger. Amanda seems to have studied everything about her mannerisms and design concepts, the been done to death 70's boho hippie chic. Mind you, I love me some hippie-dip but I was actually around in the 60's/70's so claim so legitimacy. Amanda? Not so much. Any second rate twit can channel any design concept; but coming up with something reasonably new--that's hard.

[LBFilmBuff]

I don't hate Amanda, what can I say.  I find her sarcastic and kind of self-deprecating.  I don't think Gretchen was either one of those things.  And in the world of fashion crimes, fringe is not as bad as granny panties. :-)

[hoodooznoodooz]

I agree with everyone above who does not like Amanda. And i agree with the reasons described. She does indeed look like Harry Connick, Jr., in a wig. She totally tries to interact with the judges and Tim as if she were a peer. I am shocked that they haven't set her straight, in that regard. She also seems to think that she is incredibly charismatic, and I just want to tell her to shut it. Having written that, and conceding that she uses fringe too often (and her movie challenge creation was all kinds of horrible and looked so much like Wendy Pepper's candy shoppe debacle), I did like the way she positioned the fringe so that it was overlapping and (I think?) forming diamond shapes.

Edited August 19, 2014 by hoodooznoodooz

[KimberStormer]

I can understand (though I don't agree) with everything else, but I really don't get the Inadequate Deference To Ersatz Authority thing.  As Stalin said of the Pope, how many divisions does NIna Garcia have?  Nothing annoys me more than the old "OMG thank you for sparing my worthless being O mighty judges, I promise to do better and make you proud of me, you won't regret this!!" from the 2nd-from-the-bottom designer.  Zac puts on his pant one leg at a time (fashion joke); Heidi is not actually a goddess, despite the model cliches.  They're just people.  I say good for Amanda for treating them like it.

Edited August 19, 2014 by KimberStormer

[Julia]

I can understand (though I don't agree) with everything else, but I really don't get the Inadequate Deference To Ersatz Authority thing.  As Stalin said of the Pope, how many divisions does NIna Garcia have?  Nothing annoys me more than the old "OMG thank you for sparing my worthless being O mighty judges, I promise to do better and make you proud of me, you won't regret this!!" from the 2nd-from-the-bottom designer.  Zac puts on his pant one leg at a time (fashion joke); Heidi is not actually a goddess, despite the model cliches.  They're just people.  I say good for Amanda for treating them like it.

 

The thing is, from what I've seen so far, Nina, Zac and Heidi's approval is pretty much the only thing the only thing other than her brother's completely unrelated fame that Amanda's design career has going for it. She's just not, if this is her best work, very good. If they're what she's got? Then yes, she should be much more respectful.

 

And also she should wash her face. Sorry, I know it's not relevant, but she's far too pale for all the makeup she's all of a sudden wearing.

[TudorQueen]

I preferred Kini's design - and its impeccable construction - this week, but the more I looked at Amanda's 'boho chic' piece the more I warmed to it - not enough to make me want it to win over Kini's, but enough to not want to reach through the tv and slap the judges silly.  She was clever in the way she reversed the fabric and back again, creating a dual-print that on the surface didn't seem to work together, but actually did. She maximized the attractive aspects of the color palette, too. I'm already a bit over the fringe, but she does it well, and with precision. So I don't hate that she won, the way I did last time - I disliked that movie outfit - and I still enjoy her personality. I loved how she just plopped down casually next to the  'designated leper' Sandhya, though I think people are getting to like Sandhya more.

[Coquette]

I really wanted Kini to win this. I think he should have won last week. However. I am not upset that Sean won. His design was very very well done. Both designs were gorgeous.

I did not like Amanda's design. I thought it made the model look as if she had a little tummy. It just had an odd fit. I don't like Amanda. But I will be fair about her work. I didn't like the winning look last week or this week's look.

I liked Fade's look over Amanda's.

I hated Sandyha's look it made the model look as if she had a boyish figure.

Also, why did Heidi say that one of you will be out and eliminated two. Yes. I agree their looks deserved elimination. But Heidi should have some one or more as she usually does.

[RealityGal]

I really wanted Kini to win this. I think he should have won last week. However. I am not upset that Sean won. His design was very very well done. Both designs were gorgeous.

I did not like Amanda's design. I thought it made the model look as if she had a little tummy. It just had an odd fit. I don't like Amanda. But I will be fair about her work. I didn't like the winning look last week or this week's look.

I liked Fade's look over Amanda's.

I hated Sandyha's look it made the model look as if she had a boyish figure.

Also, why did Heidi say that one of you will be out and eliminated two. Yes. I agree their looks deserved elimination. But Heidi should have some one or more as she usually does.

I thought she did say that, I thought she said it at least twice, which made me even more sure that they were going to do a double elimination.

[Coquette]

RealityGal, it is possible I missed hearing her say it. I record the show and fast forward through much of it. For some reason, I'm not quite into this season's show. Maybe the show needs new judges with fresh eyes.

[Onomatopoeia]

That mole is so distracting. I can't get past it.

[PepperMonkey]

Onomatopoeia! Great moniker, by the way.... Seriously what is WITH these semi-famous and famous women with GIGANTOR moles on their faces??? I mean, I have a couple small moles on my face and I am getting them removed as soon as I can!

Do they think they are Cindy Crawford? Cause, just no.

Even more distracting than Amanda's mole, in this case though, is her lack of design talent. She needs to go lay down some more sweet tunes with her brother, the rock star.

Edited because: punctuation: it's a real thing.

Edited August 26, 2014 by PepperMonkey

[RealityGal]

 

Even more distracting than Amanda's mole, in this case though, is her lack of design talent. She needs to go lay down some more sweet tunes with her brother, the rock star.

Heh.  When she said that my eyes rolled so hard I might have seen my brain.

[mansonlamps]

Heh. When she said that my eyes rolled so hard I might have seen my brain.

Same here. Oh. My. God.

[KimberStormer]

I gotta say, this is another one I don't understand even slightly.  Joking about her music playing as a little kid?  What's wrong with that?

[Julia]

It read to me more like Amanda making an excuse to bring up her brother the rock star, honestly. Also, nobody actually says "laying down some sweet tunes" who isn't actually Bing Crosby in a bad fifties musical.

[PepperMonkey]

To my mind, Kimber, the way she says it sounds pretentious. I am not making fun of ANYONE playing music, learning to play music, or even playing music badly, cause at least they're trying and music is the ultimate liberator.

But you and I, and most people would have said something to the effect of: my brother was teaching me the guitar and/or we were playing music together a lot that summer..

"Laying down some sweet tunes" just sounds calculated (jmho).

Edited August 27, 2014 by PepperMonkey

[KimberStormer]

It read to me more like Amanda making an excuse to bring up her brother the rock star, honestly. Also, nobody actually says "laying down some sweet tunes" who isn't actually Bing Crosby in a bad fifties musical.

 

 

I do sort of get the rock star brother thing?  But my guess is the producers are asking her to mention that.

 

But you and I, and most people would have said something to the effect of: my brother was teaching me the guitar and/or we were playing music together a lot that summer..

"Laying down some sweet tunes" just sounds calculated (jmho).

 

No, not me!  It is exactly the kind of joke I would make.  If I were on a reality show interview talking about my band, I would say something like that.  It's a kind of mild self-deprecation, at least to me.  "I was playing music, but I'm not really that cool, as shown by my funny-awkward use of this outdated slang."

Edited August 27, 2014 by KimberStormer

[mansonlamps]

When I was a kid my brother was given a Gibson guitar that was later made famous by Eric Clapton because my dad was friendly with the owner of the Gibson guitar factory. Naturally I got nothing, story of my life. He never did become famous but I really wish we could have laid some sweet tunes together, I just didn't know the proper terminology!

Edited August 28, 2014 by mansonlamps

[Oholibamah]

It's a kind of mild self-deprecation, at least to me.

 

This is how I see almost everything Amanda says, which is why I find her such a hoot. Maybe there's a sublty there that people miss, or maybe I'm just delusional. But not only do I not get "arrogant", but I actually find her extremely modest. The only difference between Amanda of Season 11 and Amanda of Season 13 is that she's learned to keep her composure.

 

And I really don't think she mentions her brother that often, especially considering Reality TV's penchant for asking leading questions about these such topics. I actually remember finding it odd in Season 11 that it was practically never brought up.

 

I dunno, I like Amanda. I like Amanda's mole, I like Amanda's jokes,  I like Amanda's smirk, and I like everything Amanda designs. By this point I've accepted that I am backing the resident pariah, much like Kate last season.

[ShellSeeker]

I have liked her so far, but I did not watch her original season. I boycotted for a couple years after the double travesty of the Gretchen and Anya wins. So I have no knowledge of Amanda 1.0. Maybe that's why I like her.

[PepperMonkey]

See, I don't get the self-deprecating vibe from her, but toMAYto, toMAHto. Just because we don't all agree does not mean we don't respect each other.

I don't hate Amanda either; I thought she was okay on her original season 11 and I seriously couldn't believe she was cut the week Richard should have been. Those costumes for Thunder down Under were some of the most unintentionally hilarious things I have ever seen on reality TV.

I like her much better than I ever liked Kate, who I thought, was totally putting on an act when she came back the 2nd time. I still believe she was being herself on season 11, which I think she proved on the season 12 reunion special.

I just don't think Amanda's design talent has merited the praise it's been getting, but then I don't think Sandhya's has either. I'm still gonna snark, though; Snarkers Anonymous did NOT work for me. I keep relapsing.

[RealityGal]

See, I don't get the self-deprecating vibe from her, but toMAYto, toMAHto. Just because we don't all agree does not mean we don't respect each other.

I don't hate Amanda either; I thought she was okay on her original season 11 and I seriously couldn't believe she was cut the week Richard should have been. Those costumes for Thunder down Under were some of the most unintentionally hilarious things I have ever seen on reality TV.

I like her much better than I ever liked Kate, who I thought, was totally putting on an act when she came back the 2nd time. I still believe she was being herself on season 11, which I think she proved on the season 12 reunion special.

I just don't think Amanda's design talent has merited the praise it's been getting, but then I don't think Sandhya's has either. I'm still gonna snark, though; Snarkers Anonymous did NOT work for me. I keep relapsing.

 

If snarking is wrong I don't wanna be right!  

 

I bolded some of your thoughts, because you put so well into words what I think.

 

I have no idea why they did the Thunder Down Under challenge - the menswear challenge is always the one challenge that produces the most boring, and often the most poorly executed work, IMO.  They have a menswear challenge every year that I've watched and even with male models or average guys the clothing is still sub par (I feel that for menswear the tailoring has to be perfection), but then to try to have them do clothing for those guys that were huge and then to have to make the clothing tear away was just ridiculous.

 

It's part of everything I think is making the show go south.  The menswear challenge is always a cluster fuck, even when its just "design an outfit for a guy" and you have male models.  Thats bad enough, because a lot of the designers have great ideas, but can't really sew and tailor to perfection.  But they had to go even further in an effort to make the challenge gimmicky so that the clothing produced would be even worse.  Instead of just producing interesting mens wear it had to be a) a good look for male dancers b) tear away and c) designed for men who are not proportioned like the average man.

 

My point is, its all become gimmicks, which has resulted in uglier clothes coming down the runway.  IMO, the runway show should be the most important thing.  If you want to add additional drama, thats fine, but not at the expense of the runway show.  You want crazy sponsors, fine, but not at the expense of the runway show.  You want to have guest judges I've never heard of, fine, but not at the expense of the runway show.  I like drama in my reality TV, but the magic of this show, for me, has been to see the creativity and the gorgeous clothing being stomped down the runway.  Without the runway show, this basically becomes a less entertaining Real Housewives show.

 

Now - post rant.  I'm not a fan of Amanda, her words say "self deprecating" her tone says "I'm just so awesome, don't you wish you were me?"  and so I don't think she seems genuine at all.  And she was in that whole "mean girls" group in her season, and from my perspective she was integral to that group and was giving constant bitchface, so in my book right now, she can suck it.

 

But I'm open to change - and I want to like her, because I have a giant crush on Adam Levine (yes, I realize that doesn't make any sense, but when it comes to him, I lose my logic)

[Julia]

I don't hate Amanda either; I thought she was okay on her original season 11 and I seriously couldn't believe she was cut the week Richard should have been. Those costumes for Thunder down Under were some of the most unintentionally hilarious things I have ever seen on reality TV.

I like her much better than I ever liked Kate, who I thought, was totally putting on an act when she came back the 2nd time. I still believe she was being herself on season 11, which I think she proved on the season 12 reunion special.

 

And yet, if you look at Amanda's friends and family portfolio for the current season, two of the eight pictures of her are with the egregious Michelle, who I think we can agree behaved very, very badly in that season. I don't generally tend to find that the good people I know make a point of spending time with people who are destructive, particularly when there's not a lot of ambiguity about whether they did bad stuff.

Edited August 28, 2014 by Julia

[ratgirlagogo]

I also felt that the "laying down some sweet tunes with my brother" was ironic. I feel as though the show would make a much, much bigger deal about her brother the rock star if she would only give them more on-air quotes to do it with.   I don't know, she doesn't bother me at all. I like some of her clothes, but really hate that cotton jersey t-shirt fringe the judges are so fond of.   Partially because I really liked her saying on her season that she was on a team with "a lot of big personalities, by which I mean, bad listeners"  - which I just thought was so funny.

 

And in terms of this week's little mostly unexplained drama -  it was beyond annoying that the show spent so much time showing Amanda's tearful reaction to something WE NEVER SAW OR HEARD.  Only that Char thought she was kind of fake, but no actual footage of what Korina had supposedly said.   I don't know what I'm supposed to think about something I haven't actually seen, so I certainly can't hate on Korina.   All I think is that I'm annoyed at the producers.

Edited August 29, 2014 by ratgirlagogo

[Mabinogia]

I don't know what I'm supposed to think about something I haven't actually seen.  All I think is that I'm annoyed at the producers.

 

I can't help but think it was all manufactured to work up some sympathy for judges pet, Amanda because, we didn't even get a talking head about what made Korina say it? Fade is right that something must have triggered it, and I can see Korina being just the kind of bitch who wouldn't want to tell Amanda what it is about Amanda that she thinks is fake, but I would think production would have forced at least one talking head out of Korina in which they let us in on the truth. But nope, nothing. It was all very weird.

 

One thing that does make me like Amanda just a little bit more is that Fade seems to like her, so she can't be that bad. But IDK there is just something so very unlikable about her. I don't think she's a terrible person, but there is a sense of entitlement or something that just doesn't work for me. It's like she is trying really hard to be dorky but it just isn't coming off as natural.

 

But if they show did manufacture this to make Amanda more sympathetic it worked on me because I actually sided with her for the first time in probably ever. Still want her gone because I think she's a one trick pony and that trick is the human equivalent of "sit" which pretty much any dog can master.

[Oholibamah]

I don't generally tend to find that the good people I know make a point of spending time with people who are destructive, particularly when there's not a lot of ambiguity about whether they did bad stuff.

 

I haven't followed Michelle's post-show career (and from what I understand she's been a bit of a brat), but Michelle's Season 11 crimes were similar to that of Meana Irina: she said terrible things in her confessionals. In terms of face-to-face interactions, I felt Michelle was always exceedingly professional. It was enormously fake and cringeworthy, but in a professional environment, "fake" is important, as it prevented any unnecessary drama.

 

I disliked Michelle, but I don't think she was a completely deplorable human being, and I don't think associating with her makes Amanda her Beelzebub.

 

Besides, by that logic, Amanda must be just as amazing as the loveable Fade! I find their friendship adorable and hope they have room for a third wheel.

[Julia]

I haven't followed Michelle's post-show career (and from what I understand she's been a bit of a brat), but Michelle's Season 11 crimes were similar to that of Meana Irina: she said terrible things in her confessionals. In terms of face-to-face interactions, I felt Michelle was always exceedingly professional.

 

No, I don't agree with that. I think undermining people privately with the group is extremely unprofessional, and not owning that to the person's face doesn't salvage it. Mileage varies.

[ThatsDarling]

I have liked her so far, but I did not watch her original season. I boycotted for a couple years after the double travesty of the Gretchen and Anya wins. So I have no knowledge of Amanda 1.0. Maybe that's why I like her.

On season 11, Amanda seemed to be the most well-liked contestant by the other designers (and not just by the mean girls). There's a clip in which Matthew, Joseph, Tu, Daniel, and Richard sing her praises, and following her elimination she was a very helpful assistant to Daniel during his Berlin challenge.

 

Overall, I'm led to believe she's a nice person who sometimes comes across like she's trying too hard. I also like the references she makes and think she's capable of producing great work (her Miranda Lambert outfit, duct tape prom dress with Michelle, certain looks in her NYFW collection, etc.) 

Edited August 30, 2014 by ThatsDarling

[RealityGal]

No, I don't agree with that. I think undermining people privately with the group is extremely unprofessional, and not owning that to the person's face doesn't salvage it. Mileage varies.

 

I agree, Michelle is one of the people I dislike the most from all the seasons.  Whiny, entitled, more whiny, and then what you said.  Ugh, and then she was with Leyana and Helen.  These are the two other people that get on the list of least likable people from all seasons.  Strange to think that one season had that many people I truly disliked.  And I think I have a high threshold for crazy, in fact, I liked Sandro and Alexander.  Amanda navigated towards that group, and so she has gotten painted with that same brush.  And this second time around, I don't find her particularly genuine or likable.

 

And as often as she has mentioned that she has this amazing advantage over everyone, as much as she has made an issue of it, she shouldn't be shocked that people are calling her on it.  And yes, she has primarily mentioned the "advantages" in the TH, but I can't imagine it hasn't come up in the workroom.  Since she feels to feel such happiness over having these advantages.  And IIRC (and I might not), she felt the same ire over Patricia's wins in her season because she felt that they weren't deserved.  Well, now, I think thats how people feel towards her.  She sends down a dress that should perhaps be safe and is somehow in the top 3, that was I think how a lot of them (myself included) felt about Patricia in her season.  The judges would laud her work, and people would get upset with her because they didn't think she deserved the accolades.

 

The tears might have been the first time I felt like she wasn't putting on some sort of persona.

[KimberStormer]

Probably you mean Kate, not Helen, since Helen was not on that season.  But neither Amanda nor Kate were in any group with Michelle and Layana.  Kate did not get along with them, and Amanda got along with everybody.  Kate, another one everyone seems to think is "fake", said "Michelle and Layana and Amanda are bitches" and later apologized for unfairly including Amanda, who she admitted had never done anything wrong.  I do not remember any example of Amanda complaining about Patricia's success.  Maybe she wasn't as complimentary as Kate was (yes, Kate, everyone seems to have forgotten, had nothing but praise for Patricia, singing her praises to the judges on the runway) but I don't remember a single mean word from Amanda ever.  Michelle, yes.  Michelle was pretty much a jerk.  (I think Layana was worse, but sort of hilariously over-the-top about it, so maybe Michelle was the most annoying to me.)  My main Amanda memory of that season is when every single member of her team said she was the weak link and she should go home and with that same poise that makes everyone think she's "too familiar with the judges" she took it all without getting upset, without reciprocating, without fighting in the waiting room, without giving up--probably the best reaction to being "thrown under the bus" I've ever seen on any reality show.

 

I'm just baffled by this "you were on the same season as someone I don't like and you didn't literally fight them to the death so that makes you a complete asshole" attitude about Amanda, Kate, Dom.  OK, they don't hate and despise Michelle and Helen.  They also spent a month with them 24/7, and we see an hour and a half of footage put together by highly opinionated editors.  I'm going to say they probably know them better than I do.

 

Speaking of editing, whenever people mention that contestants on a reality show "just won't shut up about (topic)" I want to remind them that it is the editors' choice to show us this stuff over and over.  I would bet my life savings (you could buy a week's groceries!) that Amanda was prompted by producer questions: "So what's your advantage as a returning player when you go shopping at Mood?" etc.  I'm sure she has never said to anyone, "Hey I have a huge advantage over you because I've done this before!  Haha!"  Also she hasn't mentioned it in weeks.

 

It's cool to just not like someone.  I do it all the time!  And I even totally agree that Amanda's wins have been undeserved and she gets much more screen time than she should.  I just think there's no point to making up reasons to not like her, or letting the editors create reasons by slight-of-hand.

[RealityGal]

Probably you mean Kate, not Helen, since Helen was not on that season.  But neither Amanda nor Kate were in any group with Michelle and Layana.  Kate did not get along with them, and Amanda got along with everybody.  Kate, another one everyone seems to think is "fake", said "Michelle and Layana and Amanda are bitches" and later apologized for unfairly including Amanda, who she admitted had never done anything wrong.  I do not remember any example of Amanda complaining about Patricia's success.  Maybe she wasn't as complimentary as Kate was (yes, Kate, everyone seems to have forgotten, had nothing but praise for Patricia, singing her praises to the judges on the runway) but I don't remember a single mean word from Amanda ever.  Michelle, yes.  Michelle was pretty much a jerk.  (I think Layana was worse, but sort of hilariously over-the-top about it, so maybe Michelle was the most annoying to me.)  My main Amanda memory of that season is when every single member of her team said she was the weak link and she should go home and with that same poise that makes everyone think she's "too familiar with the judges" she took it all without getting upset, without reciprocating, without fighting in the waiting room, without giving up--probably the best reaction to being "thrown under the bus" I've ever seen on any reality show.

 

I'm just baffled by this "you were on the same season as someone I don't like and you didn't literally fight them to the death so that makes you a complete asshole" attitude about Amanda, Kate, Dom.  OK, they don't hate and despise Michelle and Helen.  They also spent a month with them 24/7, and we see an hour and a half of footage put together by highly opinionated editors.  I'm going to say they probably know them better than I do.

 

Speaking of editing, whenever people mention that contestants on a reality show "just won't shut up about (topic)" I want to remind them that it is the editors' choice to show us this stuff over and over.  I would bet my life savings (you could buy a week's groceries!) that Amanda was prompted by producer questions: "So what's your advantage as a returning player when you go shopping at Mood?" etc.  I'm sure she has never said to anyone, "Hey I have a huge advantage over you because I've done this before!  Haha!"  Also she hasn't mentioned it in weeks.

 

It's cool to just not like someone.  I do it all the time!  And I even totally agree that Amanda's wins have been undeserved and she gets much more screen time than she should.  I just think there's no point to making up reasons to not like her, or letting the editors create reasons by slight-of-hand.

 

I don't think I'm making up reasons not to like Amanda.  As I remember it, she and Michelle were a pair, and I couldn't stand Michelle, so that could be part of it.  Honestly, I don't think my distaste for Amanda in her season came from anything Kate said.  If anything it came from her choosing to associate herself with Michelle.  And has been aggravated by her current smug attitude, that I don't care for.  I could absolutely see people calling her out for being a phony.  Just mentioning the advantage at all, to anyone is reason enough to expect that at some point people are going to call you out on it. 

 

And I think the editors probably think they are making her look good, I'm sure they think that we are all amused by her lines about "laying down some sweet tunes.*"  And they have shown this tiff between her and Korina/Char almost entirely in a way that favors her.  We didn't hear what Korina or Char actually said to her, we didn't hear the tone, we didn't hear the context, we didn't hear them explain it (Char a little).  We heard Amanda recount what both people told her from her point of view, we saw her explain it to a sympathetic Fade (I'm hoping he stays above whatever drama she wants to suck him into), and we saw her put on the waterworks in her TH.  

 

My point being, I hardly think the editors are trying to give her a bad edit, I think they are working to give her the best edit possible.  This is why it wouldn't surprise me in the least that she has mentioned her huge advantage to other contestants, and the editors chose not to show it because they want her to have a good edit.  She comes off so smug and pleased about it in her TH that I can't imagine her not letting some of that seep into conversation.  Although strangely, this monumental advantage, has not stopped her from sending shitty clothes down the runway, so maybe she should reconsider her smug attitude, since Fade and Kini, who have never been on the show put out far superior clothing than her weekly homage to fringe.

 

Most of what I have to go by, as a viewer, is what the editors show me.   To assume that the editors are misrepresenting a situation is assuming something that you don't know has happened.  I know that what is shown did happen, but I can't know that what hasn't been shown has happened.  I do know that Amanda had a tiff with two other contestants and the editors have chosen to show us almost no explanation from the two other contestants, or any attempt to give context to the comments, and so based on that it seems like they seem invested in giving Amanda a good edit.  

 

Beyond that there is a way to answer even leading questions in a way that doesn't make you look smug:  Example

 

Producer: "So what's your advantage as a returning player when you go shopping at Mood?"

 

Potential Answer A: "I mean, its great because I have an idea of where the different fabrics are, but we only get a limited amount of time in Mood, and we have to consider our fabric choices in light of the challenge, so picking a fabric is still going to be difficult."

 

Potential Answer B: "well, obviously I have an advantage, I mean I've been there before, and I know where everything is, so obviously having been a previous contestant I have a big advantage."

 

IMO, Answer A makes the contestant sound like they are both acknowledging the advantage, but recognizing that its still a challenge, answer B, which IMO sounded more like Amanda's response, makes the person sound smug and overconfident.

 

 

* - certainly some people are very amused by Amanda's demeanor and find her comments about "laying down sweet tunes" to be fun and whimsical.  And of course, it goes without saying that MV on these things.

[TudorQueen]

While I don't find Amanda nearly as annoying as some others do (in a true example of YMMV), I don't want her to win on a purely aesthetic level - I can find her a frequently amusing and entertaining presence on my tv screen without thinking she's doing particularly good design work, So recent commentary about the judges' favoritism and especially the 'good edit' she's getting (and I tend to agree with that) leads me to fear that she might win the whole thing. This bothers me because I think Fini, Fade and Sandhya are all far more interesting and daring designers.

 

And much as I find her to be entertaining, the "laying down sweet tunes" line seemed very fake and calculated to me, so... there you go.