S19.E01: A Colorful Return

[caitmcg]

5 minutes ago, BlueHawk said:

I was reminded of the season way back where the young woman (from somewhere like Trinidad?)who had only learned basic sewing a few weeks prior to the show & wound  making pretty much the same long, flowy dress for every single challenge. The judges loved her. Her talent lay in making every model look utterly gorgeous and in her ability to make the observers feel the  "wearing this makes you beautiful" thing and she won the season. Hope this episode isn't hinting at something similar for this season...

That was Season 9, and it was the last Lifetime season I watched. Anya was beautiful and had great style instincts and a story the producers clearly loved and wanted for the win … and so she won, even though she couldn’t sew a sleeve or do any real tailoring, so she produced a collection of caftans. 

[BlueHawk]

Anya! That was her name! Thanks. Name recall is giving me fits these days.

I really liked Anya  and her dresses were lovely and  flattering. As I do recall she really didn't have a lot of real competition that season. She also returned for some sort of All Star program but I don't think she won that one did she?

Bones designs for this episode did remind me of her with the airy floaty aspect, Altho' I don't think that's the only thing he can do/does. He does seem a little full of himself but so far not to the point where I'm rooting for him to fall on his face.

Looking forward to seeing how the season unfolds😁

[Diane Mars]

On 10/16/2021 at 4:50 PM, Cotypubby said:

I don’t know who made it, but there was a look on the winning team that was a red top and bottom connected in the middle by a yellow strappy thing. As it walked the runway the designer said something about being able to make a look from one color. Someone remind me when yellow became a part of red? I was surprised no one called him out on that, because IMO it was the pop of yellow that made his look stand out. 

It wasn't red, but orange.

[LennieBriscoe]

That might depend on one's TV tuner! On Reddit some liken the colors and design to McDonald's French Fries in the red box! 

Edited October 18, 2021 by LennieBriscoe

[MartyQui]

On 10/15/2021 at 5:13 AM, LennieBriscoe said:

So...do I have this right?  Those runway gowns that cost thousands can actually be made in 30 minutes from leftover fabric?  

That gold dress was the same fabric I used to use to make column dresses for my Barbies.  Add a ruffle, and it's my design (which usually took me about 15 minutes).  The fabric stretches a little so he basically made a tube top with a ruffle.

[Bluesky]

On 10/16/2021 at 10:04 AM, Empress1 said:

I'm always surprised when I meet someone in my generation (I'm an older millennial) who smokes cigarettes too, because we know better. My grandmother used to smoke cigarettes because everyone smoked everywhere all the time then, because no one knew how harmful it was.

People under 30 still smoke.  Just less of them.   Harmful or not it has a calming affect and nervous people are especially drawn to it.  

[nr65000]

On 10/17/2021 at 5:29 AM, Leeds said:

Consider yourself lucky!  Where I live half the audience for the opera/theater/ concert is wearing shorts and Birkenstocks, including on opening night.

Hello fellow Seattle-ite!!!!

[Leeds]

1 minute ago, nr65000 said:

Hello fellow Seattle-ite!!!!

Haha!  A little bit south of you, but I do enjoy a couple of visits every year up your way (pre crappiness).

[ItsHelloPattiagain]

Quote

(re: Darren's dress) From what it looked like, Bones made the whole damn thing. I was glad that he won after making two of the top three looks.

I'm on the Auf-train with y'all.  Darren should have been thrown out because Bones made his entire dress. Second, Bones only made Darren's dress because he was trying to save his own a$$ from his team losing.  I guarantee Bones won't be making anybody else's dresses again.  And I kept thinking Bones had a washcloth on his head like sports players do. 

IMHO I think for one challenge, everybody should get a plus size model to level the playing field.  It would be so interesting to hear the comments from Christian since he's dressed many women of size (Melissa McCarthy, Leslie Jones, etc.)  

Is anybody else shocked by the shoddy workmanship by the designers? I know they don't have unlimited time, but some of these can't hardly wind a bobbin or thread a machine, much less sew a straight seam.  And how did the one girl (don't remember names yet) end up sewing on that $249 grey Singer? 

Finally, as a plus size woman (legit plus size, not just size 14)  I was so excited to actually own a Christian Siriano shirt that I bought at a discount department store.  I wore it for about three years until it was threadbare.  Somebody probably just slapped his name on it, but I was thrilled. 

 

[Jobiska]

I felt both Bones' interaction with Christian and his acceptance (or not) of the leadership role were a lot more nuanced than either the other contestants or viewers are implying.

First of all, let me say I do like Christian and I do think he wants to help and is often very constructive in his criticism--more so than Tim Gunn even.

But when all the warm team models were lined up and he asked if everyone liked them all (or something like that) and nobody answered, and he kept goading and goading by asking "really???" over and over again--I didn't find that constructive at all--I found that to be (perhaps producer driven) shit-stirring in hopes of producing drama by causing someone to break and spill that X's or Y's design was awful.

I was totally with Bones in sensing this and, yes, as leader of his team, a team that Christian was not a part of, and a team that needed to stay emotionally cohered as well as aiming at design cohesion, he stepped in to help none of them snap.  

Did he pick his words well?  I don't suppose so, but I'm not going to tone police him like his teammates did.  Should he have left someone to blurt out something true-but-mean and make someone else fall apart?  I'd rather not have seen that.

As far as the leader thing--they were all sitting around the apartment and trying to pick a leader and basically every single one of them "voluntold" Bones that he was it, so he agreed.  I mean, I've been in committee meetings more than once where this happened to me, and there were good reasons why I should be the clerk (Quakerese for chair), and I just gave in...so I felt for him with all of them turning towards him and saying Bones Bones Bones.  And then they didn't back him up when he did the above (clumsily, but for the right reasons) so of course he wanted to back down as leader if they were going to attack him.  

Then the judges asked who the leader was (I don't think they asked the cool team if there was a leader at all, so, obviously producer driven) and it's not like anyone else had taken over from Bones, and in fact several of them started to look in his direction, and he did just put his hand up, not jump around waving his arms in the air and screaming, "It's me!  me!  I am the great and powerful Bones!  Tremble in awe before me!"

Anyway, is Bones perfect?  of course not, but I think he was in several untenable positions.

As far as who I want to watch--For some reason, though I didn't dislike her, I was not drawn to the eliminated designer nor her story (the Afghani refugee's story, for example, I am more interested in), even if I may not have thought she had the worst design, so I'm not too sorry.  Though she did have a faint imitation of the Prodding of Bones happen to her, with Meg saying she'd take one plus size model (and good for her) and then pressing and pressing who else would do it, until the eliminated one whose name I'm blanking on said, "well, I'd designed for plus size before...well, I made one plus size dress...."  Being a good sport is a thankless job!  I think the "luck of the draw" model choosing that was done by the warm team, where they all reached for the upside-down cards at once, was better than that.

Finally--if anyone else watches Big Brother, there's one designer who was on the cool team who looks almost exactly like an aged-10-years Sara Beth from this past summer's season.  Same color eyes, hair, skin tone, same haircut, same facial structure, and even dresses kind of frilly-twee-bohemian like Sara Beth's own self-made outfits.  

 

[StatisticalOutlier]

On 10/17/2021 at 3:44 AM, 7-Zark-7 said:

"… and don’t you dare say Michael Costello to me…” - And there I was sitting listening and thinking “…but what about Michael Coste… oh “.

I have a friend who bought a shiny gold strapless gown at a thrift store for like $6, to wear for some Zoom party.  We met at a fabric store for her to find some sort of something to make straps for it, and it still had the tags on it that said "Michael Costello" and I told her I could swear he was a Project Runway designer, and (for once!) I remembered right. 

I hadn't given him a single thought since his season, and seeing his name on this dress made me think he'd been successful.  Well, except for the $6 NWT at a thrift store part.

19 hours ago, Ilovepie said:

I did not mean to dis opera. I live in central California, so not too many opportunities, but opera is not my thing at all. Still, I bet it’s awesome to see at the Met! It just makes me crazy because it seems very specific and not super common, but they all say it!

It makes me crazy, too.  Or maybe it's product placement, because opera doesn't generally appeal to young people.  Which is probably why it's always so noticeable when these young people have their "girl" going there.

I took Mr. Outlier to the Met once (we both wore jeans--it was February and freezing), and I specifically picked Turandot, and specifically picked the Franco Zeffirelli sets, because I figured if that doesn't make him a fan, nothing will. 

He didn't hate it, but he hasn't asked to go to any others.  😀

[Blintzie]

Back in the day, Heidi would’ve crucified Bones for making his model’s boobs look so weird in that yellow dress. Heidi was a supporter of supported breasts!!

[Cotypubby]

17 hours ago, Diane Mars said:

It wasn't red, but orange.

I found it! (Looks red to me.) By Kenneth Barlis.

He used two colors for a monochromatic look…

 

[7-Zark-7]

I see orange. Aaron had the red look for the warm team.

[emmawoodhouse]

I'm seeing burnt orange, not red.

[Ilovepie]

I think that dress would have looked better if it had just been one solid dress without that netting or whatever you call it in the middle.

[Cotypubby]

It you click the photo the color becomes more vibrant. Burnt orange/red, who cares? The point is no one even said anything of how he used another color.

[Red Bridey]

Several thoughts: We saw Darren working on something with gold strips and then, at the last hour he had nothing. What happened to that skirt? Did we see Mimi try anything on beforehand? Why was there no hint that Darren had nothing for his model? Then, the *important* topic of cohesion in the "collection" was never stressed to the winning team. I guess if you have eight pretty, mostly well-made garments to look at, cohesion doesn't rank as highly as it was supposed to. I am rolling my eyes at Red Mustache, Crying Meg, and Hapless Darren. Too.much.too.soon.

 

[Ilovepie]

17 hours ago, StatisticalOutlier said:

It makes me crazy, too.  Or maybe it's product placement, because opera doesn't generally appeal to young people.  Which is probably why it's always so noticeable when these young people have their "girl" going there.

I think it's just a flailing reach for some justification for making a ball gown/formal evening wear, which is not really much use to most people most of the time, even people who do go the opera apparently!

[30 Helens]

On 10/18/2021 at 10:52 PM, Cotypubby said:

I found it! (Looks red to me.)

On 10/18/2021 at 11:05 PM, 7-Zark-7 said:

I see orange.

On 10/18/2021 at 11:08 PM, emmawoodhouse said:

I'm seeing burnt orange, not red.

I see blue and black! No, white and gold!  Wait… actually, it’s teal and gray.

Phew. Glad that’s settled.

[7-Zark-7]

“Doesn’t look like anything to me.”

[LennieBriscoe]

On 10/18/2021 at 9:08 PM, StatisticalOutlier said:

I have a friend who bought a shiny gold strapless gown at a thrift store for like $6, to wear for some Zoom party.  We met at a fabric store for her to find some sort of something to make straps for it, and it still had the tags on it that said "Michael Costello" and I told her I could swear he was a Project Runway designer, and (for once!) I remembered right. 

I hadn't given him a single thought since his season, and seeing his name on this dress made me think he'd been successful.  Well, except for the $6 NWT at a thrift store part.

It makes me crazy, too.  Or maybe it's product placement, because opera doesn't generally appeal to young people.  Which is probably why it's always so noticeable when these young people have their "girl" going there.

I took Mr. Outlier to the Met once (we both wore jeans--it was February and freezing), and I specifically picked Turandot, and specifically picked the Franco Zeffirelli sets, because I figured if that doesn't make him a fan, nothing will. 

He didn't hate it, but he hasn't asked to go to any others.  😀

Digression! I, too, saw "Turandot" at the Met! My only Met opera---my husband and I went to see Pavarotti! The set was nothing like your night's!

[StatisticalOutlier]

41 minutes ago, LennieBriscoe said:

Digression! I, too, saw "Turandot" at the Met! My only Met opera---my husband and I went to see Pavarotti! The set was nothing like your night's!

That was the second time I'd seen Turandot with those sets, and even though I knew it was coming, when they opened the curtain I was almost blinded, and this time I was farther away, in the balcony.  This was 15 years ago, and I remember thinking, "How in the world can they charge only $100 for this?" 

It makes me think about how many times the judges on PR say, approvingly, that something "looks expensive."  I think Brandon said it in this episode, and when I think about it I hear Nina's voice.  Zeffirelli sets certainly fit that bill.

 

[Andyourlittledog2]

On 10/15/2021 at 8:57 PM, StatisticalOutlier said:

He looks distractingly like the gray-haired guy who used to be on Catfish on MTV.

I know!  Every time I saw him I thought 'Max!'  I was conditioned to like him from the beginning for that reason and I was glad when I realized the liking seems justified. 

As someone who meditates I was really irritated that Meg went with the other two women to ostensibly meditate, then was completely distracting as she laid on her bed staring at pictures of her mother, sniffling loudly, and then drew even more attention to herself by sobbing in the bathroom adjacent. And then to hear that her mom has been gone for two years!  The whole thing was a calculated attempt to get the attention back on her. Of course it worked.  She is dead to me.

I really like Zayden (the black guy with all the women on the team,right?) He was thinking and trying to get them on track but they just ignored him to their detriment. Sabrina I have no use for. She's really pretty IMO and I would like her but she basically manipulated the entire team to do 'bows' because she wanted to do a huge bow-heavy design, told Christian she didn't know how they came to be doing bows (lie), and then flaked out and didn't even do one actual bow on the poorly designed dress she made. The top looked like it was trying to be a bow but it was an epic fail. She tanked her team from the beginning.

The woman who wanted Chasity to move from that sewing machine after Chasity had already reset it for herself was weird and moody. What purpose did it serve if the machine was already reset? None except to be pushy and irritable. Glad Chasity didn't cave and move.

Bones grew on me. He was out of line with Christian but he was single-mindedly determined not to lose that competition because Darren was imploding. When he followed him outside and just took the cig out of Darren's mouth and threw it away and physically moved him back into the workroom I just laughed. Then he draped Darren's fabric into a quick gown that would keep their team off the bottom 'just in case' Darren couldn't pull what he was doing together in the short time they had left and he was right.

I don't fault Darren with fumbling at first while speaking on the runway. He was probably completely flummoxed about what to say about a look that was winning that he was now going to have to admit to not doing himself. I think the idea had been that the team could win and Darren would be in the middle somewhere hopefully but he was in the top and that changed everything. But after a stumble he went on to embarrassingly admit he didn't do the look. I think saying Bones did everything was just to hard to say in that position, but he said 'almost everything. He saved me' so I think that counts for a lot. He was in an awful position (of his own making but still).

[sheshark]

I do have a thing with red leather, any shade of red.  I loved Aaron’s look and if anyone has a picture of it could they please post? As I recline on my cranberry leather sofa watching the new ep.

[Andyourlittledog2]

On 10/19/2021 at 8:02 AM, Red Bridey said:

Several thoughts: We saw Darren working on something with gold strips and then, at the last hour he had nothing. What happened to that skirt? Did we see Mimi try anything on beforehand? Why was there no hint that Darren had nothing for his model?

Darren had something mostly made but it wasn't good and Christian told him it was the look he was most worried about. That set Darren off to make something different with strips etc but he wasn't near finished and just spiraled into a smoking crater. With thirty minutes to go Bones stepped in, figuratively slapped him and told him to snap out of it and finish. Then Bones made a replacement gown just in case Darren couldn't pull it out of the dumpster in time (which he couldn't) and saved the team from going down into its own smoking crater of doom.

[qtpye]

On 10/16/2021 at 1:06 PM, Thumper said:

That leather crown on red-mustache guy reminded me of some old comic strip figure.  I can picture it in my head, but can’t recall the comic strip or the character.

He reminds me of the Sonic the Hedgehog villain, Dr. Eggman

On 10/17/2021 at 1:31 AM, Ilovepie said:

I agree completely, it is tokenism. It’s been going on long enough that a pattern has emerged that the designers with the plus sized models are in the bottom more often than not. I wish the show would rectify this somehow because it’s getting offensive how obvious it is. The reality is that clothes look better on women built like clothes hangers. I say this as a woman who wears a 38C bra and fluctuates between a size 10-12. I don’t watch this show for realism - how many times are they making clothes out of vegetables or car parts or some other “unconventional material “, or working with the idea that the gal is heading to the opera or movie premiere or some other ridiculous activity? I don’t know about everyone here, but I’ve never been to the opera. Why do the models have to reflect real people when more often than not the clothes do not? They should just stop this nonsense and either make everyone use a plus size model at the same time or no one uses a plus size model because it’s apparent two sets of criteria are used when judging them. Ok, rant over…… 

Cannot believe Aaron’s look was not top 3, if not outright winner. But the show decided to award drama over good fashion. I certainly would have put it over Mustache Man’s look - he made a freaking tube top! Ironic, since that is the same item of clothing Christian told Darren was too basic! Speaking of….
Bones marching outside and ripping that cigarette out of Darren’s mouth and hauling him back indoors was an instant classic moment on this show. Hilarious! And Darren should have been a surprise second auffing because he made nothing. Oh well, he is not going to last long……

 

On 10/17/2021 at 11:54 AM, pasdetrois said:

Exactly. The male couturiers though of them simply as nameless mannequins who were one step above a dress form. No big breasts, hips or behinds.

This was a smart first challenge because it quickly gave the viewers  glam designs whose colors photographed beautifully. I hope PR will steer away from the rapid craft-style challenges, because the results look like high school home ec projects. That's not what I watch for.

Christian handled Bones' arrogance well. I continue to love Christian's snappy remarks.

The guy who didn't make his own dress should have been sent home.

I loved Aaron's cranberry outfit - stunning. Should have been the winner, but I think production wanted to feature the Bones drama. I thought Bones' designs were too simple, and his own gold outfit was hideous.

I think I'm gonna enjoy Zayden.

The pale pink pantsuit was so awful I was surprised to see it.

So Jason Wu isn't affiliated with a conglomerate? Has it always been that way?

 

On 10/17/2021 at 2:36 PM, Leeds said:

I think you mean "no breasts, hips, or behinds".  Sadly, size doesn't come into it at all.

I agree with what all of you said and I have not been a size 2 in over 10 years. Now. I am far from that.

The problem is that when the fashion magazines at the height of their power(80’s and 90’s) they often touted the model shape as the ideal feminine form. Even the supposedly curvy Victoria’s Secret models ( who were definitely not high fashion) were quite thin.

Social media gets a lot of flack but at least it has led to more acceptance of curvier bodies.

They need to give everyone plus-sized models or no one plus-sized models. The tokenism is offensive.

Also, the clothes that look good on an apple shaped plus sized is different than what looks good on a pear shaped plus size.

Edited October 22, 2021 by qtpye

[Passing Strange]

8 hours ago, qtpye said:

Also, the clothes that look good on an apple shaped plus sized is different than what looks good on a pear shaped plus size.

Exactly. In previous challenges with plus size or "real women" models there's been a lot of variation in size. Maybe not always, but it seems the woman who was closest to the regular models in height and build usually won. The regular models are very similar in shape and size. A fair challenge would have plus size models who were equally similar.

[lilwhitelion]

I've read through everyone's comments on this thread and I'm surprised no one has mentioned the 'poopy diaper' looks of Shantall's pink suit.  I loved the design of her sleeves, with the checkered tone on tone effect, but when her model turned around on the runway, my mouth dropped at the terrible fit on the back of the pants.

And because it can't be stated enough, Aaron was robbed of a win.  Definitely production decided the drama was more important with the Bones/Darren top looks.

[pasdetrois]

Deleted; wrong episode.

Edited October 24, 2021 by pasdetrois

[Tabbygirl521]

On 10/18/2021 at 12:10 PM, nr65000 said:

Hello fellow Seattle-ite!!!!

That was my reaction, too! 

[Stats Queen]

I was disappointed that they made the first challenge a group challenge.

[Leeds]

On 10/17/2021 at 10:20 AM, rlc said:

There are still too many designers to make predictions, but I would definitely like to see more from Aaron, red mustache, and some of the cool palate designers (though definitely not the one that freaked out about the sewing machine.

 

Are cool palate designers people who chew on icecubes while they're sketching?  ;-)