Season 4 Discussion

[yeswedo]

Discuss all things season 4 here. Designers and episodes listed below.
 
Originally aired from November 14, 2007 - March 5, 2008

 

Designers:

• Carmen Webber
• Chris March
• Christian Siriano
• Christina "Kit" Scarbo
• Elisa Jimenez
• Jack Mackenroth
• Jillian Lewis
• Kathleen "Sweet P" Vaughn
• Kevin Christiana
• Marion Lee
• Rami Kashou
• Ricky Lizalde
• Simone LeBlanc
• Steven Rosengard
• Victorya Hong

 

Episodes (TVDB):

1. Sew Me What You Got
2. I Started Crying
3. Fashion Giant
4. Trendsetter
5. What's the Skinny?
6. Eye Candy
7. What a Girl Wants
8. On Garde!
9. Even Designers Get the Blues
10. Raw Talent
11. The Art of Fashion
12. Reunion
13. Finale

[KimberStormer]

I loved Sweet P as a person, Jillian as a designer, and Kit Pistol as a both!  Christian, Rami, and Chris March were all very talented too.  (I think Chris was totally robbed at the end, but I was sure he'd get cut eventually because he had already been cut.  The judges are never wrong, you see.)  It was a bit frustrating to feel it was always Christian's to lose just by default, and I feel the wrong designer won (Jillian should've taken it, and I loved her grumpy exit interview), but a very strong cast overall.

[PepperMonkey]

Kimber, I'm in total agreement with you on this one: Jillian. I loved some of her designs during the season so much, that I am even willing to forget that a couple of them were terrible.

I know the judges said that her finale collection was not cohesive, but she did some of the most beautiful pieces I have ever seen on the show. Plus, she gets tons of extra points for that "avant garde" coat she did with the mean chick (it was very anime to me and I love anime) and for the golden outfit from the museum challenge.

Jillian was the one I always hoped would go on from the show and have success and I might be able to buy a piece of hers one day, but alas, I think I read she's still working at Ralph Lauren? What a waste. I loved her stuff.

[Lamb18]

I remember everyone except Marion.  Who was that?

 

Season 4 was my first season of watching Project Runway.  The episode I watched was a team one where Victoria reamed out Ricky.  I was just fascinated by all the design going on.

[Lamb18]

Thanks, even though I still can't place him unless he's the guy with wavy light brown hair, about chin length, and a little beard.  (That could also be someone from another season.)

[larapu2000]

Marion sent the model down the runway in a saggy poncho.  It was pretty awesomely bad if even I can remember that fug look.

[Lamb18]

Thanks for the picture; I remember him now.  I was thinking of Bradley from another season with the description I posted above.  I do remember Simone.

 

I think one reason we remember the Bravo seasons so much better than Lifetime's is because Bravo had tons of reruns.  I remember being able to see Season 4 reruns nearly every day, and I watched them!

[larapu2000]

Wait, maybe I AM thinking of Bradley! 

 

Edited to add:  Nope, it was Marion with the weird belted saggy poncho look.  Did Bradley have a similar sad look in his auffing?

Edited August 7, 2014 by larapu2000

[Oldernowiser]

I am a fool for really well-tailored clothing and Jillian's clothes were, for the most part, just stunning in that respect. I was on board with Christian for a while but I thought his final collection was the one-notiest of one-notes--if I remember correctly, wasn't the entire collection black or some variation of black+?

One of my favorite PR moments ever was when Jillian's model opened that stunning coat and revealed that metallic gold LINING and Nina actually whimpered. I did too. With those time constraints she LINED the coat. Fantastically beautiful.

Sorry, but most of the designers in the past few years aren't fit to thread her needles.

[Xazeal]

I thought this was a really strong, memorable cast, and for the most part I think they went out in a logical order. Crybaby Ricky outstayed his welcome, Sweet P probably shouldn't have gotten as far as she did (I loved her, though) and I feel like Kit definitely should've made it further, but other than that, no complaints.

 

I adored Christian. He's the Hung Huynh of Project Runway - arrogant and snarky but sort of endearing, faster than lightning and immensely talented. I definitely see how he could rub people the wrong way, but I have mad respect for the things he could accomplish in just a few hours.

 

Overall, probably my favorite season of the show. 

[Lamb18]

I agree about Jillian.  I wanted her to win so badly.  I loved her Twizzler dress, the denim coat, her inspiration challenge. 

[ShellSeeker]

This season had one of my all-time favorite designers, Chris March, and one of my all-time least favorites, Christian. 

 

I loved the dress Chris made in the first challenge. The designers all had to dash across a park (or something) to get their fabric, and Chris just took his time and sauntered over, and later said in a TH that he'd had his eye on the fabric he ended up getting. I also loved his Hershey dress. He made it from fabric from pillows with the Hershey's logo, but made it into a really cool abstract design. Loved it. Although Jillian's Twizzler dress should have won for sure.

 

I completely agree with @Xazeal that Christian was (is) very talented, and could sew circles around everyone else. And I did really like some of his looks. His personality just rubbed me the wrong way from the start, and I couldn't completely get past it. And I also found his final collection pretty one-note, except for one dress that was kind of a chocolate brown/tan ombre pattern, which I thought was stunning.

[CherryMalotte]

Love love love Chris March - his final collection was cohesive and interesting, unlike the others.  I'm still disappointed that ole Drape Me Rami made it to the final. Rami is really talented, but I thought that his collection, other than a couple of pieces, was a big yawn.    

 

Sister Christian has grown on me - after the show.  Some of his collections have been truly stunning.  

[PinkSprinkles]

I also have to say that this was one of the best dressed casts they ever had as well. No one dressed themselves over-the-top or wore things to get attention. Jillian always looked very chic from what I remember. Her and Laura Bennett are definitely the classiest gals they have ever had on the show. 

[Crystal]

I recently rewatched this season on YouTube, and I forgot that Jack was HIV+. I always considered Mondo to be the first designer to be open about this, but it was actually Jack.

[TudorQueen]

This is one of my all time favorite seasons, mostly because of the sheer depth of talent among the contestants. They had different POV's, all worked harder at designing and executing clothes than playing nasty games with each other, and were, in general, supported by the producers in this. Even with Christian, which could have become an 'everyone hates him' storyline, most of the others were tolerant, and even respectful, while noting, as Chris March did so memorably, that he was actually quite young.

 

Chris March, Jillian, Rami, Jack (poor Jack!), Kit and Sweet P were all designers I was thrilled to have 'met'. I even intrigued by the often-reviled Victorya, and charmed by the out-there Elisa, (It's a lovely planet, and I bring gifts!). The challenges were good and the designers had enough time to actually meet them.

 

Oh, the good old days of Bravo! But even for Bravo, this was a highlight for me. 

[Calamity Jane]

I can scarcely bear to think about how wonderful seasons 3 and 4 were (despite heinous Jeffrey) and then compare Lifetime's wretched casts.  There has to be a way to bring back the 2-day challenges!  And dump the stoooopid ones. 

[PrincessEnnui]

Actually, I don't think time is a factor creativity wise. I think designers have gotten wise® about time restriction and the judges' taste and so designs have gotten simpler and tamer. A lot of prior contestants have stated they've see this challenge in season x and such. 

 

I do think season 4 had the most talented though. Christian, Chris, Rami and Jillian stood apart from everyone else. Even in the prior seasons, the only contenders to me were Kara Saun, Jay, Austin. I think the designers in season 2 and 3 were just okay. I think the later designers post season 4 are forgettable save Dmitry.

[yeswedo]

E is running a marathon of season 4 right now! It's going until 7pm Eastern.

 

This is the first season I watched. Tim Gunn was on the Daily Show and they showed a clip of him talking with Sweet P during the Levi's challenge where he told her to 'resolve the skirt'. ~ 6 years later I still remember that :)

[leighdear]

I'm watching, and even though my beloved Rami came in 3rd, it just reminds me of how amazing those early years were.  I even loved Heidi's shoulder-length bob with bangs. 

[KFC]

After watching the S13 finale, I think back to what Jillian did in S4 and wish Kini had adopted a similar approach to creating his collection. And by that I mean, I think it was smart of her to continue using a famous piece of artwork as her muse. In that way, it was almost like just another episodic challenge, and it seemed to help provide her with some guidelines and parameters.

 

For all the talk of Kini having a lot of techniques but struggling to find a vision, I think if he had adopted a similar mentality to Jillian (give yourself a theme that you might see in an elimination challenge), maybe he would have found a little more clarity and inspiration by having self-imposed rules. (And no, I don't count a Best Western/Rome tie-in as an actual challenge, just crappy product placement.)

 

Ironically, they both came in third. But I thought Jillian's collection was much more successful than Kini's.

Edited October 24, 2014 by KFC

[leighdear]

I ADORED Jillian's additions of knitwear to her collection.  As a knitter, I am always watching for inventive and beautiful knits.  In fact, I printed a screenshot of the dress she wore in the finale, the strapless cream rib-knit with buttons down the front, and have it in my design folder. It's STILL an amazing design, and I thought she should have sent it down the runway.

 

If Kini had added a bit more softness, and not the chiffon-y kind, he might have fared better.  The judges are always yammering about that "hard & soft" pairing, he should have listened more closely.  Amanda did that with mixing the leather into her knit dresses, and the judges ate it up with a spoon.

[blaase]

Watching the denim challenge, they all do better work with Denim than Kini.....even the worst ones like Sweet P, Ricky  and Victoria

[blaase]

Jillian would have won this past season easily with her fashion week show.

Rami would have also. First time watching this season and wow they were so talented. They all put the embarrassing crap Char/Kini did and even Sean and Amanda to shame.

Edited October 25, 2014 by blaase

[KimberStormer]

Jillian would have won almost any season with her show!  She should have won this one!  Her show is the one I most often think of when I think, "jeez, the quality of final collections has really gone downhill..."

 

But of course while a lot of that is that she's a thousand times more talented than anyone this season, she also had a hell of a lot more time to work.

[Oholibamah]

Watching the denim challenge, they all do better work with Denim than Kini.....even the worst ones like Sweet P, Ricky  and Victoria

 

Sweet P's denim look is one of my favorite designs from S4, but MMV. It's flattering and chic.

 

 

Jillian would have won almost any season with her show!  She should have won this one!  Her show is the one I most often think of when I think, "jeez, the quality of final collections has really gone downhill..."

 

Week to week she kicked Christian's ass, IMO. But I did slightly prefer Christian's final collection for his over-the-top showmanship.

[ChelseaNH]

I caught most of the recent rerun -- this was a great season.  Jillian's final collection is still one of my favorites.  I can see why she lost out to Christian, but I can't believe they dismissed her before Rami and his weird color sense.

 

I did think that Sweet P held on longer than expected, but she had some really cute dresses heading into the final rounds.  Her denim dress and her little day dress in the couture challenge were terrific.  But Ricky?  Way past his expiration date.

 

There's nothing fashion about it, but I love the episode with the Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling.  Chris, Jillian and Christian really nailed their looks.

[kaydub]

^ lol i liked that episode with the female wrestlers primarily because i'm a WWE/wrestling fan, and liked seeing those ladies on my other favorite show, PR. i really liked what chris march, jillian and christian did, and as much as i didn't like what rami made - i could definitely see tori wilson wearing it at the time it aired lol. just crazy now that i think back on the wrestlers that were on that episode - only ricky's client, layla, is still a part of the WWE. the other ladies are all gone.

and with chris march's design, if i remember correctly, his client, maria, actually did wear his outfit on an episode of raw not long after the episode aired.

[Calamity Jane]

Just rewatching this season, and honestly, I think almost any of these designers would have swept the last couple of seasons.  I'm noticing something that surprises me, too -- the first challenges were all 1-day, not 2-day, so it's not just a question of time that's dragged things down, it must be the depth of talent, too.  I have never rewatched this season until now, and it's astonishing me how much I remember from that long ago! 

[Sesquipedalia]

I'm watching this for the first time, and I'm down to the final episode. It's going to be anticlimactic because after all these years, I'm long-since spoiled about the winner. I was also spoiled that Chris didn't make it to fashion week and was therefore extremely bummed when he also lost out on the fan favorite prize, especially after everyone made such a big deal about how he would win. He was obviously the favorite of the other designers. I thought his designs were very original and should have earned him a spot in the finale. In my opinion, using human hair is much more ethical than using animal fur, so I thought that aspect was cool.

 

One thing I loved about this season was how well everyone got along. It seemed to be more about the fashion than the interpersonal drama, and I enjoyed that.