S13.E14: Finale, Part 2

[slensam]

Stella McCartney when she designed for Chloe (the design house, not Chloe Dao).

Thanks!

[LennieBriscoe]

Heidi's choosing Sean's blue fringed dress for the Red Carpet was a harbinger.

 

I'm a fringe fan, going back to the days of "Hullabaloo," so YAY, SEAN!

[Cramps]

Just want to point out that Sean's rainfall/dye dress, while brilliant, was a takeoff on an Alexander McQueen white muslin dress where he had paint shot at it from robots on a runway. That dress has been featured in two exhibits at the Met and is really famous. The two designs even look sort of alike.

His orange finale dress was gorgeous, but I question whether he will be a one trick pony.

I love Amanda's designs, but I wasn't crazy about her final collection.

I hate that they're now giving the designers 5 weeks. In the old days they gave them six months. Even two or three months would make a difference. You can really see the difference in the quality of the collections.

[blaase]

I didn't think Sean's show closing dress was all that great. It was  a case of a model selling it big time! That model has a gorgeous skin tone and it looked radiant in that bright orange color,  plus she had  a great walk. Contrast that to that plain/forgettable model Amanda picked for her closing look.

[bref]

I found it entertaining. ;)

 

Given Kini's stature, Mini is a perfect nickname!

[blaase]

Watching again, Amanda's collection just looks so much more expensive than Sean's. The suede and blue leather were really beautiful and the jewelry too. Sean's stuff looks cheap and costume in comparison, but not as cheap as Char's though. The judges got it so wrong!

Kini's was even worse on second viewing, boring and uninspired. Come on dude you're a native Hawaiian and your family seems to actually speak hawaiian, why couldn't he drawn some inspiration from that instead of making dark/boring crap that anyone from anywhere could have made?

Edited October 24, 2014 by blaase

[stafford]

Just like on Top Chef the winners, with few exceptions, are always the man. It drives me crazy.

Heidi should be embarrassed that the designers are given only a month to put a collection together for New York Fashion Week. I realize that Heidi has a lot of irons in the fire and I admire her for creating a career after modeling but it's insulting that these designers get such little time to create their collections and it shows. She should stick to America Has Talent (or whatever the name of the show is). I think Project Runway is old and tired which is too bad because I love it (or loved it). Through out the season the designers have mostly one day challenges. They may as well call this "Quick Runway" or "Heidi's Schedule is Too Busy to Allow Quality on the Runway". And yet, Keni is slammed for being an excellent seamstress while designers are putting out outfits that are not hemmed, pinned together and would have been marked "Failed" in every Home Ec class in America.

I honestly don't think we will ever hear of Sean again. His 15 minutes of fame was over after Heidi took off the Emmy Red Carpet fringe dress. I'm happy that Char will be a minor celebrity in Detroit. Amanda's collection was awful IMO. Who wants to wear drab gunny sacks? Her jewelry was big and clunky like her clothes and not especially noteworthy or interesting. Keni's collection was so disappointing but I love the guy. He should have won fan favorite.

[anonymiss]

Char and her chintzy Forever 21 designs were repulsive. The girl in the front row with the white shirt and curls wore the same look of disgust I had viewing it. Nina is totally unconvincing repeating how Char "understands colours and patterns" and "knows what girls want to wear." I miss the Nina who first rightly said that about Uli.

 

Sean's opening piece was stunning. Everything thereafter made me feel l needed to take out a broom and dustpan and start sweeping. He repeated the same draped fringe dress just in different colours! Chris March did fringe way better.

 

Amanda recalls Anya but with curved colour blocking instead of prints.

 

I was disappointed Kini underperformed in what was a totally underwhelming season. 

Edited October 24, 2014 by anonymiss

[LennieBriscoe]

Only Sean had RUNWAY attire. The rest had Kohl's.

[RealityGal]

I thought this finale was fine, and even better because I was fine with all 4 designers, wasn't pulling for anyone wasn't pulling against anyone....

 

1. Amanda - I liked some of her pieces, the blue was very pretty, the first outfit was an absolute no for me, not with those pants, no no no no.  And thats not even Amanda's style, so I'm not sure why she did that.  I do love that necklace and I think Zac is right, she should be selling that right now.  I really liked the long brown/black dress.  I liked the pants with the red/black top.  I agreed with Heidi, the dress with something on top looked odd.

 

2. Char - I actually really enjoyed Char's collection.  I think the romper and the jumpsuit in the Italian print were very nice.  I think the shorts on the romper were fine, and actually fit much better than Kini's leather shorts.  I liked the hoodie dress, and I thought it fit in with the rest of her collection.  I liked that I could really see her customer in the clothing that she presented,  her clothing gave me a feel for her customer and I do not think that customer is a Forever 21 devotee, and honestly, I think its a little snobby and elitist to say that.  I agree with Nina, I think Char falls flat when she tries to design for the customer she thinks she should be designing for, but does much better when she designs with her customer in mind. I do think she had at least three misses, the white dress didn't fit her customer at all, and was ugly to boot.  The long pants with the overcoat was also a miss, but I think that was probably more an issue of the material she chose, I think with a few tweaks it could be successful, but the fabric was just wrong.  The white tube skirt and black top was also a miss, it was too simple, and the skirt looked a little cheap.  I think the top could have been successful if she had paired it with something different.  

 

3. Kini - I thought he had some good pieces, but I think there were a lot of misses for me.  Whoever said that one of his models was way too skinny was absolutely right, that one in the halter top dress looked like she might have tapeworm.  I didn't like the finale dress, I didn't like that other dress with the ruffle on top.  I liked the top that he paired with the shorts.  I liked the knee length full dress (horsehair?), although I wasn't really into the placement of the black and white on the dress.  I liked the pleated dress a lot.  But overall, the collection felt depressing to me.

 

4. Sean - Meh.  The first look was gorgeous.  But then it started to just feel like a gratuitous use of fringe.  Like he just stapled fringe onto everything.  The second look, the black and white fringe look, then a orange and white fringe dress.  I think it was just too much fringe.  He had the beautiful white draped dress, and then some weird orange fringe piece that looked tacked on the back.  I'm guessing its supposed to mimic the first wound of Ceasar when he was stabbed, but it just seemed so gratuitous, like it was more there to further a story and for no other reason at all.  I thought the orange draped dress was pretty, the silk was beautiful.  The final orange fringe dress was gorgeous.  But I think he should have limited his use of fringe and I think the collection would have been a total home run.  If he had just had fringe on the black outfit, the final orange dress, the orange and white skirt, and maybe one other piece, I think it would have been better.

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As for the guest judge, I don't know, I think her voice put me off.  I know she is well known, but I've never seen her in anything.  I disregarded almost everything she said.  It would be nice....if for the finale they could get a guest judge who was another designer.  

 

I also am starting to like Tim again, and no, I don't think this is the "most talented season of designers" but I like that he sits back there with them and only says encouraging things, and that he had a mini mentoring session with them after what the judges said and put it all into perspective.  This is the Tim Gunn I like, but I'll always be a little on edge after that whole UTG thing.

[terrymct]

Amanda really did come through this season as Gretchen 2.0, the sad droopy designs in blah colors and ok looking geometric jewelry (no poopy pants, though, thank goodness).  Amanda isn't evil and/or truly nasty like Gretchen, just arrogant and pretentious.

 

Thank goodness Amanda didn't win.

Heidi's choosing Sean's blue fringed dress for the Red Carpet was a harbinger.

 

I'm a fringe fan, going back to the days of "Hullabaloo," so YAY, SEAN!

 

He used fringe right, in a new and interesting way, unlike Amanda's flirtation with it earlier in the season.   I'm not generally a fringe fan, but he took it to a great place.

Just like on Top Chef the winners, with few exceptions, are always the man. It drives me crazy.

 

Except for:  

Season 2:  Chloe

Season 5:  Leanne

Season 6: Irinna

Season 8: Gretchen

Season 9: Anya

Season 11: Michelle

Season 12: Dom

 

That's 7/13 winners that were female, making it about about 53.8% female winners for the main Project Runway show.   Women win slightly more often.

[PepperMonkey]

I WISH I were starting to like Tim again.

 

I missed the first half hour of the show so I only made it for actual fashion week footage (their collections), but when I see him talking with them now... he sounds just on the verge of tears... he's so proud of all of them... loves them so much... All I think is how fake that sounds.

 

I miss loving Tim.

[RealityGal]

So, I saw previews for both the Reunion and Threads.

 

I'm so in for the Reunion......based on the preview for Threads....that looks like a big 'ol no for me, too many kids trying to be "precocious" which, to me...is code for bratty.

[RealityCowgirl]

Random 'morning after' thoughts:

 

Sean won. Big whup. At least he used color in a purposeful way. Maybe if he hadn't fringed the world across the whole freakin' season it wouldn't have been so trite in his collection. Can't get worked up over his "breezy killing of Caesar" story. The production-driven, Best Western-tainted attempt to force a random theme in their career-launching FW collections was simply wrong.

 

Kini's denim obsession did him in. He ended up with some interesting shapes (though the finale dress was unfortunate in any fabric), but the muddy blue/white/spot of black(?) palette drew attention away from them. Better fabrics, strategic use of some color - who knows.

 

Char's remained a random mish-mash of ready to wear for me. Probably bodes well for some future line, but not what I want to see in a NYFW collection.

 

Amanda, sheesh. I lived through the 60s and 70s. You've managed to make them uglier than they really were. The only plus of seeing Sean win: knowing it knocked her smug little fanny down a notch. She'll be fine, I'm sure. But her not winning this saved this wretched season a teeny, tiny bit for me. Not much. But a bit.

 

Heid - clad in short, shiny, pink, barely covering her butt cheeks - waxing poetic about Amanda's big, brown and black sack. Yeah, right.

 

Tim Gunn lost his last shred of dignity in this episode. Not that he had that much after UTG and the crap coming out of his mouth all this season. But the last two episodes of tongue baths for Char (lovely woman, but come on) and last night's nonsense about them being the "most talented group of designers EVAHHHHHHH..." simply was the last straw. If he doesn't believe the nonsense coming out of his mouth, shame on him. If he does, shame on him. No credibility left.

 

Yeah, I'll be back for whatever comes next. But I've earned the right to gripe about every ridiculous product placement, talentless designer, ugly eye shadow and ticky-tacky garment they force down the runway.

Edited October 24, 2014 by RealityCowgirl

[Malbec]

The only real surprise twist was that I ended up liking Char's collection better than Kini's.  Man... I love Kini and have been a fan of his throughout the season, but there was almost nothing I loved about his final collection.  Actually, while I think the "mallwear" critique of Char is on point and her overall collection wasn't cohesive, the work she did with that patterned print was one of the few things that didn't bore me to tears out of all four collections.

 

I thought Sean did the best job of conceptualizing his runway show and having a clear progression of his looks, and his final orange dress was cool.  Amanda started out with some cool pieces and then her collection got more boring and Gretchen-y as it went on.  All in all, I can't argue with Sean's win.

 

Tim stating that this was the most talented group of designers he had ever worked with... PLEASE!!  I was almost insulted at what a freaking producer-scripted lie that was.  And I think it's a shitty thing to say about the previous seasons' designers.  I wasn't happy when Anya won, but I feel like even the worst look in an Anya-Bert-Viktor showdown would have been more interesting than most of the looks in these collections.  To say nothing of Mondo, Seth Aaron, or the Bravo years....

[Day2Day]

Did I miss it?????  Did the "winning" model get introduced and come out onto the set? The judges were there, and they brought Tim out for hugs, but I didn't see the model. I guess that's how "forget-able" they were.  Let's see... 4 collections with 10(?) pieces in each = 40 models. None of them looked good walking the runway and appeared quite awkward! Only exception was Sean's last model in the long orange gown. The rest need an extended class with Tyra's Miss J.

[RealityGal]

I WISH I were starting to like Tim again.

 

I missed the first half hour of the show so I only made it for actual fashion week footage (their collections), but when I see him talking with them now... he sounds just on the verge of tears... he's so proud of all of them... loves them so much... All I think is how fake that sounds.

 

I miss loving Tim.

At the start of the season, everything Tim said felt so fake, because UTG was just so fresh in my mind.  And those are two totally different Tim's.....but I've been trying to put UTG out of my mind.  Its slowly fading, and I'm trying to use every excuse in my mind, bad editing, maybe he was really sick or depressed while UTG was taping, maybe he had an evil twin, or some sort of brain chip or something.  

[Wings]

Where is the talent like Jay, Chloe, Leanne, Jeffery (love him or hate him, he is good), Laura, Santino and Christian Siriano?  

 

Serious designers don't want to come on this show with the short time constraints or the casting is missing the mark.  Or Heidi has dropped the ball.  One day challenges are ruining what used to be an excellent show. 

 

PepperMonkey, Well said, I miss loving Tim, too. 

 

Tim should have saved Fade, not Char. 

[RealityGal]

Yeah, I'll be back for whatever comes next. But I've earned the right to gripe about every ridiculous product placement, talentless designer, ugly eye shadow and ticky-tacky garment they force down the runway.

 

Please come back and gripe.  I do love snark!  And speaking of snark....dear Aldo, I don't care how many attractive, hip young people you put in your commercials in your ugly ass shoes.  Its not going to convince me to buy them.  I know you have better looking shoes, because I've been to Aldo.  You won't convince me to buy sparkle glitter velcro sneakers and pair them with old man black socks in an effort to be hip and ironic, just because a young blonde girl is wearing them.

 

  I wasn't happy when Anya won, but I feel like even the worst look in an Anya-Bert-Viktor showdown would have been more interesting than most of the looks in these collections.  To say nothing of Mondo, Seth Aaron, or the Bravo years....

 

Please don't depress me by making me think about Seth Aaron and how damn much I love his clothing.

Did I miss it?????  Did the "winning" model get introduced and come out onto the set? The judges were there, and they brought Tim out for hugs, but I didn't see the model. I guess that's how "forget-able" they were.  Let's see... 4 collections with 10(?) pieces in each = 40 models. None of them looked good walking the runway and appeared quite awkward! Only exception was Sean's last model in the long orange gown. The rest need an extended class with Tyra's Miss J.

 

Half of those models were probably busy "untucking"....I mean "relaxing" backstage

 

But thumbs up to you, I love Miss J!

Edited October 24, 2014 by RealityGal

[tobysmom]

Well, I have to say I'm surprised that Sean won; when it was he and Amanda I thought for sure Amanda had it in the bag.  But Go Sean! 

 

I feel bad for Kini as I really thought this was his to win; not sure why he got so flustered.  I did like some of Kini's pieces; especially the one black dress (short, form fitted).  As a petite person, what I like about Kini's designs is that I would be able to buy them and they wouldn't overwhelm me like say Amanda's.

 

Speaking of Amanda - first of all, I could never wear any of her pieces.  They all look so, so heavy and the one piece where it stops at mid-calf looks like the model is in a baggy.  And, now I know why she makes dresses, because it doesn't look like she makes pants very well.  Both pants did not fit the model at all and were all too long.

 

As mentioned, I think everyone, and Char, knew she would be fourth.  But, besides Kini, there were some of her outfits that I really liked and would wear.

 

I was watching and waiting to see if Korina was in the audience and yep, she was there.

[Maya]

Can't get worked up over his "breezy killing of Caesar" story.

 

 

It seemed like everyone in the audience had a "WTF?" look on their face when he was telling that story. They probably didn't know the designers went to Italy to "be inspired."

[Julia]

It seemed like everyone in the audience had a "WTF?" look on their face when he was telling that story. They probably didn't know the designers went to Italy to "be inspired."

 

Or maybe since his collection was packed with riffs on the one dress everyone had already seen on Heidi they were wondering if Caesar was really blue blooded.

 

There's this thing Eleanore Roosevelt said: Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people. You didn't used to have to be smallminded to watch this show. Now Sandhya's pinwheels and Sean's exsanguination fringe pass for ideas, Amanda's thoughts on not knowing what's going to happen next pass for events, and what's left is people. Not very interesting people, by and large. And the even less interesting designs the judges bully them into making with their capricious decisions.

 

I really don't know who the audience is that they're chasing. I can't imagine they're more demographically attractive than the one they're chasing away.

[pasdetrois]

I didn't mind Sean's win, but I question whether we'll ever hear from him again, even if he moves to NYC or LA.  The finale dress was beautiful, but his model raced off without waiting for him to join her in the last walk.

 

Amanda is savvy, with connections, and may have been able to springboard off of the win to advance her brand. Is she pregnant? She was wearing a particularly unflattering outfit during the finale. Bless her heart if she participated in production while in the early stages of pregnancy.

 

Heidi's dress was gorgeous.

 

They kept cutting over to the Threads host, Vanessa Simmons, during the runway. Give it a rest Bravo.

 

Tim nearly lost it when dealing with Char. She was completely in over her head. She was unable to articulate her strategy and vision at any time.

 

I think Kini knew he had lost. He had a faint glimmer of hope before the runway show, but you could see in his face that he knew he didn't win.

 

ETA: several years ago I noticed a shot of Tim's left hand shaking badly - it was like a tremor. I wonder if he is seriously ill, or if he is desperate to hold on to his position with the PR franchise. Or maybe both. Because his demeanor has changed.

 

Also, in the old days I think production would have done a better job of making sure the contestants tied in the Rome connection. They went to the trouble of developing a big inspired-by-Italy story - probably to justify Best Western's big push to advertise its global expansion - then abruptly dropped it. Poor Sean doggedly continued with his Caesar story, probably hoping it would win Brownie points. But it seemed to come from nowhere.

Edited October 24, 2014 by pasdetrois

[Wings]

Revamp.  Go back to the format of seasons 1-5.  They had the best episodes and best winners.  We saw better clothes each week with the longer design time.

 

One day is not long enough for the judges to see what they can really do.  They would not eliminate better designers by accident because they don't work as fast as Kini.  

 

That is all that needs to be done. Nothing more!   It is an easy fix.  A more expensive one, granted.  Money has to be behind the one day challenges. 

[PaulaO]

As soon as Tim G. said in his verklempt voice, "you are the most talented group" I shouted out "you lying sack of sh!t."  I got over my dislike of Amanda but her collection was indeed a Gretchen v2.0, saggy and blah colors.  Sean is a one way monkey (thank you Dimitri), Char's was off the rack.  I did like Kini's the best and would love to have the micro-pleated dress and other pieces.  I will watch All-Stars because of Chris March and Fabio and hope Helen gets booted the first week.  I'm not watching the reunion because we saw the draaaaahma in the preview.  Korina says "Char, you're not a designer" and Char says "yes I am, go away."

[Primetimer]

Sean's color pops, Kini's denim, Amanda's maxis, and Char's sportswear battle it out for Project Runway bragging rights.

Read the story

[backgroundnoise]

And shut up Tim Gunn, this group wasn't anything close to the best designers ever.

 

Yes.  This kind of thing serves no purpose other than to 1) insult the previous designers, 2) insult the intelligence of the audience, and 3) insult the current designers because he SAYS IT EVERY SINGLE SEASON.

 

   But what I did like is that the 4 finalists refrained from personal attacks, petty bull, and generalized bitchiness in the last days of Fashion Week.

For the second season in a row, there were four nice people in the finals, making a rather nice finale.  Of course, like S12, all the goodwill generated by this will be sucked away by the nasty reunion with Tim refereeing the fights.

    Tim nearly lost it when dealing with Char. She was completely in over her head. She was unable to articulate her strategy and vision at any time.

To me, Char showed she hasn't yet got the concept of what a collection should be, like Wendy back in S1.  It was just a collection of clothes without any cohesiveness.  This was apparent to me by her running around Mood just selecting fabric that caught her eye, rather than trying to think of how tie the garments together more.

 

As nice as Char is, I just don't see anything special in her clothes at all.  Nothing shows me she has any spark to distinguish her from the dozens of other slightly below mediocre designers that have been on.  I'd say she's forgettable, except that the only reason I'll remember her is because of the lingering frustration over her being the final four at all.  YMMV.

[Lamb18]

Congratulations, Sean!  I thought he had the best collection of the four.  Everything was well-made, he worked the fringe so it moved well, it was cohesive and you could see the story in the garments.  I didn't mind the fringe - it's not my particular taste, but I thought he made good use of it in his collection.  Which piece did his regular model wear?  Was she the final model?  I felt bad that his model was not recognized at the very end.  Didn't she win a prize, too?  She was gorgeous and I think she was instrumental in his wins.  I also think Sean designed for her, too, in that he made clothing that would look good on her.  (In recollection, however, Sean's collection makes me think of Princeton Tigers.)

 

Amanda's collection was good, too, although Gretchenesque, (but better than Gretchen's).  I do like that she has a clear vision and I think she's got a brand & market out there.  Kini's love of denim - maybe Levi Strauss or Calvin Klein or Gloria Vanderbilt will give him a call.  I think he can develop a niche market - "Kini for Calvin Klein" sounds nice.  Char's was better than I thought it would be. I wonder if there's a grant she could get for developing her talent and business.  Working full-time and designing on the side doesn't give her a lot of time for development.

 

I was wondering if Amanda is pregnant, too.  Maybe we'll find out at the reunion!  (I can't help remembering when Laura announced her pregnancy on Season 3 during the Mothers episode and that was the first her mother had heard of it.)

 

I think they somehow have to go back to showing at the February Fashion Week like they used to.  Then the collections can be a little larger and much better!  I enjoyed this finale, but I didn't have the vested interest in it like I did for season 4 when I was cheering for Jillian, or season 5 when Leanne was my girl from the second episode on, or season 7 when I picked Seth Aaron as my favorite from his audition video.  I miss having someone to really cheer for.

[Wootini]

Oh, Tim tells EVERY group of designers they're the most talented group of designers ever. It's lost any meaning it once might have had.

 

Going into the finale, I didn't really care who won because I wasn't really invested in any of these designers. I guess I was rooting for Kini, but after we saw his collection las week, I realized he was doomed, and wasn't even going to be in the running. Char was never in the running, so it was clearly going to come down to Sean vs. Amanda. And in the end, I rooted slightly for Sean simply because I have never liked Amanda's… it's not really arrogance. I can't really put my finger on it. But her attitude of acting as though she's on the same level as the judges, nodding sagely at their words like she already knew what they were going to say. But I didn't want to reward Amanda because of her personality. I know that's petty, but hey, it's reality TV.

 

Also, I have to admit, I preferred Sean's collection. It told a story, and the progression of color was lovely. Also, he was the only one who presented what looked like a "spring" collection to me. It WAS supposed to be spring fashion week, right? Because with Amanda's suede and knits and Kini's heavy denim, it felt more like fall/winter to me. But Sean's was light, had brilliant color, and looked fantastic on the runway. I didn't mind the fringe because that was his thing for this collection. Now, if the next things he designs are also covered in fringe, then I'd say he's a one-trick pony. But if the guy likes fringe, let him use fringe. Amanda likes her maxi-dresses and Kini likes his denim, so… 

 

But ultimately, this season was kind of a wash. Other than Kini, there was no designer I really latched onto and hoped would win. And I agree with the posters above who said that Sandhya had the best runway show. It might not have been the BEST, but it was certainly my favorite out of all of them. But then what do I know? I don't work in fashion, I just watch this show!

 

(Also, I'm curious about Project Runway: Precocious Brats Edition, and I'm definitely watching the reunion to see if Korina can make herself look even more horrible than her last two appearances did, but I really wish they'd have given us a break before foisting All-Stars on us. For crying out loud, Lifetime! You have to make us miss the show so we're excited when it comes back! Now it just feels like overkill… Also, All-Stars is a poor carbon copy and is never as good as the main show… which hasn't been that great lately anyway… oof, that doesn't bode well for this season of All-Stars, does it?)

[Sarah D. Bunting]

"In recollection, however, Sean's collection makes me think of Princeton Tigers"

That would be black fringe. (I had a line about the Clemson pep squad's flapper party that I cut.)

I'm excited for All-Stars because there are some top-flight hateables in the cast, which makes it more fun for those of us obligated to watch every week...MICHELLLLLLLLLLE. [cue Ennio Morricone]

[Pattycake2]

I'm a little disappointed that Sean won, but whatever.  It'll be up to Sean to make the most or least of his talents.  I do this it was an absolute disgrace to only give the designers 4 weeks to prepare their collections.  That's over 2 looks a week to be conceptualized, sewn and refined.  No handy workroom of sewers back in LA to help. I love Tim Gunn.  Yes, he does say that each group is the most talented, but did you see the designer's faces when he said it?  They lit up and they needed it.   

[Lorimac]

During Sean's runway, my teen-age son stopped in the room long enough last night to opine that Sean's dresses reminded him of a traffic cone - especially the one with the white stripe of fringe around her middle. After that, I could not un-see it, so when my other son stopped in during the same runway of Sean's and asked, "Is this some sort of Halloween challenge tonight?" I really lost it.

[PepperMonkey]

RG, I made myself watch PR Threads this morning. Posting in the Threads thread - haHA

[panthergirl13]

I cracked up when Heidi introduced "AMY Rossum" before the runway shows. Hasn't she been a guest judge before? Does Heidi actually not know her name? Pffft.

 

Can someone explain how the decoy collection thing works? Do those other designers get to walk their collections in front of the same packed house? If so, what's the big deal about 'making it to Fashion Week' if so many actually do? TIA

 

Re Tim... someone mentioned seeing a tremor in one hand. That could explain a lot. I have YOPD (Young Onset Parkinson's, like MJ Fox) and depression/mood issues can be related to the disease or to treatment or both.

[twilightzone]

Sean's win reminds me of Leanne's.  He over doing with the fringe and she overdoing it with pastel pedals.

[FineWashables]

So there was a small element of surprise in the win, which is good, I guess.  Congratulations Sean.  I'm still not sure how wearable these clothes are, but they certainly made for a cohesive collection.

 

I still don't understand why women would want to wear Amanda's designs when none of them are flattering.  Sure, they look very comfortable, but then so do sweatpants.  

 

When Nina Garcia compared Amanda to Stella McCartney, I longed for a reaction shot from Sandhya.  As we all remember, she believes that any designer whose work can be compared to another designer is designing derivative shlock.

 

I really wish that just to take the high road, they would have excluded shots of Korina.  Just should have pretended she wasn't there.

[Mirest]

I've slipped a few seasons...but I still think Jay McCarroll's work was some of the best this show ever produced. I love Tim Gunn, but yeah, best designers ever? No. Maybe fastest sewers and fitters. But not designers.

[lulee]

 

 

Can't get worked up over his "breezy killing of Caesar" story.

It seemed like everyone in the audience had a "WTF?" look on their face when he was telling that story. They probably didn't know the designers went to Italy to "be inspired."

Sean has almost the opposite of Bitchy Resting Face - something like Frequent-default-smile.  So that added to the awkwardness of his presentation: "This collection was inspired by the betrayal of Caesar. .... Enjoy the collection!" <thunk>

 

Kini is adorable and his aunt made me cry. He did great, fast work, but some of them items were just poorly conceived and executed. His final dress had way too much going on with the train and the Dynasty-shoulder-pads-on-steriods and that one short, sleeveless dress that the judges raved about looked boxy and ill-fit at the neck line.

I figured the big crisis Amanda had shown in the previews would amount to nothing and it did. Most of her stuff is fine,  I guess. No wow factor. Nice sometimes but unexciting. And one outfit with the suede romper or jumper on top looked super awkward.

 

Char had no chance, but I'm glad for her that she was able to pull it all together for her show with no models with missing zippers or whatever because she'd run out of time.

[cee]

The last runway was the most boring that I remember, but the very end made it worth it.

I cried watching Char, Kini, and Amanda with their families. Kini's heartbreak was the hardest to watch as his future as a designer is uncertain. When will he ever have the chance to create when people are beating down his door to hire him to sew?

[katiepotatey]

I'm giving Amanda's collection another look on Rate the Runway. Hers was my favorite collection, and I thought it should've gotten the win.

 

I know she was going for the care-free look, but she would've benefited from styling her models' hair up somehow. A lot of the details of her looks were covered up (like the front of the vest in the second look) by her models' long hair. I never understand when designers do that... cover up their designs with long hair, big purses, etc.

[Ketzel]

Where is the talent like Jay, Chloe, Leanne, Jeffery (love him or hate him, he is good), Laura, Santino and Christian Siriano?  

 

Serious designers don't want to come on this show with the short time constraints or the casting is missing the mark.  Or Heidi has dropped the ball.  One day challenges are ruining what used to be an excellent show. 

 

PepperMonkey, Well said, I miss loving Tim, too. 

 

Tim should have saved Fade, not Char. 

I know if I were and up-and-coming designer with my sights set on a show at NY Fashion Week, I'd be very reluctant to take on Project Runway. Sure, it's a fast track to the Big Show, as long as you survive - what, about half the challenges, now?  But what good does it do for your "brand" if your first show is designed under ridiculous time pressure when your creativity is probably at its lowest ebb, if not completely tapped out? Showing ten-slapped together looks with fit issues  at one of the biggest shows in the world? This is not what any designer with ambition and talent is really aspiring to when they say their dream is to show at NY Fashion Week.

[Beden]

 

Money has to be behind the one day challenges.

I've been thinking this for a while now. Fewer nights of apartment/hotel rentals, fewer meals, easier to work around Heidi's insane schedule, less $ to pay the crew and so on. And yes, it shows.

 

I really wish that just to take the high road, they would have excluded shots of Korina.  Just should have pretended she wasn't there.

Considering her less than hidden feelings about her aufing, I wonder if the contestants were contractually obligated to be there. Otherwise I think it might be difficult to gather everyone a month later from wherever they live/work, added to them possibly losing $ if they have to take off work to fly to NYC. Just wondering.

Edited October 24, 2014 by Beden

[twilightzone]

Char actually did win.  In all 13 seasons, she was the least deserving to show at Fashion Week.

 

But she got that platform.  So good for her.

[Julia]

I've been thinking this for a while now. Fewer nights of apartment/hotel rentals, fewer meals, easier to work around Heidi's insane schedule, less $ to pay the crew and so on. And yes, it shows.

Considering her less than hidden feelings about her aufing, I wonder if the contestants were contractually obligated to be there. Otherwise I think it might be difficult to gather everyone a month later from wherever they live/work, added to them possibly losing $ if they have to take off work to fly to NYC. Just wondering.

 

Korina lives in Brooklyn, so it probably wasn't too onerous. Anyway, she had to be there for her show.

 

I think Sean's Caesar story was a purely cynical exercise. All season the judges have been handing over treats to anyone who says "My girl is an anime character pondering the role of feminism in the abolitionist movement from her ringside seat at the Disney Princess remake of Antigone on Ice while snacking on smartfood" no matter what shit they send down the runway. So, fine, his flapper drag is about regime change. Wevs.

Edited October 24, 2014 by Julia

[Maya]

Can someone explain how the decoy collection thing works? Do those other designers get to walk their collections in front of the same packed house? If so, what's the big deal about 'making it to Fashion Week' if so many actually do? TIA

 

 

I too do not understand the timeline and decoy collections. Emmy Rossum said she had been watching all season and knew their work, but I thought Fashion Week was in the middle of the season, weeks ago? I don't get it.

[mwell345]

Well, I fell asleep during the critique, but I was sure Amanda was going to win.  So much for my prediction.

 

I thought they all had beautiful collections - PR has really ramped up the talent these last few seasons. 

 

The orange dress that Sean has was stunning on that model, the white dress was lovely too.  But, he's too much fringe for me, and since the judges last week seemed to feel the same, I'm a little surprised that he won.  I would have gone with Kini. 

[Muffyn]

Mumbles! Yes, gag is right.

 

I seriously doubt we'll ever hear of Sean Kelly after the dust settles from this finale. I mean, I don't hear anything of Seth Aaron and he's won TWO of these things.

 

Christian's the only one who's had an obvious post show career in fashion. Of course, I bought one of his knit blazers at Sam's Club for 14.00 and he's hosting that awful Project Runway Junior so I'm not sure what all that means.

 

I know Rami and Chloe have their own shops and Michael Costello (bless him) is designing red carpet for big stars, but except for Chloe, they weren't winners. This show's just not a launchpad like Heidi originally probably thought it might be.

I think many of the designers have been able to get careers in fashion from the show.  That is, they've been hired within the industry.  Think of Austin Scarlett working for Vera Wang in wedding design.  Very few designers become big names on their own.  Getting a solid career in the industry is a worthwhile goal.  It's just not what Project Runway has promised - the next great fashion designer.  For many of the contestants, using this show as a stepping stone or to get a foot in the door makes sense.    

 

I still don't understand why women would want to wear Amanda's designs when none of them are flattering.  Sure, they look very comfortable, but then so do sweatpants.  

Her clothes don't even look comfortable to me.  They look really heavy and with most of them you can't wear a bra.  I am top heavy.  I cannot imagine being comfortable with all of that weight pulling down on my breasts.  I also noticed how often her models walked with their hands in the pockets, making the dresses flair out better.  I can see wanting to emphasize the pockets, this may have also had to do with letting the clothes walk better.  They would look more sack-like without the models helping to create the shape.  

 

Each designer had some looks I liked, many I was indifferent to, and some truly heinous choices.  Sean's orange and white fringe (traffic cone) dress [thanks fellow poster for noticing that] and skirt were so unflattering.  Kini's final gown was hideous.  Many of his pieces were so heavy.  Char had that turquoise mess and the white attack of the ruffles.  Amanda had ill-fitting pants and weird material mixes showing puckering.  I guess they couldn't say no one for the win.  It was a seriously lackluster season.  

 

From Nina's statements, Sean seems to have won based on the potential they saw in his collection rather than on the actual collection.  They know what they are getting from Char, Amanda and Kini; their styles are set.  Sean is still learning and changing, so he may surprise them in the future.  So he was a student type winner in a show that featured a lot of student feeling work. 

Edited October 24, 2014 by Muffyn

[Alison]

This season was a disappointment for me because I never had a clear favorite. I do think it was amazing that they pulled together their collections in such a short time, and I was relieved that Char's wasn't too bad, because I feared for her. Tim seems worn out and kind of grumpy and confused to me. I think he needs a long vacation.

 

I hope I never have to see or hear those Mary Kay or Aldo commercials again.

Don't forget the "You don't know aarp" commercials, because god knows we definitely needed to turn AARP from an acronym into a nonsense word.

[Dean Learner]

To my eye, Sean was the only one of the finalists to understand fabric, however overplayed his fringe hand may have been. His collection moved beautifully.

 

Kini's attempted at feminine shapes with dry denim was a fundamental misunderstanding of how that fabrics works. I understand that he was trying to innovate, but it was a failure-- look at how stiffly the garments sat away from the models' bodies.

 

I've attended a few of Amanda's shows here in Nashville and while she's had some cool t-shirts and jewelry pieces, she too struggles with fabric. It's especially obvious due to the amount of pieceing she does in her work. Sometimes a knit isn't meant to connect to leather connect to wool.

 

With all kindness, the best thing Char can do to further her career is go to design school. She'll learn how to develop her concepts beyond meaningless buzzwords, understand the difference between "clothing" and "a collection", and hone her construction skills. I hope someone will give her that opportunity.

[weightyghost]

I don't find Amanda's clothing as free as they kept saying. The models kept holding their clothes, I found her long dresses so stiff and boxy, and it's not new. Maxi dresses are not a new thing.

It's also funny during the flashbacks, Amanda's two winning looks were the ugliest ones and nearly the exact same dress - weird fringe hanging down with no design.

There was a lot of black and white on that runway.

I've loved Kini all season but he bored me. It all blended together.

So Char dresses the every woman, and gets told she's very meh, but Amanda has a brand for the every woman and nearly wins? Whatever judges. I don't trust you anymore.

Also is the top button done, naval showing a new trend? Because gross

Edited October 24, 2014 by weightyghost