S13.E15: Season 13 Reunion

[LotusFlower]

Not everyone enjoys the endless (or circular) argument. When I find myself in one, I shut down and walk off rather than continue on endlessly.  Some pretend the person who gets the last word wins (as long as her or she is that person), but that isn't true. No one actually changes their mind. It is just that people get tired of the stupidity of arguing on without resolution.

Sure, that's fair. But I think my main point was that maybe the two of them didn't realize they were in an argument going round and round...it's easier for us to see it from an outside view. And secondly, maybe one or both of them thought the other would have an "aha" moment to their point of view, so that's why they kept it going. (I thought both Amanda and Char, at different times, did this, and showed maturity). Or of corse there's always the possibility that the producers prodded it out of them...

[PepperMonkey]

Alexander was fan favourite because his family and his college had a huge campaign going on to make sure everyone voted for him. I don't think his choice as fan favourite has anything to do with his skill as a designer.

 

It's like on The voice when someone wins the twitter vote because they have a huge following ON twitter, having nothing to do with whether or not they had the best performance.

 

It's perfectly fair for him to have won fan fave if he can rally that many votes behind him. I think most of the actual PR fans who still watch the show (most of us here on previously and maybe a few others) are not interested enough in fan favourite to actually take the time to vote. At least, I know I'm not. I would have been hard pressed in Season 13 to FIND someone for whom I wanted to vote.

[WicketyWack]

Good God. Entirely too much Char. Entirely too much Korina. Too much Amanda. Not enough Emily. Unacceptable levels of not-enough-Fade.

Congrats on the win Sean, now I must figure out how to delete this entire season and every element of it from my memory a'la Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Thinking that I devoted hours of my life to it is (actually, literally) so depressing.

Edited November 2, 2014 by WicketyWack

[WicketyWack]

And. Someone needs to have a haircolor intervention on Kristine. It's true that the terrible geriatric gray she inexplicably chose to spend an entire season in, which aged her so horribly, HAS been replaced by a slightly better ash blond. But it's still capital-B Bad and is doing her complexion no favors whatsoever. Kristine, you're cute, stop wrecking your looks like that.

 

And while we're on the subject of bad hair, Emily… WTF? It looks like you shaved your head yourself with bikini-zone clippers after drinking a handle of Tito's. Why. Whyyy.

[kelslamu]

'I think of "bitch" as a term of endearment.' Ugh, Tim. I think that was the straw that broke my back.

This!   I'm sorry but I saw that as wrong on too many levels.  Whatever that guy's name who said it to Sandya (sp?) did not mean it as a term of endearment in that situation.  

[kelslamu]

Tim saying Alexander was just an amazing (I think) designer baffled me.

[Broderbits]

Anyone saying one of these people was an amazing designer would baffle me! This show has become a parody of itself. 

[needschocolate]

When Korina was sent packing, she commented something like, "did anyone see that coming?" Initially, I thought she was being sarcastic, since it seemed obvious to me that she made the worst outfit that week.  She wasn't sarcastic, she was actually surprised that she was going home.  I was really hoping that, during the reunion, Tim would have said, ""raise your hand if you saw Korina's elimination coming for that hideous outfit she made"

[dialyn]

When Korina was sent packing, she commented something like, "did anyone see that coming?" Initially, I thought she was being sarcastic, since it seemed obvious to me that she made the worst outfit that week.  She wasn't sarcastic, she was actually surprised that she was going home.  I was really hoping that, during the reunion, Tim would have said, ""raise your hand if you saw Korina's elimination coming for that hideous outfit she made"

Didn't Korina win the week before?  And the week before that she was in the top three.  She had every reason to believe she was on a roll, which can only mean that she didn't pay attention to how this show works. I don't believe for a second that she thought she had made the worst outfit that week.  I do think she was honestly surprised. 

[Beden]

 

Anyone saying one of these people was an amazing designer would baffle me! This show has become a parody of itself.

Years ago, when I was a new freshman in college, majoring in an esoteric field of design, the head of the department had a welcome back/welcome to school party at his home. He took us newbies aside and, with great paternal kindness, told us that we were the most promising, most talented group they'd ever had and they were excited have us. We, of course, were thrilled.

 

Four years later I was the only one of those designers to graduate. This is--I hasten to add--not so much a sop to me but a fact of life. The professor, a genuinely kind man, was simply trying to give us confidence. I suspect i simply played the game better as I know damn well that I wasn't close to being the most creative person there.

 

Tim was simply doing the same, being kind, trying to give confidence and calm frightened designers. I have no problem with this but see it for what it is.

[Julia]

In fairness, both teams were bad, but I thought the sweater coat gave Emily and Korinna's looks an advantage over Sean and Char's, and if Char had made the dress she wanted to make for the runoff, or sewed the one she did make, she would have gone home. Whatever he may have to say about the ten minutes or the Tim Gunn save, what Char got that episode was the Sean save, and he did it explicitly so the designer he thought was a stronger competitor would go home.

Edited November 2, 2014 by Julia

[sinkwriter]

 

Anyone saying one of these people was an amazing designer would baffle me!

 

I don't know... I thought Kini's rainway umbrella dress was highly clever. I would put that up there with many of the most impressive outfits some of my favorite designers have made throughout the history of Project Runway, and it's one I'll probably remember over the years along with Austin Scarlett's corn husk dress and Jeffrey's plaid yellow gown and Justin's pipette finale dress. I wouldn't say everything he made was pure gold, and sadly I think he choked when it came to coming up with a solid theme for his fashion week collection, but overall I thought Kini was talented. I liked him.

[ub40fan]

I liked Kini a lot but I was disappointed with his final collection. I love island culture, the colors, the styles. I know it couldn't be all aloha shirts but I wish there had been more of his culture in his collection.

[phoenix780]

Anyone saying one of these people was an amazing designer would baffle me! This show has become a parody of itself. 

I think this season had the strongest designers on in a long time.  If Kini and Sean teamed up, they could be pretty amazing, imho.  

 

Things just fell apart there towards the end with all the (totally spontaneous) drama.

[Beden]

 

I liked Kini a lot but I was disappointed with his final collection. I love island culture, the colors, the styles. I know it couldn't be all aloha shirts but I wish there had been more of his culture in his collection.

I've seen a lot of comments along these lines and I sort of agree with them but only to a point and mainly because I happen to like bright colors personally. Yes, Kini is Hawaiian and all of that but that doesn't dictate his esthetic. Simply because he was raised in a culture which seems to embrace brights doesn't  automatically preclude that's what he, as an individual, prefers.

 

It's sort of like saying that because you're Afro-American you should wear your hair in an Afro or if your background is Germanic you should be designing dirndls.

 

Like his collection or not, he can design whatever he damn well pleases. IMO, of course. Plus, he just seems like an incredibly nice, grounded guy.

[discoprincess]

 I wish one of the designers actually would have told Tim that HE put them in a no-win position when he asked them to give Char 10 extra minutes.  I was glad that Sean told Tim that they all should have had 10 more minutes-at least that got put out there.

 

Tim did ask. Yet, as the footage showed, the response from the designers in the moment was crickets. 

 

 

I was made deeply uncomfortable by the fact that Char was pressured into accepting her apology and hugging her in the face of Korina's sniveling. What a load of nonsense. Put on your big girl pants and deal with yourself lady. Also, I have no doubt Char received plenty of social media hate herself. Even Sean's reaction during the talking head was so zen after the infamous sew-off. 

THIS. That said, I like how Char made Korina sweat it out for a while. Char decided to hug it out because, as she said, she wanted to be the bigger person. I wouldn't blame Char if she were privately kept side-eyeing Korina though. 

 

Regading Korina's tears...as Katt Williams said once during one of his standup routines,"You shouldn't have been talkin' shit."

 

Yes, it was a competition, but there should have been a better way for Korina to express her feelings about Char's talent. She didn't use any disclaimers like, "No shade but..." or "No disrespect to Char but..." 

Edited November 3, 2014 by discoprincess

[ub40fan]

I know that Kini can design whatever he wants, of course, but as I said, I love Hawaii, lived there when I was a kid (pre-statehood, yes, I am old) and I still have a lot of the beautiful things my mother brought back with us. It's the same reason I loved Anya's clothes, it's the island culture I'm enamored of. Right now my concern is with my friend Philip, whose house is right in the path of Kilawea's flowing lava.

[RealityGal]

I know that Kini can design whatever he wants, of course, but as I said, I love Hawaii, lived there when I was a kid (pre-statehood, yes, I am old) and I still have a lot of the beautiful things my mother brought back with us. It's the same reason I loved Anya's clothes, it's the island culture I'm enamored of. Right now my concern is with my friend Philip, whose house is right in the path of Kilawea's flowing lava.

fingers crossed that he is okay!  Has he evacuated?

[ub40fan]

He's working on it as we speak. It breaks my heart, but at the same time I think the lava is beautiful.

[lilwhitelion]

Am I the only one who laughed at the awkward way Tim held his champagne glass when they decided to cut through the tension by all knocking back a drink?  He held his champagne flute like it was the Holy Grail, both hands wrapped around it while he brought it slowly to his lips.  It was just so...strange.  

[RealityGal]

He's working on it as we speak. It breaks my heart, but at the same time I think the lava is beautiful.

I didn't want to be the one to say it, because I find lava fascinating too, but I didn't want to put that out there since your friend is being threatened by it.    I'm glad to hear he at least has a plan.

[dialyn]

Am I the only one who laughed at the awkward way Tim held his champagne glass when they decided to cut through the tension by all knocking back a drink?  He held his champagne flute like it was the Holy Grail, both hands wrapped around it while he brought it slowly to his lips.  It was just so...strange.  

Didn't someone mention he has trembling in his hands?  He may have held it that way to keep it steady so he wouldn't drop it. 

Edited November 4, 2014 by dialyn

[Beden]

Am I the only one (forgive me if I've missed a post about this) who thinks that having the reunion abetted by liquor added to the hoped for drama? Ala Real Housewives of Everywhere kind of boosey drama--like Korinda's seventh hundred meltdown?

[discoprincess]

Didn't Korina win the week before?  And the week before that she was in the top three.  She had every reason to believe she was on a roll, which can only mean that she didn't pay attention to how this show works. I don't believe for a second that she thought she had made the worst outfit that week.  I do think she was honestly surprised. 

I was a little surprised too...but Korina's attitude made me forget about that.

 

Had Fade said that with a maudlin face, I bet several of the designers (probably led by Amanda) would have descended upon Fade to give a group hug, in tacit agreement.

Edited November 4, 2014 by discoprincess

[millennium]

I liked Kini a lot but I was disappointed with his final collection. I love island culture, the colors, the styles. I know it couldn't be all aloha shirts but I wish there had been more of his culture in his collection.

 

I felt exactly the same way about Sandhya.   She's from INDIA!  And ... and ... she made that ... pink thing.  

 

:::throws self in Ganges::: 

[Julia]

I really do blame the judging. It was so capricious and incomprehensible this season that I think everyone except maybe Amanda ended the season second guessing themselves about what the judges were looking for (since "attractive, wearable and properly made" were clearly off the table). I don't think it's an accident that the winner was the guy who took a look the judges were inexplicably crazy about, Amanda's fringe, and ran with it. 

 

In a more coherent season, I think Kini would have had a much more interesting collection.

Edited November 6, 2014 by Julia

[LunchBreak]

When I saw the clips of Sandyha, I saw a bunch of designers joking and talking and Sandyha being completely silent. It is hard to fit in a group if you don't contribute. I'm guessing it was because she either didn't catch the cultural context or slang or perhaps they talked too fast for her to follow.

Throughout the season I saw zero examples of her trying to fit in. It's not really anyone's fault. And her clothes were very odd, so I wasn't surprised to hear people didn't like them.

 

 

I don't know what we expect of people.  If they try to change, or apologize, they get criticized.  If they stay the same, they get criticized.  If you don't like someone, you won't believe a word they say.  If you like someone, you won't believe anything anyone else has to say.  If any of them had any common sense, they would refuse a contract that demanded them to participate in the reunion.  It is a no win-no win situation for most of them

 

Exactly, and if you feel ostracized, you must not have tried hard enough to fit in (says every person whose social lives peaked in high school and is now some insufferable middle manager in HR)...  I now watched this crap fest, and you didn't miss anything by not.  Between Tim losing it and the overall lack of talent and focus on fashion, I'll have to bid this one adieu.

[RealityGal]

I felt exactly the same way about Sandhya.   She's from INDIA!  And ... and ... she made that ... pink thing.  

 

:::throws self in Ganges::: 

I wish I could know what Sandhya meant for that to be, or what she saw in her head.  I know that she talked a good game, but she had to know that thing was just wrong.  I just wonder what her vision was for how it was supposed to turn out.  Like if she had had two weeks to complete it, what would that monstrosity have looked like?

[Julia]

I wish I could know what Sandhya meant for that to be, or what she saw in her head.  I know that she talked a good game, but she had to know that thing was just wrong.  I just wonder what her vision was for how it was supposed to turn out.  Like if she had had two weeks to complete it, what would that monstrosity have looked like?

 

I'm not all that sympathetic to Sandhya - I thought she was a politician, who presented herself to the judges in a way which invalidated her opponents - but looking at her back catalogue, she wasn't historically as tasteless as she was here. 

 

I think she was rewarded for being tasteless, and then she continued to be tasteless because it's what the judges wanted and she wanted to win.

[RealityGal]

I'm not all that sympathetic to Sandhya - I thought she was a politician, who presented herself to the judges in a way which invalidated her opponents - but looking at her back catalogue, she wasn't historically as tasteless as she was here. 

 

I think she was rewarded for being tasteless, and then she continued to be tasteless because it's what the judges wanted and she wanted to win.

Not sympathy per se, but like you said, she wasn't tasteless before PR, so what did she want that pink monstrosity to look like?  I can't think that a human being on the planet earth actually thought what she produced was a good idea, and that includes her, so what was her vision?  If everything went perfectly right, was that really what she was planning to send down the runway?  Maybe it was and she was just hoping she could talk everyone into liking it?

[LunchBreak]

I think she was rewarded for being tasteless, and then she continued to be tasteless because it's what the judges wanted and she wanted to win.

 

I totally agree with you.  The validity of her feelings and whatever happened on a social level aside (which I wish would always be pushed aside in favor of fashion on this show), I just couldn't get on board with her concoctions..  I need to see these people in their element, with more time, but producing that pink kid's thing...well, let's say you can't blame that totally on the timing or other circumstances surrounding the production of PR.

[ichbin]

I felt exactly the same way about Sandhya.   She's from INDIA!  And ... and ... she made that ... pink thing.  

 

:::throws self in Ganges::: 

I think being from India is probably why that pink thing looked the way it did.  Fashions are changing there, but the western style children's clothing that was available there when she was growing up was probably in line with what she designed in that competition. 

[Julia]

I think being from India is probably why that pink thing looked the way it did.  Fashions are changing there, but the western style children's clothing that was available there when she was growing up was probably in line with what she designed in that competition. 

 

That's the thing, though. I've lived in a south asian neighborhood for 20 years now, and my kid went to public school in the neighborhood, so I'm passably familiar with traditional clothes for mothers and children. What I see around here is clear, strong colors, sometimes with intricate contrasting or metallic embroidery, and either separates with super clean lines or draping. By and large, the kids either wear the same traditional clothes or stuff from Target.

 

I'm not setting myself up as an expert on Sandhya's influences, but a designer who used the clothes in my neighborhood as an inspiration would have deserved all the positive reinforcement Sandhya got for whatever the hell that was that she did.  

[millennium]

I think being from India is probably why that pink thing looked the way it did.  Fashions are changing there, but the western style children's clothing that was available there when she was growing up was probably in line with what she designed in that competition. 

 

I should have been more clear.    It wasn't just the pink thing.   It was everything she made that left me ... perplexed.    I love the Indian/Bollywood style.  I had hoped Sandhya would try to manifest some of her cultural influences in her designs, the way Korina tried with her Southwestern/Native American riffs.   When Sandhya choose that vibrant yellow and purple suit in that one challenge, for example.   But it never happened.

Edited November 8, 2014 by millennium

[sinkwriter]

I'm still baffled at how much the judges loved her pinwheel outfit. I thought it was one of the ugliest designs on the runway that week and would have surely voted her to go home for that. Everything's subjective, I suppose...

Edited November 8, 2014 by sinkwriter

[BathKol]

This season started warmly then ended real, real cold. So cold you can snap your finger off - ding.

I think Tim Gunn has been jaded by the television world. Reality television has skyrocketed in popularity and the lows producers will go to to increase ratings has obviously left a mark on him. I think the whole Char Gate was a bitchslap on his part to the producers - I say this because we all remember the vlog he had where he shot down TPTB?

I can bet 10 cents Tim chose Char as his 'save' because the producers were probably planning either Korina, Kini, or Sandhya to be the Resurrected One. In retaliation - he dumps this trash heap on Char's back and just lets it ROLL, because there was no logical explanation to save her skin. Her designs were Asian Forever 21-knock off fashion store quality. Her final runway collection was dull and boring and totally overpowered by that hideous cerulean blue print. Korina knew it, but she was completely harried by the whole experience and went down South Road into destruction.

I see a whole lalaland of tug and war going on here; it all started in season 11, with Deaf Justin being resurrected at the last minute as an emotional foil to Dom. Or the fact Kate will not go away. Like, ever.

Now, I'm not supporting Tim and this is just an observation, because as other people have mentioned, he's not really helping the situation and is apparently steering that anti-Sandhya ship, too.

I cannot explain for the life of me what the contestants had against Sandhya. Was it because she was East Indian? I know some people have mentioned possible culture clashes but she seemed pretty okay on American turf, so it was something more subtle than just her way of living. I think a lot of these contestants have an elitist view of themselves and their little worlds and can't handle anyone who doesn't fit that mold. Sean was the only one who seemed marginally pleasant to her.

Edited November 10, 2014 by BathKol

[Julia]

Minor point: Sandhya isn't East Indian. She's from India by way of London.

[BathKol]

Minor point: Sandhya isn't East Indian. She's from India by way of London.

Okay... I try to read those little blue bubble bios but don't care anymore.