S04.E07: Mix And Match.com

[sleepyjean]

It seemed like a risky choice to set this challenge up so the models had a chance to wear the outfits out of the building, keep them overnight, and potentially ruin them with food and drink before judging. Especially since - given the standards on this show and the time frame involved - the outfits were probably held together with safety pins and hot glue,  I didn't get the "whole wear the outfit on the date then bring it back so the designer can continue working on it" thing.

[auntlada]

I thought that was a bit odd. _Even_ if he's on a date with a man he should look like a man? I'm pretty sure his being a man is kind of the point of that date, Miz Zanna. I'm just not sure what the color of his shirt has to do with it. Hell, Wall Street is packed with oinkeriffic alpha male brodudes in pretty, pretty, pastel Brooks Brothers. Some of them are even gay.

 

She should go to the National High School Finals Rodeo on breast cancer awareness night. All the cowboys (some of whom may be gay -- I don't know as I never asked) wear pink, along with most of the older men.

[bilgistic]

Here's a public service announcement to this episode from my mother the amazing seamstress and me, who doesn't sew more than hems and buttons: A shirt isn't a "button-down" unless the collar BUTTONS DOWN. The more you know.

And I don't care that it has become a euphemism for "dress shirt". It's WRONG.

[NewDigs]

Awful Awful Awful

The time constraints have made this show barely a shadow of its former self. I have to hope and believe that these designers really do have talent, though little of that talent has been on display this season. The close-ups of seamwork and cutwork are cringeworthy.

One of this challenges biggest kicks, for me, was spotting those Times Square bleachers. It's not often they are seen empty and it looked like there was a crowd there waiting to either use said bleachers or to see the filming. The bleachers are in front of the TKTS booth and give a great view of TS complete with jumbotrons and traffic and hustle and bustle.

I think I continue to watch this simply by force of habit. With a smidgeon of hope for more better everything from everyone.

[EyeofHorus]

Sorry but Helen should have gone this week that monstrosity looked like the model was preggers and her butt was about to show with every step she took.

[Linderhill]

I think this was the first time that the menswear that was designed actually looked good.  The two other times I recall recently that had menswear challenge, the horrendous Thunder from Down Under challenge that Michelle and Sam participated in and the infamous "Sheepdogs" challenge from a season before that.  These men's fashions were wonderful compared to those.

[bilgistic]

Can we talk about what Samantha was wearing during the entire episode? She looked like she belonged in the stack of rejected reels for the character of "Jo" on "The Facts of Life".

[WicketyWack]

Alyssa's outfit belonged on Bea Arthur.

Someone please reveal who her stylist is so we can publicly shame them and/or find out who they're banging/ blackmailing/ related to. 

Edited December 21, 2014 by WicketyWack

[EyeofHorus]

Alyssa's outfit belonged on Bea Arthur.

Someone please reveal who her stylist is so we can publicly shame them and/or find out who they're banging/ blackmailing/ related to.

OMG! I was thinking the same thing! We buried my elderly aunt in a similar outfit!!!

[roctavia]

Alyssa's outfit belonged on Bea Arthur.

Someone please reveal who her stylist is so we can publicly shame them and/or find out who they're banging/ blackmailing/ related to. 

 

 

I just... I can't wrap my head around what is happening with her outfits... especially on a fashion show....  I know maternity wear can be a bit daunting, but there are so many cute maternity clothes out there... But it seems to be getting worse every week and they are putting her in weirder and weirder and less flattering clothes every week.

 

We could seriously go to the maternity section of a lame department store and come up with a better outfit for Alyssa to wear... it's sad.

[PrincessSteel]

I give the designers some leeway on design and construction issues because I spend more time making a sandwich than they get to design and construct an entire outfit. But why is everyone chosing such boring fabrics? I have never been to Mood in NYC but I have been to the LA store and there is some seriously beautiful stuff to chose from. Even when someone goes with an actual color, it is the most washed out version of said color. If you are making a pink jacket for a guy, commit to the pink. That was not pink. It was "Rats, I washed my new red tee shirt in hot water and it faded", a color name that I just invented. Also pink attire for a guy is not the earth shattering risk that everyone was making it out to be.

I found the runway interview with the gay couple to be really off-putting and that forced kiss came off as super condescending and creepy.

Just about everything about this season inspires me to steal a line from 'The Sure Thing': "Because no."

[BonnieLW]

There are often times when I like an outfit that the judges hate. I chalk it up to the fact that I'm a real woman that wears clothes that come off a rack at a store instead of a studio. I also often remind myself that I have never seen an outfit on QVC by Isaac that I like. But usually when I think an outfit is the worse one of the night I'm pretty close to right. When I saw Fabio's I thought "who would want to wear that on a first date?" I could not believe he won. None of the outfits were great last night but seriously, Fabio won?

[ElectricBoogaloo]

I give the designers some leeway on design and construction issues because I spend more time making a sandwich than they get to design and construct an entire outfit. But why is everyone chosing such boring fabrics? I have never been to Mood in NYC but I have been to the LA store and there is some seriously beautiful stuff to chose from. Even when someone goes with an actual color, it is the most washed out version of said color. If you are making a pink jacket for a guy, commit to the pink. That was not pink. It was "Rats, I washed my new red tee shirt in hot water and it faded", a color name that I just invented. Also pink attire for a guy is not the earth shattering risk that everyone was making it out to be.

I found the runway interview with the gay couple to be really off-putting and that forced kiss came off as super condescending and creepy.

Just about everything about this season inspires me to steal a line from 'The Sure Thing': "Because no."

"Who invented liquid soap and why?" Now I'm picturing someone dumping their non colorfast red fabric into a washing machine with liquid soap along with the rest of their white laundry, and deciding light pink towels aren't so bad. Hee, the only shade of pink I like is obnoxious fuchsia so whenever I see pale pastel pink, I think of what Mr. EB once said: pastels are for bathrooms.

[Mocking Bird]

 

Awful Awful Awful

 

 

Which also sums up this entire season.  I hated everything "designed" this episode and what I didn't actively despise bored me to death.

 

Fabio's win was flabbergasting.  I was convinced there was no way he wouldn't get the boot for that mess.  While I don't doubt the alleged "hotness" of Fabio's model must have influenced the win as suggested by posters here;  those comments have led me to question my sexuality, or at least, eyesight.  I didn't find their pair of daters's level of attractiveness so overwhelming that it would negate that "dental hygienist in too tight/short mismatched scrubs" shit show Fabio produced.

 

I hate this season and am only watching out of love of Dimitry--perhaps there is still half a teaspoon of functioning hormones left--but even he is wearing thin.

Edited December 21, 2014 by Mocking Bird

[carrps]

I give the designers some leeway on design and construction issues because I spend more time making a sandwich than they get to design and construct an entire outfit. But why is everyone chosing such boring fabrics? I have never been to Mood in NYC but I have been to the LA store and there is some seriously beautiful stuff to chose from. Even when someone goes with an actual color, it is the most washed out version of said color. If you are making a pink jacket for a guy, commit to the pink. That was not pink. It was "Rats, I washed my new red tee shirt in hot water and it faded", a color name that I just invented. Also pink attire for a guy is not the earth shattering risk that everyone was making it out to be.

I found the runway interview with the gay couple to be really off-putting and that forced kiss came off as super condescending and creepy.

Just about everything about this season inspires me to steal a line from 'The Sure Thing': "Because no."

Big thumbs up on your entire post -- especially re: the fabric choices.

 

But I just had to say I finally --- at very long last --- saw "The Sure Thing" for the first time last week. I guess I had it in my head that it was just one of those painful teen movies from the 80s. Needless to say, it was much much more. John Cusack was only 17 when he made it. Dang.

[EyesGlazed]

I found the runway interview with the gay couple to be really off-putting and that forced kiss came off as super condescending and creepy.

Totally agree.  I said the same thing a few pages back.  It was Laverne Cox using these men to make her version of a PSA:  look America, gay love!  I wish they'd said "no thanks, we're grown men and how we pursue our relationship is none of your business."  Now I somewhat hate her, which is unfortunate because I used to like her on Orange is the New Black.

Edited December 21, 2014 by EyesGlazed

[RedheadZombie]

I found Isaac's prissy exclamation of fear of seeing a bra, way over the top.  Where was he when Dmitry's model strolled down the runway flashing her bare ass?

[PrincessSteel]

Totally agree.  I said the same thing a few pages back.  It was Laverne Cox using these men to make her version of a PSA:  look America, gay love!  I wish they'd said "no thanks, we're grown men and how we pursue our relationship is none of your business."  Now I somewhat hate her, which is unfortunate because I used to like her on Orange is the New Black.

I missed your post the first time that I read through this thread...we are on the same wavelength.

 

With you on wanting to continue liking Laverne Cox. Perhaps the editing is to blame? SOMETHING has to be up with the editing, folks. There is no way that this many wacko personalities are THIS boring all the damn time.

[yeswedo]

I've moved a bunch of posts that are not about this specific episode to Michelle's thread.

[Wootini]

I also found it a little odd that those two guys didn't kiss on their date. From the moment they first met, they were clearly into each other. You can't tell me that those two hung out in a bar and drank and never once got a little cozy? I'm surprised they didn't spend the night together! ;-)

[sinkwriter]

Especially because there was even a quick shot of one of them already comfortable enough to lie back on the other's legs or lap, like they'd been dating for ages. I was really surprised when they said they hadn't kissed yet. Then again... there's lots of things to do in an evening that don't involve kissing!  ;)  Maybe they were saving it for a better, more private moment outside of this weird PR commitment.

 

Which would make Laverne's nudge to get them to kiss even more "on the spot" and kind of sad, because it didn't allow them to do it on their own time. They were excellent sports about it, but it was awfully pushy. And it's not like they could even enjoy it, being on the spot like that, so... no fun for them, really.

[Lamb18]

It seemed like a risky choice to set this challenge up so the models had a chance to wear the outfits out of the building, keep them overnight, and potentially ruin them with food and drink before judging. Especially since - given the standards on this show and the time frame involved - the outfits were probably held together with safety pins and hot glue,  I didn't get the "whole wear the outfit on the date then bring it back so the designer can continue working on it" thing.

Good thing Morgan (season 1) wasn't one of the models.  Fabio's outfit made me think of Charlie Sheen's shirts in Two and a Half Men.  I think Michelle was sick.  There were times when she was in the background of someone else's talking head and she looked pretty haggard.

[Oholibamah]

Mediocre designers like Jeffrey, Anthony Ryan, Helen, and Justin produce poor garments, are saved from elimination, and told that all designers have bad days. Talented designers like Irina and Alexandria are shown the door the moment they have a misstep.  

 

I hate All Stars. 

 

TBH, I didn't mind Anthony Ryan making it through that round; Josh had been producing crap all season long, and him outlasting AR would have been Wendy/Austin redux. My issue was with AR winning over Uli and Emilio.

 

Irina's elimination was bizarre because everybody performed well except her and Elena, who had been slaying it since the beginning of the competition. Viktor's dress was meh, but he had also been doing fairly well. I really like Irina's designs and thought it sucked to have her sent home for her first appearance in the bottom in two seasons, but it wasn't completely unwarranted.  As for Alexandria, I thought she dodged a lot of bulletts in her season and hated her Construction Site design, so my only gripe is that she lost to fucking Helen.

 

I just can't put my finger on what's making this season so damn boring. I really like Kate, Patricia and Chris, but I'm not convinced even them still being around would be riveting me, either.

 

having to produce a full look in what amounts to about 10 hours. I can only imagine the frustration of being forced to produce second rate garments. Sure, they signed on of their own free will but...c'mon. This is bullshit. I'd like to see this show, see what the designers could come up with if they had the 2 or 3 days challenges of days gone by. It would be a different show.

 

I have no idea what's going on with this season, but I've loved a lot of the work produced on the first 3 Allstars. I do suspect the time constraints are a little tighter this season (10 hours versus 1 full day), but I can't really say I've loved more than one or two looks this season. That is bad. I'm thinking the pool of potential "Allstars" has just become too thin to be sustainable.

Edited December 23, 2014 by Oholibamah

[ThatsDarling]

Irina's elimination was bizarre because everybody performed well except her and Elena, who had been slaying it since the beginning of the competition. Viktor's dress was meh, but he had also been doing fairly well. I really like Irina's designs and thought it sucked to have her sent home for her first appearance in the bottom in two seasons, but it wasn't completely unwarranted.

 

I just can't put my finger on what's making this season so damn boring. I really like Kate, Patricia and Chris, but I'm not convinced even them still being around would be riveting me, either.

IIRC, Irina's design for the challenge she was eliminated for was the client's favorite. They needed to get rid of her when they had some excuse to do so, or she could have made it to the finals and outshone their preferred winner.  

 

I think a big part of why All Stars is boring is because the contestants are more careful about how they present themselves; Helen was on Twitter singing her praises about learning to think before she speaks (so impressive for a woman who's pushing 30). This edition also seems even more fixed than Original Recipe Project Runway, so there's a sense of futility to the whole process. Plus, as we just saw with Seth Aaron, winning twice doesn't even do much for people trying to establish a career in the fashion industry. The stakes are low. 

Edited December 24, 2014 by ThatsDarling

[meep.meep]

I think this was the first time that the menswear that was designed actually looked good.  The two other times I recall recently that had menswear challenge, the horrendous Thunder from Down Under challenge that Michelle and Sam participated in and the infamous "Sheepdogs" challenge from a season before that.  These men's fashions were wonderful compared to those.

You've forgotten the Androgenous challenge from the previous All Stars. Emilio's outfits were some of the best work ever shown on PR. Of course they were really costumes.....

[ElectricBoogaloo]

I found Isaac's prissy exclamation of fear of seeing a bra, way over the top. Where was he when Dmitry's model strolled down the runway flashing her bare ass?

Especially considering that Michelle got praised for her sheer lace top with a visible bra last week or the week before.

But I just had to say I finally --- at very long last --- saw "The Sure Thing" for the first time last week. I guess I had it in my head that it was just one of those painful teen movies from the 80s. Needless to say, it was much much more. John Cusack was only 17 when he made it. Dang.

I didn't see The Sure Thing until after college and only because a close friend of mine said it was one of his favorite movies. I, too, was surprised at how good it was. Now I love it! And it makes me a little sad that it isn't considered one of the classic 80s movies like Sixteen Candles. But how can you go wrong with Rob Reiner and John Cusack? Edited December 24, 2014 by ElectricBoogaloo

[LizBug]

 

But why is everyone chosing such boring fabrics? I have never been to Mood in NYC but I have been to the LA store and there is some seriously beautiful stuff to chose from.

 

I haven't been to Mood (neither NYC nor LA) but my feeling is the designers can't afford some of those lush fabrics on the budget the producers give them.  This time they had $300 for two outfits ... fabric and notions.

[millennium]

I found the runway interview with the gay couple to be really off-putting and that forced kiss came off as super condescending and creepy.

 

 

More than once I thought: Shut up, Laverne Cox.

 

I never like it when a guest judge dominates the discourse.   But she was over the top.   It felt uncomfortable, like she was desperate to prove something.

[jackjill89]

I don't believe for a minute Michelle was sick. I think she made herself feel ill because she had to design menswear and then played into the whole thing so if her garment was completely panned she could fall back on the excuse that she was sick. 

[SlackerInc]

When the one woman said "We will probably get married" I had to cringe. Poor guy. 

 

Yes!  That is like Dating 101: you don't say that, even as a joke.  It's, like, absolutely taboo, for a reason.  SO awkward.

 

On Laverne Cox: I wasn't necessarily so offended by the stuff she said.  But I was surprised to see a guest judge be so critical of so many designs...aren't they usually the softies of the panel?  (Or am I getting this mixed up with SYTYCD?  LOL)

 

I was however bothered by how far Isaac went with his criticisms.  When you've got a "real woman" standing there in front of you, you should curb the talk about how it makes her body look.  Stick to criticisms of construction, color, etc., at least until she's backstage.

 

I liked Justin's look.  Sometimes crisply tailored simplicity is perfect, especially on a guy.  But did anyone else think his "model" looked like an actor?  I mean, an actual actor who is not a movie star but somewhat known?  It is driving me crazy trying to think who he resembled.

[Shannon L.]

 

I liked Justin's look.  Sometimes crisply tailored simplicity is perfect, especially on a guy.  But did anyone else think his "model" looked like an actor?  I mean, an actual actor who is not a movie star but somewhat known?  It is driving me crazy trying to think who he resembled.

I thought he looked a lot like Alan Tudyk.

[LeapDayBaby]

I haven't been to Mood (neither NYC nor LA) but my feeling is the designers can't afford some of those lush fabrics on the budget the producers give them.  This time they had $300 for two outfits ... fabric and notions.

My boyfriend and I (both avid PR fans) made a pilgrimage to Mood during our trip to NYC in October, and I give the designers a lot of credit for finding fabric in Mood that keeps them under budget. Hoo boy, is it expensive in there.

[Julia]

Well, holy cow, it looks like someone's a bit of an ingrate: Anthony Ryan on this episode

 

“It’s like he told you make him nothing. And you made him nothing. Banana Republic I say,” Isaac slams. *SLAP* Look. I understand. As Justin said, “It was what he wanted.” I will be the first to admit I have traveled that road, not once but twice now in trying to please my client. So lets just call it like we see it: his design is nothing but a basic button-up and pants. Alyssa is smart in pointing out that “the construction is beautiful.” And honestly, Isaac Mizrahi must not realize how his current collections are, in his words, “nothing.” Go Google it for yourself.

 

I wonder how he talks about people who didn't fling away their credibility to hand him a career on a plate with a win he didn't earn.

[RealityCowgirl]

Sheesh. Dissing Isaac Mizrahi's current career trajectory doesn't pack much of a punch coming from that particular source.

[SlackerInc]

I thought he looked a lot like Alan Tudyk.

 

Yes!  That's it, thank you.