S14.E05: Gunn And Heid

[PamelaMaeSnap]

For the first time in, I think, ever, my top 3 favorites in order were the judges' top 3 favorites (Edmund, Swapnil and Jake). 

 

While I have nothing to contribute to the extremely insightful discussion here about the mean girls and Ashley, I will quietly whisper that, personalities aside, she is one of my least favorite designers (in other words, having nothing to do with whether I like HER or not or feel for her or whatever) -- I find her designs really unappealing and amateurish.

 

Just my own opinion. But I also thought out of that crop of ugly on the Mean Girls team last night, I thought hers was the ugliest of the ugly. 

 

Not that I'm sorry about Amanda going home (and hopefully Lindsay can follow her out the door along with Joseph). Just that I'm not on the Ashley fan train. 

 

[DrivingSideways]

I thought it was interesting that the bottom 4 was the three black contestants and Ashley.  Laurie and Edmond have been consistently good.  It almost made me think that there were producer shenanigans.  Having said that, even though Ashley has one twice, when she had immunity, wasn't she told she would have been eliminated?  She can be hit or miss and the crying got on my nerves.

 

On the other hand, the white bitches were the worst.  I had liked Candice and especially Kelly before.  I will probably still like them after.  I didn't think Kelly was part of the clique so I was disappointed when she threw Ashley under the bus.  Amanda's was clearly the worst.  Ashley's was also pretty bad, so I didn't have a problem with the judges pointing out it's flaws.  My least favorite is Lindsey.  There is just something so smug and obnoxious about her... starting with her style.  Can't wait to cheer her auf.

 

Laurie has a very condescending and preachy voice... and in this episode, I loved it!  I loved Amanda getting all flustered and Laurie calmly saying, "I'm using the scissors" and then Amanda flouncing out of the room.  Ha!  I had no problem with Laurie preparing Ashley for the bus that was coming her way either.  

[gingerormaryann]

What was so sad and yet fascinating was that Kelly and Candace have crafted visual images of themselves as outsiders yet when the time came, they fell into the cliques, cliches and stereotypes they probably claim to be rebeling against.

 

Very depressing that they reinforced the negative perceptions the media portrays women (or in this case, "girls") in groups as.

[terrymct]

Well, so much for thinking this season might be gloriously free of mean girl s%^t.   That wasn't even high school level, they were working at middle school level.

 

The Boys + Merline deserved to win.  It was great to see actual collaboration.  Every single person on the team contributed well and showed some talent.

 

Blake:  Ok, so he's redeemed himself.  I loved that dress.  Very simple, but it was well made (given the constraints) and the use of color was fabulous.  I loved it.  I also loved his painting across the whole collection.  At the end of the episode he even managed to step out of his affectation and speak a bit of truth to the girls team.  Spot on, dude.

 

Edmond:  I also loved this one.  The bodice made use of the original jumpsuit structure, which was a nice nod to the competition and as the judges pointed out, it saved time.  He deserved the win, although I'd have been happy if Blake or Swapnil won, too.  Great work.

 

Jake:  Nice to see pants.  It was a good outfit, the best I've seen him do really.  Shouldn't have won, but it was good.

 

Joseph:   He's still designed for a Junior League lady in a small southern town, but this was much, much better than his previous outfits.   I liked it.  Not a winner, but good.

 

Merline:  Again, she swung for a home run but didn't quite make it.  It was interesting, though, and a nice outfit.   Good job.

 

Swapnil:  Lovely dress, but the stiffness of the skirt bugged me.  It seemed like it was made of something hard covered in fabric.  I would have been fine with his winning, given the great bodice on the dress, but I'm glad Edmond's beat this one.

 

Now, the Girls:

 

Amanda:  My first thought as this went down the runway was that she was pulling ideas from Blake's awful win last week as inspiration, but turned it into something even worse.  The only thing interesting about this dress was that the purple showed through underneath as the model walked.  Amanda knew she was on greased skids with the judges.  Each week, she's said "Oh, this isn't what I can really do" but after a series of competitions I think she really demonstrated that this IS really what she's capable of.  I'm not sorry to see her go.  Weak designer, too much whining, too much mean girl.  No redeeming features at all, really.

 

Ashley:  I thought this was fine.  Not great, not even particularly good, but fine.  She put some thought into it, it was well done.  Didn't deserve to win, didn't deserve to be the losing outfit.

 

Candice:  This was an abomination.  She's lucky that Amanda had been warned last week about screwing up again.  Every single aspect of this was either ugly or poorly made.  I'm really disappointed in Candice.  She seemed a little more of an adult than some of the other competitors and last week I had her and Swapnil in the running for finalists.  I think she needs to separate herself from the mean girl clique.  She apparently sinks to the level of those around her.

 

Kelly:  OMG, another abomination.  Ugly manifestation of a bad, bad idea.  She is also lucky that Amanda had been warned.   WTF was she thinking?  Also, does she own a frickin hair brush?

 

Laurie:  Another outfit that was fine.  Not great, not particularly good, but fine.  It moves her forward.  I think the shorts/skirt should have been a little bit longer and the top was somehow out of whack.

 

Lindsey:  Dear heavens, what a bore.  The pants and little top didn't fit great and were something that's been available at Kohl's and Macy's for years.  I'm sick to death of her whining.  She thinks she's a great designer, but in every competition somehow can't show us the greatness she imagines she has.   She's the next one on greased skids out the door.

 

I'm happy enough with the winner and loser.  I hope we don't see the mean girl crap next week.

[Heatsja]

I'm ok with Ashley feeling whatever feelings she had. What I could not get over was her inability to move past it, to the point where she whined to the judges about being picked last. Did she actually expect sympathy for that?

 

This.   It was three days later and she was still using that as an excuse.  Get past it, and move on!  It did also seem like she sad-sacked her way through the challenge and was difficult to work with.  The mean girls were awful, but they were also reacting to how unhelpful she was to the team. 

[Nutjob]

I really felt for Ashley. Yes, she needs to toughen up if she's going to go very far in the fashion industry, but I understand her. I was the fat kid, and was bullied pretty mercilessly until high school. Even after I was no longer the fat kid, it took years for me to get to an emotional and mental place where I really was over it all.  She'll get there, but I'm not sure this atmosphere of high pressure and ultra competitive mean girls is the right place to try and spread her wings.

 

That said, man did Candice plummet on down to the bottom of my list after this episode. When they all started naming Ashley's as their least favorite, when it clearly wasn't the worst of the lot (hello, Amanda's maternity tent!), I knew Laurie had been honest and they were ganging up to save themselves. The editors also did show a few quick clips of Ashley trying to get them to focus on a concept and Amanda and Kelly dismissing her in favor of creating their Easter egg explosion "textiles." What a bunch of losers.

 

If Swapnil and Edmond aren't 1 and 2 in this whole thing, I'll be pretty surprised... they seem like the clear frontrunners at this point, at least to me. I adore Swapnil, too. Someone upthread compared him to Dmitry, and I agree wholeheartedly. And those EYES. He is dreamy to look at, to listen to, and his designs are beautiful. Love, love, love.

[Freckledbruh]

This was an interesting episode. I like to call a spade a spade and I don't think the schoolyard pick had anything to do with popularity. Those folks saw the paintball guns and jumpsuits and immediately picked Ashley as a liability because of her weight. The dudes didn't pick her either so I'm not going to let the women take all of the blame for that attitude. Heck, the guys were all shocked that Ashley was kicking butt. That brings me to the narrative that Ashley just shut down and did nothing after being picked last. I don't believe it. She did the best at paintball. She tried to give them good advice when the others wanted to just make textiles and worry about designs the next day which they completely ignored. Also, her final look definitely had more work to it than Amanda's tent that should take only a couple of hours to make. I also can't begrudge her tears when three of her teammates lie through their teeth and say her design is the worst when Amanda has a tent and Kelly has a top that a guest judge doesn't even know how a customer would put it on (and I HATE crying). At least she got a heads up though.

I still dislike Blake. His defense of Ashley aside, I can't get past his racist statement to Swapnil and that stereotypical Peter Pan syndrome. Blech! Also, his flowers cheapened everyone's looks.

I dislike bubble/balloon hems (not as much as peplums but close enough) and yet, I still loved Swapnil's look. I wish he had won but I am fine with Edmond winning as I really liked his look as well. That team has had one of the most cohesive capsule collections on this show and everything looked nice imo.

[slothgirl]

Choosing Amanda seemed very tactical: she's been on the bottom enough that she's really motivated to succeed, but if things go south she's the easy target. The whole Ashley thing: ugh. Lots of foreshadowing ... and I totally get why she would shut down, but as Kelly O said, you have to have a thicker skin to succeed in fashion. Candice did go a little over the top with the "Do I have to design and sew it for you now?" TH, but besides that, was Laurie's secondhand "I heard them talking" the only evidence of the backstabbing plot? (I am not a Blake fan, but cheered when he came out with "You're mean girls!" If only they would take that to heart)

I thought for sure that they were setting up a story-line of her being eliminated and Tim using his save. So at least they fooled me on that one. I also thought maybe they were setting up the guys to crash and burn and the girls to pull off a miracle. I think the blue team would have had a better collection if they had thrown in a few pieces that weren't of that painted textile. Each look was lovely, (except Josephs) but all together, it looked like someone unrolled a bolt of fabric on the runway. It was so matchy-matchy in fabric, I couldn't tell if there was cohesion in the DESIGNS.

 

I was picked last for just about every team thing ever in my youth, even when it was just my friends and I getting together for some weekend fun. It is easy to shut down and withdraw. On the other hand, Merline was picked next to last and she acted maturely in what had to be an awkward situation of not being wanted, working with that jackass Joseph again, and being on an all male team (with it's share of mysogyny) that hadn't wanted her in the first place and was likely to be dismissive of her.

 

Something about the whole Ashley not being chosen thing leads me to wonder if there is far more to the story than we have seen. It wasn't just "mean girls" who didn't pick her... none of the guys picked her either. Why excuse gender bias if that's what it was? Why focus ONLY on the girls being petty for not picking her? Clearly the guys picked their "friends" too, but the girls are the only ones we shame for doing that? Why give the guys a pass and require better behavior from women than men? I'll bet the guys would have thrown Merline under the bus in a heartbeat if they had lost, even though Joseph's outfit was one of the most Fug things up there and that's saying a lot given how bad some of the girl's looks were.

 

But.... here's where I think we are being manipulated... because even when the guys DID have to pick a woman, they STILL didn't pick Ashley. They picked Merline who has been shown to be an irritant to people in the workroom. Candice may have picked Amanda to give her a boost (as she said); she may have had trouble working with Ashley before (suggesting that she would have have to design AND sew the garment for Ashley makes me wonder if Ashley's lack of contribution was an issue before); or she may have wanted to pick cannon fodder. But the fact that no one else picked her either is revealing... it can't ALL be fat bias.

 

We have been manipulated every season by editing to first either hate or love someone, and then reverse course. They gave us Blake the twit and now Blake the hero. They gave us Joseph & Jake the tools and then made them cooperative team players (with other men at least) We have been given Ashley the underdog, but there's a lot of season left and I wonder if there's going to be a major reversal on her, where we find out good reasons why contestants don't like her or don't want to work with her. Personally, I thought her design for this challenge was fug. Candice and Kelly had ideas that had potential but became disasters, but Ashley's wasn't going to get any better with more time. I haven't been all that impressed with her work so far.

 

Agreed. She even commented on the fact they were speaking over each other often.

being stuck on a team who ... wouldn't listen to her during the challenge.

 

It's a shame she took it all so personally, and I imagine it's from long standing habits that she felt singled out by the "over-talking" and not listening. I would have HATED being on that team because that kind of interaction drives me nuts. I've also noticed in many group and professional projects/meetings that women do that more than men. Men (as a generalization) interrupt, but they don't just blithely chatter away with none of them listening to one another. Women (as another generalization) will just ignore the fact that another woman is speaking and start talking and then neither stops talking. It's maddening. But it wasn't personal to Ashley... they were all doing it to each other.

 

 

Can someone explain the paintball challenge? Once someone got shot were they not allowed to get fabric? Could team 2 steal fabric from team 1?

I don't understand how it appeared that the boys team were able to get EVERY bolt of fabric from the drum and came up with a monochrome palette, while the girls were able to get less and somehow ended up with every color in the rainbow. Obviously the fabric collected at the challenge and the stained outfits weren't all that important to use and the boys took advantage of the extra white fabric to create something. Supposedly they used some of the overalls, but it was somehow still only blue, so they must have used Blake's unstained coveralls.

[njbchlover]

Blake redeemed himself a very, very little bit to me, in his defense of Ashley, but I still find him annoying...and intentionally clueless and self-centered, or just totally oblivious.

 

Did anyone catch his "cute" questioning of Swapnil, when Swapnil mentioned a 50's theme, and used Marilyn Monroe as the woman who would wear his dress? Blake turned around and asked one of the other guys if Marilyn Monroe's "time" was the 50's.  Seriously????  

 

Also, his remark in his talking head about "still being 17" irked me, too.

 

Candice disappointed me this episode.  She chose to take on the group leader position, but she didn't friggin' lead or "inspire" (as she mentioned in her talking head)....she just bossed everyone around, to a horrible outcome.  Her talking heads didn't do her any favors or redeem her in any way, either.  I HATE when I hear a designer say they don't know what they're going to do, that the fabric will speak to them and it will be all organic, etc.  I understand adjusting a design or idea because the fabric isn't doing what you envision, but you have to have some inkling of a vision or idea or design to start with.  Yes, occasionally, this method works and we've seen it, but when you have bolts of white fabric, and a bunch of paint/dye balls that you don't know how the fabric is going to end up, that is just a stupid concept.  Also, it's okay to do that when you are standing alone, but not when you are "leading" a team of five other people.  Plus, she really didn't listen to any ideas or discussions that did not meet with her ideas....all of which seemed to fail miserably.

 

I loved Edmund's dress (I would sooo wear that) and Swapnil's was amazing too....in fact, the whole blue team's collection was beautiful, imo, with a clear vision and cohesion that we've rarely seen in a large group challenge before.

[zxy556575]

Ashley can sure go from superiority complex to puddle of tears on a dime. Picking one's friends as teammates is as valid a reason as any, and may even be shrewd if getting along makes you go along.

 

I expected the winning team to get dinged for using basically the same textile on every dress; usually the judges would chide them that a collection needs to be more than just the same color and pattern on every piece.

 

Also thought the bubble dress would be in the bottom for sure -- so droopy and heavy looking! If any bookies are looking to make bank they'd simply need to bet against any of my opinions.

Edited September 4, 2015 by lordonia

[Julia]

Did anyone catch his "cute" questioning of Swapnil, when Swapnil mentioned a 50's theme, and used Marilyn Monroe as the woman who would wear his dress? Blake turned around and asked one of the other guys if Marilyn Monroe's "time" was the 50's.  Seriously????  

 

No, not at all seriously. He claimed last week's abomination was based on Christian Dior's New Look, which was introduced in the late forties. I don't believe his cuddling up to Ashley was at all sincere, but I'm pretty damn sure his I'm a pretty baby schtick is a load of shit.

Edited September 4, 2015 by Julia

[backgroundnoise]

I couldn't tell if there was cohesion in the DESIGNS.

I thought it did for all of them except Joseph's.  The fifties inspiration came through in fullness of the dresses, and in the pedal pushers (anyone remember that term?  No?  I'm old).  Even Blake's more streamlined dress had a 50's-ish neckline.  Not sure where Joseph's cropped jacket came in.

[Primetimer]

A team challenge gets messy thanks to paintball and mean-girling.

Read the story

[auntlada]

I wondered if Ashley's inability to contribute in the meeting (and everyone else's inability to shut up and listen to her) could be because she might have introvert tendencies. I've been reading a lot about introverts and extroverts, and that meeting looked like an introvert with good ideas and good points stuck in a meeting with extroverts who just keep talking.

Also, when they decided the fabric looked like Easter blew up over it, why didn't they just go with an Easter or spring theme, modernize it and make the best of it? It's not a great theme, but it's better than, "Our girl lives in San Francisco."

[izabella]

Once the women's team created all that Easter egg fabric, they should have decided to do a beachy Florida theme, so at least the colors might make a little sense.  A little.  Too bad Amanda, who is from Florida, didn't think of that.  Oh, right, because she couldn't think of anything except how lost she was.  Buh-bye.

[auntlada]

If they had to go with San Francisco (assuming they'd thought of it earlier, which they didn't) they could have at least used some of the Easter egg fabric and said the city's Painted Ladies houses was their inspiration.

[Grundoon59]

"Tim usually saves the 'disadvantaged' one.. ( I beleive he saved Sharkina because she was from dead and decaying Detroit..otherwise...no way)"

Sorry my skills on quoting someone are not great but then I am from dead and decaying Detroit :-). Seriously come visit, we get a bad rap (some deserved but some not). There are lots of good, creative people here - world class jazz festival this weekend. Sometimes we feel like the world is very mean girls on us but unlike Ashley we have had more time to grow a tougher skin.

[RemoteControlFreak]

I agree with this, but again, Ashley was reacting to bad behavior. The Mean Girls initiated bad behavior. Big difference, IMO.

 

Yet Blake didn't choose Ashley, either. Circling back to my first statement, this is why I still consider him a twerp.

I don't see the difference you're talking about.

 

Blake doesn't get a pass for not picking Ashley.  BUT:  1) He didn't pick any girls, so it's hard to say if it's an anti-Ashley bias or an anti-girl bias. 2) I'm not just talking about the team-picking process. I'm also talking about the workroom behavior and the collective bus-throwing-under during judges' panel.

[Broderbits]

As someone who was a seriously overweight child, I initially felt very sorry for Ashley. And I'm sure the producers did everything they could to make her feel worse. But after a 1/2 hour or so I'd had enough. Life is tough, especially on a reality show. Just do your damn work. If she had concentrated on making something fabulous, it would have really shown up the rest of the "team" and she could have smiled all the way through the critique.

 

Didn't love Swapnil's dress, but I totally surrender to his eyes and his voice! Sigh......

Edited September 4, 2015 by Broderbits

[Qoass]

 

This.   It was three days later and she was still using that as an excuse.

 

All I can see in my head is Ashley sitting under bright lights for her talking head while a producer prompts her with, "How does it feel to be picked last?  Do you feel like a loser?  Well, DO YOU??  And now you discover that most of your teams hates you and are going to through you under the bus.  How does THAT feel, huh?  Betcha wanna cry now, don't you?  DON'T YOU?  Why are you crying?"

 

 

[Empress1]

Swapnil's eyes do stand out, but I prefer him without the gray contacts.

Edited September 4, 2015 by Empress1

[Julia]

Didn't each team leader only pick one person, and then each other picked the one after them? 

[Pattycake2]

Before the girls peppered the fabric with all those paint balls, didn't a single one of them think that they could have emptied them by color into containers?  They could have used the paint as is, or blended them to make more complimentary shades.  I bet it was really uncomfortable back at the apartment after the runway. Candace choosing Amanda in order to boost her confidence?  When was that TH filmed and how long did she have to come up with something to justify her actions? My litte protege.  Puleez!

Swapnil's eyes do stand out, but I prefer him without the gray contacts.

 

Damn!  I KNEW they were contacts!  But aren't they blue.  Deep, intense, beckoning blue?

[Freckledbruh]

As someone who was a seriously overweight child, I initially felt very sorry for Ashley. And I'm sure the producers did everything they could to make her feel worse. But after a 1/2 hour or so I'd had enough. Life is tough, especially on a reality show. Just do your damn work. If she had concentrated on making something fabulous, it would have really shown up the rest of the "team" and she could have smiled all the way through the critique.

 

Didn't love Swapnil's dress, but I totally surrender to his eyes and his voice! Sigh......

Ashley did get to work though. She couldn't work on her piece the first day because the team decided to ruin their fabric the first day instead of working on designs. The next day, it looked like she had a game plan for her outfit and started working on it. The only person I saw not working was Amanda. She was going to make a romper first, then she changed her mind and decided to make a top and a long skirt and then she settled on making that tent. I think if the first day hadn't been wasted the Ashley could have made a much better skirt to go with her top.

[Aulty]

I hope thats it with the cringe-worthy episodes for this season. The only good thing that came out of that is that Amanda is finally gone.

 

Ashley disappointed me - the pounding tactic is something that hardly ever works (and I should know because I'm a world class pounder) especially in this setting and its really annoying to watch on tv.

 

It found it very interesting that Candice went around and 'inspired' everyone in the early stages and yabbing about being a born leader in the interviews but the moment they had to face their lack of direction neither she nor anyone else was able (or willing) to take the lead. A clear and focused direction that gives everyone a framework for their design - thats what Swapnil did for the other team with his 50s silhouette and thats what someone on the girl's team should have done after Tim's critique. It called for 'the reverse Gretchen'.

The boys and Merline were lucky that they had someone with a clear vision and that they respect him enough to take direction from him. Without Swapnil and Edmond they would probably have been as lost as the girls.

 

My favourite looks were actually Blake's and Jake's. I liked Swapnils but the skirt kinda looked liked Blake's parachute last week.

 

Edit: They film the bit with where Heidi tells/announces the challenge on runway day and the designing/field trips/Mood spree ususally take place the following day. It was interesting that Ashley was all pissed about the selection process but you really couldn't tell from the bits we saw from the morning before the paint ball game (at the start of the episode). Ah well ...

Edited September 4, 2015 by Aulty

[BananaRama]

Team challenges are the worst and the only reason they exist is to create drama. And I get it, I get sucked into the drama too. But I think we mainly watch the show because we enjoy seeing the designers' creative processes and the end results. I watch the Real Housewives of NYC for my drama fix. With that said, it was really cool seeing the Guys Merline work well together and produce beautiful clothes. It was nearly painful to watch the women's team try to work together.

[Grandma Saracen]

So. That was freaking intense.

TG, always classy w/the tie and the paintball suit.

Joe, the girls are being 'girls'? Ugh. 

 

Aw. Ashley. :(  :(  Thanks for saying something, Heidi. It's awesome that she rocks with the gun. Sad that she's not feeling welcome or into it, I hope that once she starts working she gets in the groove.

The project runway megaphone, I love it.

 

LMAO at Blake hiding.

 

2 days!!

 

Edmond's looks good so far. it's nice that they're working together. Cohesion, but individual aesthetics.

but Easter egg festival is so much worse. I know she's not feeling it, but it seems to me like they could use Ashley's leadership, too. Candice coming on too strong :/  Not liking her group leader personality, as much as I enjoy her on her own.

 

"Jail orange and Barney purple." teehee.

 

You don't see the concept because there is no concept.

 

Oh, Sally Beauty commercial.

 

Amanda is being beastly because she's so upset. Ew. But despite what she says, -they- are *not* bringing her down.

 

Swapnil's top is wonderful.

Joe is never going to be a favorite, but he does have good thoughts about collection cohesion.

 

I'm glad Laurie & Ashley are talking.

Eek, huge purple train is an eyesore.

 

Runway:
Heidi, sticking up for Ashley again at the Runway intro. Yesss.

Blake - fine, not hideous, not exciting.
Joseph - too many ideas.
Swapnil - I love it, flowy, not too much. Don't love the bit of fabric on the side. Oooh, the shoe detail was really cool!
Jake - cute, actually. I like the collar and the capelet.
Merline - I'm not into big patterning, and don't love the draping, but it's ok.
Edmond - adorable shape, still don't love the chunky flowers on top.

Ashley - I'm not a ruffles girl, but she did what she could.
Laurie - cute culottes, I like the vest well enough.
Lindsey - the orange is nasty looking, the halter is pretty ugly. pants are a weird length.
Candice - the skirt looks tortured, the top is ugly.
Kelly - I see what she was going for, but it wasn't successful.
Amanda - i like that she went for drama, that orange is rough, though.

Boys + Merline, obviously winners, duh.

Oooh, that's gonna be a tense green room. Look how they're sitting. Veeery interesting.

Boys & Merline did collaborate!
Gah. Aube is gorgeous.
Sophisticated and polished? May be a bit of a reach. Kelly O.'s commentary made me smile.

Girls - Laurie speaking up, very, very nice. Class act.
Candice, you're digging yourself in a big hole, talking about your 'woman from San Francisco'. Staaahp.
Joyless, yes. The nails the most cohesive part. Heehee.

Fuck, ladies, I hate that you're doing this. Amanda, you're in no place to speak. It is a bitchfest, thank you for speaking up, Kelly O. <3  Was Ashley's piece stunning? No, but neither were most of the others.

 

Blake, calling them mean girls, is his one shining moment. So glad Ashley's speaking her mind.

 

Judging - Edmond's is lovely up close, glad he won. Most polished :) Swapnil is the king of details. Jake's was clever.

Barney inspiration, heh. What is this?! Too bad it seems as though Amanda will be here another week? Oh, no, good, they're ragging on her. Deadweight. Yes. 
They've been questioning Kelly's taste the whole time. 'Mermaid raving skirt'.

Heidi, rubbing it in 'til the end. Laurie, Lindsey, & Ashley in. Good - Lindsey was clearly uncomfortable with the mean girl politics. Buh-bye Amanda. Candice burned some bridges for you, and it was clearly not worth it. Not solely your fault? Girl, bye. Also, your own outfit is the suck.

[sleepyjean]

A clear and focused direction that gives everyone a framework for their design - thats what Swapnil did for the other team with his 50s silhouette

I was afraid for a minute they were going to go 70s, or worse, combine 50s and 70s. That would have been some typical PR team challenge fug.

[greenbean]

I've no idea why Candice hitched herself to Amanda, who was thoroughly negative and useless throughout the challenge. Whether she got on with Ashley or not, is irrelevant. Ashley has been in the top, pick her! This is a competition.
 
The way Amanda snapped at Laurie, just because she didn't get handed the scissors, says it all. It was she who had the foul attitude, plus no self-awareness. Glad she's gone home.
 

The Boys + Merline. How awesome is that name for a fashion line?

Yes! Or Merline and the Boys could be a group.

Edited September 4, 2015 by greenbean

[anonymiss]

LOL it's not a coincidence Blake left the craft corner flowers off his design only. His dress was second only to Edmund's for me.

 

For a special little snowflake who's eternally 17, he showed the most maturity and courage in standing up to the Mean Girls on behalf of Ashley. And I did think it was cute when he avoided getting hit in the paintball game. I knew there was a reason I didn't hate him! He's not malicious in his shtick and has some skill.

 

I'm glad I've never been impressed by Candice or I would've been disappointed in her. Speaking of unimpressive, why wasn't Lindsay's latest granny garb up for consideration as The Worst? She should be nowhere near anything to do with fashion. 

Edited September 4, 2015 by anonymiss

[Midnight Cheese]

The best/worst part of the episode for me was dopey, deluded Amanda saying in her fake lil' mouse voice, "I'm soo sorry, but Ashley's to me was the worst..." in that patented 'twentysomething woman thinks she's much cuter than she is' manner...as the actually chic Nina Garcia whipped her head and stared incredulously at Kelly Osborne.  Amanda, let me translate: that is fashion editrix for "NOPE!"  See ya Amanda!  You seem to have nothing to offer literally at all in terms of design, I'm soo sorry to write. /winks cutely.

 

I do hope Ashley toughens up but I think the comments about why she may have taken it so to heart are very insightful.  I like Laurie, I like Merline and think she could have some interesting work to show.  I think Joseph and Kelly have the least to offer right now - well, several others too, but I'd love Joseph and his unwarranted arrogance to get auf'ed next. 

 

Edmond's gown was kind of joyous in a weird way.  I like him, and I like Swapnil, so I'm glad one of them took it home.

[Oholibamah]

Sorry designers, but a little paintball is a small price to pay, because FASHION is PAIN!  *LOL*

 

Laurie is a gossipy little back-stabbing bitch.  Straight up.  And Ashley & her last pick status, and "I'm so done" drama was just pathetic.  She was just waiting for a chance to scream "Bullies!", and as soon as she didn't get her way and didn't have her ass kissed, the persecution complex came out and she got combative.  Yes, she won 1 challenge on her own, but SHARED the 2nd win with Candice.  You didn't get both solo, sweetie.  Step off and get a grip.  

 

For the ladies, their clothes all matched Kelly Osbourne's hair.  And if they didn't want Candice to lead, then they should have FREAKIN.SAID. SOMETHING.  Candice took the lead because nobody else stepped up.  

 

 

If I heard 3 people basically colluding to call out one of my teammates as the "worst" on the runway, I would say something, too. It's one thing for people to decide individually that Ashley's was the worst (it wasn't), but Candice/Lindsey/Amanda were basically preparing themselves to throw Ashley under the bus. That is seriously fucked up, and Ashley deserves a chance to prepare herself for that.

 

Candice took the lead because she's a micro-manager. She didn't provide direction, she didn't suggest themes or reference points, she didn't come up with a cohesive color story or inspiration, and it certainly didn't look like she was soliciting all of her teammates for an opinion. All we saw Candice doing as the viewer is trying to insert herself into people's design processes. I like Candice, but I don't think she was a strong leader this week.

 

I can understand on some level that Ashley was hurt at getting picked last.  I mean, I'm sure it brought back school yard memories of being picked last for some sports thing or something.  But I am surprised that she didn't take a moment and figure out that personal popularity with the other contestants isn't going to win her anything on this show and she should have just seen it as a challenge to get in there and make the best garment she could.   In some ways she was perfectly positioned to come out a "winner" even if she started out feeling like a loser because she ended up on the team that she has to have known had weaker designers on it than she is.  

 

If I were in Ashley's shoes, I wouldn't cry or be personally offended, but I wouldn't necessarily feel empowered or welcome to offer my opinions or suggestions as confidently as I usually would. Some may say this is irrational, but when people are already talking over one another and not soliciting me for an opinion, I can see how not actually being chosen would compound into feeling like I'm not wanted there at all.

 

Ashley seemed to be the only person on that team who understood that there needs to be a collective launching point for the collection, which is sad because that is not only Project Runway 101, but Designing a Collection 101. I am disappointed, because the first 4 episodes showed such a beautiful harmony and lack of drama among the women that was wonderful to see. But this week it all came crashing down. Was Ashley overreacting? Of course, but there was some definite Mean Girl clique behavior going on, and it was uncomfortable to watch.

 

ETA: Amanda is one of the worst designers to ever make it through 4 episodes, let alone onto the show at all. I wish we'd kept Gabrielle instead. Good riddance.

Edited September 4, 2015 by Oholibamah

[Misslindsey]

 

Ashley did get to work though. She couldn't work on her piece the first day because the team decided to ruin their fabric the first day instead of working on designs. The next day, it looked like she had a game plan for her outfit and started working on it. The only person I saw not working was Amanda. She was going to make a romper first, then she changed her mind and decided to make a top and a long skirt and then she settled on making that tent. I think if the first day hadn't been wasted the Ashley could have made a much better skirt to go with her top.

Wasn't Ashley initially making pants to go with the top that she made? I thought she mentioned that she did not like the fit or something and that is why she scrapped them in favor of the skirt. I got the impression she was not wild about the circle skirt, but needed some bottoms for her top. 

[Freckledbruh]

Is this "grin and bear it" thing based on stereotypes of big people being sweet and jolly? I don't like crying but she handled it way better than I would have because I would cussed them all of the way out. There would be people running out of their apartments thinking there was a fire due to all of the beeps Lifetime would have had to use. Yeah she felt bad but she still did the work and did more work than at least two of her teammates. Alls I know is that I would be paying those women dust for the rest of the competition.

[sinkwriter]

 

And I did think it was cute when he avoided getting hit in the paintball game.

 

I appreciated Blake standing up for Ashley, but I didn't think it was cute that he avoided getting hit during the paintball game. Mainly because they all needed to be running to get fabric! With Blake doing nothing and hiding from getting hit, they were down one team member and thus losing opportunities to grab as much of the fabric they wanted as possible. Luckily the rest of them dove in and took the hits anyway and got what they needed, but he risked causing problems for his team by not participating at all.

[potatoradio]

Jeez Louise, all that crying and dramarama and BS leads up to nothing but clearing more cannon fodder. Couldn't the elimination have had a bit more of a payoff, like say, Candice or Kelly auffed because of their atrocious designs?

 

Uh, Candice, no you did NOT need to sew or design for Ashley. You did, however, as the self-appointed "leader", need to acknowledge her perspective and suggestions, even if you think you don't need to listen to them because they're not one of the cool kids. Leaders understand how to get beyond high school BS.

 

I'd have completely shut myself off in Ashley's position, too, not because of being picked last, but because clearly the cool kids wanted to just "hang" and "create" and "be cool" and not take any direction or suggestions from someone who can't sit at their lunch table. I've been in countless situations when I'm 99.99% sure I'm right about something, but because I'm not one of the "right" people, my ideas are not popular or do not stroke the correct egos and therefore, are rejected. When that sh*t happens, and the process becomes more about politics than the product, I tend to get pissy and withdrawn, too. So, suck it, mean girls, you were wrong, you failed, you really stunk up the challenge.

 

And I will never understand the appeal of a crop top for anything other than working out or a dance video. That trend can die now, please.

[meep.meep]

I had a very emotional response to Edmonds dress. It was just so joyous! Intellectually, I could see that Swapnil's was very, very good and slightly more sophisticated in design but I was just drawn to Edmund's. I thought it hit a perfect note.

I know!  You can see Grace Kelly gliding about in Edmond's dress.  They showed one shot of it before the runway, and I said Wowza!

 

Lots has  been said but I still don't understand how Candace, as someone who lives in the San Francisco Bay Area, could get up there and say that their "girl" was from San Francisco.  The "girl" would freeze!  It rarely gets over 70 degrees and everything they made was sleeveless and flimsy!

 

I don't mind them calling it the "Girls Team" because they called the other one "The Boys and Merline."  Usually it's the "men" versus the "girls."

[Ms Blue Jay]

Laurie (and Swapnil and Edmond) is my beautiful favourite, for her beautiful face, personality, and designs.  I just love her.

 

I'm liking Blake more with every episode.  

 

NO to Kelly Osborne.  

 

Amanda is finally gone.  If that didn't happen, I would have barfed Kool-Aid everywhere.  Thank the heavens!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Merline always has some super interesting ideas.  Once she nails the execution I think she could be pretty amazing.  Did we not see Joseph try to bully her all episode?

[theatremouse]

The schoolyard pick was pretty weird...I thought, like Ashley, that Candace would have picked her! They worked well together the last time, and knowing it was a TEAM challenge, why would you take the bottom-dwelling Amanda if you didn't have to??

When Candace in her TH said she thought she could "uplift" Amanda, or whatever, what I heard was: If this team thing goes south, I know I can do better than she will, so if we lose, she'll lose, and I'll be safe, but I think I'm a savvy TV contestant and don't want to look like a total bitch, so I will say this thing that sounds like I want to mentor her, and no one will be the wiser. Plus or minus villain-hand-triangle.

I also assume that Ashley may not really have been so tortured by the whole "last" thing the whole time. I'm assuming the TH's were all recorded later, and as is normal, all responses to producer questions. So probably, when it initially happened she was maybe surprised and a little offended, and then once the team started not listening and talking over each other and wanting to wing it and showing no cohesion, she was unhappy because of that, and then once Laurie told her they were planning to blame everything on her, then maybe the combination of all of those things: the lastness and the collusion to oust her that's when she really got upset. The interview pressing it to the forefront of her mind could've been right before or right after the runway (or a little of both). By which I mean, I sort of give her a pass for being upset then because it's one thing to get warning "they're trying to tank you" and then sure enough it happens, and Heidi had already been pushing the WTF on that subject from earlier too.

I think if it were me in that scenario, it's sort of different if you have that little voice in your head that might say "I'm doing so well why would I be last" and then move on, but when everyone's constantly asking you about it, it can become bigger than it would've otherwise.

It was a little weird she seemed surprised she's on her own in the competition, and the only way I can comprehend that is maybe, if you've seen the show ever, you go in knowing that, but then maybe you get there and people act like they're trying to make friends and seem more collaborative, so you think "oh this is a bonding experience", and then it suddenly switches around to nope, every man for himself, even if you expected that up front, the turnaround (coupled with the inherent stress of how being on that show works) can easily make anyone more emotional than they normally would be in regular life.

[AuntieDiane6]

 

HOWEVER, this doesn't mean that the bitchy mean-girl trio gets a pass.  No, no, no, no, no.  Their behavior was abhorrent and made worse by the fact that the three designers left standing in the team picking process were all women and included the fat girl and the two African American woman.

 

True.  But it's ALSO very SEXIST for us to not call out any of the MEN for not picking Ashley … SWAPNIL picked JOSEPH -- aka "Golden Girls" designer.  Even JOSEPH was surprised to be picked THIRD!!  

 

At the same time, I think CANDACE was smart to pick Amanda.  Be picking a designer who's clearly not a judge favorite (and a lousy designer to boot), you increase your OWN chances of being saved.  And by not picking a tough competitor, you eliminate a competitor who has a good chance of winning OVER YOU.

[backgroundnoise]

I'm liking Blake more with every episode.

I'm not.  Along with what sinkwriter said about his non-participation possibly resulting in giving his team fewer materials to work with, I thought it was foolish of him to give his teammates the perfect reason to name him as the weakest link should they end up in the bottom.  I normally don't think the judge's care one iota who the designers name as the one to go, but this might have been a reason they'd respect.  But it ended up being completely irrelevant, so nothing came of it. 

[joanne3482]

I think they could have used the jail orange in a much better fashion than the barney purple. I thought some of the painted fabric actually looked like a sunset and had they seen that, they could have gone with that kind of theme.  Adding the orange in would have made it more sunsetty. 

[Nutjob]

 

Lots has  been said but I still don't understand how Candace, as someone who lives in the San Francisco Bay Area, could get up there and say that their "girl" was from San Francisco.  The "girl" would freeze!  It rarely gets over 70 degrees and everything they made was sleeveless and flimsy!

SERIOUSLY. Not to mention that San Franciscans don't typically swan about in Easter egg colors. Even tie die in the 60's was more primary, and SF residents now are all about neutrals for the most part.

[seacliffsal]

This episode was full of "what?" moments for me. I am glad that Amand is gone. So tired of her special snowflake status which she has probably cultivated and expected her entire life. The entitlement with which she went after the scissors that Laurie had was amazing. She is probably pretty used to getting what she wants and can't believe that she had to wait for something she wanted RIGHT NOW! Even the fact that she got back on Project Runway after getting eliminated first the last time she was on just reinforced the idea that whatever she wanted she would get. And the whole 'it's not my fault' syndrome can go away now.

I really didn't like Candice-her self selected leadership is what actually sank the team. Even her BFFs were having a hard time with her taking over their designs. I think that Candice chose people she thought she could beat and dominate and really thought she could lead them to a victory once the fabric spoke to them.

Loved the other team. Loved that they even used the shoes from the JustFab wall so thoughtfully.

[Calamity Jane]

Hell Yeah If I see the pecking pack sharpening the knife I'm going to say something.like Laurie did.  It's great to take the high road but not in a knife fight.  So glad Blake went for it.  I notice he lost his simpering lil'boy schtick when he did it.  I hope he finds his true voice out of it and starts to grow up.  He's got a lot of sophistication of design for a farm boy and he should be proud.  I think he's intimidated being young and in New York..thus his "'I'm so special" swish act.  I think we'll see a change in him.

 

..  

After this week, I so agree that Blake is putting up a front because of youth and being a bit overwhelmed. I didn't get that read on him until this week.  He's starting to pull me in, so help me. 

[Archery]

I was done with Ashley's "poor me -- I got picked last" schtick by the first commercial break. Someone gets picked last in a schoolyard pick. The fact that she shut down immediately is on her. Yes, she's won twice, but she's also gotten Heidi's patented "You are lucky you had immunity today 'cuz otherwise, you'd be gone," speech for that Fred Flintstone cape thing. You got picked last and you're embarrassed; fine, now suck it up and design.

That doesn't excuse the mean-girl squad, though. When will these people learn that the correct answer to "who should go home?" is not some reason based on personality or work ethic, but "x outfit is my least favorite."

I want to like Kelly, because she's my home girl and up until now has been kind of sweet. But I just can't behind her fashion. I do like Laurie -- and ftr, giving someone the heads up that she's about to get thrown under the bus is the very opposite of gossip.

Love, love, love Edmond's gown. Just needed a side pocket.

[Calamity Jane]

So, teachers learn how recycle and reuse anything they can, even year to year.  So it occurred to me that perhaps this season is "clear out the closet" time for the show - haul out all the bolts of leftover fabrics from previous seasons and force this year's competitors to help use them up.  They've been to Mood how many times?  Once?  Something hinky going on here. 

[KLovestoShop]

All the designs on the women's team looked like they came from a middle school home ec class.  They were so poorly put together that I think a blind monkey could do better.  Nothing, absolutely nothing, looked finished or nicely sewn.  I have no idea what they were trying to prove, but I don't think anything was worth my time in watching.  They should have dumped two designers instead of just Amanda.

 

LOVED every design by Merline and the Boys.  Their colors and painting on fabric was so beautiful.  Again, Swapnil was hosed and should have been the winner.  But two thumbs up to Blake for sticking up for Ashley.  Never expected that from him.

 

Now, as for Ashley, I can identify with her in many ways.  I had polio at age 2, and was picked on badly in elementary school because I wore braces on my legs.  Of course, I was never able to run or bike or play sports of any kind, despite the fact that my teachers tried in vain to get me involved.  But no one ever wanted me on their teams because I couldn't run.  Things like that, at such an early age, scars you for life.  Unless you've been through something like that, you have no idea how horrible it feels.  It doesn't matter if the reason is you're overweight or disabled, it cuts like a knife and that knife stays in you all your life.  I learned that success in whatever you want to do is the best revenge, so that's exactly what I've done with my life.  I've had it better than 90% of my former classmates, and I don't feel bad about that in any way.  

[Freckledbruh]

 

True.  But it's ALSO very SEXIST for us to not call out any of the MEN for not picking Ashley … SWAPNIL picked JOSEPH -- aka "Golden Girls" designer.  Even JOSEPH was surprised to be picked THIRD!!

I'm not.  Along with what sinkwriter said about his non-participation possibly resulting in giving his team fewer materials to work with, I thought it was foolish of him to give his teammates the perfect reason to name him as the weakest link should they end up in the bottom.  I normally don't think the judge's care one iota who the designers name as the one to go, but this might have been a reason they'd respect.  But it ended up being completely irrelevant, so nothing came of it. 

I think it is a bit sexist too.  

 

Sorry I messed up the quote boxes.  This post is regarding the second one.  I think the contestants' choices of bottom are used to determine if there are any shenanigans going on.  When the three designers picked Ashley when it was quite clear that hers was no worse than the others, she was safe.  Heck, I was surprised Nina didn't let out a "Lies!" because she certainly looked like she wanted to say it.

 

I think they could have used the jail orange in a much better fashion than the barney purple. I thought some of the painted fabric actually looked like a sunset and had they seen that, they could have gone with that kind of theme.  Adding the orange in would have made it more sunsetty. 

For some reason, orange has been an on trend color for about two years so I agree that the orange might have been a better choice for them.

[backgroundnoise]

Can you imagine if they'd gone into Mood in their wet paint-splattered jumpsuits?  Hee.  Mood staff would have had a freak-out.

Edited September 4, 2015 by backgroundnoise