S01.E03: Teamwork Is Hard

[BW Manilowe]

I'm just not a fan of Samantha's personality and haven't been since episode 1. I feel weird saying that about a kid but there you have it.

I did like her coat though.

My knowledge of the 40s and 60s fashions isn't super-immense, but I do remember a 40's renaissance in the 90's. I remember really liking 40's clothes as a kid. The really feminine silhouettes.

I've never been a 60s fashion woman, ever. Not into bohemian, not into mini skirts, hate all of it.

My long-winded way of seeing that it was really hard for me to see the decades inspiration in any of the collections. These are CHILDREN in 2015 -- couldn't they have been briefed better with magazine clippings, Google Images, Wikipedia, something?! There's no way anyone should expect they have extensive knowledge of the fashion of those decades. Sorry. When they were doing a decades challenge I was thinking great -- 80s, 90s, and 2000s. Even 80s would be pushing it for these kids. I think the show is forgetting that some of these contestants were born in the fucking 2000s! Born! Some of them are probably in the generation AFTER Millennials for christ's sake! If you're going to force them to do a decade they have zero knowledge of, at least educate them significantly. When or how would a 13 year old kid in 2015 be able or willing to learn about 1940's fashion? Can somebody enlighten me? I'm in my 30s and I only extensively learned about 80's music whenever Wikipedia came out. Before that it was just memories of sounds I had but could not name.

Since the designers are teens, I personally wouldn't call them "children", per se, but mileage varies & all that. Also, while they probably wouldn't have gotten specific study in the fashions of the era there, I would think they'd perhaps get at least a basic knowledge of different decades (which should include at least a brief mention of things like fashion, dances, etc., of the period involved) in a little old thing in school--whether they're going to public, private, or home schooling--called *History Class*. I think I did... But I may be misremembering since it's been 30 years since I even graduated from college.

And there's also being interested enough in something (like fashion) to study it on your own, without having someone have to teach it to you in a formal setting. Some of them could be self-taught. And there are all sorts of old (& even relatively new) TV shows & movies (like the Austin Powers movies, set in the '60's) set in periods outside the present day which the designers could've seen & been exposed to fashions of the era through.

With all due respect, I'm not sure you're giving the designers enough credit, or you're perhaps underestimating them/their knowledge.

Edited December 9, 2015 by BW Manilowe

[Ms Blue Jay]

My mother is a fashion designer.  I grew up around fashion shows constantly being shown on our television and magazines all around me at any given point of day.  I absorbed fashion since I was a child.  I was on fashion forums from 2005 to today.  If you asked me about 1930s fashion I would not have extensive knowledge.  I have a passing knowledge of 20s, 50s, 60s and forward.  Can you name the top 5 trends of the 2000s, for example?  What would they be?  I'd say Logos, Bohemian/60s, and.....?  What defines that decade for you?  What are the top trends of the 2010s?  

 

Austin Powers is not the movie of this generation we're talking about.  That was my generation, and I'm the oldest of the Millennium set.  These are the youngest of the Millennium set, how would they know a movie from the mid-90s?  They would barely know what 90's fashion was like -- that's the fashion of their parents.  

 

I think you are far overestimating what they should know.  Austin Powers is one movie that a lot of people their age missed, if not all of them.  You really think fashion is taught in elementary and high school?   Those must be incredibly progressive schools.  I had no such thing taught to me.  I remember one fashion project I had in high school but that was my own choice because it was open-ended.

Edited December 9, 2015 by Ms Blue Jay

[Tara Ariano]

In case you missed it, here's the Previously.TV post on the episode!

 

Project Runway: Junior Decodes Decades
The kids join forces on teams and annoy each other with their fabric choices.

[LBFilmBuff]

I think these kids have a passing knowledge of fashion history through looking at books or websites I would think, particularly after they'd been picked for the show.  Didn't the kids this week look at Simplicity patterns from the era to find inspiration?  I don't think it would be comprehensive but it would be a good starting place, and the finished designs only vaguely matched their assigned decades anyway.

[Knuckles]

Finally got a chance to watch this episode. The 40s team deserved the win. Zachary clearly knows his fashion history, and his outfit was a very modern take on the 40's...cigarette pants and all. Zach's was beautifully done, and though the judges liked Bridgett's red number, it was a little ordinary for my taste...but her fabric was fabulous.

And the 60s...not a single tie-dye, no fringe, no suede, no aged denim, no Indian prints..has Woodstock evaporated from the collective memory? Or, from earlier in the decade...when the team decided "no prints" I was sure they had never seen even an old episode of Laugh-In on Nick at Night. Vibrant, acid colors, hot pinks, yellows, flower prints...No one remembers Mary Quant or Biba? Maya seems to know her stuff...her dress was clearly a 60s influence but the back and the choker neckline made it modern.

Samantha ain't all that. Disliked her dismissing Maya's vest idea and not getting fabric for her design. And then "standing by her design" despite good advice from Tim. The neckline was uneven, the pocket flaps were not well made, and it hung in a baggy fashion...and of course the edges were unfinished. I was waiting for Tim to bring out the dreaded "mumsy".

[snarktini]

I was floored when they said they thought navy and fuchsia represented the 60s. Did they just make that up for the runway story or was that a real guess? Navy wasn't great for any of the 60s mini-eras. Fuchsia would have been better mixed with a different color (or five, considering the period).

 

However, I tend to agree that this is the kind of thing a kid isn't likely know. Maybe if they're obsessed with fashion history or old movies, but overall a kid isn't likely to know iconic color palettes from before their mom was born. 

[Betelnut]

I have to say they my daughter did a project on Coco Chanel in 3rd grade last year so I do not find it inconceivable that kids who are obsessed by fashion (like these Kidd clearly are) would know at least something about the history of fashion.

[AmberDragon]

I was floored when they said they thought navy and fuchsia represented the 60s. Did they just make that up for the runway story or was that a real guess? Navy wasn't great for any of the 60s mini-eras. Fuchsia would have been better mixed with a different color (or five, considering the period).

 

However, I tend to agree that this is the kind of thing a kid isn't likely know. Maybe if they're obsessed with fashion history or old movies, but overall a kid isn't likely to know iconic color palettes from before their mom was born. 

 

You know what I just realized? The age range here is 13 to 17, which means these kids were all born right around 2000, give or take 2 years. That means that if their moms had them at a reasonable age (let's say 20 to make the math easier) and their grandmothers had their moms at about a similar age, then their grandmothers would have been born around 1960, so even their *grandparents* might not have been fully aware of 60s fashion trends.