S15.E06: There's No “I” in “Team”

[auntlada]

9 minutes ago, pasdetrois said:

But I'll take that over the nasty brutish fights of earlier seasons.

Particularly since they were never short.

[dolphincorn]

I just thought of something while watching the episode a second time. Team Button Bag claimed that their price points would be $100-$300. Except for the horrible tube dress, nothing in that collection would be near those prices. The judges can't claim that Alex blew the pitch while praising the team who failed to deliver products that could be sold for the prices agreed upon in the pitch.

[Mumbles]

On 10/13/2016 at 10:50 PM, mauras said:

I desperately needed Santino to come along and start singing "Lighten Up, It's Just Fashion."

Lol, while dancing around Andre.

On 10/14/2016 at 10:11 AM, PaulaO said:

 

When I saw the title of the show (There Is No I in Team) (but there is a ME) I was scared it would be Wretchen all over again.  How refreshing that the designers got along.  No drama was needed.  

 

Same here. I had flashbacks of other drama-ramas (the aforementioned and wonderfully named Wretchen, the "mean girls" against Ashley last year - which I now suspect was edited in Ashley's favor, "You can cry and you can cut, but you have to cry and cut" - which I admit I laughed at, Ken's freak out at Alexandria, etc.). But these designers all seem fairly mature and likeable. It was more "Great British Bakeoff" than usual American reality shows.

[Jobiska]

I'm even further from "mauve" than some of you--I see absolutely no pink, not "mid-century Bandaid" (no matter how much I love that description), no "pinky-beige," etc.  I am in total agreement with the recappers:  " THAT SHIT BEIGE."  If I saw even a hint of pink, I'd suspend disbelief and think maybe, just maybe, it was my TV screen and the lights of the show and that maybe it looked mauve.  To me, there is nothing in any of the color families/descriptors that make up mauve, other than shade (light rather than dark--if dark, it'd be taupe or tan!)

[shksabelle]

Good God, Team Unity,  it's not like Heidi was asking you to male Sophie's choice.

[mansonlamps]

Who was that fetus of a judge?  I've never heard of her in either her acting or singing roles, although I've seen a lot worse judging, so I guess it doesn't matter.

I'm choosing to give Cornelius the benefit of the doubt on the "what's his name" thing.  He could have had a momentary lapse after all and  said Mah Jing directly afterward and the editors cut it to create drama.  My mom was always calling us "what's your name" and I don't think she was passive aggressively dissing us or being racist or whatever the implication of all the comments.

I 100% thought we'd see a Tim Gunn save and was shocked to see that Alex was 30 years old.  The others talked about him, and he talked about himself, like he was a middle aged man.  Sheesh, I hate to think of how the young people at work think of me.

[sourpickles]

I don't mind the organic drama that inevitably comes with placing sixteen (or fourteen/twelve/ten, etc.) very disparate people in a small space under bizarre circumstances. Paraphrasing Christian from the last season of Ink Master "you could put me in a loft with 12 priests and after six weeks I'd be fighting someone". I get it. And I understand that casting revolves around getting those opposite types to create even more drama. What I cannot stand is the manufactured bs that involves whining, screaming, and random accusations that make no sense, just because. Most these people are not the greatest actors. Then that portion of the episode is just that and nothing the show is actually supposed to be about. THAT I hate. Always have, I'll watch Real Housewives or something for that crap. Everyone isn't going to be loving and classy and respectful all the time,either, cause that would be boring and screw up the edits ;). Anywho. As for the team collections, I'll keep it short (coming from me!). I watched it thinking it was all ok, if a little safe and been there, done that.

Then the next day, I felt all Lara Croft.."I woke up this morning and I just hated everything"!

[Broderbits]

1 hour ago, sourpickles said:

What I cannot stand is the manufactured bs that involves whining, screaming, and random accusations that make no sense, just because. Most these people are not the greatest actors. Then that portion of the episode is just that and nothing the show is actually supposed to be about.

Except that I think the intent of this show was never to find "the next great designer" but to create the next great reality show. Any fashion created is just a by-product. And that's too bad because over the years there have been some amazingly talented people (besides the winners) involved in this crapfest, and I can only hope that being on tv has helped their careers.

[carrps]

9 hours ago, Mabinogia said:

I do think Alex was the wrong choice. I actually liked his dress. It wasn't a work dress but it was interesting for a basic strapless column dress. 

But it was so poorly made. The back was a disaster. Total mess.

8 hours ago, pasdetrois said:

I guess when the judges are desperate to see something that hasn't been done to death already, they salivate and laud it as fashion (the poorly executed Bedazzling and the chrome yellow). But if that's true, why did they hate the beige dress with the textured insert?

Heh, I just finished a book by Aldous Huxley called Crome [sic] Yellow (it was his first). I should have used that description!

Edited October 16, 2016 by carrps

[mansonlamps]

While I liked Alex, I really, really hated his dress.  I do believe he has something to offer, but he missed the mark completely on his own pitch.

[Mackey]

Some have said that it's too early for a Tim Gunn save. In my opinion it makes most sense now. In the first couple of weeks, Tim wouldn't know enough about how able the contestants are. Later, the very weak would be weeded out and saves wouldn't be as needed. I think this is about the peak time for the judges to be particularly blunderistic and to be saved from their silliness. 

I didn't understand the judges dissing the Unity for diverging from their pitch. The judges dissed the pitch. Tim gave them criticism. Were they told that they weren't allowed to change their plan? I've been watching this show for all the bazillion episodes and people change plans 20 minutes before runway. I expected the judges to say, "way to change from your pitch. Yay."

Regarding the embellishments: I shop at cheap stores and sometimes I find something I really like and durn it, it's got crap on it--little beads or other goofy glittery stuff, so I can't buy it if I can't be sure that I will be able to easily pull the threads and get that stuff off.

[Blissfool]

On 10/14/2016 at 6:19 AM, Maya said:

I'm fine with Alex going. He seemed nice and competent, but I don't remember one thing he's designed so far. 

Surely, you remember the Little House on the Prairie swimsuit coverup.

On 10/14/2016 at 3:02 PM, carrps said:

Suspenders. Suspenders? Suspenders! I'm still laughing. As has been said, bless his heart.

Brick is lucky his name was chosen out of the button bag, otherwise he would have been embarrassed to be the last one chosen for a team.

11 hours ago, Jobiska said:

I'm even further from "mauve" than some of you--I see absolutely no pink, not "mid-century Bandaid" (no matter how much I love that description), no "pinky-beige," etc.  I am in total agreement with the recappers:  " THAT SHIT BEIGE."  If I saw even a hint of pink, I'd suspend disbelief and think maybe, just maybe, it was my TV screen and the lights of the show and that maybe it looked mauve.  To me, there is nothing in any of the color families/descriptors that make up mauve, other than shade (light rather than dark--if dark, it'd be taupe or tan!)

I'm with you. Not a hint of pink whatsoever. 

[halkatla]

I liked the losing team more, but there were good things going on with both. If the yellow team had lost, I feel like we would have seen either Jenni and Brik go home, which would have been fair.

Some talented people have been getting auf´d for the last 3 weeks, some who had been doing very well up until they made this one mistake. Brik shouldn´t be there still, neither should Jenni and I don´t like Tasha either, the judges like her clothes but I have never seen anything remotely wearable by her. I´m quite sad how this season is turning out, they had such a great start but the worst designers are all still there, so it´s not what it could have been.

[Beamish]

Not a fan of any of the designs. They were either way too safe or just plain ugly.

Erin and the yellow: while I applaud somebody finally using something other than black and white on this show, the yellow is wearing thin. She's used blue and orange also, so she can use something other than yellow. Let's hope she does. The yellow coat was ok. The Crayola flesh colored fabric was hideous and the embellishments on all of their looks were just ridiculous. Looked like last minute tack-ons instead of being integrated in a professional way.

I knew Alex's team was doomed when they decided to go with a darker palate. Heidi likes things more colorful. Every designer should know that after 14 seasons.

Runway drama: nice to see several of the designers not 'name names'. I usually find that to be really irritating, but in this instance, because they all got along so well, it was just cruel. I'm sure it was probably a lot worse than what we saw.

Alex leaving: I liked him, him had good ideas, and seems to keep things together in the workroom, playing Tim Jr. mentor. Maybe that's why he got the boot: without him to be 'dad', maybe the other designers will start to fight more often, giving the producers exactly what they want. I just hope the model in the 'losing look' isn't gone as well. She is not Alex's 'signature model'. She has walked for other designers besides him, so I hope she stays. Love her look.

Edited October 16, 2016 by Beamish

[DEL901]

On ‎2016‎-‎10‎-‎14 at 7:09 PM, Canada said:

As soon as I saw that big yellow monstrosity that Erin made, I knew the judges would love it and her team would win.  That thing was hideous.

I felt bad for Alex and his team.  With much less money than the other team, I thought they did a better job than the other team.

 

On ‎2016‎-‎10‎-‎15 at 2:02 AM, Glade said:

I thought the other team should have won. The buttons had so much horrible, garish crap, including that incredibly oversized yellow coat. Neither of the collections were anything spectacular, though.

 

This s why I think Alex was the right one to go home.  I like him and hoped he would go far, but the team lost because they described their collection as work wear.  It cost them in the budget and it cost them the win.  If Alex was going to lead, he should have kept reminding them about how the described the collection, but he couldn't even remember that with his own dress.  Strapless metallic to the office.  Nope.

[ratgirlagogo]

On 10/13/2016 at 11:25 PM, dbell1 said:

Why are tacky sequined pieces scattered on a garment now considered high fashion on this show?  If that's on trend, then my mother's senior center will be holding fashion week soon. QVC reference, it's Quacker Factory!!!

I don't get this at all and it's not the first time the judges have praised designers for using them.  The absolute WORST thing any judge can say about a garment on this show is not "that looks boring" or "that looks ugly" but "THAT LOOKS CHEAP" - and nothing but nothing screams Dollar Store Garment to me more than machine embroidery, beading, and appliques - yet here again the designers get raves for sewing on garbagey machine sequin paisleys.  WTF?

Edited October 16, 2016 by ratgirlagogo

[NYCNJbear06]

I really hate the "who on your team should be sent home" question on competition reality shows.  It is blatantly engineered by the producers and judges to cause drama especially in team challenges.  

Once the contestants know it is a team challenge I am waiting for someone to be smart enough to know that the question will ultimately come up and be prepared as a team to answer it.   If everyone committed to answer that question with themselves then that will diffuse the question.  Of course this would only work if the ENTIRE team agreed collectively that they stand behind not only the collection but each of their fellow team mates.  That would have cut down on the dramatic tear fest that was annoying to watch.  

Edited October 17, 2016 by NYCNJbear06

[CousinOliver]

1 hour ago, NYCNJbear06 said:

I really hate the "who on your team should be sent home" question on competition reality shows.  It is blatantly engineered by the producers and judges to cause drama especially in team challenges.  

Once the contestants know it is a team challenge I am waiting for someone to be smart enough to know that the question will ultimately come up and be prepared as a team to answer it.   If everyone committed to answer that question with themselves then that will diffuse the question.  Of course this would only work if the ENTIRE team agreed collectively that they stand behind not only the collection but each of their fellow team mates.  That would have cut down on the dramatic tear fest that was annoying to watch.  

I wonder the same, since they're clearly familiar with PR and its ways. 

But, I also wonder if the ego is such that they really can't imagine being on the losing team?  Mind you, with the ridiculous embellishments and Big Bird's winter coat on Button Bag team, I can see where the losing team wouldn't have considered the possibility. 

Edited October 17, 2016 by CousinOliver

[akroll16]

I didn't see this posted but I didn't think they we saying "mauve" I thought that were saying "mo" like mohair which is a fabric that looks a little like fur. Just my two cents. 

[Feline Queen]

On 10/14/2016 at 8:51 AM, NYCNJbear06 said:

I was sorry to see Alex go but glad that he went out in a respectful and classy way. Way to step up and accept responsibility very adult for a reality show – shocking.  I can even forgive the issue he has with names. A poster above mentioned that Alex sharing his Tim Gunn story before leaving may have been a last ditch attempt to get the TG save. Although it could have been I didn’t see it as that. I saw it as Alex feeling this may be the last time I get to speak to Tim and him wanting to share with him the impact his initial meeting has had on his life.  I got the impression it came from a genuine place.   I also think we will see Alex again on an All-Star season. I think his classy exit left a good impression on Tim and the Judges so I can see them inviting him back.

 

The more appropriate time to have mentioned his previous encounter with Tim would've been when he first arrived. Waiting until he was auffed made it come across as a desperate ploy to get Tim to use the TG save and therefore more than a little insincere. 

Cornelius thinks his commentary about everything and everyone is witty and necessary, when it's neither. I hope he's auffed soon because I'm tired of reaching for the remote to mute the sound every time he's making a bitchy comment.  

[Cyranetta]

Ran across a fashion designer abbreviated overview for Springs 2017 here. Lo and behold, there's that vivid yellow and "un-mauve" in the first image.

[sleepyjean]

Quote

I didn't see this posted but I didn't think they we saying "mauve" I thought that were saying "mo" like mohair which is a fabric that looks a little like fur. Just my two cents.

 

No they were definitely saying mauve. Two of them said they chose their two favorite colors to go together, yellow and mauve.

Just think how ugly that coat would've been if that had been mauve.

Edited October 19, 2016 by sleepyjean

[LurkerNan]

Alex was robbed. His pitch was more professional than the other team, yet his team was awarded a fraction of the money to build their looks. This was a completely subjective decision made to hobble the stronger team by the judges, who I think really disliked Team Unity on a personal level.

[izabella]

I thought the judges' decision to give the button bag team more money was very much in line with how they judge most of the time.  Nina, especially, hates to be bored, and Alex's team sounded super boring to me (ordinary work clothes that already exist in the market).  The other team had more creative ideas about what they wanted to do, and they always choose creative over boring (even if it looks like ass).

[Wandering Snark]

On 10/14/2016 at 0:31 PM, meep.meep said:

Regarding the yellow coat - years ago, I found a bright Kelly green velveteen blazer in a closet, and being thrifty, wore it.  It turned into my signature piece.  I have never received so many compliments as I did on that jacket.  People do like color, and they like seeing other people wearing color.  Kelly green is not that different from Sunny yellow.

I think that Heidi has an ensemble you might be interested in, along with great green boots! Heh.

But yeah the three things that stand out for me are that duct tape dress that thankfully people here called out and Heidi's makeup consultant going bat shit crazy with the bronzer. It was so jarring going between that uber pale guest "judge" and Heide I was losing it. 

I really liked Dexter in this and was glad he won.

The "embellishments" looked like sewn on (badly) bedazzlings and that they were called genius in the name of cohesion of the 'line' made me shake my head.

Lastly, I don't watch Shark Tank and don't plan on watching the fashion version they've been touting. I also didn't like that portion of the show and it actually made me turn it off and not get back to it until recently.

[Kickboxer]

I had to scroll up to see that this was Episode 6, it is the first one that interested me all the way through because they made actual clothes. Not bathing suits (I hate the bathing suit challenge and think it should be put to rest. It is obviously a very specialized skill). Unconventional challenge, another waste of time, and the only other episode I can vividly recall from this season.

Team Button Bag was smart to choose a bright color accent, as Nina has gone to bat for hideous bright colors many times before. Sandhya, anyone? Designers who have been studying the show would know that. With that said, I appreciate how relatively well-made the pieces seemed to be, but none were esp fashionable or unique. So many fashion magazines have run stories on embellishment being HUGE this season, literally for years. Same with a bright pop of color. I'm still glad that both groups made clothes one could wear, just wish the clothes were more interesting. Maybe they really took the Mary Kay customer to heart. 

Team Entitled was very rude to Mah Jing at first so I'm glad he took them to school with that sharp vest. So many on that team I wouldn't mind seeing leave, esp pink hair girl. Alex was the right choice to send home however. His tube dress is exactly what I made for my Barbie dolls in every fabric remnant I could get my hands on as a child. How basic can you get!?  Of course Zac Posen likes it, he makes that version of prom dresses all the time. 

Tasha is my favorite person to be on reality TV. She is so refreshingly normal! I want her to do cameos on the other freakshows, imagine her reaction to snotty vapid Housewives or those spoiled Vanderpump kids. I can dream...

[Guest]

On 10/14/2016 at 8:38 PM, Sandy100 said:

I have seen Project Runway for almost all of the seasons. In almost all cases , I agreed with the judges. Even in the few situations where I felt that other work was inferior to the designer sent home, I knew that the person selected wasn't going to be around long. This is the first time since watching the show that I absolutely disagreed with the judges on sending Alex home. Not only was he a solid designer, he was in the top three or close several times. In fact, the other designers respected his work too. I also would have bet that he was a fan favorite. I am shocked that Tim Gunn didn't save him. Roberti should have gone home. His outfit was much worse than that of Alex's. 

 I also get the reason that Alex's team lost but I felt overall they had better pieces and certainly had a more coherent design among pieces.

Take it from me, this was a big mistake.

I would like to know what many of you who watch the show felt.

I thought Alex was a good choice to go.  I didn't like anything he designed so far, and his personality sucked.  "Business scholar"... ha.  Pompous, arrogant blowhard. 

On 10/15/2016 at 0:55 PM, mansonlamps said:

Who was that fetus of a judge?  I've never heard of her in either her acting or singing roles, although I've seen a lot worse judging, so I guess it doesn't matter.

My daughter informed me her show is on Disney Channel.  

[SlackerInc]

On 10/14/2016 at 2:24 AM, sassykattt said:

Well that happened.  I like Dexter and think he's a good looking man, but those nose things he wears?  NO!

I agree.  The bowl cut isn't working either.  But like you, I do really like his personality, and I thought it was cool how he surprised the judges by doing a decent job pitching (although I still thought Alex was better).

On 10/14/2016 at 4:57 AM, Negritude said:

I'm glad Mah-Jing explained the origins of his name. I wasn't sure if he was actually Blasian or if it was a "stage" name.

I missed it.  What was the explanation?

On 10/14/2016 at 6:30 AM, rehoboth said:

I was glad that Alex was not saved.  His clothes are well-made and stylish but they are very safe.  While he may not have deserved to go home so early, he would not be around in the end.  He is one of the vast middle and does it really matter what week he is aufed?

This is an interesting point that I hadn't considered.  But I do think there is some kind of bragging rights aspect involved, and I think there are several others who are clearly less deserving than he is of being able to say "I outlasted the majority of the contestants".

On 10/14/2016 at 6:09 PM, Canada said:

I felt bad for Alex and his team.  With much less money than the other team, I thought they did a better job than the other team.

Absolutely agree.

On 10/14/2016 at 10:38 PM, Sandy100 said:

I have seen Project Runway for almost all of the seasons. In almost all cases , I agreed with the judges. Even in the few situations where I felt that other work was inferior to the designer sent home, I knew that the person selected wasn't going to be around long. This is the first time since watching the show that I absolutely disagreed with the judges on sending Alex home. Not only was he a solid designer, he was in the top three or close several times. In fact, the other designers respected his work too. I also would have bet that he was a fan favorite. I am shocked that Tim Gunn didn't save him. Roberti should have gone home. His outfit was much worse than that of Alex's. 

 I also get the reason that Alex's team lost but I felt overall they had better pieces and certainly had a more coherent design among pieces.

Take it from me, this was a big mistake.

I would like to know what many of you who watch the show felt.

I'm with you, although I have disagreed with judges before.  This is a bad case though.

On 10/15/2016 at 10:59 PM, Mackey said:

Some have said that it's too early for a Tim Gunn save. In my opinion it makes most sense now. In the first couple of weeks, Tim wouldn't know enough about how able the contestants are. Later, the very weak would be weeded out and saves wouldn't be as needed. I think this is about the peak time for the judges to be particularly blunderistic and to be saved from their silliness. 

I didn't understand the judges dissing the Unity for diverging from their pitch. The judges dissed the pitch. Tim gave them criticism. Were they told that they weren't allowed to change their plan? I've been watching this show for all the bazillion episodes and people change plans 20 minutes before runway. I expected the judges to say, "way to change from your pitch. Yay."

Really good points.  It all just seemed so unfair, and Tim seemed to agree, yet didn't use the save.  Furthermore, it was cruel to Alex to sort of speechify like he was going to use it.

[Negritude]

38 minutes ago, SlackerInc said:

I missed it.  What was the explanation?

His paternal grandfather is Chinese, and that is his actual name.  

[likalaruku]

Yellow is a color I have very little tolerance for, so I took an instant disliking to House of Bouton's line. & since I can't stand Nina's or Heidi's tastes in clothing, I knew they'd love it. We did however completely agree on disliking Roberi's asymmetric shirt & loving Mah-Jing's shirt.

Alex's dress looked like a duct tape cocktail dress. Every second I looked at it, I couldn't think of anything but duct tape.

The other piece I hated was Erin's gaudy oversized bedazzled coat. Everything from the color to the fit was unflattering.