Project Runway: Fashion Startup - General Discussion

[Meredith Quill]

Your Project Runway: Fashion Startup Topic!

[NewDigs]

I'm in!

Until I'm out.

I'm not seeing a very coherent link with Project Runway. Except for the Weinsteins.

[Primetimer]

Can you put lipstick (and earrings, and a kicky blouse) on a Shark? Should you?

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[BusyOctober]

Maybe I am ready for my AARP membership card now.  I do not understand the WXYZ girl's accessories.  Cat ears and pyramid hats and bra overlays made from cocktail straws?  For $400-$800?!? I know every generation has their gimmicky kitschy thing...I wore neon bangles, jelly shoes and I even had 2 of those shirts that changed color in the sun. But I know for damn sure neither my mother nor I would have ever laid out the equivalent of a mortgage payment for my entire sad fad collection.  

Hoodie dude was delusional.  He was in front of the wrong group of investors.  He should try Shark Tank...

....speaking of which, the young woman with the tank top bag was on Shark Tank with her folding boxes.  I have a feeling that this show and Shark Tank are going to keep regurgitating "entrepreneurs" between them just like Food Network, Top Chef and all Gordon Ramsey shows recycles chefs. 

[GaT]

This show is not for me, I won't be watching it again.

[hjmugillecuty]

I think Hoodie guy had a glimmer of an idea, but he couldn't explain his concept AT ALL. And he should have focused on sports fans rather than whatever bush thing he kept saying. My DVR cut off before the end. Did the WXYZ girl get a deal at all? And how stupid a brand is "X by WXYZ"?

[DocTerv]

Ok, I'm in. For now. BUSHCRAFT!!! Sounds like a salon for all your hair removal needs.

[DucksFlyTogether]

3 hours ago, hjmugillecuty said:

I think Hoodie guy had a glimmer of an idea, but he couldn't explain his concept AT ALL. And he should have focused on sports fans rather than whatever bush thing he kept saying. My DVR cut off before the end. Did the WXYZ girl get a deal at all? And how stupid a brand is "X by WXYZ"?

She didn't get a deal.  Someone offered to be an advisor to her for 1% which she accepted.  I kinda liked the look of some of her more expensive stuff, but for like $10 as part of the Lauren Conrad line at Kohl's.  Not $400 like. 

[leighdear]

All the accessory chick is doing is a riff on a traditional Finnish Christmas ornament, the Himmeli.....Stupidly easy to make, as BusyOctober pointed out, with cocktail straws....joined with some nylon fishing line. 

Hell, they're all over Etsy in dozens of forms....Not a damn thing original there, and I think they look stupid as a fashion accessory.  They can look gorgeous as decorative accessories, though.   

https://www.etsy.com/market/himmeli

I'll stick around to see what kind of upcoming products they feature, as I'm a serious knitter and all-around crafter, always looking for new inspiration.  Though I'm not expecting too much.    

Edited October 21, 2016 by leighdear

[Cherry Cola]

I could not believe Wxyz products.  I was wondering who would wear that stuff? People at a rave? Do people still rave? I have no idea.  Maybe the crown for new years as a person at the pop up store said, but not for the ridiculous price.  Geesh. 

[Surrealist]

I like the show so far, but I wasn't liking anything the entrepreneurs had to offer. 

Well, except for the one young woman with the collapsable boxes. I can see a market for those, but not for zipjerseys, which are ugly.

Hoodie dude was all over the map. I didn't understand the young woman with the overpriced dyed straws that you'd most likely find at a rave.

You'd think the entrepreneurs would perform market research on whether there's a need for their products before approaching investors with their pitches. 

Edited October 22, 2016 by Surrealist

[candall]

I've been to polar regions and needed tricks to minimize heat loss, so I thought the sweatshirt guy was onto something, but his presentation was so poor, he just couldn't land it.  He started to say something about how birds fluff their feathers to protect their body heat, which was a much better theoretical starting point than Bushcraft!, whatever the fuck that might be.  He was doomed once "$150 hoodie" leaked out.

 

Wagging around a jersey with a zipper in the bottom and your stuff bulging out through the thin material looked bananas to me--even if you can change your mind and slip it on.  What are you supposed to do with your stuff?  Ha.  SMH

 

I liked the gold and silver stick items.  I'm about a hundred years too old for it, but kitty cat ears are very popular and I can see young 1%-ers and their ilk sporting precious metal crowns and outer-bras and big chunky jewelry, as long as it's all brand recognizable, exclusive and expensive.

Those are the key attributes that make her line desirable, so I don't understand why she wants to branch out with a plastic version.  Vuitton doesn't make an economy vinyl purse with LV's plastered all over it for the masses.

 

I liked the Gwynnie Bee woman, but whichever judge kept taking issue with the spending power of young people was either naïve or fake.  My high school teacher friend says that teens on food stamps somehow still have iPhones.

[sleepyjean]

I wanted to watch the first episode to see what this show was about. It seems each week we are to be presented with several fashion gimmicks that people need money to fund. It wasn't very interesting, had very little to do with fashion, and I don't really care what any of the investors had to say. I don't really understand the point of the pop up since it's basically the designer's customers (and a bunch of bad actors) who show up at that kind of thing. It didn't seem to say much about who else would be interested in the product. This is a boring knock off of Shark Tank. No thanks, I'll pass.

[Madding crowd]

I thought this was interesting, I like anything fashion related though. I thought the metal jewelry  of the WXYZ lady was ok but way too expensive. The plastic stuff just looked like kiddie toys. I thought the pop up would be interesting if they had to get real people from off the street (maybe they did), but if they are just getting friends and don't have to provide proof of sales then no. The zip up tank think seemed really gimmicky and the bushcraft guy seemed nuts. Most sweatshirts have pouches to put your hands, and at such expensive prices, no one would buy his jackets. Maybe he just needed another approach. 

[Primetimer]

When two out of three would-be fashion moguls can't make a deal, it's less a reflection of the deal-making climate and more a sign that good ideas and business sense don't always go together.

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[pbutler111]

"Francesca Kennedy returned to the Guatemalan lake where she swam as a child, and was horrified by a) its pollution and b) the little girls collecting wood from this filthy water."

Actually, she was horrified by the contamination of the lake and the little girls collecting WATER from the water. That's why her company is involved in water purification efforts.

[lschmeiser]

"Francesca Kennedy returned to the Guatemalan lake where she swam as a child, and was horrified by a) its pollution and b) the little girls collecting wood from this filthy water."

Actually, she was horrified by the contamination of the lake and the little girls collecting WATER from the water. That's why her company is involved in water purification efforts.

Yeah, that was a typo on my part because I was writing very quickly. Thanks for the clarification!

[BusyOctober]

I don't like any of these investors.   They all seem like such arrogant posers.  The Shark Tank group can get too full of themselves but for what ever reason, they don't irk me as much as these Fashion a-holes.  And enough with the vocal fry and "Valley Girl" manner of speaking!!  I was only half watching so I don't know which one of the women was talk-ING? With that annoying up-SPEAK? So every sen-TENCE? Sounded like she was asking a QUESTION? I know I'm an old lady with no sense of fashion, but a large part of my professional duties includes public speaking. I also do recruiting.  I have told many young women (and some men) to try to retrain their voices in order to sound more professional and confident.  I can't take you seriously or entrust you with multi million dollar accounts if you sound like you are asking me questions vs. stating emphatically that you know what you are doing. 

Yoga pants woman had a decent looking product, and I like that she is doing sizes beyond 10, but $80+ for workout leggings is just too much for my budget.  I go to Marshalls or TJ Maxx and get very decent "athleisure" wear, thanks. 

[cpansy]

Like you, I love any show that shows me the business side of fashion. I haven't finished watching completely - just saw the first pitch, which sounded good, and the request for a pop-up shop. Disappointing to learn she couldn't even structure her Gywnnie-Bee shop to address the market she claims to want to reach.

I'm always mystified when inventors think they are going to get money for very small shares of the company, and refuse to take the suggestions of the subject-matter expert seriously. Rebecca Minkoff fascinates me and I really love her brand. If she was interested in sharing some of her wisdom with me, I would definitely pay attention. That's why you are there: you may be the expert in what makes your brand unique and your market deep, but these people have experience and organizations that can put you head and shoulders above where you are now. The opportunity could be a godsend - let's let go of the ego!

[Cherry Cola]

The workout clothes were cool, but clearly not big enough! In the test workout, one shirt was super tight on the bigger blonde lady.  she looked uncomfortable.   I'm a plus size and it made me wonder if her 3x were tiny 3 x shirts I have seen, like it really isn't a real 3x but an extra large or smaller.  I like longer shirts.  I have a hard time finding long shirts that cover my abdomen properly.  That is what I would be interested in. Aaaand, the prices...no way!

Edited October 29, 2016 by Sgt Pepper

[Maya]

Calling this show "Project Runway" is a stretch. What does the male investor do again? He seems kind of sketchy. 

[LoveIsJoy]

I couldn't understand why the investor lady acted like her brother taking 51%!! ownership of the guy's Tsu-rag company was the best offer imaginable.  She was just so damn smug about it.  I was proud of him for not handing over his company like that.  None of the other inventors were "offered" more than 10 to 30 percent share.  I just found it disrespectful...they could have just passed like the Gwynnie Bee lady (sorry, can't remember names).  Or they could have made the offers, while admitting they weren't ideal (for him).

It will probably take him longer to get where he wants to be in his business, but there's definitely a market there and other avenues to explore to get his product traction.  I'm glad he didn't sell himself short to those two smuggy Mc Smuggersons who probably didn't clearly see his vision anyway.  He has much to learn, and he seems like the type who will happily do so under the right circumstances.  It just reminded me of record company label execs who take advantage of young talent and treat them as if they're doing them a favor signing them on, while quietly taking control of their future revenue potential.  

Clearly, this iteration of PR is not for me.  Made my blood boil.

Now I'm off to buy myself a couple of Tsu rags (dopey name though)...

[Wings]

This show is so much less than a watered down Shark Tank, terrible.  

[Wings]

Sharks with butter knife is a better title.  

[Madding crowd]

I thought the girl with the college sales thing to be snotty. I dont see how she can really do this widespread but I disagree with the judges on advertising. Advertising on the sight is the only way she could make money. Used clothing is never going to be a big money maker, college girls usually dont have a big budget to buy stuff and if she really has staff checking out college ID's and stuff, it costs money. Perhaps she could do some kind of franchise thing where different campuses have events where people can buy and sell and she would get a cut. It's been a long time since I was in college, but my son is in college and his school already has an online swap/sell thing where people can meet up at the school to buy and sell clothes, backpacks etc. I dont think they check out id's, but you would have to be on campus to get the information. 

[Diane Mars]

I've got a problem with "college girl" website and sales : https://unitiques.com/item/15123/chanel-purse

[BusyOctober]

I removed this show from my DVR.  I tried but I can't get into it.  I dislike all of the investors, especial Birchbox woman...hearing her voice is is auditory torture. I don't know why I can watch Shark Tank and be both interested and amused (and flabbergasted by some pitches/products to be honest), but this show is just boring to me.  

I know the same can be said of any of the various "make me a millionaire entrepreneur" shows on air, but the sock of the month club really irked me. The male investor (don't know names, don't care) listed several subscription and designer sock companies already out there. BIrchbox said she has "so many socks in her box".   So why give this sock company a deal?  They weren't compelling personalities.  Their sales weren't crazy big bucks.  Their product looked like any other patterned socks I can find at Target, Walmart or Macy's.  They didn't pitch a charity purpose like other "product with a mission" company like Bombas or Grace &Lace (of Shark Tank fame as Shark Barbara Corcoran will tell you in every other damn sentence).  Do we need that many more socks in the world?

So while I won't be watching this yawn fest, I may drop in to lurk here to see if it improves...or read about its cancellation.

[Cherry Cola]

Interesting responses to the show.  I actually like it better than shark tank.  I think these investors actually listen instead of talk over others.  I like Robert and the woman who does QVC, whose name escapes me, on shark tank, but think the others are douchy.   On this show I like them all except gwynie b woman.  

[ciaoformeow]

On 10/31/2016 at 6:31 AM, LoveIsJoy said:

I couldn't understand why the investor lady acted like her brother taking 51%!! ownership of the guy's Tsu-rag company was the best offer imaginable.  She was just so damn smug about it.  I was proud of him for not handing over his company like that.  None of the other inventors were "offered" more than 10 to 30 percent share.  I just found it disrespectful...they could have just passed like the Gwynnie Bee lady (sorry, can't remember names).  Or they could have made the offers, while admitting they weren't ideal (for him).

It will probably take him longer to get where he wants to be in his business, but there's definitely a market there and other avenues to explore to get his product traction.  I'm glad he didn't sell himself short to those two smuggy Mc Smuggersons who probably didn't clearly see his vision anyway.  He has much to learn, and he seems like the type who will happily do so under the right circumstances.  It just reminded me of record company label execs who take advantage of young talent and treat them as if they're doing them a favor signing them on, while quietly taking control of their future revenue potential.  

Clearly, this iteration of PR is not for me.  Made my blood boil.

Now I'm off to buy myself a couple of Tsu rags (dopey name though)...

 

Exactly this!

I felt they wanted to completely screw him over - and after seeing the others in this and in the first episode it just seemed so out of left field to want so much control. They didn't offer to mentor, or anything they offered the women. It felt very weird - and I don't want to play the race card, so I won't - but something just didn't sit right with how that went down. 

Especially considering that the black hair industry is the highest grossing industry of ALL. That's not an exaggeration either - the industry is insanely profitable - and the reason Chris Rock made a documentary about it (it's a great documentary, called Good Hair). 

Knowing how much money that industry brings in + knowing that the black hair audience WANTS to support black owned companies, it's even less of a gamble for someone to invest, or try to offer a better deal.  So strange. 

 

I think that guy will go far though - what he already accomplished was pretty freaking great. At least now he'll get more exposure on his brand and company! 

[cyberfruit]

The Birchbox owner being unable to believe how massive the weave/hair extension industry just about killed me. idk if it's because I'm Black and I grew up with classmates having weaves and then watched as weaves were co-opted and became "hair extensions" or what. This panel reminded me of the gentleman with Tsu-rag who schooled the panel on how incredibly lucrative the black hair industry is. He claimed $500 billion/yr, which was very high (maybe he meant globally?) but it appears that black hair care is approaching $1 billion/year in the U.S. I'm pretty lowkey with my hair care (a blow-out once a year, trim every few months, and I use all natural products), but hair care for us *is* expensive and women *are* paying for it.

This show seriously need someone of color (not specifically Black, but hey, I'm for it) on their panel because the current crop are showing how myopic their view of fashion is and it's becoming frustrating.

Edited November 11, 2016 by cyberfruit

[Scorpiosunshine]

I agree---some diversity is needed on the panel. There's knowing what something is, and then there is  really knowing something . 

 Extensions  are a huge market, but unless what these ladies are offering is really special, they're not particularly hard to find, either. Even higher-quality pieces are much more accessible and affordable . The market is huge, true, but even Amazon and eBay are saturated with "real hair" hair pieces.  I don't know how those products compare to what these ladies are selling, but I bet a lot of it comes from the same place, namely Asia and India. I can't believe they were that shocked at how much money is in the "faux"hair industry.

 

Side note: White girls have been loving their hair pieces for a long time, too, long before the 80s. It's not a new thing for us, either. My mom and her peers wore the heck out of extensions, hair pieces, and wigs -- that was in the 60s and 70s. They were super popular then, just like today. I even remember seeing hair-piece catalogs at both of my grandmother's homes. 

  From what I can tell from the pictures I've seen, hair pieces sure look much more natural now, lol. Some of those shiny synthetics were the hair version of polyester, lol!

I don't know how correct it is, but I always call pieces that literally weave in "weaves" and pieces that clip or tape in  "extensions", just as kind of catch-all terms. 

[GreyBunny]

The Peach lady:  so some alleged experienced entrepreneur shows up peddling a "business" that is just barely this side of a pyramid scheme with an overpriced product, a ridiculous ask, and is losing money hand over fist, and actually got two investors to give her money?  Seriously?  A real investor would have laughed her out of room.

This show is low rent.

[Canada]

This finally showed in Canada this week.... and it sucks.  Won't bother watching the rest of the season.  I hate Shark Tank-like shows, so this just annoyed the crap out of me.