S15.E09: Project Pop Up

[sleepyjean]

I liked team Neutral's collection. Those aren't colors that look good on me, but I liked it. Excluding the dead man's teeth on Jenny's sweater.

[sourpickles]

I didn't get to watch this episode, so I'm just going to say I'm totally appalled that the save was used on Corn. Maybe he will or won't go far but I didn't think he would be deserving, but for tv, here we go. The save thing is kind of over, and I don't think it ever works out in a good way, like who gets to stay REALLY deserves. It's all that person everyone loves or the drama prone, or........etc. Look at Top Chef (who are doing their best to be so five years ago this season) or Ink Master or Top Model. Those saves or comebacks NEVER work out the same way. And I agree about Shar. I couldn't wait to see the end of her and then she came back. Oy. We'll see how this goes, though it looks like I didn't miss much in the bitching dept. I will say from what I've limited seen there were some nice pieces put out this week. Go Runway! Show us we have real designers!

[Mabinogia]

The thing with the save is, if the person being saved actually deserved to be there they wouldn't be in the position to be saved. I think Tim, being a teacher at heart, and being in the workroom, truly uses it for someone he things wasn't given a fair shot, not that they have a great design that the judges were wrong about, but that he thinks that person's less than stellar look was not their best work. If that is what he does, then I agree with Corni getting it because I do think that the Dastardly Duo had a detrimental effect on his design. He gave away part of his actual look and had to do a rush job on a new skirt, Erin took his original fabric so he had to select a different one for fear of the collection being too matchy. He was behind the 8 ball the whole time and I think Tim was saving him based on that, not wanting him to go home because of other people but of his own merit when the time comes, which it will.

Of course, this is why I have always hated team challenges. Because the bullies, the ones who refuse to compromise (Erin) basically force the others to compromise in attempt to not be in the bottom. She, being a judges favorite, could care less if they were in the bottom and only looking out for herself while Corni was trying to keep the team out of the bottom, probably because he realized exactly what was going to happen, that the besties would team up against him.

[Miss Ruth]

7 hours ago, Mabinogia said:

...if the person being saved actually deserved to be there they wouldn't be in the position to be saved.

I see this a little differently.  Any designer can have an "off" day and, if the judges follow the rule of judging on the challenge at hand and not taking previous challenges into consideration, a really good designer can, indeed, go home.  Those are the ones more worthy of a second chance.

Edited November 7, 2016 by Miss Ruth

[Guest]

He probably knew he was made out to be the bully and now he's got to work more with Cornelius after suggesting he go home.  

[lh25]

21 hours ago, whimsey98 said:

 The big problem with the red team, as the judges called it and I think Tim mentioned, is that they had no color to break the red.  The blue team used white.  The neutral team had blue.  The red team had red and more red, and couldn't see what the problem was.  If they had brought in black, for examble, they could have easily shown variation (and black is a color they seem to all be fond of, except for Erin who obviously loves everything yellow---I don't know how she resisted sprinkling yellow glitter on her coat). 

I know, I get that.  I just get frustrated with the judges sometimes.

LOL at the yellow glitter on the coat.  Or at least appliques...

[NYCNJbear06]

Although the red team started off dysfunctional with Dexter being so vocal about his happiness with being partnered with Erin followed by his lukewarm reaction to Cornelius being the final team member their ultimate downfall was how they approached the team challenge. 

They each approached the challenge with the mindset that they would each do their own thing with no thought on how it could be cohesive outside of the color. I am sure each of them has seen PR before and the judges have said time and time again just because you use the same color does not make it a cohesive collection.  What helped the blue team is that while the common thread throughout their collection was the color blue they smartly shared their fabric with each other to make sure there were elements of each other’s work in each of the garments.  The plaid was used in two garments that had distinctly different looks thereby connecting the collection.  Also the use of the “neutral” fabric white did that as well and its use connected all three looks. 

The red team approached the team challenge from a solo perspective and that was their downfall. I don’t know if the Blue team consciously considered that they could mix and match each of their pieces but they could. Again if you have watched PR in the team challenges the judges always point out you could put this with that and that skirt would even look good with that top or jacket.  The red team couldn’t do that outside of Cornelius’ sad skirts.

Edited November 7, 2016 by NYCNJbear06

[lazylou]

On 11/3/2016 at 11:28 PM, bookrat said:

I hated the one blue team look. God, it looked like something I would make trying to sew, the horrid skirt made of all the different types of materials and different lengths and the top with the patches slapped on...and the judges loved it. It won. I don't get it. I just thought it was so ugly. I cant see anyone ever wearing that in public.

I thought I was the only one who hated that skirt.  Glad someone else found it horrible!

[tenativelyyours]

I didn't hate Roberi's but I definitely thought his was the worst of the three looks.  So of course he won.  I think Roberi had been robbed of some top spots previously but Rik had that win to me.

Don't care much about the rest.  Even before this episode, team blue were the three I felt should be in the finals. 

So of course they won't.

The judges really buy into their own special snowflakes and I don't know why.  Heidi seems more geared to saving certain looks that are questionable than contestants.  But I think Nina and Zac both pick someone at the start of the season whose "aesthetic" they think is precious and award them wins and favor and then it shows how shitty a designer they are and they simply dig in and winnow anyone else they can on the flimsiest of reasons so save their snowflake from melting.  Erin is that snowflake to me.  Nina was part of the Gretchen fiasco when she declared smugly she was pretty much the sole designer in the team effort, slammed Michael Costello as the weak link, then it turns out Michael made the one thing the judges liked and still Gretchen stayed.  I'm guessing they have pet Erin slated for fashion week and nothing is going to get in their way to make sure that happens.  She should have gone already in my opinion and I would have given the edge for the 'auf' over Dexter just because I think she has sent more and bigger losers these last few weeks.

[halkatla]

Cornelius is the mean girl if anyone is... I hate when a word like bullying is thrown around, it makes it totally meaningless. Erin and Dexter were never anywhere close to being mean. What a joke. Tim really wasted his save, it´s obviously just for the drama because Cornelius is not talented enough to deserve it.

 

Kelly Osborne sounded 100x faker and weirder than usual.

[Calamity Jane]

On 11/6/2016 at 6:21 AM, Winston9-DT3 said:

Justin Leblanc.  I thought that was the first use of the Tim Gunn save, and also probably the reason it was created-- because Tim really, really wanted to save Justin.  

The save seems to be a way for them to further the story that the judges are meanies and Tim is a sweet old uncle who champions the poor persecuted underdog.  Save recipients so far have all had something that sets them slightly apart:  Justin's deafness, Char was a slightly older, self-taught black woman, Ashley's obesity and Cornelius was the excluded-from-the-cool-kids-clique black man.  Of course, most of the designers fall in some 'historically marginalized' category, so it may all be coincidence.  

Michelle (from Portland, no?) was the first time it was used, but it wasn't called that yet.  Tim felt that she should not go home when there were four left and intervened to get her another chance, as I recall.  The other three designers went off to exotic places for inspiration and luxe fabrics, while Michelle stayed in NYC and moped a lot, then created the best design, got in the finale,  and ended up winning.  

Justin was the first time it was officially the Tim Gunn Save.  Is he the one who got auf'ed for what Nina called the "foaming vagina"?  

I can't even recall last season's beneficiary, Edmond.  Yike.  

[Guest]

I totally forgot Michelle and Edmond.  It didn't help that I was looking at a web page about the TGS that hadn't been updated for season 14.  But I had to google Edmond.  I do recall Michelle.  And she's not really anyone historically marginalized, unless 'self-taught' qualifies here.  

[Lamb18]

Haven't read through all the comments yet, so I apologize if I repeat someone's.

This was my favorite episode so far this season. There was some really good work, unlike the last two episodes in which the best work was passable. I'd like the Final 3 to be Team Blue. I'm glad Roberi won - I loved his sweater and thought his skirt was very clever. It was like a visual pun or trompe de l'oiel. I kept thinking it was a black skirt with a plaid shirt over it, wrapped around the waist by the sleeves.  Their work was so polished.

Team Neutral - did the colors have to be beige, burnt orange, etc.? Black and white are neutral colors, aren't they? Or are the brown/beige colors more "in" than black and white this season? Actually a combo of black, white and brown would have worked, too, maybe a little metallic thrown in or used for accessories. The colors they used are colors that make me look like dried up puke, so that kept me from appreciating their designs, which I think were fairly good. I'm glad they won the vote.

All that plaid reminds me of the 80s. (And the 60s when I was wearing plaid jumpers in elementary school.)

Red is my favorite color, but it was a bit overkill. Erin is reminding me more and more of Gretchen. Aren't they both from Utah? There's just this Gretchenesque aura coming from Erin now. And Dexter is playing the Ivy role, although I like him much better than Ivy and think he's a better designer.

[meep.meep]

I think Gretchen was from Seattle or Portland, not Utah.

On 11/6/2016 at 9:20 AM, whimsey98 said:

 The big problem with the red team, as the judges called it and I think Tim mentioned, is that they had no color to break the red.  The blue team used white.  The neutral team had blue.  The red team had red and more red, and couldn't see what the problem was.  If they had brought in black, for examble, they could have easily shown variation (and black is a color they seem to all be fond of, except for Erin who obviously loves everything yellow---I don't know how she resisted sprinkling yellow glitter on her coat).  The red color in the hair wasn't really the problem...it was the red hair and the red handbag and the red socks, as if they had gotten stuck on a color.   It wasn't shade of red...it was pretty much the same red.  Cornelius suggested burgundy, which I don't think would have gone with the red they had chosen, but at least he had a sense of what was going wrong. As someone mentioned above (maybe several someones), he could have bought another color but for some reason wouldn't. 

The other big problem that the Red team had was that they all made skirts.  No dress and no pants.  So, it wasn't much of a versatile collection compared to the other two teams.  And,  three pairs of legs in those boots and red socks looked ridiculous.

[HunterHunted]

I would like it if we had a season where Tim never used his save. I thought it was undeserved when he used it for Char and mostly undeserved when he used it for Justin. Justin's 3D printed jewelry that he made for the finale was some of the best stuff he ever did, but the rest of his finale collection was unremarkable.

As for Cornelius, I think that Tim saved Cornelius because Cornelius he made his outfit worse for the betterment of his team; Cornelius was the only member of his team who looked at their work with anything resembling a critical eye, which is one thing Tim and the judges constantly harp on; and during and after Tim's critique, Cornelius was the only one on the team who attempted to make changes.

When Tim critiqued the other groups, they made changes: 

• The blue team moved Rik's jacket to Rik's dress and Roberri made a new skirt.
• The neutral team shifted the jacket to Mah Jing's Baby Boom Working Girl realness dress, Jenni made a new top, and just generally punched it up.
• The red team sat there and durrr'ed until Cornelius made some suggestions. 

If there are guiding principles for what the judges want to see from the designers, it is:

• Creativity/innovation
• Decent time management
• The ability to self edit
• Taste

As the competition goes on, the judges increasingly start harping on editing. I think Tim saved Cornelius because he wanted to humble Erin and Dexter and teach them a lesson about editing and self critique. I think it's probable that Erin is going to end up in the top 5, but she is completely lacking in her ability to look at her skills and her work critically and adjust designs for time and taste. In the sportswear challenge, she spent hours embroidering her fabric. Not her shorts, but the fabric. Her time management is for shit.

Edited November 9, 2016 by HunterHunted

[sleepyjean]

I think the producers want Erin in the finale. Her time management struggles will make for good tension, and her collection is guaranteed to be colorful, interesting, and controversial. That makes for a good runway show and good tv.

Edited November 10, 2016 by sleepyjean

[Brookside]

On ‎11‎/‎3‎/‎2016 at 10:18 PM, Jade Foxx said:

This will never get old. NEVER. ❤️

Never!  I use it quite often and people look at me  as though I'm nuts.  Who cares? It's priceless.

[azshadowwalker]

On 11/3/2016 at 11:07 PM, AudreyHorne said:

 I thought that collection was good enough for the early years of the show and not just good for the "stupid Lifetime network years".  I saw a little Jay McCarroll, a little Seth Aaron...

 

Seth Aaron was one of those "stupid Lifetime network years" winners...twice.

Anyway , I didn't watch this when it aired . Fuck hateful Cornelius and his "victim" status. Never should have been saved. He is mediocre as a designer and worse as a person.

Hated Roberi's skirt , and I am not impressed by him at all. As an old punk , I will say that shit wasn't punk. It was just poorly made.

Edited November 18, 2016 by azshadowwalker