S15.E14: Finale, Part 1

[Miss Ruth]

At least two people have referred to Lee Ann Michaels as having been on Project Runway.  Are they perhaps confusing Patricia Michaels and Leanne Marshall?

I also preferred Gretchen over Mondo, and believe the only reason he won PRAS is because of his tearful confessional on the runway, and because it was a booby prize for losing to Gretchen in PR.

I agree with the majority that this season was a bust and, frankly, wasn't worth the time I spent watching.  For the first season, EVER, I didn't look forward to Thursday nights.  It was also the first time I didn't have a favorite.

I am not unsympathetic to anyone's back story, but don't want to hear about it on Project Runway.  (Are you listening, Mondo?) I don't want to see their homes, meet their families, or have a meal (or bowling party) with them.  I was so disappointed when there was no elimination this week.  I could have spent that ninety minutes in a much better way.  Ah, but I digress.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

In past seasons, Tim Gunn has visited the designers' homes (in addition to their work spaces) but I noticed that this season he mostly visited work spaces. I think Laurence was the only person he visited at home. I mean, I honestly wouldn't want a camera crew at my house but it struck me as unusual that we didn't see where most of the finalists live. We saw Erin in a space at her former school and Rik at a bowling alley. It's escaping me where we saw Roberi right now. 

And in the past many of the meals where Tim chats with the designers' family and friends are at the house. I think all four of the meals this year were at restaurants. Again, I'm not judging anyone for that but it just seemed so odd and impersonal this season that we saw so many public spaces in the "home" visits.

Edited December 17, 2016 by ElectricBoogaloo

[Knuckles]

11 hours ago, AuntieDiane6 said:

You must mean Lee Ann MARSHALL

I stand corrected as well...her clothes in her final collection still remain in my memory, as does Laura Bennett's grey evening dress with pistachio belt...now that is design...all these years later.

[RealityCowgirl]

Seeing Laura's collection again makes me sad, and it also reinforces something that's been bothering me about this year's crop. I can't recall their budgets at the time; but I remember thinking, "wow, she put every penny to good use," during her show. Looking at the final four today, I can't say the same. Granted, a dollar doesn't go as far. But still.

[Spunkygal]

14 hours ago, njbchlover said:

I said in an earlier post her outfit looked like an Ugly Christmas nightgown....thanks for posting the photo - seeing it again, it's even MORE hideous than I remember!  ;-)

No, it's "editorial!"

[RealityCowgirl]

15 hours ago, dleighg said:

I think that was the first season I watched. I was so intrigued by her "folds" in many of her looks in her collection.

I watched that finale on repeat and was hooked. 

[Texasmom1970]

On 12/16/2016 at 0:15 AM, delicatecutter said:

I am rooting for Laurence who is one of the coolest women I have ever seen on TV. She also looks identical as she did when she had her daughter at 16. Better, even. She is flawless!

I just don't want Erin to win. Her arts and crafts aesthetic seriously does nothing for me. I wish she would go back to Party City where she belongs.

I too love Laurence. The woman effortlessly oozes chic and cool. I want to be ger. I might not have loved her 3 pieces she presented but I seriously want the outfit she wore on the runway! I am hoping her sense of style breaks through in her collection and she wins.

I also like Roberi, it seems though he got a little lost.

Rik's is seriously delusional if he thinks his stuff us great, way too much confidence in that crap he was showing. 

And can someone please tell Erin she is not related to Big Bird from "Sesame Street!" So tired of her constantly wearing yellow and yellow furry things.

Edited December 18, 2016 by Texasmom1970
spelling error

[dleighg]

1 minute ago, Texasmom1970 said:

Riley's is seriously delusional if he thinks hus stuff us great, way too much confidence in that crap he was showing. 

 

who is Riley? Rik?

[Texasmom1970]

2 minutes ago, dleighg said:

who is Riley? Rik?

Sorry typed Rik, my phone obviously thinks it's know better than me!

[Kickboxer]

23 hours ago, Pepper Mostly said:

Right? And remember when they passed over Santino's beautiful collection in favor of Chloe's upholstery inspired evening wear to avoid becoming "Project Freakshow", in Tim's words? The dreck that's being promoted nowadays, its astonishing.

Buut, remember that none of Santino's garments had bustlines that matched up to the actual boobs of his models. Chloe's collection looked scratchy and uncomfortable but at least it fit. Which brings us to this season- a lot of the clothes are weird and ugly but they do fit the models. Granted, this can be because there are more relaxed looks, and Erin's coats never really have to 'fit' a body as they are just placed on top as if one is wearing a big rain cape.  Other than Rik's droopy-butt jumpsuit I can't recall any serious fit disasters. 

[limecoke]

Quote

The Bravo app and hulu may be showing the earlier seasons.  

No.  Bravo only has clips and Hulu only has Lifetime episodes.  

I still think Laura's collection was beautiful.  No opinion on Gretchen vs Mondo.  They were so different and I always felt Mondo was overrated.  At least Mondo got a special season designed for him which he won as he was meant to do.  I might have been more troubled by the woman who won (can't remember her name), who admitted she could not sew and made no sleeves for any garment the entire season.  

Edited December 17, 2016 by limecoke

[Stinamaia]

I would like Laurence to win.  I think she is the one best positioned to make use of the prize even though her collection is somewhat subdued.  I thought her romper/overall was very clever and fresh and could sell lots if made in a variety of colors.  Of course, I could never wear it, but it's great for women in their 20s and, if celebrities, 40s and 50s. ;p   I do think the judges sort of stomped the life out of Laurence because they were trying to get an emotional reaction from her.  She's not the kind to do that.  She processes inwardly. 

I'm actually happy with anyone except Rik winning.  I like him as a person, but the denim embroidery is too much for me. (Now watch him win!)  Erin has sometimes rubbed me the wrong way, but she is young.  I remember Christian getting a lot of hate too, but most of that was because he was young and had so much confidence and pride in his talent. (No comparison between them as designers though) Erin has some growth to do, but I like her creating fabric, because gorgeous fabrics really do so much for design.   She has to work her way through to thinking how to replicate what are now one of a kind fabrics. 

Since we are going down memory lane, Maybe you all will enjoy this article.  Some of the links are missing, but it was still great to be reminded of moments I've forgotten.  http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2014/07/the-best-project-runway-looks-of-all-time/374823/ 

[leighdear]

I went back to the individual episode photos, and I just don't see the designs of Laurence being anything better, cooler or more original than anybody else.  This link has all the photos from all the episodes up til now.  Everybody & everything just seems so lackluster and forced. 

http://www.mylifetime.com/shows/project-runway/pictures/season-15-episode-1-final-looks/pr15-ep1-lb-final

Dozens of contestants have done exaggerated shoulders and leather.  Yes, she's a striking looking woman with a French accent, but for me, her personal look and vibe are a million miles away from what she actually produces as fashion.

I don't actually care for anything that we've seen from any of these people, but going strictly by personality, I like Rik more than the others.  Roberi second, then Laurence.  That other woman is so far beyond tolerable, I can't even type her name.  ;-)   

[sleepyjean]

Heidi looked really pretty on the screen.

Rik said Erin is the judges' "celestial favorite." I wonder what word he really wanted to use. Perennial? Perpetual?

I didn't realize how distracting Erin's roots were until she touched them up. I realized I was actually looking at her face rather than her center part.

It was great to see Michael Kors.

I don't think Tim's praise of Erin was hypocrisy exactly. More like he'd finally accepted that his opinion doesn't matter. The more doodads and wackiness she creates, the more the judges like it, so the way to mentor her to a win is to encourage all of that. But he didn't give that advice to everyone, because he knew it would only work for Erin.

I don't know what to make of the fact that everyone ignored Tim's advice about consistency, and then reacted like it was a revelation when Heidi said the same thing.

I don't understand why we had to sit through the Sally beauty consultations the day before the preview, and then sit through another discussion about makeup the morning of the preview. Never mind. Of course I know why. Product placement. But what a waste of our time.

The paper bag waists made me groan. They look horrible on everyone. Including the models.

I resent the gratuitous dive into Laurence's relationship with her father just to get her to show some strong emotion on camera.

All of the designers took the memo that Erin is the judges' favorite because she uses a lot of wacky color. So they all decided to do the same thing, and it doesn't work for them. I'm the first to say dark collections don't play well on the finale show, but it's like they all ran in the opposite direction and when they stopped running, they looked around and realized they had no idea where they were.

None of those collections looked like $9000 of fabric. Which season was it where one of the designers showed up with several more looks than were required so s/he'd have extra to choose from? Why doesn't anyone else ever do that? It make too much sense.

The "design a logo" twist was pretty pointless. It didn't add any interest or tension. But I did think it's cool that Roberi could shorten his name to Ro.Pa. Ropa means clothing in Spanish. So appropriate.

[Broderbits]

10 hours ago, Miss Ruth said:

I am not unsympathetic to anyone's back story, but don't want to hear about it on Project Runway.  (Are you listening, Mondo?) I don't want to see their homes, meet their families, or have a meal (or bowling party) with them.  I was so disappointed when there was no elimination this week.  I could have spent that ninety minutes in a much better way. 

The Finale home visits happen every single year and have since the beginning of the show. It's not a bug, it's a feature. I've found that sometimes this crapfest is better with the sound off, especially when judging time comes and it's Nina's turn.

So happy to see Michael Kors!!!!

[jumper sage]

2 hours ago, limecoke said:

No.  Bravo only has clips and Hulu only has Lifetime episodes.  

I missed this on Thursday.  I do have Hulu but it seems like they only have whole seasons of past seasons.  Am I right?  Do I have to wait till the end of the season for them to load the whole season?  Seems weird since I can watch my other shows the next day.

[NewDigs]

4 minutes ago, jumper sage said:

I missed this on Thursday.  I do have Hulu but it seems like they only have whole seasons of past seasons.  Am I right?  Do I have to wait till the end of the season for them to load the whole season?  Seems weird since I can watch my other shows the next day.

If you can supply a service-provider account Lifetime offers episodes on its app. They sometimes pull episodes but this week's should still be available.

[jumper sage]

2 minutes ago, NewDigs said:

If you can supply a service-provider account Lifetime offers episodes on its app. They sometimes pull episodes but this week's should still be available.

No can do!  Just found out that most cable channels are free in the air and got rid of my cable and kept my wifi.  I have not lost one channel since I have a newer tv and it can search and find more channels than I had with cable.  I hooked up hulu through my Xbox but am confused by just this one show.  They have every episode of Lifetime seasons but none of the current season.  I guess I have to wait for the end of the season or just miss this one episode but they do give a nice recap so I will catch part 2 next week.

[Soobs]

I love the home visits and I love the backstories. I like to get visually invested in the collections and emotionally invested in the people who make them so I was little disappointed that they cut that short this episode.

The judges are all in their 40's and 50's and I think when they see someone like Erin, they make the mistake of judging her stuff as youthful and hip when it really looks inspired by a Forever 21 clearance rack.

I liked some elements from the other three designers but I was turned off by most of it. This season hasn't been very inspired when it comes to the clothes. All the designers seem nice enough though.

[DHDancer]

2 hours ago, Stinamaia said:

Since we are going down memory lane, Maybe you all will enjoy this article.  Some of the links are missing, but it was still great to be reminded of moments I've forgotten.  http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2014/07/the-best-project-runway-looks-of-all-time/374823/ 

Thanks for sharing this!  What a great trip back through the seasons but what a sad reminder about how far the featured "talent" on this program has dropped.  

[Muffyn]

On rewatch a statement Laurence made really stuck out to me, her collection is "what I was wearing then t what I'm wearing now."  Throughout the season there has been the sense that she has a great eye for fashion but she is not one to come up with a lot of unique or new. 

I was much too happy to see the orange one back.  I loved his posing behind the scrim. 

[Stinamaia]

2 hours ago, sleepyjean said:

 

None of those collections looked like $9000 of fabric. Which season was it where one of the designers showed up with several more looks than were required so s/he'd have extra to choose from? Why doesn't anyone else ever do that? It make too much sense.

I was surprised they had that much money.  I think they have much less time now to produce their runway collections and that is one of the things that affects the quality. 

In fact, I believe the entire production schedule is shorter now.  

[speac]

15 hours ago, hula-la said:

 No!!! It doesn't ship to Canada--I would have loved it for my Home Ec students. 

It's available via Amazon Canada.

[Cyranetta]

Quote

That said, I wish her stuff was more sophisticated.   Of all her pieces during the season, I liked her red and yellow coats the best.  They had the embellishments, but she edited better than what her mini-collection showed.  It did go too arts and crafts, but at least it was something a little different, so a weak, yay, I guess.

I wonder if perhaps the judges' appreciation of Erin's arts-n-crafts approach is that it dovetails with the "Makerspace" movement. I wouldn't be surprised if some future contestant makes consistent use of 3-d printers and futuristic crystal foils as their "signature". 

[auntlada]

2 hours ago, Cyranetta said:

I wonder if perhaps the judges' appreciation of Erin's arts-n-crafts approach is that it dovetails with the "Makerspace" movement. I wouldn't be surprised if some future contestant makes consistent use of 3-d printers and futuristic crystal foils as their "signature". 

Justin used 3-D printers for accessories and shoulder bits in his final runway show in season 12.

[RealityCowgirl]

43 minutes ago, auntlada said:

Justin used 3-D printers for accessories and shoulder bits in his final runway show in season 12.

And did it infinitely better

Edited December 18, 2016 by RealityCowgirl

[Fostersmom]

Was I the only who screamed SNOWFLAKE at the screen when Erin said it was so special to see her stuff? 

This season has been wonky, it was basically set up to lead to the horrifyingly bad fashion week designs. Too much artsy craftsy, non traditional materials challenges. Reading thru all the replies of this episode and the mentions of seasons past made me realize I don't think we saw even one gown this entire season and only a handful of anything I would consider sophisticated and those were pretty much all Laurence's jackets . Maybe that's what happens when almost all of the contestants seem to have lived a participation trophy life and are more interested in designing look at how creative I am crap and not actual fashion. Do any of them have the faintest idea what a collection is? Do they not teach this in fashion school? Even a shitshow of separates should have something tying them together besides being clothes. 

[AuntieDiane6]

Quote

6 weeks? 

I have mixed reactions to this ... On the one hand, it's short.  On the other hand, it's not like they didn't KNOW they'd have to do a collection.  They should arrive at Project Runway with IDEAS already!!  

[AuntieDiane6]

Quote

I was surprised they had that much money.  

In the first couple of seasons, I believe they had as little as $6000, so the amount has increased over time.

But looking at the finale fashions we've seen so far, it seems like they shopped at Woolworth's.

[Kitty Redstone]

18 hours ago, RedheadZombie said:

I just don't get Erin.  It's like the actual making of clothes brings her little joy.  Why the judges don't notice that she spends 5% of her time making a simple cut out piece, then spends 95% of her time bedazzling it? 

Yes, this.  If you take away the laser cut circles, fishing lures and fuzzy sleeves, there's nothing left that's interesting.  She doesn't make an effort to do new  shapes or techniques but, like that awful Helen creature, thinks color or pattern alone will do the heavy lifting.  Even Cornelius made an effort to design and construct his clothes with unusual seams. 

It's strange, and I'd like to know why a textile designer became the judges' favorite in a clothing design competition.  Were the other contestants really that boring? 

[Jordan Baker]

Quote

I love the home visits and I love the backstories. I like to get visually invested in the collections and emotionally invested in the people who make them so I was little disappointed that they cut that short this episode.

I have always loved the home visits. I still marvel at the tiny space Christian had to create his collection.

The problem I have is that learning about the designers, either through their actions in the episodes or their personal stories as shown in the home visits, influences how I feel about their designs. And it probably shouldn't. To this day, I cringe at the mention of Gretchen's name. I stopped watching the show for several seasons after she won. She is still my least favorite contestant across all the seasons I watched. And it makes me insanely happy that Michael Costello, who was so ill-treated by Gretchen and her crew, became a successful designer. But it also means I can't look at her collection objectively.

I have the same problem with everyone's darling, Laura Bennett. I thought she was rude, haughty, and unlikable, even though I knew she was an excellent seamstress. And I did like some of her clothes. But when I look at the collection shown in an earlier post, the thing that pops out is the use of feathers. ACK. Hated it. But I honestly can't tell whether I dislike her collection because of the feathers (and other elements) or because of the designer. I'll never know.

I'm still rooting for Laurence, Roberi, or Rik (in that order). Not Erin. But if Erin does win, I still don't think it will be quite as horrid as the season Gretchen won.

Edited December 18, 2016 by Jordan Baker

[leighdear]

1 hour ago, Fostersmom said:

 Do any of them have the faintest idea what a collection is? Do they not teach this in fashion school? Even a shitshow of separates should have something tying them together besides being clothes. 

I don't think most of the participants in the past few seasons have attended a school of any type for fashion design, or even art.  They basically teach themselves and because they try SO hard, they delude themselves into thinking they have talent.   Sadly, the vetting / selection process is hugely flawed and now just a total joke.  It's simply an excuse for past contestants to get on camera again. 

I think too many actual young designers that want to be in the business are out there working and hustling for real, not auditioning for reality shows that will ultimately get them a little chunk of cash and 7 1/2 minutes of "fame".

(Sorry, they don't get 15 minutes anymore since the show left Bravo.)

I equate these people with the guy that monitors that awesome waffle machine at the Best Western in Austin, and then calls himself a "chef".  

[nb360]

7 hours ago, jumper sage said:

 I do have Hulu but it seems like they only have whole seasons of past seasons.  Am I right?  Do I have to wait till the end of the season for them to load the whole season?  Seems weird since I can watch my other shows the next day.

I've been able to watch past seasons on youtube... Look for "Samuel Wright." 

Edited December 18, 2016 by nb360

[savannah1985]

I love Laura's short, beaded evening wear.

[HunterHunted]

7 hours ago, AuntieDiane6 said:

In the first couple of seasons, I believe they had as little as $6000, so the amount has increased over time.

But looking at the finale fashions we've seen so far, it seems like they shopped at Woolworth's.

I didn't think the budget for their finale collections was that low early on. The thing that is significantly different is the time for the finalists to work on their collections. It used to be 12 weeks. Now it's 6 weeks. Season 1 they didn't realize that they'd have the Fashion Week show before Austin Scarlett was eliminated on the TV show so they threw thousands of dollars at him 4 or 5 weeks before Fashion Week and had him scramble and put together a 10 look decoy collection. Since they've been on Lifetime, they've significantly scaled back the time the finalists have to put together a collection: 12 weeks became 6 weeks. What this means is that if you don't start the show with some idea of what your final collection is going to look like, you're screwed. It's also why some of the decoys look better than the finalists. The eliminated designers are in sequesterville catching up on sleep, doing talking heads, and sketching and designing (not constructing garments of course).

[Jolie]

On 12/16/2016 at 5:08 PM, dleighg said:

It looked to me like an entry in an "ugly Christmas sweater" contest, though I couldn't get a good look at it. Here's a screen shot.

Looks like a partridge in a pear tree to me. Whatever it is, this is easily the ugliest Christmas garment I've ever seen, and believe me, there is a lot of competition in that area.

 

I hope the final collections end up showing better than the 4 current looks did because that was just sad. I'll be okay with any winner except Erin who is more a crafter than a designer.

[Tony]

Erin's nauseating to watch as usual. Hers is the worst collection there IMO. But as we all know, she'll be the winner and follow in Ashley's footsteps as another undeserving special snowflake. Those laser-cut sequins that she was so proud of where just glittery circles. I can get the same thing from Wal-mart in at least 5 different departments. And as usual, she tacks the embellishments on the garment in random clumps.

This clusterfuck is such a joke.

[sleepyjean]

This is the full effect. RED Valentino, for those who care about that sort of thing.

I guess I don't understand the point of wearing something like this for a job where you're sitting down and holding cards that partially block the view of your torso.

Edited December 18, 2016 by sleepyjean

[Mabinogia]

Holy shit! And I thought it was bad enough when she was sitting!! Did Erin design that?

[jrlr]

41 minutes ago, sleepyjean said:

This is the full effect. RED Valentino, for those who care about that sort of thing.

I guess I don't understand the point of wearing something like this for a job where you're sitting down and holding cards that partially block the view of your torso.

I don't see the point of wearing that, period.  Ever.  Under any circumstances unless you're going to a "Ugliest Xmas Costume" party.

[izabella]

51 minutes ago, sleepyjean said:

I guess I don't understand the point of wearing something like this for a job where you're sitting down and holding cards that partially block the view of your torso.

I don't understand the point of wearing something like that at any time!

[Kitty Redstone]

I actually don't mind the print but the length is horrible.  It's Holly Hobby, and Nina has rightfully ripped apart designers for making dresses like this before.

Why does she slouch so much?  You'd think she better than almost anyone would understand the power of posture.

[njbchlover]

2 hours ago, sleepyjean said:

This is the full effect. RED Valentino, for those who care about that sort of thing.

I guess I don't understand the point of wearing something like this for a job where you're sitting down and holding cards that partially block the view of your torso.

And, this is why Erin will probably win!  

I don't care who designed this - it is hideous, imo.  

[Fostersmom]

2 hours ago, sleepyjean said:

This is the full effect. RED Valentino, for those who care about that sort of thing.

I guess I don't understand the point of wearing something like this for a job where you're sitting down and holding cards that partially block the view of your torso.

Oh, what the fuck is this? My god, it's even worse than I had imagined. The damn thing looks like it has eyeballs! 

[Mabinogia]

Nina is definitely the type who buys the label, not the clothes. Because if this was by a contestant she would have slaughtered them.

[Ms Blue Jay]

On 12/15/2016 at 10:59 PM, anniebird said:

Has Erin always had that extreme vocal fry and this is the first time I noticed? I had to mute the TV every time she talked.

Sometimes when she gets riled up or nervous - EVERY SECOND WORD she speaks is the word "like".  I'm not exaggerating. EVERY SECOND WORD.  Listen for it.  It's totally insane.  I've never seen anything "like" it on TV.  I hope to God she notices after watching these back. I can't believe no one's spoken to her about it.  It's extremely aggravating.

I didn't like Rik's stuff I found it mind-boggling.  Other than that It was okay.  I preferred Erin and Laurence's stuff to Roberi's.  

Edited December 18, 2016 by Ms Blue Jay

[Nanu160]

YES! Like, THIS!! Surely nobody would like, mention it to Miss Yellow because like,  we can't risk hurting the feelings of , like a Very Special Snowflake.

Edited December 18, 2016 by Nanu160
Like

[hatchetgirl]

Even if Erin came and read these comments, she would find them alien!

[J.D.]

Nina must have lost a bet.  :0 

No way would a person wear such an ugly outfit otherwise.

[auntlada]

4 hours ago, Kitty Redstone said:

Why does she slouch so much?  You'd think she better than almost anyone would understand the power of posture.

I don't know. Even that earlier sleeveless dress (or off-the-shoulder, I can't remember now, but I think it was gray) wouldn't have looked too bad if she were standing up straight. The slouch looks particularly bad when she's standing next to Heidi, who always stands straight.