S02.E03: En Garde Avant Garde

[Guest]

I doubt they can be on two seasons of non all-stars, but Tieler was on PR: Threads and now this.  Totally different show, though.

I feel like A'kai was cast mainly for his adorableness and Steve Irkl-ness and the fact that he talks so fast they could subtitle him, which I think reality shows find funny.  That skirt was really bad.  I can't sew or design for shit and I could've done a better skirt than that in an hour, I think.  

[auntlada]

I don't know why these designers couldn't come back on a regular season. Amanda Valentine and Kate Pankoke were both on multiple seasons of regular Project Runway. It's just however the producers want to do it.

[AZChristian]

I hate it when people pull out the "editing" excuse . . . but

Those cameramen are in the workroom with the contestants for hours every day, because production wants as much footage as possible from which to choose.  We only know what was shown to us; we don't know everything that happened between the HaWaa and A'Kai, other than the fact that HaWaa walked out a couple of times, and Tim talked to A'Kai privately.  The one thing I do find interesting, though, is the obvious voice-over when Tim told HaWaa that if she'd been eliminated, he would have saved her, too.  I agree with the poster upthread who thought SOMEONE felt that a disclaimer was needed for some reason.  Parental input?  Production thinking Tim was sending a "You're a bully" message to HaWaa?

We don't know.  I don't know.  All I know for sure is that these kids are a lot more talented than the most recent "adult" winner.

[Mabinogia]

50 minutes ago, AZChristian said:

The one thing I do find interesting, though, is the obvious voice-over when Tim told HaWaa that if she'd been eliminated, he would have saved her, too.

That was really weird, and badly done. Maybe it is something he said to her after, maybe he saw her crying or heard her saying something and he went to reassure her, but they didn't have time to show all that so they just took that sound bite and moved it into the waiting room scene. I just wish they'd edited it better because it sticks out like a sore thumb.

[Guest]

If I was Hawaa's parent, I would be concerned about that TGS use and might ask for something like that to be put in, to make it clear she wasn't being cast as the bully.  Because why else save A'kai?  Tim said something like, "It's too soon for any of you to go home", or something, but that's not true-- he let someone go home last week.  

[Canada]

This is why I hate parents.  If her parents did ask the show to do something to make Hawwaa not look like a bully, that's just wrong.  How about you teach your kid not to be an asshole?  Wouldn't that be better?

[Guest]

Eh, I think she was an asshole but I think these shows encourage them to be in their confessionals.  It's still a parent's job to pay half a mind to how their edit might be shaping up, in my opinion.  I would never throw a minor kid to the reality tv wolves and then stand back and watch them get eaten alive.  But I don't recall last season's juniors being assholes in their confessionals, either.    

[speac]

5 hours ago, Canada said:

This is why I hate parents.  If her parents did ask the show to do something to make Hawwaa not look like a bully, that's just wrong.  How about you teach your kid not to be an asshole?  Wouldn't that be better?

Where is there evidence a parent requested the voice over?  It could just have easily been a producer or even the boy's parents not wanting him to appear to be a teacher's pet.  

[Canada]

12 minutes ago, speac said:

Where is there evidence a parent requested the voice over?  It could just have easily been a producer or even the boy's parents not wanting him to appear to be a teacher's pet.  

If.

[JunebugWA]

Laurence, with the recap, admitted that the avant garde looks were much better than the ones created by adults like her :) ...

[hatchetgirl]

My son was on a terrible baseball team. Once the coach took the fall for a loss and my son waited and said "coach, it wasn't your fault, we're a team!" He was 6 or 7 at the time and i certainly did not prompt him. He did something like this every game. When he finally hit his only home run, the team, parents and coach flipped out. This is how I expect him to live his life.

Best part... Coach was Emilio Rivera from Sons of Anarchy. Lol. 

But yes, I'm flummoxed by some of the meaness I see and hear. 

[SlackerInc]

On 1/5/2017 at 9:42 PM, Eliza422 said:

I loved the winning look - even when it was in the workroom my jaw dropped when I saw it.

Same!  Incredible that in such a short period of time they made something so architectural, with such clean lines.  Perfection.

On 1/5/2017 at 10:06 PM, vibeology said:

That coat is maybe my favourite garment ever on any Project Runway. The sleeve detail, the way the back looked as amazing as the front, the beautiful wide legged pants. Damn. It's art. Blown away.

[snip]

I like that most of those kids knew who David Bowie was. That was surprising. 

I'm blown away too.  And I thought the same about their knowing Bowie!  I wonder how kids that age find their way to music like that?  Their parents?  Surfing YouTube from one song to another until six degrees of separation brings them to "Space Oddity"?

On 1/6/2017 at 1:02 AM, Phebemarie said:

There was another side-eye moment from Christian when Tim Gunn commented that this was probably the best avant-garde challenge in Project Runway history.  

Christian and Chris March's winning avant-garde challenge dress.

That's pretty cool (especially in the angle shown at left), but the winning look in this ep beats it hands-down IMO.  Christian even acknowledged it, saying it was worthy of being in a museum exhibit on the history of fashion someday.  And though in a vacuum that sounds like wild hyperbole, I agree with him!  Just an incredible creation.

On 1/11/2017 at 0:03 PM, Winston9-DT3 said:

I feel like A'kai was cast mainly for his adorableness and Steve Irkl-ness and the fact that he talks so fast they could subtitle him, which I think reality shows find funny.  That skirt was really bad.  I can't sew or design for shit and I could've done a better skirt than that in an hour, I think.  

Cosigned on both points.  He is really adorable (and Steve Irkl-y for sure), and I would miss him just for that.  But yeah, wow: I've never even sewn a button on, but I've watched many seasons of PR and its offshoots and that skirt was an atrocity.

My completely unsupported theory on why Tim used his save so early is twofold:

(1) He wants to establish that it's not set in stone that he's going to save it every season until near the end (even if that's all he ever does from here out, he's laid down the predicate for us to be unsure).

(2) As we see reflected on screen in a variety of ways, sending kids home is more fraught than aufing adults.  As long as Tim has the save, every time he asks the eliminated contestant to go clean up their workspace, it's a rejection from him personally, added to the one they just got from the judges.  By using it, he no longer has that responsibility in subsequent episodes: the "I have to ask you to go clean up your workspace" can be said with all kinds of regret (sincere or feigned) and he doesn't have to look at a young face go from still hoping he'll save them, to crestfallen that he won't.

[vavera4ka]

I loved the winning look: so strong, well made and great in it's simplicity.

What I especially liked about it is that it IS a runway "crazy" piece, but if you "deflate it" it will become a gorgeous coat that I will buy at the store the moment I see it. That's the kind of stuff I like on this show, when it's dramatically runway, but easily re-imagined into ready-to-wear.

Those kids are more talented and have fresher ideas than half the adults on regular shows.

I'm actually curious to see a combined all stars: kids AND adults. 

[Indy]

20 hours ago, vavera4ka said:

I'm actually curious to see a combined all stars: kids AND adults. 

That would really be interesting. I've been way more impressed with what the kids have been putting out compared to the recent adults so it would be cool to see them side-by-side. Their ideas are so fun and fresh. I'd like to think the adults would have better technical skills but really even with their young ages and limited time sewing, the kids don't put out as many up-close messes as you'd think they would (and we've seen some hot, hot messes from the grown-ups).  Seeing them side-by-side, working on the same challenges would be fun. And frankly, the kids would probably be the least dramatic and obnoxious contestants of the bunch too. 

[Mabinogia]

In the beginning, I would have said no way to kids & adults because the poor kids would be crushed. But given the past few "adult" seasons, I say hells yeah! These kids could easily hold their own against their adult counterparts. I would say these kids are doing work at least as good as, if not better than this past season's glue gun winner. The coat that won this ep is better than anything last adult group put out in their whole season. Well constructed, creative, total wow factor and it was made by a team! A team who didn't really have any serious drama or issues but blended their ideas and came up with something stunning. I don't remember that happening in the adult version. I think the kids would wiped the floor with the adult

[lexington11]

On 1/6/2017 at 5:42 AM, ElectricBoogaloo said:

 

I am glad so many of the kids knew who David Bowie was (although I did wonder how many of them knew who he was before he died - I suspect some of them only learned about him when there was a glut of stuff about him on the internet after his death). But someone please tell them who Frida Kahlo is!

Yes to that. If these kids want to be designers, someone needs to teach them art history as well. And I understand the frustration of Chelsea (I think) saying that the save shouldn't have been used on Akai (or however his name is spelled), because I just don't think that he's cut out for a competition like this with how quickly he fell apart in this team challenge. Rene thinking his looks are so edgy and chic...no, just no. Out of Tieler's two (so far) immunities, this was the only one I feel deserved it, because it does seem to fit the definition of avant grade without bordering on the hideously tacky.