S16.E15: Season 16 Reunion Special

[Pepper Mostly]

14 hours ago, slothgirl said:

Oh, and PR.. you seriously need a 2nd place prize of some sort. Cause, damn... watching that "2nd placers" short special really hits home how lame the final results often are.

I may have uttered a little whimper when I saw the second place segment and saw my beloved Kelly from the deli get hosed, again. A nod to the second place finisher would be nice.

13 hours ago, anonymiss said:

Was a little jarring seeing Kentaro's very humble comments getting back a slew of "I should have won" sore loser-y. Generous of him to say "We kind of helped each other" when all the footage I recall is Brandon asking for help from him, not the other way around.

OMG, more Liris. Ya'll weren't kidding about her hustle, lol.

Agree that Amy was a great co-moderator and credit to her for being the one whose line of questioning got an accidental admission of guilt from one of the despicable duo. She's twisting her story now that she has time to formulate one even though we all saw her admit it on camera. How zeitgeist-y of her in these trying times.

Kentaro is a winsome sprite, I love him. He was very gracious and kind.

Liris is everything. She grabbed this opportunity with both hands and ran with it. Props to her.

I agree on Amy. She's very calm and focused. You can tell she takes no shit in class. Good on her. Tim can be so sentimental, it was nice to see someone get tough.

 

12 hours ago, Gothish520 said:

Agree! I really grew to love the models this season. People can say what they want about Liris - I think she is stunning and has that diva attitude in the best way. I would love to see them all again next season, unless they move on to bigger and better things, in which case, good for them! 

I loved having the models featured too. It brought me back to the halcyon days of season 1, when we knew all the models--lovely Melissa, who sank Nora with her 16 year old girl dream wedding dress; mercurial Morgan, with her fabulous walk; sweet Jenny, arty Julia. I like getting to know them a little. It adds to the show, for me.

4 hours ago, terrymct said:

Editing to add an additional thought:  Why would Claire have been measuring clothing in the bathroom of the workroom?  I can see using the bathroom to dye fabric, but why go in there with a tape measure rather than work not he table?  Probably because she had to take something off to measure it, but it seems almost as dodgy as measuring stuff back at the hotel/apartment.

There is no reason on earth why Claire would need to measure something secretly in the bathroom! How many times have we seen designers use their shirts or trousers to measure them or make a pattern, right in the workroom? That's allowed.

3 hours ago, hoosiermommy said:

I think the twins expected they would come off as "precious" and didn't expect they would come off as obnoxious.

Agreed. They seem to think that they are delightfully quirky and entertaining. Um, no. Remember the very first episode? They acted like they were the hosts of the party, and I knew at that moment that they were going to be insufferable.

Color me surprised that Michael, that little shit stirrer, piped up that Brandon and Kentaro's friendship was just the same as Claire and Shawn's codependent comic opera. Not quite. There's a difference between two competitors who use each other as sounding boards and make each other better, and two people who, between them, have one person's worth of ideas and skills, to the detriment of each as an individual.

Looking forward to the All Star season. Just please, no more Amanda. Or Kate. Just stop trying to make Kate happen, show.

[amazingracefan]

47 minutes ago, holly4755 said:

JMHO, If you hated the twins on this show, you would have really hated the twins on the show "twins" where htey lied to people repeatedly, made out with different guys to get ahead, basically were very unpleasantly manipulative. 

As far as what is said in the talking heads, I remember that there is a producer there goading them onto say the most outrageous things. If you want to be featured and encouraged, you play along.  I don't take any talking heads seriously on any of these shows. 

'Twinning', I was kind of indifferent to them there.  I really liked the show though for some others in the cast, there was supposed to be a second season I heard but it never happened.

I agree on the confessionals, they are obviously there to liven things up.

[hula-la]

I went to watch my recording of the reunion last night, and in the commercial break before the "big twin controversy", my pvr started acting all crazy, and then shut itself off. I was able to reset it, but the recording won't show past that moment. Thanks to everyone here for posting, so I have an idea of what I missed. I'll see if it's on the Bravo Go App (I'm in Canada), but I'm scared to watch it there, just in case my ipad decides to have a freak out too. Just when it was getting good...

[Lamb18]

Before I read anyone's comments . . .

I watched the reunion and one thing I overwhelmingly wish is that there was some way the twins couldn't have been there. They were a dark cloud of negativity that sucked the happiness and fun of the rest of the reunion. Everybody else was nice and positive. People got along with each other pretty well. It was one of the pleasantest reunions I've watched except for Shawn and Claire. When I think of Shawn and Claire I think "miasma."

16 hours ago, MrsClaus said:

Anyone else think that Claire would have been better off just keeping quiet?

This question could be its own separate Voting thread.

[pasdetrois]

Quote

Unpopular opinion about Kenya, but the whole thing made me like her even less. I didn't find the "you all suck" moment at the show endearing or refreshing. Just unnecessarily bitter. I don't think her confidence in her talent was borne out in her designs. She struck me as a good seamstress and dressmaker -- but not a designer. 

I agree. And under her self-deprecating and funny asides throughout the season, I think I saw some victimology and entitlement. Also, every time I saw the scarf, I remembered my penniless young adulthood where I wore a favorite blazer over and over. I don't think there was anything sentimental about the scarf. They tried to spin it that way but I didn't buy it.

When I see (and hear) the twins my mind goes to folie a deux.

I wonder about Tim's endless on-camera sentimentality. One of his memoirs had some scathing gossip and shade that really surprised me compared to his PR persona. I still love him.

Lots of Swatch - yes! "Baked potato."

I agree with Kentaro's win, but I think of all the cast Ayana will have the most steady career

[Lamb18]

Regarding the video of Shawn (I can't copy it down), I know it's really a nose ring but it looks like a glistening piece of snot ready to fall.

Edited December 1, 2017 by Lamb18

[speac]

5 hours ago, hoosiermommy said:

I think the twins expected they would come off as "precious" and didn't expect they would come off as obnoxious.

The twins were too old to rely on being 'precious.'  

[PhoneCop]

55 minutes ago, pasdetrois said:

When I see (and hear) the twins my mind goes to folie a deux.

Indeed. So much indeed. All the indeed.

Did we ever get a glimpse of the twins' parents all season? I'm morbidly curious what kind of people could produce such a pair of
delusional, clueless snowflake bookends. During the discussion with the full group, didn't they say something about being a star unto themselves or some such? I would've died if someone retorted, "So individually, you only shine half as bright as the rest of us."

The only other show I'd possibly want to see the twins on is Big Brother, so that one of them can be voted out first, the other can spend a week as a Have Not, and those of us in the live feed thread can rip them apart in realtime. And if Claire cheats, it'll be caught on camera and turned into GIFs until the end of time.

[lovesnark]

I could groove on seeing the twins on Naked & Afraid if it went something like this:  After enduring listening to "Clairebear, I'm so hungry but I don't know how to do anything by myself" a thousand times, Claire would snap and eat her sister. She's be arrested and locked up for the rest of her life, never to be heard from again.

[ichbin]

10 hours ago, amazingracefan said:

17 hours ago, ichbin said:

 Margarita on the other hand learned...to just keep on doing what she was already doing. 

 It looks like someone (Margarita?) had a suspicion, made it known mainly because she didn't like them, and it paid off.

I still don't get the picking on Margarita, most of the designers were annoyed by the twins. 

1. She continues to be completely full of herself.

2. Margarita roomed with Claire.  Considering Claire was being accused of cheating while in the bathroom in the hotel room (remember that no one claims to have witnessed it actually taking place), and how passionately Michael (Margarita's competition bestie) was in involved in bringing it to the open, it seems to be a good guess that talk about the rule breaking measurements probably can be traced back to Margarita.  

[amazingracefan]

38 minutes ago, ichbin said:

1. She continues to be completely full of herself.

2. Margarita roomed with Claire.  Considering Claire was being accused of cheating while in the bathroom in the hotel room (remember that no one claims to have witnessed it actually taking place), and how passionately Michael (Margarita's competition bestie) was in involved in bringing it to the open, it seems to be a good guess that talk about the rule breaking measurements probably can be traced back to Margarita.  

All of them have confidence in their ability otherwise they wouldn't have applied to be on this show in the first place.  The most confident was Brandon, he thought he would win, then probably Ayana from those in the final.  Kentaro and Margarita didn't think they had much of a chance so they just had fun with their collections. 

I don't know why you're trying to defend the twins and place the blame on someone else, they created their own difficulties and the producers made the decision to send Claire home. 

[joanne3482]

Who was the designer on the far left hand side on the second row?  (Our left not the stage's left - basically opposite of Cha Cha).  I have absolutely no recollection of him at all. And it isn't the guy with the new baby. He did not say a word the whole show. 

I did appreciate Samantha calling out the twins for slamming her when she never said anything bad about them and their non apology of "I'm sorry if you were offended by what I said."

4 hours ago, Pepper Mostly said:

Color me surprised that Michael, that little shit stirrer, piped up that Brandon and Kentaro's friendship was just the same as Claire and Shawn's codependent comic opera. Not quite.

And yet one could make the same argument about him and Margarita.  

[ichbin]

11 minutes ago, amazingracefan said:

I don't know why you're trying to defend the twins and place the blame on someone else, they created their own difficulties and the producers made the decision to send Claire home. 

Nope, not defending Claire.  If you go back to my original post (the one you first pulled the quotes from) you will see that I stated I did not buy Claire's revisionist version of events.  I will say again though that, as presented, it appears that no other contestant actually witnessed Claire measuring anything outside of the workroom and I said that someone making accusations based only on suspicion also seems wrong.   In this case the accused actually confessed to being guilty,  but it could also have been otherwise.   That seems more like a mean spirited gamble that paid off.

[Pepper Mostly]

57 minutes ago, joanne3482 said:

 

I did appreciate Samantha calling out the twins for slamming her when she never said anything bad about them and their non apology of "I'm sorry if you were offended by what I said."

 

I think the twins thought that they were being hilariously witty and snarky. But they came across as mean spirited, and they couldn't back up their snarky comments with great work of their own. The only hilarious thing was that one twin or the other would be making faces and speaking in that affected way and saying "well, that piece is a hot mess! I wouldn't be caught dead in it!" and then the judges would love it. Nice job, editors. I see what you did there. 

[slothgirl]

19 hours ago, ichbin said:

The twins and the measuring tape...my take is that no one actually saw or knew for sure that there was any measuring going on.  It looks like someone (Margarita?) had a suspicion, made it known mainly because she didn't like them, and it paid off.  That doesn't mean that I buy what the twins are selling, but the accusation seems to have been made without any real proof and there is something wrong with that too.  

I'm going to have an unpopular opinion.

I can't stand the twins... BUT...

My memory of the event at the time (the actual talk of cheating, not the runway fiasco) was people saying that she was going into the bathroom to measure clothes AT THE WORKROOM.  I remember wondering why measuring her own clothes was against the rules. I also remember thinking that it MUST be against the rules or why sneak into the bathroom to do it? Then I thought, but if she's WEARING what she wants to measure, I guess she'd have to go to the bathroom to take off her clothes. I distinctly remember wondering why it was such a big deal.

When it came forward as her doing it back at the apartment, it made a lot more sense. But it did seem for awhile that they were saying she was going into the workroom bathroom to measure a garment/s she was wearing at the time.

It's also possible that someone here on the forum talked about it that way as we all discussed it. I can't remember if this spread over 2 episodes from the very first comments to the final auf'ing, leaving us open to conjecture.

When Tim asked her about it after the runway, she owned up, and I thought "Oh, I get it now". But if she WAS doing it in the workroom bathroom as she claimed and was (as we know they all are) over-tired and stressed, I can see how the grilling and attacks on multiple fronts on multiple issues might have been confusing for her.

Of course, we also have people saying they SAW her doing it.... In the bathroom? At the apartment? really? I guess it's possible they saw her go in the bathroom with clothes and a tape measure, but if she was letting them see she was taking both in, why bother going in there at all?

Personally, I can't stand them, but I also can't stand mob-rule and I still find the entire thing rather confused because I distinctly remember that at the time, there was talk of her doing it in the workroom bathroom. Her story in the reunion actual corroborates that.

 

19 hours ago, bobbyjoe said:

 On reflection, though, other than cheating, totally lacking a sense of humor or self-awareness, not having an independent fashion viewpoint from one another to the point where when asked to directly compete they couldn't do it, and in general behaving like a pair of clueless pretentious twits, what's not to like?

*snort*... you owe me a new laptop!

18 hours ago, Thumper said:

Yeah, watching some of the clips from previous seasons, I miss Michael Kors.  He had so many great comments, yet so snarkable from our viewpoint.  Great TV.

Not me.. It always seemed to me he was FAR too invested in being "clever". Every time he made a snarky comment, he'd be looking back and forth at the other judges checking out whether they were noticing or impressed with how clever he was. While he came up with some great zingers, he also came off as an insecure kid trying to impress the cool kids and looking forced, insecure, and self-conscious in the process... which would be a ridiculous position for him to assume given his standing vs pretty much all those other people's. But there's no logic to who is insecure or what they might be self-conscious about.

18 hours ago, Jextella said:

was glad to hear all the nice remarks about Amy.  I think she was taken off guard with the show and didn't really know how to navigate.  I'm guessing she was a far better designer than what we were able to see.  I recall liking her work, anyway.  But, she may be more in the teacher zone.  Hard to say.

I was also happy to see people hug the twins at the end.  They aren't bad people - just out of their element.  I find them oddly interesting.  

The show is usually not kind to the older contestants. I was glad to see one get respect. I also think she has a distinct POV as a designer. It wasn't really my taste, but it was clearly an original POV compared to the uninspired off the rack RTW stuff that frequently shows up.

I also thought everyone huggin the twins at the end was uber-strange. You don't like them. Quit pretending.

18 hours ago, Gothish520 said:

This.

There is something very off-putting about her personality. Kenya and Margarita are not shy about expressing their feelings, but they aren't as smug and judge-y as Amy. Her attitude is irksome.

She's older than the others. She's earned her attitude. As I get older, I have a low tolerance for BS and it's going lower every year. 

I also thought she was a little too invested in the interrogation. But there's probably back story we don't know, and we also don't know what parts of the reunion might have gotten edited out.

[Midnight Cheese]

Claire lied and did herself an enormous disservice, and it’s genuinely pitiable.  However brutal Amy was (I vote “wasn’t,” though I simultaneously felt uncomfortable), never was a truer thing said on this show than Amy to Margarita, “you don’t need to provide evidence for someone who’s already confessed and is now pretending like she didn’t confess.”   That’s devastating because it’s exactly what happened.

Margarita told the apparent truth and the malice consistently attributed to her, IMO falsely, seems cruel and vulgar as hell.  This idea that past cheating was handled with white-glove elegance is SUCH a lie, signed someone who has watched every episode, and loved season 3, which was bookended by actual and potential cheating.   

Last, Margarita didn’t say she had it right all along.  She and others specifically referenced the benefit of being around other designers.   It’s just exhausting and beyond the reasonable elasticity of opinion, when the words are torqued beyond meaning.

Edited December 2, 2017 by Midnight Cheese

[hatchetgirl]

I cannot believe how delusional the twins are! As far as parents though, they definitely seemed to nurture the delusion! I'd be so embarrassed if my child did this. Just disgusting.  If i was any of their customers, I'd never use them again! All of the other designers were thousands times better than the twins! 

I thought Anaya was brilliant. Her work was lovely and sexy. She has so much poise. 

Brandon seems very naive.  

Kentaro looked like he lost weight. 

[RedheadZombie]

Wrong thread.  Sorry!

Edited December 2, 2017 by RedheadZombie
Wrong thread.

[akr]

I'd have been more inclined to take Claire's new account of events seriously if it seemed like Claire believed that's what happened. 

[auntlada]

9 hours ago, gingerormaryann said:

I said it before but Amy is living proof that those who can, do, those who can't teach.  I get her a lot after seeing the reunion.  She's a middle aged teacher, not attractive, quite masculine and will almost certainly live the rest of her life teaching people like Claire and Shawn.  She has no prospects of a design career so you can understand her bitterness.

 I hope she has better prospects than teaching people like Claire and Shawn, who can't be taught. I thought Amy was attractive and not really masculine at all. Not ruffly and flirty is not the same as masculine.

[jhlipton]

What episode was the "Leap" challenge (it looked like they all had to make the same outfit for the dancers.)  I don't recall seeing that.

9 hours ago, jackjill89 said:

Claire should have just said, "yup, I cheated. I'm sorry." What she said in the break room on that episode was completely clear. There wasn't a barrage of questions. It was all pretty darn clear cut. I would have so much more respect for her if she had just copped to her cheating and apologized.

There was no "barrage of questions", there were two questions. 
"Did you bring a tape measure to your room?"
"Did you use it to measure clothes? (No one but a cheat would think is being asked about anywhere but her room.)

7 hours ago, Lamb18 said:

Regarding the video of Shawn (I can't copy it down), I know it's really a nose ring but it looks like a glistening piece of snot ready to fall.

I call piercings like that "stainless steel boogers".

[Desert Rat]

Claire was removed from the competition for cheating.  Why then was she invited to the reunion and sit among the other contestants who competed fairly and followed the rules?  IMO, once removed, Claire should not appear in any other episodes of the show. 

Edited December 2, 2017 by Desert Rat
Typo

[ElectricBoogaloo]

The reason Amy was talking to Claire like she was a 6 year old is because Claire was acting like a 6 year old. Claire’s revisionist version of “I answered the question I thought I was being asked” is so ridiculous. To put it another way:

Michael: Claire took a cookie.

Tim: Claire, did you take a cookie?

Claire: Yes, I took a cookie and I ate it. 

[fast forward to the reunion]

Claire: I admitted to taking a cookie because I absentmindedly put a cookie in my pocket. Things happen. Cookies get taken out of the kitchen.

Tim: You told me you ate the cookie. 

Claire: I didn’t understand that’s what I was being asked. 

Tim: Claire, did you take a cookie?

Claire: Yes, but-

Tim: Yes or no?

Claire: Yes. 

Tim: Did you eat the cookie?

Claire: No. 

Tim: You already told us on camera that you ate the cookie. 

Claire: I was confused. I answered the question I thought I was being asked. I said yes because I did take a cookie. I said yes because I have eaten cookies before in other places at other times. 

Sentell: Why don’t you just say you’re sorry?

Claire: Nap time makes everyone paranoid. 

Shawn: Twinkle twinkle little star. 

Claire: How I wonder what you are. 

Shawn: Can we talk about something else now?

12 hours ago, amazingracefan said:

There was an interesting bit possibly filmed  pre-season where she was talking about leaving Puerto Rico as the economy was in poor shape.  I expect most Puerto Ricans would like their island to be incorporated into the US as they'd be better off.

I think that footage was also shown in Road to the Runway because I know I saw it somewhere before the reunion.

[slothgirl]

13 hours ago, nr65000 said:

she doubled down by saying she would always fall on her sword for Clair. In both instances I thought I caught a glimpse of something cross Clair’s face. ... Everyone including Clair knows she would have lost and by playing the martyed sister she tries to take that away from Clair.  If they are sooooo close why couldn’t she just say my sister won. Odd dynamic.  

see below

12 hours ago, amazingracefan said:

 she was talking about leaving Puerto Rico as the economy was in poor shape.  I expect most Puerto Ricans would like their island to be incorporated into the US as they'd be better off.

I also thought I heard her say that people told her she was going to have to leave PR and "go to the United States"... which struck me as a very odd way to express it given that people from PR are American citizens, so many people from the US don't know that, and the combination of those 2 facts offends many PR's. Obviously it technically isn't a "state", but do PR's not consider the territory to be part of the US?

8 hours ago, pasdetrois said:

I wonder about Tim's endless on-camera sentimentality. One of his memoirs had some scathing gossip and shade that really surprised me compared to his PR persona. I still love him.

I'm over Tim. I was over him after Under the Gunn, and looking back after seeing Under the Gunn, his favoritism is glaringly obvious. I think he can be as petty and vindictive as anyone. I don't think his Uncle Tim mode is fake, but I do believe his ability to form a positive mentoring relationship is somewhat limited to people who assure him that they are not fully formed adults with their own ideas. He consistently clashes with those who don't fall all over themselves taking his advice and looking up to him from below. He is often completely out of touch with the judges and his advice sometimes gets designers into more trouble than helping. I also really dislike his input in the close-up viewings during judging, because sometimes it borders on trash-talking or sabotaging the designer.

6 hours ago, lovesnark said:

I could groove on seeing the twins on Naked & Afraid if it went something like this:  After enduring listening to "Clairebear, I'm so hungry but I don't know how to do anything by myself" a thousand times, Claire would snap and eat her sister. She's be arrested and locked up for the rest of her life, never to be heard from again.

During that workroom time when Shawn was melting down because of the face-off, Claire looked at her with what seemed like blatant loathing. There was no sympathy in her expression at all. Not that Shawn deserved any... she was helpless without Claire to do her work for her. When it finally came down to having to compete against one another, Claire had a killer look in her eyes that said to me: "You're on your own now sis... tough shit b$&*." I get the impression that Shawn is the dominant personality of the duo but that Claire's resentment has brewed for far longer than just the time on this show of having to constantly put her own work aside to sew her sister's garments. For all of Shawn's "I'll fall on my sword" BS, I got the distinct impression that a part of Claire resents her sister to the point of near hatred. One is histrionic and the other is passive-aggressive. Overall, it's a pretty sad relationship, and not one I enjoyed watching at all. I couldn't even "love to hate" them like some previous "villains". It was just ugly.

Edited December 2, 2017 by slothgirl

[Nordly Beaumont]

11 hours ago, Whimsy said:

I noticed Tim's healing wound too.  I was surprised they didn't cover it up more with makeup.  I spent too long staring at his head and wondering if regular film makeup would look weird on him because of his very thin, light hair and not being able to really blend it in.

I've heard that Tim has skin allergies and doesn't wear any makeup for filming. Which seems true because he often looks blotchy or rashy.

Quote

She's older than the others. She's earned her attitude. As I get older, I have a low tolerance for BS and it's going lower every year.

I'm older than Amy, so maybe that's why I've learned to let things go.  Not worth getting so churned up about it, IMO.

Edited December 2, 2017 by Nordly Beaumont

[LeoLady]

23 hours ago, VagueDisclaimer said:

From what i recall from someone’s(?) exit interview, more than one designer came forward about the twins and the cheating and it seemed to be held off for the producer-driven timing. Heidi’s not that good an actress. It was very clear it was all directed to happen, with Michael’s walkoff, Margarita joining him, etc. 

The accusation didn’t come out of nowhere and fact is, no matter that Claire is changing her story now, she outright said she measured two garments with the measuring tape and said so to Tim and in front of all the other designers. She can’t backpedal that. 

Rewathing Michael walk off the runway it was so obvious that it was preplanned. He started smirking back stage when he was asked what's going on.  Fake, fake, fake PR. Michael is obviouslya better designer than an actor.  Kentaro said in an interview after his win that other designers took home tapes by accident.  The whole scandal was a set up.  Instead of just sending both twins home like they wanted,  they had to come up with the design -off between Sean and Claire and then the scandal to boot Claire . 

[Mumbles]

Quote

Margarita on the other hand learned...to just keep on doing what she was already doing. 

When she said at the beginning, “I thought either Brandon or Ayana was going to win,” I thought it came off as kind of ungracious to Kentaro.  I also noticed her accent was played-up in her audition tape.

I wasn’t buying that Tim thought this was the best season ever.  I found it a very meh one.

[ichbin]

1 hour ago, LeoLady said:

  Kentaro said in an interview after his win that other designers took home tapes by accident.

So glad you wrote about that.  I thought I recalled someone posting something in another thread about a designer saying that and I couldn't find it.  It would be interesting to learn who they were.

I would love to see a season where contestants were chosen simply on design ability (without regard to fulfilling any agendas for drama potential or any other reason) and then just show them fulfilling the challenges without production shenanigans.  It seems to work for the Great British Bake Off.  Doing away with the guest judges who are outside of the fashion world would be nice too.  I would welcome elmination of the Tim Gunn Save as well.

[amazingracefan]

8 hours ago, ichbin said:

Nope, not defending Claire.  If you go back to my original post (the one you first pulled the quotes from) you will see that I stated I did not buy Claire's revisionist version of events.  I will say again though that, as presented, it appears that no other contestant actually witnessed Claire measuring anything outside of the workroom and I said that someone making accusations based only on suspicion also seems wrong.   In this case the accused actually confessed to being guilty,  but it could also have been otherwise.   That seems more like a mean spirited gamble that paid off.

Not really, people said they saw her use the tape measure, how is that just 'suspicion'?  I think you just hate Margarita enough that you just want to put the blame on her.  Michael also said he saw it as may have others.  If you are using the measure that's not taking it home by mistake, that's using it with a purpose as well.

2 hours ago, Mumbles said:

When she said at the beginning, “I thought either Brandon or Ayana was going to win,” I thought it came off as kind of ungracious to Kentaro.  I also noticed her accent was played-up in her audition tape.

I wasn’t buying that Tim thought this was the best season ever.  I found it a very meh one.

But the judges in the preview judging clearly favoured Brandon and Ayana, that's why both Kentaro and Margarita didn't think they were likely to win, that's what we were told in the edit really, it was nothing new at all.  She didn't think she had much chance by that stage either.

Edited December 2, 2017 by amazingracefan

[amazingracefan]

3 hours ago, slothgirl said:

see below

I also thought I heard her say that people told her she was going to have to leave PR and "go to the United States"... which struck me as a very odd way to express it given that people from PR are American citizens, so many people from the US don't know that, and the combination of those 2 facts offends many PR's. Obviously it technically isn't a "state", but do PR's not consider the territory to be part of the US?

It's an unincorporated territory, they pay most US taxes but not federal personal income tax.  They can't actually vote for a president unless they move to the US from what I read elsewhere.  I'm a complete outsider to all this but it's interesting to read how some countries still have territories that aren't fully incorporated into them.  It's quite complicated, but for a more detailed view of some of the limitations they have read this

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-10-06/is-puerto-rico-part-of-u-s-that-s-complicated-quicktake-q-a

[Mumbles]

Quote

But the judges in the preview judging clearly favoured Brandon and Ayana, that's why both Kentaro and Margarita didn't think they were likely to win, that's what we were told in the edit really, it was nothing new at all.  She didn't think she had much chance by that stage either.

She may have had good and non-snotty reasons to think it, but when the guy who won it is sitting there and you basically say “I’m surprised he won” or “there are two other people I thought were going to win other than the guy who won,” it just seems kind of rude.

[Snappy]

On 11/30/2017 at 10:52 PM, guilfoyleatpp said:

And the twins using a bunch of word salad to try to talk around their CHEATING surprises exactly no one. And disappoints everyone. 

I'm disgusted by their behavior. 

I was not surprised by the twins behavior at all. I am sure that immediately after she got booted, Claire started thinking about what she should have said instead of what she did say, and as soon as the gruesome twosome got together they worked on that story so much that they even believed it. I am glad no one, especially Tim, bought their lie. 

[ladle]

On 11/30/2017 at 11:11 PM, slothgirl said:

Everyone: "What? People talk snark about me in their talking heads? I mean, I know I talk snark, but others said critical things about me?" Uh... yeah. they do.. haven't you ever watched the show?

Exactly.  And while in general I really like Kenya, I found it disingenuous when she was railing at the twins for talking smack when she totally did as well. 

[Tony]

9 hours ago, LeoLady said:

Instead of just sending both twins home like they wanted,  they had to come up with the design -off between Sean and Claire and then the scandal to boot Claire

Ummm... what? The producers didn't come up with the cheating scandal. Clair bought that upon herself. And then admitted it.

This is a subjective judging competition. If TPTB wanted the twins gone, they both could have been auf'd by any one of their tacky creations.

These two are reality TV gold. I can see the producers in the background wringing their hands in glee. Thing 1 and thing 2 are pretty much guaranteed a spot at All-Stars.

[ladle]

Is it at all possible that Claire really did misunderstand Tim's original question about the measuring tape?  Did she actually make it clear in her response to Amy that she had measured the outfits in the hotel?  Her justifications at the reunion were just SO bizarre to me, it did give me a moment of doubt.  I don't have access to the original episode so I can't go back and look...
 

I actually don't think it would be terrible if they brought back JUST Claire (not her sister) for an All Stars season.  It might be interesting to see what she can do without cheating and without Shawn there.  I really have no idea who she is as a designer.  On the other hand, I don't think she should be "rewarded" for cheating by being asked back...

[phoenix780]

This reunion was a great summary of the season for me. Way too much self-congratulation for featuring models of all sizes 16+ seasons into a franchise, especially since they still only got invited to the digital version of a magazine (unless...is that one of the magazines that's digital only now?). But ultimately enjoyable as a reality TV show, for me,  thanks to the twins and the drama that swirls around them. They were great villains. 

As someone who comments on the show online I could have done without the "don't read the comments" stuff, or the "I only take the good." We can be brutal at times, but we're also pretty thoughtful critics, and criticism is good. Plus we're nowhere near as bad as the judges (who oddly weren't at the reunion to validate the "best season ever" storyline). The show, at least, should be grateful people still care enough to comment. I didn't change my opinion on Tim for his behavior on his other show. I may have now, though. A professional critic shouldn't be so dismissive of us online folk. That's my feeling, anyway. 

Overall though, this was my most enjoyed season since the move to Lifetime. I hope the next cast is as entertaining. 

[ElectricBoogaloo]

1 hour ago, ladle said:

Is it at all possible that Claire really did misunderstand Tim's original question about the measuring tape?  Did she actually make it clear in her response to Amy that she had measured the outfits in the hotel?  Her justifications at the reunion were just SO bizarre to me, it did give me a moment of doubt.  I don't have access to the original episode so I can't go back and look...

I just went back and rewatched the episode where Claire was kicked off to see if it was possible that she misunderstood (I posted the entire conversation about it in the quotes thread, beginning with Michael leaving the stage until Claire left if you want to read the entire thing). Tim entered the lounge and this was the entire conversation that we were shown:

Tim: All right, first things first. Claire-
Claire: Yes.
Tim: Is it true that you have had a measuring tape in your room?
Claire: I have a measuring tape
Tim: Is it true that you’ve been measuring garments in your room?
Claire: I have measured a tank top and I have measured the crotch of a pair of pants.
Tim: All right, Claire, we must rescind your win and send you home.

[nokat]

13 hours ago, auntlada said:

 I hope she has better prospects than teaching people like Claire and Shawn, who can't be taught. I thought Amy was attractive and not really masculine at all. Not ruffly and flirty is not the same as masculine.

Yes, I see Amy as a female Tim. Heaven forbid a woman be middle aged and not a fashion model. FFS, she had some awesome clothes. I can see her frustration with cheating twits, but then I think some people here are okay with cheating because they do it themselves. I've seen plenty of it myself.
 

[Ms Blue Jay]

11 hours ago, slothgirl said:

I'm over Tim. I was over him after Under the Gunn, and looking back after seeing Under the Gunn, his favoritism is glaringly obvious. I think he can be as petty and vindictive as anyone. I don't think his Uncle Tim mode is fake, but I do believe his ability to form a positive mentoring relationship is somewhat limited to people who assure him that they are not fully formed adults with their own ideas. He consistently clashes with those who don't fall all over themselves taking his advice and looking up to him from below. He is often completely out of touch with the judges and his advice sometimes gets designers into more trouble than helping. I also really dislike his input in the close-up viewings during judging, because sometimes it borders on trash-talking or sabotaging the designer.

I thought it was very very interesting how passionately Tim said to the designers "Do not look up what people say about you on the internet."  Looks like Mr. Gunn has read what some of us fans have said about him on Under the Gunn.  It's very sad how he fell out of favour with so many of us after his horrible behaviour on that show.  That show was just a huge mistake all over.  I guess I should be glad he is NOT a judge on any version of PR.

What made the segment even funnier was Ayana's (paraphrased) response of, "Well actually everything people have said to me online has been very nice and encouraging" LOL.

10 minutes ago, nokat said:

Yes, I see Amy as a female Tim. Heaven forbid a woman be middle aged and not a fashion model. FFS, she had some awesome clothes. I can see her frustration with cheating twits, but then I think some people here are okay with cheating because they do it themselves. I've seen plenty of it myself.
 

Amy is cool, and confident, and calm.  For many people that is attractive.  I also liked quite a few of her designs.  I picked her to win the first challenge.

Edited December 2, 2017 by Ms Blue Jay

[Wings]

On 11/30/2017 at 11:50 PM, dwarmed said:

 

And Brandon manages to prove there actually is a worse male hairstyle than a manbun.

LMAO!!  I love Brandon and his clothes but I agree on the hair.

I like Amy and her contribution to this reunion.  I also like her work and personal style.  Love her hair. 

Almost every episode she was declared safe and many times I thought she should have been in the top 3.  I would love to see her on all stars.   She is good.   I have forgotten what piece got her sent home.  Anyone remember?  

Tim really did have a huge sweet spot for Margarita.  :)

I didn't like them including the models.  Seems like PR is going to have plus size models every season and they are patting themselves on the back about it. 

ETA.  I would like Lifetime to have a section that shows everyone's designs for each episode.   I want to see all the pieces Amy made.  

Edited December 2, 2017 by wings707

[zoltana]

On 11/30/2017 at 11:15 PM, VagueDisclaimer said:

From what i recall from someone’s(?) exit interview, more than one designer came forward about the twins and the cheating and it seemed to be held off for the producer-driven timing. Heidi’s not that good an actress. It was very clear it was all directed to happen, with Michael’s walkoff, Margarita joining him, etc. 

The accusation didn’t come out of nowhere and fact is, no matter that Claire is changing her story now, she outright said she measured two garments with the measuring tape and said so to Tim and in front of all the other designers. She can’t backpedal that. 

Producer-driven?  That worries me, but because what did they offer the twins?  Yes, they got to stay on the show a little longer, but the way these reality producers work, it wouldn't surprise me if the twins are being offered the idea of their own show.  Scary...

[JunebugWA]

Is it true that Liris won the model competition? I saw an article from the Baltimore Sun saying so. I thought she would appear in the digital edition, not winning the whole thing. My heart was set on Miesha so if it is true, I am sad. 

Nothing against Liris - I think she is gorgeous but Miesha is a different level. 

 http://www.baltimoresun.com/features/fashion-style/bs-fe-liris-crosse-project-runway-20171201-story.html

[jrlr]

18 hours ago, slothgirl said:

During that workroom time when Shawn was melting down because of the face-off, Claire looked at her with what seemed like blatant loathing. There was no sympathy in her expression at all. Not that Shawn deserved any... she was helpless without Claire to do her work for her. When it finally came down to having to compete against one another, Claire had a killer look in her eyes that said to me: "You're on your own now sis... tough shit b$&*." I get the impression that Shawn is the dominant personality of the duo but that Claire's resentment has brewed for far longer than just the time on this show of having to constantly put her own work aside to sew her sister's garments. For all of Shawn's "I'll fall on my sword" BS, I got the distinct impression that a part of Claire resents her sister to the point of near hatred. One is histrionic and the other is passive-aggressive. Overall, it's a pretty sad relationship, and not one I enjoyed watching at all. I couldn't even "love to hate" them like some previous "villains". It was just ugly.

I agree - their dynamic is truly bizarre and there seems to be a LOT of simmering subtext (on Claire's part).  They'd be great in a remake of "What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?"  

[ichbin]

14 hours ago, amazingracefan said:

Not really, people said they saw her use the tape measure, how is that just 'suspicion'?  I think you just hate Margarita enough that you just want to put the blame on her.  Michael also said he saw it as may have others.  If you are using the measure that's not taking it home by mistake, that's using it with a purpose as well.

I find it interesting that Michael would claim to have seen Claire using a tape measure out of the workroom considering the scene in the workroom well into  Claire's final challenge when Margarita informed him of her suspicions.  She told him she had seen Claire's pants in the hotel bathroom and that she was aware Claire had a tape measure.  Margarita never said she actually saw any measuring being done and that Claire "hides it pretty well" and Michael appeared to be learning of this for the first time.  Actually, during the majority of that episode the main complaint was the Claire ripped off designs and nothing about taking illicit measurements.  Do you have any links for contestants stating they witnessed Claire using the tape measure at the apartment?    I'd be interested in reading about them.  

Claire admitted to cheating.  No question there.  What she did was wrong.  She desereved to go.  I see that as a separate issue from the motivation behind the accusations.   From what I've seen I believe the accusations were based primarily on suspicions which were brought up, in my opinion, because there was $25,000 on the line and Margarita was pissed (and understandably so as far as I am concerned by the way) and fired up because Claire appeared to be making a directly influenced knock-off of Margarita's design from the week before.   Luckily things seem to have worked out properly in the end in this case.   That doesn't absolve the motivation factor for the accusations themselves in my eyes , which again,I  view as a separate issue.  

Look, you appear to really like Margarita, and that's fine.  I think we must simply agree to disagree on how this all played out.  

[Wings]

Michael looks 100% better blonde and with a better hair cut.  At first I thought he was someone eliminated early.  Huge difference.  

[jhlipton]

9 hours ago, phoenix780 said:

As someone who comments on the show online I could have done without the "don't read the comments" stuff, or the "I only take the good." We can be brutal at times, but we're also pretty thoughtful critics, and criticism is good.

Here, and on Quora, sure.  But Twitter, Facebook and YouTube, whi9ch is far more likely what  she was talking about?  Not so much. If you value your sanity, on those sites, Never Read The Comments!

[RedheadZombie]

9 hours ago, phoenix780 said:

This reunion was a great summary of the season for me. Way too much self-congratulation for featuring models of all sizes 16+ seasons into a franchise, especially since they still only got invited to the digital version of a magazine (unless...is that one of the magazines that's digital only now?). But ultimately enjoyable as a reality TV show, for me,  thanks to the twins and the drama that swirls around them. They were great villains. 

As someone who comments on the show online I could have done without the "don't read the comments" stuff, or the "I only take the good." We can be brutal at times, but we're also pretty thoughtful critics, and criticism is good. Plus we're nowhere near as bad as the judges (who oddly weren't at the reunion to validate the "best season ever" storyline). The show, at least, should be grateful people still care enough to comment. I didn't change my opinion on Tim for his behavior on his other show. I may have now, though. A professional critic shouldn't be so dismissive of us online folk. That's my feeling, anyway. 

Overall though, this was my most enjoyed season since the move to Lifetime. I hope the next cast is as entertaining. 

True.  But I'm not sure how constructive it is for Amy, as one example, to read criticism stating she's masculine.  

I wish I could shave Margarita's head and wear her hair as a wig.  Absolutely gorgeous hair.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

On 11/30/2017 at 9:15 PM, VagueDisclaimer said:

From what i recall from someone’s(?) exit interview, more than one designer came forward about the twins and the cheating and it seemed to be held off for the producer-driven timing. Heidi’s not that good an actress. It was very clear it was all directed to happen, with Michael’s walkoff, Margarita joining him, etc. 

The accusation didn’t come out of nowhere and fact is, no matter that Claire is changing her story now, she outright said she measured two garments with the measuring tape and said so to Tim and in front of all the other designers. She can’t backpedal that. 

Amy definitely said in an interview that was linked in one of the earlier episode threads that more than one designer had already gone to the producers about the cheating and the producers did nothing about it, which was why Michael left the runway. He did something on camera to force the show to address what the twins (well, only Claire at that point) had been doing all season. 

Edited December 3, 2017 by ElectricBoogaloo

[ladle]

9 hours ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

Tim: All right, first things first. Claire-
Claire: Yes.
Tim: Is it true that you have had a measuring tape in your room?
Claire: I have a measuring tape
Tim: Is it true that you’ve been measuring garments in your room?
Claire: I have measured a tank top and I have measured the crotch of a pair of pants.
Tim: All right, Claire, we must rescind your win and send you home.

Thanks for this!  Okay, yeah, that's pretty damning.  So completely weird that she'd backtrack now. 

It also occurs to me that during this conversation, if I remember correctly, when Amy called her out on the tape measure, her initial response was, "Well, then they can take it."  Which, to me, makes it seems like she still had the tape measure in her room -- not that it was a one-time "accident." 

[nb360]

On 12/1/2017 at 1:49 PM, pasdetrois said:

I agree with Kentaro's win, but I think of all the cast Ayana will have the most steady career

Yes, I would love to buy some of the stuff she made. I hope she makes a line of nice scarves/hijabs.