I have to say that of all the episodes through all the seasons of watching “Project Runway,” this could be my least favorite. I start to have a problem with the show when there are too many “gimmicks” and too much drama…this episode had too much of both.
To start, I thought the overall theme of “paintball” was very forced and just silly. Remember, I am coming from a designer perspective, not necessarily that of the average “TV viewer,” although when writing my blogs I do consider how the show must be coming across to said viewers. If you’ve been reading my previous weeks’ blogs, you know I’ve been annoyed at how little fabric selection there has been for the designers. As someone who is passionate about fabric, selecting the right textile, and how a fabric can inspire, make and break a design, this episode really ticked me off in that respect. Of five episodes, there has been only ONE so far in which the designers can actually shop at Mood. To force them to use (a) cottons from jumpsuits spattered in specific colors of paint and (b) supplementary cotton sheets in white and “Barney” purple is my worst nightmare.
To boot, it was a team challenge, another possibly “limiting” aspect to a designer in terms of being able to produce work that is at the greatest potential, not only due to the emotional stress of working with so many other personalities, but also being the creative stress of having to collaborate with five others to create a collection. It is not to say that a successful designer should be able to collaborate. Rather that there are so many elements at play in this challenge which, in my opinion, do not let the designers’ points of view really shine.
What this episode really came down to was drama. I found myself increasingly aware of the editing, more than ever, leading us into this storyline of the “Mean Girls” and their target (from the very beginning). It was very painful to watch, and I even found myself tearing up at the end, seeing Ashley attacked on the runway by the “bitches.” I would love to hear the views from each and every one of the ladies on that team to know how things really went down, as I can’t help but be a little skeptical (always) of the power of editing. Why did so many of them throw Ashley under the bus? Is there something the final edit did not reveal? Her design was not great, but there were far worse from others on that team…was it truly a “Mean Girls” moment? In any event, this was, as I say, “Producer gold”….and it did make for good reality TV. If that is what you want to see in a fashion design competition.
Honestly I don’t feel I have enough to say about each individual’s work this episode, so I am just going to highlight some of the highs and lows by team.
The BOYS clearly refrained from drama and were able to work really well as a team, thus producing the winning collection. It is more clear than ever that when there is less emotional stress, more communication and a strategy/vision, the outcome will always be better. What I liked was the Jackson Pollock-inspired splatter paint, and how cohesive the 1950s theme was carried through. Edmond designed the the winning look, a really well-executed gown. He is a class act for giving his team mate Jake props for printing his fabric, even after he had won. (And even though, my little criticism, the flowers were not placed well on the bodice.) I predict Edmond will be in the top 3-5 designers on the show. What I was not a fan of: Blake’s “potato print” flowers and Swapnil’s heavy skirt, even though the rest of his garment completely made up for it. I was also surprised by Jake this episode, whose caped-back swing top and capri pants was also a favorite look of mine, since I have been completely underwhelmed by his previous entires.
The GIRLS’ “Easter egg explosion” was a hot mess all the way around. I cannot say that there was a single look I liked of all of them. What a fatal mistake it was for them to ruin all their white fabric by haphazardly dumping and smashing paint onto it with no plan, because they had nothing left but varsity purple cotton, which is nearly impossible to make anything attractive out of! Heidi took the words out of my mouth by calling this collection “amateur hour.” They ran out of time and scrambled to get “something” done, and it was very clear they had no model fittings because nothing fit well either (except maybe Ashley’s look). All the looks were bad, but particularly Kelly’s (I shuddered when she said “mermaid skirt” in the workroom…never a good idea.) and Amanda’s. Sorry but I agree with Nina that she was “dead weight” (ouch!)–there certainly were some zingers in this episode.
Sorry for the abbreviated entry this week, but this episode was rather uninspiring to me!
