Fashion Finals

Season sixteen of Project Runway is drawing to a close, and all that remains is fashion week. The judges have made their calls, and sadly my personal favorite designer will not be showing her collection.

We made it so far.

I continued to root for her through the ups and downs. I even cried along with her. 

I love Kenya Freeman's style, personality, and ability. It hurt to watch her be eliminated, but I agree completely with the judges words of encouragement to her. We have not seen the last of her. Yes her collection will not walk the New York Fashion Week runway, but she has been exposed to the hungry eyes of the fashion world. Someone out there will give her another chance to shine and show what she can do.

Plus there's always hope to see her on a new season of All Stars!

Now I'm stuck with a new problem. Who do I want to win this season? I had moved all my chips onto Kenya and now I'm broke.

First lets take a quick look at who will be showing their collections.

Who Needs Tradition?

Sean and Kini's top scoring looks

This past week's challenge was to create an unconventional wedding dress and a reception look to go with it. That's a lot of work for a one day challenge, so the designers once again found themselves working in teams.

Tim used the dreaded velvet bag to draw names and match up the ten remaining designers. As usual some lucked out and got along well with their teammates, while others would just have to tolerate one another.

Discord was a popular trend in this episode.

Right from the start Korina and Char turned on their roommate Amanda. They claimed that she was a fake and it wasn't fair that she returned to the show. 

Talk about being petty.

Runway Redemption is just another new twist in the game. The judges don't treat the returning designer any different than the new ones. If anything it's the viewers who liked that designer more, they are the ones who voted for her to come back, after all. Getting bitter over Amanda winning challenges makes them look like poor sports. Maybe they thought they were being big by saying it to her face rather than behind her back. Or it was just a psychological attack to throw off her game. Either way it was a low move.

Dirty pool, ladies.

Dirty pool.

But I won't bitch about it, it just means my list of designers to see go has gained a more names. Oh, and one of them did get cut!

Creative Arts Amateur Hour

Thanks to some early press for The Creative Arts Emmys, we already knew who the winner of this past week was before the show aired. Our designers were creating a look for Heidi to wear at the awards ceremony!

Sean took this big win, getting a great deal of exposure and the right to claim he's dressed a well known super model. It was a nice comeback for him since he'd been in the bottom for the past couple of challenges.

Overall, I wasn't impressed with this past week. There were a few nice dresses but I didn't really like any of them. They were all pretty bland or just simply not to my liking.

There were also a lot of bad, unfinished, and rushed dresses. This partly came from Heidi not liking what she was seeing in the work room. She gave them an extra $100 each to go along with their original budget, and a quick trip back to Mood for extra or different materials.

If a designer chose not to return to Mood they could give their extra money to another designer. Sandhya played the game and started asking others for their money if they weren't going. It paid off and she got herself an extra $400+ to play with. This move irritated some of the other designers who were also starting over, but they could have done the same thing. They just chose not to.

I can't blame her for playing this tactic, though for all of her extra money she still was only safe this week.

Suit Up!

Winning look, ep. 4

This past week on Project Runway our designers were each given a classic suit from various fashion periods. The jacket and pants from these suits would serve as their inspiration and fabric to create a new high fashion look. The added twist was that last week's winner, Sandhya, got to assign everyone their suits.

So far I've been a pretty harsh critic when it comes to Sandhya, but I'll give her a little credit here. She took a difficult suit for herself that had a bright yellow jacket and loud purple pants.

As for everyone else, she claims to have given them suits that fit their tastes. No such luck for Hernan, who has been a dick to her since the team challenge.

I'm glad she screwed him over this time, and I agree with a point that she made. If you're a good designer it doesn't matter what your materials are, you'll make something good.

Hernan did not.

He bitched about not being inspired by the cream and brown suit. Well guess what? Several other designers weren't too thrilled with what they got either. Mitchell was uninspired by his hideous denim leisure suit, but he still muddled through and made something he liked. Hernan just kept blaming the materials, even after Tim tried to explain that he was trying to drape fabrics that weren't meant to be draped. It was a lack of skill, taste, and humility.

Fashions of Future Past

Winning Look
episode 3, season 13

This past week on Project Runway our designers had to do a little time traveling. They were told to create a look that will be worn twenty years in the future, but it had to be inspired by fashion from twenty years ago. So their imaginations had to translate 1994 to 2034.

In 1994 I was eleven years old. I was in fifth grade and getting ready for that transition into middle school. I think the closest thing to fashion for me was drawing new clothes for my paper dolls, but I'm pretty sure I was just obsessed with horses at that point in my life. 

I remember a lot of spandex, neon colors and floral prints. It was kinda scary, really.

Back to the topic at hand.

Our designers got to make their first trip to Mood this season. They were very excited to finally pick their own fabrics rather than being given random assortments of stuff. 

This time there were a lot more outfits that wowed me, but many of them gave the impression of a very bleak future. I don't expect it to be all peaches and cream, but having a positive outlook can't hurt right?

Right?

Fandango Fabulous

The Winning Dress

Prepare for trouble, and let's make it double.

Episode two pairs up two of what seems to be the designers' least favorite types of challenges - teams and unconventional materials.

Personally, I love the unconventional challenges.

This time the movie experience was to serve as their muse and source of materials. Lots of fun stuff, from actual film reels and VHS tapes to concession items like straws and 3D glasses, were at hand for the designers to gather and work their magic with.

Their mission, to create three cohesive looks that could be in a collection together.

Easy right?

Never. It only takes one stubborn member in a group to bring things to a crashing halt. Many of the teams worked well together and pulled off the task at hand, but not all of them could coexist.

The worst group of all was Sandhya, Hernan, and Carrie. Sandhya won the first challenge and had the blessing of immunity, yet still insisted on doing whatever she wanted and not really worrying about the groups synergy.

Hernan wasn't much better and kept pushing his own ideas on the other two, while not budging and basically talking down to the girls.

I'm not really one to get up in arms about feminism, but I got real sick of him calling them 'Baby' and such.

Return to the Runway

Season 13 of Project Runway is off and running. As usual we never know what to expect from the challenges, designers, or the judges for that matter. 

They are already confusing me, for sure.

The designers and fans alike were thinking "what?" when Sandhya Garg was announced as the first challenge winner.

This season's group was told to create a look that would represent their design vision for a spring runway collection. They were also only allowed to use materials that were given to them in a locked trunk on their work stations. Mixed in with the basic solids and a few fun prints were some night mare fabrics as well. It was a make it work moment for all of them on this one day challenge.

I will admit that Sandhya's look was interesting, but seriously her model looks like she belongs in a zombie movie. The oddly ripped sleeves and frayed cloths added to the harsh make up with sort of messy hair just screams horror film to me.

My favorite look of the runway belonged to Fäde Zu Grau. It was simple but had a nice clean and classic feel. I also really liked the way he blended two different prints to create the skirt. 

Guess I had boring taste this time cause his look was only one of the "safe" ones. So we'll get to see more from him next time.

I have yet to really latch onto any designers yet. It's still a bit early for that. Though I did get to have a little fan girl moment for an entirely different reason during this episode.

Designer Carrie Sleustskaya was rocking a necklace that was pulled from my all time favorite anime, Sailor Moon.

During their final audition I noticed the heart and wings hanging around her neck and had to rewind to verify. Sure enough the charm was Eternal Sailor Moon's broach and wings from the final season of the original run.

That alone made my night. 

Runway and Sailor Moon, all in the same shot!

The Fall of a Fashion Icon?

Something was brought to my attention about six months ago, and it has been bothering me ever since.

It began with a phone conversation with my mom. We were talking about how the past Christmas went and she brought the troubling issue up with me. My cousin's daughter had been complaining about how she didn't have any extra clothes for her Barbies. That alone boggled my mind. We never had a lack of fashions for our Barbies as kids. My mom then pointed out that you couldn't really find any fashions on their own in the stores, and if you did they were rather pricey for something that was arguably mediocre.

I made a point since that conversation to check out the Barbie displays at several stores, including Toys 'R Us, Target, and Walmart.

My mind was blown.

There actually weren't very many extra fashions to buy separately. What I did see was boring and looked cheap, yet they still wanted about $8 for a single dress with no accessories. Even the Disney princess fashion sets come with two looks and extras for only about $10.  Even more depressing about the section was the lack of variety among the dolls. They were all so generic and half of them had the easy out of having their top molded as part of the torso, so the only fabric was a simple tutu of sorts.

What has happened to the doll that was the queen of girls' toys back in the day?

5 Women to Confuse Your Sexuality -or- Beauty is Beauty

The strangest subjects come up with my comrades and I.

Just lounging around ye olde gaming store and we start discussing girls who were born as boys. You know, it's that old question of what you would do if you found out the person you liked was really a member of the same sex in disguise. I feel like it's a hard question to answer, despite nearly all of my friends rush to dismiss the person in question.

What makes you like the person you like? Is it just their genitalia? Is it inconceivable that you could love someone for who they are and not just for their chromosomes?

Of course, anyone that would hide what they are from you could be deceitful. On the other hand, how do you tell someone something that could be a complete game changer?

I've never been in a position to know, and as far as I'm aware, neither were any of my friends. What I do know is that America is marching towards a future where race and even gender is becoming more and more blurred. With the advancement and ease of access to cosmetic and body altering surgeries, who can be sure what is real anymore?

It is of the official opinion of Blogzilla 1985 that love is love and beauty is beauty, regardless of the small details. In the grand scheme of things, isn't acceptance and equality what we all strive for?

Under the Gunn: Can They Fill Tim's Shoes?

Tim Gunn is at it again, though this time he's running the show. Project Runway's new spin off "Under the Gunn" is hosted by none other than the man himself. His new show takes everything he loves about Project Runway and give a new little twist.

Three established designers are being given the chance to mentor four new designers each. This competition will play out much like Runway with challenges being issued and one designer being eliminated each week. The designers are fighting for a prize package, but so are the mentors. If a mentor runs out of designers they too will be out of the competition.

The first two episodes were simply rounds of picking teams. The designers were split into two groups,  given a challenge to complete in six hours and also had a chance to meet with the mentors part way through their work. The goal, to prove themselves worthy to be in a mentor's group. While the fifteen designers worried about making it into the final twelve, the mentors got to have a look at portfolios and see how each designer worked under pressure.

So far I'm still more interested in the mentors than the designers, but then again two of them were favorites of mine from past seasons of Project Runway.

Mondo Guerra, has been a favorite of mine since pretty much the begging of season 8 of Runway. I didn't always like the looks he made but they were always interesting. I was included in the hordes of fans who though he got cheated out of winning his season, to the boring but oh so retail ready Gretchen. In turn I was ecstatic to see him return in the first season All Stars and take the big win. He has his own line of eye wear through SEE Eyewear in stores across the country, and will be releasing designs in collaboration with Crocs this year. Though as much as I love to cheer Mondo on there is another face that I have been waiting to see return.

Nick Verreos,  was my favorite to win in season 2 of Project Runway.  Which just happened to be the first season I ever watched of my now favorite fashion show. Sadly he didn't even make it to the finals, but that didn't stop the man. He's had several celebrities wear his work, including Katy Perry, Beyonce, Eva Longoria, and Carrie Underwood. I've been sad that he hasn't been in the ranks of the All Stars, but that could be because he's been teaching at the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising (FIDM) in L.A.

Finally rounding out our mentors we have Anya Ayoung-Chee. A former Miss Universe contestant and the winner of Project Runway Season 9, Anya is a fan favorite for many people. I like her work, but she was a real under dog on her season. She barely ever finished her looks and until the last few challenges they were often very similar. She does however have two of her own clothing lines that started in the Caribbean, PILAR (her women's wear line) and ANYA DE ROUGE (A lingerie line).

I'm curious to see how these three compete with one another since they themselves won't be designing but rather playing Tim's role to these new designers.

Back to the new group of designers. I haven't picked any favorites yet. There are a few I'm curious about and some I already can't stand. I am however going to try and stay open minded, at least until I see a little more of their work. The real competition is after all just starting.

I just hope this doesn't turn into one giant cry fest. I mean in the first two episodes everyone was already crying! The designers cried fighting for their spots. The Mentors cried feeling for the designers. Even Tim cried! I do not want to watch a weepy bunch of artists. I can do that on my own.

That all being said Tim has yet to let me down so far. I'm looking forward to seeing this all play out.

Fashion Overlaod!

Season 12 of Project Runway has been a drama filled mess. I really don't feel like there has been a season to date with as much personal crap thrown in our face. That aside we are down to the finals. The race to fashion week is in place.

The judges gave our final five designers two tasks in making their decision. The first was an avant-garde look inspired by butterflies. The second, take a loosing look and make it a winner. This second challenge had a lot of impact on Justin LeBlanc who had been technically eliminated himself. I seriously cried during that episode and was ecstatic when Tim used his "Tim Gunn Save" to keep this designer in the running.

Justin chose his own failed piece for a chance to redeem himself, and it resulted in another emotional episode. The man was crying as he wheeled his nightmare back to his work station, and I couldn't help but tear up myself. He has been one of the nicest designers to ever be on Project Runway and he's good at what he does. I want to see Justin make it to fashion week.

The judges had a tough choice this time around. All of the designers did a great job. The only real complaints were some things weren't pushed enough. Pretty and cool, but boring or seen too many times. So who can we see going to the main event?

 Bradon McDonald has been my favorite to win from the beginning. I don't think he has created a look this season that I didn't like at least a little. He won the final challenge with his dress that was a living piece of art and his remake of a failed unconventional challenge. We will be seeing this man's work on the runway, and I'm excited to see what he shows us.

Going with him for sure is Dom Streater, "The Come Back Kid" if you will. She's had her fair share of almost wins and "what were you thinking" moments. But her passion for print has helped her find her path to the main goal and she will get to show us her true voice in the world of fashion. Much like Bradon, Dom is a good person in the work room and didn't start any shit with people, even when their out bursts were causing her delays in her own work. I like that she's usually got a smile on her face, and is willing to give a few words of encouragement if someone needs it. I would be happy to see her win this season as well.


With little surprise the judges have once again given the final fight card. The last three designers will be making collections as well, but it's not yet decided who of them will be showing with the other two. I'm bias and want Justin to be the one, so we have a "Good Person" show, and whoever wins I'll be happy to cheer for.

Our other two final designers are Alexandria Von Bromssen and Helen Castillo.  As designers both women are capable at what they do but I feel that Helen has the stronger voice, well when she can find it any ways. Her little "oh poor me" parties the past few episodes have seriously rubbed me the wrong way. If anything she might not be mature enough for it. I'm tried of Tim and the other designers having to give her pep talks for her to finish her work.

Alexandria on the other hand has annoyed me from the start. Her "I have to be the best no matter what" attitude drives me crazy. It's good to have drive but she almost takes it too far. Like a Japanese high school student that will commit suicide if they don't get into their top choice college. She becomes obsessive and paranoid to the point that she seems to shut down, and that kills her work every time. She's made some great pieces and she's also made some real crap.

Personally I hope both women go home without showing, but we'll see what happens when Tim has his home visits. Maybe they'll change my mind.



With season 12 wrapping up that also means a new season of All Stars will be starting. What will season three bring us? Well from what I've looked at so far a lot of personal make overs for our past designers. There were so many that I knew the name but when I saw their photo I had to do a double take. I didn't recognize so many of them! And the worse part of that is, several where designers that I rooted for during their seasons. One designer has even gone as far as to openly live as a transgender individual now. No wonder I didn't recognize her, she was a he when she first was on runway....

New this time around is the fact that three of the designers are also past winners of their seasons. I can't decide if this is unfair or just a tougher challenge. Just because they won then doesn't mean they'll have a repeat right? All and all it should be a good season and I'm excited to see Seth Aaron Henderson (Season 7 winner), Jeffery Sebelia (Season 3 winner) and Christopher Palu back in action.There are really only two designers I'm dreading seeing again. Both were almost complete bitches on their seasons. Irina Shabayeva was the winner of Season 6, and as much as I loved her work I couldn't stand her as a person. I'm sorry but it's true. Then we have Elena Slivnyak from season 10 who was a complete psycho bitch for 85% of her run, but turned it around her last couple of episodes and was somewhat likable. She's a strange cookie though and I'm scared to she what will happen with her and Irina in the same room. But we'll have to wait a few more weeks for that train wreck.

Still love this look by Jeffery Sebelia

Almost Pocket Sized Fashion

Most of you can tell from my following of Project Runway that I enjoy fashion. Granted I don't get all hyped up about who the big name designers are, frankly the only ones I even know are because of Project Runway. I just enjoy designing cloths. Even when I was little I liked making cloths. I use to draw new outfits for my Jem and the Hologram paper dolls, and I would attempt to make cloths for my Barbies, though they usually just consisted of some wrapped fabric and ribbon. My sewing skills still aren't the best so most of my fashion ideas only wind up on paper. A long time pet project of mine has been creating fashions, be in costume or feasible everyday wear, based off of Pokemon. Which ironically enough was sparked to life by Project Runway...

For a while I also spent a lot of time playing "Fashion Story" on Shannon's iPhone, but as much as I enjoyed the little fashion game it got tedious. Either I'd keep missing my time deadlines and my cloths would expire before I got to put them on the sales floor, or I'd get so far along that I would have to either spend real cash to continue or find friends to move me along. Call me a loner if you will but I like playing those kinda of games alone, not bugging everyone to send me stuff so I can make my shop cooler.

I have however found a new alternative that I am slowly becoming obsessed with. "Style Savvy: Trendsetters" on the Nintendo 3DS. Shannon tried to get me to get this game back when it's first incarnation was released on the DS, but I feared the whole you need other people to play with you thing to even give it a try. I mean I was being realistic, no one around me was going to play the silly little fashion game, they're all bigger gamers than I am and most of them are guys.

But the other night we were at Best Buy checking out their summer "Black Friday" sale and while downloading my free goodies for "Animal Crossing: New Leaf" I spotted this game. I normally I would have probably just glanced and let it go, but it was on sale for $9.99. For ten dollars I was willing to take a chance, and frankly I'm glad I did. The first night of game play alone I was finding it hard to put the game down.

You start off just window shopping when the store's own comes up with her hands full and asks you for a hand with the door. After thanking you she gives you a look over and is impressed with your sense of fashion, which I find funny since you haven't chosen anything for self at all yet. In true video game randomness she asks you to help one of her customers choose an outfit, even though it's her store and she has other assistants working there. But you do it and after a successful choice she offers you a job. The game runs through a couple of days teaching you the basics, how to buy stock, sorting through your inventory for the right type of style your customer wants, taking pictures, etc. All the while little story elements are dropper here and there as you meet other people who will make an impact in your future.

Long story short, you boss decides to pursue bigger ventures and give you the shop. As manager you get to rename the store and give it your own personality. She also leaves you with a fresh assistant, who just happens to be the first girl you helped choose something to buy. Over time you gain other assistants to help at your shop, but you can only have one active at a time.

My current assistant is Danny, an energetic teen who not only was my first male customer, once the men's lines were unlocked, but also my first Bronze rank member of  my shop. You get to dress your assistants up in whatever style you want and they won't bitch about it. They also watch the shop while you're out running errands or just taking some time for yourself.

At my store, SapphireStar, most of my clientele want bold or feminine style items. The search options helps a lot in narrowing down your search, so you don't have to memorize what each item can work under. The search allows you to narrow down by item type, are you needing pants or a skirt? As well as by brand, taste, color, pattern and price. So far I usually just rely on the taste tab. It breaks it down into Basic, Girly, Preppy, Pop, Sporty, Retro, Feminine, Luxury, Boho-chic, Asian-inspired, Princess, Gothic, Flirty, Bold and Edgy. Your customers will usually tell you want style they are wanting to go for, but once they become regulars some of them will expect you to remember what style they love. For your men's line you also get Contemporary as an option and it takes away the female only categories. So far most of my guys shoppers are "contemporary" nuts, but I've been getting more requests for "street wear" which I have yet to unlock.

As your store's popularity increases more styles and stores will open up to you at the buyers center. Each store has a style specialty, but their items are not always limited to just that one style. Several of them encourage mixing and matching, but normally their brand will have a main strength. Such as AZ-USA, my favorite so far in the game, focuses on bold looks but will also have edgy and feminine items available.

The Buyers Center is where you buy all of the stock for your shop. At the beginning of each season each brand will send you samples to start your store off with but it's up to you to buy the rest. One perk is whatever items you choose to sell in your store, you get to add them to your personal closet as well, they'll be delivered to your home.   Once you've added items to you cart you can increase the quantities as well to have more to sell in your store. Not every store is open every day, so it's a good idea to make regular trips to the buyers center. You'll start to see trends in the styles your customers like, so be sure to stay stock up on what's popular to them.

Aside from running your store there is also a make up and hair salon that you can visit to change up your own look, and buy make up for yourself. The manager of both of these establishments start off as customers as well. The sooner you get them liking you work the sooner these stores will open to you. After a while a furniture store will open as well so you can redecorate your home too.

The final element of the game is the fashion contest. You choose a model, are given a theme and then you work your magic. Choosing the right look and matching make up and hair style will get you the win. My first contest was for "Retro" fashion and I'm happy to say I managed to take first place with the little number you see to the left.

In the main menu of the game you're also given a "Style Trial" option. This is a way to find out what your own style is. You make an outfit of your choosing and then it get's rated. I honestly just tried this part today for the first time. I tried to stay true to myself, not be influenced by the game, and the results were "Ice Princess." This got a smirk out of me. I haven't thought of myself as an ice princess since high school. Each time is a little different. My latest look was dubbed "Prime Prima Donna" for style. Either way it's an amusing little feature.

I will say the game is repetitive in nature, but I like it. I wish you could create your own pieces, but you are restricted to what's in the game. In a way though that's part of the challenge. Creating something that you yourself are happy with, but also meeting your client's needs with what you have to work with. There's also an online shop mode, but I haven't looked into that aspect of the game yet.

All and all "Style Savvy: Trendsetters" was well worth the $10 I spent, and you know what after playing it I really don't think i would have minded paying full price for it. Cheaper is always better on my wallet, but this is a good quality game for it's audience.

Now if you excuse me I have more fashion hungry customers to make happy.

A Few Tweeks for Twelve

Season twelve of Project Runway has arrived. This time around the designers have a chance at the largest prize package in the show's history. The winner will receive $150,000 from GoBank, a new bank account designed to be used from mobile phones; $50,000 of next generation technology from HP and Intel; a year's supply of Resource Natural Spring Water and an all-expense paid, spa trip for two to Maldives, courtesy of Resource Water; the chance to design and sell an exclusive collection at Belk; a complete sewing and crafting studio from Brother Sewing and Embroidery; a fashion spread in Marie Claire magazine; a 2014 Lexus IS 350; a $100,000 fabric allowance from Tide Pods; and a $50,000 styling contract with L'Oréal Paris. This prize package is worth more than half a million dollars. Damn..... maybe I should really get back onto that whole learning how to sew thing...

Aside from the crazy prize load, this season they introduced "Runway Redemption." Fans of the show got to vote on three designer, from past season, that they would like to see given a second chance.  personally voted for Valery from season 8 but Kate from season 11 won the vote and will be strutting her stuff again. I didn't care too much for Kate's attitude in the last season, but I'm willing to be open minded towards her again.

The other big change is on the runway itself. Our favorite mentor, Tim Gunn, will now be joining the judges on the runway. He won't actually be judging the looks but he'll be there to help give insight to the creation process and answer any questions the judges may have on what went on in the work room. Tim being on the runway will also allow the judges to get an up close look at the designs before they make their final decisions on who goes home and who wins the week's challenge.

As far as judging goes, each design will remain anonymous until after the looks have walked the runway and been scored. Only then will it be revealed to the judges who did what work. Though if the designer is clear in their own design voice they judges will be able to tell who made it any way....
Finally Tim has been given a new power, the "Tim Gunn Rescue." If he strongly disagrees with a decision the judges make he can save the designer from elimination and give them a second chance. The catch is he can only do this once. Someone this season will be saved by Mr. Gunn, but who will that designer be....

With the formalities aside let's take a look at how season twelve has started.

This season started things off with the unconventional challenge. The designers were greeted not only by Heidi and Tim, but also by 16 sky divers with brightly colored para-shoots. The para-shoots would be their materials for the challenge, and with them they would have to show the judges their point of view as a designer. In the work room they were also given similar fabric in black and white to use as supplemental materials. They were also given a day and a half to complete their looks.

A few designers have already made an impression on me, and not all of them good. Alexandria for one is very confident, she's already said she was going to win the first challenge. News flash dear, you were safe. You have to at last get in the top three to have a chance at winning. If she stays this full of herself it's gonna get old fast. Her design was well made, but personal I wasn't impressed with it. She may not understand the meaning of failure but I don't think she understands how irritating she's going to become either...

Another designer that already has me rolling my eyes is Timothy. He's a so called "sustainability" designer. So all natural is his deal. He took it to the point that he wouldn't let the hair and make up artists do much of anything to his model. No make up, no hair products, he wouldn't even let them use a hair dryer or iron on the girl's hair. I felt so bad for the model, she felt very singled out when all of the other girls got the full runway treatment. It's all fine a good to be aware of nature and wanting to preserve it, but his

extreme on it is going to wear thin fast in book. Judge Zac Posen also made a point to bring out Timothy's own contradiction in his design. He used a lighter to burn a texture into his fabric, which mind you is a synthetic plastic that when burned releases toxins into the air. With his model looking like a plane crash victim he found his way into the bottom three, yet managed to sneak through and survive to the next week.

Miranda and Timothy are actually designers from the same city, and her attitude toward him from the start should have been a give away to his personality. I just though she was being a bitch.... nope she was right he should just be ignored some times. Miranda herself though seems a bit awkward to me. She had a very strong sense to her, probably from her time in the military, but she's already from the start not following the rules. The designers were told that the extra material was to be added for touches not the full look. And yet she still went and used mostly the black additive fabric for her look, only using her para-shoot for accents. The judges had her in the top three until they learned of this. She found her rank doing a 180 to the bottom for not following orders. Her two piece dress stood out, but I wasn't a fan. I'd have liked it better as a full dress.

Despite his good sewing skills Sandro also found himself in the bottom this week. His taste level was highly questionable to the judges, dressing his model up like a Vegas show girl in the 1920's. It also didn't help that in his design her lady parts were hanging out the bottom. Poor girl, she did her best to stay covered up, but there's not much you can do when you have to reveal and turn at the end of the run way.

Rounding out the bottom three designers was Angela. Her hooded dress looked more like a poncho and left everyone in the judges chairs wonders where the rest of her look was. On closer inspection her sewing skills weren't up to par either and she was voted out. I was a little sad to she her go so soon, cause from the start she seemed like a nice person. I liked her personality and was excited to see what she'd make through the run of the show. Guess my design senses are starting off rocky this go around.

Kate, the returning designer from season 11, found herself safely in the middle much to her disappointment. I know I said I'd stay open minded and give her an chance. Though she does seem to be being nicer this time around I also feel like she's trying too hard to be nice. Though I will admit it was funny to watch her almost face plant running to grab the para-shoot she wanted to use. The dress she made was girly and cute, but I didn't feel like it was anything special.

Also in the safe zone was Justin. I thought his pink dress was simple but pretty. It had nice movementto it and was just plain cute. Justin is another first in Project Runway history. Just like all the others he is a capable designer out there looking for his chance, so what makes him a runway first? He's their first hearing impaired designer. His explanation made me smile a bit "When people first meet me they think I'm from another country. No I'm just deaf." He has an interpreter for when they receive their challenges, just to make sure he doesn't miss anything, but in the work room he's on his own. I like the laid back attitude he's been showing so far, and in some ways being deaf give him an advantage. If the other designers are being rowdy or starting to bother him he quite literally turn them out and focus on his own work. I'm curious to see how far Justin will make it.

Sue was surprisingly in the top three this week. I wasn't too big on her look, but the judges found it charming. I really don't get their taste some times... I will say the woman has guts though. She had to ask for help from one of the other designers cause she wasn't sure how to use the sewing machine. With the level of competition this show hosts it had to have taken some balls to admit you weren't sure how to use basic equipment. 

I also give points to Dom who was nice enough to hep out a fellow designer when she could have just ignored the woman. Dom's look landed her safely in the middle. It was sporty but not something I'd want to wear. I'd like to see what else she can come up with though. 

I am happy to report that my favorite look of the week wound up being the winner. Bradon made a mad dash for the paras-shoot he wanted, jumping over a fallen Kate in the process. Not being use to the type of fabric he wasn't sure what it was capable of doing, so rather than drawing a plan out he just started playing with the fabric. What he ending up going with turned out great. It was pretty, intricate without being over worked and flowed beautifully on the runway. I was happy to see him win and I look forward to his next creation.

So far season twelve seems to off to a good start. I know I didn't cover all the designers but hopefully the rest will make something attention grabbing this week to make me spot light them as well. I have yet to pick who I want to win but a few are on my "to watch" list already.

Until next time.

Project Runway: TEAMS!!!

I know I haven't been staying on top of things as far as Project Runway goes this season, but there's a reason for that. I wasn't sure how I felt about it. Season eleven's twist was that every challenge would be a team challenge. Even to me it sounded like a fashion fiasco waiting to happen. Though they proved me wrong.

Most of the contestants were pleasant to one another, though a few too bossy and demanding. Yet I managed to pick a few favorites from the herd. The finals are coming up quickly and thus far it's been narrowed down to the final four. I'm pretty sure from previews though, that only three will really get to show at fashion week. 

Let's take a closer look shall we...

PRAS: Final - And the Winner is....

I know I'm a little late in getting around to this final recap, of Project Runway All Stars, but I wasn't entirely sure how I wanted to go about it. I like all three designers, be it by their work or personality. So no matter who was going to win I wouldn't hate the out come. As far as finals go it was a rather tame watch in the work room. They had four days to create a mini collection to show, and they got to choose how many pieces walked. No special twists and they each even got to choose a previously eliminated designer to help them out for a couple of days.

PRAS Update: Down to the Wire

This week our designers got to take a quick trip to France for inspiration and fabric shopping. They toured the House of Valentino and were invited as VIP guests to the latest couture show. They headed back to states with their imported fabrics and went straight from the air port to work room. They had a little more than 10 hours to put together their own couture creations. Couture looks are generally hand created pieces and can take weeks if not months to finish, so our designers had their work cut out for them.

PRAS UPDATE: Fashion Vets

Winning look by Joshua

This week on All Stars our designers where tasked with designing a look for a female veteran from one of the four branches of our U.S. military. Each lady was from a different branch and had their own special event to dress for.

The pairings were as follows:

Joshua = Army for a formal military event
Emilio = Navy for a bachelorlette party in Las Vegas
Uli = Marines for a wedding
Anthony Ryan = Air Force for her 40th birthday party

All the designers were inspired by their veteran models, but Joshua was the one to shine this week. As soon as his lady said she loved leopard print you knew it was a match made in heaven. The look he made for her was youthful and versatile. His client was very happy and confident in her dress and proud to show off her battle scars. Even her service dog got a little vest to compliment her. 

PRAS UPDATES: Christmas 20's Ready to Wear Catch Up!

Winning look by Uli

I've fallen a bit behind these past few weeks, so allow me to catch us up to speed with this triple shot update.

First up was my favorite of all challenges, the unconventional challenge. The designers hate this one but we as fans love it. This go around they were taken to a Christmas store and had to make a design with items bought from within. The All Stars twist was that it the looks weren't suppose to look like they came from a holiday store.

There was lots of tinsel and glitter mixed with fun and frustration. Uli and her magical trim touch took the top spot that week, though her and Anthony Ryan's looks were very similar in presentation. We also said farewell to Casanova. He just couldn't get his ideas wrapped up in non fabric materials. He went through two or three looks and ended up with a dress from leftovers that the other designers had. Sad to see him go but that was the hand he was dealt.

Unconventional looks I liked:
Uli's golden and silver butterfly dress.

PRAS Update: It's Not Easy Going Green

This week's winning look by Laura Kathleen

This week our designers went green. They were given the challenge of making a red carpet look from Eco friendly fabrics and their left over trims from past challenges.

A lot of the fabrics they had to choose from were very pretty but I don't know if I like how they translated to the red carpet looks. I feel like they would have been better suited to sundresses and beach resort wear.

Laura Kathleen took the win this week with her pants dress. Personally I hate it. Yes it looks comfortable but that's about it. I'm not a fan of that much pattern in that design either. The model just seems like she'd being eaten up by it. But I'm not one of the judges, nor am I an influence in the fashion world so who cares what I think. I personally felt that Casanova's dress fit the red carpet better and it had a heavy pattern too.

Althea was on the bottom this week. Between a bad fabric choice and too many ideas going into her dress she just didn't make the cut. I think if her dress was just in a different fabric and maybe in a darker color it would have been pretty cool, rather than just sort of odd.


Looks I liked:
Casanova's gown
Joshua's gown
Uli's short dress

Check out all the looks on Rate the Runway.