Christian wins! In the words of guest judge Victoria Beckham, “It was major.”Why all the hate for Victoria Beckham? I just don’t get it. I would do anything to stand and stare in her closet. She’s never done anything tasteless or harmful. She’s a working mom - yes, being Posh Spice is a job - with an athletic husband. Who cares anyway? The woman can dress!Rami: It was my least favorite of the top three collections. He had beautiful, woven pieces, but the color pattern didn’t fit. There was a vibrant blue, a lovely red, a puke green and a touch of gold and lace. Although, Rami designed different looks for any time of day or event the looks were not consistent. It didn’t feel like a full collection to me. I will give Rami props: forget a paper bag - he makes a basket look good! Rami finally gave Nina what she asked for. The intricate details of the weaving were marvelous and the judges were so impressed. There was some draping, which I...
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Reasons why we love Tim Gunn: He’s charismatic, intelligent, charming, genuine, has impeccable taste and he’s always right. Tim’s advice and constructive criticism are crucial in this competition. He’s the designers’ personal guide through each challenge, but they’ve rarely listened to him. Ignoring Tim's advice leaves Heidi, Michael and Nina with easy targets.Tim was entertained by the friends and families of the designers. I wish we met some of Christian’s friends. He literally lives in a shoebox! This may have surprised many viewers, but that’s New York. It’s not cheap and space is limited, but believe me - it’s worth it. This was the first part of the Project Runway finale. Our final four designers decided to go dark, goth-glam this year. Keep in mind this is the winter Bryant Park show. I think someone like Uli (a finalist last season) would have had an immensely difficult time designing for this show. It’s not sp...
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"Reunion"
Season 4, Episode 12
Birth Name: Casey Angelina MarsellaWrestling Diva Alias: RedsWrestling Power: Don’t touch me, I’m that hot.My hair is always red, but by that hot, I mean, sun burnt Obviously, I do not have a future in wrestling or porn, but watching little Jillian throw her legs and arms around as “Tuffie” was equally hilarious as Chris March dressed in a Wonder Woman costume with large smothering breasts. Wait. That already happened!I always enjoy a reunion and tonight was no different. I can't wait to use the line, "Keep your brain waves off of me." Thanks Chris! My favorite part involved Michael Kors and Christian. Michael Kors always wears jeans, a black shirt and blazer, but he always looks great! As Michael explained (with pre-fashion genius pictures), his past fashion choices I immediately thought of Christian. When Michael Kors was young he said he felt the need and urge to wear anything and everything that was trendy or popular at that particular moment. That...
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The last challenge before Fashion Week competition centers on the outfitters' own artistic expression. Following the elimination, the final designers journey home to work on their signature line.
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Raw Talent
Season 4, Episode 10
I’ll admit, I peeked on this one. Usually, I’m not a fan of spoilers, but I read the challenge description and was very disappointed. I couldn’t believe Project Runway would charter this territory. However, tonight actually turned out well! I can’t believe I ended up enjoying this challenge. It was one of my favorites thanks to the "models". I'd take the women of the WWE and use them for the rest of the season if I could! They were full of personality and so happy to work with the designers. The Challenge: The designers were introduced to the top six female wrestlers of the WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment). The wrestlers were not runway models, but they have beauty, poise and personality. All of the wrestlers were confident and had their own unique sense of style for the ring. Each designer chose a wrestler and went to work.The Designers: The fabric was bought at Spandex House. Oh, the lovely fabric that stretches… it’s a part of our ever...
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The lingering outfitters dive into the jean pool when they must put an original spin on denim.
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On Garde!
Season 4, Episode 8
The Challenge: Models? Real Models! Their hair was funky, which in the fashion industry means: inspiration! Avant-Garde (experimental, innovative, Elle magazine). Got it? Good.The Designers: They had to pair up. I applauded when Christian and Chris were matched. Team Fierce! Every one was reluctant to be captain. Jillian didn’t have a choice, because her partner Victorya had immunity. Was it just me or was Rami PMSing? Seriously. Was he not there for the Tiki Barber menswear challenge? Sweet P can’t make pants! Even if she says she can, she can’t. However, she does know how to make an adorable dress… we’ll get to that later.Kit and Ricky were a team. This instantly worried me. Kit has always been persistent with her garments. She has never been scored low, and yet, she had never won a challenge either. Ricky has scored low and somehow beat Kevin last week (yes, I’m still bitter). The Tim Gunn Surprise: “Designers, please gather a...
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Episode 7 The Challenge: New “clients” were brought in to help crown the winner for this challenge. For the first time in the series, the client picked the designer. Each designer was given a $250 budget to make a dress for the “most important day in a girl’s life”. Confirmation? Bat Mitzvah? Cotillion? Super Sweet Sixteen!?! Graduation? Wedding? No. Not quite. Prom! Wait, what, most important...? But I assume the word “girl” should be stressed. I thought it was the worst of the season. It hasn’t been too long since I attended a prom and personally, I wouldn’t be caught dead in any of those dresses. The Designers: The episode had its funny moments, but the drama between Maddie and Christian was absurd. A designer should never blame their client. However, if you’ve worked with people and had to use the phrase, “The customer is always right”, then you know that sometimes (if not, always) the customer is really just cr...
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Eye Candy
Season 4, Episode 6
Episode 6The Challenge: Oh, the bittersweet taste of mixing candy with fashion! The designers were taken on a field trip to the Hershey store in Times Square. They were given five minutes to fill shopping bags with whatever costly items they wanted. Some opted for fabric based items such as giant candy bar pillows, while others took the edible route with peanut butter cups and Twizzlers. I immediately thought of costume designer, Chris March. Of all the designers, he has had the most experience with non-material fabric. Chris has had a tendency to add small details to his designs (red fish tail on a navy skirt) that give the “costume” impression. This challenge could have gone either way for him. I feared the worst. The Designers: Christian has his cute, corky moments, but he was annoying tonight. The dress he made, using brown fabric and the brown wrappers from Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups as detail, was nice, but it wasn’t extraordinary. He sewed a h...
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Episode 5“She doesn’t like prints, she doesn’t like color, she only wears black, black every day, never a dress, never a skirt…” I felt like Ricky while watching this episode. Tears galore.The challenge: I miss the challenges that required each contestant to make a garment out of materials other than fabric. I still dream about Michael’s shawl made out of recyclable bubble wrap last year! However, this challenge made me smile more than cry.Each designer was given a new model. The models were women who have recently lost a significant amount of weight. They were each wearing their former favorite outfit. The outfits were all very different. There were shawls, over sized blazers and even a wedding dress. The challenge was to take the old and make new. Because each designer already had plenty of fabric to work with, they were only given a $10 budget for extra materials. Steven chose black material, Jillian found the exact same colored fabric as ...
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Episode 4Fierce is the new hot.I actually said, “That’s fierce!” to my 84 year old grandmother last night. She had no idea what I was saying, but she went with it, because well, she’s fierce!The Challenge: Brilliant. Although it was another team challenge, it let each designer individually shine with a stitch of drama. If I had been sitting there when it came time to pick a captain I would have fell silent and refused eye contact. You know, like in school when the teacher asks about a homework question you “forgot” to do, so you stared down at your blank notebook paper hoping your name wouldn't get called. Each group had two days with a $225 budget. The designers easily formed groups after picking outdated trends; which will all appear again in our lifetime, because much to my dismay, tights are “in”. I’m sorry, but only certain people can pull the look off without looking like an eight year old on Easter. Anyway, the challenge re...
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Episode 3I apologize for the delay. I originally created this blog for fun and then was asked to make it the official PR blog. Although, there are "rules" for blogging, this is voluntary, so please forgive me, but it will not always make it up in a timely manner. I promise to do my best, but I was very busy last week. The guest: Tiki Barber. There were two wonderfully, diverse reactions to Mr. Barber. First we had Kevin’s eyes pop out of their sockets and his jaw hit the floor; then we had Steven say, “…I don’t really know much about football, except that it’s probably the only time on television when spandex is acceptable.” There was also my reaction: WTF?Menswear is an extremely difficult challenge, especially for our “budding” designers who primarily work with women’s fashion. I applaud the challenge, because although females are stereotyped as the fashion guru gender; it’s stubborn to think men lack an opinion when it comes t...
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The guest: Sarah Jessica Parker as a guest on anything is an amazing feat. The designers were speechless, but it was my favorite costume designer, Chris Martin, who described just how amazing it was when he nervously met with the lovely actress and teared-up during a “confession” that she was the reason he moved to New York City to pursue his dream. Carrie Bradshaw will do that to ya!SJP recently launched her own clothing line: Bitten. The challenge was to design a two-piece outfit for SJP’s fall-winter collection. Bitten is noted as affordable and defined by its’ every type of woman appeal. The designers sketched and met with the fashion-famed Sex and the City star. She then chose seven designers she felt captures the true essence and design of her line and those seven picked partners. The real challenge: the entire outfit had to retail at just $40! The paired teams were given fifteen dollars for fabric and materials. The designers: Everyone sketched beau...
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Alright, this is my fun blog. I am giving myself the "go ahead" for any grammar or spelling mishaps, because frankly, I don't care. I love Project Runway and I want to speak freely about it each week without writer's stress. So, let's talk Project Runway!The judges... Heidi Klum is fabulous. Her voice can get under my skin, but her appearance and honesty is so sophisticated. Nina says what I am thinking every week! It’s as if the woman lives in my mind. Tim Gunn is the definition of exquisite. That man is one-of-a-kind. We (me, my friends and maybe you) all love to watch William Sledd-fashion youtube videos, but no one compares to Gunn's patient, accurate and flawless advice to the designers. Heidi is so lucky! He is every woman’s dream-best-friend. I'm lucky to have a brother, cousin and best friend just like him. What can I say? They love me. I was blessed. The designers… my favorite is Chris Martin. I know it may be too early to judge, but last year I pi...
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