Project Runway Season 15

[javero]

Two episodes in and 4 designers are already sweeping the work room floor with the competition.  They've got a lil' east coast/west coast battle going on.  They're evenly split between genders but style-wise I gotta give the edge to the ladies, Erin Robertson of Cambridge, MA and Ms Laurence Basse of Los Angeles by way of Paris. Those two ladies know their respective customers, have clearly-defined aesthetics, can actually sew which is sometimes taken for granted on the series, and are brimming with confidence.  Of course, there's this lil' annoying dude hell bent on getting this season's shaite-stirrer/drama queen edit which is so tired and passe.  I'm looking forward to seeing what Erin and Laurence present on the runway next.

Hopefully, either or both will design something for Heidi to wear on set during the judges deliberation.  In episode 2, Heidi was rocking an ill-fitting dress that didn't flatter her backside one bit, left her with smashed plantains up top, and washed her out.  Even I could see that it was a bad fit and wrong color choice for her.  How is it possible that a designer could make Heidi look shapeless and like a prop?

[Jordan Catalano]

I have a huge crush on Brik, so even though he won't last much longer I want him to stay until the end. 

[Brave Sir Robin2]

Brik is so charming and seems so full of potential, but his designs have not been great. Here's hoping he pulls off something great, if anything to keep his precious face on TV! 

 

Cornelius is a shady mess trying too hard to be a TV villain, and I love how Dexter is having absolutely NONE of it. 

[javero]

From what I gathered in the last episode, the consensus is that Brik hasn't mastered the fundamentals of garment design yet.  There's a humility about him that's refreshing for that particular series.

I was over Cornelius midway through the season premiere.  He seems moderately talented but his attitude undermines his creativity as a designer and any redeeming qualities he has left as a human being. 

I sense that Alex Snyder's claws are about to come out real soon.  He seems talented but slightly annoyed that Brik would even be cast in the same series as him.

It remains to be seen whether the competition will put a damper on Mah-Jing and Tasha's newfound friendship.  There's another alliance that appears somewhat shaky.  Nathalia has already admitted that Cornelius and she were "frenemies" before being cast this season.

[Jordan Catalano]

Yay!!!! My Brik was safe!!!!!

[SonofMammaMiaSam]

He spends more time on his hair than design thought process.  That man braid was cool, but he could have lost the top knot with it.

[LaurenB]

Everytime I look at Erin, I'm reminded of the Bishop character on NCIS, LOL.

What;s with that gal with the hideous laugh?  It's as if she started to imitate a cartoon character when she was a little girl, found out that it made people laugh, and she has been acting the part ever since.  Not sure I could be around that for any length of time.  

[Jordan Catalano]

One of my best friends laughs exactly like that. You get used to it. lol

[dramamama611]

I just wish they'd stop editing so much of it in to the broadcast.

 

I'm enjoying, but really wonder: how much of the "casting" has to do with their actual designs and how much is their personalities.   

 

 

[haterobics]

^^ That debate was settled when they added an extra 30 minutes, and it was just more drama and judge commentary, and less sewing and design.

[javero]

As much as I dislike Cornelius' personality, I suspect that his collection at fashion week would be a huge hit if he somehow landed in the top 3.

 

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His last-minute emoji dress reveals a designer who can problem-solve under pressure and one who guzzles pop culture by the gallons.  I can see Erin, Laurence, and him pushing boundaries on the runway.

All that aside, the highlight of the Blacklight Challenge was Tim Gunn's spot-on critiques in the work room, especially his Come-to-Jesus moments with Brik and Mah-Jing.

PS: Jenni's funny and casual look was hella-creative but left her model with a trace of camel toe, especially under blacklight.  Let's just call it a "toelet".

 

[dramamama611]

haterobics said: "^^ That debate was settled when they added an extra 30 minutes, and it was just more drama and judge commentary, and less sewing and design.

 

"

I suppose, but I just find that several of them don't seem to have "it" at all.   Like Jordy's beloved, Brik.

[javero]

I do NOT agree with the decision to eliminate ... after the swimsuit challenge one bit.  How could they not send ... home for sending the model out in an ill-fitting eeny weeny too damn teeny bikini in the tackiest of print with a sheet as a cover up?  Arggggghhhh  At least the eliminated designer's bikini fit the model.

[bjh2114]

Nah, the right person went home.  There was no vision there whatsoever, and the coverup was tacky. Plus, it looked like it was designed for a 7-year old.

[dramamama611]

I also think a big part of why she went home is she didn't listen to the critique at all .

[AEA AGMA SM]

Absolutely, dramamama. Go back and watch any of the "design for Heidi or her line" challenges and you'll see that anyone who ignores her work room critique ends up on the chopping block. If she says she's hating something in the work room and you don't make major changes before sending it down the runway nothing good has ever come of that.

 

I'm honestly so confused by people who end up in the later seasons of long running reality contest shows. By the fourth season you can pretty much predict what sort of challenges will be coming up. If you are going on the show why are you not preparing for that? (It's the same question I have now that Hell's Kitchen is now in it's 16th season and people are still showing up there not knowing how to cook risotto, or properly sear scallops, or any of the other countless dishes that contestants have been messing up on that show for the previous 15 seasons).

[SonofMammaMiaSam]

I ran into Laura Bennett (Season 3) at the Vanessa Williams concert in Bethlehem, PA on Saturday.  She's now a blonde and was in a smashing fringed cocktail dress. Still one of my all time favorite competitors.

[javero]

Aw...I remember her well.  There's an interesting, albeit slightly dated, piece about her at the link below.  I'm sorry to learn that she lost her husband to cancer a couple of years ago.

FROM PROJECT RUNWAY TO ARCHERY
FAME: LAURA BENNETT SHELTON

[LaurenB]

Thanks for posting the article, I am sad to read that her husband passed away, especially with having so many young children.  On another note, I was shocked to find out that we're practically neighbors.  I have often passed her house on my morning walk.  I wonder if she has ever met Marla Duran, a contestant from Season 2.  Marla has a boutique in town.  

But back to this past week's competition... I honestly was expecting a double elimination.  

[dramamama611]

Awwww....I was hoping for a Tim Gunn save.  

 

Both teams were incredibly kjnd and supportive. .

[javero]

Wow, we finally got a Tim Gunn save.  I just hope that it wasn't wasted.  I admire and respect Tim but feel that his use of the save was driven more by political correctness than any other factor.  So what if the saved designer got paired with "two mean girls" as Tim put it.  The saved designer himself started out as the meanest of the lot.  Call me old-fashioned but I don't think Tim did him any favors by coddling him just for good TV. Only one of his designs has been noteworthy to dtae.  Tim has only prolonged the inevitable.  But, it was his call, not mine. 

[SonofMammaMiaSam]

I've lost respect for Tim after that save.  It was not warranted. 

[Wildcard]

I agree that Tim wasted the save. Cornelius' work was not deserving of being saved, even if he had kept the original skirt along with it. While the early wins seem to have gone to Erin's head, even her bottom looks had a distinct point of view. 

[dramamama611]

I hate when the judges say the should have fought more.With  deadlines looming, how can they, at some point, someone's got to just work.

 

His work was not, however, worthy of the save.

[javero]

Designs aside, Cornelius has a lot of growing up to do.  Right now, he's 24 going on 10.  Then again, last year's winner cried her way all the way to the season finale.  Perhaps due to my age now, I've always been drawn to the older designers with both talent and life experience like Laurence this season.  She's a very astute woman who's not getting sucked into that vortex of sophomoric drama.  Clearly she knows what on the line at this stage in her life.

[RippedMan]

His "street" outfit was all kinds of awful. His taste level is....eh. But he's a good sewer.