Project Runway: Finale, Part 2
October 23, 2014 8:19 PM - Season 13, Episode 14 - Subscribe

The remaining designers present at New York Fashion Week, and a winner is crowned.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero (40 comments total)
 
Blergh. I didn't really care. I was just glad in a petty little way that Amanda didn't win, especially because earlier in the episode it seemed like the was getting the "please sashay into the winner's circle" edit.
posted by Madamina at 9:18 PM on October 23, 2014 [1 favorite]


Well, my feelings can be summed up as Booooooooo! To be fair, I would have booed any of these folks as winners. But the booing goes so much deeper: Zac saying out loud that Char was good for reality, but not to win, as if it wasn't even a controversial statement, as if he didn't even have to pretend. Bunim-Murray not even giving us a chance to miss Project Runway, but doubling down on killing the franchise with kid designers AND all-stars. Alexander is still the season's inexplicable fan favorite. Outfits designed as if breasts simply didn't exist. The idea that story was critical to fashion and designers can only design to one persona. Shorts make people "youthful". Nina's expression as the third fringe outfit came out compared to her "oh so editorial!" comments. Char basically asking permission from Tim to put that weird shredded LeAnn-wannabe dress in. Dust ruffles that tripled the diameter of a breast-al area like a terrible "flaw-concealling" shaming swimsuit. Zac Posen in general. Tim lying about how these folks were the most talented ever. An inadequate amount of time to develop the lines. et cetera et cetera.
posted by julen at 10:04 PM on October 23, 2014 [5 favorites]


I'll be over here putting some fringe on this thread.
posted by drezdn at 8:02 AM on October 24, 2014 [12 favorites]


Someone must have put a muzzle on Nina before the critiques. Either that or they edited out the part where she tried to strangle Muppetmaster Sean with his fringe.

It's a good thing Emmy Rossum is an actress, because comparing Patchwork Amanda to DVF or Donna Karan is something most folks could not do with a straight face. (Amanda will show up on the next All Stars saying, "Third time's the charm, right?" I think she has herself a gig as Permanent PR Contestant if she wants it.)

Horsehair Kini's neoprene problems really show up on a longer runway. One of the few looks I LOVED from the show was his little 50s apron tea dress. I hope he gets a job with a design firm somewhere. He just needs to work a few years with real clothes, or real humans maybe, who can explain to him why they don't want to wear pleated bandeaus across their boobs.

Char's collection was weirdly and unexpectedly the one I felt most positive about, even including her silly turquoise dress. She didn't rely on a single trick the way the rest of the designers did. If I could count up all the times a black person has been dismissed as "unsophisticated" by the PR judges, I would be able to count pretty high. I kind of wish they would stop even having "diversity" contestants if they're just going to mistreat them.

At some point after Gretchen Season, Tim Gunn was asked if the judging was all on the up and up and he got very mad and was all, "I would not participate if blah blah blah." Well, he must have grown fond of the lifestyle the extra cash has afforded him, because I doubt he'd be willing to say that again.

The reunion special is going to be AWESOME.
posted by brina at 8:05 AM on October 24, 2014 [4 favorites]


If I could count up all the times a black person has been dismissed as "unsophisticated" by the PR judges, I would be able to count pretty high.

I have never noticed this and that is pretty awful. Ugh. I have an awful feeling about this show now. That's gross. Gross gross gross.

Ugh. I can think of SO many times I have wanted a person of color, especially a woman, to win this show (Korto from Season 5). I have never thought of any of their collections as "unsophisticated".
posted by chainsofreedom at 8:18 AM on October 24, 2014 [5 favorites]


I disliked all 4 final collections but liked Kini's the best. Which is not saying much. He gets an semi-enthusiastic meh from me. His clothes do not move well but they're decent. I think some of those might have been amazing in a different fabric.

Emmy Rossum was right, Char seemed to be two different designers. I think if she had stuck to minimalist Char she might have been the winner. I was in love with several of her more minimal looks but I can't even with that turquoise dress. The underskirt was so ill-fitting and it was annoying that she couldn't see that, or didn't care.

Hated all of Amanda's dull origami paper bags. Sick of Sean and his fringe. Was bewildered by Heidi's orgasm over Kini's stupid leather shorts and top.

All in all.... 0_o
posted by the webmistress at 8:19 AM on October 24, 2014


Dom Streater (yay Philly!) won season 12 of PR. She's black. Not sure if there were any others though...I'm thinking not. I think Kara Saun was a shoe-in (get it?) for season 1 before Bootgate happened. She is still my favorite contestant ever.
posted by the webmistress at 8:27 AM on October 24, 2014 [1 favorite]


Okay, how sad must PR be right now that I can't even remember Dom? Or any of that season?

Also, I forgot to say yes on the shorts. Seriously, I was snoozing through most of it, and then I looked up and oh hey it was another goddamn pair of shorts. Leather. Feh.
posted by Madamina at 8:49 AM on October 24, 2014


Kini's leather shorts weren't the worst, though. The crumpled up white tissue/sheer skirt/shorts number made me cry out in horror.

I thought Kara Saun was going to win, up until her final collection (which was a zillion times better than the stuff we saw last night). Placed against Jay's explosion of color and shape, the buttoned up, slightly bulky aviator styles looked more formal and fusty, constricting and old-timey. In contrast, to be fair, his looked more crafty and 70s, but it also looked textural and touchable (and modern in that sense). In any case, the shoes did hurt her, but I think Jay's collection was as worthy a winner as hers would have been, and that decision came down to personal preferences among the judges.

I loved Korto's collection, and I still believe she should have won her season. I wasn't appalled LeAnne won, but I thought Korto's collection was fresher and more interesting.
posted by julen at 9:08 AM on October 24, 2014 [1 favorite]


I think the producers had to add the drama of re-working the collections because they were so dull. Dull, dull, DULL. It was true you could see the designers in all their collections.

Char's clothes looked like the stuff you can buy in Walthamstow Market for a night out clubbing, on those stalls where they're selling end of line clothes that don't match or go together in any way at all. (I did like her hoodie dress on the Debbie Harry-lookalike model though.)

Kini's clothes, whilst immaculately sewn, were odd. I thought there'd be some negative comments about the giant panty front on that evening gown. It looked weird.

Sean's collection was very one-note and boring.

I liked Amanda's the best, although her colour choices were too muted for my taste. Dear God, something's gone horribly wrong if Amanda's collection was my favourite.

My prediction for the reunion is that Korinna storms out when she's called out on her shitty attitude. And a fly will finally fly into Alexander's mouth and choke him, live on air.
posted by essexjan at 9:36 AM on October 24, 2014 [6 favorites]


Yawnsville. At least Amanda didn't win.
posted by Arbac at 11:28 AM on October 24, 2014


I thought they were all mediocre, so I resorted to rooting for Sean, because Kiwi.

So, yay, I guess?
posted by gaspode at 2:10 PM on October 24, 2014


I kept zoning out and had to "rewind" Amanda's fashion show because I missed part of it.

I just don't want to watch this if they're not going to let people spend more than a month on a collection for the finale. I understand that it is probably cheaper for them to shoot one day challenges as opposed to two day challenges, but there's no compelling reason to make people design a collection in less than four weeks.

Even Tom and Lorenzo are giving up.

I am steadily working through Project Runway Australia and when done with that will try PR Canada.
posted by sciencegeek at 6:59 PM on October 24, 2014


I'm fine with the decision, but man, this year's runway was soporific. I think I'd rather have watched Wendy Pepper's "Real Dryads of Appomattox State Forest" than half of this stuff.
posted by en forme de poire at 9:08 PM on October 24, 2014 [5 favorites]


First I have to say, I don't think "unsophisticated" is reserved for black contestants. I think it has been shared by many people over the years! However, it is no surprise that an all white/only-ever-white panel does not always appreciate everything equally. I can certainly agree that Korto was robbed in her season. Remember her lettuce dress with the cherry tomato detail! And Dom was terrific (and just seemed to have the most wonderful personality too.)

I thought Sean's was the most boring. But I have to admit I completely loved that final orange super fringe number and especially on the model he picked to wear it. I would have preferred Amanda or Kini win. I think Char has a great future but I don't think she had as many new ideas or as much experience as the others.

I just watched the finale of PR Australia Season 4. Holy cow, those collections were SO MUCH BETTER than this tired 13th season here. Ugh! I would love to see a thread on PR Australia! Because holy cow, their mentor is alternatively brilliant and SO RUDE. Also, accents. :)
posted by Glinn at 9:43 AM on October 25, 2014 [1 favorite]


I would be interested in a PR Australia thingie.
posted by sciencegeek at 9:53 AM on October 25, 2014


I only follow Project Runway through these threads but now that I've image searched for Korto's outfits- wow, I love them! Great colors and nice silhouettes. (So thanks for that.)
posted by small_ruminant at 1:46 PM on October 25, 2014


I Thought char should win. Yeah, her collection was a little unformed... But that's just because she doesn't have all the experience the others have. Her clothes are less polished, but only because she's not as experienced at polishing them. When you look at her collection in that light, what you see is an incredible amount of talent and an amazing eye for design. She's got real talent, and I wish the judges had awarded that.

But I also thought Sean's collection was fantastic. I'm happy with him as the winner... and I'm really just glad they didn't give us GretchenGate v. 2.0 by giving the win to Amanda. I so thought they were going to.
posted by meese at 2:22 PM on October 25, 2014 [2 favorites]


I skipped most of the episode; the only part I watched was the runway and the judging afterwards. I'd seen the collections at TLo earlier; what I wanted to see was the collections in motion.

Kini's biggest mistake was fitting his clothes to a mannequin and not a live model. If he'd had someone walk in them before he arrived in New York, he would've seen how stiff they were but yes he should have known that heavy-weight denim + pleating + horsehair would make for a very stiff collection. I swear most of his clothes could stand up by themselves. That last gown made his model look disjointed walking down the runway.

Same thing with Char, that last outfit with the long back... she used upholstery fabric! If she'd just had someone walk in it ahead of time, before she committed to it, she would've seen how awkward it looked. The first dress was fitted terribly and had no connection with anything else.

She had a few good looks, in fact a couple of her designs were my favorites out of all of them but it was not a collection. She really missed developing a strong viewpoint. She ended up with a bunch of random clothes that didn't relate to each other in any way.

Sean was definitely playing the game, or rather overplaying it. I had to laugh when he was the only one who tried to link his collection to the Rome trip and he went way overboard on the fringe. I don't know if there exists "designer" fringe but the only fringe I know is the creepy shiny polyester stuff. It seems odd to use such a cheap trim as the basis of an entire collection. I did like his color palette though: white and orange.

Amanda. A lot of viewers over at TLo found her annoying. She didn't bother me but I didn't think her clothes were very interesting, I was never eager to see what she would come up with as I was with Fade. Her jewellery was basic.

I wish the reunion show had been immediately after. I watched a bit of the kiddie version and it was pretty terrible. I'll try to catch All-Stars. I finished watching all the PR Australia Season 4 episodes and while I enjoyed the consistent!!! judging--and that is a big asset--I was disappointed in the final collections (again!) (They all look so much more interesting when they are half-finished!) I think the Australian version is less interested in cutting edge fashion and more pragmatic about wearable clothes.
posted by TWinbrook8 at 8:03 PM on October 25, 2014 [1 favorite]


Wendy Pepper's "Real Dryads of Appomattox State Forest"


*snert*
posted by louche mustachio at 4:46 AM on October 26, 2014 [1 favorite]


GODDAMN though this was boring.

Everything on this show just needs to be dialed the Hell back to the beginning. No extra gimmicks, lay off the SPONSORED! whatever, give the designers enough time to make interesting clothes, try to restrain the production fuckery. No saves, no immunity after the middle of the season, keep the dramamongering to an essential minimum, as it will surely make itself.

That will never happen, of course.

This show used to be fun.


Boo.
posted by louche mustachio at 4:53 AM on October 26, 2014 [1 favorite]


Here's the thing about the difference in the first season to now. The first season, you would see designers wearing Walkman earphones, designing and sewing and concentrating on their clothes. The designers get no chance to do that now. Could you imagine allowing Korina to just wear headphones and look down at her own work? No. Bunim/Murray would never allow such a thing, because this is "Real World" with some clothes and a ton of product placement heaped on top of it.
posted by xingcat at 7:27 AM on October 26, 2014 [1 favorite]


There's no question that the models have always been thin. Very thin. But has anyone else noticed the last two seasons have had insanely thin models? Like - beyond thin and more like borderline holocaust prisoners. And I mean that with no disrespect to the horrors of the holocaust. Several of the models' appearance was shocking and distressing. In addition to everything else that has been mentioned here, this also is destroying my respect for what used to be a really interesting show.
posted by double bubble at 9:06 AM on October 26, 2014 [5 favorites]


Yes! I noticed one model in particular, and was aghast when I saw her upper arms. I meant to mention it and forgot.
posted by the webmistress at 10:54 AM on October 26, 2014


It also didn't help that their "real woman" challenge was more like "find a wild size 0" -- though thinking about it further, I'd rather have that than Ven Budhu having a full-on tantrum about fitting someone with non-model dimensions.
posted by en forme de poire at 12:00 PM on October 26, 2014


(That should really have read "a size 0 in the wild" and "non-conventional-model dimensions." Of course there are plus-size models! And on thinking about it, I actually think that fitting an all plus-size model cast might be an even better challenge for a number of reasons - they've never done that, right?)
posted by en forme de poire at 12:08 PM on October 26, 2014


Blah. It felt like none of them really deserved a win*.

Dust ruffles that tripled the diameter of a breast-al area like a terrible "flaw-concealling" shaming swimsuit

Ha ha I said aloud, "Why is there a dust ruffle on that dress?" And also, "Why is he trying to fringe with dryer lint?"
posted by fleacircus at 2:12 PM on October 26, 2014 [1 favorite]


Dust ruffle thing was really crazy.
posted by Glinn at 5:15 PM on October 26, 2014 [1 favorite]


Was anyone else skeeved out by the Aldo commercials filmed in extra narrow skinny vision making their models look super emaciated, like 7 feet tall and 48 pound skinny? And don't get me started about those lipsticks commercials, and the horse-faced hair dye shill...
posted by a humble nudibranch at 11:22 PM on October 26, 2014 [1 favorite]


There was not enough Makeup Daddy in this season either :(
posted by en forme de poire at 12:23 PM on October 27, 2014


I thought they were all mediocre, so I resorted to rooting for Sean, because

that amazing rain-activated color infused dress is one of the coolest things ever.

And I like fringe and I appreciate how he stands by his decision to continually use fringe despite being repeatedly implored not to. And I like how he does subtle things to the fringe, cutting it and shaping it and thinning it out and such. His collection was very very fringy but I thought it worked. I was unable to glean anything about the betrayal of Caesar, however, but it was charming that he went abroad and had a meaningful experience and tried to express his emotions through his art. Emmy Rossum seemed to understand the couture language and got the Caesar narrative, but she's trained in make believe, so.

But still, yay for rain dress!
posted by danabanana at 7:50 PM on October 27, 2014


OK, I just finished PR Australia Season 1 and the runway show was just so, so much better. Without spoiling anything, the designers did have more time (an extra month -- though it was an extra two months back in the first season of PR America!), but I think the biggest difference was that the multiple-day challenges selected for people who were more likely to put on a really great show when given actual time and money, as opposed to people who could just bang out something safe and acceptable in 8 hours or what the fuck ever.

Plus, they cast people who were good designers but also were fun to watch. After season 4, the American casting really veered into America's Next Top Gimmicky Catchphrase territory (hi Suede), or in some cases outright Antisocial Personality Disorder Theater (hi Sandro), which is just gross. Are there really so many more people that would rather cringe at people with strange ideas about the world (hi Sustainicorn) than just watch real people f'ing around and having a good time? (I am aware of a little latent hypocrisy here because I definitely hate-watched Korina's meltdown, but still.) Part of this may also be the time constraint - maybe when you're under such unrealistic time constraints the whole time, you're raising everyone's stress level so there's no headspace for fun, playful interaction and you just get "all business" or "naked hostility" or perhaps even "strangely delusional behavior."

Anyway nothing will really ever compare to Jay McCarroll's talking heads complete with Bjork hair and a fuzzy caftan but PR Aus did at least remind me of better things.

QUICK SOMEONE POST THE FIRST PR AUS EPISODE SO WE CAN GET TO THE FINALE, CAN YOU TELL I REALLY WANT TO TALK ABOUT THE FINALE
posted by en forme de poire at 2:43 PM on October 29, 2014


(Maybe since they already aired we should just put one post for the whole PR Australia season?)

I came in to mention PR Canada! I was pretty underwhelmed for several episodes, and Iman seems just a little bit meaner than Heidi. It doesn't help that their catchphrase is "I'm sorry, you just didn't measure up."

Most recently there has been some model drama. And for the first time in any of the relates series (that I've seen), one of the other contestants actually spoke up and said that something was totally unfair to another designer. (Or at least, that they showed it. I can't help but think SO MUCH interesting stuff is lost to cutting down for time.) I don't want to spoil it so I won't tell you all about it but suffice it to say someone got stuck with a very different model with not much time to make all the adjustments needed. And the mentor basically said, "them's the breaks". I never liked this aspect of the show, that through no fault of their own, they are faced with a severe disadvantage like being given a different size model or missing a model fitting.

Anyway, I'm at episode six (season one) and there is definitely drama. Someone has been singled out as the one who "should have gone home" for more than one episode - so there is a little ganging up (mostly behind her back), and frankly the complainers are just coming off as unfriendly and poor sports (not Katrina level). But I'm only on ep 6. Anyway, they've also done some cool looking clothes so people should put it in their queue.

Ok, we should do a PR Canada too. I wonder if anyone will come down here and read this. :D
posted by Glinn at 4:03 PM on October 29, 2014 [1 favorite]


Can anyone give me a link to season 1 episode 3 of project runway australia? For some reason, I can't find it.
posted by meese at 5:46 PM on October 30, 2014


Where are you guys watching? Just on youtube, or hulu or...where?
posted by the webmistress at 6:02 AM on October 31, 2014


Yeah, Youtube. The video quality isn't always that high, but it fills the People Under Suboptimal Conditions Designing Clothing hole in my heart.
posted by meese at 8:38 AM on October 31, 2014 [1 favorite]


I 100% support starting FanFare threads for previous seasons of the Canadian and Australian versions. I want to watch a version of PR that isn't terrible!
posted by Arbac at 9:57 AM on October 31, 2014


ah yes, the PUSCDC hole. I too have one of those.
posted by sciencegeek at 4:30 PM on October 31, 2014


Can anyone give me a link to season 1 episode 3 of project runway australia? For some reason, I can't find it.

meese, the first part of the episode seems to be missing, but the rest of the episode is part of this Project Runway Australia Season 1 playlist. And for anyone else, most of the other episodes of the season are in that playlist as well.
posted by bjrn at 3:24 AM on November 1, 2014 [2 favorites]


Ugh I just watched the reunion for this season and now I feel like a worse human being.
posted by en forme de poire at 3:12 PM on November 8, 2014


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