Project Runway: An Unconventional Launch Party
September 15, 2016 11:43 PM - Season 15, Episode 2 - Subscribe
Kicking off the season with an unconventional materials challenge, Heidi and Tim welcome the designers at a Season 15 launch party.
The designers are shocked to learn that the decor for the party will also serve as their materials for their looks. Savannah Guthrie joins the judging panel.
MyLifetime.com
The designers are shocked to learn that the decor for the party will also serve as their materials for their looks. Savannah Guthrie joins the judging panel.
MyLifetime.com
It seems like it might be a very cry-ery season. I disliked the dress so much of the one who went home. It was just terrible. Very elementary school project, what with those tassels glued on. Still not understanding exactly why he was so proud of it? He glued some trim onto a sack. None of it went together or complimented anything at all. I don't understand the pride aspect. All I saw were a bunch of vagina mustaches in various pastel colors and photos glued on for no apparent reason.
The yellow gumball dress was so fucking fantastic that I can't even believe it. How did she get those gumballs sliced so perfectly in half? I did not notice her cutting them. She has a wonderful aesthetic, and apparently no fear.....she makes crazy things, has a great sense of humor, and uses color. I like. And Dexter's dress was so amazing. I want it. He really listened to Tim (unlike the guy who went home....!) and changed it up. He would have been in the bottom three with the pillow/halter and the umbrella/skirt. Lesson learned...always listen to Tim. He is rarely wrong.
I too did not understand the negativity about the paper lantern dress. It so did not deserve to be in the bottom. It was so poetic, which is what I think Heidi may have said. It really was. I agree that the balance was off....it was too short for the amount of bulk of the dress. But it was really beautifully done. I also really loved the dress that was all green plates with a flowered neckpiece, I thought it was very well executed and kind of parrot-like.
This season has a lot of diversity in the designers, which is fantastic. I see a lot of strong personalities, also great. And that girl with the laugh....hilarious. My early faves are Dexter, the yellow dress girl, The tall married straight guy with short braids, and the other woman who was in the top with her crazy urban pants and that insanely great Tim/Heidi bag. I zeroed in on those directors chairs immediately and thought wow.....whoever gets those better do something great with them, and she did not disappoint. It takes me half a season to get the names down. So far I only know Dexter because he is just awesome, and Brik, because hair and crying.
posted by the webmistress at 8:49 AM on September 16, 2016 [3 favorites]
The yellow gumball dress was so fucking fantastic that I can't even believe it. How did she get those gumballs sliced so perfectly in half? I did not notice her cutting them. She has a wonderful aesthetic, and apparently no fear.....she makes crazy things, has a great sense of humor, and uses color. I like. And Dexter's dress was so amazing. I want it. He really listened to Tim (unlike the guy who went home....!) and changed it up. He would have been in the bottom three with the pillow/halter and the umbrella/skirt. Lesson learned...always listen to Tim. He is rarely wrong.
I too did not understand the negativity about the paper lantern dress. It so did not deserve to be in the bottom. It was so poetic, which is what I think Heidi may have said. It really was. I agree that the balance was off....it was too short for the amount of bulk of the dress. But it was really beautifully done. I also really loved the dress that was all green plates with a flowered neckpiece, I thought it was very well executed and kind of parrot-like.
This season has a lot of diversity in the designers, which is fantastic. I see a lot of strong personalities, also great. And that girl with the laugh....hilarious. My early faves are Dexter, the yellow dress girl, The tall married straight guy with short braids, and the other woman who was in the top with her crazy urban pants and that insanely great Tim/Heidi bag. I zeroed in on those directors chairs immediately and thought wow.....whoever gets those better do something great with them, and she did not disappoint. It takes me half a season to get the names down. So far I only know Dexter because he is just awesome, and Brik, because hair and crying.
posted by the webmistress at 8:49 AM on September 16, 2016 [3 favorites]
yay! Okay just watched it and it was a good start. At first there didn't seem to be any salvageable materials to use but the designers did a creative job and there were a few more who could've been in the top.
Final looks here
I liked woven placemat guy with lip ring; the floral neckline/green cut-up plastic plates dress (although I think he should've kept it as a top and have done something different for the skirt); same with the silver doily/furry sleeve girl, top only; the two all-white dresses, very chic. One I thought would be in the bottom: gold doily girl, that tent dress was too stiff. I was not enamored with the cut-up Mood shopping bag look but it did look good on the model and the bag was smart.
^I agree, the cut-up paper lanterns, Nina, when has that been done before? I wish they'd sent both guys home, one for being unoriginal and the other for that mess of styling and disjointed separates. But I REALLY liked how they deviated from the Top Three/Bottom Three formula. Winning blonde and I have the same eyeglasses (gulp).
posted by TWinbrook8 at 11:38 AM on September 16, 2016
Final looks here
I liked woven placemat guy with lip ring; the floral neckline/green cut-up plastic plates dress (although I think he should've kept it as a top and have done something different for the skirt); same with the silver doily/furry sleeve girl, top only; the two all-white dresses, very chic. One I thought would be in the bottom: gold doily girl, that tent dress was too stiff. I was not enamored with the cut-up Mood shopping bag look but it did look good on the model and the bag was smart.
^I agree, the cut-up paper lanterns, Nina, when has that been done before? I wish they'd sent both guys home, one for being unoriginal and the other for that mess of styling and disjointed separates. But I REALLY liked how they deviated from the Top Three/Bottom Three formula. Winning blonde and I have the same eyeglasses (gulp).
posted by TWinbrook8 at 11:38 AM on September 16, 2016
oh this is interesting. I just looked at the designers' sketches and several of them include their model's measurements.
posted by TWinbrook8 at 11:43 AM on September 16, 2016
posted by TWinbrook8 at 11:43 AM on September 16, 2016
I actually liked the glitter pants look; I thought the pieces worked fine together and seperately, no worse than some of the other wacky stuff that gets praised. I actually liked every single one except the losing one.
posted by bleep at 1:56 PM on September 16, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by bleep at 1:56 PM on September 16, 2016 [2 favorites]
I loved the lanterns look, although it was too short. I liked the winning dress too, but my sister and aunts said it looked like the Lorax, and I do have to admit that there was something very truffula tree about it.
My aunt liked ManBun (Brik), and I liked Cornelius (green plate dress).
posted by chainsofreedom at 2:35 PM on September 16, 2016
My aunt liked ManBun (Brik), and I liked Cornelius (green plate dress).
posted by chainsofreedom at 2:35 PM on September 16, 2016
This was a great opening episode. I love Tasha, I think she's going to be a great contestant and also good TV, but I wasn't keen on her outfit, I think she was unsettled by the challenge. I'm looking forward to seeing what she'll do with proper fabric.
San Francisco guy who employs ten people (woven placemat dress?) I think will be the cause of upset amongst the contestants. There was something about him I didn't like. And the preview I saw also showed draaahh-maaahh between Dexter and Cornelius, although no-one can come close to Ken and Alistair for hissy fits as far as I'm concerned.
ManBun is very cute, but those glitter pants were horrendous. I'm glad, though, that the judges saw that there was skill in the construction of the top, enough to keep him in.
I also liked the paper lantern dress that Fez-alike (Ribiero?) made. Very skillful - and I'm glad he made it a teeny bit longer than it was at the model fitting. I thought Ian's dress wasn't as boring as some of the judges thought. I actually agreed with Nina that it showed an aesthetic that was true to the designer. But it was badly made, particularly at the back.
But how the holy hell did Big Bird win? I hated everything about that dress. Then again, I'm typing this wearing baggy sweatpants, an oversized 20-year-old concert t-shirt and old lady slippers. WTF do I know about fashion?
posted by essexjan at 8:22 AM on September 17, 2016
San Francisco guy who employs ten people (woven placemat dress?) I think will be the cause of upset amongst the contestants. There was something about him I didn't like. And the preview I saw also showed draaahh-maaahh between Dexter and Cornelius, although no-one can come close to Ken and Alistair for hissy fits as far as I'm concerned.
ManBun is very cute, but those glitter pants were horrendous. I'm glad, though, that the judges saw that there was skill in the construction of the top, enough to keep him in.
I also liked the paper lantern dress that Fez-alike (Ribiero?) made. Very skillful - and I'm glad he made it a teeny bit longer than it was at the model fitting. I thought Ian's dress wasn't as boring as some of the judges thought. I actually agreed with Nina that it showed an aesthetic that was true to the designer. But it was badly made, particularly at the back.
But how the holy hell did Big Bird win? I hated everything about that dress. Then again, I'm typing this wearing baggy sweatpants, an oversized 20-year-old concert t-shirt and old lady slippers. WTF do I know about fashion?
posted by essexjan at 8:22 AM on September 17, 2016
I think we have a very talented group of designers. I just loved most of the looks that came down the runway, but I'm so tired of sour Nina and her opinions that don't match each other on the same runway, nevermind anything else she says. Brik's glitter pants and top weren't the most crazy-amazing things, but the complaint that they didn't work with one another made me wonder what she was up to. She also was way too harsh on the paper lantern dress, again for no reason.
However, I did love the gumball outfit that won, even though it was more about precision than it was about creativity. I can't wait to see what all the designers get up to this season.
posted by xingcat at 8:08 AM on September 19, 2016 [1 favorite]
However, I did love the gumball outfit that won, even though it was more about precision than it was about creativity. I can't wait to see what all the designers get up to this season.
posted by xingcat at 8:08 AM on September 19, 2016 [1 favorite]
This will be fun for me to watch since I ended up at a bar at Laguardia with the 5 finalists. A horrible storm delayed our flights. 30 minutes into the convo it was obvious they were on a reality show but denied it being Project Runway. Having spent a few hours with them, it will be good to see how the show edits them. One admitted, the show messed with their minds a great deal.
I promise I'll not give out any spoiler info. I probably won't post again.
posted by Lil Bit of Pepper at 9:05 PM on September 19, 2016 [5 favorites]
I promise I'll not give out any spoiler info. I probably won't post again.
posted by Lil Bit of Pepper at 9:05 PM on September 19, 2016 [5 favorites]
I like Brik's design better in retrospect. It was very well made, those pants and the top fit her like a glove, but I still think Nina was right that there was a disconnect between the two pieces: glitter bell bottoms and a beige futuristic top. The use of the baseball cap visors was inspired. The hair styling could've been a bad suggestion from the stylist.
I don't expect this season to be any better than the last several desultory seasons. Six finalists (three decoys?) have already showed at FW but they were not identified by name. So now, they don't even get to be acknowledged on the runway for their collections. (Mind you, I'm sure they were filmed separately saying their bit about inspiration and it will be spliced in to make it seem like it was part of the show.)
posted by TWinbrook8 at 4:22 AM on September 20, 2016
I don't expect this season to be any better than the last several desultory seasons. Six finalists (three decoys?) have already showed at FW but they were not identified by name. So now, they don't even get to be acknowledged on the runway for their collections. (Mind you, I'm sure they were filmed separately saying their bit about inspiration and it will be spliced in to make it seem like it was part of the show.)
posted by TWinbrook8 at 4:22 AM on September 20, 2016
That's what happens when you argue with Tim, Ian.
posted by Mr. Bad Example at 2:32 PM on September 23, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by Mr. Bad Example at 2:32 PM on September 23, 2016 [1 favorite]
Also, re: Dexter, I feel you can have either the bowl cut or the nose ring, but not both.
posted by Mr. Bad Example at 2:34 PM on September 23, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by Mr. Bad Example at 2:34 PM on September 23, 2016 [1 favorite]
I thought the paper lantern dress was lovely, but I also thought it wasn't quite as good as the sketches promised. That partially a length issue and that the back was more 3-D than the front, but I'd have given him the win regardless. It was a good idea, executed well and took advantage of the original material in a way that wasn't adhering flat surfaces to one another.
Strategically, going bold for color is a super-smart tactic. You'll stand out, you seem bolder than if your palette is all monochromatic or shades of beige and white, and it gives cover if you need to go simpler than originally planned.
The losing dress was just wrong from conception to culmination. you either extend the rows all the way around or you frame the heck out of those rows, not apply them to the front of a bland dress like a detachable panel.
posted by julen at 1:50 PM on September 24, 2016
Strategically, going bold for color is a super-smart tactic. You'll stand out, you seem bolder than if your palette is all monochromatic or shades of beige and white, and it gives cover if you need to go simpler than originally planned.
The losing dress was just wrong from conception to culmination. you either extend the rows all the way around or you frame the heck out of those rows, not apply them to the front of a bland dress like a detachable panel.
posted by julen at 1:50 PM on September 24, 2016
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I LOVED Roberi's "Starry Night" dress. Like Savannah I also gasped when the model came out but then she said "But not in a good way" and I was like "Huh? How is that possible?" I thought it's an amazing dress. I was waiting for someone to ask Nina what she was talking about when she said they had all seen that dress before. Like, you have seen a short sleeveless dress? You've seen a dress made out of paper lanterns? You've seen a dress that looked like an impressionist painting of a night sky? I mean there might be a legit opinion in there but I wish one of them would have challenged her.
I'm not mad about who they eliminated, he seemed like the most unlikable one that we've spent any time with. "Oh I do what ever I want" "Boo hoo I'm crying cause I can't just do whatever I want all the time".. ok, whatever. Go do whatever you want at home.
posted by bleep at 11:47 PM on September 15, 2016 [5 favorites]