Project Runway: Welcome to the Urban Jungle
October 29, 2016 5:05 PM - Season 15, Episode 7 - Subscribe
This week after acting as shills for a new amusement park ride, the designers tackle streetwear.
First, photos are here (you have to scroll down a bit).
I was trying to figure out if the corporate masters that own Universal are also the ones that one the network but after a certain point, I just didn't care any more. Remember when the designers got trips to France or Italy? Now they're looking at cheesy 3D videos in Florida. Yeah, what a way to exposure them to fashion culture and history and inspire them to greatness!
I really, really, really wish the challenges were longer and that Tim actually had the opportunity to mentor the contestants properly by teaching them something. This week's lesson could have been: pants won't fit properly in the crotch if all you do is sew together two flat pieces of material without shaping and darting and otherwise paying attention to the fact people aren't flat paper dolls.
Okay after that rant, I'm guessing everybody can tell what I thought of Laurence's pants. Nope. sorry. She didn't deserve the win because of those horrible, horrible pants.
The top three: Laurence, Nathalia, and Dexter.
The bottom three: Erin, Cornelius and Brik
Honestly after the judge's comments--"military Mickey"--I didn't realize Dexter was in the top. I had to go back and check to see who was ranked where. It felt more like a top two and bottom four.
I think Nathalia deserved the win--both for trying something new (not another leather jacket) and for creating the least-ill-fitting pants in the top three (although not by much when you look at them from the back).
Of the bottom group, I would have sent Erin home. That was just a mess--even the embroidery was really poorly done. I know she got a pass because she has been a winner in the past, but if they were just judging on what walked the runway, she earned the "auf." I know I keep mentioning Brik in my posts, which is odd because I'm not really a fan of his, but I don't think he deserved to go home for this outfit. Yes, the pants and top didn't go together at all, but at least I thought he was trying something, and I think the top at least was relatively well constructed.
First, photos are here (you have to scroll down a bit).
I was trying to figure out if the corporate masters that own Universal are also the ones that one the network but after a certain point, I just didn't care any more. Remember when the designers got trips to France or Italy? Now they're looking at cheesy 3D videos in Florida. Yeah, what a way to exposure them to fashion culture and history and inspire them to greatness!
I really, really, really wish the challenges were longer and that Tim actually had the opportunity to mentor the contestants properly by teaching them something. This week's lesson could have been: pants won't fit properly in the crotch if all you do is sew together two flat pieces of material without shaping and darting and otherwise paying attention to the fact people aren't flat paper dolls.
Okay after that rant, I'm guessing everybody can tell what I thought of Laurence's pants. Nope. sorry. She didn't deserve the win because of those horrible, horrible pants.
The top three: Laurence, Nathalia, and Dexter.
The bottom three: Erin, Cornelius and Brik
Honestly after the judge's comments--"military Mickey"--I didn't realize Dexter was in the top. I had to go back and check to see who was ranked where. It felt more like a top two and bottom four.
I think Nathalia deserved the win--both for trying something new (not another leather jacket) and for creating the least-ill-fitting pants in the top three (although not by much when you look at them from the back).
Of the bottom group, I would have sent Erin home. That was just a mess--even the embroidery was really poorly done. I know she got a pass because she has been a winner in the past, but if they were just judging on what walked the runway, she earned the "auf." I know I keep mentioning Brik in my posts, which is odd because I'm not really a fan of his, but I don't think he deserved to go home for this outfit. Yes, the pants and top didn't go together at all, but at least I thought he was trying something, and I think the top at least was relatively well constructed.
That was my first thought too, oooo Tasha gone too soon. No one stood out for me this week. I'm still impressed that Laurence can make a leather jacket in one day but her look was not very exciting. Nathalia's swing jacket looked nice but I already bought it back in the 90s. The judges dredging up compliments for Dexter's look (skull buttons!) was laughable.
The only interesting bit for me is that Erin completely fell apart. No way did it take her an entire day to do those embroidery patches and that's all we saw her working on. The top could've worked, I like what she did at the shoulders but she needed more time. Previous episodes have been edited to make it seem like she's not going to finish her elaborate constructions. Remember slicing the gum balls? in half in the first one? That's all we saw her doing and then suddenly there was a dress and she won. This time she didn't. I kinda understood what she was going for though and I wonder why she didn't finish.
I think Brik went home because there was no way he could make those fabrics work. He just doesn't have the basic taste level. He can fit and sew, much better than I thought at first, but he's always going to choose the wrong fabric or the wrong shape and his finished looks will always be slightly off.
Cornelius was the one who had problems with boobs before (swimsuit challenge) so the fact that he screwed up his top...all he needed to do was make a boxy crop tee and he would've been safe...makes me think he'll be the next aufee.
posted by TWinbrook8 at 6:12 AM on October 30, 2016
The only interesting bit for me is that Erin completely fell apart. No way did it take her an entire day to do those embroidery patches and that's all we saw her working on. The top could've worked, I like what she did at the shoulders but she needed more time. Previous episodes have been edited to make it seem like she's not going to finish her elaborate constructions. Remember slicing the gum balls? in half in the first one? That's all we saw her doing and then suddenly there was a dress and she won. This time she didn't. I kinda understood what she was going for though and I wonder why she didn't finish.
I think Brik went home because there was no way he could make those fabrics work. He just doesn't have the basic taste level. He can fit and sew, much better than I thought at first, but he's always going to choose the wrong fabric or the wrong shape and his finished looks will always be slightly off.
Cornelius was the one who had problems with boobs before (swimsuit challenge) so the fact that he screwed up his top...all he needed to do was make a boxy crop tee and he would've been safe...makes me think he'll be the next aufee.
posted by TWinbrook8 at 6:12 AM on October 30, 2016
I loved Erin's incredulity that she was once again in the bottom. She definitely has an arrogance about her that's unpleasant to watch.
I hated Dexter's look. It was lop-sided, and my first thought too was Mickey Mouse when the silhouette of the model appeared. Laurence is becoming, in Dmitry's words, a "one-way monkey", where all we see week after week is another leather jacket. It's starting to get old. I couldn't understand how she won when the judges criticised her pants so much. Nathalie's outfit was far more 'finished'.
Ahhh, poor Brik. He can sew, there's no doubt about it, but three times now he's given us pants and a top that don't go together at all. In this challenge, though, Cornelius should have gone. Has that boy ever had to fit clothes on an actual woman before Project Runway?
posted by essexjan at 6:57 AM on October 30, 2016
I hated Dexter's look. It was lop-sided, and my first thought too was Mickey Mouse when the silhouette of the model appeared. Laurence is becoming, in Dmitry's words, a "one-way monkey", where all we see week after week is another leather jacket. It's starting to get old. I couldn't understand how she won when the judges criticised her pants so much. Nathalie's outfit was far more 'finished'.
Ahhh, poor Brik. He can sew, there's no doubt about it, but three times now he's given us pants and a top that don't go together at all. In this challenge, though, Cornelius should have gone. Has that boy ever had to fit clothes on an actual woman before Project Runway?
posted by essexjan at 6:57 AM on October 30, 2016
When they announced that it was a streetwear challenge, I was really hoping Tim would be all "Oh snap! Lemme use that save of mine and bring Tasha back", but alas, no.
I actually liked Dexter's weird safari short suit, even though the jacket kind of looked like Mickey Mouse ears. I really wish Cornelius had gone home, I haven't seen much from him that I thought was interesting at all. Brik has strange taste in pattern mixing but I think he's also got a cool aesthetic that seems modern and current. Plus he's from my hometown.
I think Mah Jing and Cornelius will be the next to leave, and maybe Roberi since he just seems to get so little screen time. My favorites so far are Jenni, Laurence, and maybe Dexter. Erin has shown some promise but I also think her over-confidence is going to get her in trouble.
posted by tryniti at 6:57 AM on October 30, 2016
I actually liked Dexter's weird safari short suit, even though the jacket kind of looked like Mickey Mouse ears. I really wish Cornelius had gone home, I haven't seen much from him that I thought was interesting at all. Brik has strange taste in pattern mixing but I think he's also got a cool aesthetic that seems modern and current. Plus he's from my hometown.
I think Mah Jing and Cornelius will be the next to leave, and maybe Roberi since he just seems to get so little screen time. My favorites so far are Jenni, Laurence, and maybe Dexter. Erin has shown some promise but I also think her over-confidence is going to get her in trouble.
posted by tryniti at 6:57 AM on October 30, 2016
I didn't think Brik's outfit was that bad, which is reason #1 why I will never be invited to be a guest judge.
Erin's Hay shorts made me think about Hildy's hay wall back on Trading Spaces. Just say no to hay. Her arrogance would be more tolerable if she seemed light in some way, but she seems almost grim and superior in her egotism. Also, the weird curtseying stuff/sinking to her knees stuff is probably supposed to be endearing, but seems staged (that is her, right?)
I think Roberi's lack of screentime may mean he goes far, and they're saving his story for when there are fewer wannabes.
I do not understand why there is always a designer who is just completely flummoxed by breasts and how to clothe them. You want to make clothes for women, right?
I think this week's Laurence win was a "We should have had you win last week. When they cleared the glue fumes out from the runway, we all looked at each other and said 'We picked Jenni last week? Really? Shoot. Tim, why didn't you stop us?'" win.
I like Mah-Jing a lot, but he's either in a rut or saving the good stuff for the end because this lately has been packed full of Meh.
posted by julen at 7:11 PM on October 30, 2016 [2 favorites]
Erin's Hay shorts made me think about Hildy's hay wall back on Trading Spaces. Just say no to hay. Her arrogance would be more tolerable if she seemed light in some way, but she seems almost grim and superior in her egotism. Also, the weird curtseying stuff/sinking to her knees stuff is probably supposed to be endearing, but seems staged (that is her, right?)
I think Roberi's lack of screentime may mean he goes far, and they're saving his story for when there are fewer wannabes.
I do not understand why there is always a designer who is just completely flummoxed by breasts and how to clothe them. You want to make clothes for women, right?
I think this week's Laurence win was a "We should have had you win last week. When they cleared the glue fumes out from the runway, we all looked at each other and said 'We picked Jenni last week? Really? Shoot. Tim, why didn't you stop us?'" win.
I like Mah-Jing a lot, but he's either in a rut or saving the good stuff for the end because this lately has been packed full of Meh.
posted by julen at 7:11 PM on October 30, 2016 [2 favorites]
I kind of like Erin for some reason. There's a certain brittle nerdiness to her that I kind of find endearing, and she's not really overtly nasty to people - she just got built up a lot in the first two challenges and is taking the abrupt change of fortune pretty hard. I suspect the producers are kind of trying to make something happen with her?
posted by en forme de poire at 2:13 AM on October 31, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by en forme de poire at 2:13 AM on October 31, 2016 [2 favorites]
Nice to see a well-deserved Laurence win, especially after last week, though I'm hoping that we see a move away from leather jackets soon. They're all flawless, but it's very much starting to become a Thing, and I'd like to see her branch out more (especially considering that early-round winning jumpsuit).
There's no universe where Brik's outfit is worse than Cornelius's hot mess, and I'm still amazed that shook out the way it did.
posted by Itaxpica at 6:14 AM on October 31, 2016 [2 favorites]
There's no universe where Brik's outfit is worse than Cornelius's hot mess, and I'm still amazed that shook out the way it did.
posted by Itaxpica at 6:14 AM on October 31, 2016 [2 favorites]
I agree that Cornelius' was just....atrocious. Those pants were an abomination. Like, what was that even...urban scarecrow chic? If I had seen that and didn't know what the challenge was, I would honestly have thought it was "update the characters from The Wizard of Oz for the 2000s". All the model needed was a straw hat.
So.....Laurence can stop with the drop crotch pants and the leather jackets any time now. Ok, we get it. The look was fabulous though, I thought. Nathalia should have won though. That jacket!
Erin's shorts were one of the worst things I've ever seen come down the runway. And they weren't even hemmed. Girl needs to put down the embroidery thread and stop obsessively designing textiles.
Once again I did not mind Brik's look. I can so see Kendall Jenner or Gigi Hadid or Cara D wearing it. The fabric of the top (shower curtainy?) was questionable to the judges but I couldn't tell what it was, but I did think the design (geometrics and 60s op art) was pretty on trend for young girls. It was not send home-worthy. If he had made a crop top instead of that peplum-ish thing and made the pants have flared bottoms, he might still be there.
posted by the webmistress at 8:03 AM on October 31, 2016 [2 favorites]
So.....Laurence can stop with the drop crotch pants and the leather jackets any time now. Ok, we get it. The look was fabulous though, I thought. Nathalia should have won though. That jacket!
Erin's shorts were one of the worst things I've ever seen come down the runway. And they weren't even hemmed. Girl needs to put down the embroidery thread and stop obsessively designing textiles.
Once again I did not mind Brik's look. I can so see Kendall Jenner or Gigi Hadid or Cara D wearing it. The fabric of the top (shower curtainy?) was questionable to the judges but I couldn't tell what it was, but I did think the design (geometrics and 60s op art) was pretty on trend for young girls. It was not send home-worthy. If he had made a crop top instead of that peplum-ish thing and made the pants have flared bottoms, he might still be there.
posted by the webmistress at 8:03 AM on October 31, 2016 [2 favorites]
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It's a shame Tasha missed this challenge.
posted by bq at 9:26 PM on October 29, 2016 [1 favorite]