Last night's Project Runway began as they all do: winner picks model, Heidi tempts us with a prelude to the challenge, the designers get a promise to the tune of "Tim will fill you in on all the details later." Lucky for us viewers, we got to hear what was in store mere moments later, but the designers weren't as fortunate, leaving Jerell to say, "I don't really have any idea where we're going to be going — I just really hope it has nothing to do with female wrestlers." Oh Jerell, that'll never happen again. Right?
Well, this week's challenge wasn't to wardrobe the women of the WWE, but it wasn't too far off. The designers were instructed to create an outfit for the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics. This didn't seem too "wack-a-doodle" (as Suede would say), but based on the reactions of designers like Daniel who had never watched an opening ceremony, it was. As he imagined it, "somebody holds a flame and runs around a track field." Which was off the mark, but not nearly as much as his dress was. Yes, he designed a dress, and most of the other designers did skirts, which resulted in a couple laugh-out-loud moments watching the models walk the runway.
To talk about (and see) what was so humorous, read more.
Before we get to a breakdown of the looks, here are some other random thoughts from the episode:
- I truly think that the designers having access to the Olympic archives was to their detriment. Had they not been "inspired" by very feminine pictures from the past (when women didn't wear pants!), I doubt as many would have chosen to design skirts and dresses.
- Dear Blayne: Clearly the tanning has gotten to your brain if you don't know what Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club is. You're not that young. However, I did love Tim's response: "Oh God, youth!"
- Speaking of Blayne's tanning, and Stella's "leatha," and Suede's, well, Suedeness, I'm starting to think those three went to Reality TV School to learn how to be annoying but memorable. It seems to be working, since all three are still standing.
- How moving was Korto's story about coming to America to escape a civil war? It really made me feel for her, and subsequently I'm now on team Korto. It's funny how a little back-story can do that.
- Favorite line of the night: "As you can see, we're back to high school, and I just want to get to college."
Onto the judges' favorite and least favorite looks (and a bonus one that I just have to mention):
- Stella — Although Stella wasn't officially in the bottom of the barrel, she really should have been. What was that atrocity? Her weird, belly-exposing black (black!) pants-and-vest combo was bad. Really, really bad. They've got to be keeping her around because of her character and not her talent, right?
- Terri — Terri's pants, blouse, blazer, and scarf ensemble was perfect. I was obsessed with it. It was the most wearable and the most appropriate for the Olympics. Alas, she was robbed, but luckily the win went to my second choice.
- Korto — Korto won the challenge with her pants and leather vest. It was very modern and it worked — not quite as well as Terri's, in my opinion, but I was happy nonetheless.
- Jennifer — Jennifer was eliminated last night and, really, she should have been. Gold-striped pleated skirt with a navy cardigan? As Heidi put it "I just don't see Olympic, and I don't see America in it, at all." Well said. You know what else I don't see? Surrealism!
- Joe — I cannot believe the judges liked Joe's design. This was one I was laughing at when it went down the runway. I mean, a skort? An uneven skort? No. At least it said USA. Literally, it did.
- Daniel — Poor Daniel. His intentions were good, and his dress was kinda cute. It just wasn't right for the challenge. At all. Should've gone with Wonder Woman.
- Jerell — I love how Michael started getting the giggles when Nina critiqued Jerell's design. I thought we were going to witness another Kors breakdown, but he managed to keep himself somewhat composed. If Jennifer wasn't heading home, Jerell should have been next on the chopping block.
Which look did you think was most fab? Do you agree that Terri was robbed? Were you sad to see Jennifer go? And fill in the blank: Jerell was dressed like Robin Hood because _____________.
Photos courtesy of Bravo
Ash
Ralph Lauren
Julia Cocco'
Stella obviously brought 3 outfits, and they all tie together with those wretched striped pants. how was she not in the bottom? anyone?
that said, this show is going downhill fast. with this challenge, with its top picks WTF A SKORT? and the choice of designers.....this might be my last season watching.
BTW did anyone see the car commercial with Laura? designing a superhero outfit? like i said.....
1I haven't liked Jerrell's designs in the past, but I was digging this one. The hat did make it look costumey, I'll admit, but I loved the overall look and his mixing of fabrics. And I liked his Robin Hood hat, I'm just gonna say it.
I thought Jennifer's outfit was cute, but it really does seem like she doesn't stretch herself to design in terms of the challenge. It wasn't sporty, it wasn't quite Americana -- it was a simple, cute-but-conservative outfit, not much unlike the types she seems to wear every single day. I think the right person went home.
I really thought I liked Daniel. I loved Wesley, so how could I not at least like Daniel? He's easily the most attractive guy to ever be on the show, and his designs in past challenges, though never focused on, always seemed nice. However, I have no idea what he was thinking this week. I liked the sketch, but the finished product ended up looking much less polished. Glad he's getting another chance, though.
Finally: I actually liked Suede's (?!?!), and I loved Leanne's as always. I liked Terri's but she didn't win because it was more of a throwback than being innovative in anyway. I'm glad Korto won -- this isn't my favorite design of hers, but I do like her work in general so I'm glad she finally got some recognition.
2Is it me, or is a good number of the designers (Daniel, the chick that won last week, etc) putting out retro 60 (a la Mad Men) designs? I'm hoping this trend breaks soon. Don't get me wrong, the fashions are beautiful but I really want to see something new this season.
3And,seriously, they rewarded that guy for a SKORT? And making a red/blue zipper??
It's going to be a long season if they think that stuff was good.
4I loved Korto's and think she deserved the win. It much more fashion forward (like she said, 2008) than a homage to American sports wear.
5Am I the only one who think Project Runway is a little blah this season? The challenges and the contestants are so boring. The only contestants who aren't boring seem really annoying (Suede, Stella, Blayne). Buzz, I could totally believe that Suede didn't know what Sgt. Pepper was, some people (sadly) aren't exposed to the Beatles, which makes me die a little inside
I love how he said that he only knew of the Beatles from Across the Universe...
6Oops I meant Blayne didn't know who Sgt. Pepper was, not Suede.
7I thought Jerrell's hat (actually his whole outfit) was trying to go with an "American" theme...by looking a bit soldier-ish. It was weird, but not as weird as the hat he put on his model.
I'm with CaterpillarGirl, they need to step it up to hold my attention!
8Californiagirl: maybe blayne was behind me at the theater leaving "Across the Universe". I heard someone say, "That was a really good soundtrack. They made a lot of good songs for this movie." It made me die more than a little inside.
9Yeah, I kinda hate this season so far. The designs are... okay. But the people are SO FREAKING ANNOYING! Maybe there are just so many people on right now that I can't figure out who I like yet - but I don't think I'll be upset if I miss an episode. This is not a good lead in for the switch to Lifetime.
10Yeah, I kinda hate this season so far. The designs are... okay. But the people are SO FREAKING ANNOYING! Maybe there are just so many people on right now that I can't figure out who I like yet - but I don't think I'll be upset if I miss an episode. This is not a good lead in for the switch to Lifetime.
11Am I the only one who wondered if these people had ever seen a female athlete??? I mean, every woman from a 4'10" gymnast (slender but with STRONG thighs) and a 320lb female body builder has to wear that! So for realism (even though yeah, it was tacky) I had to give Joe props. And maybe it was a trick of the fabric or I lost a few brain cells listening to Suede talk in the third person, but it looked like Terri's top was nearly showing her model's nips, like it cut her off right in the middle of her chest.
But seriously, so many of those outfits made no sense for a powerful (and muscular!) female athlete. I agreed with Michael when he seemed like they heard the challenge in a different language.
12My favorites this week were Suede (who I think should've won), Terri, and Leanne. Suede's dress was super cute and wearable, definitely more interesting than Korto's. I actually really liked Jerell's design too, minus the hat. Kelli's dress was pretty cute and vintage-y, while I think Daniel and Kenley's attempts at doing '40s dresses were innappropriate for this challenge. The cut of Blayne's outfit looked similar to ones he's designed before, and I didn't like Joe's ensemble as much as the judges did. Stella SHOULD have been in the bottom three, along with Keith and Jennifer, but for some reason the judges keep her around for entertainment value I guess. I think Jennifer was the right person to go home because her outfit was boring and did not look "American" enough.
13im so glad jennifer left...wtf was that????!!!!!!!!!
i think he shoulda won
14i liked joe's skort
although kortu's was pretty cool too
kayla74 - Are you serious? That's sad. He/She must have been a teenybopper (preteen).
15Whoever designed the one-shoulder ensemble should have won. Was it Keith? Anyway, I loved Korto's outfit too so I'm glad she won. Jerrell's outfit made no sense. As if he was trying to be as far from athletic as possible. Stella's gotta go. But Jennifer REALLY deserved to go this week.
16Sorry, the one-shoulder was Blayne. Loved it.
17I loved this episode. I loved how Blayne said he almost teared up when he saw a tanning salon, hilarious. I absolutely loved Jerell's design it looked so Blair Waldorf to me to bad that wasn't the assignment because I knew it was bad for the challenge and said nothing about the olypics but you have to admit it was beautifully constructed.
18Jerell was dressed like Robin Hood because he was trying to match his theme of costumes for the night.
Hmm this really wasn't my challenge. I didn't love any of them, except for Terri's.. There was way too much pants in Korto's design.
19Jerell is hilarious. He was totally wearing Buster Bluth's 'Army' uniform.. I'm sure it was all regulation. To get the top right, the pants have to be a little snug.
I'm glad Jennifer was sent home. She kept saying her outfits were 'surreal' but I never saw that... she seemed to really play it safe.
I believe that Korto deserved to win. She was actually thinking about fit & proportion of all different shapes & sizes with her design. Terri's was nice but the tube top wouldn't work on an older Olympian. The skort definitely wouldn't work on all the athletes but it was a great design. And Stella needs to go! I totally agree with Michael when he said it's like they are hearing the challenge in a different language!
20I believe that Korto deserved to win. She was actually thinking about fit & proportion of all different shapes & sizes with her design. Terri's was nice but the tube top wouldn't work on an older Olympian. The skort definitely wouldn't work on all the athletes but it was a great design. And Stella needs to go! I totally agree with Michael when he said it's like they are hearing the challenge in a different language!
21I kind of liked Joe's skort also, because it took into account both the need for ease of movement and the summer heat ... although the longer skirt in front looked like an apron, which was just weird.
Besides the demands of the athetic female body type (which is easy to make look chunky), I was surprised so many designers failed to take other factors into consideration:
221. Their "clients" will be walking and standing outside for 2-3 hours on an August evening. I shudder to think what Daniel's satin dress would have looked like after that ordeal. (Anybody ever sweated in purple satin before? Not pretty.)
2. There will be about 200 women marching together wearing the same outfit, which demands simplicity. Anything too fussy, voluminous or polychromatic (i.e. anything like Jerrell's outfit) will only assault the eyes of the TV audience. Did no one get a clue when Tim revealed that Ralph Lauren will be designing this year's outfit?
Ugh, I hate hate hate Stella and Blayne. They are so annoying! I'll give Blayne the credit that this outfit was decent, but Stella's have continuously been atrocities. Why is she still there!?!
I loved both Korto and Terri's outfits. They were right on mark and very well done. But I agree, knowing Korto's backstory made me like her more. When she said she was from Liberia during the first episode, I knew she had had to flee (ironic considering Liberia is where many former slaves returned to). She and Terri (and Leanne!) are my new favorites.
Joe's outfit was awful. The USA emblem was just tacky and the length was way off. But more than the tacky outfit and the childish attitude (um, doesn't he have children?!?), the line "there are too many queens in here" really threw my mother and I over the edge. My mother was livid about that thereafter and he quickly got demoted to our least favorite. The borderline homophobic lines don't belong in the fashion industry.
23californiagirlx7: It was a cute dress, but totally inappropriate for athletes or the Olympics. They are muscular. It would have looked awful on any number of them.
24I agree completely with misshouston. This challenge was failed by all but 3 people. Joe really did make the only thing that you would actually see someone wear at the opening ceremony of the Olympics. I mean, look at what Apolo Ohno wore in the intro package explaining the opening ceremony outfit challenge: a blue pullover with red trim and a blue and red cap.
25fireyelectra: That was for the winter olympics. Clothing is completely different for the summer. And Ralph Lauren is designing this year's outfits. Therefore, Korto and Terri were not totally off on theirs.
26Stella is always bringing the same same same lame leather biker chick outfits.. But apparently the producers think she makes good television.
I loved Terri's design and Korto's was good too.
27I thought Joe's was actually the most appropriate for the challenge. Have you seen what has been worn in the past for opening ceremonies? The winter Olympics had those fleece berets and basically a track suit style pant and jacket combo. And they said "2004 Olympics" all over them along with "USA". I agree that the skort wasn't executed well, it was uneven, but he thought about the actual way in which the garment would be worn and I thought it was the most wearable design.
Korto's was good, too, but I felt like it was missing something.
28Stella is terrible! They talked about Jennifer not getting out of her own style to conform to the challenge, but hello?!?!?! Stella and a black leather monstrosity?!?!?!?!
29This episode seemed like 2/3 of the designers said "this challenge is dumb- screw it, I'm gonna do my own thing." Either that or they have no idea what the Olympics is all about.
Blayne: This was surprisingly reserved for him. I was impressed- but the colors did look wrong for this challenge. I still want him to leave but lately only his desire for skin cancer at 25 really scares me.
Daniel: He needs to go next. He is the Ricky this season- skating by because someone else is always slightly worse.
Jennifer- She should have been out last week so I was glad to see her go. She needs to look up surreal in the dictionary, because I don't think we are talking about the same word here.
Jerrell- He needs to learn that old saying about taking one thing off before going out- and then tripling it. There is just way too much going on here and he did not even try for an Olympics look.
Joe- I think Joe should have won because he was the only one who got the challenge. Yes the skort is kinda odd, but his outfit actually looked like something an athlete could wear at the Olympics- can't say that about anyone else's.
Keith- It looks ok overall but doesn't say Olympics at all, and athletes would look dumb in it.
Kelli- The design was Olympics opening ceremony not American Airlines stewardess circa 1945. That is all I can say.
Kenley- Another one who said "f- this challenge, I do what I want!"
Korto- This is a nice outfit, but very impractical, and the vest fits oddly. Still, she got the challenge more than most of these other bozos, so definitely top 3 quality.
Leanne- What the hell is that stuff around the waist?? This is not bad except for that, but still doesn't fit with the theme.
Stella- This would have been so much better without the random cutout at the belly button. I was just so glad to see something other than a 1940s-esque little dress up there.
Suede- This is almost the exact same dress as in the 2nd episode. I'd like him to do something other than a short dress with a poofy skirt.
Terri- This is another outfit with too much going on. I like the pieces individually, but together it is too much. Remove the jacket, or the scarf and it'd be great. I can't even see what the top is, but when you make a top too small for a size 0 model, something is wrong.
There are just way too many designers this season, and most of them suck. I wish they were kicking 2 per episode til they got down to 8 or so. Ugh.
30I couldn't stop laughing when Blane said something like; him winning a GOLD medal in tanning (if tanning were a sport).
didn't like this week's challenge, Maybe because I'm not interested in the olympics, but it was nice of them to have Apolo Ohno on the show, Hottie- he would definitely get my vote.
31Honestly, I thought this was a horrible challenge. In theory it was an interesting task, but the designers just didn't seem to understand it.
Love Terri's, just LOVED it. Joe's looked like a cheap thing I could've bought at Party City or something...ick.
And wtf is up with only celeb guest judges? Heidi said- Apollo, "one of the most stylish gold medalists" are you kidding me?
32I would actually wear Jennifers clothing but there's nothing surreal about it. It's all just very feminine. I like it...just not right for the show.
I think Leanne is my second favorite, merely because I would wear her clothes.
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