Saturday, September 24, 2011

Project Runway Season 9 Episode 9

MENSWEAR!!! I love a menswear challenge! It is so difficult for the designers to wrap their heads around the pattern-making and fit issues that the design can become an afterthought. When I was styling performers at AMT, one thing I learned about menswear is that a simple look that fits really well will always win over something busy, over-designed and especially something ill-fitting. This was Olivier's challenge to lose and did he ever. Honestly, for a menswear designer to put out something so ill-fitting, boring and just plain terrible, he deserves to go. Also, I've always found him to be really annoying, so I can't say I'm sad to see him go. On the other end, I think that Viktor's win was completely overshadowed by the fact that there was so much drama everywhere else. Regardless, I'm thrilled for him. I've liked his designs from the beginning and I really want to see him make it to the end.

Ok, let's take a look at these horrific looks:

First, the winning look designed by Viktor:


Much like Bert, Viktor was praised for creating a look that was more than just an outfit- it was an image, a persona. It defined the wearer. It was well made, expensive-looking and fit well. Bravo, Viktor! 

Speaking of Bert, his look was one of my favorites for exactly the same reason- he created an image, not just an outfit. I loved the striped pants and the silhouette. Where Olivier fell apart trying to create a "plus size" outfit, Bert embraced his model's body type and actually helped create a sleek look for him. And it had personality! 


Even the styling choices were good and other than the tunic being a smidge too long for my taste, I wouldn't change a thing. 

In my opinion, the only other halfway-decent looks were Josh and Anthony Ryan's. Strangely enough, they both did white pants: 

Josh's Look


Anthony Ryan's Look

Both looks are too flamboyant for this dude, but at least he got some cool pants. I wish both had distressed them just a bit. Josh's have a better fit, but the top half of his outfit is pure costume. 

Everyone else's looks were pretty much disastrous. They weren't nearly as bad as the Tiki Barber episode, but this episode did include a pair of jeans that split in the back, which I believe is a Project Runway first. Let's take a look, shall we? 

Anya's Look

Kimberly's Look

Both of these looks are terrible- poor construction, bad fabric choice, and really bad design. Anya's is a really bad hippie Halloween costume and Kimberly's is Shaggy (as in Scooby Doo). Need I say more? I think the Scooby Doo reference may have even been made by Adam Lambert on the episode. It's not a good thing. Almost as bad as Olivier's look was Laura's: 


Aside from giving him the "red jeans" he asked for, Laura pretty much failed at this challenge. The jacket and scarf are terrible. The tank is borderline pathetic and the jeans (once again) are not nearly distressed enough. Kudos to her for dyeing them, but that's about it. 

Finally, Olivier really bombed on this episode: 

There isn't a single positive thing I can say about this look. There are so many things wrong, I don't even want to discuss them. Goodbye, Olivier! I won't miss you! 

On another note, I just want to say that the editing has greatly improved this season. Also, I'm really enjoying the judges- they're funnier or something this season. I can't put my finger on it, but I whatever it is, I love it. Thank you to the PR producers for jazzing things up a little this season! 

2 comments:

Tbone said...

The editing DEFINITELY is better this season. We have noticed the same thing. They are actually putting a little time and thought into post-production for a change.

Tim W. said...

Finally Viktor gets his due! He made the best look again, but this time there's no one else even in his area code to steal it from him. I really liked Bert's look, but considering Viktor's looked like it cost $3000 out of a Haight-Ashbury boutique, while Bert's looks closer to the $150 he actually spent, this was no contest.

I pretty much lumped Anthony Ryan, Laura, and Josh together. They all had highs, but all also too many lows to really compete. Anthony Ryan's silhouette is way too feminine; considering the musician's hair, I would expect many people would mistake him for a woman from the back.

Meanwhile Josh, yet again, forgot to edit himself. The pant would have been perfect, if he had stopped at the zipper. But nooo, he had to do the suede inserts on the bottom and the godawful pockets in the back. The t-shirt was sharp, but the vest is so distracting you can't see it. The appliqued cuff and shoulder might have been okay without the fringe, but noooo, he was "so glad he had time for the fringe." Ugh!

Laura's jeans were pretty cool, and I think would be fine after running through the wash a few times to soften the denim. It's just too bad she pulled one of Hugh Hefner's old smoking jackets out of a dumpster for the top. And I agreed with Michael Kors: I thought the t-shirt looked like he had just lost a knife fight.

And I'm glad the judges played some favorites with the bottom three and gave a little leeway to Anya and Kimberly for their lack of menswear experience (and presumably better past performance on the runway.) Olivier's ego really got in the way on this challenge, and he deserved to go home for this outfit. Like Bryce, Olivier was starting to become a bit of a broken record with his apathy, fixation on model size, lack of time management, and boring color palette. So clearly his time had come.

But can we take a moment to get excited about something that wasn't in the episode, but rather the commercial breaks: PROJECT RUNWAY ALL-STARS. OMG! It seems even PR knows the talent level has been weak this season, and has come up with the perfect cure: a whole season of designers who have proven they have what it takes to put something down the runway! I am so psyched! (And I will be rooting for Mondo all the way!)

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