Season 4: Episode 3 “Fashion Giant”
As someone who has never sewn men’s wear, I have to say that I’m REALLY glad I didn’t have to go through this challenge. The actual “designing” part of the challenge wouldn’t have scared me (I did design men’s clothing for almost 4 years for Target), but the construction/sewing part would have freaked me out! I know a lot of people think menswear is probably a lot easier that women’s, but I have to disagree. Women are much more adventurous with their fashion, so there is a lot of leeway with what you can design. Men tend to be more conservative, and therefore the design part usually needs to come in all the details (such as Kit using fleece or Jack putting a few pieces of the shirt on the bias).
Although I’m relieved I missed out on the menswear challenge, I’m also glad PR finally did a challenge with men’s clothing (and not one where just a few designers had to create menswear). The only thing I wasn’t happy with was their pick of athlete for the challenge. I didn’t know who Tiki Barber was and have nothing against him personally, but designing for a conservative man who’s on the Today Show really limits what the designers can do. They were basically limited to versions of a dress shirt and suit. If they had picked a different athlete, they might have had more room for creativity. For example, if they had been designing for David Beckham or Tony Hawk (as the Bravo poll had suggested), they would have been able to create funky casual looks as well as higher-end “dress” looks. Personally I think that would have resulted in a much more exciting runway!
Oh… and in case you’re wondering, I definitely DON’T think Jack cheated and think he was pretty smart to use his shorts as a pattern! First of all, he got the okay from Tim and anyone of the other designers could have done the same thing (well, maybe not the girls…but he did share with some of them). I’ve heard some people say that if Jack was a good designer, he wouldn’t have had to use his shorts, but let’s face it, a pair of pants is pretty much a pair of pants. There’s really not a whole lot of “innovation” in the basic shape. All the design comes in the fabric choice and detailing and even the shape of the leg (flared, skinny, etc…) is based off the basic block pattern. With this in mind, anything that can speed up the process of creation while you’re in “Project Runway timing” is a good thing. And finally, I know that Vincent traced his pants and even Jeffery used his own as a reference for construction, so it’s not like Jack is the first to do this (although I think he’s the first to actually take apart his pants!).
This week the photos are numbered, so I went in order with 1 being first and ended up with 13(I’m pretty smart huh? ☺ ). Once again, BPR rocks my world for putting these photos together (click picture for larger image)!
Let’s get going…
Jillian: I really think Jillian did a great job on this challenge. I can’t see in the photo if the suit is solid or has a faint stripe, but it looks well made and fits great. I also like her printed shirt underneath which brings out a fun element and gives it some color. Also, and I’m not sure how, but somehow her suit doesn’t look stuffy and like the guy is just coming from his cubicle. It has a great fun and young feel to it and I’m actually really surprised she wasn’t in the top three.
Carmen (OUT): For a moment, let’s pretend that Carmen had finished her garments well and actually had a completed shirt… I really like the colors Carmen picked out. I think the lt. blue shirt was a great pop color underneath the olive jacket and the lining on the jacket adds some more depth and texture to the overall palette. I like the color of her pants a lot more than the typical khaki color and it gives them less of a “uniform” feeling. It’s true that the jacket is a little bit “members only,” but that doesn’t really bother me. If it had been finished well, I think it would have had a nice “casual, but not-too-casual” feel to it (similar to Rami’s jacket). Unfortunately, the poor construction was too much for the judges to overlook and overshadowed any of the good ideas she put into the design. Anyways, I actually think Ricky should have gone home between the 2 of them, because at least Carmen’s outfit showed some interesting design ideas and unique color choices (Carmen and Kevin definitely had the best and most interesting color palettes).
Christian: I like the detailing and uniqueness that Christian brought into his outfit, but in the photo the shape looks a bit sloppy (I don’t remember it looking sloppy on the runway, so maybe it’s just the pose in the photo?). I like the asymmetrical top under the jacket, but wish there would have been a bit of color somewhere (although I do like his combination of multiple neutrals and color might have looked weird in his outfit…hmm…I’ll have to think about this one some more). I was also impressed that he had time to hand stitch the lining. Oh…and one last thing, how cute was Christian when Jack carried him into the workroom in the bag? So cute! At this point, Christian is really growing on me personality wise (to be honest, I thought he was going to be really whiny).
Kit: Out of the 3 they pulled into the top, I really thought Kit was going to win it. The colors are a bit “catholic school uniform” for me, but I love the fleece sports jacket (so does my boyfriend, he was begging me to steal her idea and make him one sometime!). I thought it was a great idea to use the fleece and pull in some casual “cool” feeling to a basic boring sports coat.
Rami: Rami’s outfit was another one that I really liked. The pants were beautifully draped (not easy to do!) and I really liked the styling of the jacket. It’s definitely a piece that could be dressed up (as it was) or paired with some great jeans and sneakers. Once again, I do wish that there had been a bit more color in this outfit, even a fun pinstripe on the shirt would have been nice.
Sweet P: Aside from the poor quality of the shirt (how cute was Sweet P on the runway when she put the tie on? She’s definitely growing on me), I think Sweet P was on the right track. The pale blue of the shirt goes nicely with the pinstripe pants and I LOVE the fabric she picked for the tie. Her pants look nicely constructed (although the fit seems to give her model a whole lot of hip action), and I like the pinstripe combined with the bias stripes of the tie. I’m really glad the judges kept her in for the challenge, because (similar to Carmen) I think she showed a good design concept and well picked fabrics/colors.
Kevin: Kevin’s outfit was originally my pick for winner. I was so excited to see some fun color on the runway and really thought the judges were going to appreciate that. It made me kind of mad that Tiki would say “I’m not afraid of color” and even reference wearing pink, but then put down Kevin’s use of purple. I though it was a great color and would have looked fantastic on Tiki’s skin tone! Although he did have some finishing issues, I thought Kevin’s look was well put together and liked the combination of colors and textures.
Ricky: I don’t want to be mean, but based on overall design, I think Ricky should have been out this week. I definitely understand why he stayed in over Carmen since she didn’t even have a shirt, but his outfit was really lacking in the “design” department. His suit and shirt looked like any basic suit and shirt you could pick up at any department store. Even if he had just picked a more interesting fabric for the shirt I think he would have been in better standings with the judges. Anything that brought more life to the outfit would have been nice to see. I do believe that Ricky has a lot more talent than he is showing and hopefully we’ll see some really cute and interesting pieces from him soon (I really liked his dress for SJP).
Steven: I love that Steven went for a sweater/dress shirt combo instead of a jacket like most of the other designers. I think it’s a great casual twist to a more “formal” look. Overall his construction and fit look fantastic and he’s one of the only designers to use a belt (it really helps complete the look). I really like the greenish-gray color palette he chose and think it’s a unique twist on the typical gray suiting and the purple/blue colors of the scarf work well with the rest of the palette. I’m not really a huge fan of the scarf look and would have preferred those colors on a tie instead, but overall I think Steven did a great job.
Jack (WINNER): Jack’s outfit was nice… and a bit safe (but obviously he knew what the client was looking for). He did a great job with the construction and was smart enough to realize that quality usually beats quantity in Project Runway. I would have loved to see more innovation from Jack, but when your client is a self-proclaimed “conservative dresser,” you don’t have a whole lot of room for creativity. The bias pieces on the shirt had just enough of a fashion twist for Tiki, while the rest of the outfit was still easy to wear and not scary.
Victorya: I like Victorya’s cream jacket with the black collar. The light colored jacket is very unexpected and not seen too often; it also would have looked great on Tiki’s skin tone. Other than that, there’s not much exciting about the outfit. It looks like a pretty basic shirt and trousers (were there any textures/patterns on the pants? I can’t remember…).
Chris: I’m having a really hard time critiquing Chris’s outfit, because I can’t see it at all in the picture! Is that a jacket? What is the shirt underneath? Basically, all I can say is that the fit and construction look pretty good, but I can’t tell any of the details. I definitely think there needed to be some lighter color or maybe a texture to pop with the dark navy (or black?).
Elisa: I don’t have a whole lot to say about Elisa’s outfit, it’s definitely not bad, but it’s also not exciting. I like the mossy green color (would be a great color on Tiki), but the vest and pant colors don’t quite work together and I’m not a fan of the red lining on the vest. Overall the construction looks really good and the fit is great, I just would have like to see a bit more excitement (and we know Elisa can provide that!) in her outfit.
2 December, 19:23
3 December, 11:37
3 December, 13:11