#my lifetime

Project Runway All Stars Season 4 - Episode 11: Always the Bridesmaid 

Before watching this last episode of PR All Stars I thought they were going to design a bridal dress, not a bridesmaid dress! And we all know that danger is always behind the corner when someone talks about bridesmaid dresses!

We were right: all the designers made a mess this episode. A total train-wreck.

Except for Sonjia. She was again my favourite, and really, I’m absolutely stunned at how she works, because she basically never designs, she basically always doesn’t have a clue about what she’s going to do, and then, like a magician, she pulls out something amazing from her magic hat. The fabric choice was really smart, because apart from the amazing colour - it’s not too bright, so it doesn’t outshine the bride, but at the same time it’s not dull either - it was a kind of jersey which was perfect for draping. Differently from Georgina, who said that the front of the dress was too busy, I think everything in this dress is superbalanced, the draping was just perfectly done, the back was really sexy, I loved the fact she kept the sleeves long and it’s really smart because I can totally see it worn at a wedding as well as for another occasion. At the beginning I thought the belt she inserted was going to appear out of place with that dress, but again Sonjia proved she has great taste. She definitely deserves to get to the finale.

Fabio found himself making another mistake and this time was inevitable for the judges to send him home. I agreed with them. Probably Michelle’s dress looked even worse than his outfit, but in that case it was just a problem of fitting; Michelle’s idea was a good one - even if I was really skeptical at the beginning, I thought it was going to read really cheap and tacky - while Fabio’s was just…boring. Apart from the fact that, if there’s another event for which you can wear such a dress I guess it’s a funeral, that fabric was just horrible. It was absolutely cheap, it looked like a dress you can find on a rack in a Chinatown store, it was ill-fitting, I didn’t get those shoulders… A mess. I know I was rooting for him to get to the finale, but he made a terrible mistake this time, and when you make a mistake in Project Runway, you should go home.

I was shocked at the fact Helen won. First of all, it was pretty obvious to me that if someone had to win, it was Sonjia. But even if the judges didn’t like her dress so much as to let her win, then just don’t let anyone win, because really NO ONE deserved it. And Helen was even worse than Dmitry (who made just a normal nice dress). That black dress was matronly. And it’s the second time I say it during this season: Helen’s designing for my grandma.

Next episode will be the last one before the finale, I think I can say it’s basically sure Sonjia and Dmitry are going to the finale, so it’s between Michelle and Helen. I would like to see Michelle among the top three, because she’s the only one, together with Sonjia and Dmitry, whom I’ve never judged as worst. But after all, we all know the win is between the first two.

Anyway, in Project Runway, you never know.

xxx

Project Runway All Stars Season 4 - Episode 10: Versatile Tops and Bottoms

Ok, apart from the embarrassing homosexually referenced title of the episode - did they do it on purpose? - this was an interesting challenge, at least because the designers were pretty much free to design whatever they wanted, and it’s good to let them be for once. The contestants had to design two looks: one had to be separates that could possibly be manufactured and sold by QVC, while the second one had to be a fashion forward complement for the separate look.

Give me neoprene and bright colours and I’ll be yours, and thanks Dmitry for this two absolutely FAN TAS TIC looks! I’m more and more convinced he’s going to get to the finale. I loved the idea of mixing neoprene and lace, and I liked the fact he chose two very different colours for the two looks, because making two outfits in the same colour would be the easiest way to make them cohesive. In this case the cohesion was in the cut and in the materials. The lace he chose was so elegant and very modern in its graphic quality, the jacket was absolutely outstanding and new and the contrast between the black lace and the bright yellow of the fashion-forward look was just breathtaking. It’s true that the first look was more fashion-forward than the dress, and it wasn’t something many people would wear; yet, you just can’t help loving it.

I have many reasons for completely hating Helen’s look and being very surprised at the judges loving it. First of all, the separate look: while the top is acceptable, that skirt is absolutely HIDEOUS. It reads really cheap, it looks like something you can buy at Kmart, there’s nothing new in it, the two pieces together have awful proportions and I just thought that was enough to stay in the bottom. The ‘fashion-forward’ look, despite being cute, it’s not 'forward’ at all: she made the EXACT SAME THING on her season. It’s also true that Dmitry used a technique he used in his season finale for the coat from last challenge, but in fact, it was only a technique, not the exact same dress. And anyway, Helen’s black dress was matronly in many ways: the length was odd, the fabric - looked like wool jersey??? - reads old and the hem of the skirt seems uneven. 

Jay didn’t do much better, but at least I liked his first look - differently from the judges, I thought those trousers worked really well and the overall style looked pretty urban and contemporary - and the second look was not a masterpiece, but it had something interesting going on. Anyway I was right when I wrote he was the next one to go home. Now it’s Helen’s turn.

I appreciate Michelle’s work, but I’ve never been able to stand her behaviour when she picks something very very strange and she’s convinced that everyone loves it, that it’s impossible not to love it, that everyone would kill to have it. It happened with that awful fabric. There were times when I looked at it and thought 'I think I like it’, but after a second, third and fourth look, I understood I just hate it. And yet, she kept saying how amazing that fabric was for a whole episode. At least Fabio knows that there could be someone not liking his work when he does something strange; Michelle seems completely unaware of this.

And talking about Fabio, I was really disappointed by the judges’ critique this time again and especially by the fact he was between the bottom two again. His looks had to be in the top 3 in my opinion, or if not, at least as third bottom, but for sure not risking to go home. At the beginning I was even really confused about his fabric, as I thought it looked like it was dirty more than dyed, instead that little dress was amazingly nice, fresh, simple and especially fashion forward, just like his first look. 

Sonjia was my second favourite without any doubts, I was shocked at her just cutting the roll of fabric and getting a dress - a beautiful dress - out of it. And I love her understanding of colour and texture, I think this is really her biggest strength. 

We’re just some episodes away from the finale, who do you think will make it to the end? 

xxx

Project Runway All Stars Season 4 - Episode 8: Making a Splash

I want to start my review by saying that I’m really enjoying all the challenges the designers have to face during this season of All Stars, because it seems to me the producers want them to really explore every single aspect and style in fashion. For episode 8 the contestants had a sort of double challenge: design a resort look paired with - of course - a swimsuit. It’s been ages since the last time I saw Project Runway designers making swimwear. 

Sonjia was again my favourite. It’s not the first time she uses lace (is it her favourite fabric or what?) but I’m always amazed at how interesting and new the fabrics she chooses are. This time she picked an electric blue lace with maxi flowers (very resort) and paired it with a shiny blue jeans. Of course I was crazy about the juxtaposition of different materials but I also loved loved loved the silhouette, very simple and yet strong, with a sort of kimono-like jacket with a maxi zipper and a pair of perfectly fitted trousers. She also thought about the whole concept as she used a fabric which allows you to see underneath it and kinda reveals the hip swimsuit she paired with the outfit. I thought the fact the model didn’t have any boobs at all made the swimsuit lose some of its appeal, but overall it was young, very graphic and different from the usual bikini. Extremely good job.

Yes, it was time for Samantha to go home. I liked her jumpsuit (guess I would have made a jumpsuit as well if someone asked me to design a resortwear look) and I liked the colour of the fabric she chose, even if I would have preferred something brighter or something more towards a pink or orange palette. The swimsuit paired with it was DISASTROUS. I recognise the fact she wanted to make something of a 90s style, which is really cool at the moment - and I can clearly see it as totally Samantha style - but it wasn’t well-executed. It looked really cheap and the proportions were odd. Samantha was a sort of disappointment, I have to say, because I expected a lot from her as I thought her elimination during her season as being unfair and wanted to see more from her, but her overall performance during All Star was really mediocre.

I liked Justin’s winning looks, although flowy gowns are, in my opinion, too predictable for a resortwear look. I also liked Helen’s (guess lace was right for this challenge then) and Dmitry nailed it AGAIN - and again, he didn’t win.

I didn’t like Fabio’s though, the problem wasn’t that it was too simple but that it was a little bit old and made me think of a cheap Primark look; he’s going like a roller-coaster, one day he’s on top and one day he’s among the worst designers, but I guess that’s what you call ‘taking risks’. Michelle’s dress was HORRIBLE but she made the most beautiful swimsuit among all, I loved the colour, the optical quality she added by using the elastic band, I loved the cut, the deep cleavage, the strap aroung the neck. It was really perfect.

For now, I’ve made up my mind about who’s going to the finale, and I’m pretty sure that the three names will be Dmitry, Sonjia and Fabio, but let’s keep an eye on Justin because judges love him (I just think his looks are boring most of the times) and Michelle, who always manages to save herself by doing something very right at the very right moment.

For now, let’s just wait for the next episode - avant-garde challenge! - and let’s keep in mind that in Project Runway EVERYTHING CAN HAPPEN :D

xxx

P.S: Hope to be as busy as I would like to be with the blog these days, as menswear collections for Fall 2015 started - and finished yesterday - in London some days ago, Milan and Paris menswear fashion weeks are coming, as well as Pitti Uomo and - how could I forget! - there’s the Golden Globe Red Carpet from January 11th to comment! Just stay tuned!

Project Runway All Stars Season 4 - Episode 12: Some Like it Hot Dog

Is it just me or the episode titles are getting worse? Jeeeez.

Anyway, I was really excited to see what this challenge was about as I didn’t understand anything from the preview the week before, and I was happy to see that they had to design a look for a Gala event such as the Oscars - the fact they were inspired from Marilyn Monroe was just an excuse to talk about the new film being released on Lifetime, wasn’t it? 

A pretty safe choice from the authors, as you usually take some shimmering lace, cover your model, leave her back naked and you have an amazing Elie Saab sort of gown - I just realised I perfectly described Michelle’s dress for this challenge.

But first, in the workroom they had a really stupid mini-challenge which didn’t have anything to do with the main one and which only served to give Michelle her only win before being eliminated. They had to make, in a very short time, some dresses for dogs getting their inspiration from film genres. Michelle won the chance of being artistic director for a dog clothing collection of I don’t know what. It was all pretty out-of-place, TBH.

Dmitry of course blew me away. It didn’t even surprise me as I’m so used to getting amazed by what he and Sonjia do. From the choice of tea dying the fringes to give that antique look, to the sheer lace he chose - very Dmitry style! - and, omg, the invisible straps - I agreed when one of the judges said she’s never thought about invisible straps as a sophisticated detail, and yet in this dress that was one of the most exciting aspects. Yes, it was perfect, and I can see tons of stars catfighting to have that on their next red carpet apparition! 

It was hard to choose between Helen and Michelle but I opted for the former, not because I can’t stand her - even if it’s true that I can’t - but because after all, Michelle’s dress had more thinking behind it. I appreciated Helen went for something really minimal, it looks a little bit 90s, which can be a good thing as the 90s are back in fashion - even though I’m seeing this trend disappearing more and more. I still don’t know if I liked the colour and the beading, I don’t understand if I find it very matronly or very fresh. One sure thing is that it was too long. Anyway, all these doubts about it are nothing good, and between her and Michelle I would have gone for Michelle all the way, I was curious to see if she could pull off an amazing collection - which I didn’t expect from her - just like in her PR season.

Michelle didn’t have a good dress, everything, from the silhouette to the sleeves, looked way too long, and I would have completely avoided that cheap chain behind it - Zanna told her during the critique, but she couldn’t just get over those f****** chains! I didn’t mind the fabric, in general it was a predictable evening gown which you can see in every red carpet, that’s why I wasn’t excited about but at the same time that’s why I wouldn’t have sent her home. 

The judges had another mini challenge for the bottom two girls, where they had to pick at least three of the eliminated looks from this season to create a new garment. Of course you can’t do much in one hour, so they came out with some very shitty outfits - even if the judges were all saying how gorgeous what they made was. I mean, of course it was pretty amazing in one hour to pull off those things, but it was nothing special, come on. Helen did something very basic, maybe too basic, and even if Michelle’s look was possibly uglier, at least there was something in it - but you also have to consider she used only two from the past looks and she realised it only after they finished. Anyway it seemed pretty obvious to me that the judges wanted Helen to go to the finale, so she could even came up with a fig leave over the model’s patsy, they would have chosen her anyway.

One thing I couldn’t stand was her crying and saying for the 100th time how miserable it was to go home just before the final in her season and no, no, I don’t want this to happen again, oh my god, how can I do…. Really girl, SHUT UP.

She’s going to make some cape dresses, some total red look and screw everything with choices she thinks are outside the box and instead it’s only crap. I’m sure of this.

Sonjia or Dmitry, one of them is going to win.

xxx