The Final Lap

THREE more to go?! Let's knock this shit out so we can all head to the bar.

Kelli:

We don't even remember this one.

Kelli says: "I love it. Maybe not 110% relevant to the Olympics but she looks fabulous." Oh, honey. You're making 3 points here and only one of them is accurate.

This isn't even 10% related to the Olympics. And she doesn't look fabulous. She looks like a '50s housewife running errands.

We believe you when you say you love it, though.

If we pretend that it's not supposed to be an outfit for the Olympics, it's not horrible. The skirt's kind of nice and the blouse isn't bad, but we hate both the bow and the fabric.

And it's at least well-made.

To recap: A little boring and a lot unrelated to the challenge. Next!

Keith:

Wow. This is wrong on a lot of levels. Once again, we're going to have to pretend that this wasn't made for the Olympics because it's so clearly not appropriate for it. Bubble skirts for the Olympics. Honestly.

It's interesting to note that he changed his idea/concept completely. Why, we don't know, because that sketch looks a lot more interesting than the end product.

The proportions are all wrong on this.

That scarf is way too huge, the skirt is way too short and the vest is way too long with a collar way too large.

Tone down the collar and the scarf and turn the skirt into a pair of shorts and he could have had something there. Next!

The general consensus seems to be that Stella doesn't belong here because her aesthetic is so narrow. To be fair, we made that point too. Well, we're prepared to backtrack on that. Stella really does deserve her shot. Why? Because she's actually very good at sticking to her guns while at the same time molding her aesthetic to fit the challenge.

Because y'know? This isn't bad at all. No, we can't really see Olympians wearing this. Not really. But it's still a sporty look that looks like Stella.

Before anyone jumps on us, we have to point out that we really hate the exposed belly button.

On the other hand, we really love what she did with the red, white and blue. Sure it's all a little roller derby, but again, that's a case of her marrying her aesthetic with the dictates of the challenge. She was never going to do simple sportswear and we shouldn't expect her to, but she did make something that fits the challenge a hell of a lot better than most of the others.

Stella says: "This outfit had to be sleek and cool. It represents the country in a bad-ass way."

You know what, girl? Mission accomplished.

It's a strong look and an athletic look and with the metallic strips it's even a patriotic look. Do we love it? Not really. Okay, maybe a little. Full length pants and an unexposed navel would have made a huge difference here.

You wanna hear something else shocking? She reminds us of someone. You'll never guess.

Laura Bennett.

We'll wait for the screaming to die down so we can explain. Like Laura, she works in a narrow range and like Laura, she's very good at making that work within each challenge.

But what really makes her seem like Laura's dark twin is that she has that extremely rare quality of being 100% comfortable and 100% herself on camera. She doesn't give a fuck what people think of her and that's not only refreshing, it's really entertaining. We'll say it again: Bravo, give this lady her own show. She's gold.


More detailed pictures:




[Photos: Barbara Nitke/Bravo - Screencaps: Projectrungay.blogspot.com]
[Additional Pictures: Courtesey of ProjectRunway.com]

Gettin' Bizet and Lookin' Sloppy

Chicken alert.

Bravo's certainly packing the show with man meat this year, aren't they? We can't say we disapprove.

This dress got a lot of compliments among the viewership, it seems. We are forced once again to ask if we were all watching the same show.

It's not that we hate it or anything. It's not ugly - in fact, Lorenzo thinks it's quite pretty - and it's for the most part, well made.

It's just kinda boring with a side of tacky.

Let's break it down, shall we?

We really like those colors together. We admit, we're suckers for tone on tone. It's also a well-constructed dress. It fits her well and we like the proportions (for the most part).

The detail on the bust is pretty and she was beautifully styled. A+ for presentation.

This concludes the nitty portion of our program. Moving on to the gritty...

This is supposed to be a "night on the town" dress. Question: What the hell town does she live in? Does it have bullfighters?

Was it National Ruffle Week and no one told us? Apparently, to this lot of designers, New York can be summed up by giant flounces.

It's not just that it's so prominent that it looks like it's eating the rest of the dress, it's that the fabric he used for it is too shiny and actually looks a little cheap. And as a design element, it's more appropriate for a Carmen costume than a "night on the town" dress.

Dress good. Make woman pretty.

Or, y'know...not.

Accuse us of giving our lust object a free ride if you want (although we did say last week's dress looked like a coffin liner), but on second and third glance, this wasn't as bad as we thought, at least in design terms.

It wasn't a bad starting point for a concept. A dress based on the idea of faded and discarded pieces of paper could have been interesting and even pretty.

The problem was in how the concept was realized. To start, he made really bad fabric choices. There is not one print in there that has any visual impact or even interest.

We realize the inspiration was a faded and weathered magazine, but he needed to find a way to make those elements pretty and in this case, he went a little too literal. She looks rained on and washed out. This needed at least a hint of bolder graphic elements peeking out.

Tim was spot on when he raised fit as an issue with this design. Unfortunately, Keith didn't appear to listen, since the dress came off somewhat shapeless. On the other hand, his model dropped out unexpectedly and fit would be the exact issue impacted the most by that.

We also didn't agree with the choice to make it look like dangling sheets of paper.

Layers, yes. Floaty, dangly slips of paper that look like a parade costume? No. As always, Nina put it best.

"It's not polished, the effect is sloppy when it should be more together. Maybe it has to do with the hem --"

"But that's my point of view."

"Honey, don't interrupt when Nina's talking, alright? Nina's the one with the scorecard, got that? You think you can just cut me off at the knees like that? Like some sort of editorial assistant? You think I don't still have power? I have power, kid. Say it."

"You have power, Nina."

"Yes. Now, if you had made the hem more even..."


More detailed pictures:



[Photos: Bravo/Barbara Nitke - Screencaps: Projectrungay.blogspot.com]
[Additional Pictures: Courtesy of ProjectRunway.com]