Congratulations, Korto!

Why is everyone bitching about this episode so much in T Lounge? We thought it was fun. The designers have all unsheathed their claws and that's always a good thing. Plus, UNBELIEVABLY bitchy judges, LAUGHABLY bad clothes, and straight men having hissy fits. Darlings, must we once again show you the pile of gold sitting right in front of you?

We smell Siriano. And the Kluminator ain't made for ruffles.

Anyway, congratulations, Korto!

We go back and forth on whether this would've been our pick, but it's still a great pick no matter what. Especially since there was SO MUCH ASS on that runway last night. Honestly, that may just go down as one of the assiest runway shows ever seen on PR. We're racking our brains, and the only episode we can think of that had that many wrong outfits was that 2055 challenge in S1.

We were early fans of hers and then she seemed to lose her way, crying and making assy dresses, but last night she was bitchy and had her game on, so we're back to being fans.

It's striking and stylish and modern. And "modern," more than anything, is what won it for her because most of the rest of the entries looked like they were marching in a parade or working as extras in period movies. Or mental patients.

But y'know? The more we look at this, the more we find wrong with it.

We love the shape of the vest and the color detail around the shoulders. We're a little surprised that no one mentioned the fact that she made it out of leather, though. We realized that this was only for show and the athletes weren't actually going to wear this to the Olympics, but if this really was a design submitted for consideration, we have to think that someone, somewhere would have nixed it because of the leather. Committees don't tend to approve uniforms that might be considered controversial. We're surprised no judge mentioned that.

And while it's striking, from a practical standpoint we wonder about all that white and how long it would stand up when marching around a sports arena. Plus, those pants, darling!

First off, they're totally see-through and secondly, that high-waisted, flared leg look is simply not something that every woman can pull off. In fact, very few women can - even athletic women with great bodies. Could you see one of those stumpy little gymnasts in these?

Maybe if she'd paired them with star-spangled panties a la Wonder Woman, we could've gotten behind them just for the camp value.

Enough pants. Back to color. We kind of wish she had broken up that vast field of white with just a little color.

We thought that collar was blue, but Tim says it's black. THAT we just don't understand. Granted, it's tough to make red, white, and blue look sophisticated - trust us, for 9 years we lived 2 blocks from the Liberty Bell and the sight of so many tourists trying desperately to make stars and stripes work as a fashion statement is permanently seared onto our retinas. But still, a little more color would have made this look a little more ... American, if that makes sense.

Still, as we said, there was a shit ton of ass on that runway and this look definitely stood out as one of the best. Now that we've ripped it, we have to say it wouldn't have been our choice for the win, but we can't really fault the judges for picking it.

Miss Korto had more to say over on the Bravo site:

What was your inspiration for your Olympic look? How did you decide on the pants and the silhouette?

The inspiration for my look was staying true to my classic funky motto. I love a classic cut garment - something simple, with a little twist. The pants were different, but would be comfy to wear for the occasion. I felt the look was the best choice for a garment that would need to be adjusted for a men's look. If I was an athlete, I would love to wear the garment I created. I would wear it after the event, because it's a chic outfit.

Several of your fellow designers seemed to go back in time. Why did you make the decision to keep your design modern?

I have a thing about staying in the present and leaving the past in the past. I love 2008, I'm glad to be here and I want design to represent our time. These days there are so many references to the past that it's hard to define the style of the 2000s. The 80s, 70s, and 60s all have specific looks that define that era, and we keep revisiting the fashion trends of those times."

More detailed pictures:



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

Staggering to the finish line.

Strap yourselves in, bitches. We're in the homestretch!

Korto's initial good impression is rapidly fading with each challenge. While this week's entry was better than last week's, it's still a fairly poor attempt.

Look, jumpsuits are making a comeback (although we suspect it's a brief one), so points to her for being on trend. That doesn't mean we have to like it, though.

Did the designers collectively just not get this challenge? What about this look says "night on the town in NYC?" What does the picture she took have to do with this look?

It's a testament to how badly these looks are photographed on the show that there's simply no way to tell that she apparently used rope and braiding techniques to mimic the column in the picture. It's way too subtle to be appreciated, but she did actually make a limited attempt at "inspiration."

Still, it's just a terribly bland look paired with bland styling. We're not all that crazy about the proportions either. The flare on those pants is insane and the bust and collar do weird things to her torso. Not flattering and not interesting.

Suede misses his mommy.

It's ... alright, we guess. So long as you ignore the execution and fit flaws. And the bigass HAZMAT boots.

He really only took color from his inspiration and then went off on his own. To our tastes, there's a little too much shiny and a little too much bling here.

To his credit, he did use some nice details that didn't show up on the Black Runway of Doom.

It's just that it's kind of sloppy-looking and it doesn't appear to fit her properly anywhere.

Still, lose the tacky belt, steam that thing, take another crack at that hemline, and put it on a person it fits correctly and it's not a bad look.

If Daniel wrote his autobiography, it would be titled Daniel Feld: Ten Seconds to Meltdown. Not that he ever will have a meltdown. He appears to live in a perpetual state of razor's edge. Almost, but not quite, flipping out.

And we don't get this dress. It looks like she's still in the process of putting it on.

Like so many others, his inspiration was incredibly vague but props to him for mimicking the quality of light in the photo so effectively.

There's all kinds of ...business going on in that bodice.

So much, that we can't really get a handle on it. The finished effect looks like a lot of extra fabric hanging of her boob.

Just once, we'd like to see Daniel (who we can tell is talented) would calm down and make something a little simple and classic just to prove that he can. He seems to be throwing every trick he knows at the dress form every week and the result is always too much look.


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

Should've won it/Could've lost it

Let's face it, kittens.

This should've won. Once again, the judges are letting their crack dependencies make decisions for them.

Honestly? We don't have much to say here. It was a really pretty dress and, unlike the other contenders, it was executed near flawlessly.

We say "near" because there is one glaring issue: the bust. It's really poorly fitted and it's giving Shannone a titshelf.

It's possible that was a reason for her not getting the win, but we never heard the judges say anything to that effect.

Aside from that, we love it. Love the collar, love the belt.

It's kind of a shame it was rendered in such a shitty fabric, though. We'd love to see this in a richer color.

One more thing:

Flawless! Love her. We were kind of surprised that she wasn't snatched up first in the model selection because from where we're sitting, she's head and shoulders above most of them.

Oh, Korto.

Korto, Korto, Korto. What happened, doll? Last week's dress was so gorgeous, so striking, that we were sure you were going to be one of the ones to sail through the competition, racking up wins and near-wins on the way to Bryant Park.

Now?

We're not so sure. When it was on the dressform, we had a similar reaction to Tim's.

A sort of "Okaaaay. That might work." And if she'd done a little editing and if it had been executed perfectly, it could have really been an interesting dress.

First, the editing: those gigantic mermaid fins on the side of the skirt - lose them. From a design perspective they achieve nothing. Also, while we liked the idea of the exposed darts, did they have to be so thick? A thinner line running down the body could have been sleek and chic.

Second, the execution. Honey, WHAT is gone on there? That's a MESS.

She also seemed to be having some fit issues around the bust, which is odd, because that model has practically no bust at all. Those cups look they're sitting too low on her.

Conceptually, we thought the dress had a lot of potential. We don't know what happened to her this week, but she was seriously thrown off her game.

Oh, and remember when we said that she was low-drama, no bullshit?

Guess we can toss that idea out the window.


[Photos: Bravo/Barbara Nitke - Screencaps: Projectrungay.blogspot.com]