Terri and Kenley

My goodness, kittens! We still have a shit ton of dresses to rip!

Let's start with the one you all keep bringing up:

While this look had a lot going for it, we're afraid we can't completely commit ourselves to getting on the TerriLove Train. It was certainly one of the few entries that fit the challenge.

It's modern-looking and stylish, which is a huge plus, and it's amazing to us that Terri managed to complete 3 tailored pieces during a time frame in which many of the designers couldn't properly complete one.

Here's the thing: she has three different stripe patterns in two shades of blue and three shades of red above the waist. That's an awful lot of look.

Plus, that top is way too tight and sits too low for most women.

And that ruffle-y ascot thingy is just too much. There's so much going on in her upper half that the eye doesn't know where to rest when taking it in.

We liked the white pants with the stripe running down one side, but we didn't particularly like the flared leg. We tend to think that a straight leg would have been better for this look.

And there appear to be some fit and/or execution issues around the waist.

It's a smart look and definitely one of the best ones in a sea of mediocrity, but it wasn't without its problems. Many people have commented that she was robbed out of the win, but we can see why the judges didn't pick this one.

Well, Kenley has been pegged as "the annoying one" by her peers and we can't say we disagree.

Granted, it didn't escape our notice that her apparent annoying tendencies only came up AFTER she won a challenge and as we all know, jealousy always plays a huge part in delicious reality television drama.

Still, if we had to listen to that laugh 16 hours out of 24, we'd go insane.

As for her entry...

...she appears to have been stricken by that elusive affliction that hears "Olympics" and thinks "cocktail party." Although to be fair, this is less a cocktail dress and more like something a particularly stylish woman would wear to the office.

She said she wanted to stick to only blue and white because it's "more tasteful," which is all well and good, but she needed to marry "tasteful" with the dictates of the challenge. There's no way to look at this and think "Olympics." It's not remotely sporty or patriotic. And besides, that blue looks awfully close to purple to our eyes.

Taken on its own, we like the idea behind the look. Although that skirt looks a little sloppy. We suppose it was deliberate that she didn't match up the plaid, but we can't say we like it.

And that top looks awfully wonky to us as well.

Why does everything look twisted and wrinkled and poorly executed? She certainly didn't have execution problems with the last challenge and that appeared to be a more complicated design than this one.

More detailed pictures:




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

Shannone=LOVE

Kittens, is there anything more entertaining than a model with attitude?


"Models, this is a competition for you too."


"Look, this is cute and all, but come on. Seriously?"


"Shh. The model paired with the winning designer will get a fashion spread in Marie Cl- I mean, Elle Magazine"


"I am so sure. As if I didn't work the shit out of that munchkin dress."


"Shh. Kenley, you are the winner of the last challenge, so you have the option of swapping models with your fellow designers in some overly complicated way that I can never remember."


"Shannone! HAhahahaHAHAhaHAha!!!!"


"Told you. Look, I'm supposed to be somewhere looking fabulous. Gotta run."


[Screencaps: Projectrungay.blogspot.com]

Congratulations, Kenley!

Well, we've had three challenges so far and we feel we're ready to make an assessment. Ready? Here it is.

This group of designers isn't as polished and lack the precision of last season's.

Which isn't to say they're not talented or creative. They are. In fact, they remind us a bit of the Season 1 group. Younger, rawer, and more willing to throw some crazy shit down that runway instead of pulling dress #64732 out of their professional trick bag. With this group you really have no idea what they're going to do and that's a great thing. It also means, in the words of one previous season's designer's text to us during the show "There's a lot of ass on that runway (guess who said that!)," but that's a byproduct of creativity.

And another thing before we get to the dress...

Celebrity judges. Hate 'em. Especially when they're not really known for their fashion chops and they're not acting as the client. Last night wasn't about dressing Sandra Bernhard. It was about having Sandra Bernhard spew her uninformed opinions about clothing she had no interest in. Give us a celebrity that wants to wear the winning entry or feature it in their vanity line, but don't give us disinterested has-beens whose latest face hasn't settled in.

Okay. Now.

The dress.

True story: we were watching with a gaggle last night and when Kenley was announced as the winner there were shocked gasps and outrage, but Lorenzo just smiled, leaned back, put his hands behind his head, and said simply "Well, I love it." When greeted with the chorus of "WHAT??!"s he countered with "Balenciaga, Spring 2008." THAT'S why the judges loved it.

Certainly it's not a direct ripoff, but she's clearly working in current trends. The bold, almost tropical print, the high collar and puff sleeves, the general proportions - it's all there.

In the light of morning, Lorenzo's sticking to his guns. He still loves it.

Tom doesn't love it, but he sees what she was going for and he appreciates that.

Regardless of your thoughts on the style of the dress, she nailed it in the execution. There was some unusual construction and fit with this look and it all looks flawless.

Even if you don't like the tulle, you have to admit it's perfectly utilized. She made it conform to the line of the skirt and it doesn't look bulky or unruly. It forms a perfect compliment.

What got the judges moist is that this was such a modern look. Ripped straight from the runways, as it were. Leanne's piece was quite beautiful but in the end, it was a lot of "seen-it, done-it" in terms of fashion. This wasn't.

If we have to criticize it, we really think she almost lost it when she picked that fabric. As we said, it's such a modern shape and silhouette, but that fabric looks like the DNA-infused bedspread in an '80s motel.

She went on and on about her inspiration and how the fabric really captured it and we don't see it at all.

The other criticism we have is with the proportions. It's so tight and fitted in the top and then it balloons out around the hips. It's a somewhat severe look and it doesn't entirely compliment Shannone's body.

Still, it was modern and interesting and different. We know a lot of you will disagree, but we think she deserved the win. We also think her combination of style, risk-taking and flawless execution make Kenley The One To Watch from here on out.

More detailed pictures:




[Photo: Bravo/Barbara Nitke/Style.com - 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]