PROJECT RUNWAY: Season 6 - Episode 3 - Official Craftster Discussion Thread

[ruthie tuesday]

wahhh i can't believe no-one has mentioned nicolas' blue&white lace number! it was brilliant, very avant-garde, like a futuristic sea-nymph. i love it.

i'm reluctant to say it but i'm happy mitchell has gone, only because his sewing skills have been somewhat absent & he said he wanted to be carried. does he remind anyone else (visually) of george from early episodes of grey's anatomy...?

hmm the neoprene dress might not be win-worthy, but it is impressive to produce such a delicate tulip-ish shaped skirt from neoprene. i'm a diver & understand how cumbersome it usually is as a fabric, so props to him for achieving what he did.

[parallax]

Regarding the neoprene look...
I wasn't crazy about it but I have two thoughts on why it won. First, it was made out of neoprene - the only avant-garde piece actually made of beach wear. That means a lot. Most of the avant-garde looks were just big, oversized fancy dresses. They couldn't be worn to the beach, the most any of them had to do with surf-inspired was color. Second, I think some of the detail work was hard to film, I don't think that we at home saw as many of the details in the garment as the judges were able to see.
I also think a lot of designers hear "avant-garde" and only get as far as "over-the-top" with their design. It seems that many don't think about what is making their piece radical, new or out-of-the-ordinary. Like at this point, how is the one-shouldered, foot high collar avant-garde? Everyone does it.
So while I didn't particularly care for the actual dress Ra'mon made, it seemed to me the closest to the mark.
Their regular look, though, I was really unimpressed with.
I much preferred Irina's look in that case, the macrame back was really lovely and a bit of a surprise.

[Is2sew]

I am glad that Mitchell is gone!  I would have been furious if the producers would have drug him out in this competition for more drama and to keep the audience attached to the show (as has been done with other PR series).  I like the neoprene dress, it was not my favorite but it did meet the brief closer than any other outfit.

[dellamae]

I have to say I'm another person glad that Mitchell is gone.  I have to wonder will the designers be required to use the models for every show now that the models have their own show.  Will there be no episodes where they have to dress the brides/ moms/ or male models.  I have tried watching Models of the Runway and I just can't get into it like Project Runway.  And that is saying a lot when Kalyn is from my hometown of Lake Jackson, Texas.
It ticked me off from the first episode when the model who had the winning designer got all these incredible prizes.  Yet the designer got nothing for all of his hard work besides being exempt in the next episode.  I think the designers deserve a little bigger prize also they did half the work.

[RougeRaven]

The neoprene was definitly a winner due to appropriate beach wear/inspiration, but I think it also had something to do with the fact Mitchell was such a crappy partner. I think the judges were feeling bad for Ra'mon and let him have it. The macrame backed dress should have taken the prize.

[blushingbluegrass]

Regarding the neoprene look...
I wasn't crazy about it but I have two thoughts on why it won. First, it was made out of neoprene - the only avant-garde piece actually made of beach wear. That means a lot. Most of the avant-garde looks were just big, oversized fancy dresses. They couldn't be worn to the beach, the most any of them had to do with surf-inspired was color. Second, I think some of the detail work was hard to film, I don't think that we at home saw as many of the details in the garment as the judges were able to see.
I also think a lot of designers hear "avant-garde" and only get as far as "over-the-top" with their design. It seems that many don't think about what is making their piece radical, new or out-of-the-ordinary. Like at this point, how is the one-shouldered, foot high collar avant-garde? Everyone does it.
So while I didn't particularly care for the actual dress Ra'mon made, it seemed to me the closest to the mark.

I agree! I think that was really the reason it won. I actually happened to like the dress.... especially the back, but he really seemed to be the only one to take into account that this was a surfwear challenge, and they wanted avant garde.... Everyone else was making ballgowns, or hooker-wear (Hahaha Nicholas), which really had no relevance to the task at hand at all. I don't know, I think what the judges were looking at was the shape of the dress.... I mean, really, no one is going to walk around in a neoprene dress, but it seems like if that dress had been made in another fabric, it would have been killer.

As for the macrame backed shirt and skirt combo.... outside of the macrame back, I felt like it was stuff I could pull out of my closet. That to me isn't designing. So, I guess what I am saying is, I think the winner was the right winner.

[vinnie451]

not many of the outgits seemed very surfer girl to me. Some were very nice but didn't seem to fit the theme. Only one or two looked like they would be wearable to the beach and none seemed to say sand and sun and beachy-ness. Did the designers even listen to the sugjestions of the clients? The macrame was closest and the neoprene made sense but everything else seemed like a cop out.

[karimusbunch]

I have to wonder will the designers be required to use the models for every show now that the models have their own show.  Will there be no episodes where they have to dress the brides/ moms/ or male models. 

it looks like next week is the "prom dress" theme, and they'll probably be using high school girls, they've done this before...i agree with the posts that would like to see an alternate material challenge, anyone remember austin's dress from the first season?

[Psycho Sue]

I'll play devil's advocate: I kinda felt bad for Mitchell.   Everyone works differently and I don't think he "sucked" and everyone can't be friggin amazing all the time.
Maybe he was not ready yet for the competition yet,  but i would not jump to conclusions saying he was a bad designer or didn't have any skills. But I like to give ppl the benefit of the doubt. Felt bad for him when the model was a different size and he had to scrap the design. That sucks no matter how you put it, though, he clearly couldn't adapt fast enough. He needs some "work" before the big time.

as far the designs....kinda boring. except the neoprene, the clearly most creative design of the night....love it or hate it!

[Juniper_Ann]

I’m with those who said neoprene dress was a mess.  But then, not being a big follower of runway fashion, I don’t get avant garde anyway.  I mean, why is a bulbous neoprene dress so great?  Is “I would wear it” a good thing to say about avant garde? Why is Nicolas’s super-sexed sea creature a bad thing?  I thought it was interesting, and the comments about it being too sexy confused me.  I’ve seen nipples on runways, and the neckline-down-to-the-bellybutton is practically a staple on this show, so why is a garter belt over a skirt way too over-sexed?  I also kinda liked the brown swimsuit of Qristyl’s design—why was that torn down by the judges?   

My favorites were Althea’s flowing white bali pants (didn’t care for the top, no matter how much praise it got), Epperson’s leafy green sundress, and Shirin’s under-bust cover-up. 

I'll play devil's advocate: I kinda felt bad for Mitchell.

I also felt bad for Mitchell in this challenge.  I think he was so stressed and overwhelmed that he just couldn’t deal with it anymore, but I would have respected him more if he had acknowledged Epperson as the real team leader and tried to help him.  I’m glad he’s gone.