Lifetime
The Penultimate Project Runway Peeks At Season 15's Fashion Week Collections
Does Part 1 of the Season 15 finale give much hope for strong Fashion Week showings? Your editors discuss!
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The Talk
Before we get to the mini-"collections" (really not the right word given how unconnected any three pieces were to one another: "motley crews," perhaps? "Expendables"?): I like Heidi, but if the consequence of her having a live taping is that we get to see her replaced by Michael Kors, it's worth it. I've really missed him! And it seemed like he's missed the show, too; he struck me as almost giddy to be back in the judge chair, critiquing these poor, lost souls.
I missed him too! And as you know, I like Zac Posen a whole lot, and I may have missed Korsie but I'm-a still clock him for that clonky reference to his perfume towards the end there. His bits of the finale in the early seasons, though, I always learned a lot from, because he got really real with the designers about what the runway show is "for" -- and he did the same here. (And so did Heidi, whose evident delight at being a literal talking head was infectious.)
You're so right about his philosophy of runway shows: Zac could speak to this too, obviously, but I feel like he rarely does. And these pups really needed to be told that there has to be both an idea and an identity behind what they send out and how. To me the designer who got closest to cohesion was Laurence. Which is not to say any of her looks was actually a success individually. They were not.
No -- and the only "cohesion" was what I've referred to in the past, her own innate chic that sort of infuses her looks, but is not necessarily per-se design. I hated that middle look; it was like a porno was about to break out on the Golden Girls lanai. And again, hand-beading is not design. It's craft. It's beautiful, but none of those looks is anything I would be able to wear. Or want to.
I would wear the hayull out of a couple of Rik's looks, though. This will be a tiny-minority opinion (and they weren't cohesive), but I liked the Tokyo-hipster scuba-suit look, and that denim thing that looked like a post-apocalyptic layering piece. They felt different, but not in the surface way of other looks on the runway.
Mathematically, you cannot be in the minority in this conversation...but I liked Rik's the least. When Tim got to his work room and he started talking about the embroidered denim, I was already on my guard; seeing it then turned into a dumpy coverall was something my imagination could not have predicted, perhaps because it was trying to protect me from life's harsh realities.
When Roberi's strong first look led off, I wanted to continue rooting for him as the sleeper who could still win this, but like Laurence's, his two other looks were related but SO BORING. All three side by side could be a Chico's poster. COME ON, MAN.
Word. I really hoped as of the home visits that he maybe just wasn't doing the best job explaining it, but...no, it's basic, and not with the "fundamental," "classic" spin Roberi tried to put on it. I didn't like his the least, necessarily, and his last look had a jacket with potential, but unfortunately, a lot of it looked home-sewn, and if that's still supposed to be the shopping...journey (?) of his intended customer: fail.
So that leaves "Winner Edit" Erin Robertson. Is her victory inevitable? What was that Uli sundress in the middle? WE'RE STILL DOING NEOPRENE?! Seeing all three side by side, I had to quote my dear robot friend Dolores: "That doesn't look like anything to me."
Uy, that Uli dress. Say no to prairie flounces, world! And to the AmberVision sunglasses as well. ...I would wear the first dress if she cut off those valences that added nothing, and I also liked the idea behind the loomed-sleeve sweater, but so much of Erin's work feels forced, like provocations tacked on for their own sake. Like, I liked the glittery laser-cut paillettes too, but at the end of the day it's just a big ol' sequin.
I guess we won't really know until all ten looks (plus the additional "surprise" look which is not really a surprise anymore) walk. I still don't want Erin to win because she got so cocky and was particularly shitty in that one team challenge. And I still do want Roberi to win because he's secretly been the most interesting all season, so I hope he has more to offer than some white tops and tie belts.
I'm okay with any of them winning, except Rik, I guess? But I don't hate his stuff, and...he won't win. I was rooting for Laurence, but what I've seen doesn't give me much hope, so: #TeamRoberi over here too! Because "bright yellow" is not an aesthetic.
And neither is "shoulders."