Once again, the judges missed out on another great design and gave the prize to Daniel.
Kara's dress was stunning - and she even took time to help Chloe! She should have won. But I think they didn't want Kara to have immunity, because she is very hit and miss. She is my pick to be out next week.
I'm curious about the fabric showing on the bosom.
IMO, Daniel won for the use of the flowers (all the judges wanted more flowers) and for the cleverly woven waistband section. I think his use of the ferns allowed him to focus more on details which he clearly did.
I agree scarlett! I was weirded out by the very naked looking straps on this one, although I adore the rest of it. Are they supposed to be invisible, like mesh on skaters' costumes? Or are they supposed to look like bra straps?
I don't get that part of this otherwise GORGEOSO frock. Can anyone explain this to me?
Did I hear correctly? Did jet set fashion designer Michael Kors say that there's something about Nick's designs that are always vulgar? Why would he say that? And why are all the judges so fixated on vulgar this season?
I agree with Ourboy. I am thinking "could it be so obvious that Daniel will be the winner?" Is that what the producers want us to think? Aren't they concerned with entertainment value and keeping the audience guessing?
I feel so badly about Andrae-I don't think he should have been aufed. He has grown so much as a designer and personality on the show. I agree with what someone said about the interlock machine and just his general (as Jay put it) demeanor.
I love Daniel in this epi-boy, did your heart go out to him or what? No, not that way! When he was talking about coming out to his family and growing up-
I thought this epi was awesome, funny and showing a very personal side to the designers. Loved it.
Poor Nick - loved his dress - it really had style to me - I'm now getting worried about him - the comment that was shown in a preview a week ago - something like - I'm not impressed anymore -was not heard last night - so it is still out there - and I am worried it is directed at Nick -
Poor Santino - loved his dress - his dress was shiny - so what - would they rather have had it brown and curled up
Chloe can do no wrong - in the judge's eyes - but yuch
Daniel is golden boy - but - to me not the best -(hated his Inspiration garment and his BR and his lingerie)
Kara - for once made something pretty - but she definately is inconsistent - hope no one else leaves before her
Andrae - love Andrae and hated this dress - have loved some of his though - it's a shame - he was the worst last night
>>as much as i love DV -- i am starting to feel uneasy about his sleek slide into front-runner status...i reluctantly agree that Andrae's dress last week was the more wearable, and should have won...and now DV has immunity for the next challenge -- he will really have to work to mess up if he's NOT going to make the final three... there's something a bit too safe for him about all this, at least to my eye ...as if the fix were in... <<
Remember last season, though...Kara Saun won everything and was referred to by Satan, I mean Wendy Pepper as "the Golden Child." Daniel V. seems to be in that role this season (deservedly so) and I just fear that he'll make it to Fashion Week, have a great show and in the hopes of TV drama (after all, it is entertainment, right?), they'll go for someone else instead of him. Just a feeling I have.
And yeah...I'm with you on the head scratch about Nick's vulgarity. I don't see it.
I said this when I first heard about the challenge and I will say it again. There is no way in my mind that this challenge made sense for the final 6. I understand the concept of the challenge, but think it would have served better earlier in the season.
As a result, we've lost one of the better designers in the competition, at least in my opinion. I agree w/ praddicted about how much he had grown as a designer throughout the show. Him and Daniel both started the show so "under the radar" and once they got the hang of it, their garments were/are turning out fabulous.
I just thought that the concept of this challenge could have been detrimental to anyone, not just Andrae. The bottom two last night were 2/3 of my picks for Fashion Week. Losing either of them this early wasn't right. And if you think about it in another way, it could have easily been Daniel or Chloe or anyone else getting the boot. I just felt that this challenge was much too risky this late in the show. I also feel as though the show lost one of its best designers.
I am glad that Daniel got immunity. I think he deserved it with his dress. It was rather well constructed and had more detail then anyone elses. I also quite liked Santino's. I think this was a good challenge for him.
I'm sad to see Andrae go...he'll be missed and I hope that he gets great exposure from this show. He's a truly talented designer and I see a great future ahead. The frustration over seeing two of my faves in the bottom and knowing one was auf actually made me shed a few tears. I blame the wine though!
This episode really exceeded my low expectations. A tough competition with lots of laughs and tears in between. I agree with Tim - I think each designer met the challenge well and choosing the auf was pretty difficult.
Having said that though, DV stole this win with flowers. I didn't think his design was up to par with Kara, Chloe or Santino. But the judges wanted flowers, and he had them.
I also agree that they were not about to give Kara immunity, and that is the only reason she didn't win. All the more reason why it was a ridiculous reward for this silly challenge.
Andrae had a great run and we will certainly miss his facial expressions!
I forgot to mention how hard I laughed during the Timpression scenes! I have to watch them over again, because I was laughing so hard I know I missed some!
I really hated this week's challenge. SantEgo was right - everyone was at risk this week. As much as Andrae has grown on me - I love his kooky facial expressions - I knew he was out the moment I saw the completed garment. I'm really sad to see him go. Kara really surprised me last night. I thought her dress was gorgeous. I thought Chloe's was the best with Kara 2nd and Daniel 3rd.
The judges wanted more flowers? They only had $100 to spend, for heaven's sake!
Now for the $64,000 question: what will they do now that Andrae won't be around to keep those machines humming?
I agree that this challenge really wasn't a good idea for so late in the game. When you watch the grocery store challenge from season 1, which was pretty similar to this one, you don't get a good idea of any of the designers except for a few of them. It's such a fluke that Andrae's is the one that turned out the worst-- Kara or Chloe could have so easily crashed and burned.
I also think Michael Kors has no idea what the word vulgar means. Emmett's skating dress and Nick's design from this week? Please.
I agree with Katey. What is so "vulgar" about Nick's work?
I did think it was funny, though, how right after Michael Kors's "there's something vulgar about everything he does" comment, the editors cut to Nick and his water bottle.
This was a really interesting challenge. And I'm starting to see how it works this late in the game. We know they can all design beautiful clothing - all of them at one point or another made really great pieces. This challenge really....challenged them. It made them push the envelope and see how they could cope with non-traditional materials.
But I digress....
I was pissed that the judges (read: Michael and Nina) kept harping about no one using flowers. The designers used the materials they felt would best last overnight and would work to their advantage. I love that even though the pieces were all (mostly) green, each one had different texture, look and feel. I think Dan won because he had flowers in his design. I think they were also trying to steer clear of being too literal by using flowers and using the leaves to create "fabric" and "trim."
What was vulgar about Nick's design?? What is the deal with vulgarity?? Why didn't they call Zulema's butt-dress vulgar????
I was hoping Santino would win simply so he could get rid of his whiney model.
Tim adresses a lot of these things in his blog...ie: Nick's "vulgarity" and how it's not, flowers vs plants etc...
He also makes a note that the judges really DON'T understand the aspects of the challenges, which I've suspected since season one.
curly, I agree that it was an interesting challenge, but disagree with it's timing in the competition. I think that at this point, we are supposed to have the best of the best. The top 6 or what have you. Shouldn't we be seeing what they can design with actual fabric this close to fashion week? I just feel as though the flow of the challenges was interrupted.
And with Daniel as the arguable front runner of the show, he could have easily stumbled like Andrae did and gotten the boot. How would that have translated to viewers? To me, it becomes dangerous territory to introduce foreign materials at this point.
However, I also felt it was too early to do it last season with the grocery store challenge. IMO something like this is best served as filler for mid-season.
what is funny right from the start of the episode, i knew chloe would design the dress she did. i turned out beautiful.. but whoa did they edit to make it seem that it wouldn't.
personally, i hated santino's dress... nina was right when she said she could see the design behind andrae's dress. i honestly believe that if he would have made the collar a little more distinct - he would have been saved and my dear nick, lost.
top three yesterday: nick, chloe, santino top three today, daniel, chloe, santino
PR addict - I mentioned this above - I think they were trying hard not to be real literal and let the materials translate into texture and fabric and trim.
After last week, I was sure that Kara was gone, but she really pulled it out and created something beautiful and interesting. She would have had my vote. What on earth was vulgar about Nick's dress? Did I miss some tootie? They've got this Nick = vulgar and Daniel = sweetness and light thing going. The whole challenge was silly. What's next, bust up the furniture in the workroom and make a dress out of it?
I'm assuming that the straps on Daniel's dress weare ribbon: we saw several of the designers buying ribbon, and Santino used that mesh for his skirt, so the ribbon must be okay.
Chloe had me freaking out last night! "Finish, Chloe, finish!" And even when it went down the runway, "Oh, Chloe, it's pretty, but I'm afraid the judges will think it is too plain!" I was so relieved when the judges all liked it!
I do wish we would get a better idea of the rules of the challenge. Santino bought some mesh material to serve as a base but most of the designers seemed to assume they could just attach the materials to a muslin base. Did they know they were allowed to do this when they were shopping? For the grocery store challenge in the first season I think they could only use what they bought at the grocery store.
And Laura, I think you were the one who said that nobody's picking Kara, but what if she's good at weaving flowers together? Good call; she was!
eric, Tim mentioned in his blog that Santino's mesh was made of leaves or something like that. Apparantly, he picked it up in one of the plant shops. I thought it was a good move actually!
As I said before, I just didn't care for this challenge as a whole...
aj, I agree it was a good idea Santino picked up the mesh at the plant shop. My point was that he seemed to be the only one who thought about a backing material for the plants and I was wondering if they knew ahead of time that they would be able to attach everything to muslin.
I'll agree with Scarlett that Daniel won for use of colorful flowers. It was clear from the beginning of the discussion that that is what the judges were expecting.
I've got another "You know you watch too much PR when...": You want to go to Red Lobster just so you can do Timpressions.
I definitely agree that I think Kara should have won this challenge. I'm really starting to feel that the judging is biased and not based on the actual garments.
Chloe and Daniel are clearly the judges' favorites, and though I agree they are great designers (esp. Daniel), it seems like the other designers are being shut out even when they deserve to win. To me, Daniel's looked unfinished at the top, and Chloe's was very plain. Kara's dress was impeccably fitted and beautifully intricate. This should have been her challenge.
However, I think Andrae's dress probably deserved to go, though I was bummed he was eliminated.
First time posting here. (Thanks Laura for the amazing blog/forum.)
I'm with everyone on the "Daniel won for using color/flowers" vibe & am glad to know some of the back story about WHY they didn't mention the $$$ aspect of not using more.
I thought Kara would be, with Andrae, in the bottom two -- until I heard the panel, at which point I began to wonder if Kara's dress photographed very differently than it looked in person.
My feeling for a good while has been that it's between Chloe & Daniel, with Santino being either in 3rd or 4th. I somehow think Santino'll be in the Austin slot (ie. presenting a show at fashion week but out of the competition by then). I'd been pulling for Andrae to be in there, but now I think it might just be Kara.
Tim expressed concern that Chloe would be accused of being "one note" -- I think that's also happened to Nick. Only his "one note" is vulgar, where Chloe's is that she knows/thinks about a woman's body.
I have a major crush on Daniel but I'm still pulling for Chloe to take it.
Daniel being not-far-out-of-school and with an ability to take and execute instruction (along with a load of knowledge and talent) may make him appealing to Banana Republic.
I think Chloe got a bit of a pass based on past accomplishments. Did not only Kara but her model assist her in finishing the project? I thought I heard Chloe ask her model to "come back and help" after doing hair and make up.
Anyways, another grand episode. I miss Andrae already. I particularly liked the way each of his dresses had a distinct story or narrative.
I was so pissed after I saw that show I had a drink and went to bed.
Kara's was the best hands down. It was the most creative and she looked like she did the most work. Daniel's looked unfinished. I was surprised Chloe was going through so much to cover hers and he left the straps and trim of the bodice showing. Why'd he win? Because he use some damn purple flowers? Lavendar is purple too damnit! Kara really really impressed me (for the first time I might add) and I think she was unduly robbed.
What.. you know let me stop there because this is turning into a post that should be on my own journal. I will say I think Nick was awfully lucky.
All the designers in tonight's episode should be congratulated. Given the money restraint and the materials to work with (live plants) they all did a beautiful job!
Does anyone know if there is anything that might be used to preserve the dresses? It would be beautiful to see them on display, but they are so fragile.
I agree about the exposed muslin although I did like the dress. Personally, I'd want to wear Chloe's. I thought Santino's sucked but I'm so not objective about him. He could send a model down the runway in an actual Chanel suit and I'd probably diss it. The only reason I have lowered my "hatred" of Santino to "despise" is that his impersonation of Tim Gunn is so spot on that it fills me with delight. And I thought the judges were entirely too bitchy (can I say that?) about the flower thing. I thought they were all smart to use material that wasn't going to shrivel and rot overnight. A dress of rose petals, Heidi? Are you insane?
I agree with the others on this forum - as much as I love Daniel V., I thought Chloe or Kara should've won this week. I also think Daniel (and don't hate me for this) is a little over-rated. Maybe its because he's so sweet and cute? The lingerie he designed was terribly constructed (the breasts weren't even!). Last season, when Kara Saun took the lead, I loved every one of her designs. I actually think this season is a little weaker . . . there were a lot of dresses that I absolutely loved last season (Jay's Chrysler building dress, Kara Saun's and Jay's wedding dresses, Austin's bathing suit) and fewer this season that have blown me away.
Anyway, for the past few episodes I've thought the final three would include both Daniel and Chloe and the third will be whoever doesn't self-destruct.
misterminm, that is a really excellent point! I, personally, am emotionally attached to certain designers because of things the judges don't see.
I am able to remain objective, otherwise I'd be screaming my head off about how Andrae was unjustly aufed. I will however scream about how untimely the challenge is, but that's a different story.
As for Daniel's win. I thought his was the best in it's detailing. While Chloe's was more intricate, Daniel had more going on, and while Kara's was detailed, Daniel's was more refined.
I actually thought Santino's was the front runner to take the top spot, but maybe I'm just no good with foliage...
I just wanted to respond that Chloe is not the first designer to get help from her model. I remember this happening in other episodes (sorry, I can't be specific).
hey misterminm, great minds right? I really did like Santino's and thought the shelacking was a smart move.
Daniel V is experiencing major backlash! I think that he is rightly winning these challenges. Aside from Diana, he's the youngest designer and has the least experience. I think that for a competition where you have to be able to mold to different challenges this is actually an advantage. He clearly has the skill, talent and vision that all the other designers have, but the fact that he's not been doing things a specific way for years is providing him with more range.
I don't think he's won these past two challenges by a lot, and maybe there were more deserving designers, but as said before; we don't know what the judges are looking for.
Yes, he's cute and likeable and funny and such. But on top of these things, he's a really well-rounded artist who has produced some incredible garments thus far.
I want him to go to fashion week to see what he comes up with when left to his own devices. The same goes for all of the designers left. It's still anyone's game as Kara made clear last night;)
I agree with your post about the Daniel backlash. I do think it is unfortunate. In my opiniion he has done some really nice things and that is not overshadowed to me by the fact that he pulled out a couple of close wins.
I also think it is unfair for people to say that his dress was unfinished. He was using floral ribbon- the cream color was not muslin as people keep saying over and over.
Overall, I really liked this episode because I thought the designs were mostly very strong for a hard challenge.
And I'm agreeing with aj that there is too much backlash against Daniel. What's wrong with winning because the judges like your design the best? As previously mentioned, the judges aren't spending time with the designers during the process-so they don't know how kind, and sweet and modest Daniel is. They only see his finished pieces and know that he's a very young designer with brilliant talent.
I also agree that Daniel would be best suited for the Banana Republic deal, and perhaps the judges have this on their minds as well. From the start, I thought Daniel's designs looked the most wearable. I'd love to own a dress by Daniel.
sorry adrienne, totally screwed that one up. my bad. i should have just not used a gender specific pronouns (or whatever you call those parts of speech). sorry again, didn't mean to offend you, guess i was typing without thinking about that issue.
One comment about the judges only seeing what's on the runway. While this is true, the show does tell us they consider input from the producers as well when deciding who wins each challenge.
And the producers do get to see everything we see (and everything we don't see) about the designers. Their input has to be related to ratings and what they think will play better with the audience.
I'm not saying that the producers' input necessarily differed drastically from the judges' "on the merits of the runway only" opinion. I'm just pointing out that we can't rule out the possibility that it did.
hasn't anyone else noticed that chloe just keeps making pretty much the same dress every week? Luckily there wasnt any 'aqua' coloured leaves at the store or she also would've used the same damned colour again too. One trick pony!
I think Santino and Daniels dresses were the best for the overall designs, creativity and use of colur & texture. Kara's dress while creative and intricate was foiled by the choice of materials, same with Andrae's that mossy stuff is just fug. Nick's was creative, I likdd the skirt of his dress but the top was pretty fug and possibly even a bit 'vulgar' and tacky. Chloe's was pretty but no creativity and very boring in contrast with every other design. I could go outside and whip up that dress myself and I have never studied design and can't even sew.
I totally agree with statements above by tbone and misterminm! a few of my own:
first-i think the judges were watching a different show than i was/or were on different medication?......i thought exactly the opposite as they did! and truely if they had wanted to see more 'flowers' they should have increased the budget AND actually SAID "we 'literally' want to see lots of flowers that's why this segment is called 'flower power' ", it kept being billed as a 'garden party' dress, not a 'flower' dress. the designers instantly thought of two things i'm sure, the corn husk nightmare, and hearing kara chastised for being to 'literal'-how confusing!
santino-his dress was by far in my opinion the best, it actually looked like a high fashion garden party dress and not a walking bush. i think it might have been one of his best showings yet, oh and how funny of heidi "what's wrong with shiny leaves? maybe you don't dust yours enough" haha, couldn't the judges see he was insuring against the dreaded corn husk fiasco, plus in a way the shininess to me made the gown look sort of patent leather, kind of a cool effect-whatever. michael and especially nina are always far too critical of him since he ragged on them so bad, they have it in for him and it's clouding thier judgement, heidi is actually fair with him-what she likes/doesn't like. oh and god......could someone please gag that model of his? i am so sick of her whining, she has to realize how far she has come with him, don't tell him it gives you a wedgy or that it will itch girl-go out and sell the d*mn dress! walk it like you love it no matter what-she could take lessons from daniel's model-could be a factor in why daniel wins so often, great sales pitch?
nick-i absolutely loved nick's dress! the way he used those big banana leaves made it look so sleek, and the dash of dried flowers/twigs/crown of flowers gave it the feminine/whimsy touch it needed, after all, it was a dress out of plants for goodness sake, i thought it actually looked like a dress! -vulgar?-michael kors really! i can't believe he actually said there is something vulgar about everything nick does-poor vulgar barbie :) haha, oh what is it with these judges, some designers are told thier designs are too safe, plain, lucklaster, others are bieng spanked for bieng too 'vulgar'-oh get over it, it is a fashion design show for women, and these women have been tastefully dressed by these designers, of course with a flare to the flirty or sexy, that's what high fashion is...........chloe's NH dress was split down the front almost to her navel, no mention of vulgar-why because it wasn't-neither have the others. oh and how about zulema's skating outfit? wow, that was nearly naked, they found it chic-no wonder these guys just stay true to themselves/thier visions/whenever they try to change for the judges they get de-railed and turn out something that gets them, or almost gets them kicked off...............
sorry about the rant haha :)
daniel-i think his dress wasn't 'all that', it looked like a bush on the bottom, the 'basket weaving 101 was nice and the flowers were pretty, but the bodice wasn't finished, and be it muslin or ribbon, the straps didn't match the dress, more flowers maybe? i liked the dress, but i didn't get the hype, as tim said, i think they saw flowers and forgot everything else. don't get me wrong i absolutely love his designs, i think he always makes something wearable and tasteful, but that's boring! grant it it's pretty, but, i don't know, i think he is just getting too much 'judge love'-also i agree with another poster here that says he is exactly what banana republic would want, but the next top designer? no.
chloe-oh my god was that a snore zzzzzzzzzzzzzz it looked so very plain in construction, and that scull cap, i thought she was a pod person! no really, the leaves were hard to do, yes, so were the other designs-hello? and yes it looked like it could be material, but was that your challenge, you send so many mixed signals judges-oh and kors again with the "she really thinks of the female form" what? all the other designs/save andrae's were much more flattering, even the 'vulgar' one. frankly i think chloe makes lovely clothes, but they are all too safe, and nothing really looks high fashion. if she goes to FW the collection will be quite unexciting. do they want talent here or a safe designer for banana republic? if she makes it to FW it will be because michael kors adores her......not because she should be.
kara-thought her dress was fab, but if i break it down, the bodice and braiding was a santino ripoff, the skirt was an andrae ripoff-so where was kara? oh yea, in that wonderful 8"x10" bit in the back. grant it the dress had pressence, looked better constructed than daniel's, and it had flowers/even if dried............but "none" of the dress was kara's design. she's a great gal, but poor on execution/save the NH dress......not a final three contender.
andrae-poor thing, i did see it as a topiary, maybe better suited for the last show 'inspiration', but that gown was great i wouldn't have not wanted to see that-i'm just saying the dress was kind of gimicky/or costume like. i think had he added a more colorful hem/sash/neck and sold it as an audrey hepburn dress and used smaller moss to make it look like material he might have gotten away with it.............but, someone had to go, and in all honesty looking at the runway, his 'was' the most dull.........andrae was a wild card since day one, some fashions too far out-poof ball barbie-and some, incredibly well done-NH dress. i think they couldn't risk sending him to FW, which andrae would they get?
observations: "i'm not impressed anymore" by nina-she was wearing an orange/white number it looked like, i'm sure it's for this week, but i have to watch this episode again to make sure it wasn't the same outfit..........i'm guessing it was geared at santino by the aggressive tone, that doesn't mean he's out, they've ignored her before. also in one of the previews santino says he needs to know what kara likes-then kara sidles up to nick, who isn't talking to him, and whispers, i feel guilty for not saying something to him. they are all back stage, so my guess is this is while they were waiting for the judges opinion, and kara is the one santino designs for. kors says "it looks like a golden girl's jacket, give it some leggings and a belt and it's so '80's" or something like that. my guess, the direction his head was facing, and the fact that it was a jacket, it was kara's jacket, she really can't sew, so i think it's her, also given kors has used that tone with kara before. heidi saying "i just really hate it" i believe refers to the same jacket, since kors just puppets what she says anyway. i have to say it's kara, i can't see her in the final 4. daniel saves himself a lot at elimination time by standing calmly with a smile, giving short explainations, and whatever the judges say he parrots.......smart sales pitch, the other's could learn from this guy.
favorite quote by a poster: "ok well if we are going to call it chloe blue, then we 'have' to call santino's 'bamboo a*s red' -haha, that slayed me!
favorite quotes by designers: "a mother-f*cking walk off!" "it's just fashion" "where's andrae?" and any santino rant
favorite freak-outs: -andrea's crying jig on the ruway -zulema's 'cut and cry' "ENTIRELY TOO MUCH TOOTIE"
pick for final three: 1-daniel 2-nick 3-santino
though chloe could be a spoiler because the judges have decided nick is vulgar and chloe is adorable.........i can't wait for weds!
I have to say, when I first saw Daniel’s dress on the runway, my eyes IMMEDIATELY fell on the bare straps. It looked unfinished and the shape was just unflattering. Rebecca looked like a walking bush. LITERALLY. Chloe’s was just really simple and really boring. Like someone said, it’s a very simple silhouette, with leaves covering it. To me that just spells B-O-R-I-N-G. Chloe also isn’t a risk taker at all and it bothers me that the judges are looking that. The top of Kara’s dress I liked, but the bottom looked a lot like Andre’s. Andre’s dress I thought was pretty but need a bit more color. Nick’s is just letting me down, and I really like him. Santino’s dress in my opinion was the best. It was innovative and if I had to wear a dress made of plants, it would be this one. It was chic and had a great shape. Santino has got to be my favorite. If he is not in the top 3, I will be so angry…
58 comments:
Once again, the judges missed out on another great design and gave the prize to Daniel.
Kara's dress was stunning - and she even took time to help Chloe! She should have won. But I think they didn't want Kara to have immunity, because she is very hit and miss. She is my pick to be out next week.
I'm curious about the fabric showing on the bosom.
IMO, Daniel won for the use of the flowers (all the judges wanted more flowers) and for the cleverly woven waistband section. I think his use of the ferns allowed him to focus more on details which he clearly did.
I agree scarlett! I was weirded out by the very naked looking straps on this one, although I adore the rest of it. Are they supposed to be invisible, like mesh on skaters' costumes? Or are they supposed to look like bra straps?
I don't get that part of this otherwise GORGEOSO frock. Can anyone explain this to me?
Did I hear correctly? Did jet set fashion designer Michael Kors say that there's something about Nick's designs that are always vulgar? Why would he say that? And why are all the judges so fixated on vulgar this season?
I agree with Ourboy. I am thinking "could it be so obvious that Daniel will be the winner?" Is that what the producers want us to think? Aren't they concerned with entertainment value and keeping the audience guessing?
These are my thoughts this morning.
I feel so badly about Andrae-I don't think he should have been aufed. He has grown so much as a designer and personality on the show. I agree with what someone said about the interlock machine and just his general (as Jay put it) demeanor.
I love Daniel in this epi-boy, did your heart go out to him or what? No, not that way! When he was talking about coming out to his family and growing up-
I thought this epi was awesome, funny and showing a very personal side to the designers. Loved it.
Poor Nick - loved his dress - it really had style to me - I'm now getting worried about him - the comment that was shown in a preview a week ago - something like - I'm not impressed anymore -was not heard last night - so it is still out there - and I am worried it is directed at Nick -
Poor Santino - loved his dress - his dress was shiny - so what - would they rather have had it brown and curled up
Chloe can do no wrong - in the judge's eyes - but yuch
Daniel is golden boy - but - to me not the best -(hated his Inspiration garment and his BR and his lingerie)
Kara - for once made something pretty - but she definately is inconsistent - hope no one else leaves before her
Andrae - love Andrae and hated this dress - have loved some of his though - it's a shame - he was the worst last night
>>as much as i love DV -- i am starting to feel uneasy about his sleek slide into front-runner status...i reluctantly agree that Andrae's dress last week was the more wearable, and should have won...and now DV has immunity for the next challenge -- he will really have to work to mess up if he's NOT going to make the final three... there's something a bit too safe for him about all this, at least to my eye ...as if the fix were in... <<
Remember last season, though...Kara Saun won everything and was referred to by Satan, I mean Wendy Pepper as "the Golden Child." Daniel V. seems to be in that role this season (deservedly so) and I just fear that he'll make it to Fashion Week, have a great show and in the hopes of TV drama (after all, it is entertainment, right?), they'll go for someone else instead of him. Just a feeling I have.
And yeah...I'm with you on the head scratch about Nick's vulgarity. I don't see it.
Marley = )
Really great episode, AWFUL challenge!
I said this when I first heard about the challenge and I will say it again. There is no way in my mind that this challenge made sense for the final 6. I understand the concept of the challenge, but think it would have served better earlier in the season.
As a result, we've lost one of the better designers in the competition, at least in my opinion. I agree w/ praddicted about how much he had grown as a designer throughout the show. Him and Daniel both started the show so "under the radar" and once they got the hang of it, their garments were/are turning out fabulous.
I just thought that the concept of this challenge could have been detrimental to anyone, not just Andrae. The bottom two last night were 2/3 of my picks for Fashion Week. Losing either of them this early wasn't right. And if you think about it in another way, it could have easily been Daniel or Chloe or anyone else getting the boot. I just felt that this challenge was much too risky this late in the show. I also feel as though the show lost one of its best designers.
I am glad that Daniel got immunity. I think he deserved it with his dress. It was rather well constructed and had more detail then anyone elses. I also quite liked Santino's. I think this was a good challenge for him.
I'm sad to see Andrae go...he'll be missed and I hope that he gets great exposure from this show. He's a truly talented designer and I see a great future ahead. The frustration over seeing two of my faves in the bottom and knowing one was auf actually made me shed a few tears. I blame the wine though!
This episode really exceeded my low expectations. A tough competition with lots of laughs and tears in between. I agree with Tim - I think each designer met the challenge well and choosing the auf was pretty difficult.
Having said that though, DV stole this win with flowers. I didn't think his design was up to par with Kara, Chloe or Santino. But the judges wanted flowers, and he had them.
I also agree that they were not about to give Kara immunity, and that is the only reason she didn't win. All the more reason why it was a ridiculous reward for this silly challenge.
Andrae had a great run and we will certainly miss his facial expressions!
I forgot to mention how hard I laughed during the Timpression scenes! I have to watch them over again, because I was laughing so hard I know I missed some!
"Andrae...every time we have a tiff at Red Lobster, you run to the bathroom crying."
"If there is anyone else out there like Santino...don't call me. One is enough."
I really hated this week's challenge. SantEgo was right - everyone was at risk this week. As much as Andrae has grown on me - I love his kooky facial expressions - I knew he was out the moment I saw the completed garment. I'm really sad to see him go. Kara really surprised me last night. I thought her dress was gorgeous. I thought Chloe's was the best with Kara 2nd and Daniel 3rd.
The judges wanted more flowers? They only had $100 to spend, for heaven's sake!
Now for the $64,000 question: what will they do now that Andrae won't be around to keep those machines humming?
I agree that this challenge really wasn't a good idea for so late in the game. When you watch the grocery store challenge from season 1, which was pretty similar to this one, you don't get a good idea of any of the designers except for a few of them. It's such a fluke that Andrae's is the one that turned out the worst-- Kara or Chloe could have so easily crashed and burned.
I also think Michael Kors has no idea what the word vulgar means. Emmett's skating dress and Nick's design from this week? Please.
I agree with Katey. What is so "vulgar" about Nick's work?
I did think it was funny, though, how right after Michael Kors's "there's something vulgar about everything he does" comment, the editors cut to Nick and his water bottle.
This was a really interesting challenge. And I'm starting to see how it works this late in the game. We know they can all design beautiful clothing - all of them at one point or another made really great pieces. This challenge really....challenged them. It made them push the envelope and see how they could cope with non-traditional materials.
But I digress....
I was pissed that the judges (read: Michael and Nina) kept harping about no one using flowers. The designers used the materials they felt would best last overnight and would work to their advantage. I love that even though the pieces were all (mostly) green, each one had different texture, look and feel. I think Dan won because he had flowers in his design. I think they were also trying to steer clear of being too literal by using flowers and using the leaves to create "fabric" and "trim."
What was vulgar about Nick's design?? What is the deal with vulgarity?? Why didn't they call Zulema's butt-dress vulgar????
I was hoping Santino would win simply so he could get rid of his whiney model.
Tim adresses a lot of these things in his blog...ie: Nick's "vulgarity" and how it's not, flowers vs plants etc...
He also makes a note that the judges really DON'T understand the aspects of the challenges, which I've suspected since season one.
curly, I agree that it was an interesting challenge, but disagree with it's timing in the competition. I think that at this point, we are supposed to have the best of the best. The top 6 or what have you. Shouldn't we be seeing what they can design with actual fabric this close to fashion week? I just feel as though the flow of the challenges was interrupted.
And with Daniel as the arguable front runner of the show, he could have easily stumbled like Andrae did and gotten the boot. How would that have translated to viewers? To me, it becomes dangerous territory to introduce foreign materials at this point.
However, I also felt it was too early to do it last season with the grocery store challenge. IMO something like this is best served as filler for mid-season.
Daniel's design had the floral color.. but why isn't having her bra showing considered "vulgar" or "unfinished"?
what is funny right from the start of the episode, i knew chloe would design the dress she did. i turned out beautiful.. but whoa did they edit to make it seem that it wouldn't.
personally, i hated santino's dress... nina was right when she said she could see the design behind andrae's dress. i honestly believe that if he would have made the collar a little more distinct - he would have been saved and my dear nick, lost.
top three yesterday: nick, chloe, santino
top three today, daniel, chloe, santino
Thanks misterminm for saying much more coherently what I was trying to express!
I have the feeling that if most of the designers had used lots of flowers, they would have judged the design "obvious".
Also-I too didn't hear Nina's "I'm no longer impressed" comment but thought she had on the same color as last night in the clip? Comments, anyone?
PR addict - I mentioned this above - I think they were trying hard not to be real literal and let the materials translate into texture and fabric and trim.
After last week, I was sure that Kara was gone, but she really pulled it out and created something beautiful and interesting. She would have had my vote. What on earth was vulgar about Nick's dress? Did I miss some tootie? They've got this Nick = vulgar and Daniel = sweetness and light thing going. The whole challenge was silly. What's next, bust up the furniture in the workroom and make a dress out of it?
I'm assuming that the straps on Daniel's dress weare ribbon: we saw several of the designers buying ribbon, and Santino used that mesh for his skirt, so the ribbon must be okay.
Chloe had me freaking out last night! "Finish, Chloe, finish!" And even when it went down the runway, "Oh, Chloe, it's pretty, but I'm afraid the judges will think it is too plain!" I was so relieved when the judges all liked it!
I do wish we would get a better idea of the rules of the challenge. Santino bought some mesh material to serve as a base but most of the designers seemed to assume they could just attach the materials to a muslin base. Did they know they were allowed to do this when they were shopping? For the grocery store challenge in the first season I think they could only use what they bought at the grocery store.
And Laura, I think you were the one who said that nobody's picking Kara, but what if she's good at weaving flowers together? Good call; she was!
eric, Tim mentioned in his blog that Santino's mesh was made of leaves or something like that. Apparantly, he picked it up in one of the plant shops. I thought it was a good move actually!
As I said before, I just didn't care for this challenge as a whole...
aj, I agree it was a good idea Santino picked up the mesh at the plant shop. My point was that he seemed to be the only one who thought about a backing material for the plants and I was wondering if they knew ahead of time that they would be able to attach everything to muslin.
I'll agree with Scarlett that Daniel won for use of colorful flowers. It was clear from the beginning of the discussion that that is what the judges were expecting.
I've got another "You know you watch too much PR when...": You want to go to Red Lobster just so you can do Timpressions.
The mesh Santino used was floral mesh, bought at one of the garden supply shops.
Oh, gotcha Eric! I thought you were saying that he was using extra fabric...
I definitely agree that I think Kara should have won this challenge. I'm really starting to feel that the judging is biased and not based on the actual garments.
Chloe and Daniel are clearly the judges' favorites, and though I agree they are great designers (esp. Daniel), it seems like the other designers are being shut out even when they deserve to win. To me, Daniel's looked unfinished at the top, and Chloe's was very plain. Kara's dress was impeccably fitted and beautifully intricate. This should have been her challenge.
However, I think Andrae's dress probably deserved to go, though I was bummed he was eliminated.
First time posting here. (Thanks Laura for the amazing blog/forum.)
I'm with everyone on the "Daniel won for using color/flowers" vibe & am glad to know some of the back story about WHY they didn't mention the $$$ aspect of not using more.
I thought Kara would be, with Andrae, in the bottom two -- until I heard the panel, at which point I began to wonder if Kara's dress photographed very differently than it looked in person.
My feeling for a good while has been that it's between Chloe & Daniel, with Santino being either in 3rd or 4th. I somehow think Santino'll be in the Austin slot (ie. presenting a show at fashion week but out of the competition by then). I'd been pulling for Andrae to be in there, but now I think it might just be Kara.
Tim expressed concern that Chloe would be accused of being "one note" -- I think that's also happened to Nick. Only his "one note" is vulgar, where Chloe's is that she knows/thinks about a woman's body.
I have a major crush on Daniel but I'm still pulling for Chloe to take it.
Daniel being not-far-out-of-school and with an ability to take and execute instruction (along with a load of knowledge and talent) may make him appealing to Banana Republic.
I think Chloe got a bit of a pass based on past accomplishments. Did not only Kara but her model assist her in finishing the project? I thought I heard Chloe ask her model to "come back and help" after doing hair and make up.
Anyways, another grand episode. I miss Andrae already. I particularly liked the way each of his dresses had a distinct story or narrative.
La robe de jardin était magnifique!
I was so pissed after I saw that show I had a drink and went to bed.
Kara's was the best hands down. It was the most creative and she looked like she did the most work. Daniel's looked unfinished. I was surprised Chloe was going through so much to cover hers and he left the straps and trim of the bodice showing. Why'd he win? Because he use some damn purple flowers? Lavendar is purple too damnit! Kara really really impressed me (for the first time I might add) and I think she was unduly robbed.
What.. you know let me stop there because this is turning into a post that should be on my own journal. I will say I think Nick was awfully lucky.
All the designers in tonight's episode should be congratulated. Given the money restraint and the materials to work with (live plants) they all did a beautiful job!
Does anyone know if there is anything that might be used to preserve the dresses? It would be beautiful to see them on display, but they are so fragile.
I've got to say it- Daniel's model (Rebecca??) ALWAYS looks like she just sucked on a lemon! I'd almost rather have the Gumpy-legged Rachel than her.
I agree about the exposed muslin although I did like the dress. Personally, I'd want to wear Chloe's. I thought Santino's sucked but I'm so not objective about him. He could send a model down the runway in an actual Chanel suit and I'd probably diss it. The only reason I have lowered my "hatred" of Santino to "despise" is that his impersonation of Tim Gunn is so spot on that it fills me with delight. And I thought the judges were entirely too bitchy (can I say that?) about the flower thing. I thought they were all smart to use material that wasn't going to shrivel and rot overnight. A dress of rose petals, Heidi? Are you insane?
I agree with the others on this forum - as much as I love Daniel V., I thought Chloe or Kara should've won this week. I also think Daniel (and don't hate me for this) is a little over-rated. Maybe its because he's so sweet and cute? The lingerie he designed was terribly constructed (the breasts weren't even!). Last season, when Kara Saun took the lead, I loved every one of her designs. I actually think this season is a little weaker . . . there were a lot of dresses that I absolutely loved last season (Jay's Chrysler building dress, Kara Saun's and Jay's wedding dresses, Austin's bathing suit) and fewer this season that have blown me away.
Anyway, for the past few episodes I've thought the final three would include both Daniel and Chloe and the third will be whoever doesn't self-destruct.
misterminm, that is a really excellent point! I, personally, am emotionally attached to certain designers because of things the judges don't see.
I am able to remain objective, otherwise I'd be screaming my head off about how Andrae was unjustly aufed. I will however scream about how untimely the challenge is, but that's a different story.
As for Daniel's win. I thought his was the best in it's detailing. While Chloe's was more intricate, Daniel had more going on, and while Kara's was detailed, Daniel's was more refined.
I actually thought Santino's was the front runner to take the top spot, but maybe I'm just no good with foliage...
I just wanted to respond that Chloe is not the first designer to get help from her model. I remember this happening in other episodes (sorry, I can't be specific).
Daniel's the new teacher's pet. Hell of a guy tho, but this fern dress was TERRIBLE. The picture online looks even worse.
hey misterminm, great minds right? I really did like Santino's and thought the shelacking was a smart move.
Daniel V is experiencing major backlash! I think that he is rightly winning these challenges. Aside from Diana, he's the youngest designer and has the least experience. I think that for a competition where you have to be able to mold to different challenges this is actually an advantage. He clearly has the skill, talent and vision that all the other designers have, but the fact that he's not been doing things a specific way for years is providing him with more range.
I don't think he's won these past two challenges by a lot, and maybe there were more deserving designers, but as said before; we don't know what the judges are looking for.
Yes, he's cute and likeable and funny and such. But on top of these things, he's a really well-rounded artist who has produced some incredible garments thus far.
I want him to go to fashion week to see what he comes up with when left to his own devices. The same goes for all of the designers left. It's still anyone's game as Kara made clear last night;)
aj is a female:)
aj also speaks in third person sometimes...lol
Real name is Adrienne which could also be a boys name, but the male version is spelled differently;)
I think we need a "Getting to know you" post...
oh, and thanks!
LOL
Aj,
I agree with your post about the Daniel backlash. I do think it is unfortunate. In my opiniion he has done some really nice things and that is not overshadowed to me by the fact that he pulled out a couple of close wins.
I also think it is unfair for people to say that his dress was unfinished. He was using floral ribbon- the cream color was not muslin as people keep saying over and over.
Overall, I really liked this episode because I thought the designs were mostly very strong for a hard challenge.
And I'm agreeing with aj that there is too much backlash against Daniel. What's wrong with winning because the judges like your design the best?
As previously mentioned, the judges aren't spending time with the designers during the process-so they don't know how kind, and sweet and modest Daniel is. They only see his finished pieces and know that he's a very young designer with brilliant talent.
I also agree that Daniel would be best suited for the Banana Republic deal, and perhaps the judges have this on their minds as well.
From the start, I thought Daniel's designs looked the most wearable. I'd love to own a dress by Daniel.
I HATEW IT!
maybe I will run into Tim and Andrae at Red Lobster. and snaps for Daniel <3
sorry adrienne, totally screwed that one up. my bad. i should have just not used a gender specific pronouns (or whatever you call those parts of speech). sorry again, didn't mean to offend you, guess i was typing without thinking about that issue.
jrt, don't worry about it!
I took absolutely no offense.
Trust me babe, I've been called worse.
I have no clue of the genders of most of the bloggers. I'm still pushing for a "getting to know you" post :)
One comment about the judges only seeing what's on the runway. While this is true, the show does tell us they consider input from the producers as well when deciding who wins each challenge.
And the producers do get to see everything we see (and everything we don't see) about the designers. Their input has to be related to ratings and what they think will play better with the audience.
I'm not saying that the producers' input necessarily differed drastically from the judges' "on the merits of the runway only" opinion. I'm just pointing out that we can't rule out the possibility that it did.
It bothers me that the whole dress wasn't covered.
hasn't anyone else noticed that chloe just keeps making pretty much the same dress every week? Luckily there wasnt any 'aqua' coloured leaves at the store or she also would've used the same damned colour again too. One trick pony!
I think Santino and Daniels dresses were the best for the overall designs, creativity and use of colur & texture. Kara's dress while creative and intricate was foiled by the choice of materials, same with Andrae's that mossy stuff is just fug. Nick's was creative, I likdd the skirt of his dress but the top was pretty fug and possibly even a bit 'vulgar' and tacky. Chloe's was pretty but no creativity and very boring in contrast with every other design. I could go outside and whip up that dress myself and I have never studied design and can't even sew.
I totally agree with statements above by tbone and misterminm!
a few of my own:
first-i think the judges were watching a different show than i was/or were on different medication?......i thought exactly the opposite as they did! and truely if they had wanted to see more 'flowers' they should have increased the budget AND actually SAID "we 'literally' want to see lots of flowers that's why this segment is called 'flower power' ", it kept being billed as a 'garden party' dress, not a 'flower' dress. the designers instantly thought of two things i'm sure, the corn husk nightmare, and hearing kara chastised for being to 'literal'-how confusing!
santino-his dress was by far in my opinion the best, it actually looked like a high fashion garden party dress and not a walking bush. i think it might have been one of his best showings yet, oh and how funny of heidi "what's wrong with shiny leaves? maybe you don't dust yours enough" haha, couldn't the judges see he was insuring against the dreaded corn husk fiasco, plus in a way the shininess to me made the gown look sort of patent leather, kind of a cool effect-whatever. michael and especially nina are always far too critical of him since he ragged on them so bad, they have it in for him and it's clouding thier judgement, heidi is actually fair with him-what she likes/doesn't like. oh and god......could someone please gag that model of his? i am so sick of her whining, she has to realize how far she has come with him, don't tell him it gives you a wedgy or that it will itch girl-go out and sell the d*mn dress! walk it like you love it no matter what-she could take lessons from daniel's model-could be a factor in why daniel wins so often, great sales pitch?
nick-i absolutely loved nick's dress! the way he used those big banana leaves made it look so sleek, and the dash of dried flowers/twigs/crown of flowers gave it the feminine/whimsy touch it needed, after all, it was a dress out of plants for goodness sake, i thought it actually looked like a dress! -vulgar?-michael kors really! i can't believe he actually said there is something vulgar about everything nick does-poor vulgar barbie :) haha, oh what is it with these judges, some designers are told thier designs are too safe, plain, lucklaster, others are bieng spanked for bieng too 'vulgar'-oh get over it, it is a fashion design show for women, and these women have been tastefully dressed by these designers, of course with a flare to the flirty or sexy, that's what high fashion is...........chloe's NH dress was split down the front almost to her navel, no mention of vulgar-why because it wasn't-neither have the others. oh and how about zulema's skating outfit? wow, that was nearly naked, they found it chic-no wonder these guys just stay true to themselves/thier visions/whenever they try to change for the judges they get de-railed and turn out something that gets them, or almost gets them kicked off...............
sorry about the rant haha :)
daniel-i think his dress wasn't 'all that', it looked like a bush on the bottom, the 'basket weaving 101 was nice and the flowers were pretty, but the bodice wasn't finished, and be it muslin or ribbon, the straps didn't match the dress, more flowers maybe? i liked the dress, but i didn't get the hype, as tim said, i think they saw flowers and forgot everything else. don't get me wrong i absolutely love his designs, i think he always makes something wearable and tasteful, but that's boring! grant it it's pretty, but, i don't know, i think he is just getting too much 'judge love'-also i agree with another poster here that says he is exactly what banana republic would want, but the next top designer? no.
chloe-oh my god was that a snore zzzzzzzzzzzzzz it looked so very plain in construction, and that scull cap, i thought she was a pod person! no really, the leaves were hard to do, yes, so were the other designs-hello? and yes it looked like it could be material, but was that your challenge, you send so many mixed signals judges-oh and kors again with the "she really thinks of the female form" what? all the other designs/save andrae's were much more flattering, even the 'vulgar' one. frankly i think chloe makes lovely clothes, but they are all too safe, and nothing really looks high fashion. if she goes to FW the collection will be quite unexciting. do they want talent here or a safe designer for banana republic? if she makes it to FW it will be because michael kors adores her......not because she should be.
kara-thought her dress was fab, but if i break it down, the bodice and braiding was a santino ripoff, the skirt was an andrae ripoff-so where was kara? oh yea, in that wonderful 8"x10" bit in the back. grant it the dress had pressence, looked better constructed than daniel's, and it had flowers/even if dried............but "none" of the dress was kara's design. she's a great gal, but poor on execution/save the NH dress......not a final three contender.
andrae-poor thing, i did see it as a topiary, maybe better suited for the last show 'inspiration', but that gown was great i wouldn't have not wanted to see that-i'm just saying the dress was kind of gimicky/or costume like. i think had he added a more colorful hem/sash/neck and sold it as an audrey hepburn dress and used smaller moss to make it look like material he might have gotten away with it.............but, someone had to go, and in all honesty looking at the runway, his 'was' the most dull.........andrae was a wild card since day one, some fashions too far out-poof ball barbie-and some, incredibly well done-NH dress. i think they couldn't risk sending him to FW, which andrae would they get?
observations: "i'm not impressed anymore" by nina-she was wearing an orange/white number it looked like, i'm sure it's for this week, but i have to watch this episode again to make sure it wasn't the same outfit..........i'm guessing it was geared at santino by the aggressive tone, that doesn't mean he's out, they've ignored her before. also in one of the previews santino says he needs to know what kara likes-then kara sidles up to nick, who isn't talking to him, and whispers, i feel guilty for not saying something to him. they are all back stage, so my guess is this is while they were waiting for the judges opinion, and kara is the one santino designs for.
kors says "it looks like a golden girl's jacket, give it some leggings and a belt and it's so '80's" or something like that. my guess, the direction his head was facing, and the fact that it was a jacket, it was kara's jacket, she really can't sew, so i think it's her, also given kors has used that tone with kara before. heidi saying "i just really hate it" i believe refers to the same jacket, since kors just puppets what she says anyway. i have to say it's kara, i can't see her in the final 4. daniel saves himself a lot at elimination time by standing calmly with a smile, giving short explainations, and whatever the judges say he parrots.......smart sales pitch, the other's could learn from this guy.
favorite quote by a poster: "ok well if we are going to call it chloe blue, then we 'have' to call santino's 'bamboo a*s red' -haha, that slayed me!
favorite quotes by designers:
"a mother-f*cking walk off!"
"it's just fashion"
"where's andrae?"
and any santino rant
favorite freak-outs:
-andrea's crying jig on the ruway
-zulema's 'cut and cry'
"ENTIRELY TOO MUCH TOOTIE"
pick for final three:
1-daniel
2-nick
3-santino
though chloe could be a spoiler because the judges have decided nick is vulgar and chloe is adorable.........i can't wait for weds!
hugs to all
I have to say, when I first saw Daniel’s dress on the runway, my eyes IMMEDIATELY fell on the bare straps. It looked unfinished and the shape was just unflattering. Rebecca looked like a walking bush. LITERALLY. Chloe’s was just really simple and really boring. Like someone said, it’s a very simple silhouette, with leaves covering it. To me that just spells B-O-R-I-N-G. Chloe also isn’t a risk taker at all and it bothers me that the judges are looking that. The top of Kara’s dress I liked, but the bottom looked a lot like Andre’s. Andre’s dress I thought was pretty but need a bit more color. Nick’s is just letting me down, and I really like him. Santino’s dress in my opinion was the best. It was innovative and if I had to wear a dress made of plants, it would be this one. It was chic and had a great shape. Santino has got to be my favorite. If he is not in the top 3, I will be so angry…
Post a Comment