I'm coming to you live, people, from the home of my friends Sara and Jared. I mention this not only because they've been kind enough to host me as I sit here glued to my keyboard eating too many of their Tostitos, but also because their apartment was once featured on Law & Order and Jeremy Sisto totally used one of their hand towels. So I want you to know that I selected a holy place for the scene of this, my first and last ever Project Runway finale live-blog.
I don't know why I never did this before. Of course, I say that now, before I've even started. Maybe I'll understand tonight.
MAJOR SPOILER ALERT: If you are not on East Coast time, this entire blog is going to be a spoiler. So read at your own risk.
Also, disclaimer: There will be typos. THERE WILL BE ALL CAPS, ESPECIALLY IF MONDO DOESN'T WIN. There will probably not be photos, because I don't really know what I'm doing with this Cover it Live program, although I did upload all of the finale looks (don't click the links if you don't want to see the full final collections!) from Mondo, Gretchen, and Andy--stolen from New York magazine's Cut blog--into my "Media Library," so maybe you'll get lucky. And I may or may not be drinking. (Okay, I am. Not, like, a lot. Just enough to get me through. That'swhatshesaid.)
Whee! Let's start!
Follow Una LaMarche on Twitter: www.twitter.com/sassycurmudgeon
They instructed both GJ and Mondo to change a major part of their collection. Mondo was told to not show his signature long B&W dress. GJ was told to completely change the styling.
Mondo considered doing what NG and MK ordered, knowing they would not vote for him if he didn't, but in the end he did the right thing: he stayed true to his own vision and stood up for himself and his collection.
GJ immediately compromised her own design vision and completely changed the feel of her collection by doing the styling changes NG and MK instructed her to change.
Mondo is the winner here. He could work for many designers, and if he decided to immediately start his own line, he would do well in that, too. His designs flew off the asseenontv website, while GJ's were very slow to sell...the slowest of any of the designers featured.
Mondo is also someone who would be an asset to any workroom or design house. He is able to work with anybody. He is calm, gracious, and ethical. He is a man of his word, and a man of his convictions. He is willing to hold a hand out to someone being targeted for scapegoating by everyone else in the room, risking becoming part of the target himself.
Gretchen will have lay in the bed she has made, and it won't be fun.
http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/timgunnsnl
I was disappointed with Andy because he totally ditched the cutting-edge warrior woman look for pleats.
Mondo didn't have anything that I would consider a "wow" piece, but hands down he is the most talented and most creative and I still don't understand why he lost.
By the way, I have Asian ancestry and almost no body hair. I haven't shaved under my arms in 35 years.
http://nymag.com/daily/entertainment/2010/11/tim_gunn_was_enlisted_by_heidi.html
So now the flak is falling and Lifetime's worried. Good. They should be very worried. The terrible two are inconsistent and mean, too. Their actions in the final judging phase really hurt that show. IMO, their credibility is shot. I'm done w/PR for good.
http://www.stylelist.com/2010/10/29/project-runway-winner-gretchen-jones-season-8/
The drab vs. the fab! Her ugly palette and shapeless uninteresting junk is revolting, fit for a bag lady! I hope Mondo somehow gets over this injustice. Don't give up Mondo! Gretchen doesn't deserve to sew your hems, let alone win this. Most of Gretchen's :"designs" were fugly, yucky, dull and unwearable fabric offal. I'm surprised she hadn't been "auffed" ages ago. This show was a crock of ...something.
Yes, I'm still angry, this was the worst decision of any of the PR shows I've seen, and I've seen them all. When someone like Mondo, loses to a talentless hack like that, I do get angry. MK and NG should wake up and join the 21st century.
I don't know if this will pass the mods, but I hope so, this really needs to be said.
I listened to Tim's comments on the link provided, in which he revealed just how bad it was with the judges deliberations. I have to believe that it was some kind of ego thing with Nina Garcia and Michael Kors, as someone here suggested. Maybe the fact that Mondo chose to stick with the polka dot gown after they expressed their reservations, was like a slap in the face to them. Their decision seemed both arbitrary and personal. I watched in amazement as they both sputtered and struggled to come up with reasons why Gretchen should win. When they said it was about ready-to-wear, that's when I knew that they had lost it. By that standard, how on earth could Christian Siriano have won a few seasons back? By that standard how could Seth Aaron have won last season? No one, let me repeat that, NO ONE, is going to buy Gretchen's designs! It's not about what is trending at the moment in fashion, it's about finding a young designer with a new voice. I am still furious over this.
However, I am glad that Gretchen won because I can identify with her running-on-empty struggle just to get to the starting line, that was touching.
This isn't the old "Queen for a Day" program, where the woman who wins is the one who poor-mouths the best, and who acts like she's the most desperate and needy.
This is a fashion design competition, and Gretchen should not have won. Sorry, but orthopedic granny-panties are not "fashion forward," or even "ready-to-wear," which is what Nina Garcia and Michael Kor's votes turned PR into.
This show really isn't about designing, it should be, but it isn't. It's about what characters can keep the show interesting until the last moment; they had Michael Costello going until almost the end while also making it look like Mondo was going to win. So they got rid of Michael so as to have three different ethnicities represented, as opposed to two.
I don't like to give shows like this my support but since there is only one TV set in my house and my 12 year old daughter is only allowed so much TV time, I'll bite the bullet next seasons too.
I'm done. I'm serious 31%
Maybe, but I want changes 37%
I might get sucked back in 8%
Yes - I still love Project Runway 22%
I honestly think the only way I would go back is if both Michael Kors and Nina Garcia were removed as judges. They have obviously become more interested in feeding their own egos than in judging the show based on the merits of the collections presented.
I'll miss PR, as I've watched it from the beginning. Sigh.