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RSS'The Fashion Show' Crying over spilled Halston
Tonight, 'The Fashion Show' let go o the cattiness and instead turned to tears as fashion history schooled the designers something awful.
It all started with the Mini Challenge, which was basically a quiz of fashion history. The designers dropped form the ranks pretty fast in the face of industry trivia until just Anna was left standing. I wish I could remember some of the questions, but I was too disturbed by what was happening on the back of Merlin's head. I never noticed that rooster tail thing he has going on because his clothes are always so distracting, but my god. What IS that?
The Elimination Challenge is for the designers to pay homage to a classic designer while not losing themselves in creating a knock-off. At first, they are all excited. But then they find out that they don't get to pick their designer. Anna does. And she's got a plan. She's kind to her friends and cruel to everyone else. This means that Haven gets Yves saint Laurent, Daniella gets Christian Dior and Johnny gets Gianni Versace while Anna claims Coco Chanel.
Meanwhile, Merlin gets Madame Gres, James Paul gets Emilio Pucci and Reco ends up with Roy Halston Frowick. It's clear there will be trouble when Reco and Merlin admit to having no frame of reference for the designers they were assigned. Anna seems to enjoy her machinations to the hilt, gleefully deriding Reco's design with a condescending "Halston NEVER did a corset." Which is sort of sardonic, because Chanel never a pleated dress either, but whatever.
Merlin tries to make do in his own outrageous way, entering the design room on day two with the joyous declaration that Madame Gres came to him in a dream and he's still smelling her perfume. Daniella is less sure of herself and her decision to use pants in her Dior inspired design and Johnny upsets Isaac yet again with his frabric choice. Pleather is not something Versace would ever touch. Isaac also gives Anna a taste of her own medicine by archly commenting "It's very interesting that you think that jacket is paying homage to Chanel."
The runway show seems to fall much flatter this week than it ever has before. Haven's look is sloppy, ill fitting and tired looking, which is not YSL at all. Daniella, again, manages to pull off something that has her aesthetic while also reminding one of Dior. Anna's Chanel tribute seems terribly proportioned and is instantly better when the jacket is discarded. Reco's look doesn't sing the sophisticated simplicity of Halston so much as the folksy tale of a renfair serving wench. And James Paul softens the jarring geometry of a Pucci print with uncommon draping and artful folds.
But it is Johnny's take on Versace that is the clear winner, even with the pleather. He effectively took the best of 90's Versace and updated it to a modern plane, accessorizing and styling his model to perfection. The bottom two are Haven and Reco and to me it's clear that Haven is going home. But when Kelly asks Reco if he really wants to be in the competition, I am blown away. For all Reco's abrasive personality, I truly think he wants this with every fiber of his being. And it's that questions that gets his tears flowing, with him nearly completely breaking down onto Haven's shoulder when the judges go to deliberate.
Luckily, the judges decide the more unforgivable sin is to know YSL and still get it wrong than to not know Halston and miss the mark completely. Do you agree?
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The co-host, Kelly Rowlands calling Halston's design "feminine" tells me she does not know what she's talking about. While Halston's minimalist designs celebrate the sensuality of the feminine form, the clothes are sexy but not conventionally feminine.
It's bad for a designer not to know fashion history, but it worse to know it, and being told to recreate it, ignore it. There is also the fact that Reco was given a designer in order to hinder him. Haven was supposed to be helped by the one she was ***igned.
The designer who is featured in the promo for the week is the least likely to be dismissed, I think. Therefore, concentrating on poor Reco's gaffe in the promo insured that he would stick around. That being said, he would do well to do some research on the fashion masters of the past. Nice to see Anna's ploy backfire as her BFF Haven was sent home. Good riddance! (I really liked James Paul's Pucci homage!)
I thought that while Reco did not do homage to Halston, the dress was well constructed and lovely in its own right. Haven's hot mess was ill fitting and looked a bit like the uniform one might be required to wear as a docent.
i want reco and jean paul or merlin or even johnny in the final, but somehow i see daniella making it.
the problem is we've got some really good designers left. anna has to go though, very cruel what she did.
These designers don't come near the quality of Project Runway
I think the judges made the right choice because I love me some Reco. However, it is unacceptable to want to be a fashion designer and have no clue about fashion history.
My fave was James Paul's Pucci take. I thought it did the best job of conveying the artist being homaged and still represent his lovely geometric vision as a designer.
And although his outfit was vaguely reminiscent of his inspiration, I think Johnny's Versace looked cheap with the pleather and flimsy fabric. Versace was VERY constructed and EXPENSIVE looking!
And Kelly Rowland is all kinds of gorgeous! But girlfriend better brush up on her fashion knowledge before she opens her mouth!
I can't stand Danielle but she keeps doing well in this competition. I hope she doesn't win!
Why does Kelly Rowland rub me the wrong way?! What background does she have to be so critical? Yes, she looks nice, but I'm sure her stylist has most everything to do with that. I love Isaac, Kelly not so much.