Launch My Line

Have any of you out there seen the new show on Bravo "Launch My Line?" It makes me think that Bravo is desperate to recover the viewers lost to Lifetime when "Project Runway" switched networks. Unfortunately for Bravo, most of us follow the Gunn. Tim Gunn, that is. "The Fashion Show" was stark in its presentation and the designers weren't all that talented. Now they have "Launch My Line" and it just reeks of desperation. The premise is this: professional business men and women ("designers") are paired with fashion industry professionals ("experts") and together they compete to launch a fashion line. The "designers" are choreographers, businessmen & women, fashion writers, critics, etc. They aren't necessarily designers at all. The whole idea just strikes me as a desperate attempt to create a drama-filled reality show that will bring in the ratings. The previews show the "designers" saying things like, "shut-up and sew" to their "experts." Degrading, yes? It seems like the kind of show that will only encourage crazies like the Real Housewives of Atlanta to "launch" their own line. I resent people without any design experience or expertise who call themselves "fashion designers" simply because they've hired a seamstress to sew some clothes for them. These people don't know the smallest thing about sewing or pattern making. They hardly even sketch. They don't know about textiles or garment construction. But they're fashion designers? It's more than a little revolting, if you ask me.

I watched the first episode. One "designer" looked around the workroom about halfway through the challenge and decided that the competition had better pieces. So she made her "expert" scrap ALL her work and completely start over. If Bravo referred to the respective participants as "master" and "indentured servant" it would be less insulting because at least then they'd be calling a spade a spade. Anyone else have an opinion on the new show? For me, I just miss Project Runway that much more.

Three days to go!

Only three days left until the Project Runway Season Six premier and I'm DYING!!! I can't wait for it! I hate that they are making us wait until 10 PM, but I love love love that they are airing an "All-Stars" competition 2 hours earlier. There will be eight past PR designers competing- Mychael Knight, Daniel Vosovic, Santino Rice, Jeffrey Sebalia, Sweet P, Chris March and Korto Momolu- almost all of whom made it to fashion week in their respective seasons. Chris March and Sweet P are the two who didn't make it, but they were the last eliminated before the Bryant Park elimination. Remember Chris March's designs with all that human hair? It was a little creepy, but I admired his ability to make a strong choice and stand behind it. Anyway, I am just DYING for the show to air because it was been WAY TOO LONG since our last season of Project Runway. Also, The Fashion Show did NOTHING to fill the void, in fact, I think it was so terrible that it set the reality design competition show back indefinitely. Thank goodness we still have P.R.! So what are you looking forward to the most? The first episode of the season? The all-star competition? Seeing Heidi & Tim again? For me, it's all of those things! Bring it on, Lifetime!

Project Runway- the countdown begins!

I blogged a few weeks ago about the many differences between Project Runway vs. The Fashion Show. As many of you know, Project Runway aired for five seasons on Bravo TV, but then was sold to the Lifetime Channel. After an onslaught of lawsuits between Bravo, Lifetime, NBC, etc., the situation finally resolved and it became official- Project Runway was moved to Lifetime and Bravo created The Fashion Show as its replacement. Now, after months and months of waiting- it has felt like an eternity, really- we are finally getting close to the air date of Project Runway Season Six. When August 20th was announced as the official air date, I thought, "How on earth can I wait so long?" But finally, the date is at hand and soon we'll all be back on the PR bandwagon, ooh-ing and aah-ing and (occassionally) boo-ing this season's designs. I personally cannot wait. In honor of this much anticipated event, I thought I'd show you all a few of my favorite designs from past seasons.

Season One was a lot of fun- especially whenever crazy Wendy Pepper would act all self-righteous and swear like a sailor about how mistreated she was by the other designers. A favorite moment of mine was when Jay McCarroll's model was a no-show and fellow designer Austin Scarlett stepped in for the runway show. How many men do you know who could step into womens-wear and look that good? Honestly, I think he wore more make-up off the runway than on, but I loved him none-the-less. Jay McCarroll's personality was a complete winner for me as well. I laughed out loud nearly every episode at something funny he said or did. As for favorite designs, I fell in love with Jay McCarroll's final collection, especially this amazing cardigan. The color is incredible and I love the dramatic scawl collar.

In Season Two, I absolutely LOVED watching Santino infuriate the judges with his argumentative responses to their critique. While Chloe and Daniel Vosovic turned out beautiful design after beautiful design for the weekly challenges, both of their final collections felt disappointing to me. I felt as though Chloe's was a bit one-note and Daniel's just didn't seem as cohesive as I thought it should be. Santino, in addition to his interesting and edgy designs, was immensely entertaining especially with his Tim Gunn impersonations- flawless, right? Anyway, it is Santino whose first design I remember- it was the challenge with 3 yards of muslin and they had to complete it before they even arrived in New York! Santino dyed his muslin a beautiful deep teal blue. Stunning, right?

Season Three was such a fun season- it was actually the season that inspired me to audition for the show. (I didn't actually audition until Season 5, but more on that another day.) Anyway, the cast was chock full of quirky, but talented designers- I found myself without a real favorite because I liked so many of them. Remember Jeffrey and how much he hated making that dress for Angela's mom? Oh, the drama! Angela was pretty annoying (remember her stupid flowers she put on EVERYTHING?), and I definitely got sick of Uli going on and on about her tropical weather inspiration. Not everyone who buys clothes lives in Miami, Uli! But I digress... the outfit I loved so much was the "Waste Not, Want Not" episode where the designers were tasked with creating an outfit from a waste management warehouse. Jeffrey rocked it with one of the few outfits on the runway that actually looked and moved like real clothing. Bravo, Jeffrey!

Season Four. Where do I begin with Season Four? I could talk about it all day. It was the season with by far the most talented designers. They raised the bar in Season Four. Bigtime. Christian Siriano came off a little arrogant at first, but a great friend of mine reminded me of the episode where another designer carried him into the workroom in a tote bag. Obviously willing to put himself in a position to be the object of ridicule, Christian never took himself too seriously despite his constant proclamations of his own fierce-ness. And in the end, he proved it. You sort of have to hand it to him- he was fierce, he knew it, he let us know it and then he proved it. This gorgeous ombre cocktail dress from his final collection was just soooo luxurious. And I'm impressed by how he made a dress with that much fabric actually look flattering on the model. Good job, Christian- I'm a forever fan.

Season Four was also the first season where I would have been happy with any of the finalists winning the show. They were all amazingly talented, but they also seemed to be incredibly nice people who were all supportive of each other. Which brings me to Season Five. I felt the opposite with Season Five. All I cared about in the end was that Kenley did NOT win. I didn't care who made it to the end as long as she didn't win. How annoying was she? She was so cute at first, but that annoying voice and the attitude was out of control! I've seen pictures of her wedding dress side-by-side with the McQueen design she knocked off. How can she honestly say that it wasn't a near replica! She acted like she invented that silhouette! Argh! But enough about Kenley. Korto was one of my favorites- her final collection had so much spunk and vitality. I was really disappointed when she was eliminated. LeeAnn's collection was interesting, but it felt a little one-note to me. It was perhaps the first time I felt the judges let me down. Well, at least Kenley didn't win. This dress is a perfect example of Korto's innovation- the neckline is just a slight variation on a halter, but that slight change works wonders! Also, the vibrant green is so fresh and invigorating, don't you think?

Well, I hope you've enjoyed this walk down memory lane. Leave a comment and tell me about your favorite Project Runway design or episode. I could talk about that show all day! And don't forget to mark your calendar- August 20, 2009 at 10:00 PM EST on Lifetime.

The Fashion Show vs. Project Runway

I think it's time to discuss the big, pink elephant in the room. Everyone knows about the nasty lawsuits regarding Project Runway's move to the Lifetime network from Bravo. There's no point rehashing all the gruesome details. When I saw the previews for Bravo's replacement of P.R., The Fashion Show, I admit I was intrigued. Bravo does some seriously good competition reality TV. Top Chef alone is worth buying into the network. Don't even get me started on Top Chef Masters. I have one word: brilliant. As for fashion competition, I knew my loyalties would always lie with Heidi Klum and Tim Gunn (after all, he did once tell me that I am a fabulous designer, just before he and a handful of other fashion moguls rejected me from Season 5 of Project Runway- it was a great day). As for Heidi, she made being German fashionable. But as much as I love my Klum and my Gunn, I had to at least give The Fashion Show a shot. So I watched the pilot. I could think of one word to describe it: stark. The set, the cast, the hosts- there was nothing exuberant about the show. I felt as though it had no life to it. I knew in the first five minutes that it could never come close to Project Runway. Let me break it down for you:

The Hosts:
Kelli vs. Heidi: To me there is no contest here. Heidi Klum has a long, distinguished modeling career that is still just as hot as ever. Kelli sang back-up for Beyonce and "sat front row to many fashion shows over the last eight years." Yes, that is a direct quote from the pilot episode. When introducing the host/judges, that is how Kelli explained her credentials. Sad, I know. I felt as though Kelli was given catch phrases to use in each episode and they were just terrible. "So-and-so, you are still in this competition, but you are hanging by a thread." It just doesn't have the same impact as Heidi's "Auf Wiedersehen."

Isaac vs. Tim: Once again, no contest. I was actualy really surprised by how terrible Isaac is. He's no stranger to television, but something about his performance in this show fell flat. His catch phrases, "We're just not buying it" and "Buh-bye darling" were so forced and insincere. Tim Gunn's "Carry on" and "Make it work" became catch phrases because they were genuine, not contrived. Finally, Tim Gunn puts Isaac to shame where wardrobe is concerned. There was never a moment when Tim wasn't the epitome of distinguished and sophisticated. Despite being a fabulous designer, Isaac couldn't seem to dress himself all that well for the show. He looked nice some of the time- mostly at the runway show, but so often his outfits seemed ill-fitting and sloppy. I found it very unsettling.

The Cast:
Project Runway: I'll admit that season five (Bravo's last) of Project Runway had one of the worst casts of the show's run. However, they were still far better than this first season of The Fashion Show. On Project Runway, we saw a real progression from seasons one through five. The designers got better and more talented with each season, peaking (in my opinion) with season four. There was always a nice mix of perspective and experience- designers with a vintage approach, others almost futuristic in their fabrications, some fresh out of fashion school, others with established boutiques and clientele. Even more importantly where television is concerned is the fact that their personalities were as varied as their educations and backgrounds. There was always someone that you loved to hate, another who tugged at your heartstrings, one who was incredibly cocky, but talented enough to back it up, a bad boy who cries in the end, the girl next door, and the out-there-innovator who no one really understands. But the bottom line was that they made for a diverse mix who, no matter their background, were a VERY talented bunch.

The Fashion Show: I think the biggest issue with the cast of the Fashion Show is that so many were not all that talented. I'm not saying they couldn't sew (although some of them couldn't), but rather that there wasn't a single one who seemed to have anything new or innovative to show us. Until Anna's "cup dress," I felt as though every week I was seeing boring, lifeless, re-hashed designs that completely lacked inspiration and exuberance. Even Anna's "pleating detail" on her Coco Chanel homage was starkly reminiscent of LeeAnn's "wave" concept from the finale of P.R. Season five. Also, this season felt as though the producers were trying to cast personality over talent. Not good personality, but rather strange, eccentric personality that they think will make for good TV. What we ended up with is a bunch of talentless weirdos who we hate, but not in the good "love to hate them" way. We just plain hated them.

The Set:
Project Runway: The workroom is bright and clean and 2 walls are lined with dress forms- one with losing designs, one with winning designs. It's a nice reminder of episodes past. The runway is clearly in a studio, but the lighting is bright and focused. The set is simple and provides a neutral backdrop that allows the designs to shine while still feeling rich. I love the white back-lit screen that shows each design in silhouette before it appears on the runway. It's dramatic, and effective.

The Fashion Show: The workroom is fine, but we never really get a great sense of how it's set up. My real issue with the set on this show is both the runway itself and the "dungeon" where the designers prepare their models. And I do mean "dungeon." The designers clamber down steep steps into a gray, dismal space and await their models who are upstairs somewhere in hair and make-up. I never once got the impression that the designers were involved in the hair and make-up process, which seems so important to me, but I digress. Finally, the entire set in the dungeon and on the runway is all in this hideous slate-grey. The harsh lines of the triangular "runway" are bizarre and only contribute to the starkness of it all. That is the word that continually comes to mind: stark.

The Format:
Project Runway: I love how Heidi introduces the designers to their challenge and then doesn't see them again until the elimination. Tim Gunn is their mentor and therefore NOT a judge. He discusses this in his blog and explains that with all the time he spends discussing their designs and coaching them along, it really wouldn't be fair for him to then judge the designs as well. Also, with P.R., the producers give the viewers enough explanation- of the challenge, the guest judge, the budget, the twists, etc. but they don't overload us. Also, because P.R. is a contest not only for the designers, but for the models as well, we as an audience become more emotionally invested. Speaking of emotionally invested, I think it's great how Tim Gunn visits each of the finalists in their own space and learns not only about their collection, but about their family, friends and environment. It also preps us for the final runway show so we feel like we understand completely what we're seeing.

The Fashion Show: I think the format falls short in two ways that almost seem contradictory. First, they try to cram too much into an episode. Much like Top Chef Quick-fire, the contestants are given a mini-challenge to start each episode which results in a significant advantage for the winner. After the mini-challenge, they are given their elimination challenge. Second, I don't think we as viewers are given enough information about the elimination challenge, the designers' processes (especially where hair, make-up and accessories are concerned) and budgets are rarely mentioned, if at all. The show instead focuses on the designers' catty "interviews" where they mostly criticize each others' work and extoll their own designs as the most amazing we'll ever see. Overall, it just feels awkward from start to finish. Finally, there is never an opportunity (not that I want one) to become truly emotionally invested in these designers. Because we aren't given enough information on their challenges and processes, we don't feel a strong connection to begin with. Also, our only insight into the finalists collections is the brief sentence or two when Isaac questions them about how they worked on their collections. I don't even think a reunion special would have helped, but it would have been better than nothing.

Honestly, I could go on and on, comparing and contrasting every detail of both shows, but I think I've made my point.. Project Runway: You're in. The Fashion Show: Auf Wiedersehen.