Let's dispense with the party pics for a mo and get to talking about this episode, y'all.
And holy cow, is there a lot to talk about. First off, it really was a fantastic episode and probably the most exciting finale we've seen yet. Although that was in spite of the "controversy," not because of it.We still maintain that Laura raised a valid question, although it had less to do with Jeffrey than it does with the way the competition plays out once you start allowing people with
their own design and manufacturing capabilities to compete. Her "athlete on steroids" analogy was dead on.Thing is, it's almost entirely unprovable, so any "investigation" is most likely going to come up empty. We're not even sure what a "thorough review" of receipts is supposed to prove anyway. Why would you hand in a receipt for something you didn't want people to know about?
Understand, we're not accusing Jeffrey of anything. We weren't there and like we said, it's almost unprovable anyway. In a way, we wish Laura had never raised the question.But she did and it was up to the producers to address it and this was where we think the ball was dropped. Rather than shooting and editing the whole thing and leaking it to the press to get maximum coverage for the finale, it would have
been better for everyone if they had handled it quietly and moved on. They couldn't wring more than seven minutes of drama out of it and even that was mostly rooftop cell phone scenes with pounding doom machine music, like there was a plot to blow up the U.N. and Jeffrey was the only man who could stop it. A secret agent in man-pris.Still, it brilliantly illustrated a point we've been meaning to
make all week. Many have said "It's not a popularity contest, it's a design competition." Well no, it's not either of those things. It's a television show, first and foremost. A great one, to be sure, but a TV show nonetheless.In the end, we don't think it was the right creative decision for the show to make. It put a pall over the whole finale and has the potential to affect the careers of some of the people
involved, not to mention affecting the reputation of the show itself, which up to now has always been seen as the thinking person's reality show. Too much obvious manufactured drama detracts from the things that make the show great.And what makes the show great is talented people producing gorgeous things. Whether they sewed them or not isn't ultimately a measure of their worth, but since that's the way the competition is structured, questions like this are inevitably going to be raised. It's just telling (and we hope the producers noticed this too) that the real excitement came once they dispensed with this bullshit and got back to the clothes.
159 comments:
no more comments
Laura did do the right thing by blowing the whistle on Jeffrey. I would have done the same thing in her place. Jeffrey's work (like Santino's) was always sloppy, unfinished, asymetrical and just a poor excuse to brand himself as a avant-garde designer. That whole LA Rock'n'roll look is SOOOO tired anyway. That's mall clothing to me.
I was very disapointed with his win. His vision is as narrow as everyone else's, to my taste. He already has a fashion line that is suposed to be successful, though I NEVER heard of Cosa Nostra before the show and I have been working as a buyer for over 10 years. So if he already has a business going why not give the prize to someone like Uli or Laura that would benefit much more from it? Uli was the clear winner for me, though I rooted for Laura from the start. Being "avant-garde" does noy equate with being commercial or successful, and there is not shameful about wanting people to actually wear the clothing you create.
The real test will be in a couple of years from now to see where they all are in their careers.
nuff said!
Amen, Boys!
TYPO:
"Being avant-garde" dot NOT equate with being commercial or successful, and the is NOTHING shameful baout wanting people to wear the clothing you create."
Oops sorry
Right on, boys. D'accord!
They wasted a lot of air time on this un-drama. From Tim's podcast I found out that Michael really revamped his designs in just a few days. I would have liked to have more footage of that development than Jeffery's inability to hang on to receipts.
Up until now, I thought you were brilliant, creative, and very funny. Now I find that, in combination at least, you have the wisdom of Solomon. On the other hand, perhaps that's because I totally agree with every word you've said about this sorry affair. And I'm really glad you said it.
Oh, and by the way...how did Jeffery get so cute all of the sudden?
I agree. I hope Tim is reading this as well as the producers. Manufactured drama is just that: manufactured. It's meant to heighten an otherwise unnecessary event.
I, too, would have liked to see Michael's revamping. He was left out of the finale, except to say that he agreed with Laura (and also when he showed Tim his stuff). For me, that would have been more interesting.
Tim Gunn's comments indicate that Laura's accusations were baseless.
"So, for me, that statement from Laura [about Jeffrey’s final collection], I dismissed it right away. You can’t say because of what you saw in the workroom [at Parsons] that that’s the level of execution he would have given more time. It’s not.
We edited it out because it was so tedious but he and I went through those pieces together and I was completely confident that he had executed them."
It looks like her accusations WERE dismissed, and the separate issue of receipts was then pursued to provide the drama. The crazy editing attempted to reconcil Laura's accusations with the receipts controversy.
If the Laura accusations were pursued on their own, she would have looked silly, as she did in the bonus video scene where she tried to explain to Jeffrey that she wasn't questioning his integrity.
Just crazy.
Dora
Amen, Boys!
I have to say that in viewing the hi res photos of Jeffrey's collection, I noticed what I thought to be some very sloppy sewing on the front bands of his long blue and white "Uli" dress. They went all wowie, in and out at different widths. I thought, "Well, I *know* he sewed that one because a contractor would not get paid for such crappy work in such an obvious place".
The rest however, looked perfect to my not-inexperienced sewing eye, especially the styles with piping (red and white sundress and zipper-trimmed striped dress). This is a difficult technique and especially tricky on the striped dress.
How can he do one perfectly and the other, that is such an important and obvious detail, so poorly. It just doesn't jive.
From this visual assessment, I don't believe he sewed everything himself. But whatever, if Tim Gunn looked at it and it passed his muster, I guess what I think I saw doesn't really matter.
In any event. I look forward to Laura's pattern line and would love to Beta test whatever she's got going. Vogue Patterns would be smart to snatch her up, like right now.
I agree 100% with you guys.
GREAT post, as usual.
Love the show, Love Laura, really like Jeffery, Love you guys... really tired of the drama. Though this proves what could have been guessed all along I am no model with an over developed drama cortex.
The show SHOULD be about fashion. That's why I watch it. But it's a case of "I come for the fashion, I stay for the drama". It's a train wreck. I have to know what happens next, not who's going to win, and I really hate that. But I can't pull away from it.
The show would be more about fashion if they gave the designers a bit more reality instead of locking them for a month in an apartment together (oh god, flash backs and my mother watching Big Brother) and forcing them to churn out garments every 2-3 days. And that's where the issue with this controversy with Jeffrey really comes to play. In time issues like these you have to sacrifice one of two things: quality or creativity. To anyone who thinks that Laura, Michael, and Uli never sacrificed either, all three did. In Michael's case, it was often creativity, especially towards the end, but I think as a young designer, he does not know how to handle the pressure he was under and the end result was his final collection. That was a major sacrifice in creativity. Uli and Laura both sacrificed creativity, which is evident in their final collections. But they did a 180 from Michael and stepped up to the game. They had more time to plan, more time to be constructive, and they gained they creativity back. Jeffrey got his quality back. People work differently in different situations and just knowing "I have 2 months to complete this collection" instead of "I have less than 48 hours to complete this one outfit" makes a world of difference to ANY designer. That's why you constantly heard "one note" from the judges. Pressure's gonna kill something and more often than not, it's creativity.
The show needs more reality. It's impossible to judge any of them from the amount of time they are given to complete something. I do agree with PRG that it would have been nice if the whole controversy had been kept under wraps instead of used to get ratings, but the real truth of the matter is that Laura blowing the whistle, that IS reality. The way PR handled it, is not. I'm glad she raised the issue, she had every reason to, even if it was purely out of jealousy (that's not what I think, just echoing Heidi's comments).
You have said everything I have been thinking all season...dead on!! And once again you guys are great.
Desarae
No no no! Laura should NOT work for Vogue Patterns! She's made a name for herself. She needs to sell her patterns through her own company. They would cost the buyers more, but she'd be more profitable in the long run. Vogue would not be taking that chunk from her. Plus, people would be more willing to commission her for their own dress rather than go and spend $4 on the pattern on sale at a fabric store and then just make it themselves.
Thanks for writing this -- agreed!
Bravo needs to decide:
1. Is the competiton for new designers?
2. Designers with their own business needing the extra boost?
3. Do we have rules? What are they? Does everyone need to follow them at all times?
You can't say there are rules but then decide once they are broken that the person didn't have bad intentions. It sets a poor precedent and calls everyone's integrity into question.
Bravo, the producers, Nina Garcia, Michael Kors, Heidi, and yes, even Tim Gunn made a HUGE mistake this week. Their decision casts a pall on all of them.
agreed. :)
I still hate Laura and now believe I always will. But my only important addition to this conversation is that her analogy was NOT accurate. "Like an athelete on steroids" would suggest that otherwise they were equals going in.
Jeffrey had much more experience and training than any of the other three finalists. As other interviews have revealed, he was #1 and #2 in his classes in construction and sewing ... and his line is carried in stores around the world, if not as many as he'd like.
If the equation to athletes is necessary at all, it would be as if Uli, Michael, and Laura were the best amateurs and Jeffrey was a up and coming professional. They need experience, he only needed exposure.
I believe (based on what Jeffrey has revealed about Laura's phone calls to him during the construction period) that Laura already thought he was having help. She likely had planned how to broach the idea in "what ifs" with her husband and friends. From the conversation between their mothers, Laura got it into her head that he was outsourcing. She waited until she saw the clothes to say something, and had plenty of time to come up with the analogy of athletes on steroids, which is perfect in one sense -- people know that is a controversy, so it's an easy brand. It's like saying a politician is a right wing advocate -- you don't have to prove anything because the label carries all the weight. Unless they've already proven the opposite, that mud clings. It's my belief Laura came back to the ring ready to deal her sucker punch. She came, loaded for bear. How 'bout them analogies?
--BeBelter
P.S. My sincere apologies to the PRGayBoys, who love Laura and probably don't appreciate my opinion of her, but you guys ... your blog is the most intelligent while being the most entertaining of them all! I can't help but come here to comment! Love ya! Mean it!
"A secret agent in man-pris."
Priceless.
Amen T&L.
Be careful what you wish for Bravo.
If you want more talented, experienced designers with a studio and a successful line, runway fashion show experience, their designers with 2 televised shows on the major networks, you have no choice but to declare him a winner.
He is the only designer who is provocative, takes risks, and had a range in the final collection. Both in colors and a varietion. Swimsuits, pants, tops, jackets, dresses, gown and handbags.
If this show is going to be about talented people creating gorgeous designs, then focus on design, realization of design, degree of difficulty and less on sewing ability.
". . . the thinking person's reality show."
haha! yes indeedy, that explains it perfectly. never thought i'd get into a reality show for one of my two allowed hours of weekly TV.
Laura did not even come in "second" so What's the Point of thinking she could have WON. Laura's designs are lovely but nothing innovative or creative there. She may have WON in the first season, but with each season, the designers are getting more creative, more professional. Laura's accusations were disappointing.
Tim Gunn said he thought the final two would either be between Laura and Jeffrey or Jeffrey and Uli.
If they had played by the rules, it would have been between Uli and Laura. So, yes, anonyous, she would have come in at least second.
Yes, yes, yes, it's all about the fashion. We are all television savvy and know that editing plays a huge role in the success of any reality show. Ultimately, the drama that drew me to PR week after week for two years was the spectacle of watching talented designers compete with each other, some succumbing to the pressure, others rising to the occasion.
Laura made an astute observation which she, bravely, brought to Tim. The producers, trying to hide the fact that Jeffrey won, made a huge issue about Laura's concerns.
Well, I wasn't fooled one bit by the producers' shenanigans but I did feel stinted. There simply was too much emphasis on the Laura/Jeffrey thing, and not enough coverage on what happened behind the scenes or the judges' deliberations. They should place the emphasis back on the fashion and leave the manufactured drama behind.
loveit loveit loveit T&L.
"It put a pall over the whole finale and has the potential to affect the careers of some of the people involved, not to mention affecting the reputation of the show itself, which up to now has always been seen as the thinking person's reality show".
Very provocative. Your fabulousness did it again.
"The producers, trying to hide the fact that Jeffrey won, made a huge issue about Laura's concerns.""
Exactly. Otherwise, Laura's accusations would have been aired just for comic effect, like her attack on Angela for not being deserving of returning, her attack on Vincent about his paper dress, her attack(s) of Kayne, etc., etc.
I hope the producers het the message too, o beloved PRgay boys. I was so disappointed that we didn't see Tim interacting more with the designers on their collections. He said somewhere that basically Michael made immense improvements in the last 2 days after receiving feedback and I would love to have seen that. It's about the clothes! The personalities make it interesting too but its about fashion first and foremost otherwise we could just watch trashy crappy Big Brother
Right Said! I felt like I had been bitch slapped when TG said they edited it out. OK, then. But all of the manufactured drama and edited cliff hangers got us all worked up into a tizzy. Then the resolution was just glossed over? And we were supposed to just swallow it and go on? That made it look even more like a conspiracy. 'Nuff said.
"A secret agent in man-pris."
You guys always drop in a little comment that just slays me.
loveit loveit loveit. T&L
Very provocatiove thoughts.
In The TRESemmé Finale Party - Part 2 video on YOUTube,
In the credits PRGayGuys are listed higher than Tim Gunn.(inner circledom)
Mr. Laura Bennett wants to be called Bad Daddy. Mmmm. So busted. Fingerprints.
Fabulous entry. I'm so glad you brought this issue in to the bigger picture. I know Bravo is watching and reading so I'm really glad you got this perspective out there. Ok, seriousness aside...I about snorted my herbal tea outta my nose after reading this:
"...even that was mostly rooftop cell phone scenes with pounding doom machine music, like there was a plot to blow up the U.N. and Jeffrey was the only man who could stop it. A secret agent in man-pris."
That was a complicated issue and thanks for bringing the "light" to it. Smooch!
PS. Was that REALLY Tim Gunn posting here the other night???
"katiecoo said…
PS. Was that REALLY Tim Gunn posting here the other night???
No, it was not THE Tim Gunn, darling. : - )
XO
To&Lo
oh god . . . "manpris" . . . i adore you darling boys.
"A secret agent in man-pris" -- calling "Sanford & Son."
Wonder if his supplier will laugh off the racist remark?
Here's a theory:
All the designers cooperatively manufactured this drama, because they saw last season, and didn't want to get stuck making a damn 13th outfit due to 'lack of drama' in the finale.
LOL
i am seriously worried that the only career affected by the manufactured drama will be Laura's. Wont the hoi polloi in general just hate her for what she did/said? It's a valid concern, Jeffrey has access to all the production sources Laura listed, and I guess I'm against him because i thought he was a jerk. But my fear is that this drama will not linger over his head (nor would it have hung over Keith Michael's head had he dropped it and moved on - beautiful clothes will sell regardless of who made them or pattern books) - but that it will be, for Laura, a lingering bad taste in the mouths of the reality show idiots/consumers of America.
I love Laura
"I wish the whole thing had never happened" - Uli
I am *so* glad that someone else asked what the possible relevance was between the receipts and secretly farming out work. It simply did not make sense to me that that would be the criteria the issue was judged on.
However, it *did* make sense when Tim Gunn said in his podcast that he had personally reviewed each garment with Jeffrey. He further said that he "was convinced" that Jeffrey had sewed them all with his own little pink heroin-stained fingers.
So here we have My Hero, Tim Gunn, who has shown before that he is a cheerleader for the contestants and sees himself as being their mentor in addition to a dean-ish sort of professor-type. AND, thanks to this program, he has been catapulted into fame and hero-worship. Adulation, even.
Given the popularity of the show (which Mr. Gunn also mentioned the ratings in his interview so we know he knows about them), AND that he sees his role as being a mentor and not a judge, AND that he might be reluctant to part with his new-found stardom and new-car perks ... what would be the likelihood that Mr. Gunn would go tripping back to Heidi and "the producers" and report, "In my opinion, Jeffrey is a fake"?
As the authors of this blog also note, this is not reality, this is not judgement television ... this is television for ratings and to sell TreSemme. So ultimately, who would be hurt if Mr. Sebelia did cop a little expert help, if it helps the ratings for the program, and - more importantly - makes the program reappear next summer.
I may possibly be thinking this way because I am very very disappointed in the final judgement that Jeffrey was the winner. That seems to me to have been solely a ratings-driven decision made on the basis of it being controversial. I could have gladly gotten behind ANY of the other three winning, but for them to choose Jeffrey of the Ugly Clothes is just ludicrous.
Just because Jeffrey can design clothes so ugly that no one but a speed-driven crackhead would wear them does *not* mean that he has vision. It simply means that he has an ugly esthetic. To prove this point, I will refer to the episode this season featuring "fashion icons". Can you imagine ANY of the fashion icons the designers made clothes for wearing anything the Jeffrey presented in his runway show? I don't even think Cher would descend to that level of ickiness. The fashion icon Jeffrey did design for was Madonna ... and *that* dress was ugly, too!
It's almost as if the producers of Project Runway sat down and asked themselves, "how can we sink the integrity of this program, while punching up the ratings, even if it is just for one show?" I'll never look at Tim Gunn with quite the same degree of respect again, and I look forward to Mr. Sebelia's upcoming failure as a fashion designer and his subsequent retreat to Hollywood where he will spend the rest of his life designing costumes for drugged-out rock bands who can't see straight.
>>>beautiful clothes will sell regardless of who made them or pattern books<<<
Exactly dahlink. Which is why this will NOT affect Laura. You lost your own argument silly.
In the end, we don't think it was the right creative decision for the show to make. It put a pall over the whole finale and has the potential to affect the careers of some of the people involved, not to mention affecting the reputation of the show itself, which up to now has always been seen as the thinking person's reality show.
PRGayBoys, I have a question about this paragraph. Are you saying that the way the cheating allegation was handled was the wrong creative decision, or are you saying that the outcome (Jeffrey's winning) was the wrong decision? I think you mean the former, but I'm not sure.
I agree with you (if it is, in fact, the former).
As for hurting anyone's career, IMHO the only one who came off looking bad was Laura.
I think Laura handled the situation with a lot of class.
First of all, when she went to Tim she said that she could be totally wrong and she couldn't prove what she was about to say.
Also, in the end when Tim cleared Jeffrey, she smiled, shook his hand and said "Meet you on the runway". She could have fired back, but she didnt.
You know who looked kind of like a trouble maker to me was Uli!
-Katie
I bet the producers were cheering with glee whn Laura made her accusations....after all- whats a season finale without drama?
Season 1: the Wendy Pepper showdown" & the great Kara Saun shoe scandal
Season 2: make a 13th piece and give Chloe a nervous breakdown...
They can't just have the three runway shows and call it an episode....what would they do during the other 33 minutes of airtime?
"Manufactured drama." Hmmm. You guys are making it sound like Laura *didn't* accuse Jeffery of cheating, and that he *wasn't* completely freaked out by her baseless accusations after she went to Tim Gunn with them. You can dowplay it all you want, we all know Laura's your favorite.
And this blog, at least, is ALL about who's your favorite. Let's just take into account that there is some serious hate for Jeffrey personally in these posts, and not too much on his design.
And yes, you are saying (without saying it) that you think he outsourced. Of course you are.
I think it's Jeffrey who took the high road by not harping on her ridiculous claims after he was proved right. Classy move, Jeffrey.
And great blog, guys.
And yes, you are saying (without saying it) that you think he outsourced. Of course you are.
No we're not. We're saying we don't know either way.
You know who looked kind of like a trouble maker to me was Uli!
-Katie
************************
Glad I wasn't the only one who thought that! Looks like she was playing both sides to me.
Taking Michael's model.
Running over to inspect the clothing.
Then saying, "Jeffrey, Laura has an announcement to make.
Saying, "Look at the all the trouble you caused, Laura."
I think she's cute but watch out for the knife in your back!
I found Laura's recent interview with EW really interesting, where she cites her plan for pattern-making and reviving sewing in the United States. It reminds me of what Julia Child did for French cooking in America (incidentally, another smart, salty broad who made a career and life change in her 30s, 40s, albeit not someone you'd want to see in a sternum-bearing evening dress, glorious as she was).
- CF
They really need to level the playing field for future seasons. I still feel sick that Jeffrey had all those pro resources at his command while the others obviously did not. What kind of "competition" is this? I am glad Laura brought stuff up and was so laura about it. This needs to be addressed. Right now this is so patently unfair.
I still wouldn't wear Jeffrey because of all his bad karma on display. I think he has great talent, but I'd respect him a whole hell of a lot more now if he didn't go over budget and have perfect pro design facilities to begin with. My gut tells me he got even more help than what is being downplayed here and PR had better get it's act together on this -- both the budget overages and fundamental unfairness -- or this is all just a bad joke.
The fanbase has so much more integrity, they deserve better than this.
Your comments are right on, but I feel like the "manufactured drama" applies to this whole season, not just the finale. I feel like Bravo is losing the focus on what really made this show such a hit and that was the work of the designers... their drama and interactions were secondary. Now, the way they edit the show it has been turned around. How can the fans of the artistic side of this show make it clear to the producers that for us the real drama comes from the creative process? I too would have liked to have seen more of Michael "rethinking" his designs during finale week. Now that is reality!
Taking Michael's model.
(Uli won the previous challenge. She had the right to pick first).
Running over to inspect the clothing.
(All of them inspected the collection).
Then saying, "Jeffrey, Laura has an announcement to make.
(Voiceover dahling. voiceover).
Saying, "Look at the all the trouble you caused, Laura."
(Voiceover dahling. voiceover).
I think she's cute but watch out for the knife in your back!
Great observations. I believe it is all in the creative editing and voiceover. I thought the finale showed the sweet humanistic side of Uli. Very caring and supportive of Jeffrey.
It was clearly Team Jeffrey and Uli. And Team Laura and Michael.
"I think it's Jeffrey who took the high road by not harping on her ridiculous claims after he was proved right. Classy move, Jeffrey. "
Then I am guessing you didn't read his interview on Bravotv.com.
After listening to Tim's podcast I have some questions. How do they know Jeffrey was over budget by $230 if they are missing 2 invoices? Do they take his word for it? Did they just discount those 2 missing invoices completely and only require him to adjust his collection based only on what they had in hand? It could have been $2000 for all we and they know without those receipts.
I'm just sayin'
"It put a pall over the whole finale and has the potential to affect the careers of some of the people involved, not to mention affecting the reputation of the show itself, which up to now has always been seen as the thinking person's reality show. Too much obvious manufactured drama detracts from the things that make the show great"
Exactly. That's what got me hooked in the first place.
I love Jeff's sense of style, the Rocky Chic look will never and never has gone out of style. I wish i were small enough to fit into his clothes.
Laura is a bitch and she was feeling threaten by Jeff, she still was running around trying ti finish up her crappy ass line and he wasnt so he cheated, thats the only thing she could come up with, and it was a sorry excuse. I dont like Laura at all, she a two face old hag. She cant say anything to someones face, it always has to be behind someons back or on the camara in the little confessional thing.
I think the best designer won. If Michael had stuck with thwat he does best he would have killed Jeff, but i think he got overwhelmed and dropped the ball, but i still love him.
Otherredhead:
I believe the $230 was based on the receipts they had in hand.
As I understood it, there was only one missing receipt, for the pleating on the shorts. All others were accounted for.
Jeff omitted the wigs to account for the $230 overage that they knew about, and held out the shorts due to no receipt for the pleating. Two different isssues.
What I want to know if the budgets are on Bravo's dime, why aren't the competitors issued a VISA card that is charged back to Bravo with a copy to each competitor? That way Bravo and the competitor would know exactly where they stand before they get to New York.
First of all: thank you for calling attention to the fact that Jeffrey is not going to hand in a receipt for something he isn't allowed to do. The logic of that escaped me as well.
You wrote: "it really was a fantastic episode and probably the most exciting finale we've seen yet"
Probably?!!! Of course it was for you! You were in the sanctuary of the inner circle!! For some of us it was a little less exciting and very predictable. I'm not criticizing you -- I would have been caught up in the spirit had I been there myself. Actually I would have been falling over the adorable Mr. Bennett and embarassing my husband and myself until Laura bitch slapped me into lucidity but I digress . . .
Keep going boys. Tell us more. Make me believe.
" The way PR handled it, is not. I'm glad she raised the issue, she had every reason to, even if it was purely out of jealousy (that's not what I think, just echoing Heidi's comments). "
I think Heidi going around to the various talk shows and saying that Laura reported Jeffrey because "she was jealous", was not only untrue (I can't imagine that Laura could even fathom being envious of the no-necked one for any reason), it was catty, tacky and unnecessary. Heidi should have the graciousness to rise above such subjective commentary, but she obviously does not.
Do me a favor and send this blog to the PR producers. They seem to have forgotten their original vision for the show. The entire season spiralled into nothing more than manufactured drama, and unfortunately they got great ratings, so expect more of the same next year, people, because they're going to think that this is why people are tuning in. I agree with everything you said, as usual. You are always so right on!
kath
Amen! You have brilliantly summed up -- without adding to the drama -- what many of us have been thinking. My hope now is that with your new "inner circle" status, perhaps there's a way for you to pass on this same message to TPTB.
Nancy the following is verbatim from the podcast. There are 2 missing receipts and here is the documentation...
>>>So, I’m going through all the receipts and I call him and tell him - Jeffrey, I can’t find a receipt for x. I ask him, who did the work? And he tells me and I said, Oh, all right, well I do have receipts here from this company for this and for that, but not for this item in question. He said, you only have two receipts from them? And I said, yeah, and he said, well, there should be four. Really? Well, of course this thing was a mess.<<<
So how did they come up with $230? Take Jeffrey's word for it?
I just realized that Heidi said the same thing about Uli and Laura- "I would wear everything they made on the show." I wonder how many of Sebelia's outfits will she be wearing next season? ;-)
Receipts and that bullhockey aside, what I wanted to see would have been Tim working with Michael to tone down his collection and even going over every garment with the designers asking questions about construction because I would have liked to have heard about the process (thinking and execution) For me, the real interest is in the PROCESS and not in missing receipts and who did what that they dreamed into drama. Unless, of course, they caught Santino sewing Jeffrey's clothes.
"I don't even think Cher would descend to that level of ickiness." Actually Cher owned a Costa Nostra jacket. It was among the clothes she put up for auction recently -- BPR has a link and a photo somewhere.
I really don't understand the bitterness over Jeffrey's win considering that all of the final four, in fact many of those eliminated before, go on to bigger and better things. Laura will do well because she's a personality and fabulous; Uli will do well because she's nice and makes clothes that people want and can use for resort wear; Michael will do well because he's adorable, knows his market and has carved out a niche. They in fact may do better than Jeffrey in the long run because they have more congenial personalities.
Look at how well Austin, Emmett (boy is he hot, yowza! everybody crazy 'bout a sharp-dressed man), Kara Saun and Kara Janx are doing.
I was disappointed in how gimmicky this season was in general, and I sent Bravo a one-line e-mail to that effect. I hope other viewers with complaints about the production (not about who won or lost, too late for that) will do the same. I want PR to be about the clothes, dang it (and for heaven's sake I wish they'd give us a better look at the garments!)
The fab T&L pretty much said whatever else needed to be said.
Talented or not, cheater or not, like him or not, Jeffrey won the competition, and all 4 received more publicity than they ever could have received on their own.
Taking him at his word and although I'm in the "like him not" grouping, I sincerely hope he gets his act together, business-wise that is. Being unable to keep accurate accounting of $8000.00 worth of receipts, over a 2 month period, doesn't bode well for his future. I imagine that there are unscrupulous business managers -- of which LA has more than its share -- pelting him with business cards and the IRS has probably already assigned auditors to handle his returns for the foreseeable future. I do hope we hear more of Jeffrey, just not in the same way we heard of Richard Hatch or any of the many creative people who've lost fortunes because they trusted the wrong people.
What wasn't shown on the show was Tim Gunn asked Jeffrey specific questions about each piece of his collection to satisfy himself that he had constructed each piece himself. I thought Laura had every right to raise her concerns; if you want to blame someone, blame the producers for airing it even though it turned out to be untrue. Jeffrey should be thanking Laura, it forced him to get rid of those stupid wigs, and if it had come out after the show aired that he'd gone over budget it would forever taint his win.
YES! YES! YES!
NO MORE MANUFACTURED DRAMA!
The producers completely shot themselves in the foot (credibility-wise) by making such a big production of that nonsense.
And since it is a TV show revolving around the ABILITY TO DESIGN the budget they are given should perhaps be for *materials only* ... hmmm!
If the designers want to hire someone to knit/do pleating/hand bead/what-have-you perhaps it should be on their own dime.
People are cheap; most would do it themselves rather than pay outta pocket.
AND, the receipts would have to match up to materials purchased. Ie: what isn't used is brought back to be inspected and checked against desriptions on receipts ... "OK, this says 2.5 yards of blue paisely brocade, call it 1/2 yard used in this vest, just over a yard not used and 1/2 yard in remnants and pieces that you decided not to add."
Tedious, but less room for controversy.
Tim Gunn, wonderful man that he is, deserves Cat Herder of the Year for his ability to lead creative people in a positive manner.
Tim, I hope at least one of my sons grows to have your poise, intelligence and kindness!
First off, there needs to be a more tangible acknowledgement of the angst that underlies and informs the philosophy of fashion, as in the '63 anti-paradigmatic period that YSLaurent went through, or appeared to go through in retrospect (at least, according to Chomsky). That, or at least a bow to the trail-blazing that Pantelope is endeavoring towards in their post-Berlin Wall era.
At the end of the day, I was at peace with Jeff's win. He did "surprise", rather than "bore" Nina with his innovation, which seemed to be what the judges have always been looking for. However, in the real world, meaning retail, the other 3 finalists have an excellent chance of making it. All four contestants benefitted from the PR publicity machine. I suspect that of all PR contestants in the past 3 seasons, Kara Janx has done the best post PR. She was able to get to market with sellable designs. And really, how innovative are her designs? I love them, but they are a modernized twist on the DVF wrapdress.
Laura was accurate, measured and honorable in her accusation of Jeff. However, I don't think anyone, meaning the PR staff, really gave a hoot whether Jeff had sewn his own stuff. My reaction to the receipt accounting: ??WTF? You think he's going to have a receipt if one of his workers sewed for him? The real issue was not about receipts; the producers "reframed" the issue into that. To me, the people most capable of judging Jeff's sewing were the other contestants and they seemed to be in agreement that the final work was nothing like his previous work. Which is what it looked like to me. I decided my own sewing does not take a drastic downturn when pressured for time, nor did that seem to be the case for Laura, Uli or Michael. I suspect Laura was correct in her assessment, but that it was necessary to ameliorate Laura's charges to give Jeff the win. "The win" being more for creativity than anything else.
Although part of this contest is a creativity or thinking outside the box contest, the other part is a sewing contest. I am thrilled that sewing and construction are valued skills on PR. I love that the great artist Balenciaga always sent one outfit down the pasarela(I'm being Spanish here ;-) which he had sewn himself. How are we going to train the next generation of designers if simply sketching a design is all they can do? I love that PR shows all the skills a designer must have! It always seemed to me that Michael Kors had the utmost respect for Laura's skills. Remember when he asked her about her flower on the trash challenge, or the beading on her final work? He commented on her fine execution more than once.
In the final judgement, creativity trumped technical skills and that is how Jeff won.
If I were Michael Kors would I hire Jeff or Laura? The problem with a guy like Jeff, other than the obvious personality issues, is the uneveness of his work. For every great design there seemed to be a few clunkers. Even his final presentation had more uneveness than the collections of either Laura or Uli. I thought Jeff's collection was charming for my 20 year old daughter, although most of the 20 year olds I've talked to like the collections of Uli, Michael or Laura better.
Finally, oh PRgayboys, tell me what did you think about Heidi totting Laura's accusations up to jealousy, on all the talkshows (Ellen, Jay etc.)? It really bothered me. I thought Laura was being her usual direct self, hardly jealous. I thought Laura was purveying the obvious, especially since the other two finalists agreed with her assessment. Why did the producers "reframe" the issue as being about receipts, rather than sewing competency? I think because it's pretty easy to pull the wool over the eyes of the TV viewer, with so few closeups on the actual work. It made for great drama, but wasn't the real issue.
Shame on Heidi for publicly denigrating a person with the real "mad skilz" and who is indeed fabulously glamorous!! Who's really jealous??
You can be a raging asshole and still be a successful fashion designer. Just ask Karl Lagerfeld.
"Actually I would have been falling over the adorable Mr. Bennett and embarassing my husband and myself until Laura bitch slapped me into lucidity but I digress . . ."
Word! What was with all the nastiness about how old he is (not you, PRGayBoys, but in general)? I thought he was cute!
Why even bother to have a budget if it's okay to go over the budget and then u can "choose" what u want to take out.
The producers should have chosen to take a garment out of Jeffrey's collection.
And Uli is a trouble maker, good thing Michael had Laura's back.
"And what makes the show great is talented people producing gorgeous things. Whether they sewed them or not isn't ultimately a measure of their worth, but since that's the way the competition is structured, questions like this are inevitably going to be raised. It's just telling (and we hope the producers noticed this too) that the real excitement came once they dispensed with this bullshit and got back to the clothes." Your points are well taken. I hope the producers get the point...
The PRgay boys make a very valid point. the receipts had nothing to do with Laura's accusation. Tim reviewed Jeff's work seam by seam with him and was satisfied that he did the work, according to his podcast and interview with Mo Ryan.
Aren't the receipts something they check everytime? Wasn't Chloe over the last time?
So the producers melded the two together and made it seem as though they were checking the receipts to see if Jeffrey cheated. that's dishonest of the producers.
In the bonus video, it struck me that Laura looked a little embarassed when she was talking to Jeff. He was describing something about "blocks" he used to make leather jeans for Cosa Nostra and he used those for the jeans he made for the competition (and apparently he has a special sewing machine for jeans making by the way). Whatever blocks are, Laura had a 'aaaah, that's why' look on her face.
I think Laura was justified in raising the issue although maybe she should have talked to Jeffrey first.
I was ok with his win, though personally liked Uli's better, but he's still an asshat.
Anonymous said...
"the IRS has probably already assigned auditors to handle his returns for the foreseeable future. I do hope we hear more of Jeffrey, just not in the same way we heard of Richard Hatch..."
***********************
You forgot the Immigration and Naturaization Service.
I couldn't agree with you more! Producers, are you listening?
SO... WHAT was the story about Laura's shoes that Tim never told us????
Anonymous said...
SO... WHAT was the story about Laura's shoes that Tim never told us????
7:30 PM
That's what I was wondering, too!! I hope Tim talks about it on his blog or something...
One major point Laura made in the finale was that Jeffrey had no work to do, everything was finished. But in several episodes, Jeffrey was finished with his work before everyone else. I think he just works fast, and did indeed sacrifice quality while at Parsons. During the break, he had time, and got his quality back.
I'm glad he won. I thought his designs were the best, and Uli was awesome too. Laura's clothes, while nicely done, were boring and she was only designing for herself.
In fashion, a "block" is a term for a basic pattern from which to cut many pants, skirts etc. So if one brand of jeans fits you well, then it is because the block of that manufacturer is suited to your shape. If Jeffrey has a block, he drafted it himself and it is what he finds suits his customer base. I wish I knew what rules PR has for patterndrafting. It appears as if they drape everything on the show, rather than work from slopers or blocks.
If Jeffrey has a special machine to sew his leather jeans, it is probably a leather machine, which would work just like a regular machine except it would be more powerful in order to go through the layers of leather. It might also have a "walking foot" to match up the two layers going through the machine and/or be "double-needle" to give two neat rows of parallel stitches. The basic skill of the operator would still be the same, only the machine might not jam or the leather slip. The operator would still have to sew straight and finish the work neatly. Trying to sew leather on an underpowered machine would be much more difficult, if not impossible. Most basic sewing machines work the same; the commercial ones just sew faster and are more powerful. Of course having a machine that does two parallel rows of stitches is usually neater than doing it by eye. The skills are the same, but without these machines the others would be at a real disadvantage if they wanted to sew leather, especially jeans. So yes, Jeff was at an advantage there, but the others could have probably arranged to rent or use these machines at a nearby fashion school.
By the way, I think Michael deserves to be working with better equipment. I couldn't tell what machines he had, but they didn't look very high end. A good machine does help, but it needs a skilled operator as well. Perhaps Bravo could pick up a sewing machine manufacturer as a sponsor for the next season. I know they have to be able to use the commercial machines as well, but I would think the sewing machine companies would be tripping all over themselves to advertise on this show.
Re Uli:
Those saying all 3 thought the same thing are wrong; Uli didn't (in fact, she argued that Jeff's clothes didn't look so perfect, she wasn't convinced by Laura & Michael at all). And Uli's "Laura has an announcement" was spot on: instead of confronting Jeff directly about her suspicions (and allowing him the chance to defend himself), Laura went straight to Tim with the accusations, behind Jeff's back, without letting him know she was going to take such a drastic step, without giving him a chance to defend himself or convince her otherwise. It was only right that Jeff should know what was going on (the train had already left the station)-- Uli wanted to bring it out into the open, as soon as possible.
I have to say, I love(d) Laura, but this whole thing really made me think less of her. Ultimately, she went on *nothing*, no evidence whatsoever before making such damaging accusations, but her "gut"-- i.e. her surprise that the "bad boy" and not the golden children (Michael & her) were getting all the compliments from Tim. It did look to me like jealousy (on her part, as well as Michael's-- so quick to agree with her, after hearing Tim's reactions to each of their collections). Even if her suspicions were reasonable, the fair & reasonable thing to do would've been to talk to Jeff first, hear him out, before getting Tim involved (once she did that, she *knew* that a scandal was inevitable-- the show & its producers would be forced to make a thorough investigation, etc.) So I think it's disingenuous to say this drama was the producers' fabrication: Laura has to own her own acts, and their consequences. Just as she knew that one of those consequences might've been Jeff's disqualification (she had already seen this happen to Keith-- the other bad boy she disliked)-- I think she wished this might happen again (but this time her wish got ahead of any actual facts).
I agree that Laura did the right thing, better to get it out than hold it in, but since Bravo dismissed it why even televise it? Jeffery owns his own company, the designs were his, but he could have had 6 people sewing for him and we'd never know. He also, because he has a manufacturing company, has access to specialty machines, suppliers for material and trims at discount prices, a separate work area, things that the "beginning designers" don't have. IMO Bravo needs to address this dicrepancy. Santino for instance was living hand to mouth, how could he afford to rent specialty machines? Would that have to come out of their budget?
I think if they continue to have designers who have their own businesses against "beginning designers" they are going to have to address these issues.
Come on, how could they *not* televise it? The finale typically tracks the last-minute emotional states, anxiety, stress, interpersonal tension, struggles to "make it work" etc. of the designers as they prepare for this huge event in their lives, the fashion show. The designers' insecurities, suspicions, the accusations, the way they each responded, Jeff's anxiety & nerve-wracking stress & finally tearful breakdown with relief... excising all of that would've been impossible, and horribly distorting & false to what occurred-- in what was, after all, the short time period that the finale covers. This *is* what happened, and an important & relevant & psychologically pivotal part of what happened in those last hours; to think it could be left out is absurd.
(Cf. seasons 1, 2, & 3. Those who accuse this season of too much "drama" always seem to forget & downplay the previous seasons' drama, which I don't find all that different-- it's just that viewers are emotionally involved in the *current* season, and passions over previous seasons' controversies have died down. Wendy? Wendy vs. Kara Saun? Santino? Just as much "drama" there, and I remember all the same complaints being made against the producers-- about manufacturing drama, about picking winners & losers based on drama, etc. I find the show has remained pretty consistent. It's probably to its credit that viewers always feel so strongly about it, love/hate characters, etc. It's a reality show, people. But I suppose people will always look back to a drama-free "golden age" of PR that never existed.)
Maybe T&L can explain why Laura said "I'd rather beat him on the runway than in the accountant's office." That doesn't sound like the issue was his paying someone for all of the work. It sounds like something else.
If he cheated, she would not have expected him to have receipts for it. "By the way, here's the receipt for that seamstress.."
Amen, boys. Though one thing the stupid "plotline" did was show how GENEROUS and sincere Jeffrey can be---the fact that he was hugging Laura (the woman who had put his integrity into question, well-intentioned or not) seconds after being vindicated speaks volumes...
RealityBlurred.com has an interview with Tim Gunn. Interesting.
"Tim also reveals that, during final deliberations, the guest judge, Fern Mallis, did not want Jeffrey to win. “She really leaped to a position of championing Laura and Uli in the face of some antipathy from Heidi, Nina and Michael, having to do with how narrow their scope is,” Tim said. He adds that “There was a lot of debate, it wasn’t a matter of, ‘OK, it’s Jeffrey, let’s all leave and have a cocktail.’”
Okay, throw out the 3 other judges and replace them with Fern Mallis!
I agree that Laura did the right thing, and I think that in the future, the final 4 should have to set up shop when they get back home, but with a difference:
There should be a surveilance camera in their workspace & they have to create their designs entirely within the range of that camera.
I think it is especially important if the competitions are to include people like Jeffrey, who have manufacturing operations already set up.
But I do think they needed to show what happened (meaning the allegations). If they hadn't and word leaked out later, the show would have been accused of a cover-up.
But I'm not so sure that people who already have manufacturing operations SHOULD be included to begin with. So, I'll have to chalk that up to just one more reason that Jeffrey did not deserve to be there.
"Jeffrey had much more experience and training than any of the other three finalists. As other interviews have revealed, he was #1 and #2 in his classes in construction and sewing ..."
And Bill Gates dropped out of Harvard. Doesn't really mean anything. Didn't help him all those times he was in the bottom two on the runway.
Aside from his repugnant personality, I think he designs were simply hideous. I don't care that he took chances. I watched a rerun this afternoon and thought they were even uglier the second time around. (While Uli & Laura's clothes looked better).
That dress that was half green stripes & half red stripes especially; made me nauseous!
--Gotham Tomato
The controversy WAS icky!! Plain and simple. I think keeping it quiet may have been the way to go. In Jeffrey's defense (wait a minute....DID I JUST SAY THAT!?!?!?) it most definately mars his career whether he's guilty or not. Unfair no matter how you turn it.
I still think they bent the rules for Jeffrey. Keith gets sent home for having a pattern book in his room but Jeffrey is allowed to go over budget in the FINAL CHALLENGE and is just told to get rid of something? It just smells.
Despite this, it truly was a GREAT show. It was a great show. I felt for all the designers.
Ok, instead of not televising it, how about playing it out this way. Laura accuses, Tim Gunn says no way, then Tim Gunn says but we are looking at his receipts. I don't think that's what we were left with as viewers. I got the impression the whole investigation was because of what Laura said, but obviously it wasn't...it was the receipts.
"Though one thing the stupid "plotline" did was show how GENEROUS and sincere Jeffrey can be---the fact that he was hugging Laura (the woman who had put his integrity into question, well-intentioned or not) seconds after being vindicated speaks volumes..."
Um...that wasn't Jeffrey being generous. That was him, as he said in interviews, holding his 'enemy' closer.
--Gotham Tomato
"Those saying all 3 thought the same thing are wrong; Uli didn't (in fact, she argued that Jeff's clothes didn't look so perfect, she wasn't convinced by Laura & Michael at all). And Uli's "Laura has an announcement" was spot on: instead of confronting Jeff directly about her suspicions (and allowing him the chance to defend himself), Laura went straight to Tim with the accusations, behind Jeff's back, without letting him know she was going to take such a drastic step, without giving him a chance to defend himself or convince her otherwise. It was only right that Jeff should know what was going on (the train had already left the station)-- Uli wanted to bring it out into the open, as soon as possible."
No, actually I think that Uli's announcement saying Laura had an announcement, was Uli being passive/agressive. She is definately that. I forget in which interview she said that she didn't have a problem with Jeffrey because he didn't attack her. Not a great quality in her.
And actually if you read up on what transpired, the only reason that Laura said something to Tim first was because he showed up before Jeffrey did and asked her what was going on (I paraphrase). I'd bet anything that the producers made a call to Tim to get him to hightail it over to the workspce before Jeffrey got back.
But it doesn't matter either way; her concerns were valid, and Jeffrey is the LAST person who shouuld complain about being mistreated, or trashed or anything. He was nothing but a pill; a nasty jerk all season long & it wasn't the editing that made him that way, it was his own self. Period. And this attitude that some people have; whitewashing over his abhorent behavior by calling him a 'bad boy' like he was cute, is total, revisionist bull.
--Gotham Tomato
Laura jealous of Jeffrey? Heidi, liebling, have you been smoking too much eidelweiss? Are pregnancy hormones tetching your beautiful teutonic head?
Puhleasse! We all know better.
Jeffrey's a peanut. Laura's an alpha female. Never the twain shall meet.
Marcia,
Jeffrey's being a peanut has nothing to do with his talent, which is undeniable. I even admit that he won fair and square.
His win does not change my opinion of him as a peanut. The man has no class.
Why would Laura, who is equally talented but in a different way, be jealous of him?
"Though one thing the stupid "plotline" did was show how GENEROUS and sincere Jeffrey can be---the fact that he was hugging Laura (the woman who had put his integrity into question, well-intentioned or not) seconds after being vindicated speaks volumes..."
Accepting Laura's invitation to Laura's private "Reunion Episode" party at her house and then saying he went only because he wanted to "keep the enemy closer" in his first interview ,after it was announced he won, showed his personality. If I had not forgiven someone, I don't think I would have bothered attending a private party thrown by my "enemy". To dish crap about it.... well. From his interview immediately after they announced the winner, he clearly had not put behind the "I don't think he sew all this" episode.
I think Laura did the right thing to voice her concerns. They are in a competition. She has every right to do it. At least she will not always ponder afterwards whether she or her friends were robbed of the title because she didn't speak up when she wanted to.
Didn't matter to me who won in the end. They all put up a great show. It was much more exciting than Season 2's OFW runway show.
Warren
Singapore (Yes, we have electricity and we get to watch Project Runway 1,2 and 3 here too.. and NO, we are not part of China)
alls i know, is that had it been uli or michael, laura wouldn't have said a thing.
I totally agree. Laura did the right thing by saying something. I thought she brought up some very real concerns. I am so dissapointed that Jeffery won. Why is it that the least talented designer won? I did like Uli's work, but I also like Laura's style as well.
Your analysis is spot on, as always the best commentary is here. Gabriella
"Jeffrey's a peanut. Laura's an alpha female. Never the twain shall meet". This sums it up better than I ever could! Gabriella
Wow, just read the realityblurred.com interview that lauraandmichael referred to. It is amazing to me that THE Fern Mallis was for Laura or Uli winning and not for Jeffrey. It does make me think "outrageous personality" (also horrid)was something PR was looking for in a winner, kinda keeps the franchise in the public eye. I am so glad that Fern on the finale defended both Laura's and Uli's point of view. It was about time one of the judges did.
and this is just an aside but Jeffrey acts like he invented fatherhood and parenting. Newsflash: parents have loved their kids since the beginning of time. Love redeeming a lost soul is also an old, old story. Gabriella
"Accepting Laura's invitation to Laura's private "Reunion Episode" party at her house and then saying he went only because he wanted to "keep the enemy closer" in his first interview ,after it was announced he won, showed his personality."
WORD. He seems so angry and weird in his interviews; in the Bravo interview he talked about how he thought Laura called him on some kind of "schedule" during their two months off to tell him how much the bloggers hated him. Paranoid much? His total lack of graciousness in any of his post-show interviews, especially as compared to Laura's humor and graciousness in hers, shows his true self. Jeffrey doesn't need any help from Bravo to look like a total jerk. He's a "sober drunk" and has all of the problems associated with that.
great blog and spot-on comment, prrungayguys.
need i remind everyone of the infamous "feminazi" comment out of jeffrey's mouth...and any other number of nasty a** comments about women from him. this isn't cutesy "bad boy" - this is misogynist pathology.
my thought has always been: how can this man be successful in the fashion business when he has intense mommy/women issues and where he is designing FOR WOMEN; has to use WOMEN as his models; and is trying to SELL to WOMEN! any woman who would associate herself with this designer has to be crazy or masochistic.
jeffrey was as one note as the so called judges claimed uli and laura was with one exception: his one note was tired 80s.
as for uli, how disappointing to see her demonstrate her passive/aggressiveness (as noted earlier in this thread). her true colors (why does that sound so uli?) came out during the final edits - "you made him cry; are you happy now?" (or words to that effect) - i mean, really! what a b***h!
at least laura was up front when she had a problem - and girlfriend was not about to take any crap from anyone. i predict we shall hear much more from laura than we ever will from jeffrey.
uli will continue to do her thing with tropical fashions - talk about one note sambas. she has intense good use of fabrics, but she never strayed from the diaphonous tropical palm beach dress.
and michael - well, please someone tell him he is so much more than hootchie mama hip hop atlanta and he proved that all season long right up until left to his own devices.
long live laura and her exquisite fashion style and gorgeous designs.
shar
******************
oh....and one more thing. jeffrey was quoted as saying: "if 10 people hate you, then work on making it 12."
what a guy.
shar
************************
I keep flashing back on the very brief clip of Michael Kors that they edited in to indicate the judges' discussion was over. He said something like, "so we have a decision?" It was said as a question, and there was a note of dread in it. Like, "I can't believe we're going to do this." He -- all of them -- had to have known it would not be a popular decision.
And Kors, especially, in voting to award Jeffrey and his ugly clothes -- how does that reflect upon Mr. Kors and *his* taste? Surely that thought occurred to him.
Just as it should have occurred to Tim Gunn if he was complicit in a cover-up.
"what would they do during the other 33 minutes of airtime?"
Laura's accusation was a gift. Remove any doubt and wrap it up by clouding the issue by validating the receipts knowing full well that 99% of the viewers would overlook the fuzzy math.
"I just realized that Heidi said the same thing about Uli and Laura- "I would wear everything they made on the show." I wonder how many of Sebelia's outfits will she be wearing next season?"
My guess is none. Heidi is not within the range of Elle's target market.
Yes, I do see a conflict with Elle as a sponsor and that includes Nina...I love her BUT she IS their fashion editor.
Jeffrey had the least to lose and the most to gain by giving the judges exactly what they wanted. Lucky for him he ran over-budget and trashed those wigs. Thumbing your nose at the good folks at TRESemmé could have been a very fatal error.
And...speaking of manufactured drama, am I the only one in the viewing audience that feels that Jeffrey was intentionally sabotaged by Angela and her mom and further made out the villain by selective editing?
So obviously fake...woe is me, head in hands, those crocodile tears...puleeze! Every other family member no matter how hideous the end result graciously gave 100% support to the designer that they were paired off with knowing full well that by doing so they were indeed consorting with the enemy and hurting their loved one's chances.
If anyone should have sobbed it should have been Laura's mom having to wear that aging atrocity of fringe or Vincent's sister looking like a parade float on the runway.
And lastly, can anyone tell me how they managed to keep the winner secret for an entire month?
Just for the record, I've been Team Laura from the very first challenge...
The fact that everyone's debating the personalities of the designers, and saying Jeffrey shouldn't have won because he's such an asshole, means that the producers of the show win--they get viewers because of the controversy they've created by making people clash. (The people who say he shouldn't have won because his clothes are hideous at least get the point. I don't agree with them, but they're focusing on the putative reason for the show's existence, the clothing and the creativity that goes into them).
These designers are, first and foremost, artists. Do we expect artists to be exemplary human beings? Do Jackson Pollack's artworks lose any of their power because he was a drunken asshole? Jeffery is clearly a douche, but he has a fascinating design aesthetic and his clothing is often amazing to look at. (It's not completely original, of course: there are suggestions of, among other designers, Alexander McQueen, Stephen Sprouse, and Vivienne Westwood. But true originals are rare, and artists throughout the ages have taken their inspiration from others.)
Right from the start, I wanted Laura to win: she's an outsized personality who creates beautiful clothing, and all her interviews make it clear that she's the kind of person you want to have dinner with. But of the final four, only Jeffrey's clothing showed any real innovation. Laura made a whole lot of the same (albeit extremely beautiful) things, Uli likewise, and Michael, left to his own devices, made hookerwear. The judges weren't rewarding prettiness or marketability: they were rewarding artistry, which, I think, Jeffrey displayed better than any of the others.
And...speaking of manufactured drama, am I the only one in the viewing audience that feels that Jeffrey was intentionally sabotaged by Angela and her mom and further made out the villain by selective editing?
I absolutely think this. I think Darlene was a horrible, passive-aggressive woman (egged on by her duaghter Angela, who hated Jeffrey) who didn't understand that she was acting as a model whose only job was to wear whatever clothing she was handed. She didn't have to like the clothing, although of course it would have been nice if she had, if Jeffrey had managed to make something suitable for her: but she had a responsibility to at least wear it graciously, as the other models in that episode did, and she couldn't even manage that, the weepy cow.
Hello Runway Producers!!! Read and learn, the boys are dead on...less drama more creative process...i can easily go back to not watching TV!!!
Laura has to own her own acts, and their consequences. Just as she knew that one of those consequences might've been Jeff's disqualification (she had already seen this happen to Keith-- the other bad boy she disliked)-- I think she wished this might happen again (but this time her wish got ahead of any actual facts).
WORD. Exactly.
AND "Realityblurred" needs to take their own name seriously. I've read Tim Gunn's words and he never says that Fern Mallis didn't want Jeffrey to win -- he DOES say that she championed Laura and Uli in aspects that MK/NG/HK were against and he was glad about that. But FM was very emotionally moved when Jeffrey won, which belies the conclusion Realityblurred reaches that FM didn't want Jeffrey to win.
AND ... they could NEVER film the designers whole 11 weeks of process ... it's too many hours to be practical. Who is going to review those tapes, even on FF?? What they could do is have an accounting firm track each designer's expenditures. IF they turn in receipts for something and later decide not to use it, that would be revealed ... for instance: Laura was just under budget. Does that mean including the outfits she made but decided not to include? Or were those paid for with her own money which was allowed since she never showed them? How does that disadvantage someone like Michael who can't afford to make 20 pieces to winnow down to his final 12? In this case the analogy would be "like a rich woman with her own checkbook" ...
BUT they'll never be able to find out if Laura used one of her nannies to help with the beading, so we should all stop wondering if she did it all herself and just accept her word for it! I just hope that the INS doesn't start an investigation into whether her in-home help is legal!
And I say "Go Uli!" ... she was NOT in favor of what Laura was doing after a first moment of "yeah, it all looks very good" ... she said to Laura "That's not what it's about" but Laura cut her off and got onto her "athlete on steroids" analogy ... Uli wanted it out in the open, which is why she also forced Laura to not delay telling Jeffrey even one more moment ...
--BeBelter
Once again, you guys are so dead on correct. I couldn't help seeing Jeffrey's workspace and thinking obviously other people, most likely professional seamstresses, work for him. It would be easy to have one of your employees sew something and why would you have a receipt or turn it in? But its not the I'm the best sewer show. Jeffrey liked to call Laura's stuff old, but she has a different market and Jeffrey is just as one sided. No one stays 20 forever. I always wonder, what are Jeffrey and his girlfriend going to do if they ever have another child? Sorry, hon, the neck was taken, you're number two?
This from Jeffrey's BravvoTV.com interview:
"I wanted people to hate me. I’m going to bring this hand buzzer, these stupid tricks. I want people to look at me as this character who is so full of himself that he doesn’t know that these things aren’t funny. And hate that about me."
Well then, good job, Jeff! Now, answer this question:
Now that you've won, why are you still "acting" the part? Surely now is the time to let loose your inner Mother Teresa.
You took the words right out of my mouth. Too much drama over an incident that should have been a footnote. I wish it would have been handled quietly. Still love the show and the total viewing experience for the third season was high because the designers were a talented group (with a few exceptions).
"Jeffrey liked to call Laura's stuff old, but she has a different market and Jeffrey is just as one sided. No one stays 20 forever."
Spot on! Love the observation about the neck and child #2.
Look, the PR producers are dancing with delight while slapping each other on the back and counting their money. They've managed to milk a minor kerfuffle for all its worth. Silly me, I'm still talking about it.
As Anonymous #1 said: no more comments.
AND "Realityblurred" needs to take their own name seriously. I've read Tim Gunn's words and he never says that Fern Mallis didn't want Jeffrey to win -- he DOES say that she championed Laura and Uli in aspects that MK/NG/HK were against and he was glad about that. But FM was very emotionally moved when Jeffrey won, which belies the conclusion Realityblurred reaches that FM didn't want Jeffrey to win.
Thank you for pointing this out.
It's a little disconcerting to read revisionist history, now that the show is finally over. I mean, it's one thing to feel disappointed that your favorite didn't win or to feel angry that your least-favorite did win, but to attempt to rewrite things, the attempt to wish ill on Jeffrey (or any of the contestants, for that matter) . . . well, it's just sad to me.
I was very invested in this show, and I enjoyed reading the various blogs (this one, most of all), but ya know, there's so much bile, that it's stopped being entertaining. (PRGayBoys, I'm not talking about you!!!)
I had posted some of my feelings in an earlier post, but I feel compelled to repeat them, and add a few more.
PRGayboys, you have once again been able to express how I feel. Well met.
Further, all of us talking about how Jeffrey won and the deservedness of such a win is a win for the show. The cycle of discussion only hypes the show that much more.
But that's also why I stopped watching other reality shows after a few seasons. I watched Survivor in the beginning, as I did Amazing Race, and several others. Once the pattern of editing and drama became predictable (which, really, it is); I lost interest.
And that's why I fear I might stop watching Project Runway in the middle of season 4. Seasons 1 and 2 had far less producer tampering than this season did, and provided great television to watch. I thought the "everyday woman" challenge was highly questionable, and the fashion show episodes were detestable.
What I don't get is the need for such editing. This show will always attract entertaining characters and personalities. The four main dramatis personae of this show - Heidi Klum, Tim Gunn, Nina Garcia, and Michael Kors - are all characters in of themselves and provide great entertainment. The setting is in a quasi-fantasy world that is normally out of reach to the television viewer (the world of fashion). The fact that the show can bring that world to us commonfolk every week is entertainment enough.
Production editing and tampering is unneeded. I hope the producers keep this in mind before their show suffers the fate of the rest of the reality shows out there: A dull, bland concept about competitive alpha-male gossipers.
Random thoughts:
- On the receipts issues, I don't understand why so many people think Jeffrey cheated by going over budget and was given a gift by having to remove something from his show to get under budget. He was over by less than $300, which is less than 4% of the total. Tim said in his blog that Jeffrey was disorganized in his paperwork. It would be easy for a disorganized person to loose track of his spending. It was clearly inadvertant and to rectify it, he was asked to remove something to bring him into budget. He was lucky he had those atrocious wigs that he could remove. But if it weren't the wigs, it would have been some article of clothing or accessories, which could have harmed his "look". I think it was a simple mistake in planning, not some nefarious scheme.
- on the Angela's mom issue - I think Darlene was a bit passive/aggressive and I think Angela didn't help smooth the issue for her mom. However, Jeffrey was a jerk and clearly can't take criticism from women. People seem to forget that it was Tim who asked how she was feeling about the dress and she answered him honestly. It happened that Jeffrey wasn't there and walk into the scene (if I remember correctly). He kept saying that his beef with Darlene was that she didn't tell him directly and in time for him to finish, so there was nothing he could do. So, leave me alone, woman! She was his client, it was ulitimately his responsibility to give her what she wanted. Those "real" women were supposed to be treated as clients, not mute runway models/clotheshangers. I thought Darlene did a great job on the runway - she smiled and walked well. Which was a tall order give that he made the ugliest dress ever!
- I think Jeffrey is a troubled guy plagued with insecurities which dog him every step he takes. So, he's incapable of having straight forward relationships with people, especially women.
- I think Jeffrey is talented, but just as limited as the judges were always accusing Laura and Uli of being. Although, I did like some of his runway looks and I thought he'd win going in.
- Love Laura, love everything about her, want to be her for Halloween. (to paraphrase "Just Jack MacFarland"). I even went to the fabric store yesterday and spent a fortune on patterns and fabrics to make some clothes. My new mantra WWLD (what would Laura do?) OK, she wouldn't use patterns for one thing, I guess!
Thanks PRGayBoys for letting me vent! And for the fun photos. I have a crush on Emmett, damn, he's handsome! Damn...
I'm not saying that stories aren't ever misleading. However, you might want to actually read the RealityBlurred interview first before deciding Tim didn't say what is written. http://www.realityblurred.com/realitytv/archives/project_runway_3/2006_Oct_20_summer_series
It sounds like Tim was being interviewed.
The url was cut off. Sorry.
You can find the story at the site under this title: "Tim Gunn: with “Season 3, it was Bravo’s intention to brand [Runway] as a summer show”
Very well said and argued.
Thanks, Pam, for the description of blocking.
I can't believe I'm continuing to defend Jeffrey, someone I detested almost all season. Maybe it was because once Michael's collection was so obviously horrible, I didn't really care who won.
But I'd point out on Jeffrey's going over that Tim's interviews said Jeff put it in a separate account and spent it down until nothing was left in the account, assuming that was all he needed to do.
The 'duh' factor that shows he's not good at money matters is most checking accounts are interest bearing now. it wouldn't have been hard to accrue 2.5% interest on $8,000, (which is what $200 works out to).
Just wondering, for sociological purposes, what percentage of women dislike Jeffrey and men dislike Laura; how that also breaks down between gay and straight; and what difference it would make if the either of the designers were gay?
Hmmm.
Here's some more random thoughts since we're trying to figure out what Bravo should do next time around. (I fully agree that the "drama" was stupid and distracting. But so was the Angela and Victor redux episode.)
First, I don't think Bravo will decide to make it just a contest among amateur designers.
To wit: No one's talked about this on PRG, but an experienced designer like Jeffrey has a long list of designs that he can "pull out of his ass" at any time. Like, yeah, I'll do a dress like I did for Gwen Stefani" or "I'll make pants like I did for XYZ." That is a given advantage. Under time pressure, you'll pull out the winning recipe every time. That's why I believe he could sew 12 designs in such a short time--I doubt any of those 12 designs were unique or didn't resemble something he already had done (and had a "block" for). That's a HUGE advantage.
BUT--I don't think Bravo will change the current formula. Believe me, if you've been reading the financial news, NBC, the parent corporation, just chopped some huge number out of its budget and this is hardly the time for NBC shows to change a winning formula. In fact, NBC/Bravo will be even more beholden to sponsors like Elle magazine and Tresemme and Macy's, so you won't likely see Nina Garcia or any other corporate sponsor-tie judges disappearing.
Sorry--this is the realistic side of life. I, too, would like aesthetics to win, but this is entertainment, folks, and a business. The bottom line will rule.
Sally.
One more comment---Heidi Klum goes on talk shows playing up the "Laura was jealous" angle. Don't forget she is a supermodel and has an over-developed drama cortex (and underdeveloped everything else). She's not that far removed from Tyra Banks, afterall. I could say I lost respect for her for doing that, but it would imply that I HAD respect to begin with. (The only shred of respect I had for her is that she had the good taste to marry SEAL.)
There. I said it.
Sally.
i just watched some of the bonus footage with jeffrey and laura talking out on the terrace. why didn't they show that?!? i think those two clips address so much of what is still being debated and discussed. jeffrey explains how it is that he's got professionally finished garments - he's made some of these pieces for YEARS - and laura explains why she felt the way she did, and, in my opinion, accepts and understands jeffrey's explanation. she also admits that she should have gone directly to him with her "gut feeling" before going to tim.
but whatever. i agree that the receipts and laura's accusation are two different issues - and it is unfortunate that the editors conflated them to such a degree that laura is being made out to be this nasty, vindictive, jealous bitch who almost kept jeffrey off the runway. jeffrey's troubles came about because of his sloppy bookkeeping...and my sense is, that shit would have happened with or without laura's accusation. they always go through the receipts and do the accounting-for before the show. the only thing that would have been different, perhaps, is that he would have been able to show the shorts - since, presumably, they wouldn't have assumed he was missing a receipt for the pleating. so, ultimately, as tim gunn said in that interview, jeffrey did this to himself.
it's dishonest, misleading editing. and it's almost insulting, as a viewer.
...but Laura "did not" even come in second.
Like her clothes, but I would always go for most innovative designer first choice and that was Jeffrey, then Uli.
Do Jackson Pollack's artworks lose any of their power because he was a drunken asshole?
No, they don't, and not one damn person thinks ANYTHING of the him if they drop a load of cash on a Pollack. Or any other obnoxious, asshole artists. Or even thinks about the artist's personality when deciding whether to buy it (if they don't know who the artist is).
Want reality? There's a large portion of artists who are very full of themselves, and fashion designers are no exception. I live, eat, drink, sleep, work, breathe the art community. Not many artists are terribly humble. I've certainly dealt with few. Michael, Uli, and Laura have that quality to them as well. Everyone keeps saying about the Everyday Woman challenge that Jeffrey was supposed to design for his client. Ok, I'll give you that, but what no one seems to be getting is that throughout the ENTIRE SHOW the client has been Klum, Garcia, and Kors and very few of the designers in the past three seasons have really listened to what they said. "I like what I do, I don't care what those three say. I'm going to do what I want." That's the attitude they have, and that's certainly the same attitude Jeffrey had. You can't point a finger at one person when everyone else is acting the same way.
I make no excuse for Jeffrey's attitude, I don't deny that he was a jerk and could have handled several situations a whole lot better. But too many people (oh, I could name a few here specifically...) want to harp on the fact that they don't like him, everything he does is wrong, and everyone else on the show never did anything wrong and are complete angels, especially their favorite designer. It's hard to look at things objectively when you let your emotions slip in the way. When you like someone, you tend to disregard their behavior, even when it's just as bad as everyone else.
AMEN! Julia
And...speaking of manufactured drama, am I the only one in the viewing audience that feels that Jeffrey was intentionally sabotaged by Angela and her mom and further made out the villain by selective editing?
I completely agree. When she put her hands up to her face and said no one had ever spoken to her like that in her life, my thought was "Then you should get out more."
As to the Laura/Jeffrey controversy. The receipt drama was different from the outsourcing accusation and has been a factor before. Kara Saun had no receipts for her shoes, then got falsified receipts grossly underreporting the cost and had to decide between between not using the shoes and using the sponsor's shoes or having the judges informed that the shoes could not be judges as part of the collection. Jeffrey had to remove the overage and the shorts for which he had no receipt. Same issue, same result. That's fair. By the way, the interest on $8000 explanation from lou is great, but what checking account is paying 2.5% right now? I want that bank!!!
The outsourcing issue: Bravo had no choice but to air it because it was leaked to New York Magazine. Coincidentally, the reporter who wrote the leak also wrote a profile of Laura Bennett in that same issue. And if you believe that's a coincidence, let me sell you some shares in Vincent's new couture collection.
Certainly, having concerns, Laura should have talked to Jeffrey and given him the chance to explain and address those concerns before taking them to Tim Gunn. It isn't credible that just because Tim entered the room before Jeffrey that she talked to Tim first. She could have asked Jeffrey out on the terrace instead. That would have been the responsible thing to do.
Then, if she was not persuaded by Jeffrey's explanation, going to Tim would have been proper. If he weren't in the room, she had his phone number and could have called him to ask him to come over. That would have been classy. The way she did it was declasse.
As to professional versus hobbyist -- I like that there is a mix. It shows us that hobbyists can compete with professionals and win. There were other professionals who were knocked out early such as Malan, Kartherine Gerdes and Allison. The difference between Laura and the other designers was not in construction or quality, but that her many years of designing for herself only limited her creativity and ability to design for other women. Perhaps if PR had been around when she was in her 30's, she would not have been so rigid in her aesthetic.
I liked Laura's, Uli's and Jeffrey's collections -- all for different reasons and I cannot picture wearing any of them. Robert Best's designs are more my style. However, in terms of FASHION -- Jeffrey's collection was more than a step above the others. He offered multiple silhouettes, showed than punk clothing can be pretty (that's pretty amazing right there) and took huge risks. And he was rewarded. He also could have failed spectacularly. That's the risk. Laura consciously decided to not take a risk -- and that was her mistake.
sooooo, jeffrey ran a fashion design business for "years." one would think he would have that "business" thing down by now, such as keeping track of a paltry $8,000 in receipts to show not only PR, whom he knew was going to ask for them, AND the Internal Revenue Service. Just like the business who supposedly did his pleating...they, too, must have some form of bookkeeping for themselves AND the IRS.
this is why the controversy rages on. the excuses didn't make sense then, don't make sense now, and nothing is going to change to make them make sense tomorrow.
i think jeffrey thinks he's clever. so why wouldn't a clever guy keep track of receipts he knew he would be asked for? or for christ's sake, ask the wife/girlfriend to do it. or perhaps one of his own employees? he DOES pay them, doesn't he? have to keep records for that, now doesn't he?
why would a clever guy show up with all those nasty ass wigs and extra designs? oooooooooops. caught me! i'll just dump these butt ugly wigs!
how freakin' convenient. those wigs had disaster written all over their dynel threads - imagine his non-cohesive collection WITH them! who wins now???! he would have been the laughing stock of the runway!
i think he had NO intention of ever using the wigs - why would he? is this something he's done in the past showing his designs?
but they served a purpose - if caught with selective accounting, he could just dump the wigs and NOT anything from his collection.
without the wig factor, today we'd most likely be arguing over PR choosing uli over laura.
shar
***********************
The outsourcing issue: Bravo had no choice but to air it because it was leaked to New York Magazine. Coincidentally, the reporter who wrote the leak also wrote a profile of Laura Bennett in that same issue.
I really don't think Laura leaked the issue, seeing as how Jeffrey was cleared. If he hadn't been cleared, I could possibly see her leaking it...but since she (and Michael and Uli) didn't "benefit" from the issue, why leak it? She had no reason to. My money is still on Bravo "accidentally" spilling the beans about it.
...let me sell you some shares in Vincent's new couture collection.
And, how much money are we talking here? I have some stock in Angela's Jubilee Jumbles that I'm looking to unload...err..trade. ;)
Shar said...
...i think he had NO intention of ever using the wigs - why would he? is this something he's done in the past showing his designs?
but they served a purpose - if caught with selective accounting, he could just dump the wigs and NOT anything from his collection.
without the wig factor, today we'd most likely be arguing over PR choosing uli over laura.
I second everything you said in your comment...
scott: "i am seriously worried that the only career affected by the manufactured drama will be Laura's. Wont the hoi polloi in general just hate her for what she did/said?"
It's all about the clothes, Scott. I don't think the hurt feelings of an aging L.A. faux-punk rank very highly on the list of concerns of Laura's clientele. Any more than the hurt feelings of an elderly midwestern mom rank with Jeffrey's clientele.
Just in case anyone was wondering what happened to the Peanut's wigs, apparently, he let Gwen Stefani have them.
http://www.grooveeffect.com/style-blog/091706-new-york-fashion-week---lamb-fashion-show-spri.php
I agree that if Jeffrey had used the wigs, we'd all be arguing over Laura v. Uli.
I'm not one of those that thinks that Bravo has suddenly begun playing reality show tricks. They have always done it, please review Season 1. However, this season has left a bad taste in my mouth. I'm not even watching reruns, and I won't be buying the dvds.
I think it's the casting, and after Jeffrey's win, I fear for the future of the show. Their fears of it turning into "project freakshow" have been realized. Jeffrey has admitted that he was playing the production all along with his obnoxiousness, and it worked. Now, every asshat with a sewing machine will be lining up to be in season 4. Oh please, Magical Elves, don't cast any more Vincents or Keiths or Jeffreys. Please.....creative weirdness is fine, obnoxious/funny is fine, but meanness and psychosis is just no fun to watch.
I don't know why I'm bothering with this, because I just saw a preview for Top Chef and it's all about "who's the villian?" I won't be watching what happens.
"It's all about the clothes, Scott. I don't think the hurt feelings of an aging L.A. faux-punk rank very highly on the list of concerns of Laura's clientele. Any more than the hurt feelings of an elderly midwestern mom rank with Jeffrey's clientele."
I agree, sort of. Jeffrey is selling clothes; thus the "hurt feelings of an elderly midwestern mom" will not rank with Jeffrey's clientele. However, I really really don't think Laura is selling clothes. She's selling her personality, through clothes and patterns and a (possible) WWLD? advice thing. So if her personality is made out as not so great, the things she's marketing will become less desireable. I still love her -- I just hope this last controversy has not tainted her too much in other viewers' eyes.
Thanks T&L for letting us post here. This is the happening place.
Who wants to watch Top Chef after all the manufactured drama from PR3.
But never fear, we have a new show Project Design. IMHO, the next great show would be a blend of Dirty Job(hey, someone's got to do it), Simple life (eye candies, I would never admit to watching it)and Road Tasted (talented successful business people creating beautiful, soulful things).
Julia, Amen.
If I were a constestant in PR4, and my objective is to show at OLFW, I would make everything that Heidi would want to wear, have a distinctive POV, and looked expensive. That is exactly what Uli and Laura did. Uli made what she or Heidi wore, Laura picked the outfits from her VL luggage, Micheal got lost in the Street somewhere in Atlanta.
Only Jeffrey is provocative, had a range in colors, silhouettes and for the everyday woman (under 25).
Jeffrey won. Heidi, the producer, host and judge, Fern the creator of OFW, Nina for the spread in Elle and MK picked him.
We will have to wait for PR4 to cheer for another Glam. Bad Mommy type. Hopefully there is still another colorful Mr. Laura Bennett. He hates being called that. Love it.
"Jeffrey's collection was more than a step above the others. He offered multiple silhouettes, showed than punk clothing can be pretty (that's pretty amazing right there) and took huge risks. And he was rewarded. He also could have failed spectacularly. That's the risk. Laura consciously decided to not take a risk -- and that was her mistake."
Agree completely about Jeffrey but as for Laura she made no mistake...she made a very wise decision NOT to deviate from what she does best.
Better to forfeit the win and wow with your signature than to be remembered for foolish recklessness at this point in the game.
And wow them she did...with every single fabulous piece in her collection!
As they say in ping pong, it's all in the risk, honey, all in the wrist.
The risk taker won.
REsponding to one of the anonymice -- I'd happily trade shares in Vincent's couture collection for some of Angela's Jubilee Jumbles. I think she will fail less than he.
However, as to the New York magazine leak. That came out during the week leading up to Fashion week -- during the time when they were investigating. That's why it seems so likely that she leaked it. Agreed, if it were after OFW, Laura would not leak it because it reflects badly on her. But it was prior to OFW.
I would also like to raise the question --- did Laura really do all that bead work herself? It seems too intricate and time consuming, how did she have time to do all that? And when the judges asked her about it, she became slightly defensive, which to me suggests that she might have had outside help. I mean her mother is a sewing teacher, and it's not too outrageous to imagine that her mother might have helped her with some of that. In fact, the more I think about it, the more it makes sense to me that she was just projecting her own guilt.
I forgot that her mother was a sewing teacher. I had assumed that her husband helped with the beading.
Dora
Diane, Laura did some pretty intricate beadwork during the challenges, so I don't think she would have needed any help on the collection.
I don't think most of Laura's potential clients are going to worry too much about her casting aspersions on Jeffrey, even if her suspicions were ultimately unprovable. Their clients are practically from different universes.
kija and others,
If there was a leak, Laura (or Jeffrey) could not be the source. That's explicit in the contract.
My bet's on Blah-vo, apparently taking cues from the Shrub administration.
ugh...
He cheated. End of story. Less drama, Bravo, and more sewing, please.
i dunno...i object to the reference that "elderly midwestern women" would wear a Laura dress,as if this is a put down. in what universe? how elderly are we talking here? how midwestern? when i think of elderly i think 70s, 80s, 90s years old.
Laura's lines are classic - i couldn't find one problem with any of her dresses though if i stretch it a bit the chartreuse big belt turned me off slightly.
i can't imagine a typical "elderly" woman size 16 -18 (menopause honey...you gain weight whether you want to or not and losing it is a supreme freakin' BITCH) fitting comfortably into Laura's clothing.
i can however see the late 20s, 30s, 40s and even the early 50s crowd wearing her designs. that short shimmering number was out of this world - if was 27 and heading out to the opera or whereever i'd die for that dress.
i think Laura will appeal to her hometown homeys - new york city career women with hefty incomes or with a husband with a hefty income. she knows her base - and yes, some may even be elderly, but midwestern? not unless it's Oprah and Gayle in chicago. Laura is if anything high glam.
i think all of the final four have their base and hopefully, each one will be able to sew to it for a long time to come.
shar
---------------------
Agree completely about Jeffrey but as for Laura she made no mistake...she made a very wise decision NOT to deviate from what she does best.
Better to forfeit the win and wow with your signature than to be remembered for foolish recklessness at this point in the game.
Exactly. A lose is not always a lose. That crap about "second place is first place loser" is cock and bull in these competitions. The real prize of the show is not the internship, not the $100,000, not the car, it's showing at OFW. Therefore, staying true to what you do best is actually the best thing you can do. All the important people in fashion will be there and if you wow the right person, you might end up with something better than the winner of PR.
Look at American Idol. Seasons 2 and 3 we've heard next to nothing from the winners, yet several of the top ten have ended up with careers because one of the record labels picked them up anyway. Winning means nothing.
So Jeffrey got the bonuses, big deal. Is it really that important? Everyone can still buy an Uli, a Michael, a Laura. They are all winners.
Here is the one thing that no one really discusses. Those BUBBLE SHORTS. I wish he had shown them. They may have lost it for him.
I weigh 96 pounds, my doctor and husband say I have no ass and I am a size 0-2.
There is no way in hell I would EVER wear anything described as BUBBLE SHORTS. I think they would make even my butt look big and that, as we know per Heidi, is unforgivable. Shudder
Those BUBBLE SHORTS.
That's actually really fashionable right now apparently. I noticed one or two people made skirts/dresses this season as well as last season. I don't see the appeal, it's hideous. It looks like you're wearing a balloon. I found some skirts on clearance (at walmart lol!) that were "bubbled" and all I could think was how much I wanted to buy it just to burn it.
Honestly, if they had shown, it probably would helped to secure his win. Who knows.
"And...speaking of manufactured drama, am I the only one in the viewing audience that feels that Jeffrey was intentionally sabotaged by Angela and her mom and further made out the villain by selective editing?"
I disagree here. At the beginning of that challenge the designers discussed with their models/clients what they (the moms) liked and wanted. Jeffrey clearly either didn't listen or just plain did not care. He made the ugliest, most unflattering, poorly constructed hideous black sack with some weird and sloppy blocks of color up at the neckline. For that, he should have gone home, if indeed the judges were telling the truth when they said they judged each challenge on its own and not cumulatively (although cumulatively, I hated nearly all of his clothes). Putting aside all of the mama drama, it was the worst design of that challenge. Even Robert, the loser of that challenge, did a better job. His dress might have been simple and boring, but at least it wasn't sloppy and poorly made, and he did listen to his client who did say red was her favorite color. Jeffrey can't honestly expect anybody to believe that the fabric store didn't have green fabric.
I think as far as the Everyday Woman challange is concerned, had he not been chosen last to pick from models, he would NOT have chosen Angela's mother. He got stuck with her. From Angela's looks, she was either very unhappy that Jeffrey got her or that everyone else was avoiding her mother like the plague, too. I have a very good feeling that NO ONE on the show liked Angela.
I seriously do not think there would have been an issue if he hadn't gotten stuck with the "left over". Getting the "left over" isn't always bad, but considering that it was obvious episodes before this that Angela got under his skin, this "left over" was a disaster. Trust me, been there, done that, and it's never fun to deal with one person you can't stand and then to have a second of the same kind forced on you. He still could have been a whole lot more tactful, but I sympathized with him. *shrugs*
Julia--
It doesn't matter that she was the left over mom, she was still the client. Being a designer, especially starting out, you're in a service position and sometimes you have to suck it up and kiss ass. You can't afford to alienate your clients. One huge way to do that very thing is to just flat out not listen to what they want.
Maybe she was the biggest evil bitch in the world, but he still made an unflattering, ugly, poorly constructed garment. Nothing innovative or fresh at all about putting a plus size woman in a shapeless black sack.
I guess it doesn't matter now because the judges clearly had their favorite.
Stormi
Jeffrey should have been eliminated in the Wall to Wall Fashion Challenge. Then he should have been elimnated in the Everyday Woman challenge. Then in the the Black and White Challenge, then in What the Elle? Jeffrey didn't deserve to get to OFW.
Stormi, I work with the public. I've worked retail my entire work life and I also design clothing and various other things. Trust me, I know how important it is to kiss ass.
But that's why I'm also saying that it's very hard to work with some people. Some clients just do not listen to any fucking thing you say. Just this Saturday a woman came in needing to lengthen a dress and was trying to hide the fact it was lengthened. We didn't have the materials to lengthen this dress. It was made from black stretch satin. She wanted to put two trims around the bottom, neither of which were stretch. No matter how many times I tried to explain to her that it's not going to work, she just wouldn't listen. There's a reason it was made from stretch satin, if you eliminate the stretch at the bottom, it's going to look bad and be hard to move in. It will become unwearable. The worse thing about it though is that (and I'm not saying that this customer would do this) there are lots of customers you explain these things to and when the thing you told them that would happen happens, they come back and blame YOU for their mistake. It's a loose/loose situation for the professional.
Yes, the person getting paid should listen to who's paying, I totally agree. But at the same time the person paying should actually listen to the professional. Just because you think it, doesn't mean it's plausible. There's a reason why you go to someone else to have certain things done. Do you know how many times I've dealt with people returning sewing machines because they just assume by me telling them to drop $100 on a sewing machine rather than a crappy $30 that I'm trying to get a bigger sale. No, I'm not. I'm trying to HELP YOU. And what happens everytime? That $30 sewing machine is returned because it, wait for it...just wait for it....DOESN'T WORK! Just like I said it wouldn't.
But what I was getting at as far as the left over thing is that both Jeffrey and Darlene went into that not wanting to be there. Clients have as much duty to work with the proffesional as the professionals to work with them. Everyone else on that challenge worked together, neither Jeffrey nor Darlene even tried. It was a lost cause from the get go. Had both of them put their emotions and negativity aside, I think that the results would have been much different.
IMO, I think Laura, who has been sewing for over 30 years would be a better judge than Tim on determining whether the same person sewed every piece in a collection. Like handwriting, everyone does not sew the same and the best way to tell is by looking at the insides of the garments. Jeffrey's were not all finished using the same techniques. Wouldn't you think that all of the insides would look similar if the same person was doing all the work? This was Laura's whole point of questioning his work, not necessarily how fast he did it.
Also, there was no way that BRAVO was going to truly investigate this. They were only interested in temporary drama and they picked the conclusion that they wanted to the detriment of Laura's reputation IMO.
The spin machine has been in full force. Heidi telling Jay Leno that Laura was jealous. All the Laura hate. Turning Laura's accusation into missing reciepts. All to gloss over what could really be a bombshell and ruin the integrity of the show.
I believe that Laura was right about her suspicions and it is just a matter of time before someone starts talking.
At the end of the day, it is nearly impossible to prove that somebody didn't do something. If Jeffrey had given his garments to someone who already works for him, it wouldn't be reflected in his receipts, and it would be darned near impossible to prove unless you have the garments analyzed by a professional who could tell whether or not they were all constructed by the same person.
Those of us in the creative field that have the experience to read a prospective client will instantly recognize the type that will make every attempt to suck the life out of you. If you have the luxury to walk away, you run!
That is exactly what confronted Jeffrey. His challenge was two-fold...designing for her unfamiliar body type and surviving the negative assault to his artistic spirit by a difficult personality.
No creative person would ever be vengeful by purposely setting out to make something ugly. He simply did the best he could in a extremely tense and hostile environment.
If anyone should be raising an eyebrow of suspision (cheating) it would be the other designers pertaining to Laura's collection. All that beading and what-have-you looked a lot more labor intense that Jeffrey's clothes did. Plus, Laura's mom is a sewing expert, and one can speculate that she spent time w/ Laura during the prep months leading up to OFW.
It was petty to pull out the "you cheated" card cause nothing can be proved, and Laura didn't really take into account that w/out 2 day time constaints, Jeffrey really can turn out banging outfits -much like the ones he previously turned out for high profile rock stars, in a very competitive LA market -I might add.
Post a Comment