If, like me, you missed it, it's here:
www.bravotv.com/full-episodes

I have mixed feelings. I liked the challenges, but the outfits were meh. I think the contestants were chosen for good TV and not necessarily good fashion. Let's see how it goes.

I want to like this show.

The only outfit I liked was the "Rubik's" whateverthefuck dress.

I loved the show, honestly, and the only thing I don;t care for is the fact that they are all, more or less, kind of bad at sewing. You don't need to be a good seamstress to be a good designer, but seriously...sticking a Y dart in the (off) center of a blousy silk top? and then not even sewing it well? that's disappointing.

And, while I like the idea of a mini-challenge, it pushes it a bit too far into the "dime-a-dozen Bravo reality show" stamp. It can stand to be a little better.

I just left a comment on the previous "hate it" thread. I wasn't immediately enamored with TFS as I was with PR. I think it's because it seemed as if there was too much time given over to Isaac pontificating with Kelly about the designs he previewed and not enough time going into detail on the construction and sewing room drama.

There's also no "stick to the budget" aspect to this. And apart from the tube skirt disaster, little consideration of how the designers worked to fit the models.

I think the show got off to a bad start with the team challenge. I lost track of who designed the "must have" piece and what other items the other designers made.

Still, the quick challenge was a real highlight. The only kiljoy on that was judge who decided that snark makes better television than constructive criticism.

If you think Isaac's "gay hands" are bad, just be thankful he's not Italian!

I liked it.

Yes, LeMiz was too harsh. Kelly Rowland reminded me of RuPaul; and the first time she said 'designers' as she walked into the workroom, I was a bit startled that it wasn't Heidi.

But I liked it.

Didn't like Miss Merlin though. I was all ready too root for him as the loopily eccentric outsider made good, but he played his Asshole Card right out of the gate. Too bad.

--GothamTomato

I miss the design process/workroom scenes. I thought the show was cut up too much with the "quickfire challenge" or whatever it's called. I barely got to see much of anything before it was presented.

And, yeah, a little too scripted. the Harper's Bazaar chick just sounded like soundbytes from "Greatest Week Ever" (or whatever that hateful show is called) with her putdowns of dresses. Not constructive, only "humorous."

The show needs work, but I'll watch and get involved. I'll try not to mention Tim Gunn; after all, I'll see him this summer!

I liked the show - and you can't compare it to ProjRun anymore than you could about ANY of these cookie-cutter Bravo reality shows. These programs are like comfort food with a twist - a yummy experience we know we'll like with little differences to hopefully shake things up creatively...

Merlin has to go though - he's too much drama - takes away from the actualy contest. He's not a bad designer, just not worth the crap to get to his actual work.

I'll take what I can get until PR starts up again, so it did the job of entertaining me. I'm trying to stay positive and hope the show picks up as the contestant group shrinks. More Miz and Fern and even less Kelly would be improvements. She's like that extra accessory that Coco would implore us to unload before going out the door. In the meantime, may I suggest PR Canada? I've downloaded it and am enthralled with Iman. The talent level of the designers is pretty great and she is strong, opinionated, and argues openly with the other judges. Also, PR Canada shows the pre-show styling process. PR Aus and PR U.S. didn't touch on that much. Bottom line, I'll keep watching The Fashion Show and hope it does well.

Hear hear! I am tired of everyone acting like PR began and ended with Tim Gunn. I for one, find him to be one of my least favorite parts of it at this point, especially given the rabid fanatacism he seems to inspire in some people. If you like him so much, go watch past seasons of PR and quit complaining.

I liked the runway show and live audience more than I expected. I am glad they are "industry insiders" instead of just random people on the street, but I highly doubt they are quite the glitterati and 'cognoscenti' they were made out to be, so less pushing on that angle would be nice.

I liked John Paul's dress but I didn't think it was spectacular or anything. I probably would've given the win to Merlin over him.

I would say Kristin probably should have gone home ('cause that was sooooo ugly), but it WAS more creative than the other guy's. She's cute, but I'm a little over her already though. We get it, you run your own business at 23 and "don't need the money" from the show. Sounds like another Megan from Stylista.

I'm also tired of menswear designers who want to do women's wear but apparently have idea how to. Why do they even allow them on the show? Still, I felt bad for him, it always sucks to be the first one gone.

it works, and to me it feels like the first few episodes of PR always do...too many designers to pick out who's good and who got lucky, and not enough time to focus on the workroom. I like the mini challenge aspect, although I think the judge was kind of a bitch....telling someone their outfit will help a stripper get tips is mean, not constructive. Hopefully the judging pick ups, but so far so good

I also had to remind myself that the first installment of each season of PR is usually a big, confusing mess, with unease and nerves and massive differences in talent levels. I'm hoping the show will settle down in a few more episodes and we get to know the designers and the judges get over not being Miahael and Nina and Heidi.

I agree about the "off set" whisperfests; they show would improve without them.

I want to like this show. In fact I kind of already like the show, but I hate Kelly Rowland! She's horrible and irrelevant. She's the shows' version of Katie Lee Joel (from the first season of Top Chef).

If the shows comes back for a second season, they have to replace her and find a fashion Padma Lakshmi!

PS I thought the woman ho judged the black t-shirt dresses was by FAR the bitchiest critic on the show. What was that about?? After her, Isaac's criticisms really didn't seem that bad. The awkward way she made a forced little joke about each one seems like they basically told her what to do, which is kinda annoying...especially since the one with the "built-in airbag" still ended up in the Top 3. "Omg, that's so shitty! IT'S ONE OF MY FAVES!!!" Whatever.

I want to like this show. In fact I kind of already like the show, but I hate Kelly Rowland! She's horrible and irrelevant. She's the shows' version of Katie Lee Joel (from the first season of Top Chef).

If the shows comes back for a second season, they have to replace her and find a fashion Padma Lakshmi!

As usual, you boys put your finger on it. It's the staginess of it. I would rather skip the stupid hallway conversation, and just show more of the creation of the garments. Totally agreed about the runway set, and I like the idea of having other fashion pros judge the contestants' work.

Man TLo, You guys are late! Do you know how I was waiting for you?

Personally, as a person into fashion I never really NEEDED the whole "reality show" side of Project Runway (although it was fun)

Anyway Here is what I like:

-Real fashion designers as judges
-Isaac Mizrahi (a REAL designer)
-The designer show in front of
REAL insiders
-REAL models who know their place
-Each episode will be present REAL industry situations,
-Fern Mallis

What I hate:

-The fact that there is no time to really show the process
-Kelly Rowland (WTF?)

I love the line, 'We're not buying it, darling'.

It's the 'darling' that makes it. Like when Joan Rivers, on the Celeb Apprentice, said to that horrible poker player, 'You're trash, darling.'

Too funny.

--GothamTomato

I was pleasantly surprised. There were actually features of this show that I liked quite a bit. I really love that the judges don't know who designed which piece when they are judging the outfits. I also like the runway MUCH better than the one on PR, I liked that the designers were backstage and could be reacting to the outfits as they went down the runway. It was fun to hear their comments. I do wish they hadn't started with a team challenge. It would have been nice to get a better sense of each designer if they had been allowed to do their own thing. I am holding out hope for this show. Is it PR? No. But I didn't want it to be.

Guys, just because they didn't say "You each have $100 for this look" doesn't mean there wasn't a budget. Are they gonna turn 15 designers lose in a Manhattan fabric store and let them each purchase whatever they want? Do you know how outrageously expensive that could be? Not to mention a budget puts them all on an even playing level. Do they really need to reveal every tiny detail of the show's infrastructure for us to know it's there? Think a little.

Well, here's my $0.02: It's NOT 'Stylista' bad - that's for sure!

Things I liked: the runway, the great LIGHTING for the runway, and Fern Mallis.

Things that concern me: the judging!

The tone was WAY to harsh from Isaac. Nina Garcia seems to be known as 'the mean one' on PR but she is always giving constructive criticism. I didn't see a lot of that last night. Also, I've never liked the idea of having judges look at half-finished stuff (be it food or clothes) and then judge on the final product. I don't like it on Top Chef, and I don't like it here.

All said, I'd give the show a 'B' with hopes for improvement.

Love your comments on 'gay, gay hands', BTW.

Thanks for the commentary, TLo.

I didn't get all of the histrionics here, either. Half of these guys put a hanky to their foreheads and collapsed at their keyboards after lambasting the show.

I wasn't expecting Project Runway, and aside from all of the staged shit, didn't see what was so horrible about it. I say give it time to grow before jumping off of the giant H.

You mean to tell me that PR Season 1, Epi 1 was Shakespeare? Puhleeze...

I like the show A LOT for the very same points you guys brought up. It isn't fare to compare it to PR and at the same time expect it to be the same.

Granted, I got distracted a couple times during the show last night but, like TLo, I thought it was very entertaining. It's methadone for PR addicts, and I'll take it. God knows there's nothing else good on TV these days.

But now I need to muster up some self-awareness: I'm an unrepentant hand-talker myself so I didn't even notice Miss Mizrahi's hands flapping in the wind. I'm going to spend the rest of the day, noticing just how much hand-based punctuation I insert into my conversations. This could get embarrassing.

" Anonymous said...
You mean to tell me that PR Season 1, Epi 1 was Shakespeare? Puhleeze..."


Exactly. Remember Heidi Season 1?

It was something to watch. I liked it but the clothes were ah...awkward and strange.

I will watch it again. I liked the pace. I get tired of the predictability of PR..

my sentiments exactly, guys.

LOVED IT. I thought the camera was going too fast every now and then, but I do like all the construction, creative process commentary.
You can definitely count moi in.

Damn! I didn't get to see the show,but I consoled myself with my new dishwashing liquid that softens your hands while you do the dishes.
Anyway the screen caps look great and I can't wait for the low down on individual garments.

Trillion:

Could you post a link to where to download PR Canada? I've looked and even on YouTube couldn't find the complete episodes. Thanks!!!

Also, I agree with other poster comments about PR S1. It took them a little while to really get their footing. Heidi was stiff as a board that season.

The thing that was more worrisome was that they all seemed to be in WAY over their heads, collectively, for the elimination challenge. I hope it was just jitters and there's actually some talent to watch.

Well, I thought it was a little boring. And there were so many ways they seemed too deliberately NOT PR -- Ooh! Judges leave to deliberate while designers stay put, instead of designers leaving and judges staying! Shit like that.

I liked the challenge itself. But, as awful as Johnny D's look was, I thought Cute Team Leader deserved to go for losing control of both his team and his concept, allowing that god-awful stretch skirt to put the ix-nay on his pencil skirt.

The power struggle between Merlin and Danielle was annoying, but much as it pains me, I have to give Merlin credit for two things: showing some ability to compromise (the navy blue) but sticking to his guns re his vision for the bolero.

"Strawberry Shortcake"

"Dr. Johnny Fever"


ROFL.


Quite frankly, that's all I care about, bitches. Your fabulous commentary.

"Methadone for PR addicts". Love it!

I watched it last evening with the boyfriend and I'll admit that we both got a kick out of it. My boyfriend (who has watched all the PR episodes and the PR Canada episodes under the threat of a sex embargo) says it's just a more flaming version of Project Runway, which I agree to. That said, my boyfriend couldn't stop laughing over Merlin and kept saying, "What the fuck is post-colonial fashion"?

The show isn't PR, but I never expected it to be. To be honest, I was really impressed by some of what came out of the minichallenge and I was impressed by the winning dress because it was a step above any of the PR entries in the past seasons in terms of technical innovation. I mean, the guy constructed it out of squares and rectangles--and no one even made him do it by throwing car parts at him--which is a feat that should be appreciated when looking at the flawless execution.

My favorite contestant is definitely James Paul (and he worked for Vivienne Westwood which is always a plus) followed by Merlin. He might be bitchy but it seems like he can sew well and that's all that matters to me.

I could swear that Robert long ago talked about working for La Miz and there was much knowing-eye-brow-raising and mewling about the experience (and a wee bit of gritted teeth, too).

In fact, his description of La Miz and the preview page of your of the designers makes me want to watch this thing purely out of curiousity.

Being in Canada, one only hopes that this thing hits a torrent soon.

Especially after the anti-climax that was PRC-02.

Sewing Siren said, "I didn't get to see the show,but I consoled myself with my new dishwashing liquid that softens your hands while you do the dishes."


HAHAHA!!! Sweetie, you can soak your hands and watch the epi on your computer. Look at the very first comment on this page.

I loved it. A bit overproduced at times, but I agree, you gotta love the runway set.

Why oh why would anyone even consider going on a show like this if they don't know how to sew?!?

I'm really liking the show. It will probably take several episodes for the judges to find their way and become more natural in their roles, but for now I'm really enjoying.

Not too long ago, I re-watched season one of PR and had to laugh at Heidi and the stiff handshake she gave the contestants when they got the boot. I think it was maybe halfway through the season that she started with the kisses and the Auf Wiedersehen.

To Ow Chica Ow Ow,
I downloaded it from Usenet.com. There's no link to the show per se. It's a process, and a bit of a complicated on at that, depending on how computer savvy you are. You may be able to find it on bittorent.com as well. Good luck!

"Anonymous said...
Not too long ago, I re-watched season one of PR and had to laugh at Heidi and the stiff handshake she gave the contestants when they got the boot. I think it was maybe halfway through the season that she started with the kisses and the Auf Wiedersehen."


Exactly, besides, the first episode is always too rushed because they have so many designers and you don't even remember their names.

"Brooklyn Bomber said...

If, like me, you missed it, it's here:
www.bravotv.com/full-episodes"


But if you're in another country you might not be able to watch it.

I loved it and Merlin is freaking hilarious.

My complaint is that everything judging-wise seemed to slick and overproduced and cold.

What I like about PR is that with the more lo-fi approach and the focus on constructive criticism over bitchery, it had much more potential for the creative and the out-there, both good and bad. After all the histrionics over the outfits last night, can you imagine what these ppl would do if anything Lupe-esque came down the runway?? :)

I have hope for the designers though, as there seems to be a good camaraderie between some of them, so I think this show has potential if the judges stop focusing on impressing each other with their meanness, and instead start figuring out how to add some constructiveness to their criticisms.

I was entertained. I'm willing to stick around to see what becomes of TFS.

So sad they'll only be selling the outfits up to a size 10. Big girls like fun clothes, too!

I found this show entertaining. Keep in mind it's just the first show. Project Runway started out rough also.

Thanks Trillion!

I found it entertaining! gotta give it a chance-this was only the first show.

I thought that it was very similar to episode 1 of any reality fashion show -- too many designers, not enough focus on watching the creative process, the judges still finding their niche (along with the editors figuring out how to do the best cut of everything.)

I think the show has potential, and will keep watching it. I'm curious what the mini challenges are going to be like. I liked the first one but I'm holding out on final judgment. I *loved* the new runway, and how it felt so much more like a real fashion show. I'm so happy they took out the "model competition".

What worried me the most were the outfits that were produced. There weren't many that I found attractive, or even well sewn. Is the sewing level of these designers high enough? Or were they mainly chosen for the drama? I don't know, but I'm willing to "watch what happens."

If by "overproduced" you mean "ineptly produced" than I'm with you. Apparently, all the money went into the catwalk set and luring "trendsetters" to sit and watch the fashion show. Everything else looked cheap beyond the belief, including most of the designers, who look like PR rejects.

I know that my issues with the show aren't that it's too much or not enough like PR. I just felt that it was all far too cold; everyone is much more interested in being a reality TV character than in trying to win the competition (or host the competition, or judge it.) It's important to be able to relate to someone on these shows, and so far, because of the slick, overproduced, stagy nature, I just can't.

Daughter and I like the 'quick fire' mini-challenges. We're looking forward to see what they come up with for future ones.

I haven't had a chance to catch this yet on YouTube, but I gotta say

OMG

Merlin in short shorts?

Fire me up!

friends, why is everyone shocked that it's being compared to Project Runway? c'mon ladies...it's meant to replace PR. and we are on a website that, until 4 days ago, was named for PR. and you thought we wouldn't compare the two because, why???

i am not a fan of the fashion show as of now, but i'll continue watching because, well, i have a lack of better things to do on thursdays and i need some more fashion on my life. but you've got to expect a lukewarm reaction. i'm pretty sure we all got the memo that this is not PR:the College Years. still, separating the two completely is something the show will have to work hard to accomplish.

my suggestion? less personality, more dressery!

"WhitLin said...

friends, why is everyone shocked that it's being compared to Project Runway? c'mon ladies...it's meant to replace PR. and we are on a website that, until 4 days ago, was named for PR. and you thought we wouldn't compare the two because, why???"

Who is this addressed to? Because it doesn't seem to have anything to do with any prior comments.

TLo said..."Ladies, we're reading over your comments on last night's post and we're reading the various columnists and bloggers around the world wide web of wonders, and frankly, we don't get what all the fuss is about. OF COURSE it's not Project Runway, while at the same time being incredibly derivative of it!"

I'm just noticing the same things TLo has, anonymous.

Kelly does need to go. Who did she know to get that gig? I want her agent & publicist.

"No, Kelly, it isn't supposed to look like that" was the line of the night. My feeling is that the designers may resent Kelly because she isn't from the "fashion world". Ms. Klum at least wore the stuff. PR has representation from all sides: Heidi, the model; Michael, the designer; Nina, the press/industry public relations. Kelly is a former member of Destiny's Child...huh? I found her comments very mean spririted & downright hateful. Miz didn't bother me; if you have seen his show, you know what to expect. He prefaced his comments with a reality check...he said he wanted them to know exactly how hard the industry is and he wasn't going to sugar coat anything. And he didn't.

I like the runway show and the fact that 'fashion insiders' get to weigh in. Maybe their decisions won't be as confusing as PRs were at times. They won't get to know the desingers personally and it just might be about the clothes.

The show needs to be tweeked, but I'll stick around a few episodes.

But Merlin needs to go...just sayin.

SisterZip

Brooklyn Bomber said...

HAHAHA!!! Sweetie, you can soak your hands and watch the epi on your computer. Look at the very first comment on this page.~~~~~~~~~
Dial-up :(.

I can't speak for T Lo, but I think their point was that complaining that it's too much like PR is a no-brainer, not that no one should compare them.

Well I didn't hate the show but I didn't love it either. There are good things and bads things

The good:
1)Fern Mallis but she's always been a good judge.
2)Input from an audience of industry people since that will help the designers in their future career.
3)The runway stage was very nice
4)The idea of the weekly and overall prize being pieces for sale
5) The idea of a judge representing the consumer. Since the outifts are suppose to have commercial appeal, this is a logical move. So Idont mind Kelly
6)The winning dress was from the winning team

The bad:
1)Overall I think the show is trying too hard in a lot of little ways like $125000 for the cash prize instead of 100,000.
2)The editing is horrible at times. It was not clear right away that Johnny won the quick challenge.
3)Using a team challenge so soon to create instant drama. I'd rather focus on the work and getting to know a few designers.
4)What was the point of having Isaac and Kelly overvieweing the work if no mentoring was going to happen. It just wastes valuable airtime and prejudices them.
5)A lot of extra commercials were added to help fill this supersize episode
6)Making Fern stand during the judges' huddle. The woman is in charge of fashion week. You can spring for a chair for her and the others!
7) Choosing the losing dress from the losing team. There was plenty of bad all around

The show has potential. They just need to relax and edit the show better

As far as Merlin:
The man has a vision and talent
and he's ideal for reality TV and is entertaining but his leadership skills were appalling

While Daniela struck me as a little too stubborn and immature at least she cared about the challenge from the get go. I blame the situation more on him than her. After reading his BRavo blog, Merlin admitted he really didn't care about the challenge until halfway through. He implied that as a team lead he had immunity so didn't really show much interest until later.

That kind of attitude was a crappy thing to do to your team and it also explains why he suddenly decided to recut his jacket thus forcing everyone else to comply. Also reading those blogs Daniela was not the only one he rubbed the wrong way as a team lead. There were fights with other members.

I will give him points though for acknowledging the judges berating him for his behavior was a good thing

Frank

Anonymous said...

I like the runway show and the fact that 'fashion insiders' get to weigh in. Maybe their decisions won't be as confusing as PRs were at times. They won't get to know the desingers personally and it just might be about the clothes.

The show needs to be tweeked, but I'll stick around a few episodes.

But Merlin needs to go...just sayin.

SisterZipIf you want it to acutally be about the clothes, why would you want Merlin to go? He designed probably the most interesting thing out there, and it came in 2nd. Having a strong personality doesn't preclude having talent, even if it is a trashy reality show.

Anonymous said...
Kelly does need to go. Who did she know to get that gig? I want her agent & publicist.


Matthew Knowles. But since Beyancy is the prettier one, she was courteously dumped once she was of no longer good use to the B-Machine.

It's actually kind of funny to watch, since she mocked and laughed at the other discarded Beyancy stepchildren, only to become one herself.

Like nobody saw that shit comin'...

dear, you were asking for examples of commenters who were saying we shouldn't compare them and i didn't feeling like trolling around for one, so i put a general statement in which TLo noticed that many people who were comparing the differences and similarities. it has little to do with the point they were making, i was just pointing it out as opposed to pouring over the comments again.

if i'm not being clear, forgive me.

So, I'm going to pass on the whole SHOW critique ... it is what it is, get over it.

BUT ... the clothes ... OMG! OMG! OMG!

THOSE HAREM PANTS!!!

How in the HELL was that the fucking SAFE TEAM?

HAREM PANTS! Can you hear me screaming at the top of my lungs here?

And not only HAREM pants, but BADLY DESIGNED and BADLY SEWN harem pants. I mean those were BUTT UGLY! Bad CONCEPT and horrible execution.

So, yes the tube dress thingie team had some BADLY executed items, but as a WHOLE the ENTIRE HAREM PANTS TEAM was a FASHION DISASTER. OK, OK, I liked the coat that guy did that drew attention away from those BUTT UGLY HAREM PANTS.

HAREM PANTS AS A MUST HAVE ITEM?

I'm sorry but I just can't get my blood pressure down. At least the tube dress was a better idea, with a few designs that weren't bad, and a few executions that were horrible. But the HAREM pants were a BAD idea, with LOTS of BAD execution. They should have been on the hot seat. It was a TEAM CHALLENGE ....

AND HAREM PANTS? Ok, girls, I mean the real GIRLS out there? WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU EVEN BOUGHT HAREM PANTS? And how many of you consider HAREM PANTS as a MUST HAVE? And how many of you would build an entire wardrobe based on HAREM PANTS?

HAREM PANTS? and BUTT UGLY HAREM PANTS??

Sorry. Just ranting. I'll shut up now and take my blood pressure medication.

Just sayin-

Anonymous said...
"4)What was the point of having Isaac and Kelly overvieweing the work if no mentoring was going to happen. It just wastes valuable airtime and prejudices them."

I agree highly with this. Sorry for comparing the two again, but with Tim's role in PR, we have a mentor who is there to give constructive criticism with the benefit of not taking whatever bias he gets from the workroom into judging. kelly and isaac come in, see unfinished and ugly garments, have them in their minds all day, not to mention workroom bitchery, and go on to judge final looks. i like that on PR, when the garment comes onto the runway, it's the 1st time any of the judges have seen it, save the last season finale.

Well, I hated the show.

Having a mini-challenge at the beginning just really chopped into the time for the main challenge. What I like about PR is the time following the construction of the garments - disasters in the making, surprises about to flower. Plus the back-and-forth between the designers is priceless. All that got short-shrifted here. I'm not saying it has to be PR, but it has to have at least some of the elements of fashion construction on display -- more than just a few jumbled peeks.

Also I thought the little football-style huddles in the darkened coat room were awkward and silly. They weren't spontaneous, and seemed like a very stilted and more obviously "manufactured" way to move the action forward.

I would have liked to see some constructive criticism, too, instead of pick, pick, pick all the time.

This was an ambitious concept - try to improve on PR by adding a mini-challenge, a real runway, and a live professional audience. But it didn't come together, and the result was highly unsatisfying.

Plus, WHAT was that prize all about? $125,000? What happened to the mentorships (PR5 awarded two different kinds)? Criminy, they bagged Fern, she couldn't have wangled some sort of mentorship with her company? Or was that "too PR" or somehow a contractual casualty of the PR move to Lifetime? This prize is just a cash shot in the arm, not an insider's leg up into the industry. I think the professional value of PR's prize is what creates such competitiveness (with corollary bitchery), and such tension, tempers, and angst for contestants plus moments of pure elation for the winners.

Yes, I know some spurned the mentorships, but they are an incredibly valuable learning experience if you want to put in the work. The ultimate prize here seems to be more of a ho-hum event.

SmartAss, the last time I wore harem pants was with my 6th grade I Dream of Jeanie costume, but at least they didn't give me polterwang, which is more than i can say for those ghastly pants last night.

SmartAss, the last time I wore harem pants was with my 6th grade I Dream of Jeanie costume, but at least they didn't give me polterwang, which is more than i can say for those ghastly pants last night.

PRCanada on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=PRCanada&view=videos&start=20

I'm looking forward to still photos and commentary about the horrible, horrible outfits...

I don't love it, I don't hate it -- yet. Either or neither of those things could occur. But I will continue to watch it.

I honestly don't think that these shows should be judged on the first episode or two. There's too much going on. They have to: establish the show's "atmosphere", introduce the hosts/judges/mentors, make sure we know what the prizes (and who the sponsors) are, and introduce way too many designers (chefs, hairdressers, whatever). And then they have to do the challenges, with way too many designers (or whatever). By about the third episode, things will have settled enough to make a more reasoned judgment.

I must say that the one thing I really didn't like about the show was the way Mizrahi and Rowland wandered through the workroom. Because they weren't acting as mentors (which they shouldn't, as they're judges), there wasn't really much for them to do, and it seemed off. But, again, that could change in later episodes.

I liked the set and the audience, though I'd have liked to hear a bit more from the cognoscenti. (Here I will interject my one and only comparison of Isaac to Tim: Tim doesn't feel the need to provide a definition when he uses words like "semiotics". He respects his listeners enough to assume that they know what he means.)

Anon said...

SisterZipIf you want it to acutally be about the clothes, why would you want Merlin to go? He designed probably the most interesting thing out there, and it came in 2nd. Having a strong personality doesn't preclude having talent, even if it is a trashy reality show.


I just don't like the bitchiness. I get very annoyed at the editing of PR, TC and others because you don't get the whole picture. He does have the talent & will probably be in the finals, but he seems more interested in being a "personality" than taking advantage of this opportunity.

I had to laugh at someone's comment that his outfit looked like a Snow White design. My first thought was the horrific Rob Lowe/Snow White disaster at the Oscars.

But it wouldn't be fun tv if they didn't have a few outrageous people, would it?

SisterZip

I don't get anyone's complaints. It's like project runway, so what? I thought they actually improved upon the format a LOT. I adored the mini challenge. Great job Bravo!!

"We've never seen anything so tight in our lives - and we used to go to circuit parties." - ROFLMAF!! That one had me spitting coffee out my nose!

As for the show, eh, it was OK. I thought the production quality was a bit low as far as the work room and the place where they are staying was concerned. I guess they spent all their money on the super duper runway. I was actually surprised at how direct Kelly could be, and at how bitchy mean Mizrahi IS.

Oh, and for tight circuit clothes...http://foxyurl.com/22F (I'm the one on the far left). Weren't the early 90s wonderful?

I just wanted someone, anyone, to call the grey harem pant collection "sad." Heidi would have. I'll keep watching. Many of the cast members struck me as stock characters from previous seasons of PR. You know, the "Jay," "Christian," etc. BTW, did Merlin remind anyone else of a meaner Wisit, from the Bravo design show?

SmartAss,
I think if it hadn't been for the poor knock-kneed model in the horribly fitted top, the harem pants team wouldn't have survived the challenge. But I think that walk (worst I've ever seen) knocked everything else out of the judges' minds so they could eliminate that designer. Even Strawberry Shortcake was just up there so there could be a suspenseful "choice"

I really don't see how the judges would be 'prejudiced' by seeing the garments partially finished. You truly think that if they saw a steaming pile of crap halfway done, then saw a remarkably chic and well-finished product on the runway they would rip into it because they remembered it looked crappy at one point while it was being made? Uh, hardly. Isaac is a designer, he knows a half-finished dress is a half-finished dress and isn't going to look good.

I loved the show. It's not Project Runway, but who cares. It's fashion and drama with bitchy queens that makes the show fun. Granted, Merlin may inspire me to throw a brick at the television, but this was fun. Different take on fashion and entertaining!

My problem wasn't that it was too much PR or too little PR, it was that I found a lot of the contestant to be lacking. There is not ONE contestant I am rooting for...I find them all to be incredibly annoying.

ESPECIALLY Miss I-Can't-Really-Sew.

WHY WOULD YOU COME ON THIS SHOW IF YOU DONT KNOW HOW TO SEW???? Ugh. And Merlin the Magic Magician is seriously irritating. If these people were on PR I'd have a hard time watching it.

Also, it took me a good 15-20 min to figure out EXACTLY what it was the designers were doing for the elimination challenge. It wasn't until 5 identical items went up on the mannequins that I finally got it.

Bailey said...
"I really don't see how the judges would be 'prejudiced' by seeing the garments partially finished."

great! i see differently. as i like the impact of having the garments come onto the runway, previously sight unseen by the judges. say what you will, but i know even as i watch the show, when i see something that looks particularly hideous in the process of being made, i am set against it whether i want to be or not. the same is true in the opposite way as well, if something looks good to start but isn't executed well in the end, i'll root for it anyway because of the potential i saw in it. to top it off, Kelly and Isaac offer no constructive criticism, so what's the point? just more bitchery. we get our fill of that elsewhere.

Look, I enjoyed it immensely. it's fun and it's everything I loved about PR. Yes it's rough but you know what? It's the very first episode. I wanna keep watching!!

It doesn't have to be Mizrahi, but I think the designers need somebody to mentor them who isn't also a judge. That's a really valuable role-- think about how many times Tim expressed reservations about something Michael Knight was doing in season 3 of PR, causing Michael to revamp the outfit into something much better. Without Tim he surely would've been cut long before he was.

I also think it should be a standing rule that anybody who designs something his/her model can't walk in gets cut automatically.

We shall see.

Right now, tho, I am convinced that Johnny R is the love child of Santino Rice and Jay McCarroll.

'you are hanging by a thread'

(retches)

RIP, Jonny....I think you were wondering about his Former Fatty status, because, honestly? He looks like Richard Hatch. No joke.

I was shocked to see Merlin's design praised. BLOOMERS? Honey, bloomers ain't nuthin but short harem pants. CUT IT OUT. His model looked like she was in full costume for a community theater production of Alice in Wonderland. It appears he can sew, as the construction looked good, but the design was appalling, in my book.

I think the Hammer/Harem pants were given a leg up over the BIG TUBE OF DOOM because the other items in that line were all superior to the crap that Team Tube produced.

I'll keep watching, but for me this show is missing the fun of PR. In part I think that's because of the heavy-handed production style. I also didn't like the elimination challenge, though- it was boring, and seemed to inspire the contestants to make boring clothes to go along with their stock pieces. I was hoping for something more out of the box to open the show with a bang.

All I know is that, watching the show, I was ENTERTAINED! And isn't that the whole point?
The only thing that really blew my mind was the "harem pants as a fashion must-have". WTH was with that? BUT, hideous as they were, at least they weren't as hideous as the "playtex panty girdle pencil skirts".
I love the show, and me, being Italian, LeMiz can talk with his hands all he wants. I have been told more than once, "Girl, will you PLEASE sit on your hands, if you are going to talk to me?".

I think James Paul would be the spawn if you mated Christian Siriano and 'Dirty' Diana (tiny and nerdy and fierce, all at the same time!) His comments sounded just like the kind of abstract babble Diana used to speak and the judges had the same blank WTF? look on their faces they used to have when she spoke (thank GOD he has a speaking voice that doesn't make my ears bleed!). Agree with everything you said, TLo. Great post!

I so much wanted to love this show

the designers were trying way too hard to stand out and play camera characters...way over the top

the clothes were horrid..my god Starr or Blayne could design circles around what i saw so far.

Too much Issac and Kelly
I dont need 5 mins of them in the hallway saying

"omg i'm like so excited"
"are you excited?"
"what do you think will happen?"
"omg i don't know but i'm excited!!!"

ugg!!!!

hopefully it will improve it has 2 or 3 more episodes before i jump ship

C'mon folks if this show was not on Bravo, with a 'built in' Project Runway audience how excited would we be about it? We see the potential (maybe) but right now this show has obvious problems.

Too bad about Johnny, but he managed to pull off a look that Keith (on PR-s.5) couldn't.

I have mixed feelings about the whole thing- the challenge wasn't great, and I can't say I'm terribly impressed with the designers but with better and better sewing skills in PR you have to remember that even the first season of PR was a little shaky..

Definitely too staged, and I am already starting to like Reco and James-Paul but I DEFINITELY hate Merlin. Yikes! It's like he has no sense of.. tact. He comes off as a little kid who just wants his way. I DID like his design but I find myself hoping that he bombs miserably so I don't have to listen to him anymore!

"Anonymous said...

C'mon folks if this show was not on Bravo, with a 'built in' Project Runway audience how excited would we be about it? We see the potential (maybe) but right now this show has obvious problems."

The fact that it's on Bravo is a big part of why I'm willing to cut it so much slack. Bravo has a history of developing competitive reality shows to varying degrees of success. This show has enough good stuff for me to wait it out to see if they can iron out the bad stuff.

Besides, I think most of the problems with the show are minor anyway. Project Runway isn't flawless. I've always had issues with certain aspects of that show, but I still loved and watched it.

You know, I really wanted to like this. I did not expect it to be PR, so I was fully prepared not to make odious comparisons. And so, I didn't. I judged it on what I saw, but unfortunately what I saw was, mostly, meanness. I was expecting trenchant wit and crisp critques from Isaac, but I was shocked by harshness and not-even-trying-to-be-kind unkind cuts. It knocked me sideways. I do not know what I expected of Kelly, but certainly not that level of blunt, cutting commentary. If it had not been for lovely Fern and sweet Elie Tahari, I don't know how I would ever have found a kind word. And don't get me started on the Harper's Bazaar chick! So, as a mere spectator I came away shell-shocked. I can only imagine what those poor, naive would-be designers imagined they would be facing. Sliced and diced at Episode One! I'll tune in again, but only to hope this was a shakedown cruise and calmer waters are ahead.

Not much new to say, but I won't let it stop me being repetitive.

Tend to agree with the TLo comments, and with the wait and see attitude expressed by many.

I liked this particular mini-challenge, but if it turns into something that takes time away from seeing the work-process of the designers, once the number's been pared down, I will dislike it.

Being a hand waver, I didn't even notice Mizrahi's & while I thought he was harsh, if it was tempered by any constructive criticism at all (which we didn't see) I wouldn't call it unfair.

Big love for Ms. Mallis' contributions, though I can't imagine what motivates her to spend her surely limited time on such a show. (Is she getting that much money??)

Liked the runway but thought the editing was waaaay too choppy when showing the work process & the clotes in general. Made it hard to see what little they had time to show.

And, I KNOW it's been said over and over, but I can't help it: Why why why would anyone come on this show if they can't sew well????????

It doesn't have to be Tim Gunn but they need a mentor.

I liked it, far more fabulous than PR.

I was really surprised how poorly made everything looked and they had a whole day to make them, plus the fact that one of the pieces was pretty much the same for all of them; just copy the pattern. Maybe having two challenges (mini + elimination) is too much.

"TheNYCourier said...
The only outfit I liked was the "Rubik's" whateverthefuck dress. "


Me too. That was GORGEOUS! I am so buying that.

I liked it a lot. I have never seen Project Runway. I like what I saw and will watch again.

I like the way The Fashion Show lets us in on the technical aspect of design and construction; that's something I've always felt that PR lacked.

I heard that Isaac Mizrahi was a complete terror to the contestants.

"I disappear people one by one."

LOVE. HIM.

I thought the Rubiks dress was the best of all of them. Very Yohji Yamamoto inspired.

I can't wait to hear your take on the cage fight between Merlin and the whiny 22 year old (can't remember her name).

The whiny 22 year old was Daniella. And yes, she was whiny, but Merlin is an asshole. Not a bitch, not cutely cutting, not charmingly saucy...an asshole. I joined Daniella in being dismayed at how much the judges loved his work. Looks like he's going to be around for a while, unfortunately.

I just watched it (Thanks, Brooklyn Bomber!), and I didn't hate it. It could use a little tweak. I think lots of these people can't sew any better than me (pretty bad), and it suffers the same problems as Top Chef - in the beginning, there are so many people, you can't see everyone's quickfire (or whatever the LBD challenge is called).

Who is providing the accesories? The boots on the winning model look very similar to the ones from the Christian Siriano for Payless collection.

Could somebody explain Little Asian Christian Siriano's "post colonial theory" to me? I'm a little dense.

Nothing much original to add but that tends to not stop me.

Liked:

-the runway
-the live audience
-the commentary from other designers during the runway show
-the mini-challenge
-actually liked the white blouse with the double-sided skirt. The rest in that collection were a disaster
-the judges not knowing whose outfit was whose
-I thought the Miz was cute (although I will not be able to get swarming songbirds out of my head now when I watch him gesticulate. Thanks guys...)
-Special mention: Watching that poor model have to waddle out in the losing outfit ooover and oooover.

Not liking:

-There didn't seem to be enough sewing room scenes. I missed the PR-ish sewing room camraderie. I dunno. Maybe it's still the first show and there are too many of them yet?
-Does that sewing room seem poorly lit to anyone else?
-I like the idea of hearing what the judges think after touring the workroom but that was very stagey. You're excited to see what they are gonna do? Snore.

All in all, good show and I'll def keep watching. I think it just has to find its stride.

Oh yeah, Harper's Bazaar chick was way too nasty. Tone her down or chuck her. This is still people's creativity we're talking about. Very personal.

Just wondering, was there an ex- Make Me a Supermodel contestant in there (check out the last model for the Merlin Magician team)? Oddly familiar...

For those who have seen the second season of Project Runway Canada, you will realize that James-Paul's outfit is not original as there was a contestant named genvieve who consistently turned out the draped bubble dresses with angular pleats. I had a gut reaction to the dress when it walked out because I knew I had seen it before. Hopfully he won't also be a one note and prove me wrong.

Bravo seems to be keeping it as close to Top Chef formula as they can, since they have a winner in that show.
Quickfire challenge, elimination challenge, the pro chef judge going through the kitchen midway through the challenge and commenting, etc.
That's what struck me while watching it. Top Chef with fabric.

The former-fattie observation was very astute!

I was never huge, but I was once pleasingly-plump. After dropping the weight, I too was guilty of wearing too-tight clothing. Guess I needed to proclaim my weight loss to the world...

WhitLin said...

Bailey said...
"I really don't see how the judges would be 'prejudiced' by seeing the garments partially finished."

great! i see differently. as i like the impact of having the garments come onto the runway, previously sight unseen by the judges. say what you will, but i know even as i watch the show, when i see something that looks particularly hideous in the process of being made, i am set against it whether i want to be or not. the same is true in the opposite way as well, if something looks good to start but isn't executed well in the end, i'll root for it anyway because of the potential i saw in it. to top it off, Kelly and Isaac offer no constructive criticism, so what's the point? just more bitchery. we get our fill of that elsewhere.GREAT! I never said you couldn't see differently lol. You said in another post you are 15. I'm guessing Isaac Mizrahi, who has had about 30 more years of fashion and life experience than you, is probably gonna 'see it' a bit differently than you and not be fooled as easily by half-made clothes. Glad you're not a judge, given that you basically admitted you are close-minded and can't be impartial lol.

I actually liked it. Yeah, there were some unnecessary meanness and staged convos, but it was fun and it made me smile.

Loved the mini challenge!

Thanks, guys! I, too, liked a lot of the same aspects of the show and plan on continuing to watch. I also hope the judges get more comfortable in their roll ans show some spontaneity, but overall it wasn't a bad effort. Sure, I miss Tim and Nina (MK and Heidi not so much), but not so much that I hate the show.

In addition to your critiques, one thing that bothered me was the editing while IM and Kelly were commenting on the clothes in the workroom. I want to see what the judges are looking at and talking about - not random close-up face shots of the contestants. I don't care what they are doing. I care about what the judges are talking about.

As always, JMHO.

I'm OK with it and willing to wait for the dust to settle. I liked the mini-challenge, except for the nasty, stupid judging wench. She was way worse than the other judges.

Also agree that having Heather (what is your damage!) and Kelly walking around the workroom is pointless at best, it really is damaging and unfair to the contestants. As for them, I have to wait until I can tell who is who.

With all the of favorites from PR gone, can I just say that I loves me some Fern Mallis. Her critiques are always sensible and straight forward, even if I disagree.

This show falls under the category of "Will watch purely because Tom and Lorenzo are covering it" for me. I think I might watch a show about grass growing if I thought the next day I'd see a catty commentary here about it. ;-)

When I first started watching PR, midway through season 1, I thought it was kind of bland and only stuck with it because it had reruns at odd hours of the night. It definitely grew on me. I thought FS was kind of bland last night, too, but I'm giving it the benefit of the doubt.

What i can't fathom (beyond the return of the Hammer pant) is why Team Skirt decided to make the skirt NUDE. Of all the colors! It looked like a body shaper.

The Harper's bazaar mini-challenge judge acted like she thought she was supposed to be a fashion forward Don Rickles - the only thing missing was the rimshot after each lame "zinger".

Team Harem Pants looked totally surprised to not be the losing team - I think Jonny, the team leader, was trying to be hiply subversive. Unfortunately, there's nothing remotely hip about saggy elastic waist pants, in satin, for god's sake.

In addition to a lot of bad sewing, lots of bad fabric choices out there. Sooo much satin! Didn't any of them watch PR and figure out that satin is a nightmare to sew with unless you have excellent skills and a lot of time?

The reason why I'm nervous that Isaac gets to see the unfinished product, is that if he does make a recommendation, and the contestant doesn't take his advice, that he would penalize them for not listening to him. I don't want to watch a show where everyone ends up looking like they work for his fashion house. I want to see their individual tastes shine.
With Tim you got his feedback and then he had nothing to do with the outcome (Sometimes to his chagrin). I think that model is fairer.

I was disappointed in the production values. For example, the designers' apartments on TFS look cheap & crowded and are visually less pleasing than the Atlas or other venues used on Project Runway. The lighting on TFS isn't as good as on PR: you get less of a sense of the depth and space of the sets.

Also, TFS seems to be using fewer cameras: I compared last night's episode with an old PR episdode from Season 3, and I was struck with how many more well-placed, close-up reaction shots PR has. On the old PR episode, you'll hear one designer talk about their work, and then you'll see a close up of Laura Bennett pulling a face: getting that image required lots of cameras in the work room, running for hours.

Another example: you see Angela (a.k.a. "Miss Fleurshon Bubbleskirt") being welcomed back by the judges after her elimination, and you get a sour-faced reaction shot from Larua (who had just told Angela that she didn't deserve to come back because Angela's group leader "win" for the I.N.C. Macy's challenge had been a group effort and not due to Angela's talent alone).

Everything on TFS seems mroe crowded and less well organized, narratively. Even the work room on TFS seems more corwded. By contrast, the PR workspace in Parsons was so large that you could visually take in half the room in one shot, and you had a sense of where as many as four of the designers were at one time. On TFS, everyone seems to be milling around; it's harder for the viewer to make sense of what's going on and where the designers are with respect to each other.

Even the "filler" material on PR, including the segue music and "establishing" exterior shots of Parsons or of New York City help create a sense of where and when this is all taking place. By contrast, on TFS, there don't seem to be similar establihsing shots (where the hell are we in LA? is it day or night outside?) and TFS doesn't use music as effectively.

Reality t.v. is all about the sets, the locale, the premise, and the editing. All TFS has is the premise: the challenges on TFS were superior, IMHO, than the challenged on PR, especially the early seasons of PR (the "envy" challenge, for example, on PR, was inexcusably vague and unworkable).

But generally, the lack of production value on TFS is making for a lesser product. In order to have enough footage of "reality" to edit it down to one good hour of a compelling narrative, you have to shoot hundreds of hours of film with lots of different cameras, and TFS just didn't seem to have done that.

Finally, while I think reality t.v. depends much less on the charisma or talents of the contestants or judges than Tom & Lorenzo do, I agree that Isaac Mizrahi is way too harch.

I am a big fan of Mizrahi, and have been for about 15 years. I loved "Unzipped," the documentary about him, and just generally, I love Mizrahi's talent, wit, intelligence, and his sensibility. I was REALLY looking forward to spending time with him on TFS. But on TFS last night, he was just cruel. The sweetness that leavens his bitchiness just wasn't there. It was like biting into what you expected would be a delicious lemon tart only to discover that the cook had left out all the sugar.

-victoria

Ok, I've finally put my finger on why this show is so annoying.

It's the camera work.

Each scene is a series of lightning fast cuts among several stationary cameras. There is precious little pull-back to get all the people in the conversation actually in the same frame.

There is no giant-sized cameraman plus camera up on a boom. This is particularly noticeable during the actual runway, where instead of a wide shot from above, then smooth movement swinging around from side to side or in for closeups, The Fashion Show is being shot from stationary cameras in the audience plus another stationary camera high up on one side. Film from each of these stationary vantage points is then cut in together so rapidly that it becomes dizzying and frustratingly choppy rather than fluid.

On PR, there's a guy up on a boom, giving us front-side shot of the people strutting down the runway, seamlessly moving to front and center for the pause, then moving slightly up again, and then sometimes also slightly to the side, as the model retreats back up the runway.

Similarly, when the judging is occurring on PR, the camera guy on the boom is moving out for a wide shot when they all start talking over one another in their excitement, then seamlessly back in for closeups when individual judges are speaking. Plus, there are enough wide establishing shots held for a long moment that we don't ever get claustrophobic.

Here, it's like a single cameraman wearing a steadycam got up and stood in front of one judge (sometimes on a stepstool) and said "ok, now speak," filmed a sentence or two, then stopped, moved in front of the next judge, and said "ok,now you reply" and filmed that little snippet, and so on. I think that's why the conversations were so weird sounding -- I don't think they were being continuously filmed.

In other words, this show cheaped out on the top quality camera work.

It's particularly noticeable in the runway section. All it is, is a dizzying set of camera cuts sewn together. The cameras themselves don't move at all, much less fluidly to capture the movement and create drama.

If you watch portions again on www.bravotv.com/full-episodes with this in mind, you'll see it immediately. The still scenes are cut in together so rapidly that it's like you're continually blinking. EXTREMELY ANNOYING.

Plus, except for the occasional echoes of PR, the soundtrack is actually pretty vapid. It doesn't become an integral part of ramping up anticipation, drama, nerves, etc.

With far better lighting and camera work, as well as a zippier soundtrack, this show would be much more satisfying to watch.

I really want to like this show. I will continue to watch. Fashion Show has a BBC "Catwalk" vibe to it. It feels more raw less polished than Project Runway and that is a good thing.

Bailey said...
"I never said you couldn't see differently lol. You said in another post you are 15. "

for the record Bailey, I'm 28. I don't know where you read that. I also don't know why you make the most extreme effort to be snotty. I was wording everything particularly sweetly because I know that you tend to be of a testier breed here at TLo. so, remove your fangs and let's move on.

THANK YOU BOYS! I share your sentiments exactly. It's just TV people, we'll either like it or we won't, despite what PR was or is or could have been.

And I have a feeling I am going to LIKE IT. :)

I enjoyed it. It is always hard at the start of a new season/show to get used to all the people. I found it a bit confusing keeping track of who was who - except for Merlin, of course. What an obnoxious little twit. It astonished me that his outfit came in second. I thought it was ridiculous.

I didn't like the talking in the hallway or the lack of very much footage in the designing/sewing room. Would have liked much more interaction among the designers but I think that was a function of there being so many to start out with.

So, it is a slightly different take than we're all used to. But this will become familiar and hopefully, they'll adjust the most jarring aspects - like the hallway convos. But, I'll watch!

I thoroughly enjoyed the show. It was for fun, folks, and it is just reality TV. It was much more enjoyable than the Real Housewives of lala land. The first show is really hard to judge, because they aren't quite in their rhythm yet. Surprisingly, I thought some of those models were awful. In fact, I think they made some of the outfits look worse than they were. Did the designers actually fit those garments on the models? We didn't see it, and maybe that is why the fit was so off on some things. I totally thought the harem pants were going to be on the bottom, though. Those things were AWFUL!! And almost nothing that went with them was good either!

As always, I will look forward to the next show, but even more to the screencaps, TLo!

What I hated was the fake flashes from the possibly fake cameras during the fashion show.

The rest....left me missing PR, but still enjoying the bitch fest. A "Man's World" indeed!

Am I crazy or is Lidia's model (bolero team, formal design) one of the models from last season's MMAS?

too mean in his comments? That's how design critiques work. That's what some of these people need sometimes, a kick in the proverbial ass.

I don't know why people expected it to be so bad. It wasn't great but it at least deserves a mild applause. My only complaint is that there was too much of the judges droning on and on and on about nothing 'behind the scenes' when all I wanted to see was the DRAMA in the work room!

I'm excited to see more of the challenges cuz the designers all failed miserably this time.

I am hoping that TFS will grow on me.
I do love the set and having the industry "insiders" there and that you get to hear their opinions. I also love how they took RuPaul's idea of saying comments as the clothes walked.

I love the real runway, LeMiz (yeah, he's bitchy, but he seemed to be kind, too), the real fashionistas, the mini challenge, and the fact you can buy the good designs.

I hated... the designers. Little Asian Christian's dress was definitely the best, but no one seemed to really have any skills that stood out. I just felt embarrassed for all of them. And if all of the best designs get sold, does that mean we'll see nothing but ready-to-wear all season?

I wish they had not done a team challenge as the first elimination challenge. The first challenge of PR was always useful for getting a sense of each designers' aesthetic. This was diluted by having to design a cohesive line that complemented the "must have" item.

Kelly's eyes glazing over every time Le Miz said any kind if fashion word certainly entertained me. But no.1 moment was definitely:
Kelly: is that supposed to look like that?
Contestant: no Kelly, it's not supposed to look like that.
Priceless!

I liked it a lot and I'm looking forward to the next episode. Isaac was fine - bitchy but fine and I just love him anyway. Kelly - meh - somewhat less than fine but serviceable as a hostess. Fern was lovely.

Liked the runway, liked the audience, liked the first challenge (hated the HB judge bitch). We'll see more next week because they don't have to do all the "introduction to everyone and everything" bits.

I don't have all the contestants names yet but a few stood out. Merlin, obviously. Wierd, crazy, horrible and scene stealing. I think we're going to have a love/hate relationship.

Danielle - is that her name? The one who went off on Merlin and then proceeded to be a whiny twat for the rest of the show? We're going to have a hate/hate relationship. If she's willing to go that far to be a pain in the ass on the first program and huffily sniffs that she's ALL OF 22 - um...no, dear. Loved when Merlin told her she dresses like 40.

Haven - can't friggin sew. I loathe people who go on SEWING shows, knowing they will have to SEW and then bitch about how they can't. Tell it walking with your "80's inspired designer" hair, Haven.

Miss 23 years old with long pink hair who almost got the boot - snotty and unpleasant. Also I hate the hair.

As always, some of the ones who are quiet now will rise. There's one guy I'm interested in but I can't remember his name. Oh well.

One question, when they saw how tight the skirt was - why didn't they FIX IT? It's one seam. It's one piece of fabric - just make a bigger one - IF YOU CAN SEW.

For those in other countries who are unable to view American videos online, it's not rocket science.

1) Google the following: torrent The Fashion Show S01E01

2) Pick one from the list offered.

3) Download it.

4) Watch it.

5) Repeat next week, substituting "S01E02" for the search term you used the first week. Continue substituting higher numbers as the weeks go by.

If you don't know how to do any of this, google the following: How to download and watch television torrents.

Too bad Johnny left. I would've much rather preferred that Danielle bitch to get booted.

I mean, poppin' tude on the runway, on the FIRST FRIKKIN' EPISODE????

Gimme a fuckin' break!

What i disliked is the same thing that TLo said about it being over produced. It was painful to watch basically anytime that Kelly and Heather was on the screen

I mean Bravo still has Top Chef, Top Design, Shear Genius, etc and suddenly they can't figure out how to shoot and edit a show? It is like Fox took over.

Will I watch every episode over and over and over again.... yeah. So I guess they could get a herd of monkeys to film and a color blind Llama to edit and I would still watch so I guess the joke is on me.

I hadn't planned to watch the show, but changed my mind after this post.

I expected to have more PR-wistfulness, but really, it's just another fashion reality show altogether. I can see room for both to exist and be successful.

I'm glad the dude went home instead of the girl. I could actually see my sister (and other girls that age-ish) in her design. I can never figure their outfits out either :)

Looking forward to watching more.

Oh also: I watched on Hulu. Free, no commercials, no downloads necessary.

I loved the show. I thought that the premise was just like Project Runway, but still different enough to set it apart. And I liked the little bitch sessions in the hallway. It came off as catty and high school and I found it hilarious. What's next, are Kelly and Isaac going to talk behind their hands at the lunch table? Can't wait.

O.K., TLo, I am an average under-educated fashion deprived American. I am open minded and I have no vast prior knowledge about LeMiz's aesthetic. I, of course, expected the show to have many counterpoints to its defacto parent, PR, and it did. I strive to be fair and don't expect t.v. to be what it isn't. Only so much can occur in one hour. I enjoyed watching this new hot mess, it is overly ambitious and not terribly humanitarian towards the designers. It is like a nose picking version of PR. They show a few too many worts. We are observing things we don't need to, having been educated by a more sanitized PR. No Tim Gunn? (I for one ADORED it when PR teamed TG with Chris the Big Man for waltzes around the room for ad-hoc mentoring one episode. Boy, did that work and I had a huge hope that the producers realized how right this tandem mentoring was in effect; so right to have point and counterpoint mentoring by two imminently knowledgeable people, not just Dads TG.) So having LeMiz and the Snippy One workin' it every other minute COULD have worked. It didn't. Too strident, not helpful enough and whew, LeMiz took his jock strap off for the judging. Well, just splooge on these poor critters, Mr. Designer. And let your girl there bop 'em with a stiletto. His palpably excited outrage at Johnny Fever (Gianni Versace mini-me, sorry, may you R.I.P, Gianni), who must have reminded him of some rival threat in his past, scalding and shreiking about his design being "BREAST CENTRIC ... A WOMEN'S BEST BODY PART" screamed off the t.v. like a horrendous crime being committed in our midst. The crime: a handerchief-style, old '40's, loose satiny top, which perhaps was not so great, but Lord Have Mercy nor was it an incitement to LeMiz'Freudian outburst. Since when are boobs a woman's best body part? Is someone in deep need of said feeding? Stop, already, stop now! This is a professional undertaking here, not romper room. Yuk.

As to how the details of the show work, we'll see, it is an entertaining hot mess. Fern is a fantastic extreme difference in judgey-wudgieness and always puts out the fire IN A GOOD WAY. She gives a humanitarian break, and after what Mizzie and Snippy dish out, boy is it needed. The hostess gal, Snip, looks cute, for sure, but brings down LeMiz to her level. Why? Weak, weak, weak.

LOVED it. I'm a little curious about how the model situation is going to work though.

James-Paul and Angel are my favorites at the moment! Their looks were better than the rest at least.

Am laughing my caboose off, Anonymous writer. You said it all. Yes, I too desperately miss Sissy Bear and want him to pair up with the Gun person. It'll never happen, but it should. Such theater. No matter what happens on Hot Mess, Anon., I'm with you. This wanna be show is a good appetizer for the PR dish, which simply has more heart. We don't like its (PR's) predictable format, is all. I also wish PR could steal Fern. She's a keeper. How do we do it without her? She may be the best part of the new Mizziness Mess. Superb judging and good heart.

I agree with you guys completely. The only thing I disliked was the whisper in the hall bits. I like the show and I also remember how low rent PR"s first season was.

I was amazed that the judges loved Merlin's puffy pants.

Sure, they're the height of fashion...For MEN, in 1580! Really, they were Elizabethan paned slops, with no changes at all.

Quoting history is one thing, directly copying and trusting (with good reason, sadly) that the judges won't know enough about costume history to notice is quite another.

I like it and plan to watch the whole thing.

Margo Anderson: Keep in mind that the other groups did tube skirts and boleros.

Did anyone else think that the tube skirts were a total Martin Margiela rip off? I don't think he's ever done that specific item, per se, but too-tight reversible nude and black clothing items? He doesn't own that color scheme, it just didn't seem very original.

I like Merlin. I thought he was very funny and that even though he made jerky comments, it wasn't maliscious, like what that asswipe

And I liked his designs too. Even the big gaudy flower on his bolero piece.

Now if he takes a Jeffrey or Santino swing, then yeah, I'll hate him.

I already hate Daniella (and it looks like she'll be using racial insults) against Reco.

asswipe Jeffrey was what I meant to say.

It's great to have you boys back recapping fashion television!

As for the show: I was surprised at the poor technical skills of just about everyone. Granted, those satin harem pants showed every flaw, but my God, none of these bitches can sew to save their lives. Haven's even open about it, to the point of snotting back to Kelly about her lousy construction. If you're no good at sewing, girl, then why on Earth are you on a fashion competition show?

I thought Dame Isaac was entertaining as host/judge, liked his walkabout through the workroom, and actually appreciated his "I took a lot of shit when I was your age; now, stand back" preamble. My hope is that once the herd gets thinned out, we'll see more of the process in the workroom. I also hope Kelly finds her way; she looks fantastic, but her feedback seems limited to "I thought they ALL were good/bad/whatever," which is supremely unhelpful.

Ross
5/9/09 9:22 AM Margo Anderson: Keep in mind that the other groups did tube skirts and boleros.

Did anyone else think that the tube skirts were a total Martin Margiela rip off? I don't think he's ever done that specific item, per se, but too-tight reversible nude and black clothing items? He doesn't own that color scheme, it just didn't seem very original.A reversable tube skirt isn't an very original idea, but it goes back further than Martin Margiela.Fashion History lesson -(because I know you love it) Betsey Johnson was making them back in the 80's, but the color scheme was more like hot pink and black.
In my opinion tube skirts and especially reversable ones are a very bad idea.

I agree. The show is what it is. The judges didn't need to be so bitchy and mean. Isaac needs to take his own advice. You can be a leader and give criticism without being mean about it. I really could take or leave Kelly Rowland. I don't think she has the right to be so harsh about these designers. After all, this is a woman who spent the last 10 years wearing clothes designed by Beyonce's mother - hello! - and she wouldn't wear THIS stuff? Puh-leeze.
Anyway, you can see they're already setting up the bitchery between Merlin and the girl on his team whose name I can't remember.
I was sorry to see Johnny go so soon. I'm sure he's very talented, but maybe this will make Miss Carrie Underwood step up her game.
That was another difference between this show and PR. On PR, the team leader always gets eliminated in these challenges and in this case, Keith did not even get a verbal bitchslap about his team's poor showing. I can't wait until next week!

Ya know, I remember complaining about not getting to see enough of the construction process at the beginning of PR5. I think maybe it's just because there are too many designers at this point.

And as far as not having a budget to work within? Meh, it never really was that much of an issue except when it was a 'garbage' challenge. And that's not what this show is about.

I'll bet Kristin isn't long for the show: Did anyone else notice that when they showed the "this season" previews at the end of the episode, that she wasn't in a single clip?

The BIG problem with this episode wasn't so much the designers as much as the editing.

WTF with the 45-second snippet, following with another 5 minutes of commercials?

Perhaps it has been said, but Kelly Rowland seems to be this show's Veronica Webb ... without the asymmetrical 'do.

Someone asked if Lidia's model was from MMASM Season 1. Yes, that is definitely Shannon, who should have won IMO. She also 'auditioned' or whatever for the Season 5 PR designers' finale show and I feel I've seen her other places too. She's actually working.

Ross, Margo Anderson was talking about Merlin's outfit, not Team Harem Pant. Here are some examples of the paned slops she was talking about.

The most perplexing thing about this episode was that Mizrahi and Rowland pretended to be mentors, but--if the editing wasn't lying--they instead stood agape in front of most of the outfits and designers, instead of giving articulate advice. What is the point of their mid-way "critique?" I do think this show needs a mentor, a Brian Bailey (PR Canada). I'm about to commit a Rungay faux-pas, I'm afraid, but I've been to love Bailey as much as our beloved Tim Gunn.

"I bet he used to be fat. Former fatties have big heads and they tend to wear their clothes too tight."

You guys hit the nail on the head every.single.time.

SewingSiren: Oh no, I didn't mean to say he invented the tube skirt, I was just thinking it was kind of humorous to see incredibly tight, nude skirts in the same vein as Margiela's looks with nude opaque tights and bodysuits, but to see them done so poorly.

z. cavaricci!!!:
Oh.
oh my.

My only gripe? It's so DARK!

It was like Project Runway in drag. Train wreck!

It was pretty good and frankly, Isaac Mizrahi did a fabulous job. I did not find him overly bitchy, but found your homophobic comments about him mean and unnecessary. Mizrahi is the real thing and he is a tough New York designer. Anything he says is relevant to these kids and he is not going to put up with shit. I really think he adds tremendous gravitas and watchability to the show.

kath said:

"That was another difference between this show and PR. On PR, the team leader always gets eliminated in these challenges and in this case, Keith did not even get a verbal bitchslap about his team's poor showing. I can't wait until next week!"

That would not be correct. In Season 1 or PR, Austin Scarlett was team leader for a challenge to make a dress for rocker Sarah Hudson and his team consisted of Alexandra Vidal and Wendy Pepper. Austin's team lost the challenge, but Austin didn't get the boot; Alexandra did.

MouseAnony said...

kath said:

"That was another difference between this show and PR. On PR, the team leader always gets eliminated in these challenges and in this case, Keith did not even get a verbal bitchslap about his team's poor showing. I can't wait until next week!"

That would not be correct. In Season 1 or PR, Austin Scarlett was team leader for a challenge to make a dress for rocker Sarah Hudson and his team consisted of Alexandra Vidal and Wendy Pepper. Austin's team lost the challenge, but Austin didn't get the boot; Alexandra did.This is wrong as well. Your basic premise is correct, but it was Vanessa, not Alexandra, that was on the team with Austin and Wendy, and she went home because she chose herself when they asked her who should be eliminated. I also believe there are more instances than just this one where the leader of the losing team on PR did not go home.

(Alexandra went home on the swimsuit challenge, after she basically told them she copied Missoni and Michael Kors to make her bikini.)

The format was a pretty good combination of PR and Top Chef. I thought the first two challenges were really good and I hope they keep it up.

One gripe only: the dark set or is it poorly lit?. Other than that I loved the show. Look, it's not ever going imitate Project Runway but I can see it develop its own style and fans. I can't wait until this show starts to gel. The judges are fine. The show just needs time.

I liked it. The hubs....and I quote..."I mean....Mizrahi, he's a nice guy but....Michael Kors has more flair"

Gawd, I love that man!

Me - I liked it. The jury is still out for me so....we'll see.

P.S. Merlin has already gotten on my last nerve.

Anonymous said...
(Alexandra went home on the swimsuit challenge, after she basically told them she copied Missoni and Michael Kors to make her bikini.)

5/9/09 8:54 PM

Oops, my bad. It was Vanessa Riley who went home instead of team leader Austin Scarlett in the rock star dress competition.

Even if the hosts and judges get the hang of it as the season progresses, the lighting issues and cheap camera work will still bother.

I know this may be a minor point, but the fabric shopping clips couldn't have been more than 10 seconds.

Working with beautiful materials and interesting textures is highly sensual and a big part of the joy of creating garments.

For me, one of the joys of PR is the trips to Mood fabrics, where the cameras lovingly pan all the beautiful colors, the designers thoughtfully feel and scrunch the fabrics, and the pieces being cut off the rolls just glimmer with vibrancy. Also, when the designers get back to the workroom, I like seeing them take out their prizes and unfold them and smooth them out with their hands, admiring the beautiful colors and feeling the textures. It added quite a bit of sensuality to Project Runway, and it is always a major part of each episode.

Even when the PR episode would be some "get the junk, make some beauty" challenge, the cameras would always pan the colors, textures, and variety of materials.

I didn't get any sense of that with The Fashion Show. This show just didn't capture that magic.

Well, I don't mind if Jonny (or Tom or Lorenzo) used to be fat, but I'm easy that way.

I looked at that napkin hem and about lost it. I was wondering if Strawberry Shortcake had been sharing her crack with the judges on that one. Talk about something more retro than harem pants? Stevie Nicks. Yuck.

Yes, we need the pretty, but I couldn't let that boa constrictor of a skirt pass.

This group should have cribbed from Tim Gunn's book and the ten essentials for a woman's wardrobe.

Little Black dress, jean, trench coat, dress pant,sweatsuit alternative, etc.

Nowhere in that list is harem pant or Bolero jacket. The tube skirt ( if done correctly) I could see being helpful and versatile for some thin fashionistas. But Harem pant as a must have? Shudder.

suzq said..

There's also no "stick to the budget" aspect to this.

--- If they had the PR shopping budget they might be able to get a yard of cotton at B&J Fabrics.....beautiful fabrics, amazing service.....but not a place to shop on a budget.

" eric3000 said...

The format was a pretty good combination of PR and Top Chef. I thought the first two challenges were really good and I hope they keep it up."


Exactly. The best of my two favorite shows.

Yup, the bitch Daniella called Reco "boy".

She's got issues.

What I want to know is, did these bitches even get to fit their models? They never showed us any fittings, and backstage before the show it looked like NONE of those designers had even sewed their clothes with fit in mind. I mean, that would be a really GROSS miscalculation if no one had gotten to fit a model before making the outfits. Thoughts??

Just went to check out the "Buy this dress" link and am incredibly annoyed.

The "default" size is 4. It's available in sizes 0-10.

So in other words, no average size woman is going to be able to buy the clothing from this show.

I realize that most high fashion designs will not suit "normal" women (i.e., me), but this dress has some real potential for a woman of curves...a 5' 9" 160 lb goddess (not me) could look stunning in this (once she chopped off the hem, possibly), but she's not going to have the chance. Grrrr.

I LOVED this show. It just struck me as much more professional than PR. The set is better quality and there seemed to be a lot less manipulated DRAMA between and about contestants. The focus was intelligently about design.

I think that Mizrahi's comments and tone were right on the money. Rip the bandaid off, I say. There is nothing kind about feeding people's delusions.

I think PR had better step up it's game to play with this show !!

...Would anyone else pay money to see a Kenley and Merlin showdown?

That is seriously what was running through my head as I watched the show.

That post sucked. Are you guys drunk or so? uninspired!!

Anonymous said...
"...Would anyone else pay money to see a Kenley and Merlin showdown?

That is seriously what was running through my head as I watched the show."

No, he's not strong enough to stand up to her. But I could totally see her facing off against Santino Rice.

Wait... did some anonymous above just accuse T-Lo of crafting a homophobic post?

'Scuse me while I laugh awhile!

I realize that sometimes people of just about any identity will "self-hate"... it is true, that happens and it manifests in different but related forms.

I hafta say in the way of vouching for T-Lo, there is none of that going on EVER in the letter or spirit of their wicked-awesome musings.

If anything, T-Lo's wit comes from the credo I've seen around their blogs, to the tune of:

We're Gay
We Judge
That's what we do!

...which isn't any good if not spiced with biting wit and funnies. Which they provide unfailingly.




I can't believe that after missing their blog for over a year, one of the first things I see is the term "homophobe" thrown T-Lo's way.
Too weird!



Good to see Eric3000, Her Highness Dame Gotham Tomato (I mean that, she rules!), Sewing siren, sewwhat, gorgeous things still around. And that the comments section is still populated with (mostly) deft minds.

I hope Bill (he of encyclopedic Musicals knowledge), ToddNy, Trixie and that genius of Planet Fabulon are all doing well.


I'm definitely happy to be watching this new show with y'all!

As for a nitty-gritty analysis, I'm going to have to go the lazy yet intellectually honest route and defer to the nailz-on posts by victoria and anonMouse. Big heapin' helpin's of apples-plause for you two. Look forward to reading those commenters again.


Much love for T-Lo and all those they've always been able to bring together.


(I can't seem to retrieve my password and feel sorta lost without it. Dammit.)



your friend,

bungle

Gracious, I think that I watched that episode ten times this weekend!

And after that "schitzophrenia" on the runway collection, I wonder if LeMiz should be judging this year.

Still love him, but seriously, his collection this year was a tipped-over dumptruck on the I90 of fashion.

Having watched the first episode twice on Saturday, when i watched the harem pants collection on the runway, all I could think of was the Dutchess shrieking "The crotch on those pants is INSANE!!!!!!!!"

I'm happy to have some fashion drama back on Bravo...

It's just so sad that the joy we're getting is by thinking how Michael Kors or Nina Garcia would have responded to these poorly made garments.

It just goes to show you how well they educated us to really analyze what we're seeing.

Something I don't expect to get from The Fashion Show.

I think the main problem with the show is the challenge they decided on for the first episode. Why would you do a group challenge right off the bat?? The audience doesn't know the designers yet and they don't know each other. And, as always in group challenges, nobody really gets to execute their own vision because they have to work around each other. So, we ended up with muted expressions of the individual designer’s aesthetic... not a good thing when this is our first impressions of them and this show!!

I still say we've been punk'd and this was really the season opener of "Shear Genius." (C'mon, these "designers" are so obviously hair stylists!) Next week they'll hand out scissors, send them off to replicate the Sally Shag, and this godawful mess of a not-fashion show will be over.

Though there some negative aspects, the show, overall, is not bad. The catwalk was different from PR, but in a good way. I also liked the concept of an audience that had input over the outcome of the decision. It certainly brings in a new perspective each show, rather than relying on the three judges (and one guest judge) to decide the contestants' fate. Plus, I totally agreed with their choices.

On the flip side, there were a few things that needed improvement. The scripted bitchiness, was too much to take. The judge for the Quickfire was a terrible actress, and had obviously rehearsed her lines. Mizrahi was okay, but as you guys said, overtly mean at times- especially that last snipe at Kristen (even though her dress WAS hideous). Rowland, I couldn't help but notice, dressed great. Her comments, however, were somewhat forgettable. Nothing spectacular, nothing offensive. Just in between. Fern should have been featured a little more, especially during the judging.

Another note: the backstage judging/talk/whispering was quite lame.

Donning my helmet for Tuesday Morning Quarterback...


Why didn't Johnny Samurai just have them make shorts or culottes(sp)?

Aside from him, who considers harem pants as a clothing staple?

And why didn't Keith just have those guys just make an A-line skirt?

here is good information about fashion. I have watched lot of fashion shows on tv. That time I am searching some tv downloads of fashion sohws.

if the program is copying the runway project is very bad! that is not going to achieve! hahaha!

:0

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In the busy competitive world everyone likes to spend their leisure time in one way or other. Some will be fond of going for a party or some will be interested in watching the latest movies or spending their leisure time by reading their favorite books. But in the modern fashion world a particular group will be very fond of having fun by going to the fashion shows. After just one show some may become an addict to the show and also an expert judge in matters of fashion and modeling that much they will be attracted towards the show. It is not just sitting and watching stylish and impressive enchanting women walking down the ramps wearing some extreme outfit but it is a great deal of fun. You may get a lot of opportunity from the show as well