Unleashing The Gunn

Friday, October 20, 2006 by

Listen, we promise we'll get back to being bitches real soon, but in the mean time, we'll let Tim Gunn do it for us.

"And this is going to sound peculiar but I’m glad Laura blew the whistle. The last thing that any of us would want would be for her to be harboring all these bad feelings and then after it’s all over, saying, ‘Point of order. J’accuse.’ That would have been a horrible, messy disaster."

"
We were just very direct with him, and I was particularly direct. He needed that talk. We said, ‘Do you realize how serious this is? Do you realize what the consequences of this could be? Do you realize what we’re going through because of your sloppiness? You’ve created all this, we didn’t inflict this on you. You did this yourself.’"


"
He said to me at the reunion show, ‘You’ve called me a liar and a cheater and said that I rolled over like a puppy.’ And I said, ‘Wait a minute, I have never called you a liar, I have never called you a cheater’ – and I wanted to say, ‘But I’d like to call you a liar now.’"


"Exactly. It’s one thing to be confident, it’s another thing to be delusional. He just seemed to never listen. The judges would give him such superb critical feedback, and he’d just say, ‘I think it’s hot. It turns me on.’"

Our good friend Mo Ryan of the Chicago Tribune conducted an hour-long, eye-opening interview with him, wherein he says things like "contretemps" and "ne plus ultra." Read the whole thing here.

56 comments:

katiecoo said...

Just found out that Tim is co-hosting LIVE with Kelly and Regis today..still time on our side of the country to view it! I read that "Crocs" are involved. :shudder:

Anonymous said...

Tim: "ne plus ultra".
Me: [shivers] "Say it again!"

Bill said...

All Tim, All the Time!

Anonymous said...

OK! Great! Now some of my DEAREST friends are calling me TG (Tim Gunn) becuase I am known to be quite verbose....but thankfully I have my Alta Vista Babelfish translator (http://babelfish.altavista.com/)so I can look up all of his catch phrases....

I bow down to His Highness...and while I'm there.... ;-)

Anonymous said...

I was a little confused by this post - perhaps you should mark each quote with an intro, so we know who Tim is speaking about? I realized after reading that the quotes referred to three different contestants, but it wasn't clear until after I read it all.

Anonymous said...

Looks like now that our PRG boys are in the inner circle, they are practicing inner circle manipulative editing.

I love it!

Dora

Anonymous said...

This was one of my favorite parts of the interview:

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.

Anonymous said...

TIM was filling in for REGIS on Regis and Kelli this morning....he was his debonair gracous self. He and Michael Caine looked like two great gentlemen together. Kelli loves, adores Tim , you can totally see it. She's a fan of PR and Tim's.

Anonymous said...

Here's some help for y'all

Quote 1 - re: Laura

Quote 2- re: Jeffrey

Quote 3- re: Keith

Quote 4- re: Vincent

The Trib article was a great read!

katiecoo said...

Tim Gunn is wearing green knock off crocs w/ his suit and makes them work! LOL!!! And he said they were comfortable! I think he just sold out all the green ones in NYC with one walk-off.

Anonymous said...

"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."

Excellent. Tim Gunn says he is "completely confident" and that is more than good enough for me.

Any other speculation, past, current or future, is pure BS and an insult to Mr. Gunn.

I'm so happy I backed Jeffthe whole entire rime. I would hate to be in the opposite camp. It must feel really shameful.

Anonymous said...

This article is a must read. Tim Gunn is absolutely impeccable. I don't know how I could adore him more.

Anonymous said...

I really heart Mo Ryan and her talks with Tim and -- I'm such a geek! -- I've kept a copy of her pre-season interview at hand. Tim is great! And, Mo Ryan is very, very good.

-- desertwind

Unknown said...

you know, all last year, after i found project runway, i was like "tim gunn . . . wonder who's gonna win."

now, thanks to y'all, i'm like "TIM GUNN MORE TIM GUNN C'MON TIM, I ADORE YOU TIM!"

are you brainwashing me? first malan, now tim? je suis une femme droite et maintenant, grâce à votre promotion sans fin de malan et tim, je tombe amoureux désespérément des deux ! merci beaucoup, chiennes !


smooches . . .

Anonymous said...

um, yeah, this is a little confusing. i thought the 1st 2 paragraphs were about jeffrey and then the 3rd one got me a little miffed at Tim. (much to my surprise... i mean how is that possible?!!) now i realize it's a reference to keith and i totally get it. WHEW! it did make me go to the Tribune article and read it all the way thru though.

Suzanne said...

He is just about the only person associated with this show that has not had one single thing that he has said on or off camera that he should be embarassed about. Just about everything he says and does displays what kind of a human being he is. After watching how emotional he was right before the runway show, it made him THAT much more endearing.....


Wonder how long before Parsons loses him forever because he is such a huge star?
I. Love. Tim. Gunn.

TLo said...

it did make me go to the Tribune article and read it all the way thru though.
And that was the point. Can't give it all away now, can we? That wouldn't be fair to Mo.

James Derek Dwyer said...

Meanwhile, the WaPost article feedback on their website is scathing. I think mainstream viewers are REALLY disappointed with the season 3 outcome. Should be interesting to see how it plays out in next season's ratings.

Anonymous said...

What a terrific interview. I keep thinking that I couldn't possibly love Tim Gunn more, and then he keeps proving me wrong. Thank you so much for posting that!

Anonymous said...

lynette -

Mangez 2 de vos petites capsules bleues chaque jour pour 1 semaine et votre hantise sera traitée bientôt!

lol!!!

Unknown said...

I keep thinking about Whitney Houston's remarks when a reporter asked her about spending 1/2 million on crack. Whitney countered that she wanted to see the receipts. Ha!

Speaking of crack, I think the PR gays are my version of the stuff.

Anonymous said...

I thought the Washington Post did a very good job of laying out why Jeffrey won, why other people thought he shouldn't have (both the clothes and the character) and why we love the show.

Mo Ryan always gets the best Tim-terviews. Love her.

Please go to EW.com and read the final interviews for Uli, Michael, Laura, and Tim. I especially liked Lauras and Ulis. Michael's confused me which is disappointing since he was my favorite by far.

Anonymous said...

tim gunn seems to be one of the few living people (and definitely the only person on reality television) who speaks the way talented writers write. every thought, response, and word is so carefully chosen and utilized it makes me green with envy. his eloquence is astounding.

Anonymous said...

I do adore Tim! However, I have to say I'm a bit unhappy to see him dishing so much & telling tales out of school. I guess I expected him to be more discreet. I was appalled to see him blab about Vincent throwing the shirts away, the quote I saw was downright nasty seeming.

sigh

Well we've all done it and I realize Tim is only human.

Anonymous said...

If Carson, Jay, et al are the Fab Five, then Tim Gunn must be the "Ne Plus Ultra" One.

Anonymous said...

Jeffrey wins! I'm pretty ambivalent about his so-called nasty behavior. On one hand, I haven't watched every episode so I missed a few things. On the other hand, the widely-reported "Angela's mom" incident is bad, no matter how you want to look at it (I think that she could have been passive agressive but he could have done a lot better than insult the woman)

Ill discuss them in the order I rated them (1 through 4)

The only thing that drove me nuts was how Michael Kors and Nina Garcia used words like "punk" and "goth" to describe Jeffrey's work. If anything his work is more reminiscent of 80's hair metal crossed with Harajuku fashion. But at least he came out with something different and goofy and playful. Altho I have no clue how polka dots are related to Japanese ghosts and demons (ok, this is the other thing that drove me nuts, he made the referrence but no explanation was shown (or given))

Laura's line was "safe" but it was really beautiful and well put together. The big problem is that it's been done before and those vintage dresses are still around so people are familiar with that style. If she had used less lace and feathers and perhaps thrown in some modern prints or unexpected fabrics it would have worked even better, because she did have variety in silhouettes and pieces. Being an architect she had PLENTY of inspiration source and on that count, she let me down (I wanted her to win)

Uli's problem was that she lost too much of her identity but didn't add enough innovation. Sure she changed the color palette, so what? The dresses were too similar. The bikini was the best piece followed closely by the final dress

Michael was undone by a huge lapse in taste. He's right that the clothes are hot and if that's where he wants to go with it, cool. It's just not high fashion and frankly it was a bit too tacky for me.

Anonymous said...

I searched Japanese ghosts and demons on Google images and found this

http://www.asianart.com/articles/rubin/large/3.jpg

Certainly LOOKS like Jeffrey

DolceLorenzo said...

GREAT interview. I adore Tim and never get tired of reading anything about him, and Mo Ryan is the best. Thanks for the link, guys!

Anonymous said...

Here's the part of the Tim interview that I found interesting;

And he [Vincent] said, ‘I look at it as you people (in his condescending way) are in the mainstream, and I’m out ahead. And great fashion is ahead of its time. Of course that’s [crap]. Fashion is of a time and a place and a context. And the place is now. And that’s the challenge, otherwise it’s, in a very patronizing way, saying to anyone looking at your fashion collection, ‘You wouldn’t understand it, it’s ahead of it’s time.’

Like, you’re not smart enough to get it.

Exactly. And that’s ridiculous.


Personally, I feel like this is exactly what the Jeffrey apologists are saying to those of us who disagree about his line being more creative or innovative. Like we just don't get what "real" creativity or fashion sense is all about. Please, I wasn't born yesterday, I remember the 80's! I'm just disappointed because I really expected Jeffrey to bring it, and he dropped the ball but won anyway!

I guess it bugs me that the designers who take the judges criticisms to heart in their collections get slammed. Santino last year (and no, I didn't think he should win) and Uli this year. Jeff made more of the girly babydoll polkadot dreck he got criticised for in the final challenge, and suddenly it's brilliant and he wins? I really just don't understand the capricious and fickle nature of the PR fashionistas!

It'll be interesting to see how people feel about this decision in a few years.

Unknown said...

bygolly and macacism -- thanks for your thoughtful posts.

The circles on Jeffrey's dress turn out to be apples. I still think most of the dreams were more along the nightmare line. But hey, maybe it's that it's like Vincent says, "it's all too ahead of my time." I just think this is one of those things two people will look at and completely disagree with what is being seen.

Michael (now Mychael) has apparently decided to go full hootch. His website is announcing his new lingerie line, Kitty and Dick. Big, deep, sad sigh. It was his game to lose -- so sad.

Unknown said...

Thanks anonymous for the link to the Japanese demons & ghosts. I thought this was interesting:

"Japanese Demons

Demons in Japanese lore wander between the living and the dead. Sometimes demons do good deeds in the world, and sometimes they wreck havoc."

Hmmm, who does that sound like?

LauraK said...

I have a theory that Mo makes sure Tim has a few drinks before she interviews him!

Anonymous said...

The show just would not be the hit it is without Tim Gunn. We all want more Tim Gunn!!!!!!!!

Anonymous said...

I don't know where to post this but I saw the coming attractions of this coming Sunday's Brothers and Sisters, and Calista Flochart has Nina's fu-fu green and black dress on.

Anonymous said...

LauraandMichael said...

"Michael (now Mychael) has apparently decided to go full hootch. His website is announcing his new lingerie line, Kitty and Dick. Big, deep, sad sigh. It was his game to lose -- so sad. "

That site is just crunk-tastic. He does that aesthetic well, I suppose, and it's hard not to wish him all of the success in the world. I still think some of the print dresses in his final collection were great.

I keep coming back to the comment Michael made to Kayne during the black and white challenge: "it cheapens your outfit".

BigAssBelle said...

Deego!

Mais hélas, je n'ai aucune petite capsule bleue. Mon penchant est à ces mauvais garçons gais ici, et maintenant à Malan et à M. autoritaire Gunn. Vous avez- de petites capsules bleues ? Soin à la part ?

lynette

bungle said...

Prof. Gunn's latest blog entry boasts two thousand four hundred comments.

You know, numbers like that just scream 'NEGLECT'. Fellow Tim Gunn fans, can we do no better? Is the point that we're hanging on his every word getting across? I mean, sure, 2400 replies is enough to make an ordinary mortal's eyes bleed, but our hero has super powers.
I think the feedback should be ramped up by a few orders of magnitude. So there.

:D

Anonymous said...

"And Fern said, [as for] Laura, there are a lot of rich ladies around in a lot of zip codes and they buy clothes. And I can see them buying these clothes. And they’re superbly conceived of and superbly executed. And with Uli, she said, you cannot trivialize the resort market. It’s enormous. It was great to have her there as another point of view."

Maybe Michael and Nina can learn a thing or two from her. I'm getting tired of the same "boring" comments.

Anonymous said...

The latest Timspeak on BWE video.

"If you mess with a Gunn, you get shot! Phwow phwow!”

You are my number1 GUNN.

Anonymous said...

Bungle, you're too much fun!

I'm going to sound stupid but would you email me some time?
chibishinigami@sc.rr.com Since we aren't sure what PRG will be up to in all the downtime.

And I would comment on Tim's blog but I feel so awkward. Anytime I think of something to say I act like a little school girl, blush and giggle, and then delete it. XD I know I can't be the only person who does this. Tim just has that way about him.

Bygolly, oh oh! Thank you! That's what I was looking for, harajuku. I've been trying to place why it didn't look so 80s to me but it's refused to click. >< Yes, punk and goth are a no. 80's punk yes, but not the in-style punk at the moment. I do see the Japanese influence, but the 80's was too up front. I wonder if he actually knows about harajuku, or if he really wasn't sure how to explain what he was getting at. If he used more influence of the street fashion, I think people would be a hell of a lot more receptive to Jeffrey's collection and could understand it. But I also think that not enough people know of/what harajuku is since it hasn't hit mainstream here yet (or ever?).

http://www.japanesestreets.com/
For people curious. Though fair warning, anyone who loves Laura's collection, your eyes will explode.

Laz said...

"Ne Plus Ultra!"
Oh my God, Becky! I just got gayer.
Quit fanning the flames of my faggotry!
Ok don't...
More Turtle Poop, s'il vous plait!

Anonymous said...

LMAO!!!!!

Michael and Jeffrey were just on VH1's Best Week Ever!!

Both of them were a scream and one was a cry baby. (guess which one)

Anonymous said...

lynette / bigassbelle:

Mon médicament est votre médicament, légal ou autrement!

Nous sommes des frères et des soeurs dans notre amour pour ces hommes!

Anonymous said...

Oh Tim Gunn. He's so utterly correct and sweetly bitchy at the same time. A bit removed, and yet intimate - you feel as if you know him, and his public appearances do not contradict that. Mmmmm, Tim.

I love his vocabulary. I picture a wee silver-haired Tim, sitting in a booster chair, carefully reading his children's encyclopedia and taking notes in a Moleskine notebook.

Anonymous said...

Dear Tim Gunn Letter:
I know you care very much about the designers and want what’s best for them. To guide them in the right direction:
1. Will you give the first challenge to be “ Design an outfit for a working girl in a ranch in Nevada insprired by a landmark.” Just get it out of the system, for eternity.
2. So that the designers will have you pop into their lives everyday. For the final collection, give each of them your bobblehead. And design a collection called “ Japanese Evening Safari.” That should cover season 1-10. Smokey eyes too.
3. Will you please show us beautiful NYC images just like the ones in Paris.
4. Will you take them on better field trips like the cruise on Seine. Not dumpster diving in NJ. The statue of Liberty should be from NY not Paris.
5. Will you please put some inspirational artwork at Parsons Camp Sweatshop so that the designers don’t fizzle out at the end of the season. Yeah, like make exactly what’s in the luggage or what Heidi was wearing when she gives the challenges. Or hoochie outfits.
Even playing field remember?
6. Will you tell the judges to gather around and tell Heidi not to say “I would wear everything you make”. WYWearIWYG. That’s what you are getting Heidi in every color.
7. Will you ask Bravo to get more guest judges. The designers can predict the taste level, expensive looking, what Heidi wants to wear, don’t bore Nina outfits, to show at OFW.

Wow…Carry On. Make it work and Don’t bore the fans for season 4. I,m now verlempt.

Anonymous said...

Who could fail to adore a man who says "ne plus ultra" and "bitch-slap" (because Mo, honey, we're all grown ups here) in the same interview? Love it, love it, love it.

My thoughts on the finale:

The best symbolic metaphor for Jeffrey's collection? His own mullet-hawk 'do. It's edgy, it's creative, it's unique, it has a perspective, but it will never sweep the nation, because it's just not attractive. Minus of course the divine green zipper dress. From his collection, I mean, not his haircut, claro.

That being said, I loved Laura's, but it was nothing new, and Uli would have been my choice, but I could see their point that it lacked cohesion. All in all, a collection of great collections that cleaned out the bad taste of underwhelm-ment that last season's finale left in my mouth.

Chgo_John said...

I, too, watched Monsieur Gunn with Kelly yesterday. Did anyone else think it strange that PR wasn't mentioned, except very briefly during his intro? Did I miss something?

Anonymous said...

Jeffrey lists this designer as one of his favorites.
http://www.adwave.co.jp/juntakahashi/

BigAssBelle said...

Deego!

Naturellement ! Absolument ! C'est ces garçons charmants à qui je suis intoxiqué, le plus assurément. Comment est-ce qu'une femme mariée droite d'un certain âge se trouve captivé par ces beaux et éthérés messieurs ? Telle est la vie.

Anonymous said...

Good morning Anonymous,

Veuillez prendre les 2 capsules bleues encore. Le non, pas le diamant a formé ceux.
You are so faux. There is too much consternation, sterm und drang. You forgot to say s'il vous plait.

Don’t mess with the Gunn.

~Tim Gunn

Anonymous said...

bigassbelle:

Pour la même raison nous sommes. Ces hommes sont sexy, charmant et mystérieux.

Mais homosexuel ou hétérosexuel, les hommes sont tous de même.

Cependant, comme tous les hommes, quand vous regardez derrière le rideau vous pouvez voir un aspect différent.

Ils se reposent sur le sofa pour beaucoup heures dans leurs sous-vêtements mangeant un sandwich grillé à fromage tout en observant le football (ou PR).

Et quand vous marchez dedans pour les étonner, le mystique s'évapore comme un pet dans le vent comme ils demandent vous à aller leur obtenez une bière (ou un martini)!

Avec amour,

Deego

Anonymous said...

Merci des types du Français 101. Cette communauté est étonnante. Les types fabuleux charmants sont contagieux. Laissez le divertissement commencer.

Yes. babelfish.

Anonymous said...

Well, ik kan Hollands praaten en Duits verstaan, but so what?

Tim is smokin' hot, gay or straight, who cares? His fashion insights, command of all Germanic languages, and total coolness enthrall me. He IS Project Runway. Without him the show is dead.

Anonymous said...

Please don't ruin the fun. Sit. Stay. Relax. Enjoy.

Merci

Dank

Anonymous said...

I hate to say this, but I lost a bit of respect for Tim this season. I'm no apologist for Vincent (please, no more vincents!), but Tim DID dis him in his podcasts, and he was so fauning over Jeffrey in the final couple of episodes. I found it uncomfortable to watch. I really liked Tim when he was more evenhanded and objective and concentrated on the designs. I mean, we really didn't know until this season's podcasts how much he hated Zulema. Tim, please comment on the clothes and keep your personal feelings about the designers to yourself.

Oh, and it was Tim who championed Keith getting on the show. It seemed pretty clear to me that the guy had a screw loose. Tim were you thrown off by the pretty face?

Anonymous said...

And Tim Gunn? “People keep asking me when I’m going to leave Parsons, but what Bravo pays me could fit in a small piggy bank!” he said. “Parsons pays the bills.”

Yes, Tim the world needs more Tim Gunn and Parsons. Staying power. Not celebreality.

Yesss. You are the biggest and baddest Gunn.

Ex-Texan