Thursday, November 30, 2006 by
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WARNING! WARNING! We are heading into a bra-free zone! Please keep your hands inside the car and refrain from jumping up and down!
Poor thing. She tried to give her client what she wanted and what her client wanted was the fashion equivalent of one of those 99-cent greeting cards covered in glitter.
It's strange. Last week she was all about trying to assert her POV in a situation where she wasn't supposed to and this week she just folded without ever really trying to make the design her own.
Especially since she had a perfect opportunity when those damn roses came out of the dye looking so horrible. She could have just said to Melissa "I tried the roses but they didn't work."
Seriously, they look like cabbages.
We don't know if the previous week's drama tripped her up or what, but this doesn't even look particularly well-made.
Nothing says romance and new beginnings like a bunch of dead shriveled flowers. She looks like she walked through a graveyard on the way to her wedding.
And that corseting looks awful.
Definitely not well-made. That bodice is all kinds of puckery and ill-fittery.
Ah well. Like we said, a shame. Nora has talent and a stronger aesthetic than some of the remaining designers but it really all does come down to maturity and experience. If she'd had a little more she could have asserted herself in the design and been able to think on her feet and make quick changes without angering her client.
[Screencaps: projectrungay.blogspot.com]
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32 comments:
Poor Nora. And how much did I love her reamrking on Melissa having said that this is the dress she's wanted since she was a little girl and being like "Aren't you 16?" Hee!
But yeah, hopefully as she matures she will learn how to listen to her cleint and then make something that also shows her POV.
I'm sad but not really to see Nora go. She was not ready for this entire competition. She was WAY too aware of everyone else.
Last week it was Kara Saun and the other designers. So they accused you of accusing them... if you think they are thieves then why do you give a shit what they think? If you don't think they are thieves then isn't it time to take a time-out and share a bottle of verbal pepto with Vanessa?
This week you let a 16-year old fashion model get you auf'd. Wow. I haven't put my fate in a 16 year-old's hands since I was 16 myself, and it was a bad idea even back then. Oh well, you live and you learn.
I think that the concept, personally, was a beautiful idea. However, the execution was not so beautiful. I really kind of like the idea of smaller roses in a vivid red rather than the, as T&L put it, "red cabbage" color.
It had potential, I think, but it just wasn't well-made. It's a shame; I liked Nora.
I was bummed. I do think Nora has talent. She does need some maturity.
As you said: It comes down to maturity and experience.
Look, Nora's behavior is deemed acceptable in one who is 22. Had she been ten or twenty years older, however, her tantrums would not have been tolerated. We probably would have had more of a field day with her.
She was 6 years older than Melissa and could have easily stood up to her model. But Nora wasn't ready for the big time. Not just yet.
I agree with you guys. Nora is very talented. It's just a shame that she didn't stand up to her model the way Jay did, for example.
Nora, Melissa said that her middle name was "rose" not "cabbage," dear.
I was bummed too. I think she's very talented. I was checking her site and found this:
"Nora Caliguri graduated from Pratt Institute in Brooklyn New York, with a degree in fashion design. While at school, she was honored with awards for excellence in loungewear and women's sportswear design.
One month after commencement, she auditioned for and was chosen to be one of 12 contestants on Bravo's hit Reality TV Series Project Runway, hosted by Heidi Klum.
In addition to collaborating with Michael Marra after the show, Nora serves as lead designer for The Elite Group LLC in New York, working on projects with companies such as Champion Athletics, Hanes, Adidas and CBSport.
Although she has focused on clothing, her true love is all design; being well rounded in all of its aspects, is what she strives for most."
Wow, it's amazing how most of the designers from Season 1 were so yound and inexperienced. I have to say that I kind of like that.
Best wishes, Nora!
The veil really bothers me. Veils, tiaras...big no-no in my book.
She definitely needed seasoning before she went on PR. Danny V. had just graduated, too, but that extra 2 years of life experience was enough for him to handle the stress. I don't think I could have done it at that age. She's talented, she'll go far.
I think that Nora felt disabled the second she heard what the challenge was. She was bemoaning having to make a wedding dress at all, seeing as she's an activewear designer. So I think that she just threw her hands up and acted as a dressmaker.
She could have stuck with Melissa's requests. I've seen beautifully-done roses on wedding dresses, instead of creating that huge wall of them. And she could have made a beautiful, intricate corset top, but she didn't. She could have made the dress edgier with a gothic feel, but it seems like she didn't want to put in the effort to reconcile her POV in the way that Jay did.
She and Austin should have just switched models.
she said that her collections got the first place two years in a row or whatever it is...it's amazing!
and---this time austin survived again. his work is lame, but nora is lamer this time.
That whole flower-petal skirt effect seemed to be very popular in 2002 when I was shopping for flower girl dresses. But I was shopping for little girl dresses, not a gown for myself. Melissa may be hotter at 16 than I'll ever be, but her taste level really betrayed her youth.
maybe she thought she could get by by simply playing it safe.
"Anonymous said...
maybe she thought she could get by by simply playing it safe."
Playing it safe, getting you auf'd, does seem to be common theme of all 3 seasons.
As suburbanly banal as Nora's wedding gown was, Austin's was the one you'd never see anyone wearing (and I LOVE Austin & was holding my breath that he'd make it through). But look at the history: Santino's turkey costume; his Into the Woods 'lingerie' line; Vincent's recycled mummy mess; virually everything from Jeffrey; the thing that keeps coming back over and over is that the judges/producers score taking big chances over producing anything that is safe (or even wearable) almost every time.
Don't know if they are looking for vision, or really, just looking for buzz. The judging has always had the element of the inexplicable to it.
--Gotham Tomato
An early example of a designer paying the price for not listening to Tim. He did explain pretty clearly that they should not sacrifice their own point of view to give the models exactly what they wanted.
And it looks like some of the models were under the impression that the wedding gowns really were for them--bringing boyfriends, demanding their personal fantasy of a wedding gown, etc. Poor girls may have thought they'd be getting the wedding dress of their dreams free of charge. Since they don't get paid, maybe they should have been given the dresses.
they just love ugly+lame+lame_again+colorful+trash!
that means having vision!
sorry, austin, lovely as a human being, but why you kept making trash?
but don't worry, people and producers still love you.
so keep making trash! :D
I agree with Gotham Tomato, at least trying to have a "vision" trumps playing it safe every time on PR, especially the deeper you go into the competition. You'd think the contestants would have figured that out by now (Robert).
Even tho I have given the judges crap for it (Santino, that's cake frosting, not underwear!) I kind of agree. It's a design competition and they should be rewarded for trying to push the envelope.
"puckery and ill-fittery" I LOVE IT!!!! I'm going to start using that on my clients from now on.
"Well, I could cinch that waistline in more, but then the whole thing would look all puckery and ill-fittery."
Thank you PRGayBoys, MMMMWWWAAAHHH!
I thought the whole concept was OK, but it just didn't look good. The flowers looked horrible.
Actually, I think taht the dress was quite beautiful at the end, except I do agree that the roses were a bit dead looking, and hte corseting was not well-done. :-/ Oh well...
Man, Austin dodged a bullet here. Nora's dress wasn't the greatest, and her performance the week before should have gotten her aufed then, but Austin's thing was an atrocity exhibition. Nora's was merely bland and traditional. I actually really liked the goth roses....
"puckery and ill-fittery"K
Dear God it sounds contagious. Can it be treated with antibiotics? The poor things.
Is it just me or is one of Melissa's boobs waaaaay bigger than they other? Maybe it's a result of the puckery, illfittery-ness?
Yeah, with Melissa being all crazy sexy and what not, it's really easy to forget that she's so young. Then she busts out with that wedding dress idea and you think-- oh yeah, you really ARE just a kid.
And THAT's why teenagers should never get married.
I don't mind traditional wedding gowns as long as they're elegant and simple. Those flowers ruined the dress and the look.
It was poorly executed, but I didn't think the idea was that bad. It did look like a cheap dress.
What a pity Nora didn't have the nerve to talk Melissa into a better wedding gown. Her dress was too plain and not original.
A designer should never compromise his vision. Nora let a 16-year-old girl run the show and she paid the ultimate price.
Wow, I'm surprised most people didn't like this dress. When most people in the U.S. think of wedding dresses, they think in terms of the traditional long, white dress. I'm definitely one of them.
Yeah, that dress didn't look quite as bad as I remembered but it definitely did not look well made or fitted properly.
Other Eric pointed out that the top Nora was wearing would have been better than what she designed.
Wedding wear is a bitch.
Just like the couture challenge in season 3, putting one together in one or two days is a very tall order, especially if one isn't used to doing evening or corsetry detailing.
I think it was simply an overwhelming proposition for Nora, and she actually welcomed the input of the little model to give her some direction.
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