The best part about catching a reality show in its first season is that the participants haven't quite figured out how to present themselves, resulting in drama that's more raw with less producer manipulation. And honeys, the drama this week was definitely raw. It was actually a little uncomfortable to watch because no one was coming out of this looking particularly good. We can talk about the big blowup in the hotel room between Kara Saun and Dir
ty Girl later. For now, let's talk about what Project Runway fans have termed ShoeGate.
ty Girl later. For now, let's talk about what Project Runway fans have termed ShoeGate.Kara Saun had to have known she was in the wrong here. And if she didn't know, then she was so caught up in her own supremacy that she couldn't even imagine she'd be questioned about it in any way. Neither prospect speaks particularly well of her.
As for Jay, we realize that he was there to compete and not get caught up in any drama and we have
to say that might have been a wise decision, but like it or not, he found himself caught up in something that affected all three of them and adopted possibly the most passive-aggressive stance we've ever seen anyone take on a reality show. Bitching to the cameras and rolling his eyes behind Kara Saun's back but offering only half-assed objections to her face.Strangely enough, it was Wendy's response that proved the most compelling. We're going to indulge in a little armchair psychology here so you might want to fix yourself a cup of coffee before we get started.
We think it's fairly clear that we are pretty much the last people to defend Wendy. And if we haven't made it clear, let us just state that we have always felt that Kara Saun had good reason to be hurt by Wendy's manipulations and had somewhat good reason to be angry that she wound up in the final three.But.
There comes a point where, if you really consider yourself a professional (and we think it's more than clear that KS not only considers herself one, but considers herself the only one out of the 3 of them) then you need to bloody well act like one.
Kara Saun's Junior High "I'm done with you" responses to Wendy's
quite reasonable objections were a little painful to watch. When you watch two people fight, one of whom you think is a crazy bitch and the other of whom you think is talented and deserving, it's a little tough to watch the talented, deserving one come off as an asshole and the crazy one come off as correct.
She was flatout wrong. She'd been caught giving herself a clear advantage over her competitors in violation of the rules and when she was called on it, she got snotty and dismissive of the whole thing. We really like Kara Saun, but it was her entitlement that really turned us off here. This notion she had that because she was good and because she's a professional, the rules didn't have to apply quite so much to her.As for Wendy, well...we felt a little sorry for her. We think she went around with a fairly good game face on most of the time (when she wasn't crying, that is) but reading between the lines we see a women who was not only in over her head; who not only knew she was in over her head, but somehow, inexplicably, desired some form of seal of approval from her competitors, whom she clearly considered her betters.
Her tearful accusations of Kara Saun were absolutely correct but what was so striking was her blatant need to have Kara Saun agree with her. If she had just agreed with Wendy's contention that she was "strategizing," Wendy would have felt completely vindicated in her prior behavior. It was really quite an intense little exchange. From Wendy's
point of view, more was riding on this little dispute than anything else, including Bryant Park.In the long run, we don't think Wendy really cared about the shoes. She just desperately needed Kara Saun to admit that she wasn't perfect and that she was, in fact, guilty of the very things of which she accused Wendy. For a brief moment there, we think that's all Wendy wanted. "Take the Grand Prize, just admit to my face that you do it too."
As for the "solution" dreamed up by the producers, the less said about that, the better. It was no solution at all. They didn't really care about solving the issue so much as maximizing its drama.
[Screencaps: projectrungay.blogspot.com]
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74 comments:
I so wholeheartedly agree with you guys. I have never been a fan of the Pepper (even though because I have no use for Kara, people automatically think I like Wendy) but in this one little spat, she had a point.
For all of Kara's talk about not selling your soul, it was pretty clear she had an embarrassing little price tag hanging off hers on this particular day.
And as for Kara's point about HOW Wendy made it to the final three, it was a little moot for me. This is the fashion industry. People build empires on backstabbing in this industry every day. The opinion that you always make it to the top if you have the talent is a little naiive for my taste. You have to play the game, on a reality show and in the fashion industry.
If Kara Saun told me she had never been sweet as pie to someone she secretly wanted out of her way I'd call her a liar (to her face)
People do it every day. She lives in Hollywood, and it's a survival method out there.
But, that being said, Crazy Wendy should have just realized that everyone could see the obvious (Kara had trodden into hypocrite territory) and just be satisfied with that. Say what you feel to their face and drop it. As passive-aggressive as Jay's reaction was, it was the best one to have with someone like Kara Saun.
Someone so entitled that any attack on their actions or character will only register as crazy talk, and consequently go in one ear and out the other.
I will use every last ounce of my willpower to keep the "solution" talk to a minimum. If I was Jay or Wendy I would been pissed too.
I couldn't agree more with the psychoanaylsis of each person though. Though I do feel like Jay was sincerely KS's friend, but she was just annoying him way to much. So he bitched about her behind her back in an attempt to vent, yet keep their friendship in tact.
I mean who hasn't had a friend who just pushed your buttons a little too much?
Though then you have to bring in the "Well this IS a competition..." But I have no idea what I'm talking about at this point.
I thought they handled the shoes all wrong. I would have told her she can show with the shoes but she will be eliminated from winning if she does. Show with the same shoes choices as the other two and you get a chance to win on the merits of your collection alone.
I liked Wendy through most of Season 1, and when she finally came fully off the rails, I mostly just felt sorry for her.
She was an excellent dressmaker, and when she was given sufficiently strict guidelines, she was a good designer. All of Kara Saun's bluster about losing her soul was pointless. The contestants knew from the outset that they were in a competition, and expecting someone not to look out for her own best interests just because you can't stand her is the height of disingenuousness. It's high time reality TV participants everywhere got off their high horses: there's no requirement that everyone conform to your personal notions of fairness, there are only the show's rules. And Kara Saun broke the rules. Wendy didn't.
I think that all of us have been deeply insecure about something in our lives, so we should be able to empathize with Wendy's situation here. I don't condone her behavior, but I don't know what it is about her life that made her react differently from the way I hope I'd react and the way other people did react in the same situation. To me, watching her fall apart evoked more pain than anger.
That said, when I've seen her on TV after season 1, she seems to have embraced and profited from the bitch mantle, and that shows me that she's got the right perspective on the whole thing. It's only TV.
The whole shoe incident totally turned me off Kara. I was never very into her in the entire season, and as she got more and more annoying, i liked her less and less. How she handled this was the end for me.
I've never been on the Kara Saun bandwagon. She is a talented costume designer, I'll give her that, and she definitely knows her stuff when it comes to construction, but she is NOT a nice person, and as they say, karma is a bitch.I totally agree with yawningdog that she should have been told she could use the shoes, but be eliminated from winning the competition. Maybe they decided that among themselves already, since she didn't end up winning. If she had won, the entire show would have completely lost it's credibility, which seems to be an ongoing problem for PR anyway. She also had a friend come in and help her which gave her another advantage. At any rate, it's over and Jay, who rightfully deserved it, won. Hooray!
kath
I'll admit that I initially started watching Project Runway Season I with this episode. From that perspective, I could never understand why Wendy was so disliked. From that limited perspective, all I could see was an agressive cheater who was upset when the rules were brought to her attention.
I thought Kara Saun should have been eliminated. She broke the rules.
Bravo set the tone for future rule breakers with this first season. Little slap on the wrist for finale contestants, major slap on the wrist for rule breaker caught before finale.
The need to be consistent in the application of the rules is much needed. Integrity should mean something -- even in a fashion competition. Or is that just too old-fashioned?
You guys have way more self control than I do, I've been bitching about those shoes to anybody who will listen for two years. The models should have walked down the runway barefoot or in the same shoes the other two contestants were entitled to. There is NO WAY those shoes should have gone down the runway.
"We'll just tell the judges not to consider the shoes." Okay, and while you're at it tell the jury to disregard the person's confession on the stand.
That she STILL didn't win doesn't even come close to making this okay for me. And excuse me, but didn't we see someone get summarily told to leave for cheating just two seasons later? Wouldn't Jeffrey have been aufed if he couldn't produce some kind of receipts?
And that whole, "You have to send me some kind of bill, charge me $15 each" conversation - she had that ON CAMERA!! WTF?!?!?!?!!?!?!
The hypocrisy and her giant superiority complex turned me off her early.
Anne
"This notion she had that because she was good and because she's a professional, the rules didn't have to apply quite so much to her."
I think that Wendy was absolutely right to call her on it, and I agree with your assessment in general.
I got the feeling that KS thought her 'professionalism' and experience would 'carry the day' in terms of the entire competition, not just 'Shoegate'.
I suspect that, on a certain level she didn't quite anticipate what she would be up against in the final stages of the competition: a more overtly strategizing person (Wendy) and a more original and creative person (Jay).
She cheated, got caught, and her lack of any shred of humility in the face of that was extremely off-putting, but of course will probably take her a long way in business.
Classic overconfidence.
In my opinion she should have been disqualified for the shoe 'favor'.
She cheated.
I was SOOOO relieved when Jay won.
SNF in VA
This was season one of a new reality show. Wendy seems to have approached is as a "Fashion Survivor" and employed all of the tricks and mind-f**king that you see on those other "reality" shows. In a way, it was great for PR that there was a Wendy in PRS1 since it made it clear to future contestants that the Wendy Pepper path was a complete detour.
As for Karasuan...toward the end, and this may have been the editing, her attitude toward "Jaybird" was so patronizing (and infuriating). Her advice to him to re-adjust his top in the penultimate challenge may have cost him the win (and who knows, if Wendy hadn't won that challenge, maybe sweet sweet Austin would have made it to the final three).
Did Karasaun ever own up to the deceit of the shoes (the "Fifteen dollar shoes"...puh-lease!) Or does she remain oblivious to her own form of backstabbing and cheating???
Sorry, I have one more comment. Jay went home and in the world that is Jay came up with an outstanding collection. Look at the contrast between Jay and Michael Knight (PR3). Michael went home and...bombed. He really benfitted from the feedback that he got from the other designers (I think that Laura was a big influence). Leave Jay to his own devises (and an unlimited supply of cigarettes) and his juices just flow.
BTW: has anyone noticed a striking resemblance between Jay's bathing suit from PR1 and the bathing suit on Michael Knight's web site? The only difference that I can see is that Michael went all the way into S&M by hooding his model...otherwise, they are quite similar.
Hated the solution--it should have been a choice between barefoot, Michael Kors frees shoes, or forfeit the runway. But I think that with the timing (just before the runway finale) and the fact that it was the first season, the producers just didn't know what the hell to do--they may have worried that the viewers would hate it if they were that harsh.
And I absolutely hated Kara Saun's attitude-- that, because she was the golden child, how dare they attempt to apply the rules to her? Those whining complaints that she was being punished for having good taste and for having connections in the industry? Her unapologetic negotiations in front of the camera to get the sham invoices? Her haughty refusal to interact with Wendy? It was much more offensive to me than anything Wendy did during the entire season.
I just thought it was kind of pathetic watching Wendy trying so hard to make Kara Saun admit that she had a strategy too.
I do understand Jay's position--trying to avoid the conflict and confrontatation, but I wish he would have just flat out told Kara Saun "Of course I have a problem with you cheating."
I really like Kara, but there’s really no excuse for going against specifically worded contract. Did she really think people wouldn't notice those shoes?
I think Kara Saun wanted to promote her Dollhouse friend's shoes and somehow didn't seem to think it would get her eliminated. She risked not being able to show in the runway finale. I'm still puzzled as to why she did this. Good publicity for Dollhouse.
Montserrat
Shoegate guaranteed that Kara Saun COULDN'T win. If she had won, you can bet that Wendy would have sued her, demanding an accounting, citing the contract and rules, etc. The producers can't amend the rules as they go. That is ridiculous. Rules are rules. Kara was WAY over the line asking for $15 receipts to be faxed for custom-made shoes and boots that were worth several thousand dollars. The "solution" proposed by the producers was not fair at all. It didn't "punish" Kara Saun at all for her flagrant cheating. Kara Saun was effectively over-budget and should have been asked to remove items from her show until she was down to the budgeted amount.
I don't think Wendy could win either - she had no fan base and the viewers would have been outraged. No one liked her. You could tell that even the judges didn't particularly like her. Wendy just wasn't "hip" enough to represent their show. Always in the minority, I LIKED HER. But then, I'm quite unhip.
The winner HAD to be Jay. No matter what his collection looked like, he HAD to win, he was the only choice. Thank goodness he had the best collection.
i agree, the producer's solution was no solution at all. They should have done what Yawning Dog suggested. But the right person won in the end. And yes, Wendy was in over her head and I didn't feel sorry for her. You reap what you sew (sorry for the awful pun)
CP
For me, Kara doesn't come off as horrible as much as brittle. It's funny, as soon as she started focusing on hating Wendy, around the Grammy challenge, her game started to slip. Like she needed to stop thinking about her enemy so much and just concentrate on her own sh*t.
Or to borrow her term, her own so*l.
— CF
The producers were cowards to not come up with a better solution. Telling the judges to disregard the shoes would be like telling them to not listen to the music or pay no attention to the other styling. The shoes elevated Kara Saun's collection and they clearly took that collection over her budget. The producers set a dangerous precedent of allowing a professional the ability to use resources unavailable to others and this followed them to Jeffrey's outsourced collection.
Jay had so much emotional confusion here. Wendy, whom he had grown to hate with a steady intensity, turned out to have an adorable little girl and a character for a Mom. Suddenly, she was a human rather than a cartoon villain. Kara Saun, whom he had elevated to saintlike status, also became human by cheating and then trying to get him to condone it. I think he was passive aggressive because the underpinnings of his relationships with both of these people were rocked and he just didn't know what to do.
I agree with you that KS just thought she clearly would be the winner, and that therefore she could "do what she wanted to." Justice was served in the end, though.
"They didn't really care about solving the issue so much as maximizing its drama."
And this wasn't the last time they demonstrated that--much to the detriment of the show.
As for Kara Saun, THIS was where she disappointed me. Seriously. However I disagree that she was as hypocritical as Wendy.
Wendy was manipulative and dishonest from day 1 - and in a much more basic and destructive way. She was not trying to compete by creating the best work- she knew right from the start that she was out of her league. She was manipulative and dishonest on a PERSONAL level. She was playing head games with the other contestants; she was playing Survivor.
That is why everyone hated her. She even admitted it all on camera - and she didn't admit it because she was more honest or less hypocritical than anyone. She admitted it because she was warped and proud of it. She was delusional enough to think that manipulating people, on a personal level; manipulating people who actually tried to befriend her was OK. I have no doubt that she behaves the same way in her everyday life. Anyone else notice the lie she told to Tim about the kid wanting to draw a picture for him, that her daughter called her on? Whadya wanna bet the little mite got a smack from Mommie Dearest after the cameras left.
And yes, she was desperately trying to get Kara to admit that she was just as bad as she was, not because she was looking for validation, but because she finally had a moment of clarity and realized was a horror she is and she wanted to drag everyone else into her cesspool.
So no, I don't think that Kara had a 'strategy' like Wendy did. She'd just seen the show, and seen how Wendy was playing them all from day 1, and simply didn't want to deal with her.
However, I did NOT like what Kara did with the shoes, nor her attitude toward it. THAT was her downfall. But ironically, it was her literal downfall as well: because the shows kept getting caught on the long dresses and tripping up the models. I guess that was Karma.
But I do make the distinction between cutting corners in business and playing with people's real emotions. Neither is a good thing to do, but the latter, (what Wendy did) is different and MUCH worse.
--Gotham Tomato
"Kara was WAY over the line asking for $15 receipts to be faxed for custom-made shoes and boots that were worth several thousand dollars."
Well, yes she was wrong but not by THAT much. Those exorbitant prices of shoes and bags are completely arbitrary to begin with. No shoes are really worth that much.
--Gotham Tomato
No shoes are really worth that much.
But $15 per shoe? To quote Tim Gunn, that wouldn't even cover the import taxes on those shoes.
In Season 3, Jeffrey had to eliminate enough from his collection to put it under budget to show it, Kara Saun should have had to do the same thing.
Gotham Tomato, the worth of a thing is determined solely by how much someone is willing to pay for it. If someone is willing to pay $1500 for a pair of shoes, the shoes are worth $1500, period. There's no such thing as intrinsic value, in shoes, loaves of bread, or stocks'n'bonds.
I agree with the posters above: they should have taken her shoes away from her. That's the only sensible solution. I think the proof of that is what happened to Neck Boy in Season 3; he couldn't use his unbilled or over-budget items.
"I agree with the posters above: they should have taken her shoes away from her. That's the only sensible solution. I think the proof of that is what happened to Neck Boy in Season 3; he couldn't use his unbilled or over-budget items."
In the end, she would have actually benefitted if they HAD taken her shows away. She might have won. they might have handled it the way they did simply because it was the first season and they hadn't anticipated the situation.
With neckboy, they went further, but his outsourcing was worse (I think) because it involved actually making the clothes. Though they apparently didn't go far enough.
I'm wondering if, for the next season, if they'll send a camera crew home with each of the top 4 to make sure that another designer doesn't send outsourced clothes down the runway as neckboy did.
--Gotham Tomato
After "ShoeGate" I had to write off Kara Saun altogether.
Such dirty, dirty playing! Tsk, tsk. It's a good thing Jay won.
I agree with Gotham about Wendy trying to get Finley to lie to Tim on camera. Could anything be more telling? Makes it seem much more likely that Wendy was responsible for picture-gate, doesn't it? Poor Finley is gonna need lots of counseling.
Thank god Jay was the clear winner. If not, we may have ended up with a Sebelia situation. Kara Saun is dead to me.
i'm just happy jay came out on top. love him!
still trying to grasp the fact that wednesday has come and gone. will this shit ever melt?
"With neckboy, they went further, but his outsourcing was worse (I think) because it involved actually making the clothes."
Then following that logic Jay should not have won (which is ubsurd) because Jay even said straight up that he had his knitted pieces outsourced. The difference lays in the fact that he paid for them, and didn't try to cheat anyone.
No one is asserting that Kara Saun did not design the shoes... only that she didn't pay for them.
Just because you can't knit, doesn't mean you should have to eliminate knitted objects from your collection... as long as you design them and as long as you pay the person doing the knitting.
I also believe that Jeffrey was perfectly within his rights to have leather pleated by someone else, as long as he paid them to do it and as long as they weren't actually designing the garment themselves.
The problem would have occured if he would have gotten other people to sew for him and actually create his garments for him. He needed to design the clothes himself, and pay for any outside work done on them.
And he was not going to be able to show those shorts if he had not come up with a receipt for them. Which is essentially what Kara Saun was allowed to do.
Oh Lord, let's not got down the down the Peanut's -- did he or didn't he debacle.
Does anyone REALLY believe he was capable of the level of sewing seen in the finale? Do you really think that he would have shown receipts for outsourcing sewing that shouldn't have been outsourced?
There is no way of knowing. Not unless someone comes right out and says yes -- "I did his sewing" or "Yes, I know he paid for illegal outsourcing." Maybe a disgruntled employee or jilted lover will spill the beans but until then -- he won.
And yes, I believe he cheated. Yawn. Move on.
I agree with a previous poster: I always thought that if Kara won, Wendy would have sued. Not Kara, but Bravo and the producers, and she would have had a compelling case. The solution was a cop-out, and I lost a lot of respect for the show and the producers.
I did love the fact that Kara was hoist on her own patard, thanks to those shoes. When the models were having trouble walking, I started to laugh.
YEs, I think shoegate caused Kara to lose. But Jay would have probably won anyway, and I think he deserved to win
"There is no way of knowing. Not unless someone comes right out and says yes -- "I did his sewing" or "Yes, I know he paid for illegal outsourcing." Maybe a disgruntled employee or jilted lover will spill the beans but until then -- he won.
And yes, I believe he cheated. Yawn. Move on."
Agreed. Until next time the subject comes up, of course:)
--Gotham Tomato
I pretty much agree to some extent with you all, except:
Just because Wendy's daughter "calls her out" doesn't mean Wendy was lying. My God, on a daily basis my son (who is 4) tells me the complete opposite of what he said 30 seconds ago...and wholeheartedly believes he did not agree to anything else. Kids may "say the darndest things" and "out of the mouths of babes" and all that, but jeez....kids are not an accurate indicator of reality.
That being said....oh, she crazy.
I love KaraSaun. But I don't think she should have won because Jay's collection was more creative. How the posters label her as "haughty" and w/ a "superiority complex" et al because she refused to interact w/ someone who said from day one her "strategy" was to play head games and do whatever necessary to win. Pls people ask yourselves why you would expect anybody to acknowledge or speak in earnest to someone like that. Do you think Wendy was "entitled" to KaraSaun speaking to her? As for Jay, you just don't see that kind of genuine on TV. I didn't perceive him as passive aggressive. I saw him as being honest but not wanting to hurt anyone's feelings for any reason. Particularly for a reality show. As for Wendy, the less said the better. Talk about Karma. That hit her life like a Christmas Day Tsunami (divorce, a lousy collection, peddling suckers-HA-online). Her poor kid.
PS: The shoe situation is the same as the Jeffrey receipt/labor situation. Jeffrey couldn't produce receipts for some of his work and wasn't auf'd. He won. Was that fair? Why?
"YEs, I think shoegate caused Kara to lose. But Jay would have probably won anyway, and I think he deserved to win"
You know, this whole threesome remind me of the '94 Olympics with:
Wendy as Tonya Harding
Kara as Nancy Kerrigan
Jay as Oksana Baiul
Tonya; the nutjob, win at any cost scrapper. Nancy; who, in the end, revealed herself to be not the princess she had been portrayed as. And Oksana; the most uniquely talented who had been underestimated all along, but who came through in the clutch and fully deserved the win (though who fell apart in the professional ranks and never fulfilled her promise).
--Gotham Tomato
Sue?
Good grief. There would be no grounds to sue anyone. She didn't WIN A CONTEST, with arbitrary judging. How was she damaged? Please cite the LAW that would form the basis for this suit?
Bean said...
i'm just happy jay came out on top. love him!
ME TOO!!!!!!!!!!! Just love love love Jay
CP
My favorite part of this whole incident was when Kara Saun said to Tim something to the effect of "So I'm getting in trouble for being a professional?" and Tim looks at her like "Honey, I am entirely too smart to fall for that line" and just raises his eyebrow in that sexy way of his and says "No, you're in trouble because you're in breach of the contract that YOU yourelf signed." Whenever I watch that exchange, my Tim love just bubbles over!
Oh I just got the most gorgeous idea! You guys should do a video blog! Just one, but please do one! It'll take the bitchery to a whole new level!!!
This final episode left me on edge. I HATED the fighting. It was beneath all of them. I hated the fact KS cheated and the producers let her get away with it.
I am very happy Jay won. But he needs to ditch his current Web designer. His site sucks. You can barely read it.
"How was she damaged? Please cite the LAW that would form the basis for this suit?"
I don't know of any specific law that might apply, but it seems to me that if all of the contestants signed the same contract, they should all be bound by the all of the terms of that contract.
Its a level playing field thing...
No one contestant should be given any kind of preferential treatment by being allowed to violate the terms of the conract.
I agree she shouldn't have been permitted to use the shoes, and if the rules are as clear as we've been led to believe they are, then you'd think it'd have been clear to Kara that the shoes were out of bounds. But maybe they aren't all that clear, or weren't at that time. Or they were, but didn't say specifically, "you can't exceed the budget AND it's not okay to get things for free AND you have to use the shoes we provide." Who the hell knows? In the end it doesn't matter; clearly she has plenty of talent, drive, professionalism, and experience, but sometimes the upstart is the one that makes the impression. The shoes neither got her nor cost her the win.
Someone said: "No one has matched Jay's collection, have they?"
I just went back to the PR site and looked at all three final collections. I'd forgotten how Jay's just stood head and shoulders above the others. Wendy had some nice pieces, and certainly some very good pieces for her clientele. Kara did some beautiful pieces, and the whole collection was styled beautifully and cohesively. And then Jay -- wow. That's a collection. I can't even say everything is to my taste, but there's just that indefineable (at least by me!) something. A designer's identity. . . point of view. . . great use of color. . . an unusual vantage point. . . . And I'd have to agree with the person I quoted above: having watched all 3 seasons, I'd say, no, we haven't seen anything else at that level yet. There may've been some who could have done it, but we don't know because they didn't make it the finals. By the way, anyone have a link to Austin's red herring collection for Bryant Park that year?
Like Lauraandmichael, I was another viewer who joined the first season with the finale episodes, and I didn't entirely get the Wendy hate either (until I bought the DVD series, and OK, then, it made some sense). But I came away from these last two episodes with a lot more KaraSaun disdain than anything else. She really did come across as petulant and spoiled.
As for someone questioning Jay's outsourcing, I do seem to recall reading once that he paid fair market value to local knitters for what he used, and this is something that has been totally allowable by the show since season one. Where Kara and Jeffrey ran afoul was with the problem of having to prove they paid fair market value for their items. Kara obviously did not, but I agree that the producers' solution was not a fair one. Jeffrey couldn't prove what he paid and those items were removed. We can continue to question if there were other outsourced, but I don't think anyone's ever going to solve that mystery.
Gotham Tomato - your analysis was brilliant!
K said...
"Just because Wendy's daughter "calls her out" doesn't mean Wendy was lying. My God, on a daily basis my son (who is 4) tells me the complete opposite of what he said 30 seconds ago....kids are not an accurate indicator of reality."
Isn't that the truth -- kids do tell stories.
Gotham Tomato - I loved your compariosn with the Olympic skaters -- spot on!
Oddly enough, the very first episode of Project Runway I ever saw was a Saturday afternoon repeat of this episode. I was visiting my mother, and we both wondered who that horrible Kara Saun woman was, to treat dotty old Wendy Pepper like that.
Now that I've seen the whole season, I understand some, but still not all, of Kara Saun's breakdown in this episode.
Dora said...
"Sue?
Good grief. There would be no grounds to sue anyone. She didn't WIN A CONTEST, with arbitrary judging. How was she damaged? Please cite the LAW that would form the basis for this suit?"
Well Dora, I'm no lawyer, so I can't cite the law. If you are, please enlighten us. But I think "sue" was the wrong word to use. I do think, though, that Wendy would have made a huge stink in the court of public opinion, and I think she would have had a lot of (reluctant) sympathy.
But as it is, Jay won, God's in his heaven, and all's right with the world.
:)
I -- as per usual -- agree with the Gayboys. I liked Kara Saun up until the finale, when I felt she behaved like a whiny, entitled bitch. I also felt her treatment of Wendy was very junior high -- you don't like her, but you're stuck living with her. Can't you just be civil?
The shoe "solution" would really piss me off if KS had won, but since Jay won, I guess it didn't really make any difference. But I definitely feel KS was wrong, wrong, wrong about the shoe situation, and it amazes me that someone as civilized and mature as she had seemed to be up until then couldn't see that.
I'm going to chalk it up to Killer Fatigue, because I still like KS.
You know, in the end, the shoes didn't make those outfits better. Jay won because his collection was stronger and that's what they were looking at. Although I DO agree that the handling of the situation by the producers was less than desirable.
It was hard watching someone who I thought was talented (Kara Saun) take on the role of the person who she rallied against for so long. If only she could have been honest and classy to the end.
Kara's holier then thou attiude annoyed me the whole season. She managed to hide it pretty well from most people, until this happend. *rolls eyes* Never liked her as a person in the first place.
During the last two shows I totally distanced myself from Kara Saun. If you're going to take on a holier than thou attitude, you had better be faultless.
Girlfriend had serious shoe morality issues going on. And her passive aggressive stance towards Wendy was totally irritating.
This is why I danced a jig when Jay won: The nice guy did finish first. He played above board and stayed out of the fray.
Dahling, Jay. Find yourself a good marketer, PR person, and business guru. You should have been established as a design star long before now. Rely on your own talent to create; rely on others to strategically plan for you.
Yeah, my love for Kara Saun was sorely tried on this day. What Kara Saun did was inexcusable. And, yes, I will not go into GREAT detail about my feelings re: the "solution", but I do wish that the producers, as soon as they learned about the shoes, had told Kara Saun that she needed to ditch them and select new pairs from the same shoes Wendy & Jay had access to. Of course, that would have resulted in less drama, as you pointed out, but it would have made a hell of a lot more sense.
I felt for Jay, though, I did. His attitude might not have been the most mature possible, but this was a tough situation for him. I believe that he was really fond of Kara Saun, but of course, as her competitor, he didn't want her to have an unfair advantage, and he couldn't help but be angry about her underhanded behavior. He also wasn't interested in having a knock-down drag-out fight with her on the eve of the most important day of his life. I don't really know that I would have behaved any differently. Of course, I'm the Queen of Passive-Agressive Land, so I guess that ain't sayin' much. And I must admit that I howled at his remark about how he should just let the two women tear each other to pieces so that he could win by default. At least he kept his sense of humor. Got to give him props for that.
Ms Place said, "Dahling, Jay. Find yourself a good marketer, PR person, and business guru. You should have been established as a design star long before now. Rely on your own talent to create; rely on others to strategically plan for you."
AMEN, Ms. Place. Couldn't have said it better myslf.
I thought that you guys did an amazingly perceptive review here. It's clear to me that Kara Saun cheated, but not so clear why she fought so hard that she didn't. I think you've hit the nail on the head. Even Jay was reluctantly of the opinion that she had cheated. She just never saw it that way, which I take as a personal failing on her part. Wendy, for all her annoying strategies and mannerisms, was right on this point.
Where all the jokes at?
Someone asked about a link to Austin Scarlett's decoy collection. If you go to his web site (linked on this site) you will find those pictures.
And ditto to Gooooo Saints!
"That doesn't make you a manipulative freak, it makes you a typical human parent willing to exploit the cuteness of your kids for your own gain."
Gee, and that kind of parent will be the ssame one who whines about how their kids don't respect them. A parent like that doesn't deserve any respect.
maybe it's not a manipulative freak, but definately a liar. No matter how much you try to rationalize it, it is wrong and sets a seriously bad example for your kids.
I think the whole shoe thing was blown way out of proportion. KS should have won. Too bad the TV drama took a front seat, tossing fashion into the background.
When I saw this I thought that Kara Saun was the professional - the one who saw the entire picture and wouldn't be satisfied with Michael Kors freebies because they were not her vision. She had a total vision for her runway show and she figured out how to complete that vision.
And if it wasn't the letter of the law, it was professional to think about what she was projecting and to a worldwide television audience and privilege that over winning a questionably good prize. Her work was excellent and her shoes were part of that work.
I was a Jay fan coming into that competition, but I did love Kara. Until this episode. In the end, I found her collection to be beautiful but unoriginal, and her behavior just left me feeling embarassed for her. Not that I hated her after this or something, I didn't, but the bloom was definitely off the rose.
If you all remember correctly (I) KaraSaun DID try to be friends with Wendy. Remember the time she did Wendy's make up for the runway show?
I think that when they all got home and viewed all the episodes and heard what Wendy had to say in the confessional they made it a point to treat her like absolute shit in NY.
Can't say I blame them.
Before that season's runway show episode aired I thought for sure (I) KaraSaun had it in the bag, but I was sooooooo happy that it was Jay.....and every time she calls him Jaybird I want to slap her.
Bryan @ 12:23 said:
"I think the whole shoe thing was blown way out of proportion. KS should have won. Too bad the TV drama took a front seat, tossing fashion into the background."
Sorry to disagree but fashion took the front seat in this instance. KS works as a Costume designer in LA and designed a collection inspired by a movie that looked like Gucci.
If you look at the work that she did on the show verses the work done at Bryant Park I personally don't think theres much in common comparing the two.
Jay's collection on the other hand was unique, and even more startling since Jay had never really revealed his style on the show. He basically took each challenge as it came and designed accordingly. Punk rock one week, art deco the next and so on.
KS designed beautiful clothes but when originality is being considered I wouldn't wanna hear "it looks like Gucci".
Jay's collection on the other hand was much more personal and innovative. Making quilting look hip is hard.
In the end, Kara Sauns losing had nothing to do with the shoes but simply with the fact the the judges had seen it before. The same couldnt be said for Jays work.
Personally I think Wendy should have come in second and Kara third simple for the fact that at least Wendy's collection wasn't a rip off of Gucci. I wanted to scream when Michael Kors asked her if her collection reflected who she was as a woman. Is HIS womans wear collection a reflection of who he is as a woman?
In the end the shoes were nothing more than entertaining drama but in the end originality won out.
"Is HIS womans wear collection a reflection of who he is as a woman?"
*SNORK*
I love you, anonymous 4;29PM, whoever you are!
"And if it wasn't the letter of the law, it was professional to think about what she was projecting and to a worldwide television audience and privilege that over winning a questionably good prize. Her work was excellent and her shoes were part of that work."
Ah, but it was very UN-professional of her to violate 'the letter of the law', now wasn't it? Breach of contract is actionable in most parts of the world. There are probably alot of people out there who would consider her cavalier attitude towards contractual obligations as a liability, not an asset.
She got what she wanted in the end; the exposure to a wider audience, the 'shout out' for Dollhouse Shoes, etc..
Her collection showed that she's still just a costume designer after all, not a fashion designer.
I wonder what legal action Gucci will take when their trademarked snaffle bits turn up on her "designs" in the future.
"I wanted to scream when Michael Kors asked her if her collection reflected who she was as a woman."
I wanted to scream just hearing Michael Kors, the Tangerine Dream, say 'boobies'.
--Gotham Tomato
"Someone asked about a link to Austin Scarlett's decoy collection. If you go to his web site (linked on this site) you will find those pictures."
Thanks, PittyPat. Interesting collection. . . hmmmm. . .
This just points out the brilliance of Season 1. It really was a situation where all they had to do was point the camera at the designers and let it roll. You never knew what was going to happen but it was always delicious viewing.
By this episode, you've spent a whole season learning to embrace your contempt of Wendy and your loyalties are divided between Jay and Kara. Then suddenly, POW! Shoegate! And your whole world turns upside down knowing that Wendy's correct and Kara Saun's "Where is your Soul?" speech meant nothing! To me it was a beautiful twist.
On a different but definitely relevant topic, tonight I caught an episode of "How Do I Look?" on the Style network. This is the makeover show hosted by Finola Hughes where one fashion frump is madeover by two friends and a "Professional Stylist". Tonight the "Professional Stylist" was none other than our very own Kara Saun! The subject being made over was a woman who had basically given up on herself after the death of her little boy from a long illness so it was quite sad. But the husband was one of the 3 people who picked out a new wardrobe for her and it was pretty bad. However, when the makeover subject was asked who she thought picked out that awful selection she thought it was Kara! It was laughter all around! But Kara got her revenge when the makeover subject picked her collection! She looked good but personally I hated the hair style Kara picked for her.
It's so interesting to see the PR designers in other TV shows. Wendy in Celebrity Poker Challenge acting like a sexpot and Vincent in Extreme Makeover as the friend of a guy who went through extensive plastic surgery. You decide if they picked the right guy!
Brian
I thought Kara Saun was a winner till I saw her awful behaviour in the last ep. She was such a cow! If Wendy was an annoying, crazy person, Kara Saun was downright mean - mean, mean, mean! And self-righteous too.The Gayboys hit the nail on the head when they painted her as the meanie-cow popular girl. She's a yucky poo.
"If Wendy was an annoying, crazy person, Kara Saun was downright mean - mean, mean, mean!"
I don't think she was mean at all. She was giving Wendy back exactly what she deserved. It was obvious that everyone on that show felt the same way about Wendy after seeing all her behind-the-back bull broadcast on TV.
I would have treated Wendy in exactly the same way, and Wendy's crocodile tears and complaints were just another delusional manipulation. Why should she have expected to be treated any better. In fact she should have expected to be treated much worse.
kara insisted she was not "fake" and thus could not even be civil to the pepper, but then persisted in the idiotic assertion that she could not understand the problems with the shoes.
pretty fake, in my book. but then it was to her benefit, while being civil and adult with wendy was not.
In Jay's defense, it wasn't his job to enforce the rules of the competition. That was the producers' job and they didn't do it well. They are just really lucky Jay created the best collection and that the judges realized it.
I'm a little late at this party.
I wouldn't call Jay's behavior passive aggressive as much as immature. I imagine he felt like some lone male caught in a fight between two Bitches, and was hamming it up in front of the camera in territory he considered relative safe.
Kara Saun totally lost me at this point. My opinion of her in rewatching Season One was clouded by what I knew her behavior towards Wendy would be in the last two episodes. She descended down to Wendy's level and used the verbal "I don't care what you do" so often I found it intentionally cruel. Had I been the recipient of such behavior, I would have walked away and ignored her completely. But as you said, Wendy needed Kara's approval.
Kara made me feel sorry for Wendy, and for that I can't forgive her.
Debby "I would have treated Wendy in exactly the same way"
Um usual display of class?
I never understood why Wendy was considered such a bitch. All she really did was comfort Morgan insincerely and bash Kevin. Her combination of low self-esteem and a competitive streak drove her nuts in the high-stress reality environment, but she never came off to me as a particularly terrible person.
Kara Saun, on the other hand, rubbed me the wrong way from Day One, and Shoegate just confirmed to me that she really was self-absorbed, entitled, and immature, and that it wasn't all in my head.
Wendy knew that everyone hated her for the way she behaved on the show. The reason she got so worked up over Shoegate was that KS had done something worse than what she did, yet KS was still liked and she was still Dirty Girl.
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