Andrae: Now THAT'S what we're talking about.

Monday, April 02, 2007 by




Hello, 911? We'd like to report a robbery.


We may have given the impression that we hate Andrae. That's not it. We think he needs to pare down the bullshit and just express himself in his work, because when he does, he really demonstrates the soul of an artist. This was a unique and beautiful inspiration that yielded a unique and beautiful dress.


If we can wax a little poetic, it has a dreamy, lyrical quality to it that up to now had not been seen in any of Andrae's designs. If he could tap into that more often, he could really be a force to be reckoned with.


Minor criticisms: we could have done without the baubles and the blue fabric was just a bit too heavy in the front. Not-so-minor criticism: the fit in the bust ain't so hot.


Aside from that, this was a uniquely beautiful garment that clearly came from a place of pure inspiration. He really should have won this one.


[Screencaps: projectrungay.blogspot.com]


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35 comments:

Sewhat? said...

Yup.

Anonymous said...

while it wasn't perfect, I do agree that it was one of the most inspired pieces out there...

something is off with that "blue" color choice but I can't say what...

it just is I guess... ><

DolceLorenzo said...

Gorgeous dress! Andrae was ROBBED!
Unique inspiration = fabulous dress.

Annie said...

I could not agree more. This was my favorite garment of the entire season.

Anonymous said...

Eh. I wasn't terribly impressed, actually... the colors were similar to the picture, and the blue was an obvious ode to running water, but honestly, the design was a little messy and all over the place for me. The puckery breast killed it for me.

Overall, the dress just felt a little depressing to me - like it should have been more chic than it was, but it just died instead. Maybe if there had been more sparkle and fewer ribbons, it would have popped a little more for me and actually given a little bit more life to the picture.

Not a terrible dress, IMO, just not as great as everyone seems to think.

Anonymous said...

What did it for me was the way the gray-blue fabric of the dress had a subtle iridescence that gave one the impression of running water as Danyelle walked down the runway. Cool.

eric3000 said...

This dress was really beautiful and he fulfilled the inspiration part of the challenge better than any of the other designers.

This was Jay's favorite. I'm surprised the guest judge was outvoted on this one.

Anonymous said...

Should have won, and I'm a full dan fan. Apparently, it really helps to be coveted (in the biblical sense) by L'Orange.

Anonymous said...

Eh, it was very nice, but I still found Daniel's design a lot more interesting.

The Scarlett said...

This dress moved beautifully and Danyelle carried herself like royalty as she glided down that runway. And I agree with Heidi that this indeed looked expensive far beyond the $100 budget.

ROBBED!

Anonymous said...

I thought Andrae's was absolutely the best. It was elegant and beautiful and really showed inspiration from the picture he took.

Anonymous said...

I didn't like the dress that much. The twisted piece that goes around the dress is really distracting. Having said that, I really liked his story and how he got inspired by the gutter and dirty water.

Anonymous said...

This is one of my three favorite garments of all PR seasons, along with Jay's Chrysler Building dress and Laura's beaded gray and chartreuse gown. He should have won this one, for sure.

Anonymous said...

I still remember how visually I was stunned by this gown and Andrae's concept. We all gasped when she walked down the runway. It felt like he really evoked the spirit of the picture. I admired DV's work but I thought that from concept to execution Andrae really deserved to win.

Anonymous said...

I absolutely LOVED this dress, and it appeals even more when you see the picture that inspired it. Now THAT is what inspiration is all about. He took something not in the least attractive and made it beautiful, while Daniel took a beautiful flower and made something literal and reasonably attractive. This was one of my all time favorites. Andrae was definitely robbed.

Roxy said...

I thought there were too many ribbons, etc. on this one, but I do agree it should have beaten out Daniel's tulip shirt.

How do these judges make their decisions? Abso-f***-lutely ridiculous!

Anonymous said...

I love the front of the dress, though agree that the blue trim color was a little off to me--not enough gray in it, I think. I liked the sparkles and baubles. Really lovely and evokes the inspiration without being too obvious or literal.

My problem with the dress is in the back--particularly from the waist down. I think looks messy and seems to pull when she walks. The flow of the fabric is beautiful, but it seems a little "overdesigned" (not sure if that's the right word). If it was just allowed to flow on its own without the seams/gathered section, it would be beautiful. On the top, there are a lot of ties and strips of fabric, but that feels a little off, IMO. There either needs to be fewer of them for a clean look or more of them that stream behind as she walks. It looks a little haphazard rather than deliberate.

Anonymous said...

Forgot to add (in the 3:38 post) that I think he may have lost points for this dress being similar to the one he did for the Nicky Hilton challenge. Similar color--that one was a little darker slate color on the body--blue ribbons for the straps, a strappy back, sparkles on the front, flowy design.

No, it's not exactly the same, but it's similar. It's unfortunate that this one came after the NH one, in which there was more flexibility with the color and design (could have been anything) compared to the dirty water picture.

Anonymous said...

The inspiration of "dirty gutter water" and "taking something ugly and making it beautiful" was much more elegant than a flower. Yep, Andrae was robbed.

Sugar said...

okay especially the one bauble thingy that is hangin' right off her nipple!!!

Gorgeous Things said...

I agree. The only thing I didn't like about the dress was the bauble hanging right off the, um, bust apex. The rest was beautiful. He wuz robbed!

Unknown said...

It kind of confuses me the love so many people have for this. When I first watched the episode, I thought it would be at the bottom. I thought it just looked kind of sad and messy.

Though I'll concede that it's probably me that's crazy, and not everyone else.

Anonymous said...

Robbed he was. It may not quite be ready for the red carpet as is, but it's pretty darn close for the amount of time he had. Definitely the best of the bunch this week--it not only meets the terms of challenge, but it's a lovely piece of clothing that many women would actually love to (and could) wear.

Anonymous said...

Oh my god, I love this gown. It's fabulous and every drag queen I know would love to wear it.

Anonymous said...

I think Andrae had to over-eggerate the "water" to make the point. I don't have a problem with the bigger baubles either: they're big rockson the outer edges that couldn't escape the drainage grates, or they'd been there waiting for rain.

Yeah, I got it and LOVED it. Daniel V. was someone's pet at that point. Judged fairly, this was Andrae's.

WHERE'S ANDRAE? (sorry, had to do it) :-)

Jenn said...

I absolutely drooled over this dress when I first saw it coming down the runway. Yeah, I hated the baubles then and I hate them even more now, looking at the screencaps. Seeing it up close makes it look cheaper than it did on tv. This still should have won, regardless of the Duchess De` Orange's romantic whimsies.

Anonymous said...

Although Daniel V.'s design was rich and gorgeous, Andrae should have won the inspiration challenge, if only for really embodying the challenge: he made a lovely gown based on a photo of dirty water in a gutter — hence turning something ugly into something beautiful — and the dress looked like the photo, so he really rose to the challenge in the way none of the other designers did.

Anonymous said...

Andrae designed a stunning and elegant dress that was ready for the red carpet or any fabulous event. One of my favorite dresses on the show. He was robbed!

Anonymous said...

Andrae's was the most creative. I loved his idea of taking something ordinarily not beautiful and turning it into a thing of beauty.

Anonymous said...

I think I disagree with the many others posting here. I don't think that wearability has to be the number one criterium in an inspiration challenge.

I also don't think that taking something ugly and making it pretty and any more inspired than taking something pretty and making it pretty. On top of which I don't see his picture as ugly. But that's the photographer in me speaking.

A lot of people here to seem to think he was robbed. I could have immagined him winning without being the least bit upset. But I just think DV showed more creativity stepping outside of "make a pretty dress".

Anonymous said...

my friends and i STILL talk about that dress ...

Anonymous said...

Only Heidi could make one of those cheap Goody headbands look kinda chic.

Only Andrae could make a shiny-striped shirt appear, at first glance, to be a solid shirt wetted by tear stains.

Anonymous said...

LOVED this dress, and couldn't believe that he didn't win -- it was at this point that I realized that Daniel V was someone's favorite (I kinda thought Daniel's dress was fugly this week). It's moments like this that convince me that they select the winners based on storyline, not on the actual challenge or clothing, because no other dress said "inspiration" like this dress matched with this photo.

(And I don't know about the rest of you, but if your nipples are where that big bauble is hanging, you should go in for surgery. The girls CAN be lifted, ya know. Just sayin'.)

alittlecurl said...

I think Daniel won because his outfit was so different than what the judges had seen all season. There had been a lot of gowns, fishtail hems, and a lot of blue and grey.

Anonymous said...

Absolutely he should have won it. Wonderful dress. Given more time, that bust would have fit perfectly