Wednesday, April 18, 2007 by
Author
Sharpen your claws, kittens! It's time to dissect the auf'ing heard 'round the world!
Okay, let's start off by pretending that this was a perfectly executed garment (Haha! I know, right?). We'd still consider it an ugly design - and one that isn't really appropriate for Kara. Unless one defines "makeover" as "force someone in to clothes they'd never wear because they look horrible in them." The colors are drab, depressing, and they do nothing for Kara.
Jumpsuits only ever look good on one very tiny, very young, very skinny segment of the population, which is why you don't tend to see a lot of people wearing them. To the rest of the population, they're hugely unflattering.
Kara's got a great body, but even she couldn't pull this off (or put it on, for that matter).
No kittens, not even the design could save this from being a disaster. The poor execution only sealed the deal as far as we were concerned. That puckering and pulling around her torso made her look like she was about to give birth to a baby alien.
But this, THIS should have been grounds for auf'ing. Nina made quite a stink about Zulema's poor execution, going so far as to auf her over it, but nothing Shatangi sent down the runway was as bad as this. We don't generally like to throw around accusations, but this was, to us, a clear example of the judges having an agenda and voting accordingly. Santino's loudmouth rebel act really got them moist in their seats and they wanted to make sure he got his shot at Bryant Park. Yeah, Freddie Lieba liked it, but there were three other judges well aware of Santino's previous entries and behavior. At any other point in the competition and with any other designer, they would have found a way to send him home.
This isn't an anti-Santino rant. For the most part, we think he's entertaining as hell and kind of talented. This is an anti-judge rant. We don't subscribe to the notion that the producers run in and tell them how to vote, but the judges DO have an agenda and WILL overlook their own established criteria in order to keep the designers they like. This is just the clearest, most obvious example of that.
[Sreecncaps: projectrungay.blogspot.com]
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70 comments:
The only thing I can add to this commentary is a "well, duh!" while rolling my eyes.
It sorta looks like that wide band around the waist in the back actually connects underneath the jumper fabric in the front.
And if you're going to go to the trouble of putting faux fur on the shoulders (instead of, say, sewing the sleeves on completely) then style her hair up or back so as to let the Fug Flag Fly to completeness.
Word, boys.
I would also add that Santino was a complete ass-bag for trying to knuckle Kara in to being more complementary than was realistic about this trainwreck. Also, most heinous crime of fashion: cameltoe. Santino should have gone byebye.
I never noticed that fur trim on the collar...blech. Not that fur trim is the ONLY thing wrong with this, um, garment. But it just adds to the overall crap-tastic look!
This was the ugliest outfit I've seen, ever. How in the world can a person calling himself a "talented designer" make something this wretched?
I think Santino's final collection, Tim said looked like it was sewed by angels, he didn't get the judges at all, justifies the judges decision to keep him. I was Team Chloe all the way but his collection was beautiful.
Amen, my sisters.
On the subject of Santino's collection. One word: boobs. They were always placed about 5 inches too high. Ridiculous.
Also: I suppose it could be in the editing, but isn't it crazy how the judges would ask Kara questions, Santino answered with continous bullshit excuse after bullshit excuse (she was so excited, she jumped up and down SO HARD the thing EXPLODED! What, did she have a pogo stick or something?), and they were just sort of fine with that?
And what is wrong with Freddie Liebe, anyway?
I've gotta stop talking or I'll go all day.
I hated this outfit with a passion. Kara looked uncomfortable on the runway. Nick was sent home for poor execution. How do you classify this work then?
P.S. Can we not talk about future episodes/collections?
Believe it or not, I haven't watched the entire season yet.
Thanks : - )
I'm surprised you guys had nothing to say about Kara not saying anything to the judges while Santino LIED to them over and over again.
She's a cool girl, and it may not have made a difference, but I thought that was really sketchy that he blamed her for ripping his garment and she didn't even defend herself against his lies!
CLEARLY, this was a decision made by the powers that be behind the scenes. Just a reminder to everyone about the "judges" on Project Runway. The three on-screen judges do not by any means have the final say in who gets auf'ed and why. There are a slew of producers BEHIND THE SCENES that also participate in the judging. It is even stated in the closing credits. That definitely explains why people like Wendy Pepper and Santino have lasted as long as they had...they were kept on by the behind the scenes producers for dramatic effect, maintaining the "villain factor", and ratings. Period.
JohnP :)
Um...the shoes were pretty...**crickets**...**crickets**...
Ugh, this outfit looks like she tried to escape for a straitjacket. Kara has such a gorgeous body and she's so precious. I would have perhaps glammed her up or given her a fun, summery sort of look.
Yagazoozee, that thing was ugly! A jumpsuit? Please. Every time some designer tries to make those things popular, they fade away faster than a madras shirt. Flattering on No. Body. But we certainly did learn that the judges pull out the old "point of view" gambit whenever they want to keep someone around!
I know Freddie Lieba and I are alone on this, but I thought Kara looked hot! I loved this outfit and only wish it had been made well.
Yes, only one judge out of four liked this but all four of them hated Nick's so I just don't buy the proof of a production conspiracy.
And you picked the worst screen caps! Ha ha! I have actually seen other pics that are more flattering.
I think Kara looks sexy too Eric3000 and before this, nevah!
Well said gentlemen. This episode very nearly put me off the entire show.
Gack! It looks physically and psychologically uncomfortable. The cf zipper and color scheme remimd me of the shave kit my dad has had since about 1967. Why didn't he make her one of his multi layer shreded extravaganza's? Anything would have been better.
I think Kara has a hot body, but she was obviously uncomfortable and this makes no one look hot.
I'm still pissed at HER for knuckling under to Santino's threats. It was obvious she was afraid to speak up about how the thing was GLUED ON to her. I'm sure Santino threatened to talk shit about her design, or take all the credit, if she so much as breathed a word of what was really going on.
Santino sunk to a new low on this one. I'm surprised the judges fell for it, but then again, maybe they were scared of him too. This was the 4th time he should have gone home.
I KNOW!!!
This? Really pissed me off. I almost sort of for a moment thought about not watching PR any more after Santino squeaked by on this challenge. Can you imagine?
Of course Santino should have been aufed on the execution problems alone, but you're right, even if he had tailored it perfectly, it'd still look as if Santino went out of his way to uglify poor Kara. But again, what did he do all season but make pretty girls look unattractive, if not downright frightful? To his credit, we could actually *see* Kara's figure (and girl has a rockin' bod, there) -- I suppose that's a step in the right direction, since most of his designs did more to obscure his model's bodies than to show them off. Still, the design is not flattering to Kara, and the color is COMPLETELY wrong for her -- it washes her out completely. Okay, all the men messed up on this challenge, but do my eyes, Santino's monstrosity was far worse than the femme Eurotrash outfit that Nick gave Danny V. Damn those judges! Damn them to fashion hell!
Nick had been losing his touch for several episodes now. He was being boring and attempting to be safe, but even failing at that. Santino was still taking design risks and had a few recent successes. He had the most potential to do well.
Ugh. Santino had about five aufable outfits besides this one, but this was the worst. Awful, awful puke color, horribly fitted as if intentionally humiliating her, and poorly made, falling off her. And he's a lying scumbag. WHY?
Oh yeah- it takes talent to make an attractive woman with a great figure look like crap- I think it's called Misogyny.. His ass should have been out of there, Freddy Boy is a tasteless hack anyway.. but really?? Is there a woman out there that gets up and thinks "I think I'm having a jumpsuit kind of day today." Umm- no. To quote Queen Laura "That's some serious ugly."
As to Kara not standing up or tossing him under the bus where he belonged- come on y'all, she's just not that forceful a personality. Sweet, funny, talented all those- forceful? Not so much.
Did anyone else see this outfit and immediately flash back to stealing their sister's dolls in the 70's? (see pictures in link)
I sure did!
http://www.dollsandtoysaustralia.com/charlie.html
Too funny, Bill. I didn't play with Charlie's Angels dolls growing up, but it sure looks as if Santino did!
"...but this was, to us, a clear example of the judges having an agenda and voting accordingly."
Uh, yeah.
If the judging gets anymore 'Fair and Balanced', Project Runway is going to have to be broadcast on the Fox News channel.
But, to be fair, this outfit would win fit right in if the Hitler Youth were doing a revival of 'Mama Mia'.
--Gotham Tomato
(who is still stewed over this, yet another, bullshit aufing)
This is my only comment: PRGayBoys, amen!
But, to be fair, this outfit would win fit right in if the Hitler Youth were doing a revival of 'Mama Mia'.
I just choked at my desk, laughing!
Let's not forget the fab Berchtesgarden lingerie designed by Satanino earlier in Season 2.
I think my husband probably ran out of the room while I was ranting about this episode...I remember being so pissed off that Santino survived this train wreck.
Very few, if any of Santino's designs actually flattered his models, or fit them properly-that's a design failure to my way of thinking.....
I try not to get too worked up over TV shows, but this one pissed me off big time. It couldn't have been any more obvious who should've gone and I lost a lot of repect for the judges and the show at this point. I pulled it back together, mind you, but this was absolute and utter bullshit, no two ways about it.
The bottom line is I think that Santino just figured it out early in the season that he could dominate that show and he went for it. And it is really an embarassing performance, especially this episode.
Ironic isn't that had Kara spoken up maybe she might have been the top 3?
I too disgusted to write anything more.
Hear, freaking, hear!
Why am I not surprised that it looks even worse in the screencaps?
Aside from the obvious ugliness and shoddy construction, this is just so not right for Kara. Think of all the possible styles one could use to show off her body and increase the sex appeal, and this is what he chose? Apart from the generally unflattering design, all that tightness and puckering on the legs and ass ends up looking like a zebra's rear end.
Her discomfort was obvious and it was pretty clear the judges (at least Nina) didn't buy for a minute his claim that the shoulder seam tore because she was jumping up and down with excitement. I don't think it would have made any difference if she'd spoken up. The judges clearly wanted to keep Santino around for the finals--they proved it over and over again by keeping him around through one fashion travesty after another.
Bill, I OWNED a jumpsuit circa 1977. I think it was navy courdoroy with rainbow trim at the sleeve caps (it was sleveless so one could wear a shirt underneath) and declotee.
Thankfully, by then my brother had outgrown me so he couldn't steal it. I loved that damn thing. I was also in the 8th grade. Ack!
In 2006? Not a good idea. My jaw dropped when I heard the dreck that issued forth from Santino's mouth as he defended his shitty construction.
So not Kara it wasn't even funny.
In this case I'm convinced that Kara's hotness would not be denied and singlehandedly Made It Work.
You know, as annoying as it was seeing Santino stay in yet again, I have a hard time getting angry about it anymore. When I first watched this episode last year I was thoroughly annoyed, but now, I just don't care. Santino was able to carry on being a character for a few more episodes, and now he has fallen off the radar. Kara, Nick, Chloe, Dan V., and Emmett all have visible careers in fashion, and are doing pretty well for themselves, which is what matters most. It all works out in the end.
Bill, are you still above water?
Totally agree with the color scheme washing her out. I have very similar color to Kara... dark brown hair and olive skin. I don't even wear brown. I think it makes me look like I'm all one color.
I'm not completely opposed to the idea... but damn, head to toe? I don't think anyone could pull that off.
The only good thing I can say about this is that is season one they kept Wendy Pepper for the drama. At least in season two they kept someone who was interesting and had a point of view as a designer.
I think it is interesting that the women "got" the guys so dead on--Nick looked so Nick and Santino so Santino. They guys weren't even close on the woman--neither of them could have looked more uncomfortable.
I think Nick was in the middle on Daniel--he took advantage of his lean look and if it had just been a bit better made and a bit more masculine...
All the more reason Santino should have gone and Nick should have stayed.
Just wear and cry, Kara. You can cry all you want but you got to wear the jumpsuit while you cry. Wear and cry, just like that.
-girlincity
Not to start a conspiracy theory here, but after seeing this wretched excuse for sewing combined with all of the piled on whickety whacks Santino produced, I am suspicious that he sewed his entire final collection. There was no instance during the competition in which he showed any sort of technical ability. None. And yes, I am a very advanced sewer, etc...
As far as the comments about the judges being influenced or manipulated by the producers, I believe Tim Gunn who when speaking of this said that he did not see any heavy handed manipulation. And that he saw that the decisions made were the judges. So... judges = Board members of the Chamber of Commerce in Crazytown.
Thank you for openly saying what we've known all along. Hopefully the Bravo producers will read this and realize that they're not fooling anyone. Every time the judges say they judge fairly, they lose more credibility. Are they just too dumb or detached from reality to realize it? Do they think the viewing public is that stupid? It's insulting. I've been sewing and designing almost my entire life and I was so excited to see a show about creating fashion, which was always my dream when I was young. This show could have been so great - it had all the elements, but as we've seen with PR and all the other Bravo shows, they managed to find a way to screw it up. They really need to hire people who know what they're doing.
An absolutely hideous outfit! And I can't believe Kara did say anything about it.
anonymous 7:53pm,
I agree with you COMPLETELY. If ONLY the Bravo execs would read this; but I don't think Andy Cohen has enough brains to fill out a small hat so I don't expect to see any positive judging changes in Season 4.
Whatever folks. We all know the wrong man went home. Dan's outfit was so bad, the judges should have revoked his immunity. Or better yet, retroactively give Kara the win for the flower dress challenge.
My rankings.
1. Kara, I'd hang with Santino on holiday.
2. Chloe, I'd fly with Nick to Santino's holiday destination.
3. Santino, sorry, at least the jumpsuit design was hot. Kara's ass was bammin.
4. Nick, not unterrible, just not redeeming in any way either.
5. Dan, just awful.
Now listen gals. If Nick made his suit for Kara, and Santino adapted his jumpsuit for Dan, everything would've worked... Except for Dan's. His sucked.
I had FINALLY gotten my husband to watch PR with me. He really liked Tim Gunn and appreciated the talent involved and like the good guy he is would watch and talk about the few episodes he had watched with me.
Then came this joke of an episode. Seriously, what bad joke this was.
Now the internet is the only place I can talk about this show. I realize we are not part of the audience that Bravo is courting. But we are a couple that buys good clothes and good furniture and spends serious money on good restaurants. I subscribes to a lot of magazines. A bad decision was made in this episode.
- Barnaby
I think that Chloe looked much worse. Dan V should have been sent home, immunity or not.
Kara looks...meh. It does look much better from the back.
Gotham, I think Santino would be a perfect fit for an hour-long fashion/bullying show on Fox "News"--in the O'Reilly vein. He's certainly enough of an asshole to fit the bill!
Wow, someone about ten posts ago smoked Andy Cohen...! I hope the Bravo people do read these blogs because its fun to snipe and vent...but much more of these bullshit decisions, and people will change channels.
Nick was beloved and had personality for days! Why the love affair with Santino?
I was so pissed that Kara didn't say anything when the judges asked her how she felt in the outfit. Santino was damn lucky he wasn't out.
They wanted Santino in the final three. At this point in the game, it didn't matter what he sent on the runway.
the closing of your blog today was brilliant in its truth and terseness.
thank you for being the voice in the rough to acknowledge this horrendous credo the judges possess amongst themselves
to eliminate NICK over SANTINO
With better construction and in a different color, this could have been a hot outfit. Sigh. Even so, I'd still rank it (slightly) above Nick's for attempting creativity.
How I wish DV could have been auf'd.
Still flabbergasted over this decision. That outfit was embarassing. Still can't understand why Kara agreed to the initial design. Santino didn't appear to listen to her at all.
The jumpsuit was horrible, and you could tell Kara hated having to wear it. Santino must have bullied her big time, because if there was ever a time to rip on another designer, that was it.
Why didn't he make her some big poofy 1980s Betsey Johnson party frock with a skirt in about twenty shades of tulle? That would have been fun, it would have served her personality better, and it would have been right up his alley. (The bust would still have been in the wrong place, but that's practically his signature.) Do you think he hates her?
Hell, yeah. That was the point at which I started to think he hates women on principle, which is not a good personality trait for a fashion designer.
To play devil's advocate, I'm not sure we're being fair to the judges. Does it matter if they would have eliminated someone like Zulema for ass-bad construction (ABC), and not have done so for Santino in this episode? They say in each challenge that they are grading them on different things ("In this challenge, you will be judged on X, Y, and Z," says Heidi on the runway), and each judge has the opportunity to give different scores based on those different things. Santino's may have had some ABC going on, but in this challenge, maybe construction was only worth a quarter of what vision for the outfit was worth. And while Santino may have gotten zero in the construction department, Nick certainly gets zero here in the vision department--what he did to Dan V, in my opinion, was almost as bad as what Dan V did to Chloe. That suit was really uninspired, especially because it ended up as a woman's suit--in my opinion, what Nick did to Dan V was almost as bad as what Dan V did to Chloe. On the other hand, I personally like the idea of Kara as some fab 70s/80s icon in a jumpsuit. I would have totally bought her "Twenty Years of Classics" CD in 2000.
Result? Santino's ABC gets to stay, and Nick's womenswear gets the boot.
The point? Let's not hate on the judges for being "inconsistent" or losing "credibility." After all, it's much easier to fix a torn sleeve than a completely bad idea. Plus, at the end of it all, they're still Nina, Michael, and Heidi, and we still love them. No?
i didn't think she looked all that bad. if it had been sewn better, it would've looked better.
You know, as annoying as it was seeing Santino stay in yet again, I have a hard time getting angry about it anymore. When I first watched this episode last year I was thoroughly annoyed, but now, I just don't care. Santino was able to carry on being a character for a few more episodes, and now he has fallen off the radar. Kara, Nick, Chloe, Dan V., and Emmett all have visible careers in fashion, and are doing pretty well for themselves, which is what matters most. It all works out in the end.
I never thought of it like that, but that's very heartening.
They say in each challenge that they are grading them on different things ("In this challenge, you will be judged on X, Y, and Z," says Heidi on the runway), and each judge has the opportunity to give different scores based on those different things.
True, but that's open for shifty judging in other ways. I remember in "Window Shopping", the designers were told they'd be judged on ability to create a garment that goes from a daytime to an evening look. Then Diana and Marla made something that did just that, and got slammed for it not being hip and modern enough. Then the winner was chosen by random people on the street, based on how pretty they thought window displays looked. They may as well have judged on who had the mintiest fresh breath that week, given how inconsistent the challenge's parameters were.
"After all, it's much easier to fix a torn sleeve than a completely bad idea."
Actually in the screen cap (to me) it looks like the fabric is ripped not that the seam let go, which is impossible to fix and be wearable (unless you cut out an altogether new sleeve). Furthermore if it is the armhole seam (its in a weird place) and if it is repaired its just going to rip again because the sleeve cap is shaped incorrectly or there is not enough room in the muscle. If she bought is off the rack, well maybe she got the wrong size, but sense it was made just for her...
And that arrow pointing to her crotch!
Jaysis. For that alone he should've been aufed.
-- desertwind
And and and...
Kara could hardly badmouth Santino. He had something to say about her design, too!
If the producers were going to keep Santino on for drama in the finale, then they SHOULD have kept Nick as well. A man-to-man contest at OFW between those two would have been brilliant. As it was, the Season Two Fashion Week Show was disappointing - except for Kara.
Oops - my bad - I forgot we aren't supposed to talk about future episodes, please delete!
Not to start a conspiracy theory here, but after seeing this wretched excuse for sewing combined with all of the piled on whickety whacks Santino produced, I am suspicious that he sewed his entire final collection. There was no instance during the competition in which he showed any sort of technical ability. None. And yes, I am a very advanced sewer, etc...
Oh, I agree. I never believed that Santino really sewed his finale collection by himself. No freaking way. You don't just suddenly pull sewing skills out of your ass. His work has been consistenly poorly construced, badly sewed and just extremely sloppy.
I wish Chloe or Daniel V had called him out on outsouring.
Santino cheated. The proof is in the clothes.
The non-auf'ing of Santino over this outfit kept me up the night I first saw it. UGH.
This episode really ticked me off...the sleeve didn't rip (as one of the previous commentors thought) but hadn't been SEWN as Santino yet again ran out of time.
This outfit, without the usual over-embellishment/layers, points out one of Santino's biggest problems/weaknesses: Understanding a woman's body. I do understand the concept of wearable art, but Santino too often neglected the wearable part of that equation...and his lack of ability to listen to and design for a client. Santino does his own thing no matter what the client wants/needs.
And of course Kara's hair wasn't styled up...it needed to be loose/long to attempt to hide the fact that it wasn't finished.
And this was just bad. Wrong for the client, poorly executed, etc.
Operakatz said...
"This episode really ticked me off...the sleeve didn't rip (as one of the previous commentors thought) but hadn't been SEWN as Santino yet again ran out of time."
Opera,
I had the feeling that the post containing the statement about the sleeve seam being more easily repaired than the "bad idea" was written by someone who was actually there. The tag and style of writing coupled with the defense of the judges fairness were familiar.
snf in va - too sweet! Thanks for the concern. We are about 4 blocks north (and all uphill) from the flooding in our town. We lost our downtown for the second time in 8 years and had 900 residents in shelters for a few days, but Ed & I are safe and dry. Thanks for asking.
Uggh. Ick. Yuck!
I never did understand why Santino was not auf'd for this monstrosity (or for his previous ones either), except that Bravo wanted his antagonistic viewpoint for the final episodes.
I personally wouldn't wear 1 of his designs to a dog fight.
Kudo's to Kara for not ripping Santino a new asshole. She showed some professionalism in this episode by keeping her mouth shut. Although she was probably convinced that he would be auf'd for the shoddy construction and design.
From the front it's not that bad. But in the back her ass looks like it's a mile long.
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