Recently auf'd Jennifer has been making the interview rounds and falling back on that reality television perennial, "It was the editing," which is right up there with "I'm not here to make friends." First, she sat down with Fancast:
What did you think?
Well I have to say, living the experience was really positive. I had a great time and I felt like I represented myself. Then watching it, obviously everything is edited, and I felt like it wasn’t a true representation of what really happened. I was a little bit bummed about that, but you know, any exposure is good exposure I guess.
How was it a misrepresentation? What was edited out?
Well I can’t really go into too much detail about it, but Tim really liked my outfit. I noticed that they did a voice-over with afterthoughts and it was kind of disappointing because I know that he really thought my outfit looked good and that I put a lot of thought into it, so that was a little sad. Also I think maybe I wasn’t shown having as many friends as I did on the show, when I got along with everybody, and had a really good time. It seemed like I was always so sleepy, watching the show it seems like I’m kind of in my own dreamlike world. But I really did have a good time doing it and did have a lot of fun.
Are you upset about being portrayed like that?
You go on to reality shows and you just kind of have to accept the good with the bad going in. I don’t think there was anything bad, I just would have liked to have seen a little bit more of the fun I had on the show, which would have truly represented how the show was.
So, there’s been a lot of chatter about your “Holly Golightly goes to a Salvadore Dali exhibit“ style, people thinking your clothes aren’t very surreal, and then Tim calling your Olympic outfit matronly. What do you make of all that?
Well what he [Tim] actually said to me was ‘I saw your outfit from across the room, and it looked matronly at first. Now that I see it I really like it, and I don’t think that at all.’ So obviously the story got told the way it needed to be told, but that was a little disappointing. At the same time, as far as the surrealism thing goes, my whole quote, which - if I hear one more time I think I’m going to be sick to my stomach – they kept repeating it and repeating it without any explanation. Why I chose to describe my line that way, or my style, is that those are two recognizable characters: one for 1960’s cocktail style, and one for a surrealist style. Dali is not my main inspiration, but to a wide variety of people he’s very recognizable. I have a very vintage sensibility with my clothes, and they’re feminine and girlie. At times I draw from the 1960’s and then more of my surrealist inspiration comes from a surrealist fashion designer Elsa Schiaparelli. She did kind of tongue-in-cheek details in her clothing and that’s kind of what I take and put in my clothing. She would do things like a lobster dress.
Then she sat down with Entertainment Weekly for more:
Nina kept saying that you couldn't separate your personal design taste from what the challenge was, but it is a balance. It sounds like having your personal voice and style is important.
That's exactly how I feel. I think the problem is that the judges can't step back from their aesthetic. They're saying they want to see something more modern, but they need to see past that and see the effort that goes into it. This is my style. Critique it for how it is within my style. Not just what your taste is. But I agree with her in the fact that I shouldn't be designing for myself in this challenge. I should be designing for an athlete, who is a different person. Yeah, I agree with her in that matter.
When Tim consulted, he seemed unsure of your outfit and said that when he saw it from across the room that it looked matronly. Did you do much to change it after he said all that?
Well, I'm not sure how much I should be saying. Tim really liked my outfit. Did you notice they kind of voiced-over another opinion as an afterthought? He said, ''I was looking at your outfit from across the room and the top kind of seemed matronly.'' And then they filled in something else, but really then he said, ''But I see it up close, and I see the inspiration, and I really like it.'' So he really liked it. There was no information to take and change. He thought it was good.
Project Runway Roundup: Jennifer Auf'ed, Says She Was "Misrepresented," If She Hears Any More Surreal Comments She'll Be "Sick" [FanCast]
'Project Runway' Exit Q&A: Jennifer Diederich [EW]
[Photo: Bravo/Jay Sullivan]
117 comments:
"I think the problem is that the judges can't step back from their aesthetic. They're saying they want to see something more modern, but they need to see past that and see the effort that goes into it. This is my style. Critique it for how it is within my style. Not just what your taste is."
Gee, that's the problem with judges. They tend to judge and say who stays and who goes. They all too often tend to not conform to your own perspective.
It's not as if the Magical Elves don't edit selectively /snark.
Remember the edited version of Tim looking at Rickie's denim tube dress and saying "stunning" and then Tim wrote that he wasn't impressed with the dress and really said "You need to make that stunning."
"I think the problem is that the judges can't step back from their aesthetic. They're saying they want to see something more modern, but they need to see past that and see the effort that goes into it."
What I think she doesn't understand is that the judges want to see designs that are "fashion forward", not necessarily "modern". If anyone had actually taken inspiration from the Olympic museum and did something that didn't look like it belonged in a museum, I feel the judges would have recognized it and rewarded the designer. This did not happen. She needs to step back and realize that, based on her designs we saw on PR, she would be better suited as a costume designer for period movies.
Well, I thought this was a rather intelligent exchange, and I think I appreciate her more for having read this. I certainly think she has thought about the various comments in a way that she can respond to them without looking like ...ahem...Emily or whatever her name was last week.
thanks for the post on a saturday, guys.
Watched the Olympic opening ceremony last night. Did you all see the team whose women walked in wearing red sleeveless, belted, sleek dresses with off the shoulder red fabric wraps?
My daughter and I both yelled 'cocktail dresses!!!!'
There was also a electric blue blazer trimmed in neon yellow we thought should be in the bottom three on PRW.
the only thing she keeps misrepresenting is the idea of surrealism - as if that is being in any way associated with something like that combination she wears in the photo. It's not the editing, it's that she never said anything of her "surrealism" that the camera-edit thought would be catchphraseworthy, and if anyone learned that is essential in fashion and tv, it was Dali long before Warhol. She is just not ready for prime time, period.
This is a boring season, and I can't believe we get stuck with stupid "holla at your boy" embarassment coming out of Tim.
Yawn. Kind of the same way I felt about her designs. As she says, you have to accept the good and the bad when you sign on to be a reality show contestant. The editors are going to put things on the show that they want and that they think the audience might respond to. They definitely don't put what the contestants want.
Modern? Fashion Forward? *snark* Hells bells her outfit would have been the perfect match to Ralph Lauren's "Buffy, have we got any more caviar? I see a poor person on the dock and its made me hungry." shit that walked into the Olympic Stadium last night.
Yes it is editing but all the editing in the world isn't going to make someone exciting when they are zoned out on prozac most of the time.
After reading these interviews, I like Jennifer a lot more and feel she may have gotten a bit gypped - especially since I already kinda thought Daniel should have been kicked off instead of her.
She has still never explained her surrealism. And I still suspect it is because she can't. In these interviews and a long blog post of hers someone else posted, she can easily talk about specific details regarding other aspects of her design, but when it comes to the 'surrealism' she simply says that Schiaparelli is an inspiration more than Dali and the show just kept re-running the same quote.
Pretty graceful exit interview. I can see why she'd be a bit upset. As an 18 year-old girl, I thought her outfit was kind of cute. Appropriate for the Olympics? Definitely no. If she had actually done it in American flag colors? I think she'd still be in the competition, honestly.
And as for a-nony-mouse, I saw those too! I was like, "Oh my God, Nina would have a heart attack." I also thought it was kind of funny that the outfits the Americans wore looked much more like what Terri designed.
anony-mouse,
We saw them too and I said "Daniel is vindicated!" The team was from Poland. The Romanian Team also wore outfits that looked like teatime.
My son and I loved watching the opening ceremonies (the performance was astounding!), and we felt like we had some connection to the fashion...
a-nony-mouse, as soon as i saw that dress (which was worn by the polish women), i thought that, even though i disliked daniel's dress, perhaps he wasn't so far off the mark. and those electric blue blazers w/ the bright yellow trim were worn by the ukranians. considering some of what i saw last night, i don't think any of the designers’ outfits were 100% off-base. sad, but true…
~~zoë
oh, and i forgot to ask: did any of you see the team wearing green crocs? i just about died.
~~zoë
You go on to reality shows and you just kind of have to accept the good with the bad going in.
Finally, someone who gets it.
"Zoë said...
i don't think any of the designers’ outfits were 100% off-base. sad, but true…
~~zoë"
I don't see why we should justify fugly with fugly.
Yes, they edit the show, but at the end of the day it's YOUR concept, YOUR design on the runway.
'Wah, wah, wah. I'm not changing my design esthetic to win this contest. The editing done me in. Wah, wah, wah. I was just having so much fun. Wah, wah, wah.'
Doesn't she get it that the judges see her work from the equivalent perspective of 'across the room'? And I would think that a designer who is told that his/her work looks matronly from any perspective would be deeply concerned about the garment at the very least. Certain adjectives are automatic death to a design and matronly is definitely one of those adjectives.
She's clearly delusional, and has obviously never actually seen a Dali exhibit. Also, she doesn't grasp the concept of who holds the power in this reality show, and it is neither the designers nor Tim Gunn.
It's the judges, stupid! (with apologies to Bill Clinton's presidential speech writers)
GT's Sister -- yup, the password.
"I think the problem is that the judges can't step back from their aesthetic. They're saying they want to see something more modern, but they need to see past that and see the effort that goes into it. This is my style. Critique it for how it is within my style. Not just what your taste is."
Well, she does have a point about the judges. We have all seen them make crazy-ass decisions over the seasons (Example: not aufing Santino for that turkey costume). But unfortunately, Jennifer didn't come up with the goods that would make me say that the judges made a bad decision here. She just drew the short straw among a bad lot. Six to one, half a dozen to another.
And as for the 'effort' part - Oy. This argument reminds me of all those nitwits who whine about how hard it is to have kids: It's so hard, no one understands how hard it is, no one gives us any credit. SHUT THE FUCK UP! Is this something new? Didn't your parents have kids?
Life is tough. You don't get extra credit points for making a lifestyle choice that requires effort to fulfill.
--GothamTomato
anonymous 11:38 said:
"...Ralph Lauren's "Buffy, have we got any more caviar? I see a poor person on the dock and its made me hungry." shit that walked into the Olympic Stadium last night."
Ha ha! Love that comment!
I totally agree, and I generally love the preppy look. For the Olympics, though, no.
"Zoë said...
a-nony-mouse, as soon as i saw that dress (which was worn by the polish women), i thought that, even though i disliked daniel's dress, perhaps he wasn't so far off the mark."
Having an Eastern European country wear something similar isn't exactly a vindication.
They looked like bridesmaids.
--GothamTomato
GothamTomato said...
"I think the problem is that the judges can't step back from their aesthetic. They're saying they want to see something more modern, but they need to see past that and see the effort that goes into it. This is my style. Critique it for how it is within my style. Not just what your taste is."
Well, she does have a point about the judges.
I disagree. When fashion editors see a runway show they critique, love, hate what's sent down the runway during those brief 12 minutes (and in some occasions a quick peek before the show); they couldn't care less about effort, delays, mishaps backstage. Why should the PR judges be any different?
In the real fashion world, she's entitled to ask people to critique her withing her style, but in a competition? That is ridiculous.
I have to say that I am shocked how those designers just don't give a damn about the challenge, and worse, get away with it.
Uh, yeah. Did you read the rest of what I wrote?
It seems that I'm a yet another victim of editing. Oh the inhumanity.
--GothamTomato
Well, whatever. I thought it was a very cute outfit. Surely better than the cocktail dress. I thought the gold stripes were witty.
Maybe she feels like she was portrayed as not having friends because she's insecure about the same thing? Maybe she needs a little more self-confidence. Oh well. She's young.
Sorry, GT, I didn't mean to include your response: "Well, she does have a point about the judges."
I just wanted to copy her quote and ended up including some of your post.
Editing can be done to put someone in a bad light and, conversely, it can be done to put someone in a good light or a better light than they were in in reality. I read that they actually toned Santino down.
She is probably telling the truth about the "Dali Go Lightly" and even Tim's critique.I bet she just said the stuff about surrealism once and they used it again and again, to make her look a little silly. The thing is if she never said it she wouldn't have gotten on the show.
She sounds pretty grounded and realistic about what happened. She does have talent, just not in the entertainment field. I wish her well.
Well of course she will defend herself and her style but she does acknowledge she messed up this challenge. So she's not quite so delusional.
I certainly believe her when she said that Tim had positive things to say. She was way too specific in regard to the matronly comment.
This brings up an issue I have with reality show editing. While failure at a challenge is failing at a challenge, you can manipulate the narrative. As someone pointed out they were pretty blatant with it with Ricky's denim dress or Chris running across the field last year. I know the magical elves get a lot of praise as producers but more and more I have become dissatisfied w/the way they have handled the show. Edited Tim's comments is a big no-no in my book
As far as those polish dresses, I kept thinking cocktail dress as well. But I have to say they were much better than what Daniel designed. Those hungarian dresses hwoever were pure cow dung
Frank
The thing is, if anything, she takes Elsa Schiaparelli's designs and removes and vestige of surrealism from them, all the while injecting trite femininity.
And regarding the judges...come on, bitch. If you think it's appropriate to dress athletes in a twin set with a skirt made out of cheap patio umbrella fabric, then you don't have any right to be bad mouthing the judges, because it's obvious you cannot assess your work successfully on your own.
From her blog:
"Time just got away from me
So I agree to a certain extent that my dress for the inspiration challenge was not executed perfectly, and I DEFINITLY would have changed the proportions on the tiers of the skirt, had I not run out of time for editing.
I spent a good amount of time draping the sleeve, which is called a cartwheel sleeve. We do not have slopers (basic patterns) to utilize on the show. For anyone who drapes, we know that draping a sleeve takes time. I also had to sew carefully with the charmeuse fabric, seeing that it shows every ripple and mistake (remember last week's challenge with all the satin ripples?)
Time just got away from me.
I do believe I incorporated surrealism into the design. Surrealism is kind of a hard thing to define, especially in fashion. While I definitely do not consider myself as controversial as some of the more noted Surreal and Dadaist artists, I have an affinity to the original surreal fashion designer, Elsa Schiaparelli. I also find it ironic that my designs are demure, but with a touch of surrealism incorporated-hence the now infamous quote about audrey hepburn and Dali-a mix I believe would interest the surreal artists.
Schiaparelli created whimsical designs and accesories including a "lobster dress", a jacket with a woman's head on the front with her hair cascading down the sleeve, a evening coat with a vase and flower embroidery, a circus collection, a fabric that appeared ripped when it wasn't, roach buttons and a "chest of drawers" suit among many other amazing and original designs.
It's hard to put into words my fascination with the idea of putting literal interpretation of an inspiration into clothing. To me, surrealism in clothing allows a designer to add tongue-in-cheek into a design. It is a new way of looking at something. Look at the Marc Jacobs shoe for his last collection that placed the heel in an unconventional place, or the trend of underwear as outerwear. These are new ways to look at everyday obects.
In the case of my third design, it was like, "this is a sleeve, but it's also a clock"
I agree I could have taken it further (and the design could have looked younger), but the idea was there.
When I put pictures of my Fall collection up, we'll dicuss again.
Until then, go check out Schiaparelli and Moschino (an italian designer) to see more surreal fashions, or if you live in New York City, go see the Dali film exhibit at the MOMA. trust me, it's fun! "
http://thesuitelife-jennifer.blogspot.com/
She didn't just happen to mention surrealism once on the show. In her head it serves as the basis of her designs and one can't help but see no connection and laugh at it.
"kitschtrain said...
Editing can be done to put someone in a bad light and, conversely, it can be done to put someone in a good light or a better light than they were in in reality. I read that they actually toned Santino down."
I've heard the same thing about Jeffrey; that the editing was actually kind to him; that he was really much worse than they allowed to show.
--GothamTomato
GT, I guess vindication was too strong a word, but my point, which didn't come out so clearly was that there was a multiplicity of designs and aesthetics out there on the field, and yeah, maybe they were fugly, but it showed that "sporty" wasn't the only aesthetic. And the Hungarian team!
I guess my point was that seeing all those outfits out there, even Jennifer's wasn't so bad (though she completely missed the whole USA point--but then again, so did Ralph Lauren).
Frank, what did they do with the editing of Chris running across the field last year?
I agree, there seems no need to misedit something like Tim's comments unless perhaps out of pure laziness. I can see why they'd try to shape people into 'characters' but why misrepresent the fashion critiques?
So I am Eastern European--both my parens were born abroad--and I was watching the opening ceremonies with my sig o. When the Romanians (I think) came out, I was like, "Oh, those dresses are soooo cute!" and he just said, "Man, you guys really ARE tacky aren't you?"
"They're saying they want to see something more modern, but they need to see past that and see the effort that goes into it."
I actually get what she's saying here; with Nina on the panel, I think trendy things tends to get chosen as winners over classic things (Kenley's dress last week; Victorya's fashion victim prom dress) because she has her eye out for what's new now. I feel like the losing dresses don't tend to follow this, though. And the problem wasn't that her outfit wasn't "modern," it was that it was completely inappropriate for the challenge. Certainly Jennifer can understand that.
"Bailey said...
I can see why they'd try to shape people into 'characters' but why misrepresent the fashion critiques?"
Exactly. They are crucial to determine whether someone is going in the right direction or not, whether they listened to Tim or not, and so forth.
And I don't really think what other countries ended up wearing really applies to this challenge, which was to design for the US team. Who cares what Poland was wearing? The outfits represent the culture of our country, and I guess to me cocktail dresses don't suit America, which is a bit more reserved than other countries might be, if that makes sense.
GT's sister said Jennifer never saw a Dali exhibit. How can we question her knowledge of Dali. why would she lie about seeing a dali exhibit. the way she expresses her inspiration in to her designs is up to her. Her surrealism is in suttle design details, like the sleeve as the clock for the NY night challenge. There were way worse on that runway that should have been looked at but apparently the producres were done with her.
" Gin said...
I think trendy things tends to get chosen as winners over classic things (Kenley's dress last week; Victorya's fashion victim prom dress) "
Because the fashion world wants to constantly change, innovate, reshape, not be stuck in "classic things"
"Bailey said...
And I don't really think what other countries ended up wearing really applies to this challenge, which was to design for the US team. Who cares what Poland was wearing? The outfits represent the culture of our country, and I guess to me cocktail dresses don't suit America, which is a bit more reserved than other countries might be, if that makes sense."
Amen!
She seems to be a nice person, and nice people generally don't belong on a reality show.
This is one of the reasons I don't put a lot of effort into trying to figure things out. It seems clear they edit the show to steer the viewers towards certain conclusions and away from others. I just focus on the designs.
Bailey said...
I agree, there seems no need to misedit something like Tim's comments unless perhaps out of pure laziness. I can see why they'd try to shape people into 'characters' but why misrepresent the fashion critiques?
The do misrepresent the critiques. Tim Gunn stated in is blog that they misrepresented his opinion of Ricky's Levi dress and also Allison's trash dress.
My guess is they do it to give a more black and white story. Shades of grey are boring.
"Nina kept saying that you couldn't separate your personal design taste from what the challenge was, but it is a balance. It sounds like having your personal voice and style is important.
That's exactly how I feel. I think the problem is that the judges can't step back from their aesthetic. They're saying they want to see something more modern, but they need to see past that and see the effort that goes into it. This is my style. Critique it for how it is within my style. Not just what your taste is. But I agree with her in the fact that I shouldn't be designing for myself in this challenge. I should be designing for an athlete, who is a different person. Yeah, I agree with her in that matter."
What about the designers' incapability to integrate their aesthetic into the challenges instead of designing bathing suits for a cocktail dinner and beaded gowns for a summer escape to the beach?
First, what better way of spending a rainy morning than learning something new. Looked up Else Schiaparelli. Her wikipedia entry had a link under "notes" to her Philiadelphia Art Museum gallery. I really like, especially the "Cocteau Coat" under Conservation.
But I still don't see where Jennifer brought that surprise element to PR.
Second, I think part of the problem this season is we have a bunch of young designers who don't really know who they are yet. They have had a little success selling their designs and they are letting what they've sold define their style more than their own aesthetic. They are using PR more to grow their business visablity than growing as a designer. Instead of having fun and designing the challenge, they are "how can I bend the challenge to something my clients will buy."
Sorry, off my soapbox.
Was anyone else as unimpressed with the Ralph Lauren-designed outfits worn by the American olympians at the opening ceremony? Ugh. They were so blah/sailor. Ill-fitting khakis with a giant navy blazer and a silly white golf hat. I would definitely have rather seen them wearing gold striped bottoms.
Bailey: The thing about Chris running across the field is how they blatantly milked it for all it was worth and made it look a lot worse than it probably was. It was kind of awkward I thought to do that to Chris.
That 1st challenge when they all had to race across the field to get to the fabric and people grabbing fabric first come first serve. It was clear Chris was in no shape to keep up with everyone else and they keep showing clips of him running and running. They made it look as if the designers had to run 6 blocks to get to the fabric and it took 45 minutes just for him to get there.
I recall plenty of people on the blogs being upset that they did that to him. It felt very exploitative and unnecessary. I felt more anger towards the elves than sympathy for Chris.
Also it's funny that it was said Jeffery was toned down. I recall Angela mentioning soemthing in an interview when they got into that big fight over the sewing machine settings. She mentioned how later he apoligized for it when he realized he was coming across as a major asshole.
I find it funny that they cut that out since he did come across as a major asshole who seem to be channeling all his stress on her. Further it was funny that piece of info came from her and not from him or Allison or even Laura.
Frank
Aren't "girlie" and "matronly" opposites?
Is that kind of like being "vulgar" and "dowdy" at the same time?
I think "the entire premise of the show can go fuck itself" sums it up.
Really--the judges certainly appreciate some aesthetics more than others, but there's a reason (other than teevee logic) why Stella is still here and Jennifer is not. It's that if you can't make your aesthetic conform to the demands of a brief, you're in danger. Simple as that. That's been obvious ever since Austin was knocked off four seasons ago, and Austin was far more interesting than Jennifer.
Kathryn said: "... I can see why she'd be a bit upset. As an 18 year-old girl ..."
wtf? She's only 18? She came across as interesting as a caged tomato (unfortunately not the gotham variety).
Two things: there wasn't just the one "surreal" quote, there were several, and they were different. The only thing that was even remotely surreal about any of your outfits was the one you were WEARING that had the pearl necklace printed onto the fabric instead of actual pearls -- and that detail was to surrealism what Chicken McNuggets are to food. And allowing the name "Dali" to escape your lips multiple times is inexcusable -- you're not in his league, and frankly Dali is a college-dorm-level painter, and not being in his league means you're in high school.
Secondly, however bad the editing was, WE SAW THE DRESSES and the were bad. The extreme highlight closeups they've shown on this blog confirmed everyone's initial impressions: THE DRESSES WERE BAD.
Now go away before I get angry and really rip into you.
Having seen the actual Olympics outfits from every country, I think I'd like to change my vote and pick Jerrel! His outfit was mentally ill, and would have fit right in with some of them. I think Botswana's team was wearing his hats!
Mike B. said...
I think "the entire premise of the show can go fuck itself" sums it up.
My my, Hon. Project much? That's a bit of a stretch, don't ya think?
"Mike B. said...
I think "the entire premise of the show can go fuck itself" sums it up.
Really--the judges certainly appreciate some aesthetics more than others, but there's a reason (other than teevee logic) why Stella is still here and Jennifer is not. It's that if you can't make your aesthetic conform to the demands of a brief, you're in danger. Simple as that. That's been obvious ever since Austin was knocked off four seasons ago, and Austin was far more interesting than Jennifer."
I couldn't have said it better, Mike. And I still remember how upset I was when they aufed Austin and at the same angry as I was I understood why. It made sense. It was a beautiful gown but completely wrong for the challenge.
I've been searching all morning for a good photo of the Republic of Cocktails nee Poland and this is the best I could find. Pasted with forced breaks.
http://news.yahoo.com/nphotos/
Olympics-Opening-Ceremony-Beijing-
2008-Olympic-Games-Marek-
Twardowski/ss/events/olympics/
080808olyopeningcer/im:/080808/
ids_photos_sp/r2058438689.jpg/
If someone knows of a better one, I'd love to get the link, hard core PR fan that I am.
And what was with team Hungary-- "If your sport is High Tea, this is your dress..."
Last night when the USA team paraded in, I said to my 20 year old daughter, informatively, "Ralph Lauren designed those."
She regarded me with extreme sarcasm and retorted, "How did you guess?"
Anonymous said...
Kathryn said: "... I can see why she'd be a bit upset. As an 18 year-old girl ..."
wtf? She's only 18? She came across as interesting as a caged tomato (unfortunately not the gotham variety).
Anonymous, Kathryn is giving her insight as an 18 year old girl. She is not saying that Jennifer is 18.
Tim mentioned that she had a sense of humor in the workroom. I wish we'd seen that side of her.
-- desertwind
PS -- The last challenge was taped only a few days before first epi broadcast. The editing elves must've been workin' overtime.
I have nothing to say regarding Jennifer. Nice girl, but about as interesting as watching grass grow.
I do have to put in my two cents regarding Project Beijing, though.
The Chinese team looked like a mess of scrambled eggs with ketchup sloshed all over it.
Everyone else on the board summed up the Ralph Lauren tragedy pretty well. (I hated the driving/golfing hats the most of any part of the ensemble).
Ok...I know I may get some comments about this one, but I thought Armani did a great job with the Italians. They just looked so...so...sooooo ARMANI!!!
----StkrShock
No amount of editing could have made her clothes look any different, and that was the problem. She sold herself as the surreal Holly Golightly, and her designs reflected neither.
Anonymous 1:23 said ...
Was anyone else as unimpressed with the Ralph Lauren-designed outfits worn by the American olympians at the opening ceremony?
The only element I hated hated hated was the goofy caps. Everything else was sort of meh. I remember watching the Americans last night and thinking, "You know, I'd rather see them in Terri's outfits."
A big mousy, hum-drum bore,
Untalented, visionless snore.
Bitch that ain't Dali,
Why it's crap, you see,
And we don't want to see anymore.
I actually loved Jennifer's outfit and would very much like a cardigan just like that. For the opening ceremonies, though? Hell no.
I missed the first half of this week's episode and when I saw the designs, I actually thought I'd misunderstood what the challenge was all about. Myabe it's for some party that's not televised, I imagined. The thing is that they need to sort of look like uniforms. Most of those designs would make the girls look like they'd all accidentally shown up at a party in the same dress.
Alone, Jennifer's outfit would look very nice. Picture 100 women all wearing it and it looks a bit silly. I still want a cardigan like that, though.
Stephanie Lucas, try using using THIS for the Polish delegation.
denial denial denial.
she sounds just as delusional as emily.
From the republic of Cocktailland and their champion horse thrower
sadly still like them better than Daniel's
Frank
There is no way to misrepresent the final product - it was cute, but far too precious for the Olympic opening ceremony. I'm glad she realizes that sometimes her style is not appropriate, but she made matronly and/or little girly clothes.
to anonymous 1124: I think it's hilarious whenever Tim says "holla atcha boy." :p
Also I think what Sweden did was kind of cute. Maybe not the greatest fashion but a nice nod to their chinese host
Frank
Anonymous said...
From the republic of Cocktailland and their champion horse thrower
sadly still like them better than Daniel's
Frank
I noticed her too, Frank. God, I wonder how tall she is, and what sport she represents? Wrestling?
As Jay said to Kara: "The talk doesn't match the dress"
Her girlie ensembles were boring. What else is there to say really?
Also I think what Sweden did was kind of cute. Maybe not the greatest fashion but a nice nod to their chinese host
Frank
I thought those were good, too. I was wondering why more teams with red in theit flag (including our own) didn't do a red predominate uniform, as another kind of nod to the Chinese host.
This season most of the designers can't separate their taste from the challenges. I actually thought the judges were nice to Jennifer, especially Nina when said that she had a very girly style and there was nothing wrong with that. Say what you want about Stella but she listens to Tim Gunn and manages to fit her style into the challenge.
I don't understand why people complain so much about reality shows being edited to specifically highlight and frame certain things. Editing is necessary and creative editing makes for good reality shows. Who wants to watch hours and hours of people sewing and buying fabrics only?
Those hungarian women look like they were shot at with a paint gun
It's to their acting skills that these women are smiling
Btw the way, there's nothing wrong with editing. That's necessary to create pacing. It's an issue when it comes out that the producers are outrightly deceiving the audience. Again the whole Tim loving Ricky's denim dress. Or when they edited Marlinda supposedly taking jeffrey's hand to support him when the judges bashed him when in fact he took her hand when she started to faint.
Frank
To see all the paint gun casualties
Frank
Well, I actually think more of her after reading her interviews. She's not delusional, she seems to be still working out her personal design style. I'd say she's not a reality show type of personality, but god knows that's in no way a character flaw or a gauge of future success.
I absolutely agree with her assessment of the judges and the judging on this show, though. "Fashion forward" my eye. Here's how to do well on PR: design stuff that's very much like what's been sent down runways by bigname designers in the last year or so. The herd mentality is there in spades, although they all furiously deny it and claim to be looking for New, Exciting Design. Fashion is a tight school of flighty fish, and woe to the creative explorer who's not right in the middle of the bunch.
The only reason we know that they've edited Tim's comments in the past is because he called them out on it in his blog.
He didn't do that this week.
While I'm sure he did have some complimentary things to say to Jennifer, if he felt that strongly about it, he would have mentioned it in the blog.
And I agree with all of those that see no surrealism in her designs - to me, her stuff (what she wore & what she designed) looked like it could have come from JC Penney.
"library diva said: Alone, Jennifer's outfit would look very nice. Picture 100 women all wearing it and it looks a bit silly."
Many of the opening ceremony outfits do look silly.
I actually think Jennifer's could have worked if it had had a different jacket - a blazer type jacket, instead of that early 60's thing. A navy blazer would have would have mitigated that skirt, which wouldn't have been so bad had the jacket not made the whole thing so precious (but she also needed to get some red in there somewhere as well - something around the neck would have worked).
--GothamTomato
"tamarama said: While I'm sure he did have some complimentary things to say to Jennifer, if he felt that strongly about it, he would have mentioned it in the blog."
Though when saying goodbye, and saying that they'd miss her, he sounded like he meant it (which isn't always the case).
--GothamTomato
I'm sure she's sweet and all but not reality tv material and that's why you will never see me on tv.
Thank you for posting these interviews, Tlo! I have a lot more respect for her now than i did before. There's nothing wrong with a girl being girlie, and there's nothing wrong with reveling in simple, feminine things.
Any one of those outfits would have been preferable to what the Australian team got stuck with. The people responsible ought to be shot.
The way she talks about the judges makes me think she doesn't quite understand what it means to find a way to adapt your personal style to the task at hand. And she's certainly not alone in that this season.
But some of the comments here are so nasty. Her biggest "crime" is that she's young, and that's really no crime. She refers to "a designer" (Schiaparelli), and Moschino, "an Italian designer" as if they're not widely known. That's just youth and inexperience.
As for the Dali Golightly quote: I can't say I saw any surrealism in her designs. But we all have things we say again and again about ourselves. That's all she did: she explained her inspirations to the camera, and then again to the judges. Big deal.
3ish wishes:
1] I wish the show was 3 times longer so there was less editing/editorializing, and you saw more real personality, and less band-standing and tacky sound-bite self-branding.
Maybe an on-line extended edition?
2] I wish the contestants weren't so contractually gagged wrt what they can say afterward. I would like to hear the real dirt about production.
3] I wish they didn't edit/set-up the contestants to fail. Its so artificial. As soon as I heard "Holly Golightly goes to a Dali exhibit", I knew right there that she would end up ebing portrayed with a "Holly Hobby goes to a Thomas Kincade sale" vibe.
4] (ok i'm giving myself one more :) ). I wish there were short challenges that tested technical proficiency. Not as high drama, but it would be nice to see who really has the skills.
I also wish they would show the judges critiquing every garment. Less drama, more fashion.
I guess here's as good as any place to post this:
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/showtracker/2008/08/project-runwa-1.html
Exciting?
Great interviews. There’s always more to the story than first meets the eye.
Tlo, I'd love to know what you thought of the Ralph Lauren outfits worn by the US Olympians.
" TheNYCourier said...
I guess here's as good as any place to post this:
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/showtracker/2008/08/project-runwa-1.html
Exciting?"
That is pathetic.
"I felt like I represented myself." Um, yeah. What the fuck does that really mean in the big scheme of things. You can't exactly represent anyone else, can you?
I'm sure Jennifer is a very nice woman, but like everyone else who is auf'd and disappointed with the way they're edited, what the hell did they think would happen on "reality" television? Do they not understand the concept? It's NOT a documentary. It's "reality". And they edit for the sake of drama. Even small children understand this by now.
Anonymous said...
Those hungarian women look like they were shot at with a paint gun.
Frank
While I quite agree w/ you, Frank,
I think Hungary might suddenly have a sheet shortage.
Jennifer was bland; good riddance to pablum fashion. Poor fit and poor wit.
Did anyone see the report at The New York Times Online report on the USA teams' clothing for the opening ceremony?
Ralph Lauren cites Chariots of Fire as his inspiration--and all the Times critic says is: "They [the outfits] did not look well made."
Patsy Stone, I owe you a drink at the Lounge. Thanks!!
Oh honey, WHATEVER.
Ummm . . . yeah . . . that's just how it happened.
Actually I liked the sleeves on her clock dress.
And it is something that Schiaparelli would have done, BUT she did not go far enough.
The clock face should have been echoed somewhere else; skirt hem, collar, maybe clock buttons?...Schiaparelli would have added a freakin' small tilt clock face hat with blue veil....
If you are gonna do it, do it BIG.
That's why Jarell's Olymic outfit was so perfect for the era he said he was going for. It looked like something outrageous from a Thin Man movie...sans the leggings and tight skirt.
zoe said:
oh, and i forgot to ask: did any of you see the team wearing green crocs? i just about died.
All I could think was what Tim's reaction would have been-crocs, at the Olympics?
BTW-that was the South African team...
Ralph Lauren cites Chariots of Fire as his inspiration--and all the Times critic says is: "They [the outfits] did not look well made."
Ralph, that movie was 20+years ago....but then, RL has been stuck in WASP/Anglopilialand forever....
If Lauren's Olympic parade costumes didn't "look well made", um, doesn't it beg the question: where WERE they made?
Hey, I knew all you guys were watching and critiquing just like we were. Further amusement was gained by imagining what the Runway Trinity might say.
Now. When do we get to rip on the new Rachel Zoe program? TLo??
This gives me an opportunity to tell my favorite joke:
Q: How many surrealists does it take to screw in a lightbulb?
A: A fish.
Thankyew! Thankyewverymuch!
I’m surprised she even lasted this long.
Gotham Tomato... one of hte best blog posts EVER... "Life is tough. You don't get extra credit points for making a lifestyle choice that requires effort to fulfill. "
IMO Jennifer really was NOT thinking of Schiaparelli when she made this dress. Why not use this:
http://italophiles.com/images/elsa14.jpg
as inspiration? It's Schiaparelli's flag dress and some version of that could have been very patriotic an Olympic outfit. Obviously she's not going to do a floor-length gown, but as inspiration, it could have provided a solid idea. Schiaparelli was not about the suggestions of a cute, wry little reference-- it was very in your face... quite unlike Jennifer.
I'm sure Jennifer is a very nice woman, but like everyone else who is auf'd and disappointed with the way they're edited, what the hell did they think would happen on "reality" television? Do they not understand the concept? It's NOT a documentary. It's "reality". And they edit for the sake of drama. Even small children understand this by now.
Did you read Jennifer's interview or just the headline and then typed up the cliched blog rebuttal of "what the hell did they think would happen on "reality" television?" She understands that the show chooses what you see and don't see and is not making an issue of it. She is responding honestly, and without bitterness, to questions posed by an interviewer and giving details to support the points she's making.
a said, "She is responding honestly, and without bitterness, to questions posed by an interviewer and giving details to support the points she's making."
The clothes speak for themselves, honey, and if they don't, then THAT is your biggest problem. She can do all the explicating and rationalizing and blaming everyone else for being "misunderstood," but really, she made boring, lame clothes that did not suit the requirements of the challenges. Saying "Schiaparelli" over and over doesn't make the clothing more interesting.
Blushlife, I loved that joke.
The more I ruminate about this episode (loan me a quarter to Buy a Life, someone) the more I realize the strategy for the designers, this one time, was to play it safe, or to put it another way, not lose.
That's the only way to go, when the parameters are: 1. nationalism (i.e. the thing you're designing needs to be something a nation will feel represents them splendidly) and 2. the simple fact that the individuals who would wear this outfit could NOT BE MORE PHYSICALLY DIFFERENT than the models who wore them down the runway.
Everyone but Joe seemed to have "personal expression" and/or "couture" fogging their vision on this. Given what I assume is a pressure cooker situation I can sort of understand.
Overall I agree with many of the observers who think this cast is really not inspiring.
Oh: and I'm sorry, but if you can't execute a clean "USA" initial applique, for Lord's sake, don't try it. I'm insulted by the shabby "typography" I've seen here.
Her exit interview is just as "blah" as her clothes were.
It's not the judges who can't step back from their aesthetics or some other poor excuse - she designed a two piece for a kids department store line when she was asked to work for grown up athletes.
And please, she didn't get auffed because she's a nice but boring girl - she got auffed because her designs were boring and in this special case inappropriate and even laughable.
There's nothing wrong with being the nice girl, as long as you deliver awesome designs you won't be eliminated.
I'm very much disappointed with this seasons designers. Till now, I haven't seen a lot of talent or inspiration, hopefully that will change over the next weeks.
"Anonymous said...
Mike B. said...
I think "the entire premise of the show can go fuck itself" sums it up.
My my, Hon. Project much? That's a bit of a stretch, don't ya think?"
No, he's quoting a line from one of Alex's comics.
And you need to look up what "projecting" means.
Stephanie I think you do bring up a valid point. What is a real shame is that Joe and Terri were the only ones who thought about to any degree what the americans were like in terms of culture and personality. Sporty, outgoing, casual nation. Stella and Blayne at least seem to think in terms of something athletic though both were off the mark
I think a good example about thinking about presenting clothes that look good but reflect the country is what the Iranians did for their athletes. And yes they actually had a couple female athletes, 1 of who was the flag bearer. Yes they are wearing burkhas and traditonal dress but it's a nice modern and sleek almost athletic take on it
Frank
Ralph Lauren cites Chariots of Fire as his inspiration--and all the Times critic says is: 'They [the outfits] did not look well made.'
One of my friend's fathers was in two Olympics in the 1970s/80s. She said the opening ceremony outfits her dad had to wear were miserably uncomfortable and cheap - scratchy, ill-fitting polyester. She and her siblings used them for Halloween costumes when they were kids.
So it's not like the bar was exactly high in the first place.
I can see where she's coming from but still. Even if they edited her, it's still her. They didn't make her say or do those things.
I feel that fashion has to be one of the hardest things to judge and make. It's hard not to pick something you'd actually wear verses something that better but isn't your aethetic. Thus why we've lost some good designers on this show.
She sucked! She should have gone home three weeks ago.
haha - those quotes from her blog, helping her fashion readers with the info Moschino is an Italian Designer --- THANKS for that info. Soooo ready for prime time, like maybe she can tell people Gautier is French and also did stuff with bras like armor, on Madonna or something like that, really weird surrealism stuff.
Seriously, so not ready and yet we get to see this as the most "diverse" group ever... I honestly just am sad about this shift from PRunway to Pruneway, as these few options could have been WOW instead of lots of waaaa-waaaaa and "misunderstanding" and "sticking to my style"....
What about VINCENT - he was ALSO a SURREALIST spirit, let us not forget....
We recommend St. John the Baptist, the patron saint of wiping the slate clean, for the auf'd contestants.
What's with all the Jennifer hate in these comments? Did she seriously go around and rape your puppies (and/or Salvador Dali)? If so, mention that guys. I can definitely understand why that would make you mad. If not, seriously, besides being in a bit over her head, what the hell did she do to merit these attacks?
My opinion. She seems nice enough and smart enough, but not entertaining reality TV material. WHAT A HOER! She's not a bad designer, but she's nothing exciting. THAT BITCH. She favors older, girly designs. NO DESIGNER EVER HAS DONE THAT AND HAD IT BE RIDICULOUSLY INAPPROPRIATE TO THE CHALLENGE! (cough, Austin)
So, um, I HOPE SHE DIES IN A FIRE BECAUSE SHE IS NOT AS SCENE-FULLY COOL AS ME.
anonynous: That 1st challenge when they all had to race across the field to get to the fabric and people grabbing fabric first come first serve. It was clear Chris was in no shape to keep up with everyone else and they keep showing clips of him running and running. They made it look as if the designers had to run 6 blocks to get to the fabric and it took 45 minutes just for him to get there.
Just to toss this out there: the lawn is literally the length of a football field, 100 yards. Unfortunately, that's not a simple dash for everyone.
And it's funny, I'm rather large for my frame, and I didn't think they overdid it showing Chris making his way. It was a reality of the situation that they had to deal with.
But I digress. I have much more hate this week for Blayne's hammy interviews and Joe's "queens" comment than I did for poor Jennifer's misguided frock. C'est la guerre...
I'm far from a member of the League of Jennifer Defenders, but some of the commentary around the degree to which she's surrealist or not is quite over the top. Come along folks, I haven't read his will but I'm pretty sure Paul Eluard didn't die and make you the arbiters of what is and isn't surrealist. The savagery on display marks you as indecent and potentially as poseurs. Icky.
I agree that there is not much overt surrealist-inspired style on display in the four challenges we've seen with Jennifer in them. That she references Schiaparelli is notable, at least she's thought about it.
I think too that people in these comments sometimes forget the very things that they criticize others for. To wit, were we expecting literal surrealism out of this girl? When someone says "inspired by" or "kind of like" do you think it is a literal thing? Were you expecting an image of a model done up like Audrey with the long cigarette holder and in a gown with mirrors and a neptune fountain or whatever? Audrey in that Roman Holiday hat but instead it's a fish? The Wait Until Dark sweater, only with a pattern made of eyeballs rather than stripes?
Literal literal literal intentional surrealism would almost never show up on the runway on this show, come on! Calling her a bitch and delusional is outrageous. Poor taste. Embarrassing.
(disclosure, I had to look up Schiaparelli's web page for the neptune fountain reference, no poseury here)
(disclosure, I had to look up Schiaparelli's web page for the neptune fountain reference, no poseury here)
no kidding, your rant shows it. It wasn't about specialist-surrealist whatever, it's that she of all people actually even acts as if that was her muse and so on and so forth. It deserves to be ridiculed, because of that. Not because of knowledge-base. Simple. Puhlesse.
Puhleese yourself, anonymous . Asking people why they need to act like assholes now qualifies as a rant, does it? Pfffft...
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