On the universal language of fashion - Project Runway Korea S1E7

Can't seem to stop being hungry today. Seriously, salad lunch and then a sandwich with coffee, and I'm still kinda hungry. Hide yo kids, hide yo wife... also any small animals. Pre-period munchies is some scary business.

Went out running again today, and you just know it's going to be a good run when this is the first song that randomly comes on...



...and this is the last.



Makes you get pumped! Also makes you feel less like a sniveling pollen monster and more like a member of the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad.

It's so nice to go running. All I think about while I'm out is pushing myself a little bit harder, running a little bit further, and how happy I feel when I find out I can. You see a tree further down the road, think "I'm going to run that far, then I can walk", and then find out that you're not tired when you reach that tree and can keep running even further, it feels awesome. I know I'm still nowhere near as fit as I'd like to be, but it feels good to not be at some sort of absolute rock bottom.
Ok, Project Runway Korea officially trumps everything regular Project Runway has done the past, what, 8 seasons? Having Gilles Bensimon photograph their looks for Elle magazine is brain-imploding huge. I can totally understand why everyone's freaking out a little - I'd be hyperventilating in a corner, rocking back and forth. Forget even looking Gilles Bensimon in the eyes. The Africa theme, while a little cliched, does seem to leave quite a bit of room for interpretation, and it's cool to see people doing such different things. It's neat that they also get to style their models themselves for the photo shoot, it makes for interesting choices I think.

But damn, Gilles Bensimon is hard to understand. I'd need subtitles for him too. When Hye-jung sucked up to him I had pretty much no idea what he answered. The man talks like he's drunk, like all older french men do. And Woo-kyung! You're from New York? Your English is flawless? You asked Gilles Bensimon for a hug?! And then had him take your picture?! I don't know what the world's coming to anymore. Mind is so totally blown. When I first heard Gilles Bensimon was going to be on the show I thought "Yay! Now I can finally understand a bit more of what's going on at judging!" But no, he goes on to speak fucking french throughout the whole thing. Poop. Back to guessing again.

I love the way that jacket photographed, look at the shadowing!

So congrats to Seung-hee! I really liked her jacket, but I'm not sure on the skirt, which to me looked a bit like a see-through bag layered on top of a beige one. The pleating on the lapels was cool though. Should've skipped the scarf. What's up with Project Runway Korea and its infatuation with scarves?

I would've skipped the chunky bracelets though.

Myung-sin went totally Mad Max with hers, but I think it ended up looking kinda cool and warrior-like. It's pretty much a better version of Jae-min's (you'll see what I mean when we get to him). The weaving/crocheting between the leather really makes the outfit, though I'm not 100% sure about the big snake-like stuffed tunnels around the neck and bottom of it. Pretty cool though.

That chest plate is cray-cray.

Jae-woong made an enormous brown paper bag for his model to wear, over a really odd dress with flat disk-shaped breast implants and what looks like a scrunched up back. I'm kinda confused, but intrigued all the same. Mostly confused though.

Yawn.

Hye-jung's was... well, fine. A bit bland and doesn't exactly scream Africa. It looks a little messy at the hems and the photo looks awkward too.

Proportion anyone?

Woo-kyung seemed to have a shitty week again, and her outfit came out looking more like the Jetsons than Africa. The rope detail was cool, but it seemed a little out of place, and the outfit looked a little lackluster. The proportions were really odd and I hate the tights with a fiery passion. Wish she'd snap out of it soon!

Meh.

Not a big fan of Yong-seop's look either. It turned out to be one of those typical examples where someone goes for something really really hard, and while there's nothing wrong with their enthusiasm you just can't seem to like the end result. I'm guessing he went for it looking kinda weaved? Like basket-weaved maybe? But I thought the final result was a little lacking in the finish. There was a lot going on in that look, and I'm not sure if it was in a good way.

Sigh.

I didn't mind Jae-min's horribly, despite its (obvious and glaring) faults. The braid idea especially was good, but the way he added them was hella weird. Why is it putting so much focus on one of the model's boobs? Then again, I'm a sucker for anything that distorts the shape of the body into something different, so I thought it was an interesting attempt that reminded me a little of the draped clothes that the Maasai wear, only bunchier and black I guess. This could've been something really stunning, but the execution was off and it needed editing. Aww, what will the camera crew do now that they can't film Jae-min without a shirt anymore? Bet they're feeling depressed about it.

I'm a bit surprised at how not a single designer used any sort of colour when describing Africa. Granted, as far as I can remember there wasn't all that much colour on the mood board at the Elle office, but one would've thought that it would be one of the first things you'd think of. Vibrant colours and patterns seem like a given when thinking about Africa. Then again, neither vibrant colours nor patterns seem to be anything all that popular on Project Runway Korea, or on Korean people in general (k-pop stars being the obvious exception). Generally I love when they stick to their grey-scale and beige, but I would've thought that this challenge could afford them a bit more of going colour crazy. All in all not the most exciting episode in the world, but still pretty neat. Not disappointed, but not blown away like I was with the high fashion episode. Ah well.