On watching Project Runway obsessively, S11E13

Ohh you guys, I had such a shit day today. I mean, technically it could've been a lot worse, but I was just tired and whiny and nothing really seemed to work out. Sat around with a friend of mine talking about how we feel totally fucked over by the school, as it's probably the worst run institution in probably the entire country, and then just stuff. So much stuff. I haven't done nearly enough on my construction assignment that needs to be in Wednesday, because I'm a lazy asshole. I just can't get around to doing it unless it's totally last minute. Guess that's what happens when you're three weeks from graduation - you kinda just die a little inside when it comes to any and all forms of work.

Had my thesis opposition today, which went pretty well considering the amount of time I put into writing my thesis (i.e. not nearly enough), but there were some good conversations to be had about it. The thesis presentation before mine was kinda on the same subject, only written by a girl who had no idea what the hell she was talking about, so I was probably looking really annoyed and impatient, because O scribbled "BREATHE" on his notes for me. I don't want to be a bitchy know-it-all about Japan and Japanese architecture, but I know probably more than most who wrote about it, not to mention things like pronunciation. "It's not Saitama, it's Saitama, you illiterate asshole" my brain wants to yell at these people (O being the only person polite enough to actually check that he was pronouncing things correctly). But hell, it's not their language, they don't know it, so I can't complain about it. What I can complain about on the other hand is when they mix up Kurokawa and Kurosawa. I doubt famous Japanese directors ever did any kind of architecture that wasn't directly related to a movie set.

"Hey you guys, look at that house I didn t draw."

Anywho, I took a walk with the Puppy and had ice cream, then went home and had a really nice run, so I'll stop being bitchy now and move on to this week's Project Runway.
I love how they're still trying to make a big deal out of one of the four designers getting kicked off "right before Fashion Week, boohoo!". Well, seeing as eight designers from the show actually do get to show at Fashion Week (anonymously), there's not really even that much more competition to go for. Sure, no-one knows which collection is whose, but in the long haul it really doesn't matter, sadly. Anyways, gotta keep appearances up, so here are the mini collections.

I'm loving the sweater, but chaps, seriously?

I find the skirt kinda cray-cray, everything else is pretty ok.

Katniss Everdeen called, she wants her coat back.

As expected, Michelle clearly had the best collection to show. She has a lot of range in her pieces and it certainly seems commercially viable, but a lot of the more steampunk-y elements are a little cliche and overplayed in my book. Her referring (visually) to fantasy heroines (again, Katniss Everdeen from The Hunger Games, Zoe from Firefly...) is pretty interesting (and I like the styling, so shush your mouth, Nina Garcia), but not new enough to really entice me. The sweater is awesome - courtesy of Joe from previous episodes. Man, I miss him, he had vision.

Slightly problematic fit and styling, interesting fabric.

Pretty cool, actually.

That headpiece is amazingly insane.

I never thought I'd live to see the day I'd write this, but... I'm glad Patricia scored a spot in the finals. Yes, I know I've hated on her for making shitty things. No, this doesn't mean that I forgive her. Given the range of finalists this season, there just wasn't much else to choose from. As expected, however, she really did benefit from having more time and was free to work a lot more with manipulating fabrics. That being said, I still don't like most of what I saw, and I don't see it being manufactured or sold commercially to any large number of people in a successful way. Her materials are good, I'll give her that, it's just the other stuff that doesn't really come together for her. I'm glad that Zac Posen seemed to grow some balls and argued with Nina Garcia, who's just gone from the voice of class and high-fashion in the first few seasons to the granny fashion expert who won't have anyone say a word against her. When saying negative things, she doesn't just settle for "I don't like this", she has to go all the way with that dramatic whiny voice and go "It's hooooorrible, I don't know aaaaaaaaany woman who would weeeeeeear such a thing", all while looking like there's something seriously smelly perched right under her nose. The way she protested that horse hair one would think Patricia had ripped it off Nina Garcia's kid's pony or something. I did like the horse hair detail, it made me think back to more interesting times way back in Season 4 when Chris March made clothes using human hair as trim and everyone collectively threw a hissy fit.

Dammit, I liked the crazy hair looks.

Nina Garcia's Dr. Seuss comment on the headpiece was just embarrassing and clearly showed a lack of respect, interest and understanding from the cultural statement Patricia was trying to make. Yeah, bet you're all in shock now that I defended what she's been whining on and on about all season, but shit, if you're going to pull the heritage card, then you have to pull it all the way, which I think she did. Zac Posen stepping in to call it "a compliment" was just a kindness so as to not crush the poor bug-eyed woman - that comment was in no way, shape or form meant to be taken as a compliment. Nina Garcia was out for blood.

Yawn.

Elizabethan gold dress, right. Fashion.

Like a sad copy of Jackie O, only the cape makes her look fat.

Oh Stanley Stanley Stanley. You make granny clothes. I can totally understand that you don't want slutty clothes for fall, but there's a difference between the sexy that the judges are asking for and slutty, and it's a hell of a long way from those pieces you stole from your grandma's wardrobe. That gold dress is just... oh, so not good. And to blame the model for the fit issues was just a seriously shitty thing to do, so shame on you. There was just nothing new or interesting with this mini collection. On the other hand, Stanley is also one of the few people left who actually have sewing skills, so obviously they can't kick him out at this point either. Oh well. Hopefully he'll pump up the volume (by, like, a lot) in time for the final runway. Zac Posen called it here too - the zipper down the back is just so done, there's nothing new or exciting about Stanley's collection.

A poor man s Christian Siriano.

That sweater. THAT SWEATER. *shudder*

Snore.

Poor Mustachio was left holding the bag this week. I can't for the life of me understand why he'd choose to send these dated and boring looks down the runway, when he clearly had more interesting pieces on display when Tim Gunn visited his house. Granted, there were a lot of jackets with strong shoulders (as I knew there'd be, I mean, it's Mustachio), but it would've been better than what he showed here. The pant and sweater look was just embarrassingly bad, like bad lounge wear. The stingray details were interesting, especially the jacket made entirely of it, but I'm forced to see that look as a bad rip-off of Christian Siriano's look from his final runway show (also from Season 4).

And you thought we wouldn' t notice.

That dress was also just so so boring, especially from the front. The model worked it to the best of her abilities, but Christ, it just had so little effect. Anyways, no skin off his nose - he still gets to show at Fashion Week. My personal theory is that it's down to Michelle and Stanley - Patricia not being able to create a line that would be appealing to mass markets (seeing as this is what Project Runway's become). Poor Zac Posen with his apologetic smile and his adorable dandy ways will probably attempt to stick up for her, and while he seems to have found his voice now I'm not sure how much influence he can wield over grandma Nina. I like this change in his character though - he's been far too passive all season, and it's nice to see him get a bit riled up about fashion that might actually be remotely interesting, rather than the same old boring things you already can get at Lord & Taylor.