Jane110

 

 

Feb 6th (that morning for anyone in NY who is interested) Malan from last season shows at 9 AM.

 

Feb 8th - that same Friday, two days after showing who the final 4 are on TV - The final 4 show their collections at Mercedes Benz Fashion Week in NY.

We'll probably be able to get sneak peeks at the collections a day or so after that...

 

Then either Feb 13th and 20th will be the two part finale.

Or Feb 20th and 27th, depending on February Sweeps schedule, and possibly editing ability.

 

Should be interesting!

So just realize that literally as we speak and are reading/writing here, four little designers are frantically sewing and cutting away in hopes of getting their collections finished in time!

I've got a ticket for Victorya's runway show. I'll let you all know how it is. i bet there won't be any denim! :p

I was invited two days so, so although I didn't know she'd be let go this week, I knew she wasn't the winner.

I'm going to see if I can get a ticket to Malans showing. He was always one of my favorites.

 

My husband and son have even gotten in on this series, kind of funny :D .

 

.

Why's that? Are they generally the type to only watch football games?

Oi!

So, another bad communication from beginning to end on the producer's part.

 

The designers were given a warehouse full of demin (and cotton, which no one used) of different colors (Pants, jackets, etc.) and were told this was their challenge, and I quote:

"create an iconic denim look of your choice that captures the spirit of originality and creativity of the 501 legacy"

 

Okay, so read that again, just to put it in your head as to what the designers were told was the challenge.

 

When it get's to judging, the judges then base on what people would most likely wear, and more importantly a major factor (never told as a judging criteria to the designers) that incorporating 501 "icons" (button flys, yellow thread, red labels) into the design weighs heavily on the 501 designer's decision!

The designers are thinking that they have to re-interpret some kind of "iconic" look or style - so a few are doing "little black dresses", Christian is doing "motorcyle/motocross" style, Sweet P begins with a "wedding dress", and two do a version of a "trench coat" - hmmmm.

But in the judges mind, they mean "iconic" as they are doing a look that will incorporate and repsresent "iconic" levi's styling specifically.

Duuuuuh! Good job producers!

(Nobody knew this apparently except for the 501 designer and she told the judges at panel that's what she was looking for).

 

So naturally, it's another "what were the judges thinking" and I'm giving you some background info I found out to at least try to explain it.

 

Again, bad bad producers. This is definitely at least the second time this year, that what the designers are told is the challenge - is not what the judges are told (see the Candy episode for another example).

So how can the designers keep their balance when the rules and criteria keep changing from day to day?

 

That being said, there WERE some looks that could totally "denim in the dining room" on some of the cruise lines!:D

I'm so glad you wrote this.

I listened VERY carefully to the instructions and the need for the outfit to be ICONIC 501 and then, as you said, the judges went in a different direction.

DH and I watched it and said to one another, "HUGE MISTAKE, HUGE disconnect in giving directions and then judging. The right hand doesn't know what the left one is doing". Thanks for letting us know the behind the scenes scoop and what idiots they are.

It's pathetic. These designers work so hard to follow instructions and then the producers and judges can't get their acts together. They should be auf'ed!

Second place = Team Jillian/VictorYa

 

Now the avante-garde was cool:

But, this was really Jillian's design (and I love how VictorYa tried to smooze a lot of the credit at the judging)...

It's really awesome. But, the only reason that I don't give it the win is...

 

It's not quite as avante-garde or modern. I've seen it before, so it's a bit more "now" then "forward".

And, the daywear interpretation, is really a thrown together afterthought.

It's okay, but not really as cohesive a pair of designs as Team Fierce.

 

I'd buy that jacket for FMCJW though!

The top one is my personal favorite. I'd wear it in a heartbeat. However, it didn't live up to the challange as well as Chris and Christian's because it's actually quite wearable, and not avant garde enough.

Team Rami/Sweet P

 

So, according to the judges not avant-garde enough, and Rami is now falling into the exact same "draping" every single week...

(except for candy week!)

And I guess I could see this as a "normal" outfit for someone at the Grammy's?

 

So, then this was the most dysfuntional team. Rami bulldozed and micromanaged. I don't think Sweet P was/is iron willed enough to match his personality. So, when the daywear look came up, she just kind of went "every woman for herself", and did this all herself.

And the judges liked this better, and thought it was stronger as a daywear interpretation; over Rami's avante-garde original...

 

So, again, another unbalanced design pair.

 

PS edited to add:

I realized who I could see wearing Rami's outfit to a funtion/event right now!

Jane110! It's perfect for her figure, her coloring, her style.

What say you Jane110! Or at least some similar version of it with some adjustments...:D

At first, I was excited that Rami and Sweet-pea would be fantastic together as they're both excellent designers. But Rami doesn't play nicely with other children and kudos to Sweet Pea for creating a fabulous daytime dress that at least "insure" her not to lose.

I love Rami's work, but he's getting to be a one hit wonder. He's got to do something different.

I totally agreed with the judge's decisions this week.

My only objection was that there should have been two winners - the whole team. You can't pick only ONE winner from a 2 person team. And of the two, Christian and Chis, Chris was stronger because Christian did the skirt which everyone agreed was the weak link in the outfit. So why would the person who created the worst piece be the winner?

 

Here's a thought -- if you were picking one of these designers to make an formal outfit for you (or your significant other) for a cruise formal, who would you want?

I'd definitely want Rami to make my dress. His work just screams "high quality", expensive, and attention to detail.

Agree with you,

Elisa's outfit wasn't bad and I don't agree with Nina Garcia that it didn't look like something the "model" would wear. I think she loved it.

I did however, agree with M. Kors criticism that it chopped her up. Had she made the bottom layer boot length, it would have been terrific.

Yes, Jillian cheated. I forgot she had immunity. But she could have been disqualified otherwise.

Ricky's outfit was a big snore and looked like a mall purchase, not something created by a designer. Boooorrrring!

Steven deserved to lose. There was A LOT that could have been done with the wedding dress fabric. And choosing black was a really poor choice. Judges were right to Auf him.

Chris' was awful, but he walked in late and given a cut-up half finished garment. So it wouldn't have been right to get rid of him. But he's on thin ice!

Hey PR Fans,

See this video that Jack made.....

Sea Bunny,

Yes, I have noticed that they say, "Has the opportunity" to sell on BlueFly. That one didn't escape my ears at all! LOL!

I agree, it's great press for Blue fly. I just don't see anything in it for the designer.

Jane,

You confirmed what I thought Blue Fly was. Even discounted high fashion does not fit our life style. I watch the show to see trends and styles I might use on a cruise. I work on a farm, there is no fashion there.

I could run through the field slapping everyone with a Prada bag, the response would be why are you hitting us with a purse.

Interesting. When I visit small towns in Europe and have visited people who grow grapes and have winery's, I see them wearing "country fashions" but still have a sense of style about it, including name brand things.

But the truth is, I buy things because I think they are beautiful, well made and functional. Many of the "designer" brands I buy are not household names, yet I get compliments on them from people who wouldn't know a Vuitton from a Gucci. They see something with style and well made but have no clue as to who the designer is or how much it cost.

But yes, you're right, high fashion has more impact in a big city than it does on a farm. But there's never a reason, imho, not to have style and pizazz, no matter what you're doing.

I used to be a big fan of Bluefly but no longer.

 

The discounts are meager and aren't worth it for last years designs or things that don't move in department stores.

 

If I'm going to spend $1200 on a Prada bag, it will not be from Bluefly.

 

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I agree. I bought one thing many years agao - a Ferragamo handbag for $400.+, which was about half price. The bag was a year old - but a classic, so I was okay with it. Other than that one piece, I've never bought anything from that site. Anytime I saw something I liked, I found that their discount wasn't enough for me to buy and have to ship back if I didn't like it.

However, they do bill themselves as a discount site and no new designer would proudly claim that their good are sold there. So having this as a prize for winning, seems very odd to me.

I think it's interesting that one of the prizes is having your clothes sold on Blue Fly. I think that's awful. Blue Fly is an off price venue where the stuff that doesn't sell, is sold a year later at a discount.

As a designer, you wouldn't proudly announce your things are on sale there.

Anyone I know in the industry who sells to Blue Fly never mentions it. They keep it as quiet as possible.

Curt,

You're SOOOOOOOOOOO right! The producers really tanked on this one. One of them should be bid auf! Having a menswear challange was good, but Tiki was an extremely poor choice because of his style restrictions.

The winning outfit not only was missing a jacket, but it was boooooooooooooooring! One of the judges should be auffed for their decision. Adios Nina would be just fine with me!

#6 Marion and Steven

 

I knew this would be out, because neither one of these designers has a good TV persona (not exciting or good for TV compared to Christian)...

 

Also, not good for Bitten, but actually I think a better Bitten design than Christian's.

If maybe the fabric choice had been better...

Note that this has the same drapey, lots of women could wear this ideal that got the top two slots...

Just didn't end up well in the fabric choice or the execution...

 

I agree with you.

This dress and Christian's dress were the two worst. However, this dress, from Marion & Steven had a lot more customer appeal than Christian's. Truth is, Bitten is not going to reproduce any dress exactly, so this dress could easily be done in a fabric that doesn't "grow" and they'd tweak the fit a little. ALOT more salable than Christian's. But you're right, the choice was made because Christian makes for more interesting viewing than Steve or Marion and that's why he made it through to the next round.

I can't believe I missed the first episode!

 

c'mon girlfriend, catch up!

I don't know any of the cast's names yet.

I think I agree with the choice of the first to go. Her concept was good, her execution awful. That "jacket" looked like road kill. I almost thought that the guy who's a lingerie designer would be the one to go. His concept was bad (sooooo boring)but his tailoring was good so it looked okay. So what's worse - Bad Concept/Good Execution or Good Concept/Poor Execution?

I loved the plaid jacket outfit, even though so far, I can't stand the little twit that made it. Can we say "full of himself and full of ****!".

The winning black silk chiffon gown was amazing though I did agree with the judges that the flower gave it a matronly look.

Aye Aye Captain Curt,

TiVo is programmed and good to go!

Jane

TODAY WE BUY TICKETS TO THE METROPOLITAN OPERA....

 

WE ARE GOING TO SEE MADAMA BUTTERFLY BY PUCCINI

:) :) :) :)

 

Any opera fans, traveling or living in NY You can buy single tickets beggining today.

 

Can any one tell me more about the Lincoln Center (the Met opera house)?

 

Thanks.

Don't know what kind of info you want. You can go to www.Lincolncenter.com for some info.

Unlike Broadway shows, Lincoln Center attracts a more well heeled crowd and you won't find the ugly sneakers and jeans crowd. People tend to dress better, even more so if you're attending on a Friday or Sat evening.

Sometimes they offer dinner right in the building with app's and main courses before the curtain and dessert at intermission. That's a fun option, so you can inquire about that for your evening. You have to pre-book it.

There's also a casual, inexpensive cafe in the building if you just want a quick sandwich/salad before the opera.

Other dining spots across the street that I like are: Cafe Fiorello (italian), Josephina's (continentel), Shun Lee (upscale cantonese). You can dine before or after the opera.

Joseph, c'mon you are going to eat a cupcake in NY.? Name a dessert from any nation, and you will find it in NYC. How about a cannoli or some ruggulah?:)

I agree!

If someone with a desire for dessert is visiting NYC, then I'd recommend something more interesting than a so-so cupcake.

For great jewish pastry's like ruggulah, babka and hamentashen, I like Moishes on 2nd Ave and about 7th Street in the East Village. (aka LES, Lower East Side)

For italian pastry's, I like Veneiro's on 11th Street between 1st and 2nd Ave, also in the East Village/LES. We often go there after an inexpensive dinner at one of the many indian restaurants on E. 6th Street betw. 1st and 2nd Ave's. (Mitali is our fave - been going there since high school). Also many other places in nearby Little Italy have wonderful pastry's. I like Cafe Roma as well as some of the others on Mulberry Street. Ferraria's is my least fave since they've become more of a DisneyLand.

For amazing french pastry's head up to the Upper East Side on Lexington Ave and 74th Street to Payard. www.payard.com You can have dinner in the restaurant or dessert only in the bakery cafe upfront. Handmade chocolates are also for sale. This is a good place to walk to from the Guggenheim, Whitney or Metropolitan Museums as well as being close to Bloomingdales.

If you do want a great cupcake, my favorite cupcakes and handmade doughnuts are from the Cupcake Cafe on 39th St and 9th Ave. An easy stroll from the theatre district.

Thansk...How close is the one on Times Square to where I'm stayin...Radisson on Lexington.:confused:

Lexington Ave is miles long. Tell me which street on Lexington Ave and I give you some info.

The lunch buffet on the Maasdam was the worst food we ever had on any ship. Everyday, the sliced meat was too tough to chew. The fruit was either unripe and tasted like raw potato's or overripe with that "ready for the garbage" rotten taste.

But the worst dish of all was a "salad" which consisted of sauerkraut drenched in russian dressing. That won the prize for truly disgusting dish!

I was just blathering. It really doesn't deserve any attention.:o

okey dokey - as a reader it's hard to determine when a writer is really trying to make a point or "just blathering". So now that I know, 'nuff said. Thanks. :)

I'm always surprised at the time management issues the finalists seem to have for their 12 piece collection. I would think every single contestant would go into the competition with that collection already done in their minds.

I think that the designers are too busy creating a collection and a portfolio of drawings that gets them onto the show in the first place.

Also, I think that the final collection takes shape as the show goes on. For example, if Uli had her collection already done in her mind, then it would have been all tropical prints. But since she was told so many times to expand her fabric choices, she chose some beautiful solids.

Also, fashion changes and though all designers are individuals, they still need to follow some of the current overall trends to a certain extent. So what was in their head as an option 6 months prior may now look like yesterday's news on the runway today.

But I'm sure you're right in that they do have *some* pre-meditated thoughts about what they'd like to have on a runway show. But there's still the shopping (which can be very frustrating as you can't always find what you want), the sewing, the fitting, the rejected pieces, etc etc etc. And of course, don't forget the required elements, like a swimsuit, which is one of the hardest things in the world to design and I'm sure took each of them a long time to create and fit.

Ralph Lauren has always just "been there" for me.

I agree. While his stores are gorgeous and the photo ads for his clothes are always intoxicating as they make us dream of another life, the actual pieces, have never really "done it" for me.

Didn't know his history. Just read a couple of bios and he did design wide ties. For sure that wouldn't have gotten him even an early interview on PR! LOL

Ralph was a men's tie salesman. He thought the ties were boring and so his company allowed him to get into the "design" end he them started picking the prints and changing the sizes. He's got a keen eye for elegance and color and his designs became the best sellers for his company.

He's a very smart guy and changed his name from Ralph Lipschitz to Ralph Lauren (which is pronounced LOR-ren and not Lor-REN. He's the first to tell you he's american, not french).

He got backers and the rest, as they say, is history.

Jane

BTW, still trying to understand your comment about Laura's clothes.

Thanks, actually that is very clear. So much so that it made me realize that all of your "quotes" were from the same poster. I thought they were from different posters and I just couldn't get quotes from different people on the same posting. Thanks Jane and Lois.

That could be done with some cutting and pasting, but I prefer to address one person at a time, otherwise I think it gets confusing.

Also I really enjoy reading both of your posts through out the Cruise Fashion thread. I have learned a lot.

Thanks for the kind words.

I also learn alot from some of the terrific people on this board!

Jane

 

Jane,

 

Didn't mean to rile you about Laura. Sorry. It was just an opinion. I probably should have stopped with Laura wasn't innovative. Neither is Ralph Lauren. It's not a bad thing. But Ralphie would likely never win PR, either.

I'm not riled up at all about your comments on Laura at atll I just didn't - and still don't - understand the point the you were trying to make.

You had said her "clothes were beautiful BUT think about this, they were in the haute couture range".

Unless the clothes were supposed to be main stream prices, that comment still doesn't make sense to me and I was trying to figure out what you meant. Besides, all the designers clothes would fall into the high priced range - especially Jeffrey's.

Ralph Lauren? Sheesh, no he'd never win PR. He'd never even make it on to the show as a contestant. As anyone in the business knows, Ralph is not a designer, he never was. He a stylist and a retail visionary and knows how to hire the right designers to execute his concepts. He's a marketing genius but he probably couldn't sew a button on. (look how he's helping his dauther create am empire from cheap candy) He's never claimed to be a designer. It's the media who put him on that podium. :)