Project Runway Canada 2 – Episode 7 Redux
I am posting my thoughts on each episode of my favourite show, Project Runway Canada, in case you are watching too and want to discuss it.
More after the gap —
This challenge was a weird one – making a dress out of Post-its is a standard sponsor-tie-in challenge, but this time it had another twist. The designers had to make post-it gowns for cancer survivors in support of the Canadian Breast Cancer society. The episode had a very emotional and inspirational and sad side, and on the other hand they were making these ridiculous garments out of office supplies. Does it seem strange to anyone else to turn cancer survivors into fashion victims or is it just me?
Can I just say that Brian Bailey is getting better and better with every episode? Lately he seems more and more animated when he checks on the designers’ progress, and he comes up with some really pithy remarks. When he asked Kim to “honour the challenge” he really brought down the gravity of creating a dress out of Post-its. Is it really the wings that make this challenge ridiculous? I wish Kim had gone ahead with the wings instead of making another just-OK dress.
What a tedious challenge! I got a hint that they had to extend the deadline on this one and some awkward editing seems to confirm that. The amount of work all the designers put into their dresses is just incredible, they were all very ambitious and did some remarkable things within some very restrictive parameters.
That said, the bad dresses were very bad. Especially Jason’s. It had a train with little golden arches on it. What?
The best part of the episode was the judging. Iman is getting better and better – she does not hesitate to tell the designers “No” when they need to hear it, and this week guest judge Marie St. Pierre was just as feisty. Shawn was in the position of defending some of the more awkward designs – is he a little intimidated by Sunny’s talent? He is definitely a little intimidated by Iman. The dynamic of the judges gets more entertaining to watch now that they are disagreeing with eachother.
Jessie took it – again! Excited to see what next week brings, the designers will be dressing our favourite model Coco.
Did you see it? What did you think?
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When I saw the word “positivity” on the Judy, I knew the Biffster would take it — Jessica absolutely glows with optimism. She always works so hard and never gets negative. For me, she is a designer who lives Tim Gunn’s “make it work” motto: never quitting when the challenge gets tough, always finding a way to rethink or edit a piece to make it better.
I felt so bad when she was torn into by a fellow designer for not following through with her first attempt. In my book, Jess gets major props for knowing when to shift gears and take the look in a new direction (last week) or to start over at square one (this week).
Don’t let the haters get you down, Jess! We love you!
I’ve been waiting for this post, Danielle, just because I wanted to mention something that I think is important to note. On Twitter, you mentioned that Kim (aka @kdon) is on Twitter, and I think you were politely warning me to, well, be polite. I’ve been thinking about this a lot, and about how we view the designers on the show. For me, they are less “people” than edited characters, and my comments aren’t necessarily directed to Kim, or Jason, or whoever, but to the “Kim”, “Jason” personality I see onscreen. That personality is very much constructed and edited both by the designer her/himself and the editor/producer/director, etc. We, the audience, judge and make comments about work done by designers under extreme and sometimes ridiculous circumstances. That work is not just the garments that they create, but the personalities that they put forth, and the work that the production team does to make it all happen. I like to think of the whole show as a sort of metatextual fabrication.
What I’m essentially saying is that I hope the designers who do read any of the audience’s comments or opinions realize that what we’re commenting on is not really about them. And the reason I’m posting this is because I’m curious for your opinion on this weird Web 2.0 phenomenon of having a dialogue with one’s audience, and the “fabricated” reality that Project Runway (and indeed, most reality shows) presents.
Ok, /end rant.
Just wanted to say that I also thought Jessica deserves kudos for knowing when to change her design. I don’t see why that makes her a lesser designer in Kim’s eyes.
Nadia – got the Jess love on here too <3 she’s a total sweetheart and talented too =)
Tiff – Part of the reason why I love Project Runway Canada is because it is inhabited by real people who subsequently make appearances in my real life. So, when I write about them, I am very conscious that they are people who will likely read these words and then maybe even call me out on it afterwards (though so far no one has). It doesn’t stop me from being critical, but it does make word it as if they are looking over my shoulder.
Like a blogger getting negative comments (and it happens to everyone sometimes), you try to remind yourself that its not personal and shouldn’t affect you, but the truth is it is painful. The nastiness of the commenters on the global.runway.com site is over-the-top. I’m shocked that Global lets those trolls run havoc over there. I think as the human being in question, you can read these and your brain might say “metatextual” but your gut hurts bad.
We’re not trolls and none of your comments are really that bad. I think what prompted me to mention Kim’s around our area of the internet was the word “disgusting” which is pretty tame. So please don’t take this as a rebuke – your side makes sense too and if you’re good with it then go for it. I’m just trying to explain why I am exercising a lil’ diplomacy.