A few of my students asked me, "Weren't you so excited that Christian won?"
Regular readers of this blog will already know that my answer was no.
I am in agreement with Tim Gunn that any of the designers could have won. They all had distinctive ideas and directions, and they all have sets of knowledge that would likely do well in the industry--that will likely do well, since I am sure Rami and Jillian will have plenty of offers.
But I'm just not that in to Christian. I did have a moment when my heart softened toward him, when he was suffering a lapse in his confidence, and recognized the brilliance of his peers. It is good to see designers respecting each other's work, and it makes me think of theirs more kindly, as long as they aren't whining. But as I have noted before, I'm bored with silhouette, and with his colors. I liked the merlot in his collection and would have liked a bit more of that...more merlot, and one or two different things besides the skinny pant look, and I would have been more on his side. It was just too much of the same thing. They always complain about designers dressing themselves, yet I don't remember them saying that about Christian...even though it's clear to me that's what he's doing. Also, as a general issue, I can't stand skinny pants. Thus, what was there for me?
I loved the weaving in Rami's garments. I also did not mind the color choices; Tim called them dour in his blog, and I totally disagree. Rami has a very sophisticated color sense, I think, and he's been criticized for it over the course of the show for something that probably comes down to culture. He was born in Jerusalem, and I think those olives and golds and mulberries mesh really well with that. They're a heck of a lot better than that horrid lime/chartreuse and orange that keep popping up in designers' work. I loveloveloved that look with the lace. I was not crazy about the shapes of some of his short dresses. In any case, I think Rami is going to get a lot of business.
I want the short blue dress in Jillian's collection. I want it now! Overall, I liked Jillian's collection the best. There were one or two pieces I didn't like (like the gold babydoll dress), but I thought her collection was the most wearable and it spoke to me the most. There were a lot of different things in it, but you had the sense they could all come out of the same closet for a woman with a lot of different things to do. I also didn't mind the slender leggings look in Jillian's collection because it was offest by boots, which is much more palatable for me, and it was balanced by different silhouettes. The coat Lauren wore was really exciting, and I, like everyone else, loved those knits. I almost wish she'd won just for the knits! I wanted Jillian to win.
So that's my take. Top Chef starts tonight, and I'm not sure how excited I am about it. Not very, actually. I get a little tired of pretention after a while, I guess, and every time I watch Top Chef I think about starving children. It's not the best match ever. I'll probably end up watching it, though; it is right after Ghosthunters.
4 comments:
As a character I definitely found Christian the most entertaining, but as a collection his was my least favorite. And you're spot-on about Rami's color choices. I totally disagreed with the judges on that issue. The world only needs so many black dresses.
Hmm, interesting point about Top Chef making you think of starving children. I never thought of it that way and I suppose you're right. But how different is that really than poor children somewhere wearing rags? High fashion? Pretentious? Never! :) Top Chef just makes me hungry.
Ghosthunters is where it's at. I don't think I've ever seen Jason and Graham get as uncomfortable as they did last when they were in that tunnel. But then again, they probably held up better than 99% of the population or anyone on their team...
None of the collections really spoke to me, but when I asked myself whose collection I'd want to see in full detail in a fashion magazine spread, it was Christian's. I'd like a better look at all his ruffles and ruching and seams and feather application - the ways he brought a variety of textures and shapes to his standby blacks and browns. I also loved his humble, cramped apartment-studio and would like to see what he could do with more space and a more comfortable place to rest!
I have to agree with the judges on Rami's colors. That olive "prom" dress...bleh. As for his final collection: I got so tired of turquoise and berry in the 1990s. Had he played with silver-blues, true dark blood red, or pure charcoal rather than that greenish-brownish-greyish color, I might have been more interested,
Jillian's collection offered interesting ideas that I might be able to carry off myself, but there was too much going on within and among the model looks - too many diverse layered shapes, textures, and techniques. And the gold lame Xena minidress killed it for me.
-SECP
Seems like we have different opinions about the colors in Rami's collection...which is why I think Tim is totally right in pulling out the chacon a son gout card. Sarah, as soon as I saw the gold mini-dress, I thought to myself "Sarah and I will agree on that dress." I'm totally not kidding. And to be fair to Christian, I was intrigued by those creamy ruffles, too.
Paul, you're totally right about kids wearing rags, and the pretention of fashion; in fact, I dislike a lot of the challenges for that reason, and that's why I favor things like the grocery store challenge. I guess from my perspective, clothing is (should be) worn repeatedly and while it doesn't need to be uber fancy, at least it can be decorative and long wearing. But we eat food. It disappears. We need food to live. It's a utility. If a child has rags, it's sad, but if a child has no food, the child dies.
I don't like any occasion on PR or TC where I perceive wastefulness, and unfortunately it's kind of often.
But you are so right that Ghosthunters rules. Don't you wonder how you'd do in that tunnel? I was very curious, especially because I get a totally creepy feeling sometimes in the front of my house. I think it's EMF.
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