The Return of Project Runway

You know you were waiting for it, my first PR blog! Spoilers probably will abound here, so if you didn't get to watch the premier, skip the blog for now.

First, let's talk about the All-Star Challenge.
I can only think of a few people I know who are more annoying than Santino, and I am thus pretty glad that I don't know him. I know he does it mostly for show, and I actually don't mind him at all in his vulnerable moments, but other than that, I know that, were I in his presence in a workroom, I would block out literally everything he said.
Now. I'm conflicted.
I love Daniel V. I always liked the polished work he did and, while his final collection was not my favorite, I always liked how generally classy he was.
I did not care for his collection last night. I understand he was doing something sporty, but, since I'm being honest, I wasn't really impressed with the garments he produced. The rivet thing in his main dress was kind of cool, and I liked the bold blue, but...the judges kept going on about how much Daniel V. learned, yadda yadda, which was interesting since he was one of their favorites back in the day. I don't know. I love how respectful he is of the learning process and of the judges' views. I just wasn't excited about the clothes, and I didn't like the direction he seems to be going in. Remember how exquisite his flower imitation outfit was? That's the Daniel V. I love.
I really liked Korto's black dress and red dress. She does tend to stick with a particular aesthetic, but the whole point of the challenge was to present a personal point of view, and I really don't think she had to "learn a lot" or change what she does in response to judges. She's pretty much a package that I already respect. I'd wear her clothing and love it. I adored what she did with those lava rocks. Being able to visualize and change a fabric always makes me excited.
I liked Uli's collection and thought it would rate higher. I was confused by that, especially with the wearability of her 4th look. I loved her chiffon ruffly dress, which I think would be a cute addition to my wardrobe. I didn't find her collection boring at all...I think Uli was hurt by others' expectations of her. She wanted to show growth in sophistication, and she did; she expanded her arsenal. Like Korto, I'd wear her clothing and love it.
Of the other garments, I liked Chris's coat (look 2, I think), Mychael's skirt, and Sweet P's green ruffly dress.
Jeffrey's collection looked a little lazy to me, and Santino's looked a little too much like something a cougar might wear (and I mean the woman, not the animal).
So, the shakedown of the 8 was off for me. I liked Korto and Uli the best, and as I watched the judging I was nervous, because it seemed like I was in for another season of the judges and me not matching at all, which is kind of unpleasant.

Now, let's move on to the Big Game.
And let me first say that Lifetime has some serious navigation problems with their PR pictures online; if you want to see the dresses, you have to rate them one by one. Terrible idea. At this point, there is also no Tim's Take...instead there are just extended videos of what he said, while the challenge was in progress. Also not what I want. In the portfolio section, the buttons don't work properly yet. They have a long way to go over there.
On to the clothes (and this is assuming Lifetime has the pictures synched up with the right names!):

I liked Althea's dress for a particular purpose. Go Ohio! It wasn't as sophisticated as Ra'mon's and some of the others, but it was pretty and appropriate for a younger star, like maybe Abigail Breslin in three or four years.
Ari. Oh dear. I don't have a problem with her not sketching, and in theory I don't have a problem with edgy gear. But her garment didn't even seem fitted properly. I think she's got some re-conceptualizting of herself to do.
What Carol Hannah wanted to do seemed unique, but the fit of the dress was kind of baggy, and I mean that literally--the bottom two tiers looked like bunchy bags, with not enough contrast in the shape. If that portion had been sleeker, with perhaps a bit of trim in lines or something, I think she would have had a contender.
Christopher irritates me, and I'll tell you why: He goes on and on about how he has no education in garments and he's entirely self-taught, etc. etc. But he doesn't know what smocking is, or what godets are. Seriously? I know that, and I don't have any garment education either, aside from what I have read in patterns. There's a broad line in this case between self-taught and ignorant, and I'm sorry to see that Christopher is applauding his ignorance. If you want to work in fashion, maybe you should actually educate yourself, or at least learn some terms. Now, I thought his dress was cute and entirely appropriate for the VMAs, but if he continues to stand there and say, basically, "huh huh huh, I totally won, and I don't know anything!" I'm going to be MAD. Open a book, dude. Get a sewing dictionary. Read it.
Epperson's garment conflicts me. On the one hand, it's kind of badass (though the shape at the bottom, where the trim is sewn on, could be better); on the other, I can't think what Red Carpet event it would fit for. It looked a little too boudoir noir for me. It would be really interesting to see that piece in a full collection, but for the challenge at hand I was a little baffled.
Gordana's structural elements were interesting; this is not a garment I would have selected to wear, though. Pretty color, kind of boring bottom. It felt unbalanced spatially.
Irina's dress rocked. I loved it. I know the nude color is a little daring, but the shape and movement of the dress were great. It felt pretty and I bet it would be really lovely on a red carpet. I gather Rami Kashou is an inspiration of hers, and you could really tell.
Johnny's dress had a Grammy feel to it. I didn't care for the skirt of the front, but I also didn't mind the scarlet. I thought a deeper wine color might be interesting. All the same, this was not one of my favorite garments, and I was surprised it was top 3.
I was interested in Logan's dress. It didn't blow my mind, but I thought it was pretty and fluid, and I would probably wear it. I think it has a fashionable Grammy possibility, or perhaps Golden Globes.
Louise--I want to like Louise's clothes a lot. I don't know how she'll do, but she has an interesting aesthetic. I didn't especially care for the bottom of the dress (gathered up on one side might have been interesting, though) but I liked her fabric choice, even though the color washed out. I have that problem sometimes, too.
Malvin--Um, see Shirin below, because I feel the exact same way about her garment as I do about Malvin's.
Like Tim, I was bemused by Mitchell's initial creation. I can't tell from the sketch, either. I have no idea what he's up to. I reserve judgment for the week.
I didn't care that much for Nicolas's dress...I didn't dislike it, I just wasn't interested. It was also wicked different from his sketch. I could, however, see Lohan wearing it.
Qristyl. Poor Qristyl. Good idea, bad result. I will be interested to see what she does with prints in the future, but this was not her day. It didn't look all that bad on TV, in motion, but from the still picture you see what the judges were talking about.
Ra'Mon--While I don't always match the judges in their favorites, I liked Ra'Mon's dress. It was a bit reminiscent of someone else's dress a while back, and I can't remember whose, but I liked the structural elements and the pleating, and it was very glamorous without being old. I think it was one of few that was Oscar-ready.
Shirin's silver dress was a little boring to me...the cut of the skirt didn't strike me as particularly red carpet.

Well, I think that's everyone! I was most interested in the garments of Irina and Ra'Mon. I am excited for the coming weeks of PR and wondering how it's going to fit into my Thursday life. Thursday has a lot of shows for me, as does Wednesday!