PR: In which I was fully prepared to say "NO NO NO" and didn't have to.

First, from Tim's blog, I learned, "This is the last season in which Bryant Park will be center stage for New York Fashion Week. In spite of the fact that Bryant Park has been responsible for branding New York as "the Fashion Capital of the World," the New York City Parks Commissioner wants us OUT. His office maintains that Bryant Park is a public space, yet Fashion Week is an "invitation only" (i.e., private) event." Probably, most people knew this already, but I didn't, since I don't pay that much attention. Anyway, an interesting change, no? Evidently, Lincoln Center is the new site.

Now, throughout this whole show, I kept thinking "Don't let Emilio win." I am not usually like that; even when I don't care for a designer, and might feel less inclined to want him to win (like Siriano), I don't actively hate on him. This year was different. I'm just that done with him. I've liked some of his designs this season, but I'm just done with his arrogance. Even so, his collection was also my least favorite of the three, without the lenses of bias. And, unexpectedly, my favorite of the three was Mila. Let's see how it all shook out, shall we?

Mila
Top three looks:
Knit stripey dress--I love. I'd totally wear this. Very rocker chic but not in a scary way. It looks kind of cozy.
White tee with sweater--Some may call it plain, mundane, or boring, but the fact of the matter is I'd wear it. I love that sweater. It's very me.
Shiny dress--I know people disagree with me, but I really liked this dress on the runway. It's weird, but somehow the fishscalelike material really appeals to me. It's almost an updated flapper garment.
Bottom three looks:
"Round" coat--the first look out...I call it round because its silhouette is very round. I wasn't that interested in this garment, and it made me worry about the direction of her collection, temporarily.
Ripply blouson with short pants--The shorts were really not attractive to my eye. The blouson wasn't bad, actually, but it also wasn't that eye-catching.
Striped tunic with white tights--I don't hate this look; I didn't hate any looks, but the white tights here with the black boots really threw me off, and the tunic looked a touch sloppy.

General observations: I acknowledge that Mila didn't put out anything very surprising. You know what, though? I'm okay with that. Leggings aside, I actually liked the way she updated her style for this runway show, and her pieces were impeccable and wearable, with a wry edge to them. I had a hard time coming up with pieces I genuinely disliked in this collection, and ended up picking mostly ones that I was meh about. Her clothes looked comfortable, and I responded to this style as being the closest to my own, when I'm feeling a little badass. I congratulate Mila on finding some youth at last.

Seth Aaron
Top three looks:
Red dress with the leather trim--I was interested in the shape of the dress, but I hated the leggings. I'm pretty anti-leggings. I think I've mentioned that. But the dress was fun to look at.
Black and white striped dress--I loved the shape of this dress, and the party flavor. I would wear this immediately.
Yellow tartan dress/coat--This look was bold and surprising in a good way. I could never wear this color, but I liked the combination of a modern style with a tartan.
Bottom three looks:
Black "thorny" dress--To me, this looked like trash bags. In the upclose pictures, you can see that all those folds were lined in red tartan. But why? You couldn't see any of that. Up top, the bodice started doing something interesting, but I didn't care for it from the bust down.
Trench coat with tartan-striped leggings--Yuck. This was probably my least favorite look of SA's, and one of the least favorite overall. I can't bear those leggings. They kind of reminded me of Jeffrey Sebelia's taste.
Purple bunchy dress-- Another big miss. Love the color, hate the shape and the movement, or lack thereof.
General observations: I concurred with the judges that it was refreshing to see Seth Aaron reel it in without losing himself. Not all of his looks were tasteful, but they all had his distinctive stamp without being unwearable, as his clothes sometimes are. I think he proved to the judges that he can be realistic; at the same time, I hope he learned from and remembers Tim's advice from his home visit. Time to reflect is crucial. Seth Aaron sometimes doesn't give himself that time; he just churns work out. Sometimes that is great, and impulsiveness can help a designer, but other times it might prevent something bigger and more amazing from emerging. Impulse shouldn't stand in the way of evolution, and I think because Seth Aaron is so fast sometimes that happens with his work. He's won a lot of fans this season, though, so I bet he does well.

Emilio
Top three looks:
Red dress--Obviously, I'm a sucker for a red dress. It was very forties, even with the shoulder treatment.
Blue wrap coat--I like the kimonoesque styling of the coat. It looked a little Target to me, but I'd wear it. There's nothing wrong with Target.
Red turtleneck with blue sleeves--I liked the simple color blocking here, and it was a wearable garment without pretension or distraction. Probably my favorite of Emilio's pieces.
Bottom three looks:
Pea green coat--This was the first thing out, and I just could not get behind it. I noticed that a lot of looks seemed as though they had rounded shoulder pads underneath, and I can't stand that. It was paired with a dress the shape of which I liked, but I really don't care for his selfmade print. It looks from afar like an oddly colored animal print, which looked tacky.
Hideous dress under the red coat-- The red coat was cute, but then the model took it off and there was that ugly print with a bizarre pea green leather bottom or whatever it was. The dress looked tawdry.
Dark brown-green skirt and jacket with the puffed sleeves--Kind of reminded me of the snake people. The red gloves looked like dish gloves.
General observations: The judges commented on Emilio's sudden commercialness--they clearly didn't remember all those really simply shaped dresses he made in the beginning. They also called his collection at one point the most sophisticated, and I almost choked. That is not the adjective I would have selected. I was also interested that Kors was so excited about the gold dress--gold lame'? Really? It wasn't ugly by any stretch, but to me it looked a bit like a sci-fi costume. In sum, I was not impressed with this collection, and would have been disappointed had Emilio been my favorite. Since he was not, I prayed for him to lose.

I don't know if anyone stuck around to watch the half hour designer/model sit-down. Recently, my sister commented that PR on Lifetime gears toward viewers who want "lots of dramatic staring, sniping, and breathless suspense." That was sort of the whole point of the extra half hour. It was a lot of sniping and "apologizing." The dramatic pause for a commerical before Maya's dramatic "real" reason she left the show--the very same reason she explained while she was on the show--was ridiculous. More realistically dramatic was Jay's personal comments about Cerri (bad teeth and thick legs), provoked by her personal dislike of his style. Her comments weren't nice, to be sure, but his were below the belt and childish. He did not do himself any favors.

Well, that's all from me. Another season down.