PR: All Those Lights...Is This Pennsylvania?

That's a joke for Steve Edgehouse. Because I know he waits with bated breath for my PR update!
I'm behind, so bear with me. I haven't actually seen this past week's episode yet, but here is my commentary on the week before.

Once upon a time, we used to go to the circus in Lansing. One of my favorite items for sale there was a "fiber optics" light up wand thingy. Maybe it's because my father has done research with Optical Methods of Engineering Analysis. Maybe it was because it was completely frivolous. Maybe simply because it lit up with colored lights in a new and bizarre way, like it was exotic technology.
Whatever the reason, that is immediately what I thought of when I saw what the designers were supposed to do. Make something avant garde with fiber optic light wand thingies. And here's what they did:

Austin--I didn't think that Austin's lighting technique was particularly spectacular, really. The lights were pretty much ready to go, right? That being said, I like that he incorporated shape into his piece. That arc of light was dramatic and the blue with the black was mysterious. The piece as a whole was also classy, which is, I think, what the challenge was meant to produce.
Jerrell--I can't even say that I am over Jerrell, because I rarely respond well to his garments. His model looked like a lampshade. He was onto something with the use of the fiber optic dealies, but the shape was kind of goofy. Wouldn't a sweet, oversized shrug made out of those fiber optic thingies have been rad? I kept thinking, let's flip that part around her waist and bring it up to her shoulders and ditch that collar.
Kenley--I think Kenley turned out something pretty great. I liked the latticed top and the plaid that she invented. Her girl made a complete and engaging picture and she used color well to make the outfit's component's pop. You could see that in a magazine editorial, couldn't you? For summer. I don't know if it was avant garde so much, though I still am never sure I know what that means, either!
Michael--There was something risky about the shoulders, which I respect. That being said...I didn't like the shoulder thing. Giant shoulders with lights inside. I was thinking about that, and wondering if it wouldn't have been nice to have a structured hood with lights inside, that she could have up and then dramatically shake off to reveal something new. The other thing I didn't enjoy about M's look was that he taped on stripes...which is basically what they do on their mannequins to make a garment. Thus, most of the outfit was not risky at all.
Mondo--Mondo's look had an interesting level of ...sophistication? It was more cerebral than any of the other works...cerebrally burlesque. Is that possible? That being said, it was also hard to love if you love things that are classy. From the neck down it reminds me of a trippy poem I wrote in the voice of a dancer at the Moulin Rouge. I can't justify this, except that this is what I mean by cerebrally burlesque. And the more I try to explain this, the more I can't. I have that reaction to Mondo a lot.