Three contestants were left - Stanley, Fabio and Anthony. Each of them had a grand total of seven days to produce six outfits. Then things started happening and by the end of a Runway preview, there were a total of four days left to make a total of SEVEN outfits for their final collections. Thank goodness they were sent some serious help in the person of three eliminated contestants - Helen, Candace and Amanda. Now ... on to the Runway.
 |
| Stanley's woman looked sleek and sophisticated. Even in the rush, each outfit was beautifully tailored. His center red dress was his final addition to the collection. I think it really needed that pop of color. |
Stanley had a collection featuring shapes and contrasting materials. It's not super easy to see in the photos I have here, but if you check out EW's report, you'll get larger images. The white coat and pants closest to Stanley led the show. The six elements on the coat are black-sprayed belt buckles and I loved them. You get top-pierced metal disks on the skirt of the brown outfit to the left of the red dress, and many more of the black buckles on the skirt portion of the black dress to the far left.
The short, banded dress, second from the right, reminded me of styles I was looking at and wearing in the late 1960's. The fabrics were new, but the design felt dated to me. I also wasn't fond of the next-to-last design. Most women don't want to look pregnant in their every-day wear. I really liked what Stanley did here in general, though - it was "fresh" and very wearable. I'm quite sure he'll do well in the fashion industry. I can't imagine he won't get snapped up quickly with his skills and aesthetic.
Isaac told him he did an "amazing" job and loved the red dress. Georgiana said his clothing seemed like "real" clothes. Hmmm - not really sure where she was going with that. Zac (Zac Posen, one of the two guest judges) complimented him on his beautiful execution, Catherine (Cathering Zita-Jones, the other guest judge) said she was "wowed" by his work, and finally, Alyssa loved the white pants underneath the white coat. I'd take that coat immediately. It might get dirty, but it would be worth the dry cleaning bill.
 |
| Fabio's collection was the second group to walk the Runway. He replaced his bird print with a bold yellow fabric. Although I love the color, I'm not really sure it did all that much for the collection. |
I like Fabio's vision and viewpoint, and as a collection, this actually worked really well. I was absolutely in love with the white skirt to the far left, and really liked his all-black jumpsuit in the middle. It was beautifully made. His theme was "Past and Present Colliding" and he chose accordion music for his show because his grandfather had played the accordion. Thus he honored his grandfather with the music and his grandmother with the smocking. Although I agreed with his replacing the bird print, when I saw his revised top with the huge yellow panel walk the Runway, all I could think of was a fried egg and it wasn't a good image for the outfit. I still loved the smocked skirt, though.
Georgiana loved the pleating used throughout but wished the collection had a bit more street grunge. I agree that it could have gone deeper into that and still remained true to Fabio's viewpoint. Isaac loved the yellow coat in the middle but wanted it a bit less "nice girl" and a bit more "f___ you". Catherine loved the collection and said the jumpsuit was the essence of it. Zac loved the jumpsuit so much that he compared it to Studio 54. Alyssa called the collection innovative but "relatable". I'm not even sure that's a word! I did like aspects of Fabio's collection, but I wouldn't be running out to buy any single outfit in it. Bits and pieces though, certainly. I think it would mix and match well.
 |
| Anthony based his designs on "if Audrey Hepburn had lived long enough to become Rhianna" - that solid classic look pulled into the sexy that Rhianna embodies. Do you see something missing? Yes - his initial Runway outfit - the blue gown, was tossed away and an entirely new gown was created. |
Anthony put in a LOT of work here. Every single outfit is new. He stuck with a classic color palette, adding the peacock/stained glass print featured on the two looks at the far left. He dumped the ostrich feathers and most of the patterned tulle he had been thinking about using and paint-spattered several of his garments instead. For someone who had never painted on fabric before his outfit for the Apocalyptic Disaster outfit of Episode 2, he has used it several times since and it seems to be his go-to embellishment. He does it really well. I loved a lot of what he put out on the Runway - yeah - there was a lot there that worked really well.
I appreciated the detail work he put into his clothes. It's part of what drove Candice crazy while she was helping him sew the pieces together. He had boning and stiffening through the bodices and along the hem of the peacock gown. Every single outfit was tailored beautifully The bodice of his first dress just blew me away and the way the skirt moved on his final gown was truly magnificent.
So - there was no elimination here - only a winner, and that designer was ... Anthony! He was a dark horse for this entire season, but his clarity of vision and attention to detail pulled it off for him and I couldn't be happier. He's a real talent and I hope he gets as well known as Mondo or Christian Seriano have become since they won Project Runway.
There you have it - three months of the designer's lives encapsulated into thirteen edited and televised episodes. The growth that each of the finalists experienced in this experience will serve them well and I look forward to seeing them on other Runways in the future.
Have a great weekend and I'll be back on Monday. Happy days!
No comments:
Post a Comment