Thinking About Disasters - Hurricane Matthew and Project Runway

Disasters. The news is full of them. Whether it's the imminent landfall of Hurricane Matthew or the upcoming Presidential debate on Sunday, it's occupying front and center for all newsfeeds. I'd rather concentrate on Hurricane Matthew, since I have friends and acquaintances who will be impacted by the high winds and soaking rains. The Presidential debate will only be one more instance of frustration and empty words, accusations, and double entendres. ICK!

This NOAA photograph taken early Wednesday morning shows Hurricane
Matthew heading straight for Florida. It will hit today and continue up
the coast toward the Carolinas. This is a bad one, people. Matthew is
leaving a lot of death and destruction in his path. 

Flip to the hurricane pictures at the very end of today's blog to avoid Project Runway spoilers below.

Who would have thought that a swimsuit would be so difficult to design and sew? I would never have imagined the designers on Project Runway would have such a difficult time. Part of the problem was that they also had to design their own print - something that has become a staple for an episode each year. The designs were varied, and many had potential, but few of them actually translated well to the cloth in the end. There were some really bad fabric decisions.

Rik's design turned into a beautiful one-piece
swimsuit with matching coverup. It worked on
the runway and in construction it was one of
the better made pieces. 

First of all, the winning design was actually really nice. Rik designed a black and white geometric that worked in curves. When it was printed up, it was large enough to allow for design decisions that really nailed this week's challenge. I had no problem with his winning the week, my problem was with the other design that the judges gushed about.

The judges gushed over Alex's design. I thought
it had potential but fell short. I really hated where he
put the piping in the suit itself, it wasn't flattering
to the model at all. The coverup should have been left
on the cutting room floor, it was just ugly. 

Really? Have Nina, Zac and Heidi taken leave of their senses? Where they were seeing Mediterranean chic, I was seeing "Little House on the Prairie" drab. Alex used the flowers on one of his arm sleeve tattoos as inspiration for his pattern design, and that was nicely done. I had no problem with the blue on white color either. But the coverup he designed really sucked. Sorry Alex.

Jenni designed a really cute overlap wrap top
for her suit, but the bottom cover up was super heavy
and just didn't work with the look. It was just well
made enough to pull her through, but it was pretty awful.
The material itself was supposed to be purple. It
turned out to be anything but! 

Sarah and Jenni were on the bottom this week. I thought that Jenni's top was actually very nicely styled and well made, but her fabric design was a disaster. She had wanted a purple, it came out in a pink and her mandala motif was just poor. The coverup Jenni designed was heavy and a poor choice, but she was running out of time and decided to go with what she had and defend it. She defended it better than Sarah.

Sarah's print design of a woman sunbathing was
actually quite cute, but I envisioned it quite differently
from the cut they showed when she was designing
it. I was less than thrilled with the final cloth. 

Sarah's print design actually was a really cute idea, but I thought she was actually going to do it much smaller. The way the design turned out, it was far too large. The suit itself wasn't badly designed, but was rather same-old, same-old, and her coverup was a disaster. The judges thought it was better suited to a six-year-old than a woman of style. Bye, bye, Sarah.

It seems that any time the designers have to come up with their own fabric design, it tends to be a disaster, and combining that with swimwear - a clothing style that most designers never deal with - was a recipe for a lot of poorly made clothing in impossible fabric choices. Next week we have our first team competition. The claws will come out.

This Weather Channel picture of Hurricane Matthew is from almost ninety
minutes ago. Florida's east coast is getting pounded. I hope that people obeyed
the orders and evacuated. The destruction on this one will be massive! 

Have a good Friday, all, and stay safe! My thoughts and prayers are with my friends who will be impacted by Hurricane Matthew as well as the more than 300 who have already died because of Mother Nature's strong storm.