Project Runway Avant-garde - NO SPOILERS

I had DH sharing my room last night and he was watching the Olympics, so I didn't get a chance to watch Project Runway All Stars until the actual judging. That means I know the top and bottom looks and the judges' comments, but missed the full runway walk. Still, it was Project Runway Thursday and the show was ON! 

What is Joshua doing with blue tape and a glue gun? Tomorrow
I'll show the top and bottom looks for this week's avant-garde
challenge, but Joshua's design was certainly "out of this world". 

The challenge was Avant-garde, i.e., wearable art, and the theme of "designs inspired by the cosmos" was introduced at the Hudson River Museum's Planetarium. The designers had a $350 budget and TWO days for the challenge. I suspect they needed every minute. 

Avant-garde is difficult because it requires the designer to showcase their own construction and design foundations while designing clothing that can be worn, but that is anything BUT street smart or "wearable". An avant-garde design would be worn to a very special event where the owner wanted to make a standout statement, but more likely would spend most of its life on a hanger in the back of a closet. It's fashion that's costume without crossing that boundary. 

The usual judges, Georgina Chapman and Isaac Mizrahi, were augmented by two guest judges - actor Jesse Tyler Ferguson, and one of my favorites, RuPaul Charles. Oh yeah! If anyone can judge avant-garde, it's RuPaul. The prize for the winner is Marchesa shoes for their first professional collection. That doesn't float my boat, but hey, I'm not really a shoe person. 

The looks were varied and ranged from pretty awesome to pretty dammed horrid, like "what the hell was he/she thinking", horrid. The joys of avant-garde. 

The Olympics are winding down. Did you get a chance to see the US women's hockey team win over Canada in a double shootout? It was pretty spectacular. The Gold Medal round for men's curling will be held today, and I can't wait. The US hasn't done well in previous Olympics, but this year we're finally hitting the mark. One more game, guys! Make it happen! 

Enjoy your Friday. I'll show you the winning and losing looks from the avant-garde challenge tomorrow morning. On Sunday the Olympics will shut it all down at the closing ceremonies, and life can return to a semblance of normal on Monday. That's a lot happening in the next few days.