I was absolutely giddy when I heard what this week's
competition would be. The designers get to create complete head-to-toe makeovers for each other. Yeah, I love makeover
shows. Fun, fun, fun. Hmmm, not so fun. A lot of fighting on this week's episode and I think we all know who was at the
center of it...Santino.Nick became absolutely fed up with Santino this week because of his constant mindless and pointless ramblings. (Example: Santino kept going on and on about poop this episode.) Santino is annoying, but let's face it -- whether he wins this competition or not, he's going to be a star. People know him. People who don't even follow Project Runway know him. I had some old man come up to me the other day and ask me if he thought that "Santa guy was gonna win?"
But enough about the attention hog, back to the competition. Heidi drew names out of a hat (they were actually buttons, how cute) to see what designer would be designing for whom. It broke down like this: Chloe designs for Nick, Daniel designs for Chloe, Kara designs for Santino, Santino designs for Kara, and Nick designs for Chloe. They each got $200, and two days to create their new makeovers. I was actually sort of confused about the execution of the makeovers. Are they suppose to change the way the designers look totally, or simply enhance the way they already look? They never really made that clear, but it seems to be that the designers who did well this week just simply enhanced the person's pre-existing look.
Because of his win last week, Daniel had immunity on this challenge and it's a good thing because his design for Chloe absolutely sucked. The drawing he did looked really cute, but the execution just looked silly. It didn't look high fashion at all. I thought it looked cheesy, cheap and slutty. He created this lipstick red dress with a brown leather corset-vest to go over it. It didn't flatter Chloe at all. Then he gave her this big "sexy" hairdo and it just looked wrong. Chloe is a super cute girl and I was really looking forward to what Daniel was going to come up with for her. He just totally missed the mark. The dress just looked too grown-up for her. It wasn't hip and fashionable enough and she just looked like a little girl playing dress up. It was lucky that he had immunity or he would have been out.
Chloe, on the other hand, knocked it out of the park with her design for Nick and won this week. This was a surprise win for Chloe because she had never attempted menswear before. It didn't look good early on because she seemed confused about designing a vest for a man, but she really did pull it off. She created pinstriped pants and a vest for Nick with a pink shirt underneath. It totally looked like something Nick would wear and it looked very well tailored. She definitely deserved the win.
Kara also did a great job at designing Santino's outfit. She
created madras pants with a long-sleeve shirt and a slouchy polo over it. Finally, she paired it with a matching fedora.
Once again, very well tailored. It looked like Santino had just bought this outfit at the store. Kara was going for the
"preppy look" for Santino. Michael Kors described it as Santino goes on vacation. The outfit did look really
good, but Santino is still creepy looking. They trimmed up him beard and his hair. It looked better, but it just sort
of made him look like Pee Wee Herman in his masturbation mug shot. Am I alone in this thought?
While the women rocked this competition (could the next winner be a woman?), the men totally sucked. Nick's suit for Daniel was a disaster. He picked a fabric that was too feminine. He described it as gray, but it looked purplish-beige on TV and it was sort of silky. Also, he didn't design the suit with pant pockets or buttons on the jacket. Big mistake. I actually thought it would have been a really great women's suit, but not a man's suit at all. It didn't look to bad on Daniel because he looks sort of feminine, but take this moment to picture Nick's suit on your husband, boyfriend, or father. Ha ha ha, pretty funny thought, huh? Finally, the suit was just sewn badly. You could see it ruffling at the seams. Not a good move, Nick, and that's why he was voted out this week. I liked the guy, but boy, he blew it. PS- I thought that Daniel totally looked like Adrien Brody with his hair blew out like that. Sort of funny, sort of hot.
And then there is Santino. Sigh. I actually liked his design for Kara -- a funky jumpsuit. Now, when I first saw this design it made me cringe. I am a woman and I know that it's really hard to pull off a jumpsuit because they are so unflattering. They don't hide body flaws at all. You either look fat, or too small-chested, or your butt looks too big, or your butt looks too flat. A jumpsuit is basically a treasure map for all your imperfections. It's like, "Look at me, look at me! I have no boobs and love handles!" But Kara's body is pretty hot. Who knew? I didn't know. I didn't like the fabric he picked for it though. It was this brownish-gray color. I actually would have liked to see colors that were less earthy and more vibrant. But Santino's big problem is that he didn't finish the garment. The sleeves were literally falling off and they had to practically glue the entire outfit to Kara's body. She looked miserable in it. She had to walk down the aisle like a fashion robot. Santino tried to act like it was Kara who was just uncomfortable in new clothes, but we all knew what it was -- Santino designed a bad outfit.
Backstage, Kara was actually crying because she didn't point out the designs flaws, like the fact that the trimming was glued on and not sewn on. And it might have been a costly mistake because it might have saved Nick for another week. Although, I'm not sure if Nick really deserved to be saved. His outfit did suck. I think this season might just be the year for the ladies to take the win.
The TV Squad Podcast: Vik Sahay of Chuck, Oprah talk, brutal timeslots, and more!
TV Squad Ten: Top Ten ESPN shows from worst to first
Andy Richter: The TV Squad Interview
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
2-09-2006 @ 2:23PM
Evadne said...
I thought Kara was crying because she hadn't said anything when the judges asked her how she felt in the outfit, not because she didn't tell them that it sucked. Anyway, though, Santino was damn lucky he wasn't out. I don't really get the fan love for Nick; frankly, I think he came across as kind of a moody whiner on TV, and if I had to pick between Uncle Nick and The Great Santini to watch, I'd pick Santino (now, if they were both dangling over a cliff and I could only save one, that might be a different story). I actually kind of liked the suit and I didn't think it was really that feminine, but you can't see the textures of the fabrics well on TV. I was kind of worried that it would look more "International Male" catalogue than it did. Daniel's was definitely the worst--it reminded me of the lingerie challenge and how the pieces came out more Playboy-like than his design; the finished product on this one made Chloe look like a slutty dominatrix. I wouldn't have expected female sexual stereotypes from Daniel, but that seems to be where he goes when he's at his worst.
Reply
2-10-2006 @ 12:13AM
orimental said...
Daniel: He's looking a bit like Robin Gibb.
http://www.geocities.com/robingibbmania/left5.jpg
Chloe: The leather corset? Nah. The bad hem on the dress? Blah. The Kathleen Turner hairdo? Gah.
Nick: He was right about looking like a British Airways flight attendant. I was waiting for him to offer Michael Kors a warm towel.
Kara: Rockin' body, but we shouldn't be able to see it through faulty seams.
Santino: It would have been better if he shaved it all off, but I fear he might look too much like Kara if he does.
Reply
2-10-2006 @ 12:16AM
orimental said...
Fixed the link:
http://www.geocities.com/robingibbmania/left5.jpg
Reply
2-10-2006 @ 5:48AM
Jason Simmons said...
I thought the jump-suit was awful! It looked like something from a flea market bargain bin.
Clearly, Santino should have been eliminated from this round.
Incidentally, I wish they would get another judge. Nina Garcia is annoying, obnoxious, and very rarely has anything nice to say about anyone.
Reply
2-10-2006 @ 11:35AM
D Rode said...
Well- let's see Chloes outfit for nick was safe, Nick as an executive? I don't think so.Really another pinstripe suit? never seen that before but she did an outstanding job on construction.Problem- interpretation
Daniels outfit for Chloe-I thought it was daring.The challenge said to MAKEOVER the person. I think Dan saw Chloe's hidden wild side and brought it out. The red dress was nice, the vest was a weird color and shame on him for a raggy hem BUT he really tried to change Chloe and I think that's what he thought he was supposed to do. Problem- Interpretation,execution
As for Nicks suit for Daniel- All his talk about him knowing mens wear started out great but the seams were awful. I thought the design,plus some buttons.pkts etc,was fine for a European look and it suited Daniel well. Problem- Execution
Santino is a bully and a snob. His trashy looks from himself and his work should have left a long time ago. His jumpsuit for Kara looked fine from the back. Let's face it, the sleeve wasn't 'unfinished', it was there on purpose for his FAGEN's Rags to Riches look. All the other victims of time were smart enough to admit it. This guy is a sleeeze.He should have gotten the boot. Problem- Execution,pompousness
A for Kara's look for Santino she did the impossible and cleaned up the trash. Nice execution and it suited the person she worked on (weird). So why didn't she win? Problem- Judges
I LOVE this show, but I would like to know the scoring system. It seems to change like the wind. There should be a points system for execution,design,individuality,interpretation and practicality. The weights for each can and should vary from challenge to challenge for obvious reasons but the whole system as of now is to commercially subjective. Also is the Guest judge specialize in the challenge of the week? or is he/she just special?
Reply
2-10-2006 @ 12:49PM
Emily said...
D you nailed it. The judges are all over the place and inconsistent. There is a disclaimer that flashes at the end of the show that states that the winning decision is made with the approval of the producers, so it makes since they will keep the pain in the butt, a.k.a. Santino until the very end.
Reply
2-16-2006 @ 9:49AM
D Rode said...
What a disapointment this week. I thought all the gowns should have been canned and everyone told to start over. Three were blah and Santino's looked like my grandmothers (no - great grandmother's) cruise ship attire had been revived. Daniel's was the best of the three blahs but I had to agree with the judges when they said no one but Santino let their style show through.
Reply
2-26-2006 @ 3:46AM
jamila said...
i think that nick thought out of the box, but he wasn't thinking about the model that much. But i thought that it was pretty good but too tight on her chest
Reply
3-09-2006 @ 1:35PM
Gisele said...
Lacy Hall, you did not watch PR very carefully, did you? Santino had a very big part in designing Kara's outfit for himself. He guided her in the concept of the design. He helped her with choosing the fabric. He assisted her with putting it together at every stage of execution. Santino is much more than a bully and a snob. Dig a little deeper sweetie and find the humor and the insight. Many of his criticisms about his fellow designers were quite perspicacious and witty. His work is not trash. You are definitely letting your personal feelings about his tv persona inhibit your judgement. Do not take everyhing at face value. His humor is quite self-deprecating at times as is his boasting. A good bit of it is humorous silliness and posturing. I am not entirely pro Santino. I like much of Daniel V's work and Daniel F was eliminated too quickly--he is very refined and skilled. Andre is quite talented and Diana's work is interesting and unique. Chloe is highly skilled technically, but not a virtuoso innovator. I responded to your entry because I am sick of hearing and seeing Santino maligned for such shallow, obvious, reasons. People who criticize him in blogs and forums such as this one, do so for such one-dimensional, trite reasons. Don't be so bloody obvious and so easily swayed by popular opinion and the machinations of tv producers trying to make good tv you silly thing, dig and little deeper and you might discover that which you disparage may be a little more complex, and perhaps a little out of range interms of your own capabilities for producing shrewd and incisive criticism.
Reply