Saturday, July 26, 2014

Project Runway Season 13 Episode 1: The Judges Decide

Hey, y'all!

So, here I am again. I think this is the fourth time I've done this. I tried to blog All-Stars Season 1 and failed. I think I got 4 episodes in. Then, season 10 came around in the fall and I tried again... and failed again. And then, this time last year, I started blogging season 11. Guess what happened?

Clearly, blogging Project Runway and I just don't work together. Which is why I told myself there was absolutely no way that I would blog this season. And yet here I am, writing this less than 10 minutes after watching the first episode. But let me say this: I make no promises. I may or may not blog the entire season. I don't know. My posts on the previous seasons were always way too long, so I'm definitely going to be condensing.

If I continue, posts will most likely be up the day after the episode airs. This week and next week are the exception because I don't move into my apartment until next week and have no TV until then, so I'm watching episodes when they're posted online.


Anyway, on to the episode!
(What am I getting myself into?!)


Right off the bat, we learn that they're starting Season 13 off the same way they started Season 9. They brought the 18 semi-finalists to NYC and had them audition for the judges. This basically includes bringing in a rack of their clothing to give the judges an idea of their style. After this final audition, 3 contestants would be eliminated, leaving 15 finalists (Plus the unknown returning contestant, who would be revealed the next day). 

The audition process was a total whirlwind, and even after seeing all of them go through the auditions, I didn't know any of their names. The one bright moment throughout that whole montage, however, was this beautiful gem:
" The higher the shorts, the closer to God." (Mitchell)

So, before I could even differentiate that one guy with the shaved sides from that other guy with the shaved sides, we said goodbye to Nzinga (not surprising, her clothing was boring), Tim (with the suit that was so androgynous, the judges couldn't figure out whether it was a women's or men's suit), and Emmanuel (who I remember literally nothing about except that he made the classic reality show mistake of quitting his job and losing his apartment... when will they learn?).

So, the next day, the designers gather in the workroom and Tim comes in to announce the challenge and the returning contestant. The three designers that the fans had to choose from were: Alexander Pope from season 12, Ken Laurence from season 12, and Amanda Valentine from season 11. My personal vote was for Alexander, and I thought he had a pretty good shot. Ken wasn't likable at all, and Alexander had been on a more recent season than Amanda. But Amanda apparently had more fans than I expected, because she was the one who waltzed through the door. 

I'll spare y'all the fairly boring and uneventful details of the workroom. Overall, it was a relatively panic-less first episode. We didn't have a moment like in season 8 when Casanova's model was naked when they were going down to the runway, so that's always a plus. 

Overall, I have to say that I was kinda disappointed with the designs that walked the runway, and was utterly confused by the judging. Links to designs will be attached to the designer's name!

Top 3: Char, Sandhya, and Amanda

Honestly, the only person among those three who I really thought deserved to be in the top was Char. I really loved the skirt (the print was amazing) and the shirt looked really great as well. Honestly, I hated Sandhya's look. I can kinda see how the judges loved it, but I did not. At all. Amanda just confused me. The design on the pants looked really 70s to me, and the top was boring, boring, boring. The choice of these three really confused me. 

There were several looks I thought were better and certainly more interesting. I loved Alexander's mix of prints. It was pretty simple, but at least it was interesting! I also thought that Carrie's dress was really cool. And again, I absolutely love that fabric. I was also really impressed with Korina's. Very nice. I also really liked Sean's but I can see why it didn't get picked for the top 3.

Bottom 3: Angela, Mitchell, and Jefferson 

I think there were more deserving people for the bottom 3. I definitely agree that Angela's pants had construction issues, but I thought they and the top were interesting and kinda cool. Mitchell's look was definitely very junior, and that got him in trouble. I didn't hate it, but it was simply a t-shirt and shorts. Jefferson... I disagree with the judges. I thought it was cute. I thought the shorts could've fit better, but I thought the ensemble was cute!

Like I said, I think several people deserved to be in the bottom. First of all, Emily's dress was not good at all. The design was just... *shudder.* I also really hated Hernan's dress. There was practically no design to this dress. The most interesting part about it was the extra strap on the left arm. Not impressed. I also wasn't impressed at all by Kini. Very familiar. Nothing new. Boring. 

So, after much debate and discussion, the judges award the win to Sandhya and her ombre floral deconstructed dress. Like I said, this judging confused me. A lot. 

In another surprising and confusing decision, Jefferson is out. I simply don't understand this episode's judging.

Before I wrap up, I thought I'd give a brief opinion about each of the contestants...

Alexander: If his dress this episode is any indication of what he's going to do in the future, I'm on board!
Amanda: I've never been a big fan of Amanda. I don't dislike her, I'm just ambivalent.
Angela: Not sure she's going to last. She can't keep herself together and is very easily swayed by criticism. Her lack of any confidence is very off-putting to me.
Carrie: I liked all the stuff I saw on her rack, and I liked the dress she sent down the runway. She hasn't gotten much screen time yet (probably a bad sign. She'll probably only last a couple episodes.) but I really like everything I've seen so far.
Char: I didn't like the stuff on her rack at the beginning. She seems to use a lot of yellow, and I'm not a yellow fan. But her runway look was great, so we'll see what happens.
Emily: I thought she and her clothes would be really interesting, but I wasn't a fan of that dress she sent down the runway and she hasn't gotten much screen-time. I'll withhold judgment for now.
Fade: He's an interesting one. I like him, but I'm definitely not sold on his clothes. 
Hernan: I remember not being impressed with his rack at the beginning, and hated that dress. So far, it's not looking good for you, dude.
Kini: Didn't get enough screen-time to form any sort of opinion. I'm thinking he won't last long.
Korina: She was a definite stand-out for me. She seems to be both competent and confident, and I think she'll do well.
Kristine: I don't remember her rack, but if her runway look is any indication of her style, no thanks!
Mitchell: I'm sold on him... not so much on his clothes. 
Samantha: Not impressed with what I've seen so far. I didn't really like the clothes on her rack, and I thought the outfit she put down the runway was boring.
Sandhya: Not a fan. Nope.
Sean: I liked that dress, so I'll keep my eye on him. He's really attractive, so that shouldn't be too hard!

So there you go, that's all for my post on the Project Runway Season 13 Premiere! Like I said, I don't promise I'll continue, but I did want to make at least one post.

I've also created a Facebook page for my blog, so if you want to check that out and like it, you can click HERE. I'll try to keep that pretty up-to-date with new posts and such.

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