The End is the Beginning

Well, this is the end, my friends. My blog idea certainly had a limited shelf life. Now I have a mess of downtime until the next season of PR starts up. I have decided at the moment to only discuss the broad strokes of the finale. Perhaps later, when I yearn to blog once again, I will discuss the individual pieces in finer detail.

I know many that would heartily disagree with me, but for me, this was the best season of Project Runway. Not necessarily for entertainment value, mind you. But as a design competition television show, these designers were the highest level of talent the show has seen thus far. Think about previous seasons. I always had one favorite. One of the designers was head and shoulders above the others in season 1 and 2 (Kara Saun, Chloe Dao). Really, Wendy Pepper was terrible. I love Daniel V so much, but he was far too meek design-wise to be one of the finalists. His collection was so bland. Honestly, I feel that Season 3 was the talent low point of the show. I was not very excited by any of the final collections. Michael's collection was abysmal. They were all very uneven.

This was the first ever season where I truly would've been happy with any of the three finalists winning from a collection standpoint. I feel that Christian was the most meritorious (would benefit the most from the money) and the most likable of the final three designers, and so I was happy to see him come out on top.

I am by no means, a fashion expert. But let me offer my perspective and my little bit of Vogue-reading expertise to those who feel that Christian's collection was too costume-y and not wearable. There are basically two major kinds of shows in the fashion world. There are prêt-à-porter or ready-to-wear shows (these terms are interchangable) and there are couture shows. What it comes down to is this. Every single Bryant Park runway show that has ever been shown on project runway contained at least some ready-to-wear pieces, and I would go so far as to qualify them all as ready-to-wear. All of the past winners have been ready-to-wear designers. I would put forth that Chrisitan's show was the first couture show ever to be featured in a Project Runway finale. Every single thing he put on the runway was designed for a gay man/for a model/as a piece of art. He had nothing "wearable" by anything less than Posh Spice's standards. He is a forward-thinking, edgy, couture designer. Will he succeed in the fashion industry without commercial appeal? Only time will tell if he will take his place among the Alexander McQueens and Vivienne Westwoods that are his idols. He needs to learn or work with people that can make his vision marketable. He is no doubt talented. I don't love his aesthetic, but I can recognize and respect his talent.

Did Jillian and Rami make pieces I liked much better and could see myself wearing? Absolutely. Did I think they had a more cohesive collection? No. Rami deserved his place in the top two. He made a lot of beautifully designed pieces. Jillian made some great things. I hated her hats and felt the knitwear to be out of place. It was all very skilled, but felt that just like her model choices, her pieces were too eclectic to represent a strong point of view. Rami should have made a twelve piece collection of Oscar dresses. That is his calling. Jillian should find her place in the ready to wear world. Her collection was definitely the most wearable and had the most commercial appeal. So endeth the lesson.

Jillian








Rami







Christian