'Project Runway' top 5 make their NY Fashion Week debut |
Dallas Morning News - Dallas, TX, USA - "Let's start the show!" Heidi Klum announced Friday, after posing for pictures with fellow judges Michael Kors and Nina Garcia and guest judge Victoria Beckham. Once Meryl Streep found her seat, the lights dimmed and designer Sweet P's silhouette appeared behind the runway's backdrop. (Wait – Meryl Streep? Project Runway? Is this show that big, or is the writers strike getting out of hand?)
The Project Runway fashion show was the hottest ticket of Fashion Week, blending the worlds of couture, entertainment and television with spectacular 15-minutes-of-fame results.
"It's fun, it's sexy, it's exciting, and it sells clothes," executive producer Harvey Weinstein said before the show. It's a live version of Us Weekly. On ice.
And slippery the show was. With Ricky Lizalde eliminated, the cast is down to five designers. This show will air as part of a two-part finale on Feb. 27 and March 5, so two of these designers are decoys. Sweet P, Chris March, Jillian Lewis, Rami Kashou and Christian Siriano were the five to show their collections, leaving us in the audience to guess which two are the presumed decoys.
Our two Texans, Elisa Jimenez and Jeffrey Marion Lee, were not in the show but were not forgotten by Mr. Kors.
"This year was the most polished group we've had," the designer said. "The bar got raised. I think with Marion, I thought he was so talented. I wish we had seen more.
"Certainly with Marion and Elisa, all the clichés of 'Oh, Texas' " did not apply, Mr. Kors said. "Neither one of them are about those clichés at all. It really shows you that fashion today is not regional, it's not even national. I think Elisa is super-talented, super-sophisticated, and I think we're going to hear from both of them a lot more."
Judging by the runway, Sweet P and Mr. March will not be in the final two. Fighting back tears starting her show, Sweet P presented an uneven collection with no real color or fabric cohesiveness that took us from a zoot suit with ruffled blouse to ombre chiffon blouses with plaid skirts. Mr. March took us on a discomfiting Gothic ride, with hair spilling from sleeves and yokes of jackets and sagging velvet dresses in blacks and reds.
"Hi, everybody, I'm Jillian," announced the most composed and confident of the group. She was on trend for the week with of-the-moment box and knife pleats, hand-knit sweaters, lace insets, even patent-leather accessories surely borrowed from the "Bluefly.com accessories wall" at Parsons.
"I believe women should be treated as muses every day," Mr. Kashou told the crowd before beginning his polished collection full of the expected draped details. The series of gowns that closed the show showcased his talent for fit and finish, with a cream-and-gold gown that incorporated basket weaving.
When the shadow of Mr. Siriano's cockatiel coiffure appeared behind the scrim, the applause began. The youngest of the bunch was clearly the crowd favorite. He clearly had had media training, telling the audience, "Oh, everybody looks fierce!" We'll be hearing him say that again – on camera.
His showing was the most cohesive, achieved with a silhouette that worked and worked primarily in black. He really used that accessories wall, too, with most models loaded down with hats, belts, bags and gloves.
After the show, Dallasites reacted. "Oh, my gosh, it was fabulous! I think Chris is the winner," Pilar Sanders said, who, with her husband, Deion, will star in the upcoming Oxygen reality series Deion and Pilar: Prime Time Love.
Ousted contestant Mr. Lee was on Team Jillian. "Jillian's collection was very Seventh Avenue, very American, very salable, and I think that will help her with the judges. I think there's a good chance she's the winner."
And guest judge Posh Spice's reaction was a bit too much. She told the New York Observer, "Well, for me personally, there is one designer who is a very clear winner – in my eyes.
"There is one designer which every single piece I saw come out on this runway is something I would wear myself. He made me smile," Ms. Beckham said, giving away at least her favorite's gender.
CATCH UP with David Ninh and Jason Sheeler at Fashion Week. dallasnews
The Project Runway fashion show was the hottest ticket of Fashion Week, blending the worlds of couture, entertainment and television with spectacular 15-minutes-of-fame results.
"It's fun, it's sexy, it's exciting, and it sells clothes," executive producer Harvey Weinstein said before the show. It's a live version of Us Weekly. On ice.
And slippery the show was. With Ricky Lizalde eliminated, the cast is down to five designers. This show will air as part of a two-part finale on Feb. 27 and March 5, so two of these designers are decoys. Sweet P, Chris March, Jillian Lewis, Rami Kashou and Christian Siriano were the five to show their collections, leaving us in the audience to guess which two are the presumed decoys.
Our two Texans, Elisa Jimenez and Jeffrey Marion Lee, were not in the show but were not forgotten by Mr. Kors.
"This year was the most polished group we've had," the designer said. "The bar got raised. I think with Marion, I thought he was so talented. I wish we had seen more.
"Certainly with Marion and Elisa, all the clichés of 'Oh, Texas' " did not apply, Mr. Kors said. "Neither one of them are about those clichés at all. It really shows you that fashion today is not regional, it's not even national. I think Elisa is super-talented, super-sophisticated, and I think we're going to hear from both of them a lot more."
Judging by the runway, Sweet P and Mr. March will not be in the final two. Fighting back tears starting her show, Sweet P presented an uneven collection with no real color or fabric cohesiveness that took us from a zoot suit with ruffled blouse to ombre chiffon blouses with plaid skirts. Mr. March took us on a discomfiting Gothic ride, with hair spilling from sleeves and yokes of jackets and sagging velvet dresses in blacks and reds.
"Hi, everybody, I'm Jillian," announced the most composed and confident of the group. She was on trend for the week with of-the-moment box and knife pleats, hand-knit sweaters, lace insets, even patent-leather accessories surely borrowed from the "Bluefly.com accessories wall" at Parsons.
"I believe women should be treated as muses every day," Mr. Kashou told the crowd before beginning his polished collection full of the expected draped details. The series of gowns that closed the show showcased his talent for fit and finish, with a cream-and-gold gown that incorporated basket weaving.
When the shadow of Mr. Siriano's cockatiel coiffure appeared behind the scrim, the applause began. The youngest of the bunch was clearly the crowd favorite. He clearly had had media training, telling the audience, "Oh, everybody looks fierce!" We'll be hearing him say that again – on camera.
His showing was the most cohesive, achieved with a silhouette that worked and worked primarily in black. He really used that accessories wall, too, with most models loaded down with hats, belts, bags and gloves.
After the show, Dallasites reacted. "Oh, my gosh, it was fabulous! I think Chris is the winner," Pilar Sanders said, who, with her husband, Deion, will star in the upcoming Oxygen reality series Deion and Pilar: Prime Time Love.
Ousted contestant Mr. Lee was on Team Jillian. "Jillian's collection was very Seventh Avenue, very American, very salable, and I think that will help her with the judges. I think there's a good chance she's the winner."
And guest judge Posh Spice's reaction was a bit too much. She told the New York Observer, "Well, for me personally, there is one designer who is a very clear winner – in my eyes.
"There is one designer which every single piece I saw come out on this runway is something I would wear myself. He made me smile," Ms. Beckham said, giving away at least her favorite's gender.
CATCH UP with David Ninh and Jason Sheeler at Fashion Week. dallasnews
Categories : Project Runway
Posted 2/9/2008 12:02:47 PM | Permalink
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