Project Runway Finale First Looks
Sunday, February 10th, 2008The Project Runway finalists showed their collections Friday morning, which can be viewed in their entirety on the New York Magazine’s site. If you’re not interested in seeing what the finalists’ designs looked like, DO NOT SCROLL DOWN…
Because I’m about to show you.
I told myself this year I wasn’t going to peek and ruin the surprise. Alas, I couldn’t keep myself from looking for even a day…learning that ALL 5 designers ended up showing collections, although only three will be considered for final judging (no, I do not know which three and please DO NOT tell me if you do). That meant that Sweet P, Chris March, Rami, Christian, and Jillian each showed collections.
Sweet P’s collection was disjointed. She seems so nice on the show, but I don’t really like her style either. So when I looked at what she put together, it wasn’t so much that I didn’t like it, but that her colors and fabric choices just didn’t make sense as a collection. As Nina would say, “what’s your asethetic?” or “there’s no cohesion.” Exactly. I had a difficult time trying to figure out what the “story” was behind her 13 looks. I think she was right on the money with this chartreuse dress though (a number of designers showed one or two looks in this shade and this fabric- a trend for fall?):
While I was ultimately confused by Sweet P’s work; I very much did not like what Chris March showed. The whole thing brought about a general “YUCK” from me. And it’s unfortunate because I like Chris M. and think he is very good at producing a garment. Plus, he cried when SJP was the guest judge! But his taste is questionable at times–and this is one of those times. I couldn’t even go along with the collection as “high fashion” because it wasn’t even that. It just seemed irrelevant, and a bit tacky. Case in point:
Rami’s was probably one of the more professionally produced collections of the five, I think, but of course…(use your Nina voice here) “very Ramiiiiiiii”. His designs however showed like a collection from a designer who’s done this for years. It was extremely well thought out and had a clear and logical progression from start to end, where it evolved into goregeous Ralph Lauren-esque eveningwear.
And then there’s Christian, who I am partial to. He stuck to black and neutrals and experimented with texture, shape, and embellishment. His collection looked like it took the most amount of work and came across as very European, very sophisticated. I’m not sure that it was my favorite, but it was definitely very strong.
Jillian is not to be forgotten either. After looking at the collections all week, I’m surprised to see how now her work actually is. Her designs are in keeping with much of what I’ve seen from countless other designers for fall, and yet still evocative of her personal style as a designer. I think she did so well that I think she may be the dark horse here.
Although I didn’t love any one particular collection, it was nice to see such variation between each designer’s work. I think it’s going to be down to Jillian and Christian and Rami.
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