Project Runway Season 10 Recap: "Where's Joan Rivers When You Need Her?"

Project Runway Season 10 Recap: "Where's Joan Rivers When You Need Her?"

Where's Joan Rivers?

Oh Joan, I Wish You Were The Judge: Joan Rivers E! Fashion Police

This week's Project Runway Season 10 Challenge was to Create a Red Carpet Look to be worn at the Emmy Awards. The official name of the challenge was the LEXUS Team Challenge--hello, the show has to pay the bills!

Car Style: Mentor Tim Gunn tries to keep a straight face (no pun intended) as he announces the "LEXUS" involvement in this challenge

Somehow they created an addendum to the challenge that would somehow make it justifiable for LEXUS to be involved--yes, kids, the designers were "inspired" by the colors of these fab LEXUS GS automobiles...yeah, right. This season's designers were given their Red Carpet clients and no, it was't Sofia Vergara or Claire Danes.

Not so muchey as I like to say. Remember the mustard-mess of a dress Season 1's Wendy Pepper made for Nancy O'Dell (photo above). Yeah, bless O'Dell's heart--she smiled through it and was a good sport but you know she was like "NEVER AGAIN!".

Instead, it was former Project Runway contestants and/or winners--such as Laura Bennett from Season 3, Kenley I-threw-a-cat-at-my-boyfriend Collins from Season 5 (above), Irina (Season 6 Winner), Anya (Season 9 Winner) and several others. Let's just get to the Runway darlings, shall we:

Nina, Michael Heidi, and guest judge, actress Krysten Ritter were there and really--nothing against the lovely Miss Ritter--but I was hoping it was going to be Joan Rivers. She would have let these Season 10 contestants HAVE IT. Especially those who were all "I HATE designing 'Red Carpet'..." Yes, I am talking to you Alicia and Raul!

Anyhow, Miss Klum walked out in a strapless sequin LBD with a wink-and-a-smile secretly saying "THIS is a Red Carpet dress kids! Now, go home!" Speaking of Red Carpet dressing and the Emmys--here are the Best Dressed of 2011 as a refreshner:

2011 Emmy Awards Best Dressed

My favorite was the silver silk charmeuse gown that Dmitry and Melissa created for "Kelly Osborne 2.0" April Johnston (above). Somehow, this ended up in the "middle" and not as one of the top two. What gives? Maybe Heidi, Nina, Michael and Krysten were too tired and "over it" (some of those judging sessions go on 'till the wee hours darlings!)

Four Inches Too Short Wedding Dress: Bitchy McBitchy Gunnar and Kooan created this white gown for Irina and somehow this ended up in the Top Two.  You can read my Recap at the end of this post to really know what I think of this dress...

This was the Winner (above left photo)--a short navy blue silk gazar cocktail dress from Ven and Fabio--for "I Want ALL the Attention" Kenley Collins. It was very pretty and expensive looking but Emmys worthy? Go back to that collage of Emmys 2011 Best Dressed...

Is That Your Pageant Britney? Season 9 Winner Anya and Miss District of Columbia USA 2012 Monique LaShone Thompkins

The Bottom Two were cutie (I am renaming him "Drama Queen Christopher" after this episode) Christopher and Andrea BA MA MFA Katz and the design they created for Anya. I do LOVE a pageant gown and a slit--as long as it's not DANGEROUSLY close to her nether-regions--and this dress was. Poor Anya would have been SLAMMED by the "Fashion Police" --or at least moi on TV Guide's Emmys Fashion Wrap!

But the worst was the dowdy dirndl halter dress that pointy-haired Raul and dreadlock'ed Alicia created. Bad with a Capital "B". Poor Mila. This look really aged her and made her look like a Mother-of-the-Bride as opposed to a Red Carpet Diva.




If you want to know what I REALLY thought of this last episode? Read below:

"Where's Joan Rivers When You Need Her?"



 Team I-Don't-Want-To-Be-On-A-Team


We knew it was going to be a KRAZEE episode the minute Tim Gunn said
that this was a "Team Challenge." No One. I reiterate, NO ONE, likes the
Team Challenges on "Project Runway" (except the viewers). The challenge
this week? To create a red carpet look that is to be worn at the Emmys
in September. Lest you forget, our little ol' show is nominated this
year! This challenge was also dubbed the "LEXUS Team Challenge" because
the designers also had to incorporate the colors of the new LEXUS GS
cars (the automobile sponsor) into their red carpet creations. I almost
wished they had to make these looks out of actual LEXUS car parts! But
oh wait, I think that's already been done...



 

Red Carpet Sacrificial Lambs


Seven Teams of two were created — Christopher/Andrea, Sonjia/Nathan,
Elena/Buffi, Ven/Fabio, Gunnar/Kooan, Alicia/Raul and Dmitry/Melissa.
Now, who would these teams be designing Emmys red carpet creations for?
Heidi? Nina? Sofia Vergara?! Nope, darlings. Remember the debacle years
ago when Season 1 Winner Jay McCarroll created La Klum a gown for the
Emmys and she ended up not wearing it? (Oops). And the mess Wendy Pepper
made for Nancy O'Dell to wear to the Grammy's as a result of a
challenge she won? Yeah, in other words, not such a good history of
these collaborations. So, instead, the show brought back seven past
Runway contestants and winners — Season 9 Winner Anya, Season 6 Winner
Irina, Laura Bennett, Kenley, Mila, April Johnston and Valerie Mayen
(who?) — to be the Red Carpet Sacrificial Lambs ... I mean clients.




 

Time Complainer, Hissy Fits, Ironing Assistants


Team Elena/Buffi got Laura Bennett as their red carpet client which
immediately scared me. If Laura and those two were the last people stuck
on an island, she still wouldn't choose them to make her a dress (But,
alas, she has no choice). Laura is elegant Manhattan chic, while Elena
is Lady Gaga futurama and Buffi is just tacky-licious. Strong-headed
Elena is delegating Buffi to steaming/pressing assistant status while
she's just running around stressed and panicked. She's also complaining
about the lack of time they are given to make an evening dress. Really
Elena? What part of "Project Runway" did you NOT understand? These kids,
they slay me.



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SASHES AND TIARAS.....My Ten LEAST FAVORITE Gowns, Gown Disappointments of Miss Universe 2015 Preliminaries + a "Special Gown" Mention

SASHES AND TIARAS.....My Ten LEAST FAVORITE Gowns, Gown Disappointments of Miss Universe 2015 Preliminaries + a "Special Gown" Mention

The Sale Rack: Some of Least Favorite Gowns seen at the Miss Universe 2015 Preliminaries

In my last post HERE, I discussed the Top 15 Best Gowns (in my humble opinion) from this past Thursday's Miss Universe 2015 Preliminary Competition. I have to say that for the most part, there were a lot of Good gowns--out of the 80 on display, worn by the beauties from all over the world, there weren't too many cray-cray ones. But...there were some. So, I've compiled a list of my TEN LEAST FAVORITE gowns from the Miss Universe 2015 Preliminaries. Either for the lack of "gown funds" in each national pageant's organization, or lack of taste level, or just lacking anything resembling what a top Hollywood actress and/or model would wear to an important red carpet event, these were among some of the reasons why these ended up here... 

At the end, I also included a couple gowns which disappointed me, especially because the candidates wearing them are A) considered favorites and B) I expected more; plus a "Special Gown Mention"...



The Oh Dear! Gowns:

Miss Guatemala Jeimmy Aburto: Cha-cha Queen Meets Quinciniera. If the rather garish fuchsia-pink sequins weren't enough, somehow the designer decided that it needed more as in clown-like bias hemmed ruffles at the bottom plus nude netting and then let's just do silver diamantes to fill in the space....This would be fun if it was a Gay pride Float for Drag Queen Mermaids. But it isn't.

Score: 5.00

Miss Japan Ariana Miyamoto: Star Trek Meets a Trashy AVN Awards. I just don't know why such a pretty girl would do this to herself; or make such a lack of taste level judgement. I just do not get it, the real point of the Evening Gown Competition--besides having the judge see their "poise" and "elegance", it is also to see if they have a level of taste. After all, if you are the new Miss Universe, you'll be walking many Red Carpets, and you don't want to end up on the WORST List. Here, with this gold high side-slit pleather concoction with black and white printed chiffon back details, Miss Universe Japan failed. I am soooo confused.

Score: 6.00

Miss Bulgaria Radostina Todorova: Ah, as they say in the South: "Bless Her Heart". Which really translates to "GURL! You are a Mess!". This is sweet and cute, if she was 18 and it was a New Year's Eve Dance in Missouri. But it ain't, it's THE MISS UNIVERSE PAGEANT! The dress looks off-the-rack, cheap, it's too short...well, I'll just stop there. I, at least, give her points for wearing strappy heels and not those clunky platform heels.

Score: 6.00

Miss Montenegro Maja Cukic: I'll give Miss Universe Montenegro the benefit of the doubt and say that she was going for a more "Artsy" look--or at least the designer was. Here's a suggestion: DON'T. The top looks as if a nasty cat got to it while she was away and the skirt is "meh" and then she wore RED SHOES with this? Oh Dear!

Score: 6.00

Miss Albania Megi Luka: Megi looks very pretty. She's got an angelic, gorgeous face so part of me understands her choosing such a "sweet" gown but at the same time, I would have loved to have seen her in something more red carpet sexy fab. This velvet dress is more appropriate as a costume for Rome & Juliet.

Score: 6.25

Miss Hungary Nikoletta Nagy: I love canary yellow but the combination of the bright satin, with the gold lace and then gold sequins and the (yeah, there's more!), crystal straps in the front torso...it's all a bit cheap-looking and Tacky-licious. It's also very Quincieniera "Ayyy Mija!".

Score: 6.00

Miss Norway Martine Rodseth: This silver sequined and red crepe halter gown is not bad, it's just dated and not exciting. This is a gown one could find at an "After Five" section of a local department store and perfect for a Mother-of-the-Bride, or guest at the wedding. But not Fashion Fab or Couture enough for the Miss Universe pageant.

Score: 6.00

Miss Slovak Republic Denisa Vysnovska: Interestingly enough, this blue strapless ball gown was also her "national costume" (photo above from the Miss Universe 2015 National Costume Presentation); she just added some extra trim and a flowered headdress. This gown looks sweet but sweet is not enough. It also looks very polyester-y and that lace trim is better for grandma's tablecloth.

Score: 6.25

Miss Serbia Dasa Radosavljevic: This gold sequin dress is fine if you are a background dancer at a Cruise Ship's Dinner Theater show, but it looks cheap and tacky for Miss Universe. I could find this fabric for $2.99/yard in Downtown LA. That's not a good thing.

Score: 5.00

Miss Bolivia Romina Rocamonje: On a good note, this red satin with sequin side applique looks expensive and well made. But it's just Too-Mucheey for Romina. The back pouf overskirt was distracting as she walked onstage and frankly unnecessary in terms of design.. And then, there are those UBER platform pumps!!! Those SCARE me and bring memories of Naomi Campbell falling down on the Vivienne Westwood runway show back in 1993.

Score: 6.75

Could Have Been Better Gowns---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I've selected the following two ladies--and their gowns--because these two--Miss Italy and Miss Venezuela--are two favorites for the Miss Universe 2015 crown (according to beauty pageant followers/fans) and I was just a bit surprised that their choice of gowns weren't impacting or couture-strong enough. I just expected more "Wow!".

Miss Italy Giada Pezzaioli: This wasn't a bad gown, it was just a bit too busy and confusing and instead of highlighting Giada and how stunning and model-like she is, she got lost in the gown and it almost aged her as well. I also just didn't understand the back olive-and-black "capes" and how that went with the black and nude sequin applique gown; it didn't make sense and also looked like an afterthought and an addition that shouldn't have been added.

Miss Venezuela Mariana Jimenez: I loved the color of this gown and the gorgeous ombre-like sequined degrade. The gown also fit well and was the perfect length. But...I just expected more "Wow!". This gown just didn't get my "Couture Heart" beating as some of the usual Miss Venezuela gowns do. I also wasn't a fan of her styling--the hair looked a little too "Pageant Pretty" and slightly late 90's dated.



Special Gown Mention for Originality-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Miss Sweden Paulina Brodd: Now, I know what you may be thinking: "Has Nick lost his gown mind??" No, I haven't. I kinda like this gown, I admit, mainly for the fact that the sequin applique/print/colors were very striking and it was one of the most original gown styles from the Miss Universe 2015 Evening Gown Preliminary Competition. I get that this could be considered a tad Cray-Cray but it's Good Cray-cray, at least in my eyes!

William and Catherine Royal Wedding Red Carpet Report: The Pre-Wedding Gala Dinner at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel London!

William and Catherine Royal Wedding Red Carpet Report: The Pre-Wedding Gala Dinner at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel London!

Gowns Gowns and More Gowns...

Ladies In Red--and Orange: Crown Princess of Sweden, Countess of Wessex, Princess Mathilde of Belgium, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg

My faithful Royal Red Carpet Watchers and Readers: Here's what I think will be my final "Nick V. Royal Wedding Red Carpet Report" (for now!). It's from the very fabulous Pre-Wedding Gala Dinner given by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in very posh Knightsbridge overlooking Hyde Park. The dinner was a Black Tie-Only affair with the ladies wearing Gowns Only. The Guest List was strictly reserved for the inner Royal Family, and all its associated members, as well as top royals from neighboring European countries --who are related to the UK Royals anyhow; first cousins, distant cousins... well, you get it, they're all "family".

Red Princess: Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden in Escada

In the first group of four (pictured above) are Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden, who looked SMASHING in a scarlet red draped silk crepe Escada gown held by a small diamond brooch. Next to her was Sophie Countess of Wessex Wife to Prince Edward, who also wore red--a red silk taffeta gown with interesting bust detail.

Orange High-Water Gown: Princess Mathilde of Belgium Duchess of Brabant

Next was Princess Mathilde of Belgium, seen above with her husband, Prince Philip of Belgium. She wore an orange scooped-neck shirred gown with cascade front drapes, which weirdly enough, made her look pregnant. It looked a bit ill-fitting and almost "off-the-rack", and THAT length?? What was that! FLOOR length darling! To the floor!!! Was she expecting a flood?

Duchess Elegance: Maria Theresa Grand Duchess of Luxembourg

And next to her was Cuban-born Maria Theresa Grand Duchess of Luxembourg with her husband, the Grand Duke of course. Much better than what we saw from her the day after at the actual Royal Wedding. At least here, she looks less like a Soccer Mom in a cheap suit from Dillard's and more an elegant Duchess!! Her hair looks FAB, the off-the-shoulder red gown with over-sized waist-bow detail is elegant and HELLO: It hits the FLOOR! She just gets my Instant Nick Love, just for that!

A-List Royal Guests: Princess Beatrice, Princess Tatiana of Greece and Denmark, Queen Elizabeth II

Above, three women who didn't disappoint--Royal Red Carpet style. Fashionista No. 1, Princess Beatrice--she of THE Hat that has its own Facebook Page!!--yes, her. Beatrice wore an ivory and silver metallic one-shoulder "Mermaid-shaped" gown by designer Rachel Gilbert. It's a bit "Priscilla Queen of the Desert" but I still say "At-A-Girl!". On her right is Princess Tatiana of Greece and Denmark, wife of Prince Nikolaos of Greece and Denmark.

She wore a navy blue silk satin strapless gown with grosgrain ribbon detailing from Giorgio Armani Spring 2011 Collection. Interesting that on the runway, the dress was shown in a more casual manner, above the floor and with flats, but on her, she correctly had it to the floor and wore it with heels.

The Queen Exotic: Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

Then, there was the Hostess with the Mostess: Her Majesty The Queen. Three Words: You Go Girl! Only Elizabeth II can host a Black tie Royal Wedding Party in a brightly printed drop-waist gown in lilac with metallic details, gold pumps and matching gold leather handbag. The gown had a Near Orient motif which was perfect since the Dinner Party was at the Mandarin Oriental. A good hostess thinks of everything darlings, even coordinating her hosting gown with the locale!

Ball Gown Happy: Prince Felipe, Princess Letizia, Queen Sofia of Spain

A Trio of Royals: Prince Felipe of Spain, his wife, Princess Letizia and his mother, Queen Sofia showed up to the Night-Before Dinner dressed to the Nines! Felipe looked dapper in a complete tuxedo. So handsome. His mother, Queen Sofia was REGAL, in a bronzed taffeta ball gown from designer Margarita Nuez. She accessorized it with several layers of pashmina shawls to protect her from the cold London evening.

Princess Seam Princess: Princess Letizia of Spain in Felipe Varela

And to finish off the Spanish Royal contingency, Princess Letizia wore a lavender strapless gown with embroidered applique detail by Spanish designer Felipe Varela. I loved that she wore a ball gown, however, I just thought it was a rather "unexciting one". Basic sweetheart bustier neckline; princess seams...Seriously Letizia? There are soooo many more creative ball gown designs. This just seams so "pattern book" cookie cutter. It was pretty but very "David's Bridal 101".

Billion Dollar Man: Sultan of Brunei and his Queen

Sultan of Brunei, Sir Hassanal Bolkiah Mu'izzaddin Waddaulah and his first (and currently, only) wife (he had three total, but divorced two) Queen of Brunei, Pengiran Anak Saleha , who incidentally, is his first cousin (Hello!).

Margrethe II Queen of Denmark (above) was of course, invited to this Pre-Wedding Gala Dinner. She's known for her fluid but yet very sumptuous ball gowns--always in big (rather tacky) floral prints. But, this time, someone must have advised her correctly: She looked classy, restrained, and dare I say CHIC! Love th color contrast between the lavender and the chocolate silk satin. Margrethe II gets my "Most Improved Royal" award for this one.

Speaking of the Danes, above we have Queen Anne-Marie of Greece (she was born Princess of Denmark in Copenhagen). She looked quite elegant--and fun--in this flower-printed silk chiffon gown, bronze waist tie and gold shoes...and THAT necklace! As we know, Queen Anne-Marie is the wife of Constantine II, the former King of Greece (who is also Danish and from the same House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg)...Where was the King, you might ask?

Admiring Princess Michael of Kent right before going inside the Mandarin Oriental Hotel (as wife looked on). The Princess--an Austrian-Hungarian member of the British Royal Family, is...
The wife to Prince Michael of Kent Grandson to King George V (above left), She wore a gorgeous chocolate brown silk draped-and-shirred gown with a stunning diamond brooch at the center front bust, a sequined clutch and bronzed satin shawl. She was definitely one of the most stylish royals that night, even with that 80's braided hairdo of hers.

Hot Pink Wedding Guest Dress

Hot Pink Wedding Guest Dress

Hey pretties!

pic from my Instagram 

Dress: Elizabeth Lau - old but similar, Clutch: Lulu Guinness c/o, Necklace: Lulu Frost - old but new season, Sunglasses: Anthropologie

This weekend I attended the wedding reception of one of Oli's oldest friends. It was SUCH a beautiful venue, my eyes were on stalks exploring all of the magical nooks. Hot pink is, as I have professed before, one of my favourite 'good day' colours. This Elizabeth Lau dress has been my fall back on many occasions; I love that the shape doesn't date and it hangs just so. I bought it a few years ago in the sale in one of my favourite boutique The Hambledon, but there are a tonne of great hot pink dresses out there which you can get your hands on. I've rounded up the best for you below: 

SHOP

I am so excited to see some of you this evening at my workshop for Burts Bees!

Have a super day all,

Love,

MB x