Don’t make Tim angry. You wouldn’t like him when he’s angry.
Finally a challenge worth watching. Two teams of six. Two collections. Too many egos.
The minute they picked the teams you knew who was going to win the challenge. “The Island of Misfit Toys”, as my brother put it, walked away with this one. What was truly hilarious was how blind to their own crapiness the “All Stars” were. They couldn’t stop talking about how marvelously they were working together, and how superior their collection was. Sure, they worked well together as long as they did what Gretchen wanted. Keep the beast subdued and maybe they could get through the challenge. Maybe…
Nope. They couldn’t.
They chose to do a collection inspired by menswear for women and “camel”. Can you hear me yawning from there? Can you? Menswear is the ultimate snooze of fashion, and camel is one shade away from beige. They picked the ugliest fabrics, the worst print and a WTF collection came down the runway.
I wish I could find something redeeming about these clothes. Maybe…if you….perhaps… Nope. There’s nothing. The last look was Rerun’s. The other designers spent the entire show lamenting his lack of technical skill and design talent. Yet he was the only one to put a wearable garment down the runway (his is the last one pictured). Granted, it’s not going to blow anyone away, but at least it didn’t have you running for the loo.
AJ was sent home after trading jabs with Gretchen on the runway. He put forward the shirt dress (first picture) that was so crazy bad.
What made all of this interesting was that they could not BELIEVE that they were the losing team. Gretchen tried to keep her ass out of the flames by convincing everyone not to name names, and then promptly hurled anyone she could reach onto the third rail during the judging. The duchess and Nina weren’t buying what she was selling, thank God. And then…then…well, we will talk about that later.
Team “Island of Misfit Toys” chose military and lace. WIth a group including April, Cassanova, Mondo, and Peach, you worried that the only thing military would be the National Guard called in to clean up after the train wreck. But they pulled it off. Cassanova winning the challenge after the mother of all hissy fits with this
Tim thought it was matronly. I thought it was great. But then again, I have moved into a new demographic.
I have other issues with Tim this episode, but let’s see another popular winning design
Good on you Peach! Though I wasn’t a huge fan, it was nice to see her get something other than negative attention.
One last example
I have to say I felt that they didn’t win so much as they managed not to lose. These garments weren’t blazing any trails, but they got them all through and gave us the most entertaining looser runway in seasons. Thanks guys, you made it all worth it.
Now onto Mr. Gunn. At first I was ecstatic that he called out Gretchen after the judging was complete:
I have a few words for Team Luxe. I fundamentally do not understand your behavior and demeanor and affect on the runway. I don’t get it. I don’t know why you let Gretchen to manipulate control and bully you. I don’t understand it. And AJ, you’ve taken the bullet. And now I have to send you to the workroom to clean up your space!
My King Arthur was pissed. And I don’t think he handled it properly.
Now, before you start saying, “…it was true, it was what needed to be said…” Yes, perhaps it was. But he is there to mentor the designers, not just the designers that he likes. By calling her out in public he has lost her trust, and now she will be at a disadvantage in upcoming challenges. And we aren’t just talking about a good grade at stake here people, we are talking about a life changing opportunity.
And is it Gretchen’s fault that the other designers are sheep? Not one of them was willing to fight for what they wanted. Would it have made a difference?, maybe not. But to a certain extent they wanted to let Gretchen dominate. It wouldn’t take long for the judges to figure out who was the defacto leader, and they were more than willing to let Gretchen take the heat or the credit.
True, she might not give a sh*t and just plug along like nothing happened. In her comments she was upset at what he said, but took no responsibility for her over bearing ways.
My brother in law is a studio teacher, and he said that sometimes you just have to do that. But all I can go on is what the editors show me, and it didn’t seem like this was something Tim Gunn had been concerned about earlier. As far as I know he didn’t take Gretchen or any of her team mates aside and talk to them about his concerns. That would have been the way to start, and if she wouldn’t change, perhaps a public lashing would be warranted.
This whole thing just didn’t sit right with me, even though I have to admit, I enjoyed it. Oh yes, I enjoyed it.
The Blahg 