Friday, July 10, 2009

Reactions to The Fashion Show Episode Ten

Ooohhh....scandal! Oh, not really. And yeah, I get bored too sometimes, Isaac.

Scary-looking Editor-in-Chief of Harper's Bazaar magazine, Glenda Bailey, and even-more-scary-looking designer Isabel Toledo (what's with the eyebrows?) judged the HB Mini Challenge this week which was all about drapery. Shades of Rami Kashou! Wait...wrong show. Anyway, I liked the challenge because it involved actual design. And I thought the results were pretty good, even Johnny's twisted-not-draped number. I liked Anna's more than Daniella's, but both were well done.

For the Elimination Challenge, the designers finally got to do evening gowns. I was skeptical about Anna's choice in fabric, but lining the shoulder bow with crystals was genius. I agreed with Fern Mallis' remark that she should have incorporated a few crystals into the centers of each flower on the dress, but otherwise thought the dress was stunning. I did not like Reco's dress at all - it looked cheap and a bit tawdry. And why was the torso so lumpy? James-Paul got excoriated for his dress, but I liked it! I think it was my favorite thing he's created all season. I liked the fabric choice and his subtle use of crystals. But he made it into the Final Four and that's what counts. What he produced for the final show is another matter altogether. :X

As for Johnny - his Maggie Gyllenhaal dress was great. Probably the best thing he's done yet. Unfortunately, someone did it first. And the prevarication! We all heard him mention Maggie and the leopard print Lanvin at the fabric store, although he said something about the print being red, didn't he?

Left: Johnny Rodriguez; Center: Maggie Gyllenhaal in Lanvin at the 2009 Golden Globes; Right: original Lanvin from Spring 2009 collection.

Actually, I like Johnny's dress better than the original Lanvin, especially the elongated version that Gyllenhaal wore.

What do you think?