Friday, January 20, 2012

'Project Runway' Recap: The Muppet Show Tonight

It's time to play the music. It's time to light the lights. It's time to meet Miss Piggy on "Project Runway" tonight!

Yes, Thursday's episode had a very special client/guest judge: None other than the uber-fabulous Miss Piggy! The All-Stars were charged with creating her a "flamboyant cocktail dress" with $150 and with one day to sew.

"Project Runway: All Stars" continues to be heads-and-tails better than the last couple of seasons. I know I've said it before, but I've got to say it again: This is the way "Project Runway" should always be! The designers, overwhelmingly, thought very hard about what Miss Piggy would want to wear. They were very serious in the workroom, working very hard.

Although, I do have to say, there was a little bit of drama in the workroom over some pieces on the Neiman Marcus accessories wall. Kara and Mondo both wanted the same pink gloves, and later Austin and Kara were fighting over a bracelet and a pair of shoes. Everybody was pretty professional about it, though, telling each other that the other one could take it to avoid more drama. Still, if looks could kill, Mondo would have killed Kara, or at least maimed her.

Mila was also annoyed by an increasing codependency between Kara and Kenley who, I have to admit, did ask each other a lot of questions and talked about their designs a lot. "This isn't a team competition," Mila sniffed. "Only one person can win."

When Joanna Cole walked into the runway for her mentoring session, she exclaimed, "What a fabulous challenge!" And, you know what? It really was. Joanna really got into the whole idea of what Miss Piggy would wear, and she gave some very pointed, good critiques. When Gordana said she wanted her flowing pink dress to be comfortable, Joanna told her that big stars worry more about their looks. "I don't think comfort when you're dressing a mega-celebrity like Miss Piggy should matter," she said. Mila was talking about doing a headband, but Joanna reminded her to think about how that would work with Miss Piggy's ears. She even asked Kenley how a pig would feel about wearing giraffe print. (Kenley, correctly, said that Miss Piggy likes leopard print.)

There was a quick little shot of the designers goofing off in the hotel room, which is always fun to see, but the next day in the workroom, things were crazy. Everybody was nervous and scrambling, but there were a lot of very confident designers. "Her bacon's gonna sizzle when she sees my look," Jerell said.

Our judges were host Angela Lindvall, designer Georgina Chapman, stylist Eric Daman and, of course, Miss Piggy.

Runway Looks
  • Michael: He used a sparkly crazy fabric with black, gold and pink in it to make a cute little structured dress. I'm not sold on the loopy hair, but I do like how the hair and the dress have the same shape. It's very well made and eye-catching, and I like the idea of the shoes although I don't think they're quite the right color of pink.
  • April: She did a short, black, babydoll-looking dress with a gray-and-black polka dot V on the front and feathers on the shoulder. It's better than the disaster she did last week, but it's not really very Miss Piggy. She says it has a "Tim Burton" feel, but Tim Burton would go much more over the top. It's cute but not super fabulous.
  • Jerell: He made a pink flouncy dress with black lace on the bodice and shoulders and lots of little sparkly details. I really sort of love it, the more I look at it. I'm not in love with the 20s hair, because that is not Miss Piggy at all, but the dress really could work for her. It's definitely kind of over-the-top, but still tasteful.
  • Kara: She made a dress out of black houndstooth, with pink piping on the skirt. I liked everything but the cutout on her stomach, which works on a model but probably wouldn't work on a more full-figured woman like Miss Piggy. I'm not a huge fan of the weird, overdone hair, but the shoes, earrings and gloves are perfect and it works pretty well in the challenge. It's sort of a fun little pinup look.
  • Kenley: Her dress is an adorable strapless poufy skirt in the pink giraffe-print with a huge poofy netting hat thing. It's way over-the-top, and I think the hairpiece is a little too big and detracts from the dress, but it's super fun and cute! Not a huge fan of the beige shoes, though.
  • Anthony: He did a black striped dress with dark-colored feathers on the front. I really like the way that it has interesting features, like the feathers and trim, that don't hit you in the face immediately but still give it a lot of va-va-voom. It's probably not exactly Miss Piggy because it doesn't have enough color, and I don't like the over-one-shoulder hair, the asymmetrical hem or the precious little bows on the shoes, but those are all on-trend. Overall, a pretty nice look.
  • Rami: He made a flamenco-looking dress out of fabric with pink and orange polka dots and lots of pink tulle accents. It's so over-the-top it almost goes Barbie, but I suppose he's designing for an over-the-top Muppet, so it really works here. In any other challenge the judges would have hated it, but here it really works. I know I would wear it in a heartbeat.
  • Mila: She made a black-and-white mod look that is very nice, but it's a little too loosey-goosey for my taste, and it's not colorful and fun enough. Also, I know the hair is mod like the dress, but it's kind of ugly. I like the fabric she used, with the shiny polka-dots, but it needs more color. Also, I loathe the boots.
  • Gordana: It's basically a pink nightie, which is what Joanna warmed her about. She went for flirty and feminine but it's just kind of blah. Well-made, and might look good on some tiny, young little starlet, but, sorry, Gordana, adding white gloves does not make it worthy of Miss Piggy.
  • Austin: A bit of a misstep for him, with a structured gray and pink number. Great construction, of course, and I like the detailing on the front, but it's a strange garment. The biggest problem he had were the colors - the pink is too drab to pair with gray - and the bows at her hips. Bows on hips look good on skinny models, but not on a "real woman" like Miss Piggy.
  • Mondo: Another mod dress, but this one is made out of a super shiny pink-and-orange fabric. It's the first Mondo dress I don't absolutely love - I'm not a fan of the triangles on the bottom or the horrid hair - but I love the color and texture of the fabric and I love the giant buttons.
Top Designers
  • Rami: Angela said that the dress would be difficult for the average woman. "But I'm not average," Miss Piggy said. Georgina didn't like the seams down the front, but Eric thought it was a lot of fun. Georgina also said that it was a job well done in this context, though in other challenges it wouldn't have worked. Miss Piggy summed it up the best: "This is the most garish, outlandish ridiculous thing I've seen. I love it! It looks like a candy store exploded!" 
  • Kenley: Georgina is worried about the construction of the garment and that the model is going to have a "wardrobe malfunction" on the runway. Piggy is not sure what giraffe print says (though she understands leopard print), but Eric loves the modern twist on leopard print and the hat. Piggy also loves the hat, because after a night on the town, "I can just go home and use the hat to wash my pots and pans."
  • Michael: Georgina said it is more sophisticated than most, but it still works, but she doesnt like the styling. Eric worried about whether it would work with Piggy's ears, earning him a "hi-yah!" Piggy likes it and thinks she will look like a "present for Kermie" in it.
Michael ends up winning, causing him to jump up and down excitedly. I would have given the win to Rami myself, but Michael was a good choice too. It's probably more red-carpet than Rami's look anyway, and that's what they were going for.

Bottom Designers
  • Austin: Georgina thinks it's beautifully constructed but thinks the colors are "not happy." Eric doesn't like the way the dress accentuates her hips. Piggy doesn't like the bows at the hips either, and isn't sure if it's a functional dress because she isn't sure if she could, say, hula-hoop in it. (Austin, to his credit, plays right along and says that the bows would help keep the hula-hoop up.) Eric said it might work for "Pigs in Space," but not as a cocktail dress.
  • Mila: Angela doesn't think it's flamboyant enough, and Georgina said the color photographs better on the red carpet. Miss Piggy likes the mod look, but thinks "it doesn't scream Miss Piggy. It whispers it." She says it's too goth. In the end, the judges agreed it was a nice dress, but it didn't keep the client in mind.
  • Gordana: Angela thinks it's too understated, and Georgina worried about it being flattering for Miss Piggy. "It just kind of sat there. Where's the rest of it," Miss Piggy said. "It's a fine, fine dress. I don't know if it's moi." In the end, Gordana didn't push the envelope enough, and she was eliminated for it.
I totally agreed, because I really didn't like Gordana's nightgown-inspired dress at all. 

Next week: Diane von Furstenberg! And sewing a dress in 6 hours! Heck yes!

No comments:

Post a Comment