Tom and Lorenzo/Project Rungay - The #1 Project Runway Blog

T Lo Interviews Irina

noreply@blogger.com (TLo) — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 23:15:00 +0000

Meana Irina has her say!

Congratulations! You can finally tell the world you won.
I know, it’s been a long time in the making.

How was it, you know, having to keep it a secret for so long, especially being the winner?
I sort of just went back to my own world and kind of pretended it didn’t happen yet. It happened, but it didn’t happen for everyone else, so I kept it in the back of my mind.

Were you worried that this season wasn’t going to even air with all the legal issues going on? Did that bother you?
It did, because it was uncertain for a while, we didn’t know if it was even going to air. It was a little bit depressing after all this work and effort we all put into, you know, this might not even go anywhere.

That’s true, we even felt that when we attended the shows at Bryant Park. Was it tough to have to hide backstage and not be able to take credit for your collection?
It was, but you know what? At that point we were so happy that we were at least showing, everyone showed up, things were still rolling as usual. I personally wish we could have had introduced ourselves, but that was on the backburner of my mind, it didn’t really bother me that much at the moment.

Speaking of introductions, when did you tape that fake introduction?
It was taped very early when we first got there without an audience and then they added everything through the magic of television. Somehow, they made it look like we actually introduced ourselves.

Your father got very emotional when you won. Was that a cool thing to see?
Totally, he was so proud and so happy. It was definitely a very emotional moment.

Did you ever doubt you were going to win? It was clear to us when we saw the collections that you had by far the best one.
There were moments when I doubted and there were moments when I didn’t, it was sort of back and forth. The judges play so many tricks on you. They’ll say something nice and then something negative. You’re like, “Stop, messing with me, tell me like it is and let’s get this over with.” I was happy with what I presented at Bryan Park. I definitely felt that I got my point of view across. I knew it was strong, no matter what would’ve happened, I knew I had put together a strong collection.

Michael Kors was right when he said that you had the best sense of showmanship. Is that something you had in mind when you put your collection together?
Absolutely, it’s a show. Especially when it comes to Bryant Park, people want to see a show. I did keep that in mind, I definitely wanted to make it dramatic. It’s like when you go see a great movie, you want to leave with that sense that you’re taking something away from it. It leaves an impression and that’s something I definitely thought about.

One thing we noticed was that your collection was a little different than what you presented throughout the competition, was that deliberate?
Throughout the competition we get assignments that are so specific, we go to one fabric store with a very limited selection and then Heidi says to do whatever you want with $9,000 and you have a lot more time to think about what you want to do. That’s why it looks so much more polished and something that I could identify with a lot more, instead of challenge by challenge, especially in the beginning. It took a while to get used to the whole situation.

I’ve been saying all day today that I have so much more respect for every Project Runway contestant. It really takes such a brave person to do this sort of competition, to bare your soul every day and work like there’s no tomorrow and it’s intimidating standing in front of those judges under the spotlight, whether it’s good or bad criticism, it’s still intimidating.

You were very brave to disagree with Nina on the “too much black” issue, considering that she was one of the judges.
I’ve been a little rebellious all my life, I always do what I want to do, but this was for a good reason. It kind of evolved into being mostly a black collection because it was such a play on texture and leathers and the knits…I felt that adding color would take away from all the craftsmanship. I didn’t think it needed color.

That didn’t bother us. The knits were fantastic. Did you do them yourself?
I did with the help of one my favorite teachers at Parsons. She actually taught me how to knit and crochet, well, most of the crochet I forgot. That was the last extra thing she taught me. I made up all the patterns, knitted them in pieces, I would have a question with the stitch and then she would show me how to decrease and all these things I had forgotten since school and I needed a little bit of guidance.

We have a lot of readers who knit or crochet and they were so excited to see so much of that among the Season 6 designers. Is that a craft you always keep in mind when designing a collection?
I do. I’ve always loved knitwear. One of the things that was strong when I graduated is that I had a very strong knitwear portfolio. I sold a lot of knit swatches to people for inspiration, so that was a big thing, and I knew that was going to be one of the things I was going to really focus on. I don’t know if you guys could see it, but some of the pieces had so many different combinations of knit, they were really detailed, it was a lot work.

You said that your inspiration was Coney Island, but we also saw a lot of military, warrior influences.
It fell a little bit into that, but that wasn’t the focus, I didn’t want a military collection. I wanted a collection that is about NY, inspired by NY, feeling vulnerable, sort of what it takes to survive as a woman and still feel fragile and also tough; it’s OK to be both.

The felt hats were gorgeous.
I knew I wanted headwear, I love accessories, handbags, hats, shoes…they always make an outfit. I’m sort of an accessories addict. I wanted hats, but I always sure about the style of the hats and I couldn’t find anything in the market that I really liked so I decided to look for patterns, I ordered some supplies online, the chemicals…and I said, you know what? I’m going to give it a try, see what happens. I made one; it’s almost like sculpting, the chemicals make the felt really hard. It’s really great; the whole process is like the traditional way of making hats. Then I made another one and got all excited about it and kept making them, before knew it I had 6, 7 hats. They’re the same, slightly different.

The slashed pants were also hot.
Thank you, those took forever because the metallic matched the black and they had to be appliquéd by hand and then sewn on. It was definitely a very meticulous collection. It required a lot of hand sewing.

The t-shirts had this interesting technique. What was it?
I love play with chemicals. I love figuring out how to change fabrics. The technique is a burnout technique. You have to buy very specific jersey that has just the right amount of cotton and synthetics in it for this burnout to work and it needs to be done at least five times because the chemical is so strong, it would eat right through the t-shirt. The grey one in particular, I had to do it several times because the fabric would just melt with the chemical. You basically apply the chemical, you let it dry, you iron it over and it turns into this brownish yellow, you wash it by hand very delicately and it basically peels off a layer of the fabric. The clouds, for example, that’s the under layer of the material.

Was it hard to get that phone call from Tim and hear him saying that you had to rethink the whole thing because of copyright issues?
It was tough because I wasn’t sure. That was my first go at t-shirts, so I didn’t know the rules and regulations. You see t-shirts in the market and they always have iconic images. With the Coney Island images; that would’ve been OK to use had Lifetime paid for them. I got the image from a vintage postcard from the 60s or 70s and added my own graphic twist to it. It wasn’t straight from the postcard. It was manipulated enough that it was my own image, but they still had to pay for it and that’s something they didn’t want to do. I ended up having to scrap that.

Now for your new idea you did use lines from the NY magazine article “Reasons to Love NY 2008.” Wouldn’t that be copyright infringement as well?
Yes, I did use them, but those were actually from - the funny thing is when I was working on it, I said, "Wow, this is serendipity." I got that article and it wasn’t like one author. They interviewed random New Yorkers; a chef, a messenger…you know, like people you see every day in New York City and they said their favorite things about New York. I did include one of my own lines, which was “Because it loves me back.” I thought what better than just sort of throw all that in there because this is New York, all these different opinions. Everyone experiences the city so differently.

We think the issue with our readers, and the viewers of the show, is that you never brought that up as your source of inspiration. We never heard you saying something like “I was reading this article…” That never came up.
Because it was all edited out, so many things were edited out; so many nice things were edited out, interactions with each other, but you know, that’s their right to edit it the way they want to.

Did it bother you to get the Meana Irina editing?
It didn’t. I thought it was kind of comical at first. Listen, it’s a show, it has to be fun, it has to be creative. It didn’t bother me. I was pretty assertive on the show. In real life I’m not as blunt, the stress and the exhaustion does that to you, you tend to not beat around the bush.

We were loving it; at least some excitement.
I saw it, I got Miss Congeniality quite a few times [laughs].

So, what’s next for Irina?
As soon as I'm done with the festivities, I’m going to dive right into creating fall 2010 and I’ll be showing in New York Fashion Week. I’m really hoping to grow my brand, maybe home and other areas. I’m definitely going to get a show room in the near future and even a store.

Fantastic! You’re very talented and we wish you good luck. Thank you so much, Irina.
Thank YOU guys.

[Photos: myLifetime.com]

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T Lo Interviews Mad Men's Deborah Lacey

noreply@blogger.com (TLo) — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:35:00 +0000

We desperately wanted a chance to interview Deborah Lacey, who plays the Drapers' maid Carla, before the season ended. It took a little longer because of some scheduling issues, but we finally got a chance to do so this week. We could have asked the AMC peeps for a chance to interview just about anyone in the cast, but we really wanted to shine a spotlight on her because there's something about her quiet, dignified portrayal that riveted us and we were curious to hear her thoughts on the character, the times, and the show itself. She is very warm and interesting and easy to talk to and we had a wonderful conversation that went in all kinds of unplanned-for directions. It was honestly one of the most rewarding interviews we've ever done.

Part of the reason we wanted to talk to you specifically is because of your portrayal of Carla and how you do so much with the little that you’re given to work with.
Thank you. And it looks like people are getting what I’m trying to do with Carla.

We think so. Even though Carla got maybe two dozen lines all season, it always seems like the focus is pulled over to her in every scene she's in.
Wow, thank you. That sounds good!

Now that we’ve buttered you up, what do you think of Carla? Who is she?
I see her as very dignified, probably has some kind of interest in education. She’s interested in politics in the world. She’s very loving and caring. She has her own strengths. She’s definitely deserving of equality. She has a lot of sense. At least, that’s how I’m hoping I’m portraying her.

Were you given any background or information about Carla from the show’s writers or creators?
No.

Did you fill it in yourself?
I pretty much kind of made her a general type of character. No ideas where she comes from or what she does when she leaves the Draper house, but I have certain ideas in my heart about her and who she is when I’m playing her.

Does she have kids, in your mind?
I think she does. I don’t know that, but I think her loving spirit for these children comes from a loving place. I think she understands children; I think she understands raising children. I think that’s why she has patience with children. I think she has children of her own, yeah.

We think she understands marriage very well too. One of our favorite Carla scenes was from last season when she told Betty, “Splash a little cold water on your face and go outside.”
Exactly.

So what do you think Carla thinks of the Drapers' marriage? She sees all of this drama play out and she never says anything.
I think it’s a human experience. I think she knows what they’re going through and I think she knows what married couples go through when they’re not faithful to each other and the marriage is not a priority. I think she respects both of them equally – and she respects her job – so she’s not going to get in the middle of anything. But I don’t think their marriage is the kind of marriage that she would have. There was some reference to her going to church every Sunday, so I think she has a more spiritual foundation where she respects marriage more than what the Drapers are doing. So she pretty much stays silent and not involved.

Do you think she, for lack of a better word, do you think she judges them? Because an awful lot of bad stuff played out right in front of Carla. How much of an opinion does she have about who’s right or wrong in that marriage?
Well, I think from a woman’s perspective, she may have a little more sympathy for Betty. I mean, that’s how I feel about it. When I reached out to her in that scene you were talking about, it was like a woman-to-woman type of thing. She offered her friendship to her from a woman’s point of view. I think she still respects who Don Draper is because he’s still paying the bills. I don’t think she has an opinion as to who’s right or wrong because she knows her place and she doesn’t want to get fired.

It’s interesting that you use the phrase “knows her place,” because that leads us to our next question. As an African-American actress in 2009, is it difficult to play a pre-civil rights maid?
You know, I get that question a lot and the answer is of course; of course it is. The reason why I can play Carla the way I do and give her the dignity that she has is because the set is so wonderful. The other actors treat me with all the respect and regard that they give to each other, so I never feel like I’m less than anybody else in my real life.

And also, my mother was a maid in the ‘60s. My mother was the maid for Bob Denver in the ‘60s. So in order for me to play her, I called my mother and got a good sense of her relationship with Bob’s wife and how they loved each other. They were very good friends. I based Carla on that relationship in terms of being equal and open to a friendship and always knowing that there was a paycheck involved, and with the times involved there was a line that you just didn’t cross. So I had kind of a personal feeling about it and I wanted to be more than something stereotypical that other people might have seen. I just wanted her to be something different.

Has your mother seen your portrayal?
She’s seen it a couple times but she’s not really into television. She talks to me about it all the time because I’m always telling her when I’m on. But she doesn’t really appreciate television all that much. She’s older; she just turned 90 in June. So she’s a little bit into her own things, she knits and stuff, but we have conversations about Carla all the time. She likes that I’m playing Carla.

You have an awful lot of experience on television. How does Mad Men differ from those other shows?
Well, it’s a period thing, so that makes a difference, going back to that period. Because they’ve researched it so much I really feel like I’m reliving that history. So that’s an opportunity that I never had before, feeling like I’m part of a real place.

And there’s the costumes, which just add to that feeling of being in a different time. Most of the things I’ve done are current characters. I would say the biggest difference is adjusting to the different times and being that person in history. And the wardrobe helps with that. You know, they’re being very authentic to everything in this period.

Right down to the underwear?
[Laughs] Absolutely. Yep.

Do you feel a little left out that you don’t get to wear the fabulous clothes that the other women get to wear?
I feel very left out! And I’m telling you, Carla has another life! She lets her hair down and she’s probably singing at some club somewhere; a whole totally different persona.

Hopefully, we’ll get to see that next season.
Yeah! There’s got to be more of her. I think she’s an attractive woman. I think when she lets her hair down that she’s appealing. So I think there’s another life there. I would LOVE to do that. I have five older sisters who grew up in the sixties and I looked at a lot of their clothes and pictures and they had these beautiful flip hairdos with bangs. That’s how I see Carla.

Our favorite Carla moment this season was the moment when she found out JFK was dead. When she sat down on that couch and took that cigarette from Betty, she seemed very human and it felt like the barriers had dropped and just for that moment she wasn’t Betty’s employee.
Exactly. Well, thank you. That’s exactly what I was going for. The director was really good and very specific. His direction was, “You don’t care about anything; you don’t care about those kids; you just want to get in there and find out what’s going on.” So that’s what I did. Again, that was a moment when I could let people know who Carla is outside of this house. I had a hard time trying to light that cigarette and make it real because I don’t smoke and I’ve never smoked. I never even played a character that smokes. I was totally all thumbs in the rehearsal trying to figure it out. At one point they just said “Okay, forget the cigarette,” but I knew that it was a moment that I could take advantage of to make Carla look more real. So I said, “No, no. I can do it.” So I worked on it and it worked. I had a couple of people who called me and said they loved that moment.

That comes from a personal experience. My mother talked about when Kennedy died and how affected my family, my father, people and friend at church were. I mean, we loved him. People were saying to me in my own family how hard they took it and how they cried. We shared the grief that the rest of the country shared.

Wasn’t Kennedy in a lot of ways, to coin a phrase, the great white hope at the time, for a lot of African-Americans?
Exactly. We thought that he was sympathetic to civil rights. He was the first president to come along and care and say to the world that equality is important; segregation is evil. So that dialogue opened up with him. And that was true of all the Kennedys. Even Ted Kennedy, I loved how he spoke of equality.

I remember Ted, before he passed away, there was an interview where he talked about one of his sons asked him why he left money on the counter in the bathroom when they were leaving. And he said “Well, there’s someone who’s going to come in here and clean up after us and that person has a family and deserves a decent wage.” I thought that was beautiful. To me, it gave me something to give Carla more dignity. Real moments like that to relate to real people. Even if they’re in the role of a servant, they’re human beings. They deserve your respect. So I keep that with me when I’m playing Carla.

How do you feel about how the show deals with the burgeoning civil rights movement of the time? Because for the most part, it’s seen through the eyes of white characters.
I’m hoping that if they stay true to the period, there’s no way they can’t bring that story to the forefront. I mean, that was the turning point for the country. This is ’63, this last season, so depending on when they decide to start next season, I don’t see how they can avoid civil rights.

There was a really nice scene with the elevator operator and Peter from the ad agency and he was trying to get advice from him about the television he uses. Even a simple scene like that showed so much. And then when he went to the client and tried to get them to open up to this whole other market and the client said “Is that legal?” I mean that’s how stupid people were about that kind of thing. I really appreciate how Matt Weiner manages to put in those kinds of scenes, that kind of dialogue. It is their point of view but it’s showing that it’s not always the right point of view.

Aside from talking to your mother, what kind of research did you do for this role?
I went to the library a lot of times and looked through old magazines, read the articles. And like I said, I have five older sisters. Very attractive and very educated women; I have two attorneys in my family, I have a brother who is a director of finance. I have very successful, educated people in my family and they all grew up during the ‘60s. And they knew that they were going to be better than what was being offered to them. A lot of this is where I come from. I come from a very proud people and hopefully I’m making them proud. That’s who Carla is. I’ve given her the type of history that my family comes from. We’re definitely people who were out there marching with Martin Luther King. We’ve always believed in human rights and civil rights and all that. So I looked through their yearbooks and try to relive their lives and experiences. It really is a feeling of reliving history.

Another of our favorite scenes is the one where Carla was listening to Dr. King on the radio and Betty walked in and she turned it off. It was very powerful because Carla didn’t feel like she could even listen to this in front of her employer.
Well, it was no longer her private time. This was what I mean about respecting the space. My mother gave me tips about that. She said she always knew where the line was that she couldn’t cross. She said she was friends with Bob Denver’s wife but she always knew that she worked for her. She always knew that she couldn’t get too close unless she was invited. Like that scene you were talking about when Carla tried to offer advice to Betty and realized she’d gone over that line and walked away and said “I’m sorry,” that was exactly what my mother said had happened with her. There was a time when Bob’s wife was talking about something to her and my mother started offering her thoughts and Bob’s wife immediately acted like she didn’t want to hear her talking to her that way. My mother said she just backed up and said “I’m sorry.” Because that’s the thing; I’m very conscious of not making them uncomfortable around me.

It certainly sounds like you have Carla completely fleshed out in your head and that’s part of what makes her so compelling to the audience.
Thank you. Yeah, I do. And one of the best parts is when Matthew said to me last season that he loved what I was doing even when I’m not talking.

Well, Carla definitely doesn’t get enough lines.
[Laughs] I know! But there still has to be a presence there. That comes from my training as an actor. I’ve had some really good training and great acting coaches in my career. There’s always an inner dialogue going on with the character so that her presence is felt.

You know that scene where the women during the fundraiser were talking about segregation? Carla goes to answer the door and she brings in the woman from the governor’s office and there were two women there talking about the south and one woman says something like, “My husband says they’re not living in 1963; they’re living in 1863,” and laughs. And Carla walks up right at that moment. I deliberately timed that so the audience can see that these were the kinds of conversations that were happening in our presence and we just had to keep working. That’s what I mean when I talk about having a presence.

When the strike happened when all the maids stopped working during the bus strike, when Martin Luther King called for that, I mean that was a powerful time in history. And it showed the dignity that these people really did have. When they had a chance to speak up, they did. I’m very proud of that part of my history. My own mother was a part of that history. And I love my mother. I think she’s one of the proudest people I know. And she’s given dignity and pride in my life.

And I’m very proud of Matt because he’s never asked me to do anything that I would feel uncomfortable about and he’s always told me that he’s very happy with what I’m doing; he’s never told me I’m going in the wrong direction with her or anything like that. Just the opposite, in fact. This season he told me that he didn’t even realize what a good actress I was when he hired me. I appreciated that.

Do you think Carla has any anger?
Oh, yeah. Of course. Of course she does. How can she not have anger in this period? Anger for the situation and feeling less than other people. I’m sure she goes home and has somebody to vent to, absolutely. I think that’s where a lot of my presence, when I need to be strong, comes from; being able to get angry.

Carla had a great moment with Betty’s father when he mistook her for his maid and she snapped at him to the effect of “We’re not all the same.” That was a moment where we got to see just a little of Carla’s anger.
Exactly. And the fact the she assumed that he was thinking she stole the money in that episode.

Is there ever a moment where playing Carla really weighs on you and you go home and feel a little down about it?
Yeah, there is. I’ve actually cried, like the day we shot the scene where she was listening to Martin Luther King’s sermon for the girls in Birmingham. I mean, we were listening to the actual sermon. It’s really difficult for me to hear that this type of thing was going on and not feel a lot of pain about it. I definitely felt heavy and I felt sorry for my people, sorry that we had to go through this. And then you feel grateful that people went through it for you. Because I never experienced it the way that they did. So the struggle that they had to go through gained all the rights that I have today and I don’t take it for granted.

I’m grateful for the people who came before me. I draw on that strength. And I want Carla to have that strength to be able to endure. I think she knows there’s a better future. I hope people can see more than just a maid when they see Carla. That was definitely in the forefront for me when I took this job. I hoped that I could do something with this job that hadn’t been done; to give a woman in this role a real dignity and not be stereotypical in any way. I’m very conscious of not making her a “Yes, ma’am” type of person. Of course women like that existed but I think we’ve seen enough of that side of it.

Well we definitely think you’ve succeeded in making her a fully rounded character because whenever we read about the show – and we read about it A LOT – it seems to us that many writers go out of their way to point out how important you are in your scenes.
Well, I need to read some of these writers!

We just want to thank you for the interview and we hope that Betty takes Carla along to her new marriage next season.
I hope so too! Thank you so much.

Darlings, in more Mad Men news, we will be sitting in and chatting about all things Mad Men on Live From the Left Coast on San Francisco's Green 960 from 6:00 to 8:00 (Pacific) TONIGHT along with Mad Men costume designer Janie Bryant and writer Maria Jacqemetton. And you don't have to be in San Francisco to listen in! You just have to go here.
[Screencaps: Projectrungay.blogspot.com]

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Congratulations!

noreply@blogger.com (TLo) — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:11:00 +0000

Let's put this one to bed, kittens.

Congratulations, Irina! YOU are the winner of the most boring season of PR ever! YAY, you!

Of course, she's reading this thinking "Who the fuck cares if it was boring? I got my 100 grand!" And y'know? She'd be right. It's not her fault the season sucked. Reading over the torches-and-pitchforks comments in T Lounge, you'd think she was solely responsible for everything from the move to L.A. to the move to Lifetime. Bottom line: she had the strongest collection of the three. She earned her win.

Oh, they tried, kittens. Those Bunim/Murray pixies tried their best to wring some drama out of the situation, but only projectile vomiting was going to save this finale and unfortunately, Carol Hannah's antibiotics kicked in in time.

We have said it countless times all season and we're going to say it again, even at the risk of angry pitchfork-wielding virtual villagers accusing us of being Lifetime shills: we are not terribly concerned about the future of the show. Everything bad about this season can be attributed to two things: the move to L.A. and the lawsuit. The latter took care of itself and if they make any noise about setting season 8 in L.A., well... can you say Facebook petition? We'll deal with that when and if it happens.

To be honest, we felt a little sorry for the girls. Despite the UTTERLY RIDICULOUS magical editing and special effects, that day in the tents was not a happy one. We were there. It was morose and depressing and everyone felt it. We knew they'd never show it, but when Heidi came out in her bright pink outfit, even she admitted to the crowd that she was kind of sad about the whole thing.

You have to remember that back in February, no one had any idea if this season was ever going to air at all, let alone what the future of the show was going to be.

We can guar-own-tee that the sadness that everyone felt at the time was partially responsible for Tim's backstage hissy fit. We can't imagine what it must be like to put all this work into something and feel that it might be all for nothing. We're telling you: at the time, in that space, it felt like a funeral for the show.

At least there was Suzy and her amazing gravity-defying hair to provide some momentary entertainment.

Unfortunately, it wasn't enough and for the ONLY time (and hopefully the LAST time) we sat there bored and watching the clock. We all knew who the likely winner was, we'd all examined the collections ad nauseam. We just wanted it over.

And if they were going to use post production wizardry to make it look like the designers introduced their collections to a cheering crowd, they should have just gone whole hog and had them beam in like in Star Trek.

By the way, the cheering you heard? Never happened. That tent was silent as a tomb.

Freakshow.

Even the judging felt half-assed, like their hearts just weren't in it.

Nina in particular looked like she needed a double espresso.

And their commentary just didn't have the same pop and zing that other finales had. Oh, they said they were excited and it was a wonderful show, but actors they are not and it wasn't remotely believable. We realize such commentary would never see the light of day, but wouldn't it have been great if one of them had said "Man, the Weinsteins really fucked this one up, didn't they?"

But look, none of this takes away from Irina's win, in our minds. She deserved it, end of story. Yeah, she used text on her t-shirts that she shouldn't have used without getting permission for it, but we doubt very much the judges knew that at the time and besides, from their perspective, it wouldn't have mattered. The actual text didn't change the design and it was the design that won her the prize, not the writing. It's up to NY Mag if they want to pursue it but we imagine this is all just gonna blow over in the end.

At least Carol Hannah managed to get a little revenge out of it.

*infect*
*infect*
*infect*

And they all lived happily ever after, puking their guts up for the next 48 hours.

We'll be ripping the collections in our inimitable style in the days ahead, kittens. Count on it.

[Photos: GettyImages/myLifetime.com - Screencaps: Projectrungay.blogspot.com]

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T LOunge

noreply@blogger.com (TLo) — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 19:03:00 +0000

Open bar tonight, bitches!

Peacock Dinner Club in Göteborg, Sweden, courtesy of Planet Fabulon

Let us all raise a glass and toast the END of the most disappointing season of Project Runway. They tried, god bless 'em, but with the lawsuit and the ill-advised move to L.A., this is the one season of the show that we're all just going to try and forget.

But Season 7 is right around the corner and we remain hopeful, especially since it's back in NYC and Nina and the Duchess are back in their chairs. So let's not be bitter kittens. Let's be optimistic kittens.

Optimistic Kittens will be the name of our band (although we like the sound of Bitter Kittens better).

At any rate, we're going to try and make the best of a bad situation. So, who's gonna win it:
Nerd Girl, Immigrant Girl, or Ohio Girl?

In the end, it's about watching designers struggle to make something beautiful and stylish, so we're just gonna focus on that. It's been so long since we saw these collections that we're actually looking forward to seeing them in motion again.

Here's the preview to get you started:

Oh, and don't forget to look for us in the crowd. We were in row 2 at the end of the runway on the right (if you're facing the PR logo). Alex was there too (along with a slew of PR regulars) but we're not sure where he was sitting.

[Video: myLifetime.com - Photos: PlanetFabulon.com - Screencaps: Projectrungay.blogspot.com]

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Glee S1E10: Ballad

noreply@blogger.com (TLo) — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 18:00:00 +0000

"I have to go. They'll think I'm pooping."

Sometimes, you just gotta give up the stuff you want in order to get the stuff you need. Last night's episode was sadly Sue Sylvester-free, but in the end we didn't mind because there was big movement on the plot front. So big that we honestly didn't see it coming. Not only do Quinn's Glenn Beck-watching, chastity ball-attending, constantly buzzed parents now know about her pregnancy, but they threw her out of the house, leaving her to live with Finn and his mom and her amazing denim vests. Further, Puck blurted out that he's the father of the baby, except he blurted it out to Mercedes, who had the best intentions but didn't exactly give the best advice as to how to handle it.

Plus there was a cute and funny subplot about Rachel crushing on Will and Terri suffering years of hormonal high school girls going after her husband. In typical Terri style, she figured out a way to make it work for her: by treating the girls as household slaves. And believe it or not, the last girl who had a crush on Will, Suzy Pepper, is played by the same actress who plays Sal Romano's wife Kitty on Mad Men, Sarah Drew. Go look it up. That girl is a chameleon. She was completely unrecognizable last night. The only reason we knew who she was is because Lorenzo has always loved her since her appearance on the late lamented Wonderfalls.

Except for the final highly emotional number, the songs were a little flat this week. "Endless Love" was great but they talked all through it and Cory's "I'll Stand By You" was sweet, but he definitely doesn't have the voice for solos. And while they finally figured out what a mash-up is (not a medley), we didn't think Will's mash-up of "Don't Stand So Close To Me" and "Young Girl" actually worked. Of course, the second the words "You're having my baby" came out of Finn's mouth at the Fabrays' dinner table, we groaned and covered our eyes. One thing that's notable about the song choices (and to be fair, we didn't notice this until someone - oh, okay: Laura - called us up and pointed it out): they weren't exactly subtle. "Endless Love" leads to a crush, which leads to Rachel wanting to sing "Crush." Finn needs to get the baby out in the open so he sings "Having My Baby." Will is concerned about Rachel's crush so he sings a mash-up of "Don't Stand So Close To Me" and "Young Girl." Not so much a criticism, just something that we hadn't noticed until it was pointed out to us. Thank god we didn't have to suffer through Kurt's proposed rendition of "I Honestly Love You."

So yeah, we were nearing the close of the hour a little disappointed with the musical numbers until the glee club offered up a song that's appeared in one too many movies and phone company commercials to have any sort of emotional impact and yet, there we were, tearing up listening to it. Manipulative? You bet. But isn't that what music is supposed to do, manipulate your emotions?

Once again we have to single out Artie. That kid really does have a fantastic, soulful voice. We loved his version of "Dancing with Myself" last week, but this performance was his best yet. It's just funny to see this skinny white kid open his mouth and have a big soul voice come out. And we can't imagine ever getting tired of Mercedes' crystal clear voice.

Finn and Kurt bonding over their dead parents was sweet and believable, a bond that makes sense for the characters. Unfortunately, Kurt's growing crush is a little painful for us to watch. It's something any gay boy can relate to but most of us didn't take it so far as to try and convince the captain of the football team to give up girls permanently.

Anyway, it was kind of an uneven episode but we didn't care. It was still fun. Let's wrap this up with our favorite quotes along with the rest of the numbers.

"It's a male duck."

"I could totally sing this song with Finn, but screw him if he thinks he's taking the Diana Ross part from me."

"I never noticed this before because he's always trying to ruin my career, but Mr. Schu has really pretty eyes."

"Listen, you little psycho, this is Will's wife, and if I don't get enough sleep my antidepressants won't work and then I'll go crazy and I'll kill you."

"He's cheating off a girl who thinks the square root of 4 is rainbows."

"He'll be crying into my shoulder pads."

"Hey, Barbra Streisand. We need to have a little talk."

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In or Out: Sharon Stone

noreply@blogger.com (TLo) — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 15:35:00 +0000

Sharon Stone attends the 8th Annual Elton John AIDS Foundation’s "An Enduring Vision" benefit at Cipriani, Wall Street in New York City in Christian Dior Couture.

"HAHAHAHA! YES, Paparazzi! Take my picture while you try and figure out what I am! Am I a sexy private eye? Or am I a sexy cabaret singer? HAHAHA! I AM A WOMAN OF MYSTERY AND ENCHANTMENT!"

Christian Dior Fall 2009 Couture [Modified version]
Model: Heidi Mount

Oh to hell with it. She's Sharon Goddamn Stone. She's a 50-some-odd years old movie star who doesn't give a shit what you think of her and she's wearing something from Dior's foundation garment couture line. That she inexplicably topped it off with a leather trench and fedora only makes her more fabulously insane. She is beyond such classifications as IN or OUT. She's just Sharon, a classification in and of itself.

[Photos: WireImage/Style.com]

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V S1E03: A Bright New Day

noreply@blogger.com (TLo) — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 20:30:00 +0000

"It's a bright new day in America."

In a way, it's a little frustrating designating ourselves cheerleaders for this show. We're not completely ignorant of the flaws so far, but we like the show in spite of them and because we see a tremendous amount of potential in the concept. There was a hint of a germ of an idea in the pilot when political buzzwords like the deliberately familiar "hope and change" as well as the anvil-heavy "universal healthcare" were tossed around. A lot of people jumped on that and assumed that the show was somehow an anti-Obama tract dressed up as a science fiction show but we think it goes a bit further than that. We touched on this when we wrote about the pilot, but we want to revisit it for a second here to explain why we see such potential.

The original V debuted in the early '80s and we suppose someone could make the argument that it was somehow a response to Reaganism but frankly we think that's a stretch. Anyone with a base understanding of recent history knows that the differences both political and cultural between 2009 and 1983 are vast and we think the show is attempting to play off of that. We live in hyper-politicized times and for all the talk of cold war-era fears being reflected in the television shows and movies of the time, our art has only really tangentially touched on post 9/11 fears, even though we'd argue as people who lived through both periods, the fear of nuclear annihilation was no greater than the current 21st century American fears of terrorism, immigration, economic collapse and environmental degradation. In addition to those fears weighing down on us, we are stuck in the grips of a two-decade long "culture war" that shows no signs of letting up. This is why we think the show has such potential: because it can easily play off of the post-millenial hysteria and use it to give the story more layers and more meaning.

Unfortunately, it's just not quite there yet. We have reason to hope, however. Production on the show was halted after only 4 episodes were completed and the showrunner was replaced. There's a retooling going on at the moment and we hope very much that it happened because someone involved with the show saw the potential that we see. Because of that, these first four episodes have the feel of a prolonged prelude. It's when the show returns in March that we'll really see if the creators involved get what they have on their hands.

Part of what frustrates us about the show is that very few of the characters have any, well...character to them. With the exception of Anna and her daughter (!!!!) Lisa, the rest of the characters have a stock feel to them. Further, the show has no style to it. Everything is shot and art directed in as bland a "network television" style as possible. Take away the aliens and it could easily pass for any basic police procedural on television. In particular, the show suffers terribly from a "Canada passing for New York" aesthetic that sets our teeth on edge.

Another thing that irritates us is that the show doesn't quite have the courage to "go there," to use a phrase. When Ryan had the gun to Cyrus' head last night, we were shouting "Kill him!" Not because we're bloodthirsty but because if you're going to do a story about the potential annihilation of the human race by alien invaders, then you need to take the tension to that level. The literal fate of the world is at stake and everyone who knows that seems to be pussyfooting around quite a bit. It may seem unfair to compare this show to Lost but to our way of thinking, it's unavoidable. Both shows have large ensemble casts and a sci-fi-influenced plotline. The difference is, Lost was never afraid to go there and as the seasons went by, the body count went up and up as the stakes got higher and higher. We need to see that level of intensity here. We need to feel like the stakes really are that high.

None of this is to say that we don't enjoy the show. We do. Immensely. And in fact, we think last night's episode was the strongest yet as multiple plot strands were introduced and existing plot strands moved forward slightly. The creators need to realize what a gold mine they have in Morena Baccarin as Anna. Almost every other actor on the show appears to be struggling a bit to find their character and she alone gives off the impression that she knows her character inside and out. Sure, we love her because she's fabulous and wears fierce clothes, but we also love her because she inhabits the skin of that character (no pun intended) 100%. She's both fabulous and creepy as hell and that's not an easy trick to pull off, especially when you're not dealing with the strongest of scripts. Laura Vandervoort as teen slut V Lisa deserves some credit too. It's funny. We didn't see the "Mother" line coming at all but just before that we were discussing that she was just as fabulous and as coolly creepy as the Anna character is. Now we know why.

Elizabeth Mitchell still seems to be struggling a bit in her role. She needs to be bumped up a bit in the scripts in order to go toe to toe with Anna's character because whether they intended it or not, she is Anna's counterpart in the resistance. This is further illustrated by the fact that her child is about to sleep with Anna's child and if it's anything like the original series, that will result in a hybrid baby, which means both of them will be grandmothers to the same child. Right now, she's a generic TV series FBI agent.

We actually like the work they're doing with Father Jack, who is a bit of a moron when it comes to the spy work he's taken on, but that only makes sense for the character. If he had inexplicably become "Father Jack, Action Priest" overnight, we would have been rolling our eyes. We're glad they finally got the four main characters of the resistance together. We think that took a little long, actually. They shoved so much information at us in the pilot that we assumed every episode was going to move that quickly.

But we're being a little unfair here because like we said, a LOT happened last night. Along with getting the resistance up on its feet, we were treated to several intriguing twists. Number one would be the revelation that Anna is Lisa's mother. Never saw that coming. Also never saw coming the revelation that apparently, there are Fifth Columnists on board the motherships. Is Dale dead? It would make no sense for him not to be, but that's kind of a shame. He had the makings of a great villain. Also, what did Cyrus mean when he talked about being "reconnected" and "the bliss?" And who are the other sleeper agents in the FBI office that Dale mentioned? And how did Ryan seemingly reduce Cyrus into a pile of ash? And how many sleeper agents need to turn on Ryan before he realizes he can't trust the guys? Most importantly of all, who the hell is John May?

It kind of sucks that there's only one episode left before they go on hiatus, but we have to admit, much as we love it, we realize it needs the time to iron out the kinks. Until then, we are of peace. Always.

Photos courtesy of ABC TV

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In or Out: Kristen Stewart

noreply@blogger.com (TLo) — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 15:58:00 +0000

Smiley McHappy is back in the spotlight.

Kristen Stewart attends the 'Twillight Saga: New Moon' UK fan event at Battersea Evolution on November 11, 2009 in London, England.

Proenza Schouler Spring 2010 Collection
Model: Mathilde Frachon

There's something a little incongruous about a getup that says "Young! Fun! Party!" paired with a mug that says "I'm smiling because my handlers told me to." But it's a cute, fun outfit and she's putting in the effort, so we'll give her an IN.

But wait! There's MORE!

Actress Kristen Stewart arrives at the Los Angeles premiere of Summit Entertainment's 'The Twilight Saga: New Moon' at Mann Westwood on November 16, 2009 in Westwood, California.

Oscar de la Renta Spring 2010 Collection
Model: Viktoriya Sasonkina

We're not all that crazy about the mullet-esque hairstyle, but the dress is gorgeous and she's rocking it. IN again. Who'd have thought?

[Photos: WireImage/Style.com]

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Jonathan Waud

noreply@blogger.com (TLo) — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 14:58:00 +0000

Who wants a little meat with their coffee?

Make Me a Supermodel's Jonathan Waud is the new face for the Australian underwear and swimwear label Ristefsky Macheda. It's a wise man who knows when to shut up and we're going to do just that. Enjoy.

[Photos: Alek & Steph/www.ristefskymacheda.com]

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Yay or Nay: Bra Exposure

noreply@blogger.com (TLo) — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 16:56:00 +0000

Chin up, tits out, ladies!

Chloë Sevigny and Zoe Saldana attend the Prada book launch cocktail held at Prada on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills, California in Miu Miu Fall 2009. Apparently, it was hot that day:

Chloë Sevigny

Miu Miu Fall 2009 Collection
Model: Anna Jagodzinska

Zoe Saldana

Miu Miu Fall 2009 Collection
Model: Hanna Rundlof

Before we say anything else, we have to say that the skirt Sevigny's wearing is absolutely gorgeous. Unfortunately, Saldana's skirt was designed to look good long enough to make it down a runway and back. In real life, it looks like she slept in it.

As for boobapalooza...we can't yawn hard enough. Maybe if we were the type of guys who got excited over boobs we'd have a stronger opinion, but this look has been tried countless times since Madonna first unveiled hers a quarter century ago and it never really caught on past the short-lived trend stage. To be honest, we think it looks a little silly. The equivalent of a woman coming out of the ladies room with her skirt accidentally stuffed into her panty hose.

We're more concerned about the fact that they both replicated the runway looks so slavishly. Think for yourselves, ladies. Or more accurately, let your stylists promote an image that makes it look like you think for yourselves.

For what it's worth, here's the rest of the titastic Miu Miu fall '09 collection. We think the clothes are gorgeous, but we're bored by the boobs. Then again, we always were.

[Photos: WireImage/Style.com]

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Sir Tim of the Gunn

noreply@blogger.com (TLo) — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 16:00:00 +0000

When Tim speaks, we all listen. That's just the way it is.

In an interview with the L.A. Times (that desperately needed a copy editor), Tim lets loose on a variety of topics.

On the finale show:
"Owing to the fact that we couldn't reveal to the audience who the finalists were, we wanted to tape their introduction before the audience came in. We had to do a pre-fashion show, and we taped the whole thing. Through the miracles of editing, it's going to look as though the designers are speaking to the audience, but there isn't one."

Okay, that is the lamest thing we've ever heard of.

On Heidi in season 6:
"Well, I felt really bad for Heidi during most of Season 6 because, with too much frequency, she was the only common denominator, since she was the only one who had seen all the previous work of the designers."

Hunh? He felt bad for her because she'd seen all the previous work? We felt bad for the designers, not Heidi.

On Irina:
"Irina is tenacious. She really wants it. We had a very long lunch with Irina and her family, and, oh my God, talk about the nut not falling far from the tree. Her mother was saying things like, "If Irina doesn't win, she better not come home," and I could say she's already a winner. "

That explains a lot.

On Season 7:
"I will say that in Season 7 there are a number of designers who throw me under the bus, and Heidi says at one point, "I want a stool next to my chair with a red phone so I can call Tim Gunn," and I called out from the back, "I want a red phone to call you!" That will probably be edited out, though. [...] It's also the season of the sashay — no one other than me moves with any degree of urgency."

Thankfully, Tim has learned to stop declaring each season's crop of designers as the best ever in the history of the universe.

Read the entire interview here.

Related : 'Project Runway': Tim Gunn carries on (to Season 7) [LA Times]

[Photo: Mike Yarish/myLifetime.com]

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Irinology

noreply@blogger.com (TLo) — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 14:49:00 +0000

Meana Irina's turn.

Um...well, she's got range, we'll give her that. And we like quite a few of these pieces. In fact, collectively, we like her work more than the other two designers. But it's really hard to discern a commonality here. She likes lacey, lingerie-inspired looks and she likes to occasionally play with volume on the upper half (collars, capes, big sweaters). Oh, and sashes. She's really big on sashes. Like the other two finalists, she's not all that big on color, returning to browns and neutrals most often. She also has a bit of a retro, late '70s/early '80s feel to her work, but that's trendy right now so we don't know how much of that is her expression as a designer or just her following a trend.

But mainly, it's about her range, which is broader than any of the other finalists and which makes her the strongest of the finalists. Gowns, dresses, skirts, jackets, vests, sweaters, pants and blouses rendered in the widest range of materials out of the three; fur, knitwear, lace, silk and brocade. Also of note is that she has the best technical skills of the finalists. Like the other two, her point of view isn't as strong as it should be, but looking at this collection of looks, we have to say she's clearly the one to beat at Bryant Park. She may have acted like she farts ice cream throughout the competition, but like her or not, she really is the strongest designer out of all of them.

[Images: myLifetime.com]

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Altheology

noreply@blogger.com (TLo) — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 17:42:00 +0000

Next up, everyone's favorite gigantic blonde.

Y'know? Seeing it all like this? We're a little surprised at our reaction. The first word that comes to mind is "strong." By that we mean her work taken as a whole has been a lot better than we realized. When you spend every week nitpicking the details like we do, it's easy to lose sight of the bigger picture. It's tough to assign an easily boiled down sound bite to describe her point of view, but she definitely has one and it tends to revolve around modern looks, with more than a little sexy attached to it.

Let's get the elephant in the room out of the way first: her execution has always been lacking and it's probably the main reason we failed to realize just how good her designs were. She obviously has an issue with fitting a bust and that was exacerbated by having a model with an unusually large rack (for a model). She also has what we would consider an ill-advised aversion to color. It's all blacks, grays and neutrals with an occasional pop of blue. Once again, prints are off the table.

But look at the range here. Gowns, dresses, skirts, pants, shorts, jackets, and blouses. That's commendable. She goes for that high waist a bit and she likes that paper bag waist way more than we do. She made too many tank tops, though. Along with loving a big floppy pair of boobs, she also clearly loves to emphasize the hips quite a bit. You could argue that her clothes aren't always flattering, but there's something a little earth mother/fertility goddess about an aesthetic that loves to make a woman as curvey as possible.

All in all, she's been a much stronger competitor than we gave her credit for.

[Images: myLifetime.com]

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MOCA's 30th Anniversary Gala

noreply@blogger.com (TLo) — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 14:48:00 +0000

Who wants to hop on the judgmental train with us?

The stars came out for the free food and drink at the MOCA (Museum of Contemporary Art) New 30th Anniversary Gala in Los Angeles, California.

Kate Beckinsale

Andrew Gn Fall 2009 Collection
Model: Ksenia Kahnovich

Not shockingly unique or anything, but pretty and classic. The color makes it.

Angelina Jolie in Armani Privé

She looks a little healthier than she has in recent months. The dress is okay. Her style philosophy seems to be "If I've got a face like this, why go overboard on the dress?"

Chloë Sevigny

Miu Miu Spring 2010 Collection
Model: Amanda Norgaard

We love the shoes but we only like the top part of the dress. It's weird around the waist.

Christina Ricci
Prada Spring 2010 Collection [Modified version]
Model: Sharon Kavjian

The dress is gorgeous from the front, but the back of it looks like she got caught in some drapes or something.

Daisy Fuentes

Gustavo Cadile Spring 2009 Collection

High-end prom dress.

Eva Mendes in Miu Miu spring 2010

Do not like whatever that is in her hair, but we like the dress quite a bit. Oh sure, the bodice looks a bit heavy and overworked, but the overall effect is striking and different. And her eyebrows are too close together. Fire your waxer.

Gwen Stefani

Dolce & Gabbana Spring 2010 Collection
Model: Chanel Iman

RUINED IT. She should be hauled off to fashion jail with no chance for parole.

Jessica Alba in Prada Spring 2010

This induces the same reaction we always have when we see her: one big yawn.

Kate Bosworth

Proenza Schouler Spring 2010 Collection
Model: Carmen Kass

The dress is okay (kind of weirdly shapeless, though), but what is UP with that hair? No excuse.

Marisa Tomei in vintage Jean Desses

We don't know... it's cute and all, but she looks like she's attending her kid's First Holy Communion in 1960.

Shirley Manson

Marchesa Spring 2010 Collection
Model: Carolyn

We kinda like. There's a bit too much at the bottom and the split sleeves are a bit too voluminous, but the rest of it we like.

Rachel Zoe in vintage Pucci

We like it. Striking and bold. We're not even going to mention the state of her body because EVERYONE mentions that.

Zoe Saldana

Marchesa Fall 2009 Collection
Model: Jules Mordovets

Gorgeous.

[Photos: WireImage/Style.com/www.gustavocadile.com]

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Vogue Italia: Beauty

noreply@blogger.com (TLo) — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 18:03:00 +0000

Not the most original title for an editorial, wouldn't you say?

Vogue Italia November 2009
Editorial: Beauty
Photographed by Emma Summerton
Fashion Editor: Patti Wilson
Models: Janete, Alexa Yudina, Hanna Rundlof

Perhaps this signals a new trend in editorials: the generic concept. We look forward to future editorials entitled "Clothes," or "Skinny Bitches."

Aw, don't mind us. We're just wearing our bitchpants today. Once again, it's an array of striking images, and to be fair, they are kind of going out on a limb with that title since most of these pictures don't embody traditional western ideas about beauty. And since you're not likely to ever see these clothes anywhere off a runway (except on the Daphne Guinnesses of the world), it's a good way to look at some of the more out there corners of fashion.

Givenchy Fall 2009 Collection
Model: Karen Elson

Alexander McQueen Fall 2009 Collection
Model: Alana Zimmer

Dolce & Gabbana Fall 2009 Collection
Model: Olga Sherer

Nina Ricci Fall 2009 Collection
Model: Tanya Dziahileva

Roberto Cavalli Fall 2009 Collection
Model: Kasia Struss

Moschino Fall 2009 Collection [modified version]
Model: Katie Fogarty

Francesco Scognamiglio Fall 2009 Collection
Model: Kim Noorda

[Images: TheFashionSpot/Diciassette/Style.com]

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Carol Hannology

noreply@blogger.com (TLo) — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 19:40:00 +0000

Hit it, CH!

If you're new, this is the part of each season where we look at the output of each finalist to see if we can divine themes or weaknesses. First up is Alex's favorite designer, Carol Hannah Whitfield.

There's a point we want to make when we wrap these ologies up, but we want to touch on it here because it's relevant to Carol Hannah's work. It's this: she has a somewhat weak vision as a designer. Can you sum up her aesthetic in a couple of words? We can't. That's not to say that there aren't themes and motifs here. First, let's talk about what she doesn't do: pants, sleeves and prints. Oh sure, there's one of each in her entries, but for the most part, she went to the "sleeveless dress" well a couple of times too many. In terms of color, she appears to be drawn to blues, golds and blacks, for the most part. In terms of design elements, she clearly likes to manipulate fabric through twisting, draping, and pleating. There aren't any looks that we could classify as "clean" or "simple" except for #7, and that one stands out like a sore thumb next to all her other looks.

If we had to sum up her flaws, we'd say that she tends to overwork her looks and she occasionally (not always, but occasionally) demonstrates an inability to consider the body wearing the clothes. She'll put these sashes or exposed seams or layered hems in odd and unflattering places. It's like she's so caught up in her techniques that she's losing sight of the woman wearing her pieces.

If we had to sum up her strengths, we'd say one word: unexpected. She does very feminine clothes, but they almost always have a twist to them (oftentimes literally). If she learns how to develop that skill and marry it to wearability, she could really make something of herself.

[Images: myLifetime.com]

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Controversy! (Spoilerish/Updated!)

noreply@blogger.com (TLo) — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 18:26:00 +0000

Look, we have to find SOMETHING to talk about, don't we?

So, here's the deal. Irina shows Tim her silkscreened "Conney" Island t-shirts when he comes for his visit.

Later, in a totally spontaneous and not at all staged scene, Tim calls her to tell her that:

"I just learned from the producers and their attorney that the Coney Island images that you're using, those are trademarked [...] therefore, you don't have the right to incorporate them into your clothing collection [...] I want you to use it but with images that are your own."

When she shows up for Fashion Week, she shows Tim her revised idea, which is to write all the reasons to love New York on the pieces. Tim quotes one: "'Reasons to love NY'...is that Madonna is back?"

Now, to fully explain, we're going to have to show you one of the pieces from her finale collection. If you don't want to see it, don't scroll down.

Now, using our crack CSI team here at T Lo International, here's some of what we can make out on the shirt:

"Because Robert Moses would have a coronary if he could see our streets now."

"Because people will still do crazy things to live here."

"Because [something something] is our play pen."

"Because just when you take the Empire State Building for granted, it seduces you again."

"Because even in these times, [something something]."

"Because we're resilient."

The problem? Every single one of these sentences was lifted from a December 2008 article from New York Magazine entitled "Reasons to Love New York."

We're not attorneys, but it would seem to us that this material falls under the same protection laws that prevented her from using the Coney Island image. Further, because she was told not to use the image, she can't really claim ignorance on this matter. Which means she deliberately used copyrighted material a second time after being told once by the producers that she was forbidden to do so.

What does this mean for the outcome of the contest? Time will tell, but since she was allowed to show these pieces in her collection, it would appear that she wasn't caught at the time. If she turns out to be the winner of the season, the producers could have a problem on their hands.

Discuss.

[Photos: firstVIEW.com - Screencaps: Projectrungay.blogpost.com]

Related: Reasons to Love New York 2008 [NYMag]
UPDATE: Irina’s Project Runway Shirt Knocks Us Off [The Cut]

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In or Out: Daphne Guinness

noreply@blogger.com (TLo) — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 19:40:00 +0000

Socialite, heiress and fashion icon Daphne Guinness attends the launch of NARS 15X15 a project to celebrate 15 years of NARS at Industria Superstudio in New York City.

Brace yourselves before you scroll down, kittens.

Ready?

You can't say we didn't warn you.

The last time we discussed her, she looked pretty damn fabulous and we loved the McQueen collection when we featured it, but honeys, sometimes the sum is worse than its parts.

Alexander McQueen Spring 2010 Collection [modified shoes]

Model: Kate Somers

In our opinion, you shouldn't go out head to toe in one designer ever, but especially not when it's a designer like Alexander McQueen. You need to edit and interpret, otherwise you'll come across, at best, somewhat lacking in personal style and at worse (like here), looking a little ridiculous. Either the dress or the shoes, darling. Not both.

And to be perfectly honest, while we love the shoes from a design perspective, we can't say they'll ever look good on anyone off a runway or a magazine page.

We love the dress, but combining it with the shoes, the belt (what's up with that?) and the insane Bride of Frankenstein hair and makeup is way too much look for one human being to pull off. OUT.

[Photos: WireImage/Getty Images/Style.com]

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The ONE Burning Question from Last Night's Show

noreply@blogger.com (TLo) — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 15:54:00 +0000

What was Nina wearing?

Along with the several hundred comments that filled our inbox this morning, all bemoaning how boring last night's show was, we received a couple dozen asking us about Nina's striking top. Well, you can't say we don't deliver the goods:

Requiem Spring 2009 Collection
Model: Samira Bento

This may have been one of the best things she ever wore on the show. We love it and we think she looked great in it. And in pure fashion editor style, she put her own twist on it, pairing it with pants, which we thought was a great idea.

[Images: Projectrungay.blogspot.com/Style.com]

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We Smell Emmys All Around

noreply@blogger.com (TLo) — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 14:39:00 +0000

Oh, Tim.

The things you'll do for a paycheck.

There was much frantic discussion at T Lo International Headquarters both last night and this morning, the upshot of which was "Um...what the hell are we going to write about?"

In an episode where the height of drama was Carol Hannah puking in a hotel room, what the hell are we going to say about it? But for you kittens, we'll soldier on.

We found ourselves wishing they'd spent more time on the cat.

Blahblahblah...Tim critique. Who guessed the collections correctly? We did!

Boy, Carol Hannah does have a tendency to go a little far, doesn't she?

Tim, you couldn't take your jacket off?

A note to any potential season 7 finalists who are reading this: when Tim visits, make him do housework. Apparently, he's open to it. We look forward to future scenes of Tim vacuuming and folding laundry.

Hey...y'know? There might be a series in that. We're on the phone with Lifetime just as soon as we're done writing this. Instead of prissy gay men coming into your home to redecorate or re-dress you, they'll just come in and quietly do your housework. The gays won't watch it, but we bet a lot of women would.

This is to remind her of her name when she wakes up every morning.

Ahhh, Tim back in his element.

We actually kind of loved the t-shirt idea.

And is it us or is it a little disconcerting that all the women in the Shabayeva family look EXACTLY alike?

Later, Tim goes to rescue a young senator's daughter who has been kidnapped and forced to live in a hole in a basement, where she rubs the lotion on her skin.

Oooh! Another brainstorm! A TV show about prissy gay men who hunt down serial killers! As soon as we're done writing, we're calling the FOX network.

Because what television genre wouldn't be improved by the addition of prissy gay men?

It looked like Althea needed the most hand-holding out of the three of them because none of the pieces she showed Tim impressed him (or us) all that much.

Anyway, it's Fashion Week!
And what happens when you put two competitive girls in a room together?

Absolutely NOTHING! Not once did either of them say what they were thinking. BORING!

Carol Hannah's illness would have been a lot more dramatic if she came in and threw up all over her competitors' collections. It was the only time we were a little on the edge of our seats, hoping it would happen.

Again, this scene would have been improved if CH just spewed all over the table, Exorcist-style.

...Or all over Nina and Michael...

And ESPECIALLY all over Heidi's sparkly top and shit-eating grin. We were REALLY hoping to see that.

Surprise! SHOCK!

Bleh.

This concludes our commentary on the penultimate episode.

[Screencaps: Projectrungay.blogspot.com]

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T LOunge

noreply@blogger.com (TLo) — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 19:29:00 +0000

Belly up, bitches!

China Doll Club in Beijing, courtesy of Planet Fabulon

Your daddies have had a spectacularly shitty couple of days and all we want right now is to watch some fashion and some bitchery enhanced through a wine-soaked haze. Who's with us?

Once again, in lieu of a contest, we're all going to have to talk to each other. So...cold enough for ya? How about this: what are your plans for Thanksgiving? What's one weird dish your family always puts out on the table? We're spending it with Tom's sister (and about 30 other family members) and while we don't normally have anything we would classify as "weird" on the menu, Tom feels the need to point out that his cornbread dressing has been among the most popular side dishes for about 20 years now. The trick is to make a very dense cornbread and then cut it up into croutons and dry it out in the oven. After that, it's just a matter of figuring out your favorite ratios of cornbread, buttermilk, chicken stock, onions, peppers of every color, and sage. It's a foolproof dish, which is why Tom's been making it for 20 years.

Episode 13 Preview:

Uh-oh! We have an issue! And why are any of the designers surprised that there's a last-minute challenge? Have they never watched the show?

[Video: myLifetime.com - Photos: PlanetFabulon.com]

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Glee S1E9: Wheels

noreply@blogger.com (TLo) — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 15:55:00 +0000

Rolling on a river, kittens.

We're not gonna lie to you. Despite our endless cheering for this show, our viewing experience quite often is vocalized thus: "Wait, what?" "Why is she --?" "Didn't they just --?" "Who would do --?" And ends thus: "You know what? I'm just gonna go with it."

Well, last night's episode was the first time we didn't have that reaction. Oh sure, they're still pushing the implausible baby daddy storyline, but this time the characters involved are all acting like, well, like real people would act in such an implausible situation. For the first time, we actually felt a little tension there and wondered how it was going to be resolved and who was going to wind up hurt. Don't get us wrong, we'll bet you a dollar that it'll all come out by the season finale and Quinn and Puck will wind up together, but for the first time we were actually curious about how they were going to get to that point.

Even more encouraging is that the writers seem to have gotten a better handle on each of the characters and they're blooming right in front of our eyes. Sue Sylvester isn't just a crazy fascist; Artie isn't just "wheelchair guy"; Tina isn't just "stuttering girl"; Kurt isn't just -- well, okay, Kurt IS the gay one, but they added some layers to that and honestly, any scene between him and his father is a scene worth watching. They play off each other so well and their individual pain is both subtle and utterly believable. Also, blonde girl has a name! Britney! And a personality! Dumb Blonde! Okay, maybe they need to work on that one in terms of fleshing it out, but they did manage to wring a "I can't believe they just said that" politically incorrect joke out of it with the revelation that she copies her math answers off the girl with the developmental disability.

And speaking of disabilities, they've only really lightly touched on what it's really like to be an outsider, especially in high school. Mostly, they've just played it for laughs, but we're not going to deny that we teared up a little at Artie's cute rendition of "Dancing with Myself."

But then we really lost it when Sue visited her sister. Didn't see that one coming at all. And for some odd reason, it really works for the character. Somehow, her previous flashes of sheer insanity and nastiness don't actually contradict the warm, loving Sue we saw briefly last night. Credit must be paid to the awesome Jane Lynch, who nailed that scene.

Honestly, we were just happy to see a show that didn't COMPLETELY revolve around the most attractive members of the cast. It's not that we want them to ignore Quinn, Puck, Rachel and Finn (not to mention Will, Emma, and Terri), but a little bit of a spotlight on the so-called "lesser" characters was desperately needed, especially Tina and Artie. Their "date" was incredibly sweet, but this being Glee, had to end somewhat badly. We really hope they pick up on this plotline and don't leave it dangling.

Also, Kurt and Rachel in a diva-off! Who doesn't love that? The outcome was pretty much predetermined but they added a nice twist on it by having Kurt reveal he deliberately flubbed the note for his father's sake. That's an examination of being gay that you don't normally see on television: how far out of the closet can I go before I pay a price? It's a question that every struggling gay person has to answer at some point.

And finally, as the minutes wound down on the show, we were afraid we were going to be left without a big number to take us home. We should have known better:

Where did they get that ramp? How did they all master their wheelchairs so quickly? Where is the musical accompaniment coming from? You know what? We're just gonna go with it. Because we honestly think this episode was the best of the series so far.

[Screencaps: Projectrungay.blogspot.com - Videos: hulu.com/photobucket.com]

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Yay or Nay: Grannie Panties

noreply@blogger.com (TLo) — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 14:59:00 +0000

Looks like it's time to air out the goods, ladies.

Carine Roitfeld (Editor-in-Chief of Vogue Paris), Lady Gaga and Madonna have all succumbed to the allure of going out looking senile. Kudos to them for their bravery.

Note: technically NOT grannie panties.

As for the rest of the world, we can't really see this one ever catching on with the masses. In fact, we can't even see it catching on with celebrities outside the Madonna/Gaga sphere.

Spring 2010 Collections

Alexander Wang, Chanel, Christian Dior, Dolce & Gabbana

John Galliano, Marc Jacobs, Nina Ricci, Prada

Sonia Rykiel, Valentino, Versace, Zac Posen

It's one of those looks that will never make it off the runway (again, outside of Madonna or Lady Gaga or whomever else is desperate to get their picture taken). And that's fine; there are plenty of things seen on the runway that never make it to the backs of mere mortals, but we wonder why this trend is seen anywhere, runways included. It's not fabulous or flattering or interesting. It just looks like a bunch of women with too much on their minds leaving the house and forgetting something along the way. Will we be seeing male models walking down the runway with their flies undone? We look forward to that.

What say you?

Related: Carine Embraces the No-Pants Trend [The Cut]

[Photos: Getty Images/Style.com]

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T Lo Interviews Bad Mommy (again)

noreply@blogger.com (TLo) — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 17:13:00 +0000

The Queen of Bad Mommies everywhere.

As you know, Laura's got a new book coming out in 2010 and we don't know about you, but we're all kinds of excited about it. How could we not be? Our friend is an author! That makes us more fabulous vicariously. This will be the first book about motherhood we'll be reading since we used to sneak peeks at our mothers' old Erma Bombeck books as a kid. If you're planning on pre-ordering, we can hook you up via the banner ad to the right. In the mean time, since a book web site and facebook page was just launched, we figured we'd check in with her and get some sound bites.

Architect, fashion designer, now author? How did a book come about?
I was originally approached by an editor at Random House who asked me if I had ever thought of writing a book. She was apparently urged on by the gays in her office. I started writing my stories down and with the help of another writer, Amy Scheibe, got them organized into potential chapters and put a proposal together. Random House liked the proposal and made an offer.

What is the book about?
It’s a collection of stories about raising my six kids in Manhattan, my approach to motherhood, with a little bit of Project Runway thrown in for good measure. It’s a collection of essays.

Are you pleased with how the book came out?
It’s hard to judge your own work but the initial reaction to the book has been amazing. Sony Entertainment optioned the book to be adapted as a scripted television comedy, with Jamie Tarses as executive producer. Sort of Sex and the City meets Malcolm In The Middle. I went to Los Angeles during network pitch season and made the rounds to all the networks. Fox picked up the project and ordered a pilot script. Which is totally exciting. Can you imagine, the same network as Family Guy and Glee! Jane Lynch would be a perfect Laura.

An audio book publisher also picked up the book, and I get to narrate it. I love listening to David Sedaris reading his material, I only hope I can do as good a job.

If you have read my articles on The Daily Beast, the book is very similar. I think that people are responding to my more relaxed approach to motherhood. And because it is all delivered with a healthy dose of humor, it’s easy to swallow.

When can we get the book?
You two can have an autographed copy for free, otherwise it’s listed on the major book sites as a preorder, but it doesn’t ship until April. For a sneak peek you can read the introduction at my book web site. I don’t have a web site, but my book does.

You also have a Facebook page for the book.
Yes, I also have a facebook page where I will post dates for appearances and keep everyone updated about the television show for FOX.

And when are you going to start twittering like we told you to?
I hope I can find the time to do it a couple of times a day.

[Image: Courtesy of Laura Bennett]

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V S1E02: There is No Normal Anymore

noreply@blogger.com (TLo) — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 15:29:00 +0000

"You still don't understand humanity."

Should have called it "The One Where Everyone Has an iPhone."

We want Anna's magic mirror! Clearly, they're not shying away from the potential camp appeal of the character, because that scene of her virtually trying on clothes seemed tailor-made for the gayboys in the audience. There were four gays watching the show in front of our TV last night and we all squealed whenever Anna appeared. Being the fashionable sort of gays, we quickly ditched any discussion of the rest of the series and got down to discussing her wardrobe. We were all in agreement that the show needs to have a sequence (like in the Sex and the City movie!) where Anna poses in couture for a Vogue editorial. This is why we can't be television writers. If it were up to us, Mad Men would be 40 minutes of Joan, Betty, and Trudy modeling clothes.

Not that we missed anything (we did watch it 2 and half times after all). Things are briskly moving along and we were happy to see them pickup right after the pilot's closing scene because if there was one major flaw in the pilot, it's that they skipped 3 weeks in the timeline, wiping out a lot of connections that needed to get made. A story like this requires some careful setting up of the particulars and if you're jumping around too much, you're not establishing a baseline from which to move forward. Look at the first season of Lost. The entire 20+ episodes covered...what? Maybe a month in the lives of the characters? That's why later seasons of the show paid off so well, because they did the work early on of setting up each character's story and place in the storyline.

We still think the show is strong, but all shows suffer from a form of first-season-itis and this show is no exeption. You can feel the writers kind of hashing it out on screen: who are these people; why do we care about them, if at all; how would they act in this situation or that one; that sort of thing. Clearly, Elizabeth Mitchell's Erica is being set up as a major player, if not THE major player in the resistance, so last night's episode felt like an attempt to really get to know her. Unsurprisingly, she's cool under pressure in the same way Juliet was on Lost, able to think on her feet, and savvy enough to know that she can't do it alone. She and the priest make a good team. We hope they resist the idea of pairing them in a romantic way. We don't think we're seeing Mitchell at her best, though. Four seasons on Lost convinced as that she's very good in these types of stories and she's just not quite there yet. It felt like she was struggling to find some hook in the material to hang on to.

Speaking of Father Jack, we like that they didn't try and portray him as a square-jawed heroic type (especially since he's literally square-jawed). Granted, the writers apparently think that a priest's job consists of moving boxes (seriously, what's with all the boxes?), but it was a smart choice to portray him as in over his head on this situation and looking to other, more knowledgeable people (like Erica) for help.

The kid is a douchebag but he's designed to be a douchebag, so no problems there. We do like Lisa, the teen slut version of Anna. The scene where she expressed doubts that he could be a V Ambassador because, well, because he's a douchebag (some concepts are universal), was masterfully played. You knew as the viewer that she was playing him but could also appreciate how well she was playing him.

We have to admit, for whatever reason, Ryan, the V in love with an earth woman, isn't really grabbing us yet. It's not the actor because he's so gorgeous we could look at him all day, but the storyline just isn't coming together for us yet. Not that it doesn't have a ton of potential. We had a minor discussion last night of the possibility of their being a V hybrid baby in the show's future and if Ryan and his not-yet fiancee were going to be the happy parents.

Still, the idea of V sleeper agents is a great one. Whether the V traitors like Ryan and his little automotive friend will come together or not, the idea that anyone could be a V is tantalizing. Who knows what's going to happen to Erica now that her former partner is awake? If he tells his people about her, then she's got a massive target on her back. Part of us wonders how long the show is going to pretend that these people can get back to their lives. If the Vs know who Erica is, how can she reasonably be able to go to work every day? At some point, she's going to have to go permanently underground.

Anyway, like we said, the show's still in that fetal stage, but it's developing nicely and the possibilities for storylines are looking mighty big. We're still on board. Especially if there are more Anna fashion shows in the future.

[Pictures courtesy of ABC TV.]

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