Blogging Project Catwalk: It's Raining Men, Halleluiah!

I got my hands on another installment of Project Catwalk, the UK version of Project Runway.

This is the third episode and there are alot of similarities with the last week's episode of Project Runway.

In US Project Runway, the designers had to use an American apparel staple, the Levi's jean and jean jacket and give it a new spin. They had to use branding elements of these garments, and produce something suitable for semi-mass production, since Risky's New Jersey mall/Valley Girl hoochie dress sold out in a matter of minutes. There is no accounting for taste, and it's a proof of the power of marketing. And the thing only ran up to a size 10. So, that is also evidence of an eating disorders epidemic . I am sure they just made a few 100's of each size though. And also that skinniness and money wasting are related because they charged 168 bucks for a dress that you can get at any thrift store. Thus my hypothesis that there might be a correlation between extreme thinness and lack of common sense. Poor girls, they are not getting enough glucose and proteins for their brains to function properly. That does not apply to my naturally petite and modelesque friends though. They are brill.

In the UK version, they had to give a new spin to the classic Mackintosh coat.The challenge was WAY fairer in the UK version. They were told from the onset that it was going to be used for mass market. They were told that it had to fit within the vision of the brand. Not some bullshit vague direction about "iconic" garments.

I love trench coats but any jacket or coat is a BITCH to make because fit is crucial, they require quite advanced pattern making and sewing skills and proper tailoring is key.

And those my friends, are my Achilles heels. I have been sewing for about a year and I am on my 4th garment. My 3rd was a tailored couture jacket. That is like going from a 3rd grade science project to being asked to produce a new treatment for Alzheimer's disease, fully tested and boxed and ready to sell.

Or like going from playing "Chopsticks" on the piano to playing Chopin or Rachmaninoff. With nothing in the middle.

But NOTHING scares me. I am a kamikaze mofo. I have always been that way.

I can design until the cows come home, but my hands and technical understanding have to catch up to my taste level and vision and theoretical knowledge. Frustrating and not easy considering I have a learning disability called dyscalculia that makes the principles of pattern-making hard to understand and master. But I am getting there. My sewing skills? Those are just going to take patience and practice to improve. I am getting better all the time.

But the thing is that the lady who got eliminated, a completely wacky and over-confident and non-introspective chick named Debbie Debonaire, basically the Wendy Pepper of that incarnation of the show, has my EXACT same problem.

She is a good designer and she has a fun aesthetic and all of those things. But she cannot pattern make to save her life and she has "construction issues". Poor Ben De Lissi was doing the same thing my Mardell ( my friend and design partner) and my teacher Roxie have to do for me. Fix my messes. And explain basic things to me. Really, fill in huge gaps but what can I do? I am learning as fast as I can. They are both really strong construction people. But when it comes to design and vision I be the mamma. I can actually come up with stuff that has not been seen before. And that is innately beautiful and cool and on the pulse of what is hot.

That is why I have not tried out for the show. Because I know that if I got on the show on my design strength, I would be auffed within two weeks because of my deficits as a seamstress/tailor. I am basically a novice stitcher. If they allowed teams or duos in, we would SO be there.

But the highlight of the show, ladies and gentlemen who like packages, is at the end :-)
Fashion has its rewards...

But without further due, here is the show...: