We will begin with Bravo's newbie, The Fashion Show and other shows will soon pick-up, such as The Bachelorette with Jillian Harris and my favoritest So You Think You Can Dance! And because I can't leave all of my others behind, I will mid-season it with the current shows I am watching, like American Idol, The Biggest Loser, America's Next Top Model, and Dancing with the Stars.
But, as promised, first up is Bravo's newest show, The Fashion Show!
I admit that I was very wary of this new Faux Project Runway. True they were able to get renowned designer Isaac Mizrahi to be a host/mentor to the budding designers which added some legitmacy to the show. But Kelly Rowland? How does she qualify to be a host/mentor? I guess being a former Destiny's Child member and not being caught wearing Beyonce's dreadful House of Dereon automatically makes your a couture diva.
So, why would would-be designers decide to go out for this show instead of Project Runway? Well, I bet the $125, 000 grand prize (furnished by TRESemme...hmm, sound familiar?) isn't too bad. And some of their designs will be sold online at bravotv.com. And I guess the ego-inducing idea that you are the first (and maybe last?) winner of a new tv show can't hurt.
The contestants? Again, a bit of PR deja-vu. There's Kristin: the cute, spunky, eco-friendly designer who's just a little too reminiscent of past PR-alums Kit and Allison with a little bit of Welsh sensation Duffy thrown in; Merlin: who reminds me of cry-baby Ricky and an even more annoying Daniel Franco in a red pimp suit; and Johnny: who might not remind of a past PR designer but I just find him gross! And with other 'characters' like Andrew 'The Pantiechrist' Christian (could you guess he's an underwear designer?) and Reco the stripper outfitter from the hood, this show seems poised to be a near twin to the original designing show we all love.
The show began with a challenge of designing the classic LBD out of a simple black t-shirt. No surprise that Reco designed a stripper inspired outfit and the 'experimental' James-Paul used safety pins and a pleated garment bag (hello Hot Topic!) for their outfits. The best designs, as chosen by Laura Brown from Harper's Bazaar, were: Keith, Merlin, and Johnny (gross!). Their success in winning the challenge led to most designer's nightmares: working in a team and being the team leader - gasp!
After bitching about the hard task and choosing teams by design (still leaving the last two griping about feeling like a school child being picked last for a sports team), the elimination challenge was revealed: The Must Have. Each team would need to design the next must-have item and showcase it in 5 different wearable ways. Team Johnny went faux couture with grey satin Harem (aka Hammer) pants, Team Keith chose a tube skirt/dress that could be worn inside-out, and Team Merlin settled on a navy Bolero.
As drama ensued with between "just-out-of-Design-school know-it-all" Daniella and Merlin, things appeared not so smooth between Kristin and the rest of Team Keith. Both Kelly and Isaac made the rounds and "mentored" the designers. An interesting choice in the format of the show allowed for us to see the "real" thoughts of Kelly and Isaac after visiting with the designers. Neither had high hopes for the designers and they were right to think so.
The format of the final runway show adds for some new excitment as a live audience of industry insiders are invited while the designers watch from backstage on a tv. The pressure is now on in a big way and perhaps more than ever was for ProRun contestants. However, since the final designers in The Fashion Show don't get to show at New York Fashion Week, I think ProRun still wins out here.
Team Johnny went first and the muted greys and blues of the designers were less than inspiring. The best of that group was shockingly Reco the stripper designer who pulled off a sleek tank with a structured and fun grey cropped jacket that actually made the Harem pants look fashionable. All others were pretty forgettable. Team Keith was a trainwreck with too-tight skirts that made the barely there models look as if they had just been shrinkwrapped in tan wool. The stand-out here was again surprising - Andrew the Pantiechrist! Last was Team Merlin with their uniform-like Boleros. Merlin and James-Paul were the clear stand-outs as their designs showed relevance and ready-to-wear looks that any woman would want to wear.
Judging was made up of Kelly and Isaac, industry staple Fern Mallis, and designer Elie Tahari. They revealed that the audience felt that Team Johnny was safe, leaving the other two teams waiting for their fate. Team Merlin came out as the winners, and rather than relishing in her success, Daniella decided to bitch about working with Merlin and came off as a stuck-up design-school snob. Not surprisingly, James-Paul and Merlin were the favorites with the ultimate win going to cute, exotic James-Paul.
In the bottom two from the failing Team Keith were Kristin and Jonny D. Kristin was blasted for efforts of playing with proportions with some critics asking "What was she thinking?!" whereas dear Jonny's design was called slutty and it was commented that he took the best part of a woman's body (her breasts, naturally) and made them look terrible. Ultimately, Kristin's creativity and daring won over the judges and Jonny D was sent packing.
So how would the contestants be Auf'd? Isaac wittingly tells them "We're just not buying it". And Kristin's status the newly saved designer? Well, she's "hanging by a thread". Haha, oh puns. How clever.
Ultimately, if you're looking for just one designer show to follow this season, wait it out another month or so and catch Project Runway on Lifetime (tear!). But, if you're like me and you need a designer fix now, The Fashion Show will have to do.
Next up on "Get Real", the semi-finals of Dancing with the Stars!
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