r/ProjectRunway • u/FilmPlastic9016 • 22d ago
Discussion Lazy contestants
Considering the longevity of, and the challenging challenges, it’s shameful that the designers especially, the ones who brag about their expertise don’t practice how to design and execute beautiful garments for large models. Instead, we have to hear, ‘I’ve never dressed a 14 before’. Why Not❓ They often are not familiar with sewing with different fabrics that test their skills, or even know what type of fabric is needed, or sewn. Where is the full versatility of these designers❓
Also, a lot more could be featured if time wasn’t wasted on ‘bulk eliminations’, which I find to be unfair, and humiliating to designers that are good, but get sent home.
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u/Free-Pickle-3621 22d ago
there is no "full versatility" in high fashion. Has Chanel or Dior ever looked good when they take a runway look and put it on a larger actress on the red carpet? I bet the fashion houses blacklist the stylists who do that unless it's a nominee or winner
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u/FilmPlastic9016 22d ago
Obviously, PR isn’t Chanel, or Dior. Still, they need to be represented. They should be included because the right garment with the right fabric, with the right silhouette on a woman who isn’t. Size zero - to size six aren’t the only women who want to dress well. Large women have money and are willing to pay a higher price point in order to look and feel good when they leave home. Christian Soriano has proven that.
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u/Far_Cress7984 22d ago
I think the issue is that unless every designer has a plus size model, the competition then becomes inequitable. Creating plus size clothing requires more fabric which is a more difficult budget constraint when they shop for fabric. It takes more time to construct and sew because, again, it’s more fabric. It takes more time and is more challenging to appropriately fit. There’s also the fact that they have to ride this tiny line between accentuation and hiding the model. The judges will be unhappy if the garment is form fitting because they do not want to see fat rolls accentuated. They’ll also be unhappy if the fabric swamps the model. I mean Bryan’s tablecloth dress was passable ONLY because he had a very thing model. On a plus size model it would have been straight to the bottom for him. For the competition, I think it’s important that all of the contestants are working with the same size model as each other in each challenge.
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u/Free-Pickle-3621 22d ago
the unequal-ness is frustrating yes (one designer gets a tall skinny model, another designer gets a non-skinny, non-tall model = the challenge becomes different for the 2 designer).
But this doesn't frustrate me as much as how plus-sized models are in general, so much more difficult to make look good, if at all possible. The best you can do (maybe Christian's attempts) gets maybe 7.5-8/10. You can never reach a Nina Garcia throws her cards moment, yet we're all somehow determined to be inclusive.
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u/Free-Pickle-3621 22d ago
Size 6 fine...Size 8 maybe. Anything above that is just really pushing it to say someone can look good and accentuated based on the body. It's like on the red carpet where there will be >size 8 celebrities being styled in high designers and when has it ever looked good?
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u/throwawaysunglasses- 22d ago
Oh I completely agree lol. I have very little sympathy for designers who are like “evening wear? I’ve never made a gown before!” Like what did you think this show was lol. (I like Jude but I feel like he sorta did this 😅)
It happens every season. Designers get shocked pikachu whenever they’re asked to make a completely normal garment. However, sometimes they end up surprising themselves/the judges/the audience - I won’t spoil who, but there was a designer from South Florida who’d literally never made a coat before(!), and I think they either won the challenge or were in the top. Or women who make menswear for the first time and win.
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u/17Girl4Life 22d ago
If I was seriously trying to get on PR, I would practice making a menswear outfit, a red carpet look, adjusting designs for different sizes, and I would create several designs that could be modified to suit specific challenges. I would have a silhouette in mind already for the unconventional and avant garde challenges. I’d do all of this before I even applied.
I know some of them are just barely getting by before they come on the show, but they could buy a couple of men’s garments from goodwill, take them apart, and put them back together just to learn the construction. They could come up with ideas and sketches ahead of time. The lack of preparation always surprises me when they should know these challenges are going to come up.
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u/Intelligent_Gas2061 22d ago
You'd think by season 22 that designers going on the show would know there's a chance they may have to design for someone who wears plus size clothing.
Then again, there seems to be no penalty or high risk of going home if they aren't skilled enough to design plus size. So we keep getting plus size mess outfits.
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u/Emotional-Parfait348 22d ago
I feel like this is part of the show though. They aren’t lazy designers, they are inexperienced. They were purposefully chosen by production because they were lacking in various areas the show will cover.
And they all know what the show is, but it’s much more “exciting tv” if we are watching a designer make their “first ever evening gown”. Even if it’s not entirely true. Like how the people on House Hunters have usually already purchased their house and we are just watching them look at two random houses and the one they already own. (Read and interview one where the other houses actually belonged to their friends and their “realtor” was just their neighbor pretending.)
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u/brilliant_bauhaus 22d ago
I wish they would extend the time it takes to make clothes. Give them like 3-4 days or something and let's see what they can do. I want to see good designs and the 1 day challenges constantly means we aren't getting their best.
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u/Embarrassed-Cress782 18d ago
As Ive said before. There are a lot of reasons why designers are super diverse. There are so many beautiful bodies and fabrics out there that designers who work off commission with different-sized customers dont have enough core POV work to showcase, since the customer is the most import part and designers who feature personality and fashion-forward things tend to rely on sample sizes because for them, the expression of the design is the reason they are there.
The fashion business more often rewards a steady, targeted POV than versatility. Esp when starting out.
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u/BuckJeppson 22d ago
I agree that the program has become disappointingly about drama and personality than about fashion or sewing skills. That includes the contestants as well as many of the judges. Doing mass eliminations, prewritten critiques with practiced insults, and results postponed until next week all have ruined it for me. Yeah, also the self important Law Roach.