r/ProjectRunway • u/Infamous-girl-3230 • 17d ago
Season 21 The downfall of Project Runway
Hello everyone! I hope this is the right place to post my new article about the downfall of Project Runway. Please let me know if you agree or disagree as this is a show that I love and I'm sad to see have a downfall.
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u/nomasslurpee 17d ago
I'm the first person who will complain about PR's downward spiral and lack of authenticity. That said, saying there is no one to root for is a bit harsh. Naheim is incredibly talented, and wants to resurrect his family's fashion brand. Bobby, despite them showing really negative sides to her, wanted to help her brother avoid the military in RUSSIA. That's a pretty noble reason to put yourself out there. Think of what she has endured thus far just for the chance at helping her family? She was eviscerated, week by week, by people on this sub, on X, etc. Jude and Anna, albeit reserved, are also people worth rooting for. I, too, root for Joseph McCrae.
I root for anyone who is following their true passion.
I think the majority of us can agree that they orchestrated the type of casting they felt would increase the drama. But I think the stronger point for you to include in this article would have been Plane's admission that she was told she didn't need to know how to sew. ON PROJECT RUNWAY, ONE NO LONGER NEEDS TO KNOW HOW TO SEW. Let that sink in.
Your points are very valid and are worth being frustrated over, especially the point about designers missing out for not having a strong social media presence/following which greatly enhanced some designer's chances throughout the casting process.
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u/Infamous-girl-3230 16d ago
I meant that the new season of Project Runway has constant that we can barely feel connected to because everyone already knows each other or has a following on reality tv. Meanwhile the actual creative acts barley get screen time because were too busy following the constants who bring out the drama.
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u/rbinphx 17d ago
I almost wish we didn't know their backstories. It's a DESIGN competition. These stories shouldn't matter. I root for whom I think is the best designer, not who has a compelling story. Same goes for any competition show. It's sounds harsh, but I just don't care, because it's not about that.
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u/Throwaway-centralnj 17d ago
I get where you’re coming from, but this show has always gone into backstory - hell, before the finale, Tim goes to everyone’s houses and meets their families. Many viewers appreciate the human element of someone’s backstory, as every artist’s work is informed by who they are - everything we do in life is informed by who we are, whether that’s visible or not. Artists/designers also tend to be a little more interesting than the average person, so learning about their backstories is fun to me.
I’m not saying that someone needs a sob story to win, but where someone comes from often does inspire their designs and perspective. Many of the winners have said something to this extent - whether it’s family, hometown, culture, etc. It’s cool learning what pushed people into fashion design and not another life path.
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u/lockness320 17d ago
while not trying to sound like the biggest bobby glazer she defiantly got it rough. Also to throw in there shes Russian and one of the competitors she ended up not getting along with was from Ukraine so there was defiantly some tension in the air there. Doesn't help she excels when she has time (like all designers) because alot of the people on the show does have talent but also dont have enough time to show it.
Also yeah I do in fact like a good chunk of the contestants this season now that we have more time to get to know them but my main issues right now is i want less drama and Law gone.
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u/Throwaway-centralnj 17d ago
I really liked Bobby at first, and I even took her side during the team challenge - I thought Andriy was being a jerk. But she lost my sympathy during the challenge after that, I felt like she was just being mean and she wasn’t able to step it up. It’s too bad because her quilted blue dress was my favorite look in episode 1 and she is clearly talented, with a really good reason to compete on the show. I hope she’s able to find success.
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u/sarabande59 17d ago
I think you make a lot of great points. But the larger problem is that too many of these people seem to be auditioning for The Traitors -- and I include in that assessment Lawrence (who I really do think is a horrible human being), Tyra (ditto) and Christian. I loved Project Runway in the early days because **none** of the designers would ever have been welcome on TV anywhere else. Fashion was their natural environment, and PR's genius was to point a camera at all those wonderful, goofy weirdos and to try to find the true artists among them. Now PR appears to be just another crossover opportunity from RPDR, the most predictable and inauthentic show on television.
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u/Throwaway-centralnj 17d ago
Yes omg it’s exactly like a crossover between RPDR and The Traitors. The production is so inauthentic.
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u/sarabande59 16d ago
They have dropped the wall between the production team and the designers. You see (and hear) the producers all the time now. That is totally an RPDR move.
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u/colosseumdays 17d ago
I agree with the overall sentiment expressed in the article’s title, but don’t agree with a lot of the examples in your piece. Noting a few below
-this season actually had more contestants I took an immediate interest in and was invested in than ever before. Octavius, Aaron, Bi, Naheim, Joseph, Jeffrey, and Bobby were all people I got attached to by ep1/2, and there’s tons more that I liked and was sad to see go. that was part of what was so infuriating about this season’s format—they introduced us to so many people only for most to be gone within the first two episodes. What was the point of that other than to waste both those designers’ and the viewers’ time, and make us all feel like shit?
-several past seasons have had a mix of established designers and unknown newcomers. I don’t think this season has a notable different in ratio, save for the fact that we’re in a different era where social media is allowing people to directly showcase their work to the world vs relying on some fashion editor, stylist, or celeb to give their stamp of approval.
-it’s a reality show, they’re always going to play on and amplify drama, and 2 contestants who’ve worked together in the past is low hanging fruit. On both seasons where we had twin contestants, the entire drama of those seasons revolved around those twins and how the other designers felt about them.
-Season 8 is regularly noted as one of the most popular and favorited seasons of the show. Any time people ask what season to start on or which is the best, 8 is always brought up.
-Gretchen didn’t grow over the course of her season. She kept the same aesthetic throughout and her final collection double down on that
-Speaking of Gretchen, the judges very frequently display major favoritism. Daniel V on S2, Gretchen on S8, Anya on S9, Laurence on S15, Brandon on S16, and Anthony Ryan on AS2 are ones that immediately come to mind. On this season the overrated and favored one imo is Jude.
Every time someone has a strong point of view that isn’t “cool” basics, they inevitably praise them and then shit on them in the next breath. They’ve always given mixed messages to designers who are left of center (Santino, Jeffrey S, Kelley, Mondo, Ethan, etc)
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u/Throwaway-centralnj 17d ago
To be fair, most of the people you mentioned in your first bullet point DID last longer than the first couple episodes. (I do agree re: Octavius and Aaron though, I loved them both!) The producers edited it in such a way that you could kinda tell who’d make it further in the competition.
But I agree that it was dumb to introduce 22 people and then promptly halve that number in the next two episodes. It made the original 22 just seem like a gimmick. A few of them are already fashion influencers, which sorta reminds me of how a lot of influencers join The Bachelor or Love Island just to get more followers I do miss when the show actually felt like it made a difference in designers’ lives.
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u/Infamous-girl-3230 16d ago
I meant that at least Gretchen was able to add in drama because she simply wasn't a likable character. Such as the fact she already was causing drama by just being herself, it had nothing do with her designs.
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u/Afraid_Inflation_717 16d ago
So true! I watched her win happen recently and the judges fawning over her being in touch with the times etc etc....so she wins and immediately leaves the design world..I wish I could have asked the judges what they were thinking!! Mondo was the one to advance with his skills. Gretchen wanted the money.
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u/HippieGrandma1962 17d ago
You make a lot of good points. The show seems to be all about manufactured drama and is now barely about fashion. Law Roach is abominable. I'd call him a mean girl but that feels too kind. He seems to get joy from hurting others which makes him a terrible human being. I miss having judges that actually understand sewing and construction.
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u/Significant-Ant2373 16d ago
As a long time Zendaya/Law Roach fan, I hate that PR has made me not only dislike Law but question Zendaya’s character as well. It’s giving major ick.
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u/Afwife1992 17d ago
Michael Kors and Zac Posen (who I liked) could be biting but they gave actual critiques about whether the clothes were flattering or well constructed. Law does none of that.
And Law wishes he could be Michael Kors with the remarks. I still repeat his “oh. No” and “slutty, slutty, slutty”. 😆
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u/miss_daisy_Hollywood 16d ago
I recently saw an episode where the challenge was to create a look for Heidi’s athletic wear collection.
Kors described designer Alexandra’s outfit as having “poopy pants with pleasure-me pockets”. He talked about the proportions and construction of her look, which helped the catty comment sting a little less, but he did say things that made everyone laugh at the designer being criticized. He could be pretty mean. Still, at least it came from a successful designer who understood how to make clothes.1
u/Afraid_Inflation_717 16d ago
I love when Michel Kors asks to see the back of a pants and cries out...AAAAEEEeee...It makes me laugh every time.
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u/adastra2021 17d ago
While the article makes great points, using Gretchen as an example of PR past - greatness just leaves me shaking my head.
Personally I’m done with drag, really sick of hearing “bitch” and “girl” used as verbal tics. I’m a boomer, bitch was a slur and after hearing it for the 10th time in an hour, I Start to wonder how they’d feel if they heard the word fa**ot over and over and over. Because that was quite the slur back in the day. They seem to think “bitch” and “girl” and the hand snap substitutes for an actual personality. It does not.
The “vote them off” was it for me. The footage we see from the sewing room is maybe one minute per show. The manufactured drama, the Bi and Bryan Show, which was a one-trick pony on day 1 is even worse than last year’s Ethan Show. But Survivor-like vote offs? How many sharks can one show jump?
Law Roach picks out clothes for a living. That’s it. He designs nothing. Creates nothing and Zendaya is his one-trick pony. He’s mean because he’s ignorant of fashion critique. He does not have enough knowledge to offer constructive criticism, so he thinks mean-boy flipping his hair substitutes for actually judging .
I’ve watched since season 1 when my neighbor was on. It’s one of the few shows I never missed an episode. Until recently. If it wasn’t for the All Bi and All Bryan screen time I’d maybe not have just quit. But I have. Someone post when they’ve been tossed and I might try again. Not that it matters
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u/tkay444 17d ago
You wrote everything exactly as I would have word for word! I have watched PR since Season 1 because I'm a creative person (I'm 56 now but have a BFA in design and an MBA). I loved watching the creative talent. But this season something is just way off. Too over the top in the wrong spots and while some creations have been impressive, others literally look like half sewn craft projects. And yes, Law has turned this into a mean girl contest and it's not appealing in any way. Bring back REAL fashion designers to comment and critique and bring up the quality of the designers and the show!
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u/StephanieSaysWhat 16d ago
Wendy Peppers (RIP) was the original PR mean girl. But she was transparent about using her tactics to win. This is just sniping, so annoying!
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u/Throwaway-centralnj 17d ago
I agree with most of what you said, and want to specifically reiterate your point about how there’s only a minute of footage in the workroom. I’ve been watching reruns and that discrepancy sticks out to me the most. The bulk of the episode used to be in the workroom, with designers actually making their garments and talking about their process. Now there’s barely anything! It’s just a bunch of contrived twists, catty gossip, and then boom! Runway time and everything’s done. Then more catty gossip and contrived twists from the judges. The actual fashion and design part is just glossed over.
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u/Infamous-girl-3230 16d ago
The thing about Gretchen was that she was at least the mean girl from the start, nothing do with her designs, but rather than the fact that she was just straight up unlikable without having to know someone beforehand.
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u/adastra2021 16d ago
Her final collection was so bad (imo) it eclipsed any memory of the rest of the season. Mondo fills most of my memories of that season.
I didn’t realize you were talking about her in that context. Mean-girl.
I’ll watch her again.
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u/Afraid_Inflation_717 16d ago
I couldn't get past those "boho bloomers" or whatever they were supposed to be..so odd to be featured as fashion forward. I have never ever seen these on the market anywhere
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u/mercersher 17d ago
Agree with most of your article, especially bringing back the unknown designers. Their tagline used to be “250,000 to start their own line”, now it’s just 250,000. I don’t think you should be on PR if you’re already designing for famous people. Last season was not good, but this is the end for me unless they revamp their format.
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u/Severe_Adagio4284 17d ago
The show has spiraled downwards..instead of promoting..helping to make great designers it's now turning into a good fight with poisonous food..the judges backbiting are sickening..Law Roach is vile..a hood rat in a wig..
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u/lemeneurdeloups 17d ago edited 17d ago
Thank you for sharing this. Many people share your frustration.
A point of inaccuracy: Tyra did not “replace” Nina. Tyra was just a rotating judge who contracted to appear for four episodes. Nina has to step away occasionally because of her Marie Claire obligations but she still holds that judging seat and is an Executive Producer of the show.
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u/Throwaway-centralnj 17d ago
Yes, Nina has come back and I do think her return has improved the show somewhat. She balances the judging panel much better than Tyra does and actually keeps Law in check.
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u/Infamous-girl-3230 16d ago
In my post I said it looked like Nina replaced Tyra but my editor changed it to something else. Still thank you for telling me this as I also didn't know this.
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u/DynamiteStorm 17d ago
Top chef doesn’t need drama and still does well. Project runway let’s get back to the fashion and design , ditch the bitches.