From Jay McCarroll to Christian Siriano to Leanne Marshall, which designers' classic looks remain memorable?
(AP) Project Runway, that fabulous reality show zombie that will
keep making it work no matter what it takes, premieres its 13th season
tonight. Like most long-running reality shows, it is well past its
prime. Though the show's been on an upswing during the last season or
two (after the talent level fluctuated wildly during seasons 6-10), it
will never again be the zeitgeist-y hit of its moment.
But think back to when it was! It was a time when we could quote
"It's a motherf*cking walk-off" at each other like it was from a Will
Ferrell movie. When we hated Wendy Pepper's guts, even while bitterly
admitting she was right about Kara Saun's free shoes. When we tolerated
Christian Siriano's catchphrases because damnit, he was a truly great
designer in the making. Though
there were plenty of factors for the show's breakout success – the
judges and mentor Tim Gunn; the creative nature of the challenges – a
huge part was the fashion being created. There were some
crash-and-burns, of course, but there were designs that inspired, that
excited, that showed off the contestants' original perspectives. You can
think the food on Top Chef looks pretty, but you can't taste it. Watching Runway was like being on the front lines at Fashion Week.
In honor of tonight's season premiere, we decided to take a look back
at some of the best outfits in series history. Since there have been
well over a thousand looks over the past 12 seasons, we decided to group
them by challenge. Which designer took best advantage of unconventional
materials? Which looks were most inspired? Which final collection was
the best? We've got your answers below.
Best Unconventional Materials Challenge Look
Lifetime
Standard bearer: Austin Scarlett's corn husk dress from season 1 showed viewers that Project Runway would be so much more than a flash in the pan. Something special was happening here. Other standouts:
Best of the best: The Project Runway judges'
major criterion for an unconventional materials challenge tends to be
whether it could pass for real fashion. There's no question Sonjia Williams'
aquatic-inspired candy dress from season 10 looked like a costume. But
she incorporated so many different and difficult-to-manipulate materials
– jellybeans, almonds, gummy sharks, rock candy – and still presented a
stunning, whimsical, complete vision. Who cares if it looks like a
costume? Sonjia lost to fellow contestant Ven Budhu's entry, largely
because his looked like a real, if dull, dress, and that's a shame. These challenges should be about creativity, and this dress is pure imagination.
Best Inspiration Challenge Look
Bravo
Standard bearer: Andrae
Gonzalo was known more for his tears than his fashion in season 2. But
when he found inspiration in New York City gutter water, he knocked it out of the park. Other standouts:
Best of the best:Mychael Knight's Pam
Grier-inspired look from season 3 was a hot pink hot pant – in other
words, a disaster in the making. But Mychael, who cheered for the chance
to create a look inspired by "Pam motherf*cking Grier," was up to the
challenge. Mychael had the perfect mix of an understanding of the woman
he's designing for and an ability to turn the volume knob up without
going overboard. Nothing in his portfolio demonstrates that better than
this look – still the hottest design ever featured on Project Runway. (His model, the sensational Nazri Segaro, certainly didn't hurt, either.)
Best Sponsored Challenge Look
Bravo
Standard bearer: The
best entries in the sponsored challenges are both incredible in their
own right and keep the client in mind. Nick Verreos' colorful,
stimulating Barbie challenge dress in season 2 fits both those criteria
to a T. Other standouts:
Best of the best: Jay McCarroll's Chrysler
Building dress from season 1. It's not even close, honestly. The
Chrysler Building dress is iconic in the same way Austin's corn husk
dress is, perhaps even more so. Jay was always a talented designer, and
his skill took him all the way to the winner's circle, but this was the
first sign that he had something truly special in him. The look was
created for a Banana Republic challenge – and, unfortunately, the level
of detail in the dress prevented it from winning, since the winner would
be mass-produced and sold by the chain – but it's an exquisite melding
of client need and personal design philosophy. It's a standard bearer
not just for this kind of challenge, but for the series as a whole.
Best Celebrity Client Challenge Look
Lifetime
Standard bearer: Kit Pistol's look for Tiki Barber
in season 4 fit the client's need, with fabrics that would look good on
TV, and managed to actually look like sellable menswear (an issue for
most of the designers, who seemed to have never heard of menswear). Other standouts: There aren't many! These challenges
tend to trip up even expert hands (see: season 1's Nancy O'Dell Grammy
Awards dress challenge).
Amanda Valentine's concert outfit for Miranda Lambert (season 11)
Best of the best: Getting to design a dress for
a Marie Claire billboard in Times Square is a dream. Getting to design
for supermodel Coco Rocha is also a dream. So it's only fitting that Mondo Guerra's
season 8 entry was pretty goddamn dreamy. Mondo described it as Mary
Tyler Moore-inspired, and that's clear from head-to-toe in the final
look. This lost to Gretchen Jones's jumpsuit – a sad foreshadowing of that year's finale – but it was our first taste of the crazy cute aesthetic that defines Mondo's work.
Best Uniform Challenge Look
Bravo
Standard bearer: Kara Saun's postal uniform
from season 1 surpassed snail mail utility and managed to be capital-F
Fashion. Kara was a standout all season, but seeing her step out of her
comfort zone and hit a home run was all the more delightful. Other standouts:
Best of the best:Chloe Dao's
ice skater uniform from season 2 was flawless. Chloe used her signature
blue to create an ethereal effect. The dress looks effortless, both
beautiful enough to be worn off the ice and yet totally appropriate for
the sport. This didn't win, but to be fair to guest judge Sasha Cohen,
who opted for another look, this probably wouldn't have looked good with
silver anyway.
Best Specific Design Challenge Look
AP
Standard bearer: What
we mean by "specific" here is anything that wouldn't be worn every day,
be it for a wedding or for prom or for the boudoir. Working on such a
specific design prompt can often lead to compromising one's own design
aesthetic or, at worst, a fashion catastrophe. Jay McCarroll's swimsuit in season 1 is the prototype of keeping point of view steady even in the face of a challenge. Other standouts:
Best of the best: To get into the season 5 finale, the remaining designers were charged with creating a wedding dress. Leanne Marshall responded
by designing one of the most incredible dresses in all 12 seasons of
the show. Dreamlike and strikingly beautiful, it was a prelude to her
final collection – which was similarly stunning. This was a showstopper. *NOTE: Ari South transitioned after her season, where she
was referred to as Andy. She returned for the third All-Stars season and
competed as Ari.
Best Non-Model Challenge Look
Lifetime
Standard bearer: The
dreaded real person challenge could strike fear into the greatest
contestants' hearts. That's why someone like Uli Herzner, who
effortlessly combined her design aesthetic with her client's needs in season 3's mom challenge, is so impressive. Other standouts:
Melissa Fleis and Dmitry Sholokhov's gorgeous Emmy gown for Runway alum April Johnston (season 10)
Best of the best: When designers were tasked
with designing for a mother and child in season 7, most struggled on one
of the two looks. Eventual season champion Seth Aaron Henderson
barely broke a sweat and won the challenge in a walk. His jacket for
the mother was striking and innovative, while his child's outfit was
adorable. A positive attitude is key in these challenges, and Seth Aaron
had optimism in droves.
Best Intensive Challenge Look
Bravo
Standard bearer: We're
defining this as "intensive," though most of the looks considered were
from avant-garde challenges, because the original standout was from a
couture challenge. That'd be Jeffrey Sebelia's couture gown from season 3, which masterfully avoided becoming a mess despite a lot going on. Other standouts:
Jillian Lewis and Victorya Hong's gorgeous avant-garde coat (season 4)
Best of the best: This one is easy: Christian Siriano and Chris March's
avant-garde gown in season 4 was the absolute best. This is the only
look that could challenge the Chrysler Building dress for the top spot.
It's intricate, high fashion, actually avant-garde, and simply
breathtaking.
Best Print Design Challenge Look
Lifetime
Standard bearer: The
"design your own print" challenge wasn't introduced until season 7, but
it's appeared in almost every season since. Gotta make those folks at
HP happy! The first to really do something dynamic with the print
challenge was Maya Luz, who used her print to emphasize the design, not the other way round. Other standouts:
Best of the best: The later seasons of Project Runway are light on iconic looks and moments – most of the best memories from the show are from the first five seasons. But Mondo Guerra's
look in season 8, episode 10 is the rare exception. A gorgeous print
well-executed in its design, Mondo's entry would have been enough to win
no matter what. The fact that it had an inspiring story attached –
Mondo coming out as HIV-positive on the runway – was all the more
empowering.
Best Individual Look in a Final Collection
Bravo
Standard bearer: Jay McCarroll's final collection in season 1 was a knockout in so many ways, but one of his blue looks
– a deep blue sweater that looked simultaneously cozy and high-fashion –
stands out. The beauty of Jay's collection is in how it all comes
together, but he still managed to make a few pieces showstoppers. Other standouts:
Best of the best:Rami Kashou's technical skills stand out in Project Runway history – though he had a tendency to return tothe samedraping welltoo often
in season 4. But nothing showed off his status as a technical expert
than his finale collection gown. The reaction in the Bryant Park tent
was palpable and enthusiastic. This was the look people had been dying
for him to design. It was the definition of a showstopper.
Best Final Collection
Standard bearer: Colorful, surprising, exciting and
unique, Jay McCarroll's final collection was an easy choice for the win
in season 1. Much of the knitwear would still have a place in our
closets – that's exactly how timeless his point of view is. Jay's output
during the show was a bit limited by the dictates of the challenges,
but given time and money, he really made his talent sing in a beautiful,
heretofore unseen way. Other standouts:
Best of the best: A great Project Runway final collection can stand next to the greats of New York Fashion Week and look right at home. Leanne Marshall's waves-inspired
collection not only had a home under the tents in Bryant Park, it shone
brighter than any other final collection had – or has since then.
Leanne had a mastery of color, technique and material that sometimes
didn't all come together during the rigors of the show. Leanne may not
have been the most successful designer to come from Runway, but at least in this moment, her point of view never seemed more important.
Rome, July 31 - From Japanese prints to American street art, designers have plundered a wealth of art movements to conceive their gallery-worthy clothes for this summer.
The result is fashion that has been illustrated by everything from paint brushes to spray cans and photos.
Miuccia Prada commissioned giant murals by artists including Gabriel Specter, Jeanne Detallante and Pierre Mornet for her Prada Foundation, which promotes contemporary art, to re-imagine their vision of femininity and power onto dresses, coats and bags.
Bold faces were printed digitally over the lower part of a coat or created with sequins at the bosom.
Shapes were strong - tunics and A-line dresses, streamlined coats, ladylike pleated kilts in a bold palette of khaki, mustard, dark blue and pink - a powerful artsy vibe with a hint of the 1980s.
Japanese artist and ukiyo-e painter Katsushika Hokusai, who worked in the late 18th and early 19th century inspired Missoni's sea prints.
Marni's Consuelo Castiglioni also eyed Japanese art for her flower patterns ranging from blossoms to petals that turned into jagged flints in a green suit that was the grand finale of her spring show - a bold statement in pure Marni contemporary art style.
Fausto Puglisi also fell for a graphic version of wild and uncontaminated nature.
The Valley of the Temples in Sicily's Agrigento, a testament to the greatness of Magna Grecia, shaped Dolce & Gabbana's summer collection.
Sicily has long been an inspiration for the designing duo and its interaction with ancient Greece was apparent in prints reproducing old photographs of ruins of amphitheatres, shoes with ionic columns as heels, and almond blossoms paying homage to the natural beauty of the island, along with its architectural heritage.
Aquilano.Rimondi's collection plunged into the nonconformist essence of Paul Gaugin.
In a collection matching the classic beauty of duchesse satin with the contemporary edginess of neoprene, Roberto Rimondi and Tommaso Aquilano looked to Gaugin - who turned his back on success to live on a tropical island - to create clothes rich in detail, featuring spectacular tropical prints in eye-popping shades.
Clothing had supreme polish, the silhouettes were defined to enhance the body - from the stitching pleats at the waist to crop tops - like brushstrokes on canvas.
And from Gaugin's Tahiti to Japan through Africa, collections this season were influenced by hints of folklore, seen at Valentino, Emilio Pucci and Roberto Cavalli, among others.
If it can be said that most anything you need to know about modern love you can learn from an episode of Sex and the City, then it's most certainly true that for everything you need to know about fashion, you should turn to Carrie Bradshaw. Although industry legends like Coco Chanel, Kate Moss, and Diane von Furstenberghave had some good things to say on the subject,
it doesn't get more real than what comes out of the fictional mouth of
the Manolo Blahnik-loving New Yorker. In her honor, we've plucked our
all-time favorite quotes from the ever-stylish HBO series. It's clear
that even though the much-loved show has been off the air for more than a
decade, the sage wisdom of its narrator never goes out of style.
