Project Runway Junior: Too Much Or Not Enough?

Hello everyone! I hope you all are having a wonderful holiday! I am sorry honored that TT asked me to keep recapping in the Project Runway universe with Project Runway Junior. I can’t believe I have never watched this show before. I’m already more impressed with some of these kids than the designers on Project Runway. Shall we get started?

We do the typical Project Runway meet and greet in New York City. They are all super excited and one girl exclaims that she has found “her people.” As someone who left a large suburban high school and went to college for art, writing and theater, I completely understand this. We have A’kai who is thirteen and talks A LOT. Ruby is 14 and notes that she is different than most of the kids in her hometown because she is very into the arts. Rene is 17 and was “The All-American Boy” who finally embraced his inner artistic self. Izzy, 16,  is the girl who is super duper psyched and enthusiastic about EVERYTHING. She designs for the girl who she wants to be; a girl who understands culture and is a world traveler. I would have made relentless fun of her as a teenager, (not to her face) but as an adult I find her excitement to be there very sweet.

Hawwaa is 17 and wants the world to know that fashion means you can be who you want to be, no matter what anyone says. I like her outfit. Chris is 17, from Long Island and loves making “wearable art” by putting together things that don’t seem like they should go together. Chelsea is 15, into anime and a total spaz. She says her Asian parents want her to be a doctor or a lawyer, but she loves fashion too much. She is going to be the girl who runs out of time. Molly is 17 and has a bohemian aesthetic “with an edge”. She has participated in various fashion weeks before. Allie is 14 and a Tim Gunn fangirl (me too Allie). Cartier is 16 and seems nice, but didn’t get much screentime. I guess she’s safe this week! Tieler is 16 and seems wise beyond his years.

Hannah Jeter and Tim walk down to meet the young designers who promptly flip the hell out. May I just say, I feel a little better living in a world where I know young people think of Tim as their idol. Hannah tells them their first challenge is to show their point of view as a designer. They have thirty minutes to sketch in the park and then they have 45 minutes at Mood with a budget of $200. Hawwaa is thrilled as she has never had that much money to spend on fabric.

They sit down to sketch and each designer is inspired by different aspects of the city. Chris is inspired by the skyline. Izzy is inspired by all the athletic people running around. Ruby is inspired by a flower in the pond. At Mood A’Kai trying to explain what he’s looking for to the salesperson is everything. He says he knows he talks a lot. He really does. Chelsea is making a coat dress that’s not a coat dress……but it is. Um, ok? She stops to pet Swatch and asks if he wants to help her. I’m seriously worried about her time management skills. Molly is in the neoprene section and worried that there are too many other designers using that fabric.

The Workroom

When the designers walk into the workroom, they run around excited like the kids they are. Cartier says that this is where the magic happens. Not always sweetie. They settle in and get down to work. No one is panicking…..yet. Tim walks in and they freak out again. He tells them to take advantage of the Brother sewing room and the Just Fab accessories wall.

Molly is designing and off the shoulder dress going for the boho vibe. Rene and Chris realize they are soul sisters because they both like to shock. Chris has never made pants from a pattern he created himself, but why not do it now? Everyone is like, dude, that is a very bad idea. He seems pretty confident for someone who doesn’t know what he’s doing. Cartier, Tieler and Molly have already picked each other out as each other’s main competition as they seem to be the ones who are the most “serious”. Hawwaa is making a pencil-retro dress with cut-outs. She loves retro fashion because it is very classy and modest at the same time. I’m not sure she is going to appreciate Rene’s look as he describes his look and aesthetic as “bondage couture”. I had to rewind that. Ruby is making a long skirt and a very simple top.

Tim’s Critique

Tim asks Chris, Who are you as a designer? Chris says he is all about color, texture and prints. Tim says he’s sees that, but is understandably concerned when Chris explains he has never made pants before. Tim asks him if making pants is a good idea then for the first challenge? FORESHADOWING

A’kai was inspired by the water lilies. He is making a two piece white outfit. He is silent for a moment which terrifies the verbose A’kai. Tim tells him to add more volume to the top with the appliques he’s making.

Izzy is making an athleisure gown. Tim tells her not to over-design because she has enough going on. What the heck is she wearing on her head?

Tim walks over and Rene says “Hi Dad!” which is cute. I think most of us wish we had Tim Gunn as a dad sometimes. He explains his bondage couture theme. Tim is speechless. Rene is worried, is it ok? Not ok? Tim assures him that he likes things that are “on the edge” and that Rene is in good shape.

Molly has realized that the stiffness of the neoprene is not working for the “flowy” factor she wants to achieve. Tim tells her she has to make it work.

Chris says Ruby has a made a Mormon skirt with a not matching tank top. That pretty much describes the look. Tim advises her to add another layer to the bottom of her skirt.

Chelsea, Oh Erin, I mean Chelsea…..Chelsea asks if she can give Tim a hug. He says of course and I live vicariously through her for a moment. Then she goes into her stealth, warrior ninja description of her garment and Tim says, yeah, great story, but what are you doing with the back? She says she always does everything last minute and that’s when she gets her best ideas. Tim rightly tells her that this is extremely worrying. He tells her if the focus is only on the side panels she’s designed it’s not enough. Chelsea looks around and has an Oh Crap! Moment as she realizes that she is way behind. Waaaaaayyyyyyyy behind. Girl, have you not watched the show?

Tim tells the designers he is sending in their models shortly and they will have the rest of today and one hour tomorrow before the runway. Chelsea is now in full blown panic mode and even Chris, the guy who doesn’t know how to make pants, is feeling sorry for her. When the models come in Chris says pretty people make him nervous because he looks like a “potato”. I hope Chris doesn’t get eliminated because he’s got some funny lines. And Chris? It’s always better to be the funny one. Beauty fades, humor is forever. Chelsea says she feels like this is the Hunger Games and she is about to be killed.

The Runway

Hannah Jeter comes out in a flowy dress that I want. The judges are Christian Siriano, Kelly Osbourne and Aya Kanai who is the fashion director for Cosmopolitan and Seventeen magazines. I have met Christian in person and he is just as cute as he seems. He also designs for a lot of different body types and price points for which I have great respect. Tim Gunn is there with his Tim Gunn save. The awesome Leslie is on vacation with her family but very nicely emailed me her thoughts on the runway show, so let’s do this.

Chelsea: Leslie: Ninja warrior business women. Looks great for the amount of stress.  I see  CJ Bomb all over it. Love the sleeves and pop of neon. Me: Yup, love this. Even though the construction sucks, the sleeves are so cool.

Hawwaa: Leslie: Minnie mouse in a new outfit. Reminds me a bit of ERIN – too soon. Me: What happened to the pencil dress? This makes me think of a tennis dress.

Lucas: Wait, who the hell is Lucas? I have to go back and find him. Was he even in the episode? Oh, there he is, Lucas aged 14. Leslie: navy blue ball gown dress. Really pretty but also very simple. Is this his whole thing – evening gowns?  Would be nice to see that a bit more than last season. Me: Ya think? Pretty but boring.

Tieler: Leslie: hmm – he did not make it work.  thought it looked great gatsby-ish but then when it got closer – nope. Me: The little flounce at the bottom is nice, but this doesn’t do much for me.

Izzy: Leslie: Is that a  fascinator she is wearing??? Athletic evening gown. Sporty from the Spice Girls would go nuts – I like the dress. Me: This dress made me smile as it went down the runway. It worked.

Chris: Leslie: Came out with another pair of pants that look like a sweater or sweatshirt material. Not such a good look. Sorry Chris. You’re my auffed pick of the night. Me: TOO MUCH EVERYTHING. HEAD HURTS.

Cartier: Leslie: She has that Kate Spade vibe going and the dress was no surprise. Good tailoring…should be a good run for Cartier. Me: Pretty dress, pretty, neckline and shoulders. Classic shape.

A’kai: Annoying; what was that white get up? The fit was too tight. All white on runway should be taught at an early age that it shows EVERYthing. Me: I actually don’t mind this. Edited better is could have been very cool. Oh, and HE’S 13.

Allie: Leslie: Boho dress, cute Me: I’m getting a Gunne Sax vibe here.

Ruby: Leslie: ruffle problem and it showed. I loved the top…just not sure what she was thinking of for the skirt. Me: There isn’t much design in this. Skirt’s too long.

Molly: Leslie: Potato sack with a print that almost looks toile but on neoprene? Not a great start. Me: Because the fabric is too heavy what should be ethereal is coming off heavy. I also wrote the words potato sack.

Rene: Leslie: Red rocker look. Mondrian anyone? Me: Jean Paul Gaultier and Madonna’s love child circa 1991.

Top picks: Leslie: Chelsea, Rene and Izzy with Chelsea for the win. Me: Chelsea Izzy and A’Kai with Izzy for the win. Bottom picks: Chris, A’Kai and Molly with Chris to go. Me: Ruby, Chris and Molly with Ruby to go.

The Judges

Chelsea: Hannah loves the neon in the sleeve. Kelly loves it even though she has a problem with center seams as they don’t do much for a woman’s figure, Chelsea interrupts and starts  pointing out construction flaws IN HER OWN WORK. I’m screaming at her to shut up and then all of a sudden my new hero Aya Kanai tells her that too often women apologize before there is anything to apologize for. Don’t ever apologize for your work. Own it. Life lesson imparted, she goes on to say that she loves the design. Christian is a bit unnerved by the construction work, but points out that he’s never seen this type of sleeve before and if her construction skills begin to catch up to her design skills she will be a force to reckon with.

Izzy: Izzy is wearing a spout on her head, It is all the rage in Japan. Ok, moving on… Aya loves the sweetness and femininity mixed with the sportiness. Kelly loves the racer-back and says this is something she has never seen before. Christian concurs and says slits are hard to do and that she did a great job.

Chris: Christian tells him he is in “costume realm”. Kelly says that he has a weird and wonderful mind, but he needs to abide by the rule of taking one element away. Aya says when everything has emphasis, nothing has emphasis.

Rene: Hannah and Kelly love it, but wish the top was cleaner. Kelly is impressed by his understanding of the female form. Christian thinks the addition of the jacket keeps it from being vulgar. Aya thinks it represents a powerful NYC woman.

Ruby: Kelly thinks the skirt needs to be shorter. They all think it’s boring and have no idea who Ruby is.

Molly: Kelly thinks the garment seems unfinished and that that there is too much fabric in the dress. Christian uses the word “frumpy”. Hannah points out that she was going for a boho look, but no boho girl would buy it.

Izzy wins for her cool athleisure outfit. Rene, Molly and Chelsea are safe. I’m wondering if the judges are going to eliminate a designer for too much or too little. Ruby is auf’ed. I am sad, because she seems sweet and it sucks to be the first to go. So…..do you agree with the judges? Are you excited for this season? I am! Will see you tomorrow xoxo! (now that everyone is out of my house recaps will proceed in a timely manner!)

Note From TT: I currently have Internet, however they are supposed to be sending out the big trucks to replace the line on my street. While it seems fixed now, either I slept through the big trucks (and more unlikely so did Banjo) or I could be down again at any moment and possibly for several hours. It’s the never ending nightmare. Yesterday the entire street was out in the road talking to a variety of service guys. We are not amused. Angry mobs may form.