The Fashion Show: Body Conscious

"That dress has more tricks than a hooker."


Holy shit, you guys.

This show actually got better in the second episode. We'll go even further than that.

This episode was more fun, had more engaging drama, and produced more discussable clothing than a good 85% of the last 3 seasons of Project Runway.

Heidi & Co.? You are put on notice. The gauntlet has been thrown down. For once, you have competition. And actually? That's kind of awesome. Because we love Project Runway, we hope The Fashion Show does boffo ratings. It'll be good for the fans in the long run, presuming the Weinsteins don't screw things up any further.

Anyway, pretty freaky challenge, right? We thought there was going to be a parade of WTFery walking that runway, but it's to the designers' enormous credit that, for the most part ...


... the clothes were thoughtful, avoided cliche, and looked pretty. For the most part.

We're not entirely sure what variable in the show's setup is responsible for this, but the team setup is working remarkably well. The majority of designers are working on the assumption that they'll only progress if they work as a team. Also, that "extra 500 for your collection" bonus prize is pretty sweet. It ensures that no one will be coasting through, happy to make it to the next challenge without winning. That promotes mediocrity in the long run.

Not that the show's setup isn't producing its share of drama. Hardly. And yet so far, the personalities are all pretty entertaining, even the mostly harmless ones.

"I LOVE vagina!" We may have to turn his periodic assertions of heterosexuality into a drinking game. Ten bucks says before the season's over he'll wear an ironic vintage "As long as I got a face, you got a place to sit" t-shirt.

Yes, Calvin. That does describe your personality quite well, now that you mention it. The thing is, he really does seem to have the team's best interests at heart and he is capable of pitching in to make sure people have what they need. And we have no doubt he's playing to the cameras, but his communication style is best described as "impossible."

But man, we did NOT see that switch coming at the end. Kudos to the producers. It really does shake up the recently established status quo. And that Cesar is no dummy. He knew he'd rather be on an arguably weaker team than on a team with Calvin. We'll see if Calvin learns to play well with his new team. Admirably, the judges seem to have no interest in coddling his bad behavior. For now, when they say he better shape up or ship out, we believe them. "You have talent, but the only thing you've shown us is that you are stubborn, you are a dictator, you criticize everybody and we can't see through all that the loveliness of that you created." You'd never hear Heidi put it that way.

But Team Emerald has some rather engrained issues even without Calvin's input. The Red Rum twins are far too bossy and Tamara is far too reluctant to be a team member. Little Morris Day needs to start showing some backbone. Or everyone should just defer to Cesar. Although those twins are trouble, we're telling you.

And then there's this freak show.

We can't. He was an oddball from the first time he opened his mouth and a seeming bundle of tics and insecurities. Perhaps he just wasn't suited for television or competition. Whatever it was, we were happy to see the back of him, just like his team mates were. We loved that they preferred having the extra work load over dealing with his bullshit and his porkpie hat.

So congrats, to Eduardo! This was the right choice.

Even if we do think that collar gets a little Star Trek-y.

We're kind of sorry Cesar left the team, because it occurred to us that they had a Rolando, Cesar, and Eduardo on one team and we were all set to start calling them Team Menudo. Ah well.

Fabulous. Just sayin'.

[Screencaps: tomandlorenzo.com]


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