Leanne dazzles, DVF inspires

Well, it's been a while since I posted on here. Mostly it's due to a work schedule that has been out of control lately, but I think also it's because although I really do like this season and the young designers, I feel that the challenges (save for the Drag Queen one) were just kind of boring and, hello, total rehashes of previous ones!! Ripping up Saturns and making safety belt skirts, jackets, and dresses is no different to me than a garbage bag dress for a supermarket challenge.

Which brings me to Leanne. This girl is the first designer in a while who like Jay has really began to find her voice and craft as the show happens. Korto and Terri are clearly good designers, they put out some pretty good stuff every week. But Leanne didn't start off so strong (she almost got eliminated for that overly circled dress on Week 2 I think) but ever since that smartly minimalist gray/black skirt she made and almost won with, she's really picking up steam and hitting the mark. The dress she won for last week I thought was really cute. It had this sort of weird hip proportion thing going on, which I normally wouldn't care for, but here it really worked. It looked edgy and young and fashion forward, but didn't give me the same feeling that Kenley's grandma couch print/purple toile ball winner from a few weeks ago did. And that to me is fantastic and a sign she will keep getting better and better. Now, with that out of the way, let's look at this week.


Her navy 30's/40's inspired dress was one of best things to walk down a PR runway in a while I thought. Incidentally, the dress that DVF was selling to American Express owners only for a tidy sum of $700 looks almost exactly like Leanne's original:

Her jacket was the right color and almost the right fabric, and I liked it, but it wasn't necessary and I am glad it was basically ditched for the sale. I love the ruffles in the back especially on this dress, this is a beautiful gown that fit the challenge so well that it easily could have been a DVF original. Before I get to ripping the others, I just have to say here how much I heart DVF. She is elegant, powerful, smart, and beautiful. Rarely is she mean or condescending and she rewards those who stick to their guns and aren't afraid to use their own voice. And as an aside, I'm not made of wood people, that American Express ad with her in the forest talking about where she was and how she got to where she is, ending with the shot of that black/white dress hits me at the core. After watching this challenge, I realized that black/white patterned dress in the American Express ad is composed of entirely one fabric, nothing fancy or extraneous. It to me demonstrates how the design of it is genius, the way she cut, draped, and put it all together makes you realize how great a designer DVF is... I just am inspired by her. Ok, with that aside, let's talk about the others.

Kenley's dress was fine. I didn't like the fabric, and I wasn't crazy about the black lace around the neck (kind of high priced callgirl-ish if you ask me), but it was executed in her own way with her own point of view (which is definitely not mine) and I appreciate that. I also was actually touched by her being overwhelmed with DVF and the challenge, it's a really big deal to be able to even have the chance to do something like that and it was nice to see someone actually acknowledge that.

Which brings me to Korto. Her dress was very similar to the one in the American Express ad, with some yellow added. So already I was kind of been there done that, but her black jacket thing was cool. The problem was I felt like I couldn't really see it on the runway the way the set was lit. I couldn't tell actually what it looked like in detail. I will just have to accept what the judges said. And I am with Tim on this one, the yellow on the top of the dress did look like a bra strap. Although it looks a lot like the one in the American Express ad, it looks almost exactly like the one that Projectrungay found from a previous DVF collection:

Last comment with regards Korto, I know she is quiet and self-involved, but I was a little upset about how much she didn't seem to care about DVF. At least show some emotion. I am worried she is a little more arrogant than I thought. Being assertive is great, being above it all is not.

I was kind of shocked that Stella went on this one. To me, Joe's outfit was pretty bad. It looked NOTHING like anything DVF would ever put in a collection. It looked cheap and shiny, and honestly it still had this kind of drag queen element to it with the colors and shine of the fabrics he chose. Weird. Stella's cape was a little strange, but at least she was more in line with what DVF is going for. I don't know, having Stella leave is fine with me, but it really should have been Joe.