Epperson and Christopher

And the confusion continues, kittens.

Commenters, as is the custom with the internet, have very strong opinions about who was robbed and who was treated badly and who should have gone home this past episode. We're having a hard time signing on to any one point of view because there were two ways to take this challenge and both the designers AND the judges switched back and forth in order to justify their choices.

Model: Matar Cohen

Take this look, for example. Under any criteria, it really is a fabulous look, perfectly rendered.

Honestly, there isn't a thing about this we don't love, from the frayed ruffles to the leather (esque?) sash...

To the split skirt and the suggestion of frayed and weathered petticoats. It's all very evocative and creates a character almost instantly.

The problem is, this was pitched as a costume for a western and discussed as a topic for a western and to be perfectly honest, this would never work as a costume for a western because it's so obviously historically inaccurate.

And before anyone plays the "westerns can be set in any period or place" card, let us just say that while that's true, that's not how Epperson conceived it or described it.

He's the one that said "Western is a period" and he's the one who described the character in strictly traditional western terms.

In the end, he didn't fulfill the dictates of the challenge (at least as far as the judging was concerned) but he did produce something so beautiful that they simply couldn't ignore it.

Model: Katie Sticksel

Christopher's look had pretty much exactly the same problems, with a few extra problems added on. Let's break it down.

This look is gorgeous and romantic, no doubt about it.

We love that sash mimicking a corset and we love the romantic folds and drapes of the skirt.

And that piece on the back of her neck was beautiful and unique.

But let's get a few things out of the way before we move back to the judging issue: this is once again an example of Christopher working in his safe zone. Washed out, almost dingy colors paired with a voluminous textural skirt. If we had consistent judges from week to week, he would almost certainly have been called out for that.

Next, we have to point out that, just like Epperson did, he went toward the "inspired by" route instead of the costume route and just like Epperson did, he nonetheless described it in terms of being a movie costume. Even the judges described it as such, referring to how it would look shot from the back.

The problem is, just like Epperson, this doesn't work as a costume at all. His genre was "period" and this look only slightly evokes a hazy, Victorian-esque period of time and place. Worse, he muddied the waters significantly by blurring the genres and pitching this as a vampire wedding dress. Question: Would anyone look at this and think this was a wedding dress? Is there anything about it that evokes a wedding, period or otherwise, vampire or not?

In the end, we think that the judges settled on the "movie costume" version of the challenge rather than the "inspired by a movie genre" version because they gave the win to the most costumey of all the entries and discussed it in terms of how it would work as a costume for film. For that reason, it's puzzling that these two even made it into the top since they clearly don't fulfill the criteria that the winning look got. Basically, the judges were so in love with these looks (and rightfully so) that they shifted their criteria around however it suited them. We guess that's their prerogative but it doesn't strike us a being particularly fair to the designers.

Extended Judging:






[Photos: Mike Yarish/myLifetime.com - Videos: myLifetime.com - Screencaps: Projectrungay.blogspot.com]


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