There was a little girl who had a lot of curls...

We said it last week: when Korto goes off the rails, she really goes off the rails.

At her best, she produces interesting, sometimes eye-popping, innovative designs, but in her quest to be different, she sometimes winds up with designs that aren't so much eye-popping as eye-searing. With Korto, it's either amazingly beautiful or insanely ugly. We think there's a reason for that.

We said that Leanne has an intellectual approach to design. When Leanne fails, the result is usually bland or boring. At the opposite end of the spectrum is Korto, who has not so much an intellectual approach as an emotional one. She needs to produce something amazing, something different. So when she fails, she fails badly but when she succeeds, the results are vibrant and amazing.

Unfortunately for her, she failed badly on this one. She wanted to produce a wedding dress that was different and unusual and she certainly accomplished that.

The end result was certainly different but it was ugly, overworked, and almost unwearable.

We're all for the idea of producing a wedding gown that goes against conventions and we love it when a designer or a bride goes for the nontraditional non-white gown. Unfortunately, this color is drab.

And the silhouette is just plain weird.

But the real crime is that it's way overdone. She worked that fabric so hard it looked like it was going to burst into tears of exhaustion at any moment. And is it us or are those ruffles on the shoulders uneven? There are way more on the left side than there are on the right. Not that symmetry is required, but going asymmetrical on a dress that already has so much going on was yet another bad idea.

The bridesmaid dress was at least a little better but we have to say it's somewhat notable that she completed this dress in the company of her peers and with the advice of a mentor. Much like Jerell, she may have needed the guidance to produce better work.

It's pretty. We think this one's also a little overworked but compared to the wedding dress it's the picture of simplicity.

We like the pleating in the bust but the two sides look a little uneven to us.

We like the fullness of the skirt and the layered hem. We also really like the belt but that's at least in part due to the fact that it's the only color to be found on either of these dresses.

Which brings us to our final complaint: the overall color scheme.

We got a little flack for saying that Kenley's dresses didn't look like they go together and Leanne's did. People mistakenly took that to mean that we thought the dresses should have "matched" somehow. What we meant was the dresses needed to look like they were going for the same feel. Both of Leanne's dresses had that ethereal dreamlike quality to them whereas Kenley's wedding dress was an over-the-top fantasy dress paired with a basic party dress for the bridesmaid.

We can at least admit that these dresses look compatible but the problem is with the color scheme. If you're going to put the bride in a somewhat drab neutral, it kind of behooves you to put some sort of color on the rest of the bridal party. Not only are both dresses colorless, they're virtually the same neutral tone. This would have been the most depressing wedding ever.

We would have been very upset if Korto had been auf'd over these dresses but we certainly would have understood why. The judges looked at the whole of their output and the potential for their runway show and decided that Korto had more going on than Jerell did. Having seen both of their runway shows, we have to say we agreed with them on that.

[Screencaps: Projectrungay.blogspot.com]

From the Carrie White Collection

Even though she's clearly among the top contenders and has been since day one, when Korto makes a misstep, it's a major one.

Case in point.

Without being told ahead of time, we never would have guessed that this was a Korto creation. Where's the volume? The rich colors? The point of view? This is straight out of David's Bridal.

Let's start with color. Putting them side by side, we can admit that she did actually translate the color fairly well but we tend to think that this was a case where she should have interpreted the colors and not replicated them. That '80s peach just isn't very modern looking at all.

And speaking of not modern...that lace, kittens. We're not opposed to lace - we certainly cheered loudly when Laura used it - but this isn't what we would call a chic lace. It looks like something one would use in a Christmas craft project.

Plus, the fabrics she chose were too stiff and shiny. Put it all together - stiff, shiny, peach, and lace - and that spells "old prom dress."

Not that we hated everything about it. We loved her seam placements and that bodice, had it been executed a little better and done in richer fabrics, could have been a show-stopper.

But the skirt is just bleh-looking and while we're glad she minimized the lace, using it as a trim wasn't much of a solution. She should have just ditched it altogether, especially since it did nothing to call to mind her object of inspiration.

All in all, a weird amalgam of modern and old-looking. Korto, we luvya and we're happy you're going to Bryant Park (whether as a competitor or not) but this was a big fail for you.


[Photo: Barbara Nitke/Bravo - Screencaps: Projectrungay.blogspot.com]

Getting Back to Our Bread and Butter

Hey, wasn't there an episode last week?

What a bizarre matchup. It's a shame Kelli got sick and couldn't help her more because we suspect there would have been some primo fireworks between these two.

What we got was little more than a dud, though.

Don't get us wrong. We don't hate it. We just don't love it and we think it's far from Korto's best work.

How strange that she went the noodle route. We don't think they really add anything to the design. In fact, they're kind of distracting.

On the other hand, this look is so boring, they're the only thing that provides much in the way of visual interest.

Well, the back of it does too but frankly, we don't think that works either. It's a pretty effect, but the proportions make her look a little hunch-backed.

It's certainly not awful and it's pretty in its own way, but looking at it, we have to remind ourselves that this was an avant garde challenge and we're forced to admit that as much as we like Korto as a designer, this, like almost all the entries, fails on that level.

Another bizarre teamup and yet, in its own way, it worked.

"Worked" in the sense that they managed to pair Joe's questionable taste in fabrics with Daniel's more traditional design sense.

It's not bad and it's certainly well executed, but again, it's not exactly avant garde.

It's just voluminous and a little over the top.

The only real problem we had with the design (aside from its mediocrity) was the bodice. It sits too low and the bustline is uneven. Plus, we're not really getting the point of the "ripped open" effect.

Despite our criticisms, it's not a bad entry, all things considered. Better than most, certainly. Just....boring. The whole point to avant garde is to be the opposite of boring.

[Photos: Barbara Nitke/Bravo - Screencaps: Projectrungay.blogspot.com]

Korto and Joe

Darlings, before we get to Korto's dress, let's put on our Lois Lane pillbox hats or our Nancy Drew sweaters and do a little sleuthing, shall we?

Some people online have made the point that a dress very similar to Korto's appeared in DVF's Amex commercial and some have even surmised that Diane may have been "inspired" by Korto's design. The dress in question:

While there are some similarities, it really comes down to the fact that Korto used the same fabric in her design. Besides, the point is moot because the DVF dress walked down the runways in February, 4 months before Korto ever set eyes on DVF or her fabric.

What REALLY reminds us of Korto's dress are these looks from DVF's Resort 2009 collection:

As you can see, the black and white fabric paired with the bold yellow really call to mind Korto's dress. But once again, these looks walked the runway before S4 S5. Similar designs, but that's not really unheard of in the trend-driven world of fashion.

Now, on to the ripping.

Kittens, this was gorgeous, no two ways about it.

Girl knows her shit. The proportions, the use of color, the construction - all letter perfect.

We absolutely loved the shape of this jacket. Granted, Korto could rightfully claim the Princess Puffysleeves tiara at this point, since she returns to that voluminous well again and again, but we can't say we mind. The volume of the sleeves is offset by the tight, cropped bodice on the jacket. We love the little tied sash holding the whole thing together, too.

We hesitate to say this because the dress itself is so beautiful, but the jacket really makes the look here. Without it, this would look like a fairly basic DVF-style gown - not that there's anything wrong with that.

Although we have to say, that hint of yellow under the split skirt was pretty masterful.

Really, the only thing we didn't like was the yellow up near the top. Tim was right. It looks like bra straps. Besides, what with the halter top on the dress and the wide collar on the jacket (not to mention the big sleeves) there were enough elements going on up around her neck and shoulders that the yellow only served as a distraction.

Still, it was gorgeous and could have easily taken its place in a DVF collection. Unfortunately, Leanne also produced a worthy frock and it was really a tossup as to which was better.

Then there was the decidedly NON-gorgeous entry:

Jesus, this was AWFUL.

First, take a look once again at the collection from which they were supposed to be drawing inspiration. There is NOTHING in that collection that looks like this.

Leanne and Korto received such high marks because they acted as if they were junior designers at DVF and came up with something that fits seamlessly into her existing collection. This just doesn't.

And the colors on this thing were vomit-inducing. And the proportions! Skirt too short, top too tight, weird vest/hood thing too big and overwhelming. Take each element on their own and you can see the problems. Put them all together on one outfit and ALL you see are the problems.

Joe sez: "It's a very polished look. So much so that it might get lost amongst the crap that's going down the runway."

Really, Joe? Really? Designers constantly talk smack about each other but that comment borders on the delusional.

It's most definitely NOT a polished look. It looks sloppy and mismatched.

LOOK AT THAT.

THAT'S polished?

Joe also sez: "I truly think that this represents me as a designer."

Honey, think about what you're saying here.


[Photos: Barbara Nitke/Bravo/Style.com - Screencaps: Projectrungay.blogspot]