Shakopee Valley News - Forum topic - Comments

Well, the end has come and

Kristin Holtz — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 11:37:49 -0600

Well, the end has come and Irina is the winner of "Project Runway."

Overall, the finale was a downer, much like the whole season. If it hadn't been for Shakopee designer Christopher Straub, I'm not even sure I would have watched.

The whole season seemed dull. The challenges lacked a creative spark and most weeks I only held my breath at elimination if Christopher was on the stage.

Even the finale lacked punch. Carol Hannah's illness was a lifesaver for producers as it was the only real drama of the episodes. I won't count Tim Gunn's worry that the designers were not on stage in time. That was totally manufactured.

Waiting for Heidi to announce the winner was boring, since it didn't really matter who won. I didn't love or hate any of the collections. And in the end, Irina was probably the practical choice, having stood out the most throughout the competition. But again, it was rather been there, done that.

I am no fashion maven, however, so maybe I just missed the drama between the contestants - then again, I don't really like conflict. I'd be interested in hearing what others thought about the season as a whole.

Blogging Project Runway has

Kristin Holtz — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 11:36:00 -0600

Blogging Project Runway has the complete finale collections in photos. Go to http://bloggingprojectrunway.blogspot.com/ and click on Collection 1, Collection 2, Collection 3 in the middle of the page, under the designers' photos.

What do you think?

Part one of the finale

Kristin Holtz — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 11:28:20 -0600

Part one of the finale didn't give all that much away, except Carol Hannah is sick, Irina has a lot of black in her collection and Althea says "yeah" a lot.

The collections all seem alike, an occurrence when judges take the safe route and bring three similar designers. The over-sized sweaters - been there, done that. Carol Hannah's gowns - think we've seen them already. Ugly pants - definitely been a season for that.

I will be pulling for Carol Hannah in the finale Thursday - and not just because she has Christopher as her work partner. Though that helps!

Carol Hannah seems to be the underdog, not just because of her illness, but her unassuming personality. The other two come off much stronger and fit the "Project Runway" winning designer stereotype. Carol Hannah makes great clothes that fit a woman's body, similar to season two winner Chloe Dao.

We'll see what shakes up when the models walk the runway on Thursday's finale.

Christopher shares his

Kristin Holtz — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 11:41:31 -0600

Christopher shares his thoughts about season six in Thursday's Shakopee Valley News. His favorite challenge? Creating a garment out of newspapers. What's he doing now? Check it out in the print edition.

A Minnesotan gives his take

Kristin Holtz — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 13:48:12 -0600

A Minnesotan gives his take on Christopher's departure from the show.

Reading some of the blogs

Kristin Holtz — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 10:23:01 -0600

Reading some of the blogs about yesterday's show. Everyone agrees that Christopher should be out (here's a great summary of why); however, many are angry about the Gordana decision.

"Gordana Gehlhausen was, shockingly, Out. It is a bit perplexing, since her gown was great and so closely resembled the Monet painting, but Nina felt Gordana’s biggest flaw was that she didn’t know who she was as a designer." Nick Verreos, season two contestant

"Why didn’t GORDANA win for her dress? The judges never seemed to warm up to her. But in my opinion, she was the only one of these designers left who has amazing technical skills combined with an artistic beauty and vision that could really add a voice into the fashion world. Gordana is a clothing maker, yes, but she is also an artist. None of the other girls can come close to claiming this. I’m not even going to mention Christopher." Chris March, season four contestant

Comments from Blogging Project Runway reactions' post:

"Gordana was robbed."

"Gordana didn't deserve the Auf today. Not if they were going by the way they've made decisions all season, all these years."

"Gordana has been unfairly critiqued the whole season and tonight she was aufed without any reason at all. The judges have had some sort of weird prejudice or irrational bias against her: she either makes beautiful outfits that are judged too 'safe,' or she makes outfits that the judges agree are beautiful, but she's criticized for not being confident enough. She could never win."

"PR" episode 12 We didn’t

Kristin Holtz — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 10:00:05 -0600

"PR" episode 12

We didn’t even need a show.

My sister and I knew exactly who was headed to New York Fashion Week.

It's not rocket science when three of five designers have never landed in the bottom three up against two designers who have a total of nine bottom-three finishes.

The judges made the right decision, of course, sending the three females to Bryant Park. Any of them could have faltered last night and still had a spot on that famous runway.

Goodbye to Shakopee designer Christopher Straub, who despite no formal training made it to the top five and was the final male remaining.

His dress really wasn't that attractive, especially after a judge compared it to a long jean skirt. However, I have to give Christopher props for his confidence and sticking with the garment.

“This piece speaks more about me than any other piece I put down the runway," Straub told the judges.

However, he also knew he was the oddball.

"[I'm just the] wacky, weird guy who doesn’t listen and just does whatever he wants to do," he said.

I didn't like any of the final challenge dresses all that much. Althea's was sloppy on top. Gordana's was boring and simple. Irina's dress reminded me of a '70s Roman goddess - maybe her inspiration by not very realistic. Carol Hannah did the best job capturing her inspiration, I thought, but the dress was safe.

I think I'll be pulling for Carol Hannah in the finale, if she can make a pair of pants. While Irina has produced the best garments yet, her attitude is a turn off. And something about Althea just rubs me the wrong way. But I'll have to wait to see the final collections before I choose a favorite.

None of the girls were in the top three in the first episode, but they are the best representatives of the season and deserve to show collections.

It comes down to tonight.

Kristin Holtz — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 15:27:05 -0600

It comes down to tonight. Find out if Shakopee's Christopher Straub is "in" or "out" on his bid to show a collection at Bryant Park on "Project Runway" tonight. Airs at 9 p.m. on Lifetime.

A lot of Tweeters talking

Kristin Holtz — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 11:35:11 -0600

A lot of Tweeters talking about voting. Here's a sample:

MtHollyMayor I voted.

johnlaeger Relentless About Voting Today http://bit.ly/26BYBz

pamelapunt Good Morning, Shakopee! Please remember to get out a vote today, let your voice be heard.

willrunforcake It is Election Day in America - get out & VOTE!

shakoypg Don't forget to vote today! Find your precinct here. http://pollfinder.sos.state...

amyzellmer has a viewing appointment this morning and then helping with Kids Vote this afternoon! Remember it's Election Day, get out and VOTE!!!

bjohnson_mn VOTE TODAY!!! @scottcountygop

Or follow us at http://twitter.com/shakopee.

"PR" episode 11 When did

Kristin Holtz — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 14:21:22 -0500

"PR" episode 11

When did ugly become fashionable?

Aletha won last night's "Project Runway" challenge with one of the ugliest pair of pants I ever saw. She modeled the pants after her winning suit design earlier in the competition, but I agree with Logan, they looked more like Malvin's egg creation in week two.

But the judges loved them and that's what matters to stay on the runway.

Poor Shakopee designer Christopher Straub isn't so loved right now. His "bedskirt" look, thank you Heidi for that comparison, put him in the bottom three yet again. His dress reminded me of the vampire bride dress which put him the top two in the movie genre competition. Wonder if Christopher is getting a little one note?

His outfit didn't deserve an "auf;" I agreed with the judges. Logan's Judy Jetson/fashion project/'80s music video look was bad. Goodbye, Logan. I didn't think you were so good looking anyway.

I must admire Christopher's optimism. He loves what he is putting on the runway and that's really what matters - so says, Gordana.

So on to the final challenge. I'm curious how the judges plan to weed five down to three in one episode without marketing a big double elimination, like they did earlier in the show but failed to deliver on (which in retrospect is what kept Christopher here). Or they may choose to take four to Bryant Park but only let three show. They've done that before.

Watching next week's preview, I can't make any predictions about Christopher's future. It's the third preview that ends with him about to break into tears - or wait, is it he's so happy for making it to New York Fashion Week? I can't tell.

If the "Models of the Runway" preview is any indication - which it was to me before episode 10 that Christopher was safe - Christopher's model Katie seems pretty worried about making it to fashion week. If Christopher were to have been "in," I can't imagine she'd be that worried. Therefore, must we assume he's auf?

All I know is he's doing something with stalactites - yes, like a stalactites in a cave.

Hmmmmm.

Rematch is set for Sunday

Kristin Holtz — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 09:13:40 -0500

Rematch is set for Sunday afternoon. Any predictions? Is it possible the Vikings will sweep the Packers this season?

I opted to get my flu shot

Kristin Holtz — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 17:03:33 -0500

I opted to get my flu shot last week. I was in for my regular physical and when it's that handy, I couldn't pass it up. Too bad it wasn't a couple of weeks earlier, PRIOR to when I had the weekend flu. But now, I hope to be protected against any flu germs that come around again.

Anyone (or your children) received the H1N1 vaccine yet?

Are they keeping Christopher

Kristin Holtz — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 14:33:00 -0500

Are they keeping Christopher on "Project Runway" just for the storyline of a small town guy trying to make it in the big, bad world? One blogger thinks so.

"PR" episode 10 Christopher

Kristin Holtz — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 22:29:00 -0500

"PR" episode 10

Christopher is safe again?! I thought for sure he was out this week. How can you be in the bottom three four weeks and not get sent home?

Maybe he will pull a Gordana and have a couple of strong weeks to carry him to Bryant Park.

What do you think? Did the judges makes the right decision?

Here's what people are

Kristin Holtz — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 10:09:35 -0500

Here's what people are saying on Twitter. (http://twitter.com/shakopee)

tmeyermn @shakopee Handsdown Screamtown. $15 tix with 5 attractions that u can go thru as many times as you wish. Most frightening haunt in the TC

valleyfairzone @Shakopee Hmm - We think Valleyscare! =D