The Recap of the Manolo

The Manolo has a favorite:

Korto is clearly the most original and unexpected of all of the designers. Her choices are not always those of the Manolo, but they are emphatically her own, and they are emphatically original. She deserves to be in the final three, although whether or not the judges see it that way is the different matter.

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The Recap of the Manolo

Photo courtesy of ProjectRunway.com

The Manolo was very well pleased:

Manolo says, ayyyy! Drag queens and Project Runway! Two great tastes that taste great together, like sequins and neon green feather boas! Like Mediterranean accents and fashion blogging! Like existential despair and bargain vodka!

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The Recap of the Manolo!

From the desk of The Manolo:

Stella is the toughest talkingest biker-rocker chick since Leather Tuscadero! The Manolo expects that later in the season we will be introduced to her “gang”, the Stella-ettes, the group of sarcastic tough girls who aggressively chew gum and smoke cigarettes at the same time. Look for them to extort lunch money from one of the indistinguishable mousey/nerdy brunettes in the girls’ room after algebra class.

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The Recap Of The Manolo

From the desk of The Manolo:

Victoria Beckham’s own peculiar tastes run so much to the spectacularly unwearable that only Christian could satisfy her increasingly outrageous and idiosyncratic ideas about fashion. Indeed, Christian designs clothes that could only be worn by Victoria Beckham, very tall 14-year-old Slavic girls, and himself. No one else could possibly fit into those super-skinny pants.

Please note that the Manolo is not objecting to the choice of Christian as the winner. He fully deserved to win. He is the most talented of all the designers, he has the undeniable sense of drama and style, and he produces beautiful and striking clothes. All the Manolo is saying is that the choice of Christian was both predictable and out of character for the judges, who have in the past tended to reward wearability and accessibility.

The Recap of the Manolo!

The Manolo really outdoes himself this week with the tale of the little fairy elf:

It was then, while the tailor was sleeping his uneasy sleep, that the most miraculous thing happened.

First, there was the faint sound of tiny bells, followed by the strong scent of Aqua Net and Elizabeth Taylor’s “White Diamonds”, and then, with the audible pop, the tiny little fashion elf appeared out of no where! Flouncing around the room, scattering fairy dust and candy kisses.

A must read!

The Recap of the Manolo!

From the desk of the shoe blogger:

And nothing was more delightful than the lady wrestlers themselves. Yes, they were tacky, with their giant fake breasts, tanning-booth tans, and rigorously gym-toned bodies, but they were also lively and funny and seemed to be genuinely happy. When they entered the sewing room it was as if the lights were turned on, making everything brighter and sharper.

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The Recap Of The Manolo

Look at Sweet P. She knows that when the Fairy Godfather Tim waves his wand, you must accept his gift, or face the consequences.

That hippy-dippy denim wedding dress she was making was awful; the Manolo could smell the patchouli through his television set. But, with the few choice words, the careful frown, and his signature chin-on-hand, elbow-in-other-hand, look-of-contemplative-disapproval, Tim conveys his doubts. Sweet P listens. Et voila! Sweet P prospers!

You know the drill, here's the whole thing.

The Recap of the Manolo!

The Manolo says about the "En Garde":

This was perhaps the smartest challenge yet presented to the designers, as it allowed them the most freedom to explore their art. And because this sort of detailed and extravagant work takes so much time, the Manolo did not resent the natural decision to divide the designers up into teams, even though such team challenges are patently unfair to whomever is chosen to be the leader. Of course, the designers clearly know it is unfair. Witness the cowardly, passive-aggressive behavior of Victorya and Jillian as they tried to avoid the burdens of leadership.

As always, read the whole thing.

The Recap of The Manolo

This just in:

Manolo says, ayyyyy! The best challenge yet, to grab the giant fistfuls of second-rate but popular candies and candy merchandises in the candy store and to transform this mass of junk into the fashion.

This was the sort of challenge that made the original Project Runway so delightful, and not something about which Michael Kors could ecstatically shout “super commercial!!!!”

As always, read the whole thing.

Jay and The Manolo!

We always look forward to these two. First, The Manolo:

From the beginning it was good. Witness the moment when the models were paired with the designers. As the choices were made, some of the designers (Elisa in particular) seemed truly happy to meet the model, while others (Jillian, Christian, Victorya) could only manage the most forced of smiles. Such marvelous suffering on the faces of such shallow peoples!

And joy of all joys, Jay McCarroll has an early precap concerning last night's poll:

i called my friends. no one answered. i grabbed my keys and i ran over to my neighbor rachel's house. i called michael rucker, one of the shows producers. "please tell me i'm not a loser". "tell me i'm special". "tell me i'm beautiful". "tell me i'm the most specialist sexiest man alive, sexier than brad pitt, smarter than albert einstein". my neighbor rachel had to slap me and put ice on my forehead for i was about to faint. is this how daniel franco felt....twice.

The Recap of the Manolo!

For those of you who felt last night's challenge was unfair, The Manolo agrees:

Menswear does not fall under the purview of the fashion designer. It belongs properly and only to the tailor, to men who have devoted their lives to the arcana of button holes and pick-stitched lapels and French facings, and who know that what matters most in menswear is material, cut, fit and detail.

You cannot really learn this at the fashion college. Such knowledge can only be acquired through long apprenticeships at the feet of masters. Yes, the big fashion firms can mass produce the similacra of good tailoring–the off-the-rack suits that look moderately presentable on the size 42 regular–but it is not the same.

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