I have been watching Season 8 of Project Runway, the reality TV show where aspiring designers face a number of competitive clothing design challenges until only three participants remain. The final three show a collection of 10 outfits at New York Fashion week, and the winner gets money to start his or her own clothing company. I bought Season 8 on itunes because it was the best rated season yet. Season 9 has already finished and Season 10 has just started. What's interesting about watching this while NY and London Fashion Weeks have been going on is that two of the designers in the show could have easily outdone half the people showing in NY this season. They were really very good - the designs were well thought out, well cut, well sewn, and eloquently defended in front of the judges.
The same cannot be said for some of the most respected designers of the last 20 years. Take the four outfits above. Whether or not you like fur aside, I'd love for you to guess who designed these clothes. Hint, this designer made a 70s Italian leather goods company into a power house in the 90s. Well, let me tell you, if I would have to judge these clothes blindly, without the knowledge that Tom Ford was behind them, I would have given them 2 out of 10. Hot pink fur and black lace - not so cool, multiple animal prints mixed, cartoon jackets done much better last year by Phillip Lim, and not so striking black and white. However, knowing I was looking at his clothes, I looked them over and over again trying to find redeeming features.
I am making a mental note not to do this when shopping! I often want to love what certain people are doing but probably not looking at the individual pieces with honest judging eyes. How much more interesting would Fashion Week be, if you had a chance to judge the clothes without knowing who made them?
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