Spoilers! Project Runway, Episode 9

Project Runway, Season 6, Episode 9: Sequins, Feathers and Fur, Oh My! Who’s the winner this week and who is “auf”?

Lesson for the week: Just because you didn’t come here to make friends doesn’t mean you should be trying to make enemies…

The challenge: create an extravagant stage look for Christina Aguilera, who served as guest judge.  Not surprisingly, the designers who did really well at this challenge were the ones who were more familiar with Christina’s work and her ever-evolving style(s).

Congratulations to Carol Hannah, the winner!

I thought Carol Hannah’s dress was gorgeous (although a bit too tight on her model), and she deserved the win.  Look at that neckline!  The perfect frame for your best sparkly jewelry, multiple layers of gold chains, or for understated classic pearls.  Whenever Christina Aguilera attends an event that calls for glam, I can picture her wearing this.

The most interesting parts of the episode focused on Irina, who has become increasingly caustic and unpleasant as the season progresses.  Or maybe it’s just that the show editors are featuring her more (to stir up more drama) so I’m more aware of her negative traits.  She is a very talented designer.  So is everyone else that is on the show, and she would do well to remember that.

For someone as arrogant about her own talents as she is, it’s interesting that she placed in the very middle of the pack this time.  Again, it could be a trick of editing, but I don’t remember hearing her say anything complimentary about any of the other designers or their work, ever.  And in this episode, she descended into actually gossiping with her model about at least one of the other designers.  Fashion is a relatively small world, Irina…just hope you keep that in mind.

Gossiping about other designers so that the camera (and the other designers)
can hear you is a bad idea…

The take-home message for designers of any type, including jewelry designers, is that our world is really very small.  Even if you are an extremely small fish in what you perceive to be an ocean of talent, it is never never never a good idea to bolster your own position by talking down about another.  Honest and helpful critique is one thing (if it is asked for!), but sneering about someone else’s taste, style, or level of sophistication is never attractive, and may very well come back to bite you in the future.

Images: MyLifetime.com