What is the Point: The Project Runway Edition

One of the things I really like about "Project Runway" is that a lot of the changes they have made are very much about creating better outcomes.  In the weird way of clothing designers, most of us on the street only know people huge enough to be all over our TVs, so a lot of designers who go on to work under another designer, or specifically in wedding wear, or just to open their own storefront in the town of their choice drop off the radar of the average viewer, leading to the impression that these people disappear.  Now sure, there are also plenty of past contestants who are not designing these days, or are more well known for being on TV as a judge.  But that's probably true of any profession.  Pick 100 people, see how many of them are still doing that same thing 10 years later. 

Included in these changes, is the opportunity for judges to examine the garments up close.  This seemed like a great development.  There are times when the viewers at home can even see that certain garments have wobbly seams or other various issues.  Letting the judges see how something looks up close, is helpful.  There have been times when they could see that a designer had used the wrong fabric, or that on closer look something looked less interesting than it had stomping down the runway.  (Kudos to the model on that one.)

So this week, there was an outfit that was dramatic, but even I could see it was a great idea executed less well.  And sure, it's early days yet.  And interesting has always trumped practical or even wearable on "Project Runway".  So, fine, it was top three.  Fine.  But I expected, given that even before the up close scan, they asked Blake if the necklace was covering something up and he revealed that he had bled on the neckline due to a scissors mishap (scissors are a big issue this season) and so he had chopped off the neckline but not had time to sew it.  Now, if that had been the only construction issue, sure.  But the seams, even on my TV were terrible.  And there were two other outfits that were great and well executed.  So, I'm not sure what up close inspection does, if they still say, well these other two are better made, but enh, this one looked great on the runway.