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feather_ghyllQuarter finals – international
I only started watching this episode (the quarter final! Only five competitors left!) when the competitors were running around in the haberdashery. This was apt as, as ever, The Choice of Fabric, was important, and Mark was in trouble from the get-go although Esme managed not to give it away. Nicole thought the style of the pattern was similar to styles she’d seen in her childhood, but her choice of fabric also let her down, while the others succeeded to do more, and Clare even managed an impressive French seam, and from the comments was obviously going to come first.
The transformation round was the closest one, as everyone enjoyed free rein. As soon as Nicole said that she wasn’t really bothered about pattern matching, her fate was doomed, while Mark’s description of what he was doing seemed lacking. I really liked what Liz came up with, although I think I’d have liked it more if it had had balanced (big, dramatic) sleeves, but Patrick was clearly impressed by the amount of sewing Clare had packed into her little girl’s dress (bringing it up again at the end of the episode round-up). No wonder she was beaming. She and Joe get on. Joe somehow made jokes about his inability to speak other languages funny, even though, on principle, I hate monoglotism. I suppose pretending to be Australian at the beginning offset the fact that he was using Japanese to greet Liz during the Filipino pattern challenge (oh, by the way, interesting to hear about Imelda Marco’s history with the outfit, because I just associate her with shoes, so who am I to claim anyone else is reductive?)
For made to measure, one had to wait to see what all the garments would look like. The judges were really picky. Before that, we were treated to Clare (!) falling behind, and I’m still not sure how she got the waistband wrong, or was it what came before that took up the time? On the other hand, Mark had given himself less to do. I loved Matt’s colours, and the idea of using a modern material was cool, but did not help ultimately. Liz made her own twist on it, but, yes, Nicole’s skirt made the most impact. Once again, she’d saved herself with a garment-of-the-week-worthy made to measure, and suddenly it was between the men as to who would leave. However, I’d felt there was no fight in Mark in between days one and two.
Semi finals – Movie Week
Because it’s an extended series, the show went all Strictly Come Dancing and chose movies as its themes. The pattern was for an iconic dress indeed, and it was obviously a challenge, as only one person finished in the time they had. I thought the more vibrant colours worked, but it was hard to tell how bad Nicole’s boo-boo was. In hindsight, it was the invisible zip fail that told for Liz.
A veritable transformation challenge, with everyone mentioning a different influence, and me thinking, ‘Actual costume designers have weeks to plan and discuss and sketch and a whole aesthetic to work with, not ninety minutes!’ I couldn’t work out what Nicole was doing until I saw it on the mannequin, but I couldn’t work out what Liz was doing even at that point. I think sewing up the PVC stopped Matt from doing much else, while as soon as the skirt was done, Clare’s outfit had wow factor, and from the judges’ comments, it was quite obvious how they would be ranked.
A bit of gay men not knowing anything about womenfolk from Joe and Matt, though Joe was generally funny riffing off movies, and I thought the Charleston bit with Clare helped relax her.
Flapper dresses for made to measure, and oddly, a style where the fit didn’t matter as much as it normally does. The materials used were all gorgeous. Nicole again averted disaster by the skin of her teeth, but the judges’ round-up from upstairs stuck. Liz’s was easily the best, but – again, in hindsight, the fact that she’d avoided embellished materials and that difficulty factor told against her. As Clare reminded us of her problems with the made to measure, I was reminded that she’s never come top in this round. They tried to put Matt in danger, and at the time, I thought they chose Clare’s transformation as the garment of the week over Liz’s gothy flapper dress to draw out the tension, although in hindsight, it wasn’t the reason. Liz was sent home – and it’s always tough to be fourth, because there’s no time to process, they’re back to witness the final. Would I have called this top 3? Not in the middle of the series, necessarily.
Having a movie week works for this show. I love movie costumes, and I’m fascinated to know what iconic outfits they’ll turn to in the future.
Finals – Finals
Matt donned a technicolor coat, Clare risked my ire by whipping off her glasses and putting on contacts because it was the finals. We were reminded that Nicole had won loads of garments of the week for ‘impactful’ made to measures, Matt had won two and had won the most pattern challenges, while Clare had won the most recent transformation challenges, but had never won a made to measure. We also learned that Nicole has cute kids, Matt’s loved ones thought he ought to leave his job for fashion, and CLARE’S MUM WAS A MARVEL. With the pride and the cat!
And the first pattern challenge (I always forget they go through the same three rounds even in the final) was dastardly. It wouldn’t be a pattern challenge without someone picking the wrongmaterial pattern. Clare and Nicole seemed to have more of a clue as to what they were doing, and it was nice to see Nicole help Matt, but it was quite obvious from the list of defects how the ranking would go. Clare won, and hadn’t gone cross eyed because of the pleating.
We learned a little about Patrick’s Scottish heritage and later Esme dropped an anecdote that May Martin never could have, bless her.
The transformation, on the face of it, seemed to suit Nicole and Matt more than Clare, but she had a clear idea of what she was going to do and Matt had never been to a carnival. Obviously, Nicole was in her element, while Matt seemed to have gained inspiration from one of Joe’s mucking about with rejected materials looks, which is never a good sign. It was hilarious that Joe’s look barely registered with Clare, so he went for an even dafter one. I observed before Nicole and Matt that they didn’t seem to be using both of the outfits they had been asked to transform, but they did so in enough time to rectify the defect. Meanwhile, Clare only realised at the last that her front was plain. Just looking at them, Matt’s was the weakest, Clare’s had wings, but Nicole’s was a wowzer. I’m also fairly certain the judges could work out exactly who’d done what immediately, as they were so them.
The judges mumbled something about Matt needing to be amazing in the last round, and one read into it that the other two had to drop their standards. I was expecting this round to carry the most weight, nonetheless, and sure that Matt and Nicole would be stronger.
A deceptively simple challenge – a brief you could certainly put your own spin on, but lots of time to do it. From their descriptions, Clare’s gown did seem classy but less of a showstopper, though Esme was worried that Nicole had gone too far, while Matt’s design always looked like it would have the most impact.
And then it appeared he couldn’t sew the material. It gradually emerged that Clare wouldn’t be able to fit and adjust the gown before it was done!!! Nicole did a Nicole boo-boo with the lining, which put her waaaay behind, and I suspect she was fibbing when she said that the way she’d attached the sequined feathers was intentional and not the result of the lack of time. Still, it was obvious when her not that close a friend put on the dress why she’d asked her. The dress was a lot classier than Esme had led me to suspect it would be, with an amazing cut-out on the back. Clare’s red satin dress was beautiful, although I thought the pucker had done it for her, while despite some issues, Matt’s dress was amazing, and I thought won the round (and thus the competition). I’ve wanted Clare to win for ages, because she’s been my favourite if you couldn’t tell, but for all her strengths, I really didn’t think she was the one the judges had in mind when they talked to Joe about a clear winner. However, if we’re coming down to ovrall sewing skills, it seems fair.
Her shock was palpable all through the results section. Again, her mother was magnificent, and they should have a spin-off show, frankly. The round-up of what everyone had been doing was even ore poignant this year, and the fact that Clare was a consultant in lungs (I’d thought it was another specialty) must have given the producers warm fuzzy feelings than usual about the judges’ choice.
I can’t see how they can film the show in its normal format for a while yet, sadly.
I only started watching this episode (the quarter final! Only five competitors left!) when the competitors were running around in the haberdashery. This was apt as, as ever, The Choice of Fabric, was important, and Mark was in trouble from the get-go although Esme managed not to give it away. Nicole thought the style of the pattern was similar to styles she’d seen in her childhood, but her choice of fabric also let her down, while the others succeeded to do more, and Clare even managed an impressive French seam, and from the comments was obviously going to come first.
The transformation round was the closest one, as everyone enjoyed free rein. As soon as Nicole said that she wasn’t really bothered about pattern matching, her fate was doomed, while Mark’s description of what he was doing seemed lacking. I really liked what Liz came up with, although I think I’d have liked it more if it had had balanced (big, dramatic) sleeves, but Patrick was clearly impressed by the amount of sewing Clare had packed into her little girl’s dress (bringing it up again at the end of the episode round-up). No wonder she was beaming. She and Joe get on. Joe somehow made jokes about his inability to speak other languages funny, even though, on principle, I hate monoglotism. I suppose pretending to be Australian at the beginning offset the fact that he was using Japanese to greet Liz during the Filipino pattern challenge (oh, by the way, interesting to hear about Imelda Marco’s history with the outfit, because I just associate her with shoes, so who am I to claim anyone else is reductive?)
For made to measure, one had to wait to see what all the garments would look like. The judges were really picky. Before that, we were treated to Clare (!) falling behind, and I’m still not sure how she got the waistband wrong, or was it what came before that took up the time? On the other hand, Mark had given himself less to do. I loved Matt’s colours, and the idea of using a modern material was cool, but did not help ultimately. Liz made her own twist on it, but, yes, Nicole’s skirt made the most impact. Once again, she’d saved herself with a garment-of-the-week-worthy made to measure, and suddenly it was between the men as to who would leave. However, I’d felt there was no fight in Mark in between days one and two.
Semi finals – Movie Week
Because it’s an extended series, the show went all Strictly Come Dancing and chose movies as its themes. The pattern was for an iconic dress indeed, and it was obviously a challenge, as only one person finished in the time they had. I thought the more vibrant colours worked, but it was hard to tell how bad Nicole’s boo-boo was. In hindsight, it was the invisible zip fail that told for Liz.
A veritable transformation challenge, with everyone mentioning a different influence, and me thinking, ‘Actual costume designers have weeks to plan and discuss and sketch and a whole aesthetic to work with, not ninety minutes!’ I couldn’t work out what Nicole was doing until I saw it on the mannequin, but I couldn’t work out what Liz was doing even at that point. I think sewing up the PVC stopped Matt from doing much else, while as soon as the skirt was done, Clare’s outfit had wow factor, and from the judges’ comments, it was quite obvious how they would be ranked.
A bit of gay men not knowing anything about womenfolk from Joe and Matt, though Joe was generally funny riffing off movies, and I thought the Charleston bit with Clare helped relax her.
Flapper dresses for made to measure, and oddly, a style where the fit didn’t matter as much as it normally does. The materials used were all gorgeous. Nicole again averted disaster by the skin of her teeth, but the judges’ round-up from upstairs stuck. Liz’s was easily the best, but – again, in hindsight, the fact that she’d avoided embellished materials and that difficulty factor told against her. As Clare reminded us of her problems with the made to measure, I was reminded that she’s never come top in this round. They tried to put Matt in danger, and at the time, I thought they chose Clare’s transformation as the garment of the week over Liz’s gothy flapper dress to draw out the tension, although in hindsight, it wasn’t the reason. Liz was sent home – and it’s always tough to be fourth, because there’s no time to process, they’re back to witness the final. Would I have called this top 3? Not in the middle of the series, necessarily.
Having a movie week works for this show. I love movie costumes, and I’m fascinated to know what iconic outfits they’ll turn to in the future.
Finals – Finals
Matt donned a technicolor coat, Clare risked my ire by whipping off her glasses and putting on contacts because it was the finals. We were reminded that Nicole had won loads of garments of the week for ‘impactful’ made to measures, Matt had won two and had won the most pattern challenges, while Clare had won the most recent transformation challenges, but had never won a made to measure. We also learned that Nicole has cute kids, Matt’s loved ones thought he ought to leave his job for fashion, and CLARE’S MUM WAS A MARVEL. With the pride and the cat!
And the first pattern challenge (I always forget they go through the same three rounds even in the final) was dastardly. It wouldn’t be a pattern challenge without someone picking the wrong
We learned a little about Patrick’s Scottish heritage and later Esme dropped an anecdote that May Martin never could have, bless her.
The transformation, on the face of it, seemed to suit Nicole and Matt more than Clare, but she had a clear idea of what she was going to do and Matt had never been to a carnival. Obviously, Nicole was in her element, while Matt seemed to have gained inspiration from one of Joe’s mucking about with rejected materials looks, which is never a good sign. It was hilarious that Joe’s look barely registered with Clare, so he went for an even dafter one. I observed before Nicole and Matt that they didn’t seem to be using both of the outfits they had been asked to transform, but they did so in enough time to rectify the defect. Meanwhile, Clare only realised at the last that her front was plain. Just looking at them, Matt’s was the weakest, Clare’s had wings, but Nicole’s was a wowzer. I’m also fairly certain the judges could work out exactly who’d done what immediately, as they were so them.
The judges mumbled something about Matt needing to be amazing in the last round, and one read into it that the other two had to drop their standards. I was expecting this round to carry the most weight, nonetheless, and sure that Matt and Nicole would be stronger.
A deceptively simple challenge – a brief you could certainly put your own spin on, but lots of time to do it. From their descriptions, Clare’s gown did seem classy but less of a showstopper, though Esme was worried that Nicole had gone too far, while Matt’s design always looked like it would have the most impact.
And then it appeared he couldn’t sew the material. It gradually emerged that Clare wouldn’t be able to fit and adjust the gown before it was done!!! Nicole did a Nicole boo-boo with the lining, which put her waaaay behind, and I suspect she was fibbing when she said that the way she’d attached the sequined feathers was intentional and not the result of the lack of time. Still, it was obvious when her not that close a friend put on the dress why she’d asked her. The dress was a lot classier than Esme had led me to suspect it would be, with an amazing cut-out on the back. Clare’s red satin dress was beautiful, although I thought the pucker had done it for her, while despite some issues, Matt’s dress was amazing, and I thought won the round (and thus the competition). I’ve wanted Clare to win for ages, because she’s been my favourite if you couldn’t tell, but for all her strengths, I really didn’t think she was the one the judges had in mind when they talked to Joe about a clear winner. However, if we’re coming down to ovrall sewing skills, it seems fair.
Her shock was palpable all through the results section. Again, her mother was magnificent, and they should have a spin-off show, frankly. The round-up of what everyone had been doing was even ore poignant this year, and the fact that Clare was a consultant in lungs (I’d thought it was another specialty) must have given the producers warm fuzzy feelings than usual about the judges’ choice.
I can’t see how they can film the show in its normal format for a while yet, sadly.
