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feather_ghyllEpisode 5 – Art week, a new theme. And it must be said before I forget, that someone had been working hard on the props for Sara’s time checks.
Round 1: a modernist skirt, where the contestants needed to applique abstract shapes as well as do the skirt properly. Some people (Tony the teacher, Lauren who didn’t want to look childlike, and Fauve the literalist) rebelled. Mia discovered late in the challenge that she’d somehow lost a chunk of material. The last bit they had to do was a big bow (for Esme.) The top 3 were fairly obvious because there were no criticisms for their sewing and pleased observations about where they’d put the applique (also they’d tended to go for bright colours) so they were Vicky in third, Asmaa in second and Lizzie (to her surprise) in first. I think that as a former art student she (and perhaps crafty Mia) had a good grasp of this theme.
Tony the teacher hadn’t just picked drab colours, the sewing had let him down. Lauren’s black on green didn’t work either, and Tony the postman had an interesting nod to fire, but his sewing had let him down.
Transformation: turning specially commissioned painted canvases (the poor art students who’d done them without knowing for what) into structural outfits. It soon became clear that the eight remaining contestants could be divided into two: those who got the sculptural requirement, and those who didn’t (and panicked). Lauren was going for drama, Mia, Asmaa and Fauve were happily pinning, folding and sewing. Fauve remains the most engaging talker to camera, letting us know that her name comes from Fauvism, although her family aren’t arty. Sara started to realise that the crush on Patrick was going into uncomfortable territory, and there was now a bit of an edge for the viewer in any interaction between Fauve and him.
Sara tried to give a ‘Buck up’ speech to Vicky, but she still wasn’t doing anything very structural to her outfit, and neither was Tony the teacher. I didn’t mind what Tony the postman did, but the judges seemed to hate the way he’d cut the front.
I thought the ranking was fair – Lauren (redeeming herself) deserved second, but Asmaa’s creation was wonderful from every direction, and the nautilus front etc proved that it wasn’t just dramatic sleeves. Vicky, who admitted to struggling with spontaneous creativity, had now put herself in trouble by being in the second to last spot, while Tony the teacher was definitely in trouble, having come last.
The made to measure was a really interesting challenge: using the surrealists as an inspiration for a dress. Asmaa was a teacher’s pet by using her own dreams as inspiration, while the majority used an artist or painting as a reference point. They were all very different looks.
The only major crisis was Vicky realising the top of her striking design didn’t fit – which is quite major. Lizzie’s also had an eye motif, and if she’d done the eye a little better – if it had looked as effective as Vicky’s – her outfit would have had more impact. Lauren’s had some wow factor, although I thought the criticism was fair.
Tony the teacher, once again, had pulled off a dramatic look, although the judges had some criticisms about the sewing. Fauve had pulled off an even more dramatic look (I liked it as a dress, although I wasn’t entirely convinced that she’d quite recreated the sharp shapes.) Mia’s was a fun take in contrast, although Esme wanted more rain drops, which made the garment of the week predictable. Asmaa’s concept hadn’t fully translated – I didn’t think the snake looked that good, and Patrick pointed out that there was a simpler way she could have done it all that might have looked better. Tony the postman had a neat ‘ceci n’est pas un pipe’ riffing with a ‘this is a dress’ concept, but it was quite a simple dress, and Esme was spot on about the choice of graphics.
He and Vicky were in the conversation for who would leave, but the other Tony’s sewing problems (caused by choosing velvet as a material) and the two last places on the first day meant that he would be the one to leave. I found the other Tony’s disrespect for his not wanting a hug when he was upset a bit distasteful, myself. The kinder thing to do is to restrain yourself from your self-ordained way of expressing kindness when someone has said quite clearly they’re uncomfortable with it, sir.
Episode 6 – Children’s week
The pattern challenge was a child’s dragon bathrobe, which involved using a new, thick material and binding on top of many layers. Four hours, lots to sew. Some people became increasingly frazzled, especially by the bagging out of loops and belts, and the final details of adding teeth and eyes were very fraught. Most of the colours worked – well done, Fauve, for going for the Welsh colours. Some of the choices about different edges didn’t quite work. Again, it was obvious that Lizzie, who’d received unadulterated praise, would come first and Asmaa second.
The transformation challenge might be better described as snazzing up a child’s denim jacket with hand-me-downs. Half of them seemed confident, the other half of less so (Vicky was already talking herself down even as she started doing something to the collar.) They only had 75 minutes. Lizzie seemed to have things under control, Lauren was taking inspiration from her father and going big on the back of the jacket, Mia was doing something she’d like, Fauve was very busy, and Tony had dinosaurs on the brain – I think the judges must have guessed which was his.
Things changed in the last few minutes: had Lizzie been mad to snip the sleeves? Asmaa’s poofy ruffles had some impact, but had she done enough? Lauren’s front was relatively plain compared with the back. Vicky and Tony had been layering more stuff.
I was a little surprised by how people were ranked – Asmaa came last! It would later emerge in conversation with Sara that although the winner was clearly the best, everyone had come close. We got to see Lizzie’s super-surprised face as she came top again.
Made to measure was a dress for an event for a five year old girl, and by now we had a good idea of who was used to sewing for children – Lauren and Vicky most of all. Parents like Asmaa and Tony claimed they weren’t. They were all very nice with their little models, with Fauve’s getting to play with the doll of Patrick – which he by now knew about.
Lauren seems to do everything her own way, as she was doing a version of the kind of dress shops make for two year olds for an older girl, as she’s done for her actual daughter. It was more for Sunday wear than event wear – most of the other dresses had more pizzazz e.g. Mia was going for Christmas, Vicky for the princess dress she never made her own daughter, and Asmaa was going for a very ambitious multi layered aqua creation.
Tony was trying out his simple idea as per last week – this time using neoprene for what kind of feels like a basic idea of a dress – with a bow and rhinestones, mind. Fauve was going for a dressy jumpsuit, and Lizzie for something that she, a tomboy as a girl, would have liked to wear. Only she was starting with the skirt, because that was meant to be the easy bit.
Mia seemed quite happy, despite doing a bit about how everyone was ‘bullying’ her for being the youngest. If said bullying was at the level of what Sara was dishing, it wasn’t bullying. Lauren was also fairly chirpy, but it became obvious that Asmaa and Vicky had a lot to do and were tense about doing it, while, by the time the judges had a confab, Lizzie was way behind. She hadn’t started on the waistcoat, which was meant to be the hardest part. And while everyone else had finished (never mind the standard) she hadn’t.
I was a little overwhelmed by this catwalk, it seemed like all the contestants hadn’t made the most of their ability to practice the outfit, although the show seems very timeconsuming. What was nice, though, was when the child models clearly adored what they were wearing.
Lauren’s didn’t have enough oomph, Asmaa’s colours were lovely, but, like Vicky, who had rushed to get it done, she’d been too ambitious for the time. Mia’s did have impact, and though I totally took Patrick’s point that the design needed a little more red in the front, I think they had fewer issues with her sewing than they did with Tony’s, whose design and material choice were a triumph. Fauve, despite being so proud of her cuffs and for doing something on this scale, had issues with the fit, while Lizzie hadn’t finished her waistcoat or done it well enough.
Would her stellar first day save her? The judges indicated that everyone was very close. I slightly quibbled over Tony getting garment of the week over Mia, but Fauve was the one to go – tearfully. She’ll be missed for entertainment value (but narratively, now that Patrick knew about the doll, there wasn’t anywhere to go but very uncomfortable territory.) Every time I think I know who the likely finalists are (Asmaa, Lizzie and Mia, maybe…) an episode like this throws things up in the air.
Episode 7 – 90s week (I recognised all the music they played.)
Tough cargo pants pattern challenge. The zip challenged some, although they’d get more harshly judged on the top fastening. The bellows pocket challenged others – unlike Lauren, Asmaa went back and redid a mistake, which led to better results. Mia would like us all to know she’s too young to remember the 90s, while Lizzie chatted about her memories thereof. Vicky kept her head down. I liked the colours Mia and Asmaa had picked, Lauren OF COURSE went for the blandest colour, while Lizzie and Tony went for camo. The judges ranked via errors, then messy sewing, through to the least criticisms, and for once, Vicky pushed Asmaa into second place.
I thought the transformation challenge was a bit tough, although they tried to give the contestants big hints in the ‘household materials’ they were meant to transform into 90s icons themed fancy dress. (I saw a check pattern when the judges talked to Sara that made me think of Cher Horowitz, the Clueless style icon.) Sadly, we got three Spice Girls (two Ginger union jack dresses), one Madonna, and one JLo and one Keith from Prodigy (the pictures that we got to see but the judge didn’t made the connections easier to make, but as Lizzie gender flipped her outfit, it was adding an extra layer.)
They only had an hour and a half. I thought Vicky’s outfit was better as an outfit than Tony’s, although she’d only had pillowcases whereas he’d scavenged the duvet cover and thus had more material to work with. Lauren’s top was particularly good, and I thought she should have won in any case, but the judging metrics seemed to have involved judge recognition, and so it went to Mia.
Lizzie was in the bottom two twice, but the judges claimed that it was very close between all of them, and so it depended on the made to measure, which was 90s supermodel dresses. They did all interpret it their own way, but Lauren and Lizzie were doing something similar, Tony was doing a very Tony interpretation of the brief (graphic, involving scuba material). Vicky was doing something for the plus size models, and Asmaa was going less Western. Mia was perhaps the furthest out of her comfort zone.
When Lizzie was still cutting while everyone else had started, it was not a good sign.
Not much to say about the construction, Mia clearly ran out of time, Lizzie had to finish in a great rush too. Tony wasn’t happy with the neck of his dress, and it would get criticised. Vicky decided not to put boning around the waist, and I tended to agree with the judges that that was the wrong decision design wise. By the time she’d finished, Asmaa was in tears of joy, and her dress was a wowzer – admittedly, the point about the length was right, but otherwise it was very impressive. Vicky probably ran her closest for garment of the week, because Mia really didn’t have enough chains. The other three had simpler designs that needed to be exquisitely sewn, but while there were issues with Tony and Lauren’s, they were fewer in number than with Lizzie’s, so I wasn’t surprised that she was let go. She talked touchingly in her final interview about how this experience had given her a connection with her mother, who had died when she was a child.
It really feels like it depends on how the challenges go now for those remaining.
Round 1: a modernist skirt, where the contestants needed to applique abstract shapes as well as do the skirt properly. Some people (Tony the teacher, Lauren who didn’t want to look childlike, and Fauve the literalist) rebelled. Mia discovered late in the challenge that she’d somehow lost a chunk of material. The last bit they had to do was a big bow (for Esme.) The top 3 were fairly obvious because there were no criticisms for their sewing and pleased observations about where they’d put the applique (also they’d tended to go for bright colours) so they were Vicky in third, Asmaa in second and Lizzie (to her surprise) in first. I think that as a former art student she (and perhaps crafty Mia) had a good grasp of this theme.
Tony the teacher hadn’t just picked drab colours, the sewing had let him down. Lauren’s black on green didn’t work either, and Tony the postman had an interesting nod to fire, but his sewing had let him down.
Transformation: turning specially commissioned painted canvases (the poor art students who’d done them without knowing for what) into structural outfits. It soon became clear that the eight remaining contestants could be divided into two: those who got the sculptural requirement, and those who didn’t (and panicked). Lauren was going for drama, Mia, Asmaa and Fauve were happily pinning, folding and sewing. Fauve remains the most engaging talker to camera, letting us know that her name comes from Fauvism, although her family aren’t arty. Sara started to realise that the crush on Patrick was going into uncomfortable territory, and there was now a bit of an edge for the viewer in any interaction between Fauve and him.
Sara tried to give a ‘Buck up’ speech to Vicky, but she still wasn’t doing anything very structural to her outfit, and neither was Tony the teacher. I didn’t mind what Tony the postman did, but the judges seemed to hate the way he’d cut the front.
I thought the ranking was fair – Lauren (redeeming herself) deserved second, but Asmaa’s creation was wonderful from every direction, and the nautilus front etc proved that it wasn’t just dramatic sleeves. Vicky, who admitted to struggling with spontaneous creativity, had now put herself in trouble by being in the second to last spot, while Tony the teacher was definitely in trouble, having come last.
The made to measure was a really interesting challenge: using the surrealists as an inspiration for a dress. Asmaa was a teacher’s pet by using her own dreams as inspiration, while the majority used an artist or painting as a reference point. They were all very different looks.
The only major crisis was Vicky realising the top of her striking design didn’t fit – which is quite major. Lizzie’s also had an eye motif, and if she’d done the eye a little better – if it had looked as effective as Vicky’s – her outfit would have had more impact. Lauren’s had some wow factor, although I thought the criticism was fair.
Tony the teacher, once again, had pulled off a dramatic look, although the judges had some criticisms about the sewing. Fauve had pulled off an even more dramatic look (I liked it as a dress, although I wasn’t entirely convinced that she’d quite recreated the sharp shapes.) Mia’s was a fun take in contrast, although Esme wanted more rain drops, which made the garment of the week predictable. Asmaa’s concept hadn’t fully translated – I didn’t think the snake looked that good, and Patrick pointed out that there was a simpler way she could have done it all that might have looked better. Tony the postman had a neat ‘ceci n’est pas un pipe’ riffing with a ‘this is a dress’ concept, but it was quite a simple dress, and Esme was spot on about the choice of graphics.
He and Vicky were in the conversation for who would leave, but the other Tony’s sewing problems (caused by choosing velvet as a material) and the two last places on the first day meant that he would be the one to leave. I found the other Tony’s disrespect for his not wanting a hug when he was upset a bit distasteful, myself. The kinder thing to do is to restrain yourself from your self-ordained way of expressing kindness when someone has said quite clearly they’re uncomfortable with it, sir.
Episode 6 – Children’s week
The pattern challenge was a child’s dragon bathrobe, which involved using a new, thick material and binding on top of many layers. Four hours, lots to sew. Some people became increasingly frazzled, especially by the bagging out of loops and belts, and the final details of adding teeth and eyes were very fraught. Most of the colours worked – well done, Fauve, for going for the Welsh colours. Some of the choices about different edges didn’t quite work. Again, it was obvious that Lizzie, who’d received unadulterated praise, would come first and Asmaa second.
The transformation challenge might be better described as snazzing up a child’s denim jacket with hand-me-downs. Half of them seemed confident, the other half of less so (Vicky was already talking herself down even as she started doing something to the collar.) They only had 75 minutes. Lizzie seemed to have things under control, Lauren was taking inspiration from her father and going big on the back of the jacket, Mia was doing something she’d like, Fauve was very busy, and Tony had dinosaurs on the brain – I think the judges must have guessed which was his.
Things changed in the last few minutes: had Lizzie been mad to snip the sleeves? Asmaa’s poofy ruffles had some impact, but had she done enough? Lauren’s front was relatively plain compared with the back. Vicky and Tony had been layering more stuff.
I was a little surprised by how people were ranked – Asmaa came last! It would later emerge in conversation with Sara that although the winner was clearly the best, everyone had come close. We got to see Lizzie’s super-surprised face as she came top again.
Made to measure was a dress for an event for a five year old girl, and by now we had a good idea of who was used to sewing for children – Lauren and Vicky most of all. Parents like Asmaa and Tony claimed they weren’t. They were all very nice with their little models, with Fauve’s getting to play with the doll of Patrick – which he by now knew about.
Lauren seems to do everything her own way, as she was doing a version of the kind of dress shops make for two year olds for an older girl, as she’s done for her actual daughter. It was more for Sunday wear than event wear – most of the other dresses had more pizzazz e.g. Mia was going for Christmas, Vicky for the princess dress she never made her own daughter, and Asmaa was going for a very ambitious multi layered aqua creation.
Tony was trying out his simple idea as per last week – this time using neoprene for what kind of feels like a basic idea of a dress – with a bow and rhinestones, mind. Fauve was going for a dressy jumpsuit, and Lizzie for something that she, a tomboy as a girl, would have liked to wear. Only she was starting with the skirt, because that was meant to be the easy bit.
Mia seemed quite happy, despite doing a bit about how everyone was ‘bullying’ her for being the youngest. If said bullying was at the level of what Sara was dishing, it wasn’t bullying. Lauren was also fairly chirpy, but it became obvious that Asmaa and Vicky had a lot to do and were tense about doing it, while, by the time the judges had a confab, Lizzie was way behind. She hadn’t started on the waistcoat, which was meant to be the hardest part. And while everyone else had finished (never mind the standard) she hadn’t.
I was a little overwhelmed by this catwalk, it seemed like all the contestants hadn’t made the most of their ability to practice the outfit, although the show seems very timeconsuming. What was nice, though, was when the child models clearly adored what they were wearing.
Lauren’s didn’t have enough oomph, Asmaa’s colours were lovely, but, like Vicky, who had rushed to get it done, she’d been too ambitious for the time. Mia’s did have impact, and though I totally took Patrick’s point that the design needed a little more red in the front, I think they had fewer issues with her sewing than they did with Tony’s, whose design and material choice were a triumph. Fauve, despite being so proud of her cuffs and for doing something on this scale, had issues with the fit, while Lizzie hadn’t finished her waistcoat or done it well enough.
Would her stellar first day save her? The judges indicated that everyone was very close. I slightly quibbled over Tony getting garment of the week over Mia, but Fauve was the one to go – tearfully. She’ll be missed for entertainment value (but narratively, now that Patrick knew about the doll, there wasn’t anywhere to go but very uncomfortable territory.) Every time I think I know who the likely finalists are (Asmaa, Lizzie and Mia, maybe…) an episode like this throws things up in the air.
Episode 7 – 90s week (I recognised all the music they played.)
Tough cargo pants pattern challenge. The zip challenged some, although they’d get more harshly judged on the top fastening. The bellows pocket challenged others – unlike Lauren, Asmaa went back and redid a mistake, which led to better results. Mia would like us all to know she’s too young to remember the 90s, while Lizzie chatted about her memories thereof. Vicky kept her head down. I liked the colours Mia and Asmaa had picked, Lauren OF COURSE went for the blandest colour, while Lizzie and Tony went for camo. The judges ranked via errors, then messy sewing, through to the least criticisms, and for once, Vicky pushed Asmaa into second place.
I thought the transformation challenge was a bit tough, although they tried to give the contestants big hints in the ‘household materials’ they were meant to transform into 90s icons themed fancy dress. (I saw a check pattern when the judges talked to Sara that made me think of Cher Horowitz, the Clueless style icon.) Sadly, we got three Spice Girls (two Ginger union jack dresses), one Madonna, and one JLo and one Keith from Prodigy (the pictures that we got to see but the judge didn’t made the connections easier to make, but as Lizzie gender flipped her outfit, it was adding an extra layer.)
They only had an hour and a half. I thought Vicky’s outfit was better as an outfit than Tony’s, although she’d only had pillowcases whereas he’d scavenged the duvet cover and thus had more material to work with. Lauren’s top was particularly good, and I thought she should have won in any case, but the judging metrics seemed to have involved judge recognition, and so it went to Mia.
Lizzie was in the bottom two twice, but the judges claimed that it was very close between all of them, and so it depended on the made to measure, which was 90s supermodel dresses. They did all interpret it their own way, but Lauren and Lizzie were doing something similar, Tony was doing a very Tony interpretation of the brief (graphic, involving scuba material). Vicky was doing something for the plus size models, and Asmaa was going less Western. Mia was perhaps the furthest out of her comfort zone.
When Lizzie was still cutting while everyone else had started, it was not a good sign.
Not much to say about the construction, Mia clearly ran out of time, Lizzie had to finish in a great rush too. Tony wasn’t happy with the neck of his dress, and it would get criticised. Vicky decided not to put boning around the waist, and I tended to agree with the judges that that was the wrong decision design wise. By the time she’d finished, Asmaa was in tears of joy, and her dress was a wowzer – admittedly, the point about the length was right, but otherwise it was very impressive. Vicky probably ran her closest for garment of the week, because Mia really didn’t have enough chains. The other three had simpler designs that needed to be exquisitely sewn, but while there were issues with Tony and Lauren’s, they were fewer in number than with Lizzie’s, so I wasn’t surprised that she was let go. She talked touchingly in her final interview about how this experience had given her a connection with her mother, who had died when she was a child.
It really feels like it depends on how the challenges go now for those remaining.
