Thursday, January 17, 2008

Project Runway at-home challenge

I just recently discovered on BravoTV.com that they have a Project Runway at-home weekly challenge. Each new challenge is somewhat related to the challenge that was given to the designers on the actual show that week. When I found out about this, the challenge was "sketch an outfit using ONLY candy as your sketching materials." BLAH!

So, I skipped that one and waited for the next week's challenge. It was awesome! Make a prom dress for the year 5058. I was so excited I started conjuring up ideas instantly and was sewing my outfit the next day. You only have one week worth of time, until the next episode airs, to complete the outfit and submit your entry online. I sewed like a banshee and was done Tuesday morning with bleeding fingers and tired eyes and this is what emerged:



My outfit was made from faux ostrich leather, ultrasuede and a slew of random interior decorating fabrics that I had had lying around the house. Is it a two-piece outfit with a fully lined corset style top that buckles across the front. I spray-painted a super sweet pair of Italian leather boots that I had had since 11th grade, borrowed a wig from a friend and voila! The look was complete. I was so excited and so was my model, KT Mayer. She looked fantastic and the outfit was exactly what I had pictured from the very beginning. Here's a close-up shot for a better look at the detailing:


I touched up my photos and made sure they were the right size for the contest regulations, filled out the entry form and sent everything through. I should probably say that if you win, and there is one winner each week for each challenge, you don't win a million bucks or anything. You get a copy of the Season 2 and 3 dvds of Project Runway and one of those 5 lb. Hershey bars. JUST what I need to help me get in shape. Regardless, I only have Season 1 on dvd, so I thought that was cool. I was SURE I could win!
As soon as the show was over last night I logged on to their website to see if they most recent contest entries were posted. They were! But wait, mine wasn't there?! Just a lot of plain dresses that looked like the same things people had made the week before and one semi-interesting ruffly dress. NONE of it looked futuristic, eye-catching or exquisitely and painstakingly crafted. Ahem! In the rules for the contest Bravo does say they reserve the right to NOT choose to post your entry on their page, even if it's the most awesome one ever, but what the heck? I worked SO hard and was so excited and to no avail.
The next at-home challenge is the best yet! Make something avant garde. I would completely rock at this! But alas, I will be out of town for the entire week for a funeral, and definitely won't have any time to make the dress I had in mind. I THINK you are allowed to submit a sketch though, so we'll see...