PROJECT RUNWAY.....Season 12 Project Runway Recaps: Episode 4 "Fit To Be Bow Tied"

"Modern Family" actor and co-creator of "tie The Knot" tie company Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Tim Gunn--Season 12 Project Runway Episode 4

This week on Lifetime Network's Project Runway Season 12, the designers found themselves in a workroom full of ties. The ties were all from "Tie The Knot", a company/organization co-created by "Modern Family" actor Jesse Tyler Ferguson and his husband Justin Mikita...

 

Bow Tie Cuties: Justin Mikita and Jesse Tyler Ferguson

The designers were at first scared (look at those "Oh No!" faces above) that it was going to be the dreaded "Menswear Challenge"...

But as it turned out--notice how their their gasps turned into smiles--it wasn't. The challenge was to make a Look using at least ONE tie from "Tie The Knot", incorporating it into their design.

Jesse and Justin's "Tie The Knot" design company gives the proceed from sales of their ties toward Marriage Equality. So this was dubbed "The Marriage Equality" Episode, not just for that but of course for what happened when the winner of the Challenge was announced (Warning: Spoiler Alert!)...

Bow Tied Heidi--Season 12 Project Runway Episode 4

Bradon--he proposed to his partner of 18 years right then and there--then later found out via Skype from his partner that the Supreme Court had overturned DOMA and therefore now they could finally get married. Oh and yeah, there was Sandro Drama Drama Drama. The entire episode was a tour-de-force of crazy emotions running the gamut from wanting to throw something at the TV (I wanted to slap Sandro upside the head through the TV!) as well as crying (yes kids, my partner and I cried while watching the proposal part, both during the judging and later Skype call). Anyhow, let's discuss--briefly--the Runway Designs, before I can "set you free" to read my RECAP of the episode...

Posing Divas: Judges Jessee Tyler Ferguson, Nina Garcia, Heidi Klum and Zac Posen doing their best Diva Model Pose (I think the Winner here was Zac Posen HAND DOWN!)

The Good:

Dom Streater and Kate Pankoke: Both ladies did a very good job incorporating ties into their respective designs. I loved how Kate (right, above) did a bow tie shape in her skinny pants. I also really admired Dom's striped fitted dress (left, above) and the colorful bow tie neckline detail; it looked like a Rainbow Flag. I also thought the bow-shaped hair-bun was UBER fab!

Bradon McDonald: Bradon did a superb job in his ensemble of tweed boucle shorts and cropped bolero style jacket but it was his top completely made out of ties that got him the win. The top was a definite homage to ties and Jesse's "Tie The Knot" brand and his use of the faggoting technique:

Faggoting (also spelled Fagoting): Also called a Featherstitch, is an embroidery technique made of open looped stitches worked alternately to the right and left of a central rib--like the images above--Bradon showed myself and Tim Gunn a jacket with this technique during the Los Angeles Casting/Audition in a design he made for his "FIDM Debut 2013" Graduation Show collection:

 Bradon McDonald and the cropped bolero jacket he showed us during the Project Runway Season 12 L.A. Castings--the jacket was made of spaghetti bias strips held together using the faggoting technique--Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising/FIDM Debut 2013 Show

Now, the Not-So-Good:

Miranda Levy: Oh Miranda, she loves a Pencil Skirt. In fact I don't think she ever met a Pencil Skirt she didn't like. It seems to be the only thing she can do! For this challenge, she did it again and then made a big mistake by cropping the blouse and exposing the midriff. It went from Ladies-Who-Lunch to Ratchet and Tacky in one hot scissor move.

Sue Waller: Speaking of tacky. Sue's black jersey tank dress with bow tie "harness" straps was a mess. It was very Helena Bonham Carter Red Carpet DISASTER. She was probably going to go home were it not for Sandro and his UGLY attitude, yelling, being confrontational and eventually, leaving the show altogether...

Sandro Masmanidi: Oh, and yes, his design wasn't that good either. It was a pink Demi Moore at the 1989 Oscars-like concoction (sans the bicycle shorts, Thank God!) that screamed late 1980s/early 1990s Gianfranco Ferre for Dior--and not in a good Couture way.

Bye Sandro...and HELLO to my Recap--below is what I REALLY thought of this week's episode:

Fit to be Bow Tied

Chaotic and wonderful. Two words to describe last night’s rollercoaster of an episode. One minute I wanted to throw something at the TV and the next, I was crying with tears of joy. Let’s begin with the "how timely" factor. As you may know, lately there has been some rampant homophobia and anti-gay legislation that has been passed by the Russian Government (Sandro’s homeland coincidentally enough). Mark that with the contrast of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to strike down DOMA and require the Federal Government to recognize same-sex marriage. This episode aired at a fitting time indeed and a coup for "Project Runway" injecting itself into current events. Now, let me get to the recap before the Supreme Court changes its mind…

Pow!
The episode began with a POW! Tattooed Helen and Anger Management Issues Sandro were arguing and shouting; Sandro subsequently storms out of Parsons, punches a cameraman (or the camera to be more precise)...and scene. Cut to 36 hours earlier: the designers awake at their Refinery Hotel, get ready and head to Parsons to await their next challenge. In the workroom, they are greeted by hundreds of colorful bow ties. The minute the designers see all the bow ties, there is an, "Oh no, Are we doing menswear?" gasp. But, alas, their frowns transition into smiles as they quickly learn that it is not. Tim Gun—in a bow tie—of course, introduces "Modern Family" actor Jesse Tyler Ferguson. Jesse is the co-creator and designer of Tie the Knot, a tie company created to support marriage equality.

Bradon vs. Sandro: The Two Story Arcs
The challenge is to design a look using at least one bow tie in a non-traditional way. After Mood shopping, the designers head back to the workroom. Two separate stories begin to form within this episode. The first centering on Bradon and his partner Josh; we learn that they have been together for 18 years—longer than many straight marriages, thank you very much! How "un-traditional" indeed. The second storyline is focused on Sandro. As the intro tease shows us, something will go down, but first we need to learn about the beginning and middle, since we already learned the end. As the episode moves on, Sandro is venting to his fellow designers (and Tim Gunn) about how annoyed he is at the judges’ critiques telling him...

To Continue Reading my Recap on MyLifetime.com "Project Runway Blog", Click HERE