PR12E04: Sandrostorm

For the umpteenth time, we were teased with images from the storming out of Sandro. Would this be the episode where it actually happened, or was this a teaser for yet another episode down the line? More later…

A wacky challenge using bows ties as the inspiration, or using the Tie the Knot Foundation — set up to help in the fight for the acceptance of gay marriage across in the US — as the inspiration. Apparently bow ties don’t really come in plain, as they were there in all their scary colourfulness: plaids, stripes, patterns of all sorts. Watch the designers use them in such creative ways as suspenders (Sandro, Helen), straps (Kate) or a loose harness and train combo (Sue). Not really all that creative if you ask me, and all very literally trying to make sure that the bow tie was visible and looked like a bow tie, as opposed to being inspired by the form, the fabric or the idea behind it and heading off creatively. Add to that some judges and contestants in bow ties for the runway show and it was almost enough to make one gag on the literalness of it all — literally!

Strange behaviour…I’ll start with one of the less obvious ones. At Mood, the suggested budget was $200 (we’re practicing managing our money this season), but Sue managed to spend more than twice that. She’ll cast herself in the role of our dearly departed Timothy, diving into the scraps bin for fabric, if she doesn’t watch herself.

Okay, Sandro. When Tim came to give his mid-challenge critique, Sandro began by offering him a new nickname: Top Gunn (I’m presuming the second N there). Tim managed to accept that and have a little chuckle at it, but he clearly is not the nickname type. Sandro rails against judge Zac Posen and wants direction in how to win the contest. Tim’s “be true to yourself” message doesn’t really do it for him. After that little bit of angst, he flits around offering others advice (they probably all do this but the edits only show him this time around).

At the runway show, Sandro is among the safe ones, neither top 3 nor bottom 3. He isn’t satisfied with that and asks for some feedback on his look, which makes everyone gasp at the temerity of the request. Zac obliges by trotting out one of his best challenges to the Michael Kors commentary so far this season, something about a late date, a walk of shame and a ripped dress. I’m surprised Sandro didn’t try to rearrange his face then and there, but he didn’t. Zac would be wise to avoid any dark alleys for a while, though.

The judges also took a special moment out to single out Helen, safe because of her win last week, telling her that she was very lucky to have immunity, because otherwise she would have probably been going home. As a side note, in the category of bad luck for models, her model was the same woman who had to endure Timothy’s no hair no makeup rule in the first episode and then a deflated bust from Helen in the second. She really can’t catch a break!

So now the stage is set for a showdown between Sandro and Helen over who was most hard done by on the runway. Yell, yell, yell, cry, cry cry…even a couple of “YOU’RE out of order” judgments from Ken. Then Sandro exits grumpily and a little violently, pulling down a curtain, knocking over a mannequin as he stomps through what looked like a maze to reach the exit, and finally threatens to smash the camera that was following him and follows through! He has, as the judges politely say later, eliminated himself. So everyone else gets to stay.

Another lovely theme: just how out of touch are we with popular culture? Two winners here. Jeremy commenting that Miranda’s look seems like something from that film with 101 dogs (not very precise for a rather iconic story), and Nina saying that Sue’s dress made her think of Signore Weaver in Alien. Would that be Sigourney Weaver? Apparently Ms. Weaver is not on the upcoming judges list. Nina tries to show us how hip she is later by calling Kate’s pant (there are no plurals here) “sick” in a good way. You so street, Nina!

We did get some old standards back: things were just not “fashion forward” or they were, and there were some lovely moments — words and actions — that merit highlighting:

• Someone’s outfit was called “Punk futuristic geisha” (not in a good way)
• Zac to Jeremy: not comfortable with the “tummy eye” (referring to model’s exposed navel) But didn’t Braden’s winning outfit also expose the navel of his model?
• Zac pulled Sue’s model away from the others by her bow tie train during the “closer look” period
• Braden explains that the method he used to stitch together the ties for his model’s top was called “faggotting” much to the scandalized delight of guest judge Jessie Tyler Ferguson

I could have done without the strange “propose to the camera” thing that Braden did after being named winner, and the subsequent “get proposed to by your boyfriend who didn’t know you had done that” thing. I am SO over marriage being the number one important issue for the gays when there are so many other social problems our community faces that deserve more attention and resources than they are getting.

In any case, I’m bracing myself for the next meltdown. I expect that to come from Helen or Miranda, but it will be more tears and less violence. On the good side, both Dom and Justin keep making very lovely outfits and I expect them to start getting noticed soon.