Episode 1: AND SEW IT BEGINS

I wanted to write about the first episode just from our point of view but than i realized we are not always there when the cameras are rolling so i will have to mix my own experiences with what i saw when the episode aired and also what Tim Gunn had to say on his facebook video blog.

The first day of shooting I arrived all excited and nervous in the same time. Let me tell you: Since i have recovered from leukemia i did couple of modeling jobs but no runway or any tv so it was all new and nerve wrecking for me.
It was quite a relief when i found out that i know some girls already. During the day I started to talk to the the most of the other girls and I have to say there wasn't anyone i would not like. Of course there were some moments when someone was getting on my nerves later on as I'm pretty sure that I must have been getting on the nerves of most of the people around me. Especially since I can talk anyone's ear off :)

For the first episode we were randomly paired with one of the designers. I remember while i walked in the room and searched for my designer I could feel my face burning. When I later looked in the mirror i realized that I'm red like a tomato. I guess that's why you cannot see me at all in the tv during our first fitting :-D
Thank God my designer turned out to be the nicest guy ever - Michael Costello. I cannot describe it but from the first moment i felt like we clicked right away and we created a truly unbreakable connection. I really liked the outfit which he created for the first episode. I mean 5 hours to create an outfit? From someone elses clothes? I think they all deserved the respect for being able to pull thru..

During the time when we were doing our fittings, make ups in L'oreal room and hair in Garnier salon I had a chance to have a glimpse of some of the designer personalities. 
Goth inspired April who i liked instantly for her laid back and friendly personality, Ivy who famously said on tv that she thinks that Project Runway is officially The Ivy show and who reminded me of the bunny from Duracell commercials coming from the fact she would never stop running around, funny Casanova who some of the people disliked at some blogs but if any of them met him they would all know what a sweetheart he is (No Casanova... New Jork won't eat you, YOU WILL EAT NEW JORK :), strange looking Jason who is trying to intimidate other designers with a bowler hat like native americans with their mohawks (ehm...it might scare some preschool kids but that's about it ) and Gretchen who at first glance seemed like a cool hippie and urban girl...

After we finished our make-ups, hair and dressing we were sent to runway. I didnt realize that poor Sarae - Casanovas model - wasn't even dressed when we were about to hit elevator. Thank god for the tv :-)

And there it was: the new shiny runway with the famous wall where you can see the silhouette of the model as she comes out on the stage!! We all got the chance to try the runway before we start shooting. The first girl comes out with all the graciousness and....whooops....her foot slips and she so so manages to hold her balance. Whats wrong with the stage? It feels like an ice rink... They should have given us a skates instead of high heels.. In the backstage we tried everything...even spraying the bottom of the shoes with hair spray which is a common modeling trick but even that didn't work. The crew tried everything but time was passing and we were shooting for way too long so we all decided to deal with it and just walk really reaaaaaally slow. So yeah dear bloggers we did look like we walk slow and careful with a fear in our eyes....you cant WORK the CATWALK when you can't WALK :-)

After the runway we usually wait around until the decision about top 3 and bottom 3 is made. They usually tell us who goes back on the stage but we have no idea who is the top and bottom. This time i was really confused. I couldn't figure which 3 are actually the top since most of them didn't really impress me. Later i found out that there was only one top and the rest were bottoms...
Let me just talk about these 6 designs. If i try to talk about all 17 I would probably go crazy...

THE WINNER:

Gretchen Jones and her model Alexandra Palmer

Some people disagreed with this garment as a winner. I didn't really mind it as a winner. It was definitely something i would wear. Very New York if you ask me. But did i think that it was so good that nothing even came close as the judges thought? Not really.. There were some other pretty good designs which came really close! Specially Andy's... How in the world did he managed to saw all that in just 5 hours?

BOTTOM 5:

Nicholas D'Aurizio and his model Julia

Nicholas is such a sweetheart so it breaks my heart to say that it really wasn't a nice outfit. His model has this amazing body (i called her a human barbie since she has this unbelievable long legs, tiny waist and big boobs) and it got all lost in this garment.

Ivy Higa and her model Ekaterina Py

I actually liked the top. Wouldn't wear it myself but i could see it selling somewhere in Macy's. The pants made were just not my cup of tea. Ivy than mouthed off way too much when she was trying to defend herself in front of the judges. I personally don't mind. It makes it more fun to watch. I just think she might have put herself in a danger zone going against the judges.

April Johnston and her model Millana Snow, Jason Troisi and his model Dre Davis

I didn't think April's garment was that bad. It wasn't one of the best but for the fact that they only had five hours i think it was alright!

Jason Jason...oh my... Do i even have to make a comment about him? That guy didn't design anything, he didn't saw anything either. He just stapled the kimono and presented it as a new design. Three year old could saw better!!! I was so sure he is going home... I mean just look at it all together: His bad design, horrible styling, the bowler hat and the totally inappropriate comments about Dre's boobs (to make sure that we all know that he is straight). Just a pure mess!!!

McKell Maddox and her model Vanessa Ratnavich

Well it wasn't my favorite. I thought it would be in the bottom. But did McKell deserve to go home over Jason? Hell NO!!! As Tim Gunn said in his video blog: What are the judges smoking?
I really liked McKell's portfolio and i felt like she could have shown us soooo much more. But that we will never know. At least she didn't have to be apart from her baby for too long...

I was also upset about the fact that there was no elimination of the models. I guess since McKell wasn't "officially" on the show her model got aufed automatically as well but that is purely just my speculation. Maybe I should be glad because that way I wasn't in danger to get eliminated but to tell you the truth I'm always for a fair game and sending Vanessa home just wasn't fair. I know Vanessa from waaaaaaayyyy back when we met in Bangkok. She is really an amazing girl who helped me to start up my career again  and I was just really sad that I didn't have the chance to get to hang out with her during the show more...

Post about Vanessa including her bio and modeling pictures will follow up shortly so don't forget to check back soon!!!!

All the photos courtesy of My lifetime 
http://www.mylifetime.com/shows/project-runway