olivier project runwayOn tonight's Project Runway, the designers had a serious reality check. Faced with the challenge of creating a design for a male client, most of them flipped out. "Men's wear?!" they screeched. Once all the slimmer guys had been chosen, Olivier practically had a meltdown about having to design for "FAT people?!" But then Heidi broke the news that nope, they wouldn't be designing for the men themselves. The men would be giving them the scoop on what their wives or girlfriends would want, and the designers would then create a garment for the men's significant others. The ladies would model the outfit to boot! "Wheeew, back to women's wear!!!" the designers gleefully sighed.

But, we soon learned why it's no WONDER we gals have such a complex about our body shapes and how we look in clothing. Designers are so trained and so coddled to create clothes that "work" only on waif-y twigs. They totally tweak out when faced with real women's figures!

After hearing their clients talk about how their wives or girlfriends had actual breasts and butts, the designers headed to Mood and flipped out, their eyes bugging out of their heads and whining that they needed SO MUCH MORE material! And how would fabric for bigger measurements fit with their budget, as Anya pointed out?! OMG. I was banging ... my head ... against ... the wall.

This is why it's a shame that the process behind each challenge doesn't really seem to count for anything ... because if the end result wasn't the be all and end all, then Olivier would have been in serious trouble this week. Now I know for sure that kid rubs me the wrong way! He was constantly whining about the idea of working with a real person, a client who actually desired a particular type of garment that flattered her feminine curves. Sure, the couple he was working with was a little New York-y/demanding, but I don't think they were unreasonable. It was totally Olivier with the stick up his butt. He even admitted he just wants to "create" what he likes for a bust-less, butt-less model that keeps her mouth shut, and that's all. Ugh! (I swear, it's like his feelings on fashion embody everything hateful about it.) I truly can't even believe he somehow managed to pull a very structured top and pants outfit together for his client, Suzanne, at the last minute.

But in the end, Olivier was safe, and Bryce was sent packing, because for his client's bubbly, pretty, petite wife, he designed a totally shlumpy (but BRIGHT PINK!) dress with way too many details and mega-deep, distracting thigh pockets (although I always see those kinds of dresses and agree with Michael Kors they probably wouldn't flatter any woman, but yet, they're everywhere!). And I just have to say I adored Joshua McKinley's winning dress -- a total "edit" for him -- befitting of Grace Kelly. I hope Laura Kathleen ate her words that it looked like a "funeral dress"!

Does Olivier get on your nerves? Or what about all of the designers' initial complaints about real women's boobs and butts?

 

Image via mylifetime.com