Michael sends some things out to be done. Some beading, specifically. And Uli, of course, sent nothing out. [Laughs] ‘Cause Uli never left her apartment. She couldn’t – couldn’t have done it. So we have the receipts and Laura’s just under budget by a couple of hundred dollars. Michael’s under budget by a thousand dollars, and I thought – Michael, should have spent more money. And Uli, like Laura, is just under budget. They both planned very, very well. Jeffrey, however . . . we have his receipts. He’s over budget, and there is a receipt missing. According to him, he had sent something out and there should be have been an x, y, z receipt.
So, I’m going through all the receipts and I call him and tell him - Jeffrey, I can’t find a receipt for x. I ask him, who did the work? And he tells me and I said, Oh, all right, well I do have receipts here from this company for this and for that, but not for this item in question. He said, you only have two receipts from them? And I said, yeah, and he said, well, there should be four. Really? Well, of course this thing was a mess. So I thought, well, I just missed them. So, I went through them again because, if in fact I’ve missed anything, then it means the total was even higher. So I call Jeffrey back – Jeffrey, I cannot find these receipts and can you please contact the company and ask them to fax them to us, because we need them.
It’s clear now to everyone that we have drama brewing and we have a situation, and no one is unhappier about it than I am, and than the producers are. I mean, they’re really unhappy about it. Laura, in her own way, is sorry she ever raised the question, but you know something? I’m not. If there were issues to be addressed, we needed to address them. And she was quite right. If it hadn’t come up now, it was going to come up after the show and that would have been BAD. That would have been really bad. So, we just – we had a situation, we needed to look into it, and this was the time to do it. And, but of course, in and out of all this, the models are in and out, because they’re all having their fittings. And it’s not chaotic, it’s - in fact, it’s extremely well organized. But it’s just - there’s a lot of activity, a lot of hubbub. And we have a lot to be determined.
So, Jeffrey calls me to assert that he can’t get the receipts. And I have to say, I’m perplexed. Why? And he just says that knowing the company and knowing how they operate, he’s not at all surprised. And, of course, he knows them, I don’t. So that’s the way that is. So, what I want to assure everyone is that – I mean, we really looked into everything regarding Jeffrey and these issues. And we took it very, very seriously. And we were also literally entering into the eleventh hour. This was Thursday, the day before the Bryant Park show. It was nighttime. The designers were really finished. I mean, it was a miracle. It’s the first time it’s happened in three seasons. They were done, and ready. And I needed to meet with them for several reasons, one being to talk about the order in which they would present, but the other being what were the conclusions about Jeffrey? Because I knew everybody was completely stressed out about this and the most stressed out of all was Jeffrey, of course. So, I gather the designers around and say that we’ve had a very thorough investigation into these allegations and accusations about Jeffrey and the outsourcing and that I am confident about Jeffrey’s assertion that he did this work himself. Jeffrey collapses into a heap. I mean – he just, he’s a mess. Because he thought he wasn’t going to show. Which I didn’t really realize until then, ‘cause he can be very . . . well - in his own way, very arrogant. It’s like – well, of course I have to show. I mean, they can’t have a show without me – I’m Jeffrey Sebelia! But, boy he was . . . he was shaken by this experience, and it was rough.
We acknowledge that he did receive outside help, per him – it wasn’t the investigation that revealed it, Jeffrey told us: I received – uh, I sent this pleating out. And then there was a pair of shorts, leather shorts, that he had sent out, and it was the pleated short that we didn’t have the receipt for. You have to lose the shorts from your collection, Jeffrey. So you cannot show them. And this is at 11 o’clock at night before the show. I also declare, reveal, that all the designers were within their budget except Jeffrey, who was over by – I don’t know, $230 or something. So he had to remove $230 worth of whatever from what was going to be shown on Bryant Park. For Jeffrey, the $230 was easy. He had brought with him – had bought, and brought with him, a dozen blond wigs. And . . . he wasn’t going to use the wigs. That was his decision and it was - I thought it was a good one anyway. And I suggest that he call Nathaniel Hawkins right away, because Nathaniel’s prepared to style these wigs, not the models’ hair. So let’s give Nathaniel a good head’s up.
So once we get through this bit of drama, I declare that now that this is over and behind us, and it really is - this situation with Jeffrey, now that it’s behind us, that this really is an even playing field going into Olympus Fashion week in the morning. Very early in the morning, 5 o’clock. And I bring out the velvet bag to decide who will – the order in which the designers will present, and Jeffrey is first, followed by Uli, then Laura, and Michael will be last. And I say good night to them. Boy, what a day that was! Geez. And I didn’t sleep. I just decided – I mean, I was in bed, but I was staring at the ceiling and got up at 3:30, took a long shower, got dressed, and got up to the tents. And you know something? We’ve never had a more organized year backstage. It was remarkable. It was really great. Models showed up. All the hair and makeup people were there. The - my wonderful dressers from Parsons were there helping out. And it was really - it felt so positive. But can I add something? You know what else felt really positive? Having a final four and not having a decoy. Because for the last two seasons, we’ve had one designer - first it was Austin, and then it was Kara, who we had to ignore, because they weren’t gonna be on camera. And they’re marginalized, yet they’re still in the middle of this whole thing. It’s like, ah, you don’t matter - get away, the cameras are coming through! And it just felt – not nice. It felt awful. And I was just so glad that all four designers were being treated equally and with the same degree of attention and it…it was great. It was really, it was just great. I mean, I hope we never go back to having a decoy. It’s so disconcerting and uncomfortable. So that also, I have to say, I think was maybe the major contributor to why it felt so good back there and positive because they’re all four showing in the full light of day and in the full light of the Project Runway edits. So hooray and bravo!
Heidi and Nina and Michael are, of course, with us as judges and I am…well I’ll tell you too. [laughs] This is how caught up I was in the drama of the week. Not only did I not know who the guest judge was, I DIDN’T CARE! [laughs] It’s like, whatever! But then that morning, the morning of the show, I think it was probably about six o’clock…I asked Rich, I just said who is the guest judge, I’m just curious and he said Fern Mallis. Well, I was rhapsodic. I was sooo thrilled. Because I honestly thought, oh we’re going to end up … forgive me ... but with some B+ movie or TV person and we have an A+ fashion industry person. We have …we have the queen of fashion, not only in New York but everywhere. I mean, Fern Mallis runs every Fashion Week around the world, but she’s New York based and I’ve known her for years and she has seen every show under the sun and she has a superb critical eye and she is an unimpugnable…well hers is an unimpugnable opinion. If Fern speaks it, people listen! So to have her as a judge, Oh! It just made the whole week worth it. I mean it was, it was really a thrill. And what was also wonderful was that she was thrilled! So it was, it was…perfect!
So we have our Bryant Park show and…it’s magnificent. I mean, I will say the only designer I was disappointed in was Michael. And I will say this - the show, the designs that walked the runway at Bryant Park on that Friday were so much stronger and better than what I had seen on the rack on that Monday…the Monday of that week that, for me, he won. I mean, in his own way, he really won because he achieved so much. But…and what also struck me about Michael, is that he is…he’s the least experienced of the final four by far, he’s the youngest of the final four by far and that’s…that’s enough to put you…compared to the other three…it puts you at a disadvantage. I mean, we know how superbly he did on the show and he did but he really benefits from having a dialogue, from having feedback…from having interaction and he wasn’t in a position to have that during the development of his collection. I mean, there was my one visit but I saw so little…but of the interaction we had on Monday, I mean, he really…he, he took it all in very quickly. In fact, the one look I was really worried about, by the next day, Tuesday morning, we were having a talk and then afterwards I went right up to him and said you did it! You fixed it! It’s great! What a difference this has already made! So he has an incredible future.
So…we’re back at Parsons…we have one model per designer and it is the model wearing the last look of the collection and it’s also the…the designer’s signature model. And Laura’s questioned first, she talks about how …it was her goal to make an eveningwear collection and boy, did she. And the judges note that it looked really expensive. That for an $8,000 budget she really pulled off an incredible amount of work and…and it looked very, very expensive. And there’s some concern that is expressed about…is it too narrow?...I mean, it’s only evening…I mean, Nina said something about, you know, I don’t even go to a collection that’s only eveningwear…though I know that there are some exceptions. I mean, I know she was at J. Mendel in London…but Fern takes up Laura’s cause and really says, you know, I think it’s fine to have this degree of focus and…and there are designers who do it and do it successfully and there are designers for whom this is the niche and they just stay there. That’s what I hope Laura intends to do because she does do it superbly.
Then Michael talked about his…safari and 1970’s inspiration and Michael Kors acknowledged that really, Michael does understand a woman’s body exceptionally well and that he really understands fit. Jeffrey is asked what…what’s the narrative here? What’s the story? And he talks about his inspiration…a Japanese ghost stories and block prints that correspond to the storytelling, or illustrate the stories, really. And Michael Kors talks about how Jeffrey has so successfully dressed his woman for, really every aspect of her life. From a party dress to…going to work to…weekend wear and that that’s a big achievement and a very successful one.
So Uli talks about how she wanted to do things aside from what they expect. The colors and the prints and talks about bringing in these metallics and, you know, there’s some groaning from the judges about…oh Uli…you know, it’s still resort…and Fern once again…takes up for one of our final four and says well, you know, the resort market is not to be discounted. I mean, it’s huge! It’s a big market and it’s clear that Uli does it superbly well. Thank you Fern! Michael Kors feels that Uli’s collection has too many parts to it and that she’s trying to do too much in one collection. And, you know, when he said it I thought, I can see that. I can…I can really see that. At the same time I understood what Uli was trying to achieve and if she had shown NO prints, she would have been mincemeat. And had she shown ONLY prints, she would have been mincemeat. So the poor thing was between a rock and a hard place, in some ways.
So, the judges deliberate without the designers. The designers are sweating bullets backstage. And I will say there’s a very different tone and tenor in this deliberation than I had seen in the past two seasons. And I will say the past two seasons I’ve been kind of mad and hurt on behalf of the designers because I felt . . . you know, they’re the final three. Look how much they achieved. Do you really have to chew them up and bitch slap them around? This time it was very different. I mean, they were, they were so . . the judges were so . . . really positive about everything. I mean, we had . . . one weaker designer - we had Michael, and that was just clear. But, . . . and Michael needs to work for another designer, he really does, and I hope he comes up to New York. Uli, the judges said – these are the kinds of clothes that women want to wear and will feel comfortable in, and they were beautifully done. Compared to . . . the strongest of the designers, and we’ll get there, it wasn’t as cohesive.
Laura . . . the judges cite her incredible workmanship, but it’s narrow. And Jeffrey. It was just clear that it was the most innovative work. The variety was very compelling and exciting. It looked cohesive; it didn’t look all over the place. But they do acknowledge that one of the pieces, it was a gown, it may have been the second or third to last, was really horrible. All right. Still, it was . . . it was a really superb collection. The judges all acknowledge that all four of these individuals certainly have a strong career ahead of them in fashion, depending on what they want to do with it.
And, well, we bring the designers back out. And Michael is out. I mean, he’s in, but he’s out. You know what I mean. Laura’s out. So we have Uli and Jeffrey left on the runway. And in the end, it is Jeffrey. And I have to say, I just thought it had to be. I mean, I love our designers, but Jeffrey’s work was the most innovative, and it was taking the most risks, and it was the most “of the moment.” And I’m thrilled with the outcome. I think Jeffrey must have been absolutely staggered by it himself, since the day before he thought he may not be showing at all. And, you know, it just goes to show you, things happen for a reason. And we have our season three winner of Project Runway – Jeffrey Sebelia.
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