While making dinner the other night I caught the tail end of a Project Runway re-run on Bravo. To be exact it was episode #4 from Season 4, and yes I had seen the episode twice before- yet somehow I never tire of this show so I watched it yet again.
If you are equally smitten as I am with this gem of a show, you probably remember it as the “outdated trends” episode.
Jillian diligently working in her overalls- she shouldn’t have felt too ashamed though, as it appears Karl Lagerfeld is on her side of this “one minute your in, the next minute you are out” dilemma.
If you’ve never watched… a quick run down.
Nine designers, each assigned with a popular fashion trend from the last two decades, or so … trends that seem to warrant giggles, snickers and even some personal embarrassment for designer Jillian who discovers she is wearing one of these taboo outdated looks herself- denim overalls.
The designers are asked to divide themselves into teams of three ( each with a team leader) and reconfigure these “dated” once popular fashion trends into a cohesive collection of “looks” fit for a modern-day woman.
The first two times I watched the episode I was too caught up in the drama of the sewing room to really give the trends any thought but the third time around, as the designers were pleading their cases in front of the judges ( which this week included guest judge Donna Karan), I was taken aback by how many of these “dead” trends I had recently spotted while clicking through photos of the Spring 2008 collections on Style.com.
In or Out?
In the minds of the judges, Team Jillian took denim overalls to a whole new level and won the challenge…
…and for Spring 2008 Karl Lagerfeld put the “Chanel” spin on his own version of this “outdated” trend
Team Christan attempted to bring zoot suits and menswear as woman’s wear back…
…and Haider Ackermann seems to have had the same agenda.
Team Ricky was given the trends neon colors, cut-outs and underwear as outerwear- three trends I’ve just recently been writing about…
…in fact, I think Anna Sui could have been the fourth designer on their team.
And poor Chris March, his team was on the bottom this particular week and his personal attempt at breathing life back into the trend of larger than life “shoulder pad” sent him home…
…ironically Nicolas Ghesquiere’s vision of bringing fashion focus back on “shoulders” for Balenciaga has got to be the most talked about silhouette of the season.
So the questions is– “Who’s to say if a trend is in or out?” Are there any trends that you wish would stay “out” rather than come back “in”?
Resources:
Project Runway gallery photos from Bravo.com
All Spring 2008 collection photos from Style.com 
Love this show, although I don’t always love the fashion or the judge’s choices (some of those designs must look a whole lot different in person than they do on tv!).
You are right though that the old adage – “everything old is new again” – never goes out of style.
Do you think Nina, Michael and Donna (judges) might have had some second thoughts about their comments after seeing these examples from their fellow fashionistas? Not that they would ever admit it but fun to think about.
Even though I rarely have time to watch television I am completely hooked on Project Runway. The challenges are demanding, the drama entertaining and I can just never get enough of my fave Tim Gunn.