Project Runway Season 2

[DARKCHOCOLOViNG]

Santino's a b*tch, but his collection is stunning.

 

[AllThingsNice]

i'm so glad to hear you all love santino's collection! cuz i so badly want him to win but i wasn't thinking his collection was all that! i wish he had gone funkier...he really pulled back... i would have loved to see what he would have done if he wasn't trying to "win". the good news is....he's the only one who could design a couture collection... I'm sure Daniel V could design Banana Republic with his eyes closed but he's no Alexander McQueen....

 

[lucy92]

I hate Santino as a person, but damn I love his collection. I was really pulling for Chloe but I feel like an old lady just looking at some of her stuff. Daniel's stuff is cute, but not right on. I felt sorry for him after talking to Tim though. He should be alright, hes the youngest most unexperienced designer, he is still lucky to be in the top 3. I wish the finale wasn't on at the same time as the premier of ANTM 6!

i think they'll repeat it immediately afterwards so you can watch ANTM and then the repeat of PR!
Thats what ill be doing!

 

[caryanne]

Wow i'm really surprised at that everyone likes santinos collection, I thought it looked horrible on the models and chloe's was by far the most refined and flattering.

 

[ChanelDancer]

i liked Santino's collection the best. Chloe's was nice, but i disliked all the shiny fabric. Daniel V.'s was safe, but i like him sooooooooooo much! rawr!!!!!!!!!! but Santino's was the best.

 

[lucy92]

this was the best quote last night


"As I was showing Tim my line, I was thinking: 'Why isn't he saying more? Why isn't he piddling in his panties in excitement?'" — Daniel V., Project Runway


what a dink.

 

[artemis14]

Can anyone explain why Chloe picked Diana to be her assistant with the final challenge?!?

I thought that was an odd choice...

 

[spiralsnowman]

I read an interview w/ Chloe, and apparently she and Diana were good friends on the show, it just never made it on the air. I think she said something about being like a big sister to Diana or something...

 

[Jacque Marcel]

I remember seeing pics of Chloe and Diana at Heidi's Halloween party together, so they must be friendly.

 

[haute femme]

I think deep down, Santino's a nice caring guy. He even admitted to having insecurities, and he knows that he acts cocky and arrogant at times. You could tell he was nice by his conversations with Tim, and being so thankful to his friends, and holding those little kids!! He also tried to settle things with Daniel and Chloe but they seemed to be a little unwilling. I've been a Santino fan from the start, but I think he's beginning to show his true colors as of late.

That being said, his collection seems to be the most promising too. I feel sorry for Daniel! Atleast HE likes his collection. Personally, I didn't think it was that bad, but Tim's reaction was so different, and how many times has Daniel won?

 

[spiralsnowman]

An article about Chloe from Forbes, March 2006
​

Adventures in The Rag Trade
Amanda Ernst
A young Houston clothes designer has a chance to go big time. Will she take it?

Does sudden fame help-- or hurt--a young entrepreneur? Chloe Dao, a 34-year-old designer of women's clothes, is about to find out. For the last five years she has sold her line and those of others in a Houston boutique. But over the last few months Dao has been a contestant (and is now a finalist) in Bravo's http://www.thefashionspot.com/forums/Projecthttp://web2.westlaw.com/result/docu...&sskey=CLID_SSSA38251723&mt=NewsAndBusiness#I http://www.thefashionspot.com/forums/Runwayhttp://web2.westlaw.com/result/docu...&sskey=CLID_SSSA38251723&mt=NewsAndBusiness#I, the rag trade's equivalent of The Apprentice. She has shown moxie, meeting tough deadlines on budget. In a recent episode she had to do a fashion makeover for one of the show's male designers--and won, never having done menswear before.

If she wins it all, Dao takes home $100,000 to launch a new line of clothes and a $24,000 Saturn Sky roadster. She also gets a spread in Elle magazine and hands-on mentoring from the Banana Republic design group. Even if she doesn't make it to the finish line, Dao has considerable momentum. In 2000 she and younger sister Kim opened a shop in the neighborhood of Rice University. The store, Lot 8, shares its name with Dao's clothing line, a versatile collection of simple pieces--including elegant tops and dresses that compliment a woman's curves with loose folds of silk and jersey knit draped around the shoulders or belts slung low on the hips. Her clothes are flattering, sexy and comfortable. Last year the company netted $100,000 on sales of $400,000. But since December, when the latest season of http://www.thefashionspot.com/forums/Projecthttp://web2.westlaw.com/result/docu...&sskey=CLID_SSSA38251723&mt=NewsAndBusiness#I http://www.thefashionspot.com/forums/Runwayhttp://web2.westlaw.com/result/docu...&sskey=CLID_SSSA38251723&mt=NewsAndBusiness#I kicked off, she has had a small rush of e-mails from women across the U.S. and abroad who want to know where to buy her clothes. You can't yet do so on Dao's Web site.

Dao has notched every small success by cutting her own path. Born in Laos, she immigrated to the U.S. with her Vietnamese parents and seven sisters in 1979. As a teenager she redesigned vintage finds from secondhand shops; her first original was her senior prom dress. Dao majored in business marketing at the University of Houston at her parents' urging. Three semesters later she dropped out to study design at a community college and then moved to Fashionista Central--New York City. At the Fashion Institute of Technology Dao took a practical turn, learning patternmaking, which translates ideas into sketches and, eventually, into mass production. She worked at an evening-wear shop, mastering the basics of custom-made design and window dressing, then took a job as a patternmaker and design assistant for a sportswear company. Less than a year later she became a production manager with up-and-coming dress designer Melinda Eng.

Six years later, in 2000, Dao had had enough of apprenticeship and moved back to her parents' house in Houston to work on her own designs, with the thought of opening her own store. No shame in moving back in with Mom and Dad, she says, thanks to her Asian upbringing. "Most of my sisters lived with my parents until they got married," she says. "I lived at home and didn't pay rent for three years. My parents did my laundry and cooked me dinner."

And she saved her money--enough to launch Lot 8. Using $15,000 of her own, along with contributions from her sister Kim, loans from her parents and her credit cards, Dao invested $70,000 to renovate the 1,700-square-foot store and to buy equipment, fixtures and merchandise. "I was never afraid to fail," she says. "I knew it wasn't a big deal if it failed and I had to just pay my parents back."

Lot 8 has gained a faithful customer base by being one of the few with-it boutiques in the area. In addition to her own line (30% or so of the mix), Dao sells clothing and accessories (women's and men's) from other designers. After two years the store turned a small profit, and Dao was able to repay her parents, sister and credit card lenders. A year later she offered her youngest sister, Sydney, another veteran of Manhattan's Fashion Avenue, a 50% share of the company, purchased, says Dao, "with blood and sweat."

Chloe is the creative force behind the shop and clothing line, while Sydney keeps track of the books and publicity, and runs the store day-to-day. Their aunt Tina Luonagpho still does most of the sewing. ("I pay her a good salary," says Dao. "Whatever she tells me I owe her [for labor], I double it. But I still feel like I'm running a sweatshop.") The arrangement works fine for now, since Dao creates only six to ten new pieces each season--that translates into 100 new garments--and relies on popular holdovers, like her signature halter top.

Last year the store doubled in size by moving to a corner lot in the same shopping center. A 40-inch plasma screen runs tapes of Project Runway all day and is the centerpiece for Wednesday night viewing parties, when the show airs. This month, an in-house salon--hair and makeup--manned by one of Dao's older sisters is slated to open.

Whatever the outcome of Project Runway Dao knows her career is about to take a different turn. With her recent expansion, she has enough to keep herself busy and plans to add a new collection of evening wear, developed for New York's recent Fashion Week, to her store. Dao also intends to start selling her clothes online--and to hire at least one more hand to help with the cutting and sewing.

Is that goal ambitious enough? To step up to the big time, says Cynthia O'Connor, a fashion brand rep credited with starting the careers of Kate Spade and other notables, Dao should move back to New York, find a showroom to represent her and sign up a factory to produce her line. She should also think about getting the apparel into speciality stores and, at some point, into big department stores.

Dao knows the drill. Yet she has deliberately chosen to go slower. "I know I can expand nationally and not move to New York," she says. "It's hard, but not impossible." But when that brass ring comes around, can she really resist the tug?

The more I read about Chloe, the more I like her. Go Chloe!!!!!! *cheers*

 

[artemis14]

^ me too!

Also- was it just me, but did the designers seem less then enthusiastic when they saw Heidi? They seemed pretty blah...

 

[cutxpaste]

^ Yeah I saw her on the show last night and my opinion of her changed drastically. I'm rooting for her now. Dan V's collection is just so...idk, safe? I liked it at first when they showed it in his apartment but now, I don't really. I'm suprised by Santino too. I rather like his stuff.

 

[hershey501]

Out of curosity PussyLee, what makes you think Project Runway wants the opposite of Jay?

 

[esile]

spiral, that was interesting article on chloe.

i really like that santino had a vulnerable side and that he admited to having one. i wish daniel would have been more brave in his collection because i was really rooting for him throughout the season. now, i'm undecided.

 

[artemis14]

^
I'm undecided too. I couldn't stand Santino or his designs in the beginning; but after seeing last night's episode I've changed my mind. I liked the fact that he seemed more real and his designs were quite good- I was surprised!

But, it makes me wonder- was Santino just being a jerk and creating over the top designs because he knew it would make good tv, and therefore, increase his chances of not being eliminated? Hmmm...

Daniel V's stuff was really bland. I still think he's talented but I think Santino has a good chance of winning this...

truth be told, I still miss Austin Scarlett!

 

[marrimoda]

I enjoyed reading that article about Chloe.

After watching last night, I feel more comfortable about Santino...he behaved like a jerk, and after last night we understand there is much more to him than what he's chosen to reveal previously.

I like Chloe a lot more too. I just wish she'd build more of a unified collection...but thats okay. I loved her innovation on the blue dress with all the cutting. very architectural.

Dan...hmmm. I like the top he showed in the apartment, the one that had the center back V closure, and cap sleeves. I thought that was gorgeous. Other than that I thought his designs were unorginally proclaimed to be "Japanese Minimalism"....no how about they were undeveloped concepts in reality. I also was turned off by the number of times he announced that he loved his own collection. Thats something to say maybe once -- then let us say that. He became too comfortable and smug after all his project runway wins.

Santino's got some interesting ideas, some vision but no restraint, no sense of timing, reality. His designs hardly ever looked good on a womans body. He wants to do art. He should just do artistic tops for guys. I mean he just doesnt get proportion at all.

I say Chloe should win this.

 

[northern_song]

Santino - This episode just confirmed my feeling that Santino is going to win. I think the producers went all out to make people feel sympathy towards Santino so if he wins people won't be as angry. The producers would *love* Project Santino. I personally thought a lot of Santino's collection was ill-fitting and some of the fabric choices were really off. I think his "1940s glamour" theme was soo unoriginal and overdone. That being said, there were a couple of pieces I did like. I can really see the judges liking it and saying that "It's still Santino, but totally wearable."

Chloe - I think she got a lot more outside help than Daniel or Santino did. Her collection was split for me, I like some peices but others were awful. I don't think Michael Kors will like it at all b/c he seems to have disdain for anything 80s. I really dislike that pink-poof dress she showed Tim.

Daniel - I like his collection the most, even though there were a couple of pieces I didn't care for. None of the collections were that amazing, but I think his is the best. But I don't think the judges will care for it at all. Daniel really showed his younger side last night and they presented him with more personality than in past episodes. Both Santino and Tim saw that there were issues with Daniel's collection, and as much as I don't care for Santino he has been right about this before (I distinctly remember him saying something about how Nick's suit for Daniel Vosovic made him look like a girl...which was exactly what the judges said).

 

[twinkilicious]

i can't believe santino went so safe and ....boring! i'm disappointed in dan's too...chloe seems to be the best but even her collection isn't that creative...

kara actually has a decent collection..she really should have showed this quirkiness more--- it actually looks livelier and more inspiring than the 3 finalists----very disappointing finale i believe

 

[paigelhuntley]

when daniel v was brushing his teeth.......