Best Magazine Covers of the Year

Ad Age posted their favorite magazines of the year, along with the ones no longer with us:

TEXAS MONTHLY
This cover took home the "Best Coverline" award from the Magazine Publishers of America at last fall's American Magazine Conference, but it's even more than that. It's also a genuinely frightening image. Beyond even that, the cover is an hommage to perhaps the best cover ever, National Lampoon's 1973 masterpiece that threatened, "If You Don't Buy This Magazine, We'll Kill This Dog."

Obviously I'm biased. I think I love that cover even more because talking to TJ Tucker about designing that illustration makes me feel like I was part of the original hype behind it. It's prol a good idea I don't work there, I'd be too busy gushing over everyone's perfection to actually get any work done. I mean, I should TOTALLY work there, every place needs lackey's like that.

Project Runway: Tim Gunn makes the worst decisions at 3 am....

So did anyone else almost miss the Tim Gunn audio clip last night? I was like...wait a second, did Tim Gunn just admit to hooking up in the early hours with 'some of the worst mistakes' of his life? Too hysterical. I loved how the editing also missed it too, the bit went on for a good 30 seconds, as if the editors themselves couldn't believe what Tim had just said. That man is wonderful. He's so classy...even as he admits to one night stands.

He must have known I've been planning a 'TIM GUN: MIA' post today, because last night's episode not only saw his much needed return to the PR spotlight, but also his blog, Tim's Take, is back. This was my favorite extra for the show...because he usually spends more time discussing the designs and actually has some interesting things to say. So far this season he's been gone...and I'm sorry--Santino just won't do it for me. Here's hoping his Podcast comes back too....I'm just saying...

Last night excluded, I'm still disappointed in this season, and I think how the show is using Tim has a lot to do with it. I've always thought the show was genius for two reasons:

1. Singling out the best with the worst designs during judging at the same time.
2. Tim's role as mentor and not as a judge.

It's this second one that works the best. He's like the den mother, comforting all the designers through the ordeal and acting as a voice of reason to their inflated egos. He will tell you if what you have is crap, and yet before last night I really didn't see much 'tough love' from Gunn this season. It's felt more like he's making cameos as opposed to being a member of the team. A lot of times he just appears, as if flown in for a scene, and then vanishes just as quickly. The designers, more than ever, are ignoring his advice and turning him into more of a figurehead than a mentor. It's become 'Oh, here's Tim Gunn...nod, nod, do something completely opposite, make fun of him and Andrea after he leaves.'

I realize Tim's stretching himself pretty thin. Between his flop of a Bravo show (we don't want to see you be mean, Tim! You lose your lovibility) and working for Liz Claiborne, I'm sure this is more of a PR stunt for him by now. I understand he has to move on, but with him leaves the best parts of the show. Halfway through last night's episode I realized Season three was probably the pinnacle of PR: it'll be downhill from here.

Second sign of decline: There's really nothing I want to say about the clothing last night. It was definitely more about the drama of Jack leaving than the competition. Why bring back Chris when Jack's half-made outfit prol could have walked as is and still beat out the funeral-wedding dress. Finally, I don't understand the judge's love affair with Christian when Kevin rocked it so much harder:

Project Runway: Finally, something to inspire me

So I haven't said much about PR this season, because honestly, it hasn't been that great. Before Thanksgiving you had Sarah Jessica Parker, which was fun to see on one hand, but very blah on the other. Victorya's win was deserved, but did anyone really remember the outside afterwards? Even the prize itself---to be included in Sara's line of clothing--isn't that great. Instead of letting these designers show some ingenuity and originality, the winner basically had to conform to the line's tone and style...it wasn't suppose to stand out, just fit in.

Last week was really dismal. The badly designed or boring elements weren't even showcased because too many others couldn't even complete their look. Carmen completely deserved to be kicked off for not producing a shirt.

This week, however, things are looking up. They had to take fashion trends of the past and modernize them, as well as blend three trends into an overall collection. I love these 'collection' challenges. You get to see everyone work together, which is always filled with crazy drama, but everyone still gets to make their own outfit, which I feel is important in judging.

My gal Jillian's team won:

They had overalls, 70's flare and poodle skirt. I think this was the perfect collection really, and it makes sense that they won outright, without discussion first, because they really rocked it. Each piece represents the individual trend, but the designers showed cohesion by selecting one fabric. What was genius about this collection was the subtle use of the other trends in each design. The dress is a great mix of poodle skirt and flare: you can't really tell from the photo, but it's poofy, while the tan lines help tone it down, and create great angles, while the denim relates it to overalls. The overalls I really just love. The skinny top combined with the flaring leg create a great silhouette, and the lacy shirt brings in the 50's style. It's a homage to the past, but still firmly designed in the present. Finally, the shorts are great. Would you actually wear flared shorts? Maybe not, but as a collection piece they were much better than creating another pants set, when Jillian's overalls took care of that look. Once again, the poofy collar brings in poodle skirts in an original way.

Whereas Jillian's team could have gone straight to a runway collection, Christian's team definitely had that 'Project Challenge' feel to it:

They were all well made, but the continuity wasn't there in the same way. Choosing black as a color to carry the collection was a mistake--everyone creates black outfits, so the color really doesn't pop in the way the denim does. These looks were zoot suit, plether, and fringe. I also didn't think they carried off these trends that well. I understand the lines acting as the zoot suit in all three pieces, but where is the plether? Where is the fringe? I remember Christian saying they would use those elements as accessories--but that wasn't the point of the challenge! I honestly can't tell you which one was suppose to be fringe...I see no fringe anywhere---unless they interpreted the pattern on the left dress as a fringe quality? Overall, I think these designs were just too separate from each other--they lacked the single dress that would connect the other two the way the overalls did.

Lucky for them, the other teams really got it wrong:

I was really scared for Ricky this week. He's been getting a bad rap, his dress was pretty hideous, and he had to work with the Queen of the Land of PassiveAggressiva (my shout out to Grey's). If you judged based on construction, he would have been gone--and I honestly thought the judges would 'auf him, as opposed to Chris. I think Victorya and Elisa actually stood up for him, unintentionally, but mentioning how much he helped their designs along. He stepped up as the team leader and took responsibility for his fabric choices by sharing his knowledge, and his own design suffered for it.

Compared to Chris, on the other hand, who would not listen to reason about his jacket. They knew on day 1 that jacket was not fitting, but he didn't have the energy to 'rethink' what a shoulder pad could be. Granted, it's a hard one, but he set himself up by designing a look that was better without the jacket than with it. His team also suffered because they chose not to combine all three trends into all three looks, hoping the fabric color would bring the cohesion. Compare Chris' group with Jillian's and you can see the difference those subtle little additions make. Even with the same, boring color, Chris' group still has no connection with itself. He deserved to go home based on his lack of originality, and his inability to take charge of his team and convince them to design one cohesive group. The team obviously was looking for an easy way out---hoping to pass under the radar--but when only four teams show looks, that's not as likely.

Here's hoping this episode is a trend, and the challenges get better from here.