Project Runway Philippines: First Episode Review

The reason I am a reality-TV enthusiast is because I look forward to the showcase of talent and ability. The US TV industry has not failed in providing the rest of the world with hits and misses when it comes to this format, and the good hits are truly worth an expression of sheer loyalty. Hence, despite the fact I have now become an occasional Survivor viewer and I constantly anticipate only the last part of America's Next Top Model where they show the photographs of the amateur models, I remain to be a Project Runway enthusiast and big fan (and Blind Date too! Mwahahaha).

The concept is basically simple: pluck out undiscovered designers from their everyday lives and put them together in an arena of fashion-design-and-execution challenges. The American show is evidently a huge success and it is also thanks to the surprising personalities of some personalities from the industry: Heidi Klum has put the auf Wiedersehen into the mainstream level, Michael Kors' criticisms are those you want to listen to, you don't want to bore Nina Garcia, as Tim Gunn would always say, and I wish Tim Gunn is my uncle or a bestfriend. All in all, in addition to their quirks that make them important components of the show, these guys know what they're talking about.

It is no surprise that a Philippine franchise is another, say, TV event waiting to happen. Such franchises --- well, there is indeed that scary part where the successful American counterpart becomes the source of imitation and that the local version does not live up when it comes to the production value and the expected drama. The local Next Top Model didn't interest me nor the Pinoy Idol. I don't know why --- maybe because in this arena, the winners are predictable. You either have the mestiza-biracial or morena teen-ager winning the title or the typical belter which is a dime a dozen in this country. Local designers, well, that's another story. Maybe because the fashion industry here is not as big and the masses buy their clothes from SM anyways, if not from the established clothing brands. Heck, I have met Mitch Dulce and she's a nice and talented person, but I never really had the initiative to visit her celebrated store. Maybe because Bayo and the occasional sale in Mango are enough.

The premiere of Project Runway Philippines was something I had to pencil in just how I had marked the Sex and the City: the Movie opening day months before its showing. The show features Teresa Herrera as the host (lovely to look at and very articulate), Rajo Laurel and Apples Aberin-Sahdwaani as the judges (very admirable and highly respected professionals in the industry) and Jojie Lloren as the mentor (another important industry figure but the camera has yet to capture his TV personality). Although I am no insider, I think the selection of these figures was pretty good; they're famous, they have highly regarded standings in the industry, and like the American cast, they also know what they are talking about.

Although there was the anticipation for the premiere, sad to say, I couldn't help but point out certain problematic aspects of the show. I'll start with my biggest problem.



Again, the problem, so far, is the classic production value. I read somewhere that Unitel is involved with the shooting of the show but in the end credits I saw Solar Entertainment as the production arm. Frankly, I don't know why the premiere didn't look as appeasing and it's supposed to make an impact. Problems with the camera work, the quality of the video, the lights... geez. The scenes at the School of Fashion and the Arts are dark, and the scenes at the Amorsolo Mansion are waaay darker. The participants' reactions and even their moments are not caught as dramatically as one would expect from reality TV. The external shots, the ones taken at the Liwasang Bonifacio, was quite pitiful. In local industry-speak, the scenes are sunog. Burnt. It reminded me of some local telenovelas and video clips where they make the light as white and as washed-out as possible to hide flaws.

Even the runway was dark. There's something wrong with the lighting that the clothes are not highlighted as they should be. It's hard to see the details, and to think it is in the details that add the winning advantage of the garments. There was this piece by Charette Regala which when I saw during the walk looked really blah, but up close, it had its beauty with the random draping at the bottom. The clothes were also not shot well. The audio should be also addressed; I couldnt hear what Jojie Lloren was saying, and for me, the moments with the mentor is important. So Jojie would probably not do the famous Tim Gunn catchphrases ("Make it work!", "Carry on!"), but I want to hear what he has to say with the developments of the garments, from design to execution.

In addition to the production value, I have to say that some of these participants already have an unfair advantage. I think it was stated by one of the contestants who thought that Aries Lagat and Veejay Floresca are already established as one of the young designers to look out for in the country. Lagat won the 2004 Mega Young Designers Competition and Floresca admitted that he already had a shop in Makati which he had to close down for the show. Some of the designers were already featured in fashion magazines. And surprisingly, a lot of them already knew each other prior to the show which is why I felt sorry for Loida Hunter, the 51 year-old corporate uniform seamstress and the unsurprising first one to be eliminated, who apparently looked displaced from the young pool of designers.

I guess it's alright that the contestants are already in the industry, but a challenge is that Project Runway Philippines may just become one of the run-of-the-mill fashion contests in the country. Lagat and Floresca competed and became finalists in a couple of national competitions, and I was not surprised that the two's designs in the first episode were the top 2, with Lagat winning the immunity.

In a way, it made me think, just how many undiscovered talents do we have here in the Philippines? Those talents that do deserve such exposure and opportunity? Although, yes, it can be argued that Lagat, Floresca, et al. do have the right to have the same exposure, but then again, they already had their chance and they are already, at least, names. It gave me the impression that they are in it for the purpose of branding and I wouldn't be surprised if either would win. Weren't there other undiscovered designers who want to have their own shops and have yet to show their abilities that should have filled their slots instead?

Generally, the first episode was a disappointment in these aspects, but the talents are not. I really should applaud Lagat and Floresca for delivering it, and although the judges did not include Ivan Raborar's look as among the top, I thought it was distinctive. I also liked Charette Regala's dress, but it wouldn't work without that necklace. I just wish there would be more private moments with the contestants because a beauty of reality TV is you get to know them. I am a bit pleased, as an audience looking for conflict, that even Lagat was not viewed favorably by some contestants, Mara Reyes can't really sew (!), and maybe some of the contestants have a crush on their rivals. Alright, so it's a wonderful gay parade, but it's entertaining to listen to them speak their lingo. That makes the local version more distinctive from the original; the Pinoy character is just so interesting. This is the part that the production (or say, editing) should focus on and make it work!

Well, the preview of the next episode at least looked better in terms of quality. I am looking forward to more drama and great talent. Honestly, if this show would go well, people would start flocking for the designers themselves and not just the labels.