The critiques are my favorite parts of the show Project Runway. Critiques are moments in the creative process in which mentors and peers chime in and give feedback on the work. Art students engage in critique every day of their education and that’s why, if you work with someone who has been to art school, you don’t have to tip toe when it comes to feedback. It’s just a natural part of their creative practice.
There are two kinds of critiques in each episode of Project Runway – one is a process critique, often led by mentor Tim Gunn, and the other is the final critique that is led by the judges. The mentors and judges have a skilled vocabulary when it comes to aesthetics and craft. If you watch the show, you’ll notice that the designers are praised when they employ unlikely pairings, especially when they combine “hard and soft” design elements: leather and lace; plastic and chiffon; metal and silk. There’s something unexpected and playful and thus pleasing about combining unlikely pairings. This carries over from fashion to music, food, architecture. Where else do we see unlikely pairings? In what spaces do we need more of them?
This post is part of a mini series on “12 Days of Play“
TUNING Design Co. 