Aaaaand here we have the Sponsor Episode. Quick, how many times did you count the WACOM unit, a tablet-like computer sketchy thingamajig used by iAcademy in their Fashion Design course, mentioned in the program? Tweetie must have dropped it three or four times during her pre-runway spiel to the designers. I know that sponsors are lovely and make talent competitions like this possible, but this episode almost felt as though the editors didn’t have much to showcase, so they added the name-drops, plus a super-long and pointless sojourn at the L’Oreal hair and makeup studio, instead.
What a shame, because the challenge itself was rather interesting: the designers had to make a.) men’s streetwear b.) to be worn five years from now c.) by their non-model iAcademy student-tutors. Men’s streetwear is totally different from women’s fashion: the latter still takes its cues from traditional fashion outlets as runway shows and magazine editors, while the former is more pop culture-driven. See: Kanye West and the rebirth of the band jacket; Justin Timberlake’s transition from baggy to body- conscious; and even the definite impact Korean and Japanese artists have had on male street fashion and haircuts. Plus, there was the added complication of the “five years from now” directive. How would the designers interpret that?
The answer: not very well.
