Although sitting at a judge's table proved too daunting for Jennifer Lopez, the bootylicious diva was able to finish the Nautica Malibu Triathalon yesterday in a little over two hours.
Which is the equivalent of spitting in mein kommandant Heidi Klum's face, since Lopez begged out of last week's guest appearance on Project Runway during Fashion Week citing a "foot injury" which did not prohibit her from going on later in the week to complete a half-mile ocean swim, an 18 mile out-and-back bike course, and a 4-mile out-and-back run course. CONTINUED »
By now it's old news that J. Lo was the super-secret guest judge on this season's Project Runway finale. Except the diva didn't make it to Bryant Park for the runway taping today because of a dubious "foot injury," so PR host and cunning linguist Tim Gunn gamely stepped up to the plate and judged contestants for the first time ever. It was nothing short of a Fashion Week miracle according to a source: "People were crying because they were so moved by Tim being a judge." Or maybe they were weeping because … they wouldn't get to sit five aisles behind Lopez.
Silver haired fox Tim Gunn flitted in and out of Fashion Week tents like a dapper mosquito at a blood drive, but thankfully he had time to stop and discuss words and their appropriate usage in the fashion world:
"'Cool' to me is dated, whereas 'chic' is not…'Sophisticated' is a word that will always be with us," he predicted. "'Polished' is a word that will always be with us." Gunn said "on trend" was more in vogue now than "trendy" and that he dislikes "modern" to describe a new look.
If you watch reality shows to cull new buzzwords to use around the office cooler, than you are mostly likely insufferable. Or Tyra Banks. Point being, if you can't make an honest statement without using some popular phrase that acts like an embarrassing snapshot of time in which said phrase was popular (i.e. "talk to the hand," "da bomb," etc.) then you are exactly the sort of person that reality television programs are designed for.
Upsetting homosexuals everywhere, Lifetime will not air its first season of Project Runway this fall, but instead move the stolen series to a January debut. It's a pretty surprising development, given all the hype Harvey Weinstein leveraged as he cajoled the B-list network into paying a higher fee for the franchise. Officially, Lifetime just wants to have enough time to promote the show's changing network, eschewing the idea that the about-to-end fifth season is actually a pretty decent marketing promo for the series. But there's also the small matter of the on-going lawsuit between NBC Universal (Bravo's owner, who feels shafted in losing the series with Harvey's cigar smoked backroom dealings) and The Weinstein Co. (Runway's owners), which hopes to keep Lifetime or anybody else from exploiting Nina Garcia's critical takedowns. CONTINUED »
Fashion guru and silver fox Tim Gunn commented on tween dream Hannah Montana's appearance, noting that "She's just a little too tart," and went on to say she looked 25, not 15, forgetting that's the end goal of every teenage girl. So Miley Cyrus/Hannah is right on track.
Unlike most teenage girls though, Hannah and Miley's look is personally manufactured by the Disney Channel, Annie Leibowitz, and whoever else on the PR payroll in the Burgeoning Sexuality Of Teenage Girls indystry. One might argue Project Runway, which Gunn hosts, is a cog in the very same machine, albeit on a different channel.
Mr. Gunn has been commenting on high-profile celebs a lot recently, including Michelle Obama and Cindy McCain. We're now turning to Gunn for every minor fashion question; he is the Carson Kressley of the late 00s.
While Nina Garcia is said to be paid upwards of $70,000 per public appearance, Liz Claiborne chief creative office Tim Gunn — who always has more screen time on the show than Garcia — is paid a measly $30,000 per stint.
Every time Tim Gunn uttered the words "make it work" during the first season of Project Runway, he was paid precisely this amount: $0. And during the second season? Just $2,500 per episode. That's according to his testimony in New York State Supreme Court, where proceedings are underway between NBC Universal and The Weinstein Company, which ripped Runway away from NBC's Bravo for Lifetime. Other tidbits from the ongoing trial? NBC chief Jeff Zucker has instructed Bravo to air marathon repeats of Runway during the same timeslot Lifetime will air new episodes of the show's sixth season. Did we mention Zucker is BFF's with Harvey Weinstein?
How do you let the execs behind your show know that you're pissed about all the sweeping changes that they're making? If you're Cindy McCain critic Tim Gunn and have the uncertainty of what lies ahead for Project Runway, you start sniping away at the brand any opportunity you get. CONTINUED »
Project Runway judge and catchphrase coiner Tim Gunn on lady style of the presidential campaign:
Michelle Obama
"From a fashion viewpoint, Michelle Obama looks so comfortable and relaxed in her style and her fashion, and she exudes that. She has a presence that gives you confidence in her."
Cindy McCain
"Cindy McCain looks like someone has twisted her pony tail into a knot and tried to give her a face lift."
If you've been having trouble deciding between Hillary and Barack, why not take the advice of an avuncular gay man? Tim Gunn says "she's confused about what her gender is."
Obama for America it is.
Ever since he got the boot from Parsons School for Design – in so much as they could no longer afford him – Tim Gunn hasn't exactly been hard up for jobs. He's kept his gig on Project Runway telling people to "make it work," secured his own makeover show Tim Gunn's Guide to Style (which is, let's face it, crap), and landed the gig of chief creative officer at Liz Claiborne, which doesn't necessarily mean the stock at Macy's is going to improve anytime soon.
He also scored a gig as a fashion expert for Richard Desmond's OK!, where he – you guessed it – recommends Liz Claiborne brands as the ultimate fashion panacea. Not that OK! discloses it. And not that readers actually take fashion advice from OK!. No harm, no foul?
Another night, another party and another chance to remind ourselves that we're not nearly as fashionable and glamorous as we like to think we are. Yes, Fashion Week is upon us, which means shapeless pillowcase dresses are the new black and naturally slender is once again the new morbidly obese.
And yesterday, we spent the better part of our evening ogling the reality stars of yesteryear at the Bravo/Entertainment Weekly party for Tim Gunn at the Soho Grand and marveling at the fact that somebody had the lack of foresight to serve miniature Reuben sandwiches at a snotty skinny-person party.
As always the event was, well, eventful.
• We're not saying Keira Knightley has an eating disorder. We're only kindly requesting that you consider donating some of your spare change to the "Please, For The Love Of God, Buy This Woman A Big Mac" fund.
• Who tops the list of "Celebrity Lesbian Crushes?" (Hint: It's not Penelope Cruz).
• More signs that Britney Spears is no longer the irresistible sex symbol that she once was: creepy magic-man Criss Angel has pretty much done everything short of signing an affidavit and taking a lie detector test to dispel rumors that the two are romantically involved.
• Audrina and Lauren Conrard show off their beach bodies, but it's just not the same without Heidi's new funbags.
• Christian Bale has lady-hands! Either way, he's still infinitely cooler than Christian "Grabby Hands" Slater.
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