Tim Gunn's Inside Take on the Jackie Kennedy Challenge Censored and Removed
Posted on September 22, 2010
You know the last Project Runway challenge in which the contestants had to design some sportswear that Jackie would wear today? Well, apparently that challenge was originally supposed to be to make an outfit for Katie Holmes to wear in the JFK miniseries on the History channel. The challenge kept changing from minute to minute, until Tim finally got fed up and cornered two of the segment producers to find out what was going on.
In his new vlog Tim details how disorganized things are behind the scenes this season on Project Runway and how he actually interrupted the judges circle on the last episode (while they were filming) to defend the contestants. The judges were ripping the designers apart for making outfits that Jackie "would never have worn." But that wasn't the challenge at all. Tim interrupted the judging (much to everyone's shock) and explained that the challenge was to create a design a young Jackie would wear if she were alive today and aware of current trends.
Tim's vlog explains another puzzling aspect of that challenge. Jackie didn't wear American sportswear, or patronize American designers much except for Halston in the 70s. She wore European haute couture and sportswear, and was responsible for bringing those designs to American fashion scene: that is her place in fashion history, not as an "American sportswear icon." (Many of Jackie's much-photographed casual pants, scarves and t-shirts were from the Pucci boutique on the Isle of Capri.) Tim was appalled at the historical inaccuracy of the challenge and with the impression it left on viewers.
He posted the vlog on facebook and it has mysteriously disappeared. Clearly the producers were not happy with his revelations and forced him to take it down. We love Tim and hope he didn't get in too much trouble for this fascinating vlog.