Eden's Comments:
Team Mediterranean
Overall, this was a fun piece of work; I think each of you took a different approach to your individual parts of the challenge and got very different results; for me this was the weaker of the two mockumentaries overall however and I will break down each you:
Maddox- So there’s 2 key parts to your bit. The first part about the Eiffel tower was good, you had some facts and some well placed jokes that did make me chuckled a little bit..i think you could have gone further with the city of love angle and French people are thought of as very passionate but this was ok. Your second half again has some good jokes but I have to point out, the tower of Pisa is in Italy and so for your section, this whole second half does not relate to the challenge you had! Your runway was cute- I loved the colours and you have a gorgeous model as always- be careful of items that blur towards the bottom.
Madame- So this was interesting, I liked that you brought Twinkies into your piece and you had some very clear Italian references and did give us some of those cultural elements. However, it almost felt as if you were having an interview with Twinkies and this was also a biopic about Twinkies wherein she was the main star of the show and not Italy itself. I know you did pull out landmarks and drew on fashion and art but it didn’t feel like a documentary per se. Your look is nice, there’s nothing staggering about it and the top half is kind of expected for summer but I like the variety at the bottom.
Lilla- So for me…this was the funniest and best developed section in your group. Right from the start you made a series of jokes that were funny and relevant to the place you were in. I think for people that didn’t know about Monaco, you really gave some level of education in a really satirical way and this clearly is a strength of yours- you covered food, culture, politics very well in short space of time. What I also love is that even if you threw in incorrect information, you did this on purpose and really played into the obscurity of Monaco rather than trying to cover it up and I found that so clever. I like your runway, the red is a gorgeous colour. I feel a similar vibe to your first look in this competition so I can’t wait to see more but this is a nice look.
Caia- I think there was excellent use of Spanish and your drawn out use of the diversity joke was great. After that, I don’t know what was happening, it went very flat, quite quickly but the important thing was, as brief as it was, you seemed to get in some good elements that covered food and culture and I think it was kept on the slightly funnier side by the accent you used throughout. The matador joke was very funny as well. You clearly can do better and it ended abruptly but what was there was fine. I love the humour and the brand in your runway, it’s hilarious and just takes me away to somewhere tropical.
Gemini- You a crazy ho. I have no idea what was actually going on, in these kinds of challenges, you have such a unique way to approach them but this was all over the place. I liked the playing dumb element you used with the reference to Rome and this was even funnier knowing another incorrect reference to Italy was used by Maddox. The joke about the repetition of names was quite clever as well but after that, we went straight to Zeus’ temple and then it ended. We didn’t learn anything else about Greece, this was more about you than Greece. I like your runway, you have good fashion sense and I really hope you keep pushing the Gemini brand into something really recognisable.
Team Scandinavia
Overall, y’all nailed this challenge. Each part had a unique identity to it, each of you clearly had your own style and the level of research and knowledge was really good and I could imagine this more successfully fitting together as 5 episodes on one long show or a series, feedback for each:
Ruby- This was a STRONG opener. What is obvious to me is that you did some research about Norway and really went STRAIGHT IN with some funny references about the Olympics and the sort of up-to-date aspects from COVID. You taught us about the geography, the expense and also the diversity of the country and I think you went to deeper levels of what the country actually is like, rather than just drawing on the biggest landmarks and facts. It was done tongue in cheek as well, good job. That look reminds of the norther lights and it’s absolutely gorgeous, very fashionable; you ooze class on the runway.
Plai- GIRL, I need to say, I was SHOCKED. I knew you could be a funny girl, but I wasn’t expecting this amount of pure personality. We learnt a lot about who Plai is as a queen, moreso than I remember seeing when you were here before. You covered so many elements of Swedish life and I think gave tourists everything they might need to learn and to laugh! I was belly laughing at some of the jokes, the one about Abba and also the ice hotel, I was almost crying. I love how you blended it with pop culture as well. The summary at the end killed it as well, its was so funny honestly. Great job. I like this look- perhaps a very obvious root for something wintery but it was executed very well; the hair and teardrops give it a little extra.
Reality- Your part was good. In comparison to other members your group, yours was significantly shorter, I don’t mind overall but I would have thought if there was to be a less documented place, it would be Greenland. So it was short, sure…but it was funny! You did manage to explore a few cultural elements and you just got to the point quickly but did I learn about Denmark? I did a little bit; it ranged from politics to food and landmarks and you had some funny jokes- always love a good joke at Rube’s expense. This “Who doesn’t titillate at the thought of being subservient to a constitutional monarchy” is the best summary of a country, I cried”. Your runway was good- nothing special and I think ice queen is an obvious root to go, think outside the box moving forward.
T’Kay- The opening Joke about it being an icy country despite it’s name was funny, it was written in a way where I could SEE your disappointment lol. I liked the following joke about fish, you didn’t overplay this but you made your point very clearly and in a funny way. I love that you cut scenes and made clear moves around Greenland to showcase different places. I even life you tried to engage locals and made the jokes about the inhabitants being animals. You gave us a great view of this quite large, sparce county but didn’t make it sound boring. Runway: STUNNING.
Enobaria- Again, so funny. I like you way you staged the scenes and similarly to T’kay, you used the cut away to different areas to really good effects and I LOVED the ongoing struggle with pronouncing the names, because let’s face it, it’s realistic. I think the ongoing banter you has with Suzanne was funny and whilst it went back and forth, I don’t think it took away from the journey around Iceland and actually doing the research for the links between Atlantis and Iceland was great and gave the guide some sort of purpose I guess. Now, I don’t know WHY the ending was what it was but I didn’t see it coming and it made me laugh. Gorgeous retro runway, so artistic and visually striking.
