We first heard about Adam's appearance on Project Runway as a judge quite some time ago and this week we'd been teased by photos trickling out from the set. We all know about Adam's love for fashion and how he always makes a huge visual impact with his carefully considered fashion choices, often making headlines for all the right reasons. This and his ability to articulately provide constructive feedback makes him an ideal fit. Here's my playlist containing the full show (Adam's part starts at the 37 minute mark), extended critiques and finally, the contestants' opinions about Adam as a judge.
The task for the week is to put together a look for an unsigned scruffy-looking hirsute band called the Sheepdogs, whose appearance is worlds apart from Adam's dapper image and his sharp glamorous form-fitting ensembles. Adam is a musician who also lives and breathes fashion. We wouldn't have been as hooked as we were during his AI run had he not tailored his styling to suit each and every performance. How many of us wondered what he would be wearing and compulsively tuned in to see his outfits every week? How many of us studied what he was wearing at the start of the show to try to guess what kind of performance he would put in? How many of us fell into his Ring of Fire after staring at that zip? I'm sure you can still remember every single one of those outfits. If anyone knows how to use fashion to enhance a performance and captivate an audience, it's Adam. Unfortunately though, the Sheepdogs don't get a miraculous Adam makeover, which would've made for unmissable TV, but stay close to their style.
A few things of note from the videos: Adam's little gasp of delight as Heidi Klum introduces him as a "fashion forward musician"; the sunshine laughter he brings onto the set; introducing the angle of the musicians' movement and how the clothing can enhance it; respectfully not trying too hard to steal the spotlight through finding inventive ways of dissing the clothes; his expression revealing his wholehearted approval of making men's clothes sexy.
Overall, Adam gave useful feedback and did a fantastic job without being bitchy, which the contestants' comments support. Wonder how long we'll have to wait for his own collection... I can't wait!
