Pencils and Pop Culture: Project Runway

Pencils and Pop Culture: Project Runway

With the ninth season of the reality television juggernaut “Project Runway” currently airing Thursday nights at 9:00 on Lifetime, viewers can watch as a squadron of designers as they snip, sew and stitch their way to victory. While the designers rely on makeup, shoes and jewelry to make their looks runway-ready, there is one accessory that is notably absent from the design room.

For the past several seasons, “Project Runway” has partnered with Hewlett-Packard to provide designers with graphic tablets that designers may use in lieu of traditional paper and pencils when sketching their creations.  While the occasional pencil makes a fleeting onscreen appearance, in recent seasons the graphics tablet has been heavily featured.

While the new technology may give “Project Runway” valuable sponsorships, I have to wonder at the wisdom of trading out a pencil and paper for a graphics tablet when it comes to fashion design.  During my days as a costume designer I relied heavily on sketchpads and a battery of different pencils, with particular fondness for 2B and 4B lead weights. While the sketches lacked the pristine quality of a graphics tablet image, it was the imperfections of those sketches that gave them depth.

Much criticism has been leveled at the designs of recent seasons for being too safe and generic; season eight winner Gretchen Jones caused a furor among fans for a winning collection that was described by many as boring and flat. This season’s current crop of designers has yet to make a splash for anything other than their childish behavior. Could these one-note and forgettable designs be linked to the cold, sterile nature of designing on a graphics tablet? It’s the only logical explanation I can divine for the uninspired cocktail dresses and drab separates that have populated the “Project Runway” catwalk in recent seasons.

If a designer is looking for the perfect accessory to rock the runway, look no further than a pencil and a sheet of paper. It’s portable, eco-friendly and budget-conscious, with the added bonus of being so inconspicuous that it’s unlikely anyone will break into your car to steal it. The pencil and paper is timeless as well; season after season may pass, and never will you have to upgrade to the latest model or chase a new trend. It just may be that the little black dress of the design world is, in fact, the little Blackwing pencil.