Crochet on the Runway

I've been watching the first season of Project Runway Canada with great interest on YouTube (you can check out all the episodes here).

I was really stoked when one of my favorite characters prominently featured crochet as a major design element in the finale show.

There was a pretty funny exchange toward the beginning of the episode, when the mentor raises an eyebrow at the crochet:

"What if somebody calls it a doily, what are you going to say to them?"
"It is a doily, I just glamorized the doily. It is a doily actually, that's the idea."

At times, like this crochet blazer, I thought it was exquisite.



Similarly, I could really appreciate when the crochet was incorporated into the cut of the design.



Other times, I felt like it was just crocheted circles, kind of stuck onto the clothes.



Iman (the host) said she liked this crocheted bikini and coat best.



Not bad, as far as crocheted bikinis go.

I don't really know anything about crochet, but I thought this was certainly an interesting application. At one point a competitor had said incredulously, "A $4000 crocheted blazer? My whole collection isn't worth $4000," and it made me wonder to what extent the crochet was innovative, or if it was simply a clever trim.

What do you think? Would you go for crochet couture?