The judges for this episode were the usual - Zac Posen, Nina Garcia and Heidi Klum. They were joined by the usual relatively unknown entertainment judge, this time it was Carly Chaikin, star of Mr. Robot and Project Sammy's Way. The designers struggled with this challenge and tensions were higher in the workshop. The clock to Fashion Week was ticking down almost audibly for the contestants and they were head-bound, not sharing as much as in the previous challenge. Let's take a look at the outfits - good, bad, and ugly.
SPOILERS EXIST BELOW - YOU'VE BEEN WARNED!
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| Ayana made a stunner. Using broken reflectors to make a faux-mosaic for the top and adding a bouffant bottom of portable perforated safety fencing, she embodied "go big or go home". |
The judges loved Ayana's unique look with the touch of blue at the collar catching the eye. I thought the headscarf topped by the hardhat was brilliant. Ayana managed to design within her focus of "modest" clothing, yet made a dress that caught the eye and was brilliantly conceived. Zac did comment that the top was a bit "dated", but also said that it was "superb" work.
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| Brandon's looks are so recognizable. Realizing that his original design of a foil space blanket top wouldn't work because it was too fragile, he did a major revision of the top, constructing a totally new one. The yellow and black worked beautifully, echoing the short skirt. |
Brandon keeps getting pegged as a "one horse pony" by his fellow designers, yet comes up with design after design that have street cred and edgy styling. The dangling straps are his hallmark, I don't think he's designed a single garment that didn't have them since he first started showing on the Runway. Zac told the other judges that he really wants to see a Runway collection by Brandon and his sentiment was echoed by the other judges, including Heidi. I've felt he has a chance to pull out the win this season since Week 1. If he doesn't win it all, he'll give his competition a serious run for the money.
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| Kentaro seemed to lose his way this week. His major choice of materials was using fire hoses that he cut apart. He added some color details, and styled Liris in a Native American mold. It was a poor design decision. |
Kentaro had Liris for his model, but even she was flabbergasted by this look. She called it "Pocahontas about to play football", and obviously wasn't a fan. The fire hose fabric was stiff, and a scratchy fiberglass fabric which she poked her underarms. Not comfortable! The skirt with the pleats was rather cute, but the top was a disaster. Zac felt Kentaro had been on the right path but had overloaded the design, turning it from fashion into kitsch. I thought it was horrid.
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| Kenya had her own problems this week, having a very limited number of the seat belts to use for her fabric. To bring uniformity, she had a seat belt buckle acting as a belt, and painted her fabric to smooth it out and make it look sleek. |
Kenya had a rough time this week, and the crowning touch was the bodice zipper breaking mere moments before the designers and models had to leave for the Runway. Despite the broken zipper, her design was still popular with the judges. Zac loved that she painted the seat belts, making them more uniform and giving them a satin finish. Nina loved the drama of the design, although it included "everything and the kitchen sink", and Carly felt it was classic, simple and great. The judges were divided on the fascinator, which I thought Kenya could have left behind in the workshop.
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| Margarita put together a colorful form-fitting outfit that featured hard shoulder pad sleeves cut from hard hats, and breast covers made from plastic cones. |
Margarita wove a variety of "Caution", "Danger", and other plastic tapes into an abstract, colorful fabric for her dress. She put a harness strategically underneath the bodice, allowing for a hint of blue coloring that pulled the eye toward the cut of the bodice and the waist. Nina, Carly and Zac all loved the design, but Zac did mention that after all this time, he still doesn't have a good sense of what Margarita's style is. I have to agree, she seems like a chameleon designer, changing her look to match the challenge. That's not the way to win this competition. She constructs beautifully, but they aren't looking for a seamstress or dressmaker, they are looking for a designer.
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| Michael wanted to use twisted and intertwined bungee cords to create a bondage-inspired dress. Initially, for the first fitting, he had the bandeau top, but nothing on the bottom except the cording. His model wasn't a fan of that idea. |
Michael said he wanted to design a bondage-inspired garment for the show, using the bungee cords he had focused on when collecting his materials. He said that it was something he had used in menswear before with success. If he was relying on his past positives for this outfit, he was sorely disappointed. The judges didn't like this at all. Carly called it "hooker-ish, tacky and cheap," and Zac said that he liked the blue color - but that was about it. Heidi appreciated the fact that his model looked sexy, but she also thought that he hadn't done as much work as other designers had.
So - who won and who went home? Can you guess?
The winner was Ayana with that really spectacular gown featuring mosaic from reflectors and the safety-fencing bouffant skirt.
The loser was Michael, and no, Tim Gunn did NOT use his save. As Heidi always says: "One day you're in, the next you're out." Michael went from the high of being the winner last week to the low of being the loser and going home this week.
Next week's teasers seemed to indicate that the designs will be inspired by superheroes. That might be quite interesting since the ability to move easily and physically against villains is essential to that type of outfit.
Have a great weekend. We have the annual Minnesota Mineral Club show and sale on Sunday. I'm looking forward to looking at some beautiful rocks. Be safe, be happy, and spread some love.
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