Project Runway Season 18 Episode 1 Recap - Somewhat

And ... we're off and running. Within a few minutes of arriving at the TWA Hotel in New York City, the designers are told to choose their own partners. The assignment - make two outfits, one for each team member. The first design should be a futuristic pantsuit, the second a more social cocktail dress. The two designs must be cohesive. I'm just going to post the two winning and two losing designs here, but after more than 1/2 hour of looking for this, I'm posting a link RIGHT HERE so that you can flip through all of the fashions presented. 

Geoffrey Mac pulled out one of the top looks with
this jumpsuit. Nice details. 

Geoffrey was partnered with Melanie Trygg. I wasn't
fond of the panel dress, but they were voted in and
out as a team until the very end. 

The shopping experience at Mood totally overwhelms some of the designers. Several are getting their fabrics cut as time runs out. Then on to the workroom, and it's a two-day challenge, but Christian is also giving them the first night to add a little time for their projects. Will these designers jell as new teams? They barely know each other at all, It's going to be a hell of a ride. I might be dead on my feet every Friday because I'll only be getting 4-5 hours of sleep, but it's Project Runway. Tired? It's a small sacrifice to make for a PR addict. 

Alan Gonzalez ended up leaving some of his fabric
at Mood, so he had to invent quickly for his
cocktail dress. 

Dayoung Kim, a Korean designer married to a
Mexican man, was partnered with Alan Gonzalez.
It was a joy to watch them interacting with fluid
Spanish. Her Spanish is better than her English. 

After the first full day in the workroom, the cracks are starting to show. Teams are fracturing, disagreeing, and what had been cohesive is getting pulled apart. Christian's run-through with each team was gentle, but the designers, as usual, mostly held themselves as superior. Only time will tell if they are right or not. 

The second team in the top was started with this
cocktail dress by Sergio Guadaramma. He's a very
competent and centered designer, if a bit haughty. 

This really cute jumpsuit was presented by Sergio's
partner, Brittany Allen. I really liked it and it was
amazingly well constructed. 

The models are a deep variety sizes and sexuality with challenges for each one. (I assume they will have a male design challenge at some point in the season as well.) What might not have worked ten years ago is now being accepted with ease from most of the designers; pronouns have broadened to include "they" and "them" in the workroom. As usual, although the designers claim comfort with larger models, actually cutting and sewing the designs to fit is still a problem. 

Again on the low end was this hot mess by
designer Asma Bibi. I know she can do a lot
better than this, but she totally lost her way. 

Jenn Charkow presented this jumpsuit. Keep in
mind that the two designers were supposed to have
two designs that were cohesive with each other.
I'm not seeing many echoes of Asma in Jenn's
design. Are you? 

It's finally time for their first Runway. Makeup is complete, models are clothed (although some of the designs are sketchy and the finishing really sucks on a few). The critiques will be enlightening for the new designers. Want a reminder of the sixteen designers for this season? Check out my posting of October 12th for a synopsis/biography. 



SPOILER ALERT - WINNERS/LOSERS BELOW 



So, who won and who lost? The winner was Brittany, the winning team was Brittany and Sergio, and the loser - well, in an unexpected twist because the judges were absolutely in deadlock, both Asma and Jenn were sent home. And so it goes, another season of Project Runway begins and even though I'm tired, I'm also really happy. I'll be back tomorrow.