This week's B-list celebrity was Demi Lovato. At least I've heard of her, so maybe she's more of a B+ or A- celebrity. Heidi seemed focused on sex, sex, sex. Her constant critique was that the sleep wear fashions weren't sexy enough. I guess the term "sleep wear" is a misnomer - it should actually be active wear for the bedroom since I guess it's supposed to tease and entice. Now, to be clear, my mother owned a few peignoir sets, but she was a typical 1950's housewife. I think they were in the definition of "expected" for a housewife of that time period. I'm not so sure that this type of expensive, sexy sleep wear is au courant. So ... on with the Runway.
 |
| This was quite pretty, and the decoration wasn't overboard. Michael was inspired by the art deco of both the Empire State Building and the Chrysler Building and it cane through clearly in his design. His model looked comfortable and the silk draped his model's figure in all the right places. |
First was Michael with a pale lilac silk gown featuring silvery strategic decorations. I really liked this design, the straps in the back criss-crossed. Very art deco. What I didn't like was the center upward-facing point. It's a weakness in the designand if the nightgown tears, that's where it will rip. I would have preferred that sharp tip to be folded under, presenting a shorter, straight, neckline with a stronger geometry. Still, it was a very pretty design, and one that the judges enjoyed also.
 |
| The fabric painting and design of the image was beautiful, but the actual fashion was a disaster. It was a very elegant, very poorly designed and made set of overalls. I'll stick with my denim sets, thank you. |
Aaron had been Heidi's darling in the workshop critiques. She loved what he was doing with his fabric, the design he made was a stunning nod to the classic art deco bronze heating vent cover that he found in the Empire State Building. I loved the pattern he was making, as well as his choice of color - it looked luxe in the workshop. But his end design left me totally cold. He put his model into a glorified set of overalls - a pair of shorts with an attached front panel. He wasn't happy that his fabric paint lost the drape of his fabric, I just wasn't happy with his design. And really, Aaron. It's the fashions and the models who are the stars on this Runway. Take off your translucent pants, put them into your closet, and NEVER put them on again - EVER!
 |
| Shawn, where the hell have you been hiding? Finally gaining some confidence, Shawn found herself in the top three instead of in the basement. The gentle, lovely motif on the spaghetti-strapped soft top, was mirrored by the motif at the ends of the belt. The pants were left unadorned. It was simple, elegant, and caught me completely by surprise. |
Shawn surprised me this week. She was still obnoxious, and is still relying on far too much help from her twin, Claire. But she designed, constructed and painted a truly lovely jumpsuit that would make an elegant daywear piece as much as a piece of sleep wear. Putting the decorative design on the top and down the belt allowed the entire piece to have an elevation of style that I haven't seen from her up to this point.
 |
| Deyonte had one of the larger models, and it was quite apparent that he had no idea of how to design a custom decorated fabric, or how to emphasize her curves in a beautiful manner. That elastic waste in the fabric tunnel was a cheap shot and certainly didn't demonstrate excellent construction techniques. |
Deyonte added color to his silk after Heidi's workshop critique, but even adding teal couldn't save a poor design. He created a basic pull-on silk skirt with elastic inside a cased waist, and a long sleeveless top that could be tucked into the skirt or pulled out to fall to mid-thigh. His hand might still have been hurting him from his episode of a plunging sewing machine needle through his finger on Episode 3, but even though they dove right into Episode 4 after putting Episode 3 to bed (yes, that's a pun sneaking in there), I've done the same thing and it didn't cripple me. It hurts, for sure, but you get over it. With focus, the loss of one finger still leaves you with seven other fingers and two thumbs. My sympathy extended through Episode 3, but didn't stretch to Episode 4.
 |
| Kentaro had Liris as his model and she gave him some styling and designing guidance that served him well. Instead of hiding her figure below something shapeless, he celebrated her curves with the removable belt, and painted one of the better designs on the skirt bottom. Very sassy and lightweight, it was a sweet outfit. |
Kentaro had been given a very hard time in Episode 3, with Heidi's critique focused on "black on black on black, and oh yes, more black". After Episode 3, he swore that he would use color and prove that he could. But his workshop critique was still scathing. After much uncertainty and lots of complaining and cringing every time his painted design was a little bit fuzzy, he pushed his OCD personality aside and created a really lovely painted image and a well constructed sleep wear piece. With the removable belt, he allowed Liris, the largest model at size 22, to look curvaceous and beautiful. Kentaro's piece was a total win/win in my eyes.
 |
| Kenya tried, she really did, but she failed totally. Underneath this poorly-constructed wrap robe was a little romper that just didn't look comfortable for sleep wear. I love her as a designer, but this one was a poor decision in every respect. |
Finally, we have Kenya - one of my favorite designers. This was not Kenya's week. She had lots of problems working with the silken fabric. She's a designer who constructs with structure and builds layer upon layer. She fell flat this week. The judges tried to be kind, but it was a bit of a train wreck in basic beige.
So - have you guessed who won and who lost? Here are the results.
Michael won with that lovely lilac and silver art deco design. I think I would have preferred Kintaro's design for sleep wear, and I would have taken Shawn's design for day wear. But I couldn't argue with the judges on this one. Michael's design was lovely and beautifully made and is currently available for sale on HeidiKlumIntimates dot com. (Project Runway Deco Doll)
The loser, and going home to his wife and newborn son, was Deyonte. Two poor designs in a row damned him to pack up his things and leave the workshop. I couldn't argue with this decision at all.
Here's hoping you have a wonderful weekend and I'll be back on Monday. I'm already looking forward to the outdoor pool today, even though I'll turn into a very cold critter running to the pool from the warm building. Our morning temps are now in the low 50's F and I'm a cold weather wuss.
No comments:
Post a Comment