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This week started off with a spooky setting — Vampire World, cemetery vibe, eery fog & all! Tim & the mentors were joined this week by Modern Family’s Sarah Hyland to help direct the designers for this week’s challenge. Sarah is also in the upcoming flick, Vampire Academy, which was perfectly fitting for this week. After showing the trailer, the designers were told to take inspiration from it, the setting, etc to create their looks. The graveyard set-up was filled with a variety of fabrics, but also unconventional materials. So yes, this week was all about the ever-popular unconventional looks, but the designers could use fabric as well. They had 10 minutes to gather as much unconventional items as they wanted and up to 5 bolts of fabrics.
There was one trip & fall (Nicholas) and some confusion with piles mixing up, but then it was off to the workroom. Before the mentors visited the designers, Tim took a moment to chat with them. Nick saw he needed to be more hands off. Mondo was told to not just provide emotional support, but also add in some hard core critical analysis. Tim told Anya to stay/keep on course. She too thought with having 2 designers in the top last week that she was good to go. As we will later see, these mentors now know they should never rest on their laurels!
I was very impressed by both Nick & Mondo this week with their mentoring changes. Mondo really became so hands on and was giving great direction. And this immensely paid off as he had 2 designers in the top and one was named the winner! Nick also had a good week; he was so much more hands off and really started to find that mentoring balance. I have to give him kudos as well for dealing with wacky Isabelle, I mean that is some patience he is practicing! I think she is not able to listen to anyone; she only wants to do what she wants to do. And if I have to see her jump while she is trying to get her point across, like she is 5 years old or something, I might flip, haha!
As far as Anya goes I really think I was right with my previous thoughts on her. I’m just not sure about her as a mentor. I couldn’t tell you one thing that she said or did last week that aided her having 2 in the top. And then this week, we saw that go all wrong! Shan kind of played it safe this week and didn’t really use a lot of unconventional materials. And this is exactly what we saw with both Brady & Nicholas, playing it safe and not really embracing the challenge. Anya needs to step it up if she wants to keep up with Nick & Mondo! And with Brady out, I think Blake is her golden ticket, but again I have to question how much is her mentoring really helping him?? Guess we shall have to wait & see!
It was finally the day of the runway — we saw Oscar having just one of his generous moments this week; he and Nicholas’ model both helped Nick cover his chain-links. We then saw another disobedient and disrespectful moment from Isabelle. She 1st declared she was changing some of the shape with her netting around her dress. Then Tim had to rush her out of the workroom, AGAIN! Then AGAIN, he had to raise his voice at her to get her to stop sewing while waiting to head down to the runway. She is clearly trying to break rules when she can and just hoping because she comes off as eccentric/loopy that maybe she can get by with it. And if next week’s scenes are any indicator, it’s clear she is going to keep doing this, AWKWARD!
The judging panel had 2 guest judges this week. Designer Trina Turk was filling in for Rachel Roy. And then another star from the upcoming Vampire Academy, Zoey Deutch, was also on board to critique the vampire-y inspirations this week! So who sunk their teeth into this week’s challenge with a savory outcome and who bit off more than they could chew?!?
There was a top & bottom 3 so here are some tidbits from the middle. Blake did another great structured LBD. To me this was what, as you will see further down, Isabelle just didn’t do well at all. There has to be thought and design behind netting, not just looping it around your garment. Shout-out to Benefit Cosmetics here for the great smoky eye and also to BlowPro for the chic up-do! Also, you can see Sam’s fun plaid dress so great work to both of these guys!
I felt like we didn’t see Natalia all episode, but she also had a great look and I can’t wait to see more from her in the coming weeks, hopefully! Shan’s look to me was safe, but shout-out to the teams who helped with the rest of the look — another great smoky eye from Benefit Cosmetics, chic ponytail from BlowPro, and also, I love the accessory details here from Francesca’s.
And then WOW, where was Stephanie all episode?? I mean if this isn’t a comeback I don’t know what it is. From that hot mess prom dress gone wrong last week to this very chic white look this week, I mean WOW! She paid so much attention to making a great fit here and really to the details. Welcome to the competition Stephanie! Shout-out again to Benefit Cosmetics, great job this week and I love the bold red lip here!
Tim also awarded a special prize this week before announcing the top & bottom. Benefit Cosmetics will randomly award an extra $1000 to a designer for giving a boosted performance or something like that. But this week, that lucky winner was Oscar and I think this was well deserved. He created a top 3 look, helped Nicholas, and apparently swept the workroom?? I mean, what a great guy!
Since we are on Oscar, let’s start with the top 3. Oscar’s top 3 placement was well deserved. I was surprised he was not top 2, but nonetheless, JOB WELL DONE! His story was about a Jewish vampire and inspiration drawn from the blood. You can see all of that here from the splattered red bodice to the Yamaka. I love seeing something different and a jumpsuit counts as that! Great accessories also this week, with Francesca’s, love the sheer black booties & perfect little black clutch!!
Asha took that top 2 coveted spot and I wasn’t surprised she was in the Top 3. As Zoey mentioned, I didn’t care for the purple pieces matched with the red feathered, or I guess hay-ed dress. It reminded me of ladies who are in that Red Hat Society or something like that where they pair red & purple all the time. I wasn’t flipping over that, but I think the red undergarment was SPOT ON! It was all very fitting for her Voodoo Priestess!
And then finally, the winner this week, MICHELLE!! I was so excited for her comeback this week. I mean this was not just coming back, but busting thru a wall or something crazy like that! The print was so stunningly eye-catching. And I disagreed with Zanna and loved the pairing with the neckline adorned branches and baby’s breath. There was great construction, fit, flare, and structure. This look had it all, but without going in too many different directions. LOVE!
With the bottom I was utterly disappointed that Isabelle wasn’t at least in the bottom 2. I mean I knew she wasn’t going anywhere because we hadn’t seen her big scene yet, which has been in previews before. But her look was really just a navy blue tube dress with some red netting tossed around it. Nothing special, no design, just plain, crazy, wacky-style Isabelle. It was mentioned there was at least some risk, but hey, risks should not always be rewarded!
Now to my sadder part because we have to say bye to Brady this week!! Ahhhh, so hard to write. I think Brady is just an awesomely nice guy and great designer. He has a great vision and style, but I think Anya messed that up this week. She kept talking about Junior this & Junior that, but there is a difference between Junior and street-style or street-wear or even just designing with a youthful thought in mind. Brady’s sparkled dress this week was a bit safe, but still him and was definitely wearable. But matching it with the navy moto blazer just made it too disjointed.
(shout-out, great side swept-do from BlowPro!!)
We then go to Nicholas’s yawn-worthy brown knee-length dress with the chain detail, but it wasn’t thrilling. It was too monochromatic. If the chain or dress was a different color, it would have worked better. It was also just too basic, too simple; it was just a sheath dress, nothing special, again, where is the design aspect?? And then to top it all off, so Nicholas & Brady comprised the bottom 2. The judges decided to let Anya pick who to send home?? I mean, I’m not sure about her mentoring abilities, but now she gets to play master with someone’s future. She made the wrong decision. I mean really Isabelle should have gone home for me this week, but Brady leaving is a travesty! I’m trying to give her a little leeway, but this week, NOPE, just can’t do it!
The vivid geometric prints, which are utilized on ultra-soft synthetic textiles, are certainly eye-catching. But one can’t overlook the immaculate outerwear in this collection – the poncho-inspired sweatshirts, wool trenches, & leathers — and they take shape with innovative lines & spacious silhouettes. The collection is about creating a modern take and updating a classic South American style, creating a modern cowboy, and Campos’ mission is accomplished!
Campos is known for his subtle design cues & tailoring and this season his top-notch skills are no different! His talented eye for the fall can be seen in his streamlined color palette of navy and white, and the feature of unique prints, inspired by the Gaucho’s trusty horse, artfully placed on wovens and shirting. Campos adds, “Through the interplay of lines, colors, and construction I want to communicate a rugged and modern look for the Gaucho riding on the Pampa of tomorrow.”
There are many great looks, but just for some individualized focus, here are a few of my faves!:
Just a bit of background on Carlos Campos — he is Honduran born, a NY-based designer. He was The Fashion Group International’s Rising Star for Menswear in 2009, a finalist for the 2011 Vogue/CFDA Fashion Fund Award, & the 2013 Vanidades Icon of Style for Menswear.
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