Hah! No sense in finishing that song because for Project Runway, the truth is, the rain should never go away! On PR this week, the regular runway was out the door. And in its place we got to see the 1st ever PR RAINWAY! Rain was pouring as the models strutted down the runway and I loved it all — great designs and a great show!
Heidi & Tim were front and center this week to not only introduce this new rainway, but also this week’s challenge. The designers were to create avant garde looks, which of course had to withstand the rain. Fashion and technology were compared when discussing innovation being essential, being able to push the boundaries, such as with Samsung’s new Curved Ultra HD TV. As technology pushes the envelope so too should the designers. They were encouraged to be forward thinking, cutting edge — creating a look that would WOW from every angle.
The designers were more than happy for their 1st 2-day challenge this season and were joyously off to Mood with a $300 budget. Tim added that heavy duty construction items for structure and contours would be available for use in the workroom as supplementary materials. But before the designers were off, PR of course displayed some editing foreshadowing magic as we already knew fäde was struggling a bit in this challenge with designer’s block. It was nice to see that Amanda was there for him during a tough time just as he was there for her when she was having a rough week — love those PR friendships!
At Mood the designers were of course all bumpin’ into each other in the same section of the store — VINYL, thinking of that rain! They were soon back to the workroom to learn how this 2 day challenge would work, Tim coming later on the 1st day, and the models would be there on the 2nd day. Tim time of course saw some great words of wisdom — Kini to watch for gimicks, wonderment for if Sean’s effect would come thru. But my 2 faves were with Amanda and this is the season of the vagina! And for Alexander, April showers will bring May flowers!
The designers were able to un-wind just a bit for this week since it was a 2-day challenge. In between day 1 & 2, they were back to the Gotham Apartments to let loose a bit, enjoy some wine and food up on the rooftop! The morning of day 2 also allowed for some time to make calls to home, so those were a few nice moments to see from each of the designers.
Day 2 also brought about a new decision for Korina to change-up her look. It was then time for model fittings and Sean’s dye effect was still in question. But how great was it of Kini to offer some friendly advice!
The morning of the runway was typical, full of a bit of chaos — preparing for a new runway, last minute adjustments, some looks beginning to come apart, and yes, Sean was still worried if his magic moment would come thru without any issue.
Guest judge this week was Showtime’s Master of Sex actress Caitlin Fitzgerald. I totally forgot Caitlin was on Gossip Girl, which is a show that of course almost had fashion as its own character, thanks to the very talented costume designer Eric Daman. Ironically, Caitlin was “working” at a very upper level fashion position with W Magazine! But back to PR and this amazing runway presentation we got to witness, what a show! I’m still not clear on how the top 3 came about, but heck, that happens almost every week for me with PR.
The top 2 though, was abundantly clear. All 4 judges were singing the praises for both Kini and Sean. I’m happy Kini finally got his win, even if it was shared with Sean. I think Kini was just as much deserving, if not more.
Sean’s look was magical in its full blown, dye coming out moment. But the “before” was just a plain white dress, and the “after”, an abstract dye-stained result. The avant garde aspect was for sure in the exact moment the water hit the garment and made the dye start dripping out. So again, happy Kini got his win, but Sean for sure deserved his top placement kudos as well.
Sean definitely exemplified art coming to life this week and there was no doubt you could feel the magic of this moment. And the great aspect, you won’t get dye on you since there was an underlayer cover to protect your skin from the dye. It would be super fun to be out in the rain during a summer rainstorm and have all eyes on you as your dress was constantly changing. Shout-out also to Sean for picking some perfectly coordinating white heels to go with his look from Aldo shoes.
But for me it was Kini who hit the homerun, not only a homerun, but knocking it out of the park. This look was head to toe stunning, a full on show, avant garde piece. Every detail was so well thought out and this was just such an eye-catching piece. I was right there with Zac and knowing that all faces would be lit up in seeing this black umbrella-inspired number. Some of the judges were not a fan of the hat, but I thought it was perfection for his runway presentation. The winning aspect for Kini was his look didn’t need the rain to come alive, it was just as vibrant and dynamic even if the rainway was not in existence. I have to also give a beauty shout-out for Kini’s Mary Kay make-up look, great shine on the complexion and I loved the bold red lip!
The third spot of the top was confusing for me though, with Sandhya getting it. The reason for confusion was not simply because I was unimpressed, but because of the judges commentary. There were some positive statements, but it seemed as if only Heidi was fully on board with this look. So I’m just not sure how with only 1 judges support, out of 4 judges, that she scored high enough to garner a top 3 placement. I didn’t realize a look of bright colors automatically means happy, which then equates to fashion. Nina was right on point in saying this look lacked sophistication, very circus-y and child-like. Sandhya told Tim she was able to edit extremely well, but I’m not sure where her editing eye was with this look. There were not only too many bright colors, but there was way too much going on. Come on judges, if you are really going to try & sell this as a top look, at least sound convincing yourself when you critique it! Because there were 3 other safe looks that probably had mixed reviews as well and certainly ones that were at least fashionable avant garde rather than looks more fit for an unconventional challenge. I mean it had pinwheels just thrown about all over the back right!
Speaking of safe looks, I was a fan of Alexander’s floral number. It looked great coming down the runway and purple was such a great color to mix in with this look. Also, he gets a Philip B. hair shout-out, great chic bun! And finally, a Mary Kay beauty shout-out!! But I have a Sr. beauty consultant with Mary Kay on board this week to further detail this make-up look. Meet Lauren Barker and see what she had to say! And really so many of the looks made use of a bold eye this week, so the “Graphic Eye Tutorial” below is a great resource for this runway!
“Those models were gorgeous in our bold Mary Kay colors! The ladies looked great in our Peacock Blue Mineral Eye Color, True Dimensions Lipstick in First Blush and Gel Eyeliner in Black just to name a few. Want your own runway look? Luis Casco gave us a glimpse at how to make the perfect Graphic Eye Look with a two-tone cat eye. Follow these steps to get runway-ready! Liked what you saw on Project Runway? Contact me to make your own perfect look. Use our Virtual Makeover tool to discover what colors you will love!”
Shout-outs aside, let’s move onto the more unfortunate news — the bottom 3. Korina landed in the bottom this week, but of course was there ever any real concern?? She did have immunity, the last one! Clearly a last minute change-up didn’t work in her favor. I got what the judges were saying with how flimsy and unfinished this look was. I did however love her choice of Aldo strapped heels!!
Emily was filled with confidence all during this episode, but the judges ended up saying this look was not strong enough. The look was a bit more superhero than avant garde, but it did have potential. I think if she had focused more on structure and volume for the look, not so much added details with the shoulder pads and gloves, then the judges might have been more on board. Heidi was somewhat more favorable, but the rest of the judges were all about the look being so predictable and something they’ve seen before. Another great Aldo shoes look — love the black booties!
This left fäde as the one who went home. It didn’t come as much of a surprise. He just lost it this week and was uninspired. I have no doubts he is a great designer, but PR is a show that pushes you to be creative at the snap of a finger, needing something new for each challenge. He just hit a block as writers do all the time. Just as the judges said, it wasn’t strong, not enough for an avant garde challenge.
