Author Archives: SMM

Project Runway Recap — Part 2

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So excited Project Runway is back and that I am back blogging! My first recap was for the first 3 challenges. Now my part 2 recap is up for the past 3 — the 90s, Underwear as Outerwear & All Denim. These next 3 challenges have also brought us to the halfway point for the season. Wow! It’s flying by! And in my last post, I mentioned how each elimination would get tougher and I was right. Each week its hard to predict who might be in the bottom, who might be eliminated? But it’s even harder to watch it unfold as everyone left is good. So its tough to watch the eliminations. But there are only a few spots for the finale and of course only one winner. Certainly going to be a hard call!

I’m excited to see the final few challenges because this mix of tasks were not my favorites. I am not a fan of denim, so 0 interest in seeing those looks. Underwear as outerwear looks, I get the trend, but I don’t view that as showcasing a lot of innovation, its not so much of a strength from the designers. But I did love the 90s challenge and seeing all of the throwback inspirations in the looks! And Jennie Garth as the guest judge, I mean how can you make a perfect week even better! I am such a fan!

So for this particular week there would be two teams of 5 competing, Red team vs Blue team, each tasked with creating a look, so creating a mini collection, with the inspiration being the 90s. I loved that they had the runway in an actual high school, with the hallways as the runway — Obsessed! When I think of 90s TV, I think of so many great shows then in a school setting, Saved by the Bell, 90210 (hence Jennie Garth as guest judge), Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and more.

The blue team consisted of Prajje, Bishme, Korto, Rami and Laurence. They were the winning team. I loved the vibe of this collection, very hip hop, music video. There were a lot of strong looks! I thought the use of colors like orange and green could have been risky, but worked so well in the collection. For me, Korto’s look was the weakest here. And I thought with other looks, there were aspects I loved, but then parts I didn’t care as much for. Laurence was the deserving winner here! I thought it was such a cool look. I really loved these leather suspenders. Its a look you would see people wearing now!

I also thought Prajje and Rami did great work. With Rami, he thought of Aaliyah and I could have totally seen her in this and slaying! With the blue team winning, that of course meant the red team was the losing team and someone here would be eliminated. The red team was Kayne, Brittany, Fabio, Kara Saun, and Anna. I thought these looks at least tried to make 90s modern, so not just looks you would see in the 90s, but looks that were inspired by the 90s and wearable today. It was plaid, fun and very Clueless! But there were some messy/sloppy looks and it made sense this was the bottom team. I mentioned tough cuts and this was tough for me. I love Kayne! But this was not his forte in creating 90s RTW, more of a streetwear vibe. At least I know for him he has created true success for himself as a designer. He has built an amazing business, with many stunning creations, strong clientele and dresses celebrities. I don’t know that all of the designers from this cast can say the same!

The next week was following the trend of underwear type pieces being worn as outerwear. This was not an exciting runway for me, but there were a few good looks at least created. Prajje did fairly decent with his look. But I agreed with Brandon, the jacket was his strength here and we barely got to see it. Brittany did better than I expected. I loved the bit of color in lime green. It felt more sporty than underwear, but still a good look. Kara Saun was the named winner, but for me, it would have been Rami. I actually have a skirt in this similar coloring, the black lace overlaying a nude fabric. It was just gorgeous, super sexy, but not distasteful.

It was between Korto and Fabio as to who would go. I felt Fabio has been judged and criticized more harshly than others this season. IMO, his previous looks were not just safe. But it seems like those critiques, then this not so amazing look meant he was the one to go. The judges didn’t seem to care for the direction of the look and it was Christian who pushed this direction, creating the disharmonious final result. Fabio should have just ignored the advice. And for all the discussion about Anna in the next challenge and how her timing issue was her fault, and that her last minute look should have sent her home. That was my opinion for Korto this week. Her look made no sense to me, felt super safe, but was also poorly constructed. The slight interest in this piece for her was a good fabric selection and it would have been doing all the work in this look, not the design itself. I guess there could have been no Siriano save this week for poor Fabio because Christian wasn’t even there!

Nina was also absent for this challenge and the next one. But she should be back it seems for the rest of the season. The next task was a challenge used before. It was actually from Rami and Christian’s OG season, creating a head to toe denim look. I am not a denim fan. I don’t wear jeans hardly ever! So again, not the biggest fan of these looks, but a few did stand out. Also, not sure if we needed Julia Fox as a judge offering any suggestions/thoughts I would consider, but oh well, that’s where we were!

Part of the challenge would be each designer would be a duo, one vs the other, whose look would come out on top! And from the bottom looks, one designer would be eliminated. It was interesting seeing the selection process. As the winner from the previous week, Kara got to pick her battling partner first. As she stated, not the most amazing prize, but it would give her the advantage. And despite her not actually wanting to say it, she picked Anna because she thought she would easily beat her. As it interestingly enough turned out, it was not the slam dunk she thought it would be.

In terms of fan criticism, I have seen a lot about Anna. But we got to see a snippet of some past looks in this episode and I actually think she is a good designer. Her looks are very conceptual, much more editorial, so it’s not looks that are going to be for the masses. But I don’t think she lacks talent or deserves to go the most amongst the remaining designers. There was a lot of criticism about her bleach mistake this week, leading to timing issues and sending down the runway a less then perfect look. But is that the only time this has happened in PR history, or even this season? I recall a few scrambling, like Korto and Brittany, but neither were sent home.

I’ve seen talk that maybe the judges favor her? But are we going to pretend the judges and even Christian don’t have other faves? I know with Chrisitan its very obvious, especially when it comes to the advice he offers and how much. And I see that with Brittany. And as it came to the Siriano Save for the season, he saved someone he has known for years, the person from his own season, Rami. When the season first started I called if he used it, it would absolutely be on Rami, given the connection, or Brittany because I knew he had favored her too. In fact she received the Siriano Save during her original season.

I thought Bishme vs Prajje would be the hardest battle. Nobody picked them. They were paired together because they were the last 2. But the judges didn’t love Prajje’s look, putting him in the bottom 2. I didn’t agree with that. Bishme’s look was clean, very chic, but certainly a basic denim dress. His fringed coat was the winner here. But Prajje’s look was not that bad IMO. I love a good jumpsuit. I thought the patchwork denim pattern looked like mixed media. I got some of what the judges were saying. I didn’t love the back either. But I don’t know if I would have judged it as harshly.

Brittany vs Laurence was the toughest call. I loved both looks! Laurence was the winner, which I thought worked. And I am glad for this win she actually got a prize, 5k! Laurence did something very different with a denim gown. But Brittany also did well, creating a solid jacket here. I felt with Rami’s look, it was a similar situation to Kayne and his elimination. I don’t think this is a strength for Rami. Not his aesthetic at all. But we did see the memory of the challenge he did on this before and his look was actually very good. So with having done this challenge before and doing it well, I think it was more disappointing his look this time was bad. The look was not flattering. I am not sure where he was trying to go with this. I don’t feel like I saw him in this piece at all.

So Rami was eliminated but saved, so ultimately nothing changed in terms of the number left. It’s only going to get tougher so the designers have to bring it each week. Hopefully they focus and don’t rely on excuses or sad stories to escape elimination. And hopefully the fans can’t keep enjoying and not complaining if there fave goes home. We have to remember, there is only going to be one winner. So chances are you might be disappointed. And if you like more than one designer, prepare for that disappointment since only one can win. And there are a good amount of designers left so a couple of more good ones will be eliminated. Just the name of the game! But I am ready to hopefully see some exciting new challenges and some even more amazing creations from the designers!

Project Runway Recap — Part 1

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I started this current season of Project Runway late, trying to watch/catch up and just can’t help but want to blog! So taking a stab with the first few challenges here in my Recap Part 1. Looking at the first challenge, the unconventional challenge, dressing for royalty and all from the same bolt of “Red Rage”.

The various runways have been very up and down for me, some peaks of brilliance to some very lows that I wouldn’t expect from the supposed “best of the best.” I also feel like we keep hearing a lot of excuses and sad stories to distract from bad design. I’ve seen a lot of fan commentary on what the show should be about, fashion or the back stories. From just the very few first episodes it’s quite evident they all have had something bad happen to them, a rough childhood/upbringing, a tragic loss, etc. But no individual designer’s sad story should overtake the week’s given challenge, the work they actually put down the runway. So I don’t mind learning more, hearing about a journey, but it shouldn’t overtake your work or be an excuse to keep you from going home.

Thus far, I have agreed with all who have went home. I do appreciate Viktor. I have even met him; he is a great guy and designer. But that royalty look was a hot mess and that was mostly because of him. He was more focused on putting his POV on a look that it wasn’t working with. And then on the “Red is all the Rage” runway, it was abundantly clear Hester was going. And the excuse of oh, I am not familiar with this fabric doesn’t fly. You chose to create something ambitious, so if you don’t know how to work with the fabric, then create something in your wheelhouse, not something you really haven’t done on a fabric you supposedly don’t know. Sounded like a big excuse, which I think would bother the other designers, but somehow most were unnecessarily focused on Anna.

Certainly the big topic of debate from that runway was Anna repeating work? This was beyond blown out of proportion. I could maybe understand if she had won, but the judges were in no way giving her the win. And there was no way that look was sending her home. So I don’t get the outrage when it was clear that the look that was going home was the one poorly made, sloppy, and just all over the place. I don’t get all the drama there. Kind of laughable for example hearing Korto discussing it when in that same week her look was repeating a weaving design she had also done before. A few were saying Anna has done nothing but repeat the ruffle, yet I can only recall the one look.

Let’s also not pretend in the real world on a runway you don’t see some repetition of a signature design detail or that even on the show we don’t see designers re-use fashion details or design aspects. Leanne Marshall, Dmitry Sholokhov, Sean Kelly, just to name a few! I feel the designers were more upset with the bottom 3 maybe because they liked them better than actually thinking of the looks. They also seemed more upset with Anna as if she put herself in the top, when it was the judges who did this. I guess time will tell if they actually have the audacity to say something to them vs jumping on Anna. But again, the bottom 3 made sense even if you like the designer. We know Christian convinced Rami to change his design a good bit after the start. It clearly led to not the best Rami look and something that didn’t seem fully visualized. Christian also told Fabio he was playing it safe, which is exactly what the judges told him. And again, finally with Hester, it was quite clear she was the one going home.

I mentioned the runways being full of highs and lows for me. Of course episode 1, I thought it was great to see everyone back and such dramatic changes from their worst looks revisualized. The unconventional runway really blew me away – was probably my top runway thus far. Nina thought the royalty runway was complete with no bad looks, but I very much disagreed. She actually then didn’t care for the Alls Red runway, which I thought was pretty good. Going back to the royalty challenge, I really didn’t love many of the looks. And I think the problem was most were just doing whatever they wanted to and not actually thinking of the task at hand. It was either a design for future royalty or a nonexistent land of royalty, but the challenge was create a look fit for royalty, not for royalty that doesn’t exist or whatever you are just making up in your mind.

The runway was again surprisingly lackluster for me, but of course not very surprising was a teamwork challenge and that at least providing a little drama. A typical dramatic group, that of Anna/Brittany, it did land them in the bottom. It was not surprising they clashed somewhat, both with very strong personalities. I know with Brittany, I want to like her. And she is not a horrible designer. Her next winning look with the red sportswear piece was actually pretty great. But I just feel like every episode she has to try so hard to get attention. It doesn’t feel like a natural for reality TV. I think if she wasn’t so focused on trying to make what she thinks is good TV her design work would be far better.

I am looking forward to continuing to catch up on the latest episodes and putting together my Recap Part 2. It’s only going to get more tough from here on out as I am sure most of us have more than one fave!

A Color Extravaganza

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What a fantastic way to splash into a new season, season 19 of Project Runway that is! The incoming designers were immediately greeted by the core team, minus what it seems like former host Karlie Kloss. So yes, Nina, Brandon, Elaine, and Christian all returning. The prize package for the season, still very high caliber —

But there is a long road to that prize package being won. First and foremost the very first challenge of the season! The designers were split into 2 teams. Each team would live together and work separately from the other team. Yes, this means everything is a surprise until runway day! Each team had to create a cohesive mini collection celebrating color. The judges were looking for 8 monochromatic looks, all to be created in this 2 day challenge. The teams were made and a color wheel was brought out so that each team could pick their color.

It was going to be Team Warm colors versus Team cool colors. For the losing team, one designer would be going home. From the jump, it appeared as if Team Warm were a little all over the place, while Team Cool was playing it a little cool (no pun intended), not as much drama in the mix. It was clear with Team Warm they had different aesthetics, everything from sequins to streetwear. They were desperately trying to find unity but decided to wait to see the fabrics before finalizing direction.

In the meantime, Team Cool made a point to first try and focus the incorporation of plus size looks into the collection. Zayden was the only guy in this group and with all of the ladies being super vocal, he was displaying a lot of confusion. I felt the team had an idea, but somehow it got lost with the addition of bows. The original idea of flowers and seeing that growth or formation, that could have worked. But again, the bow focus threw a wrench into the plans.

So again, the designer teams worked separately. Everything from the trip to Mood to actually working in the workroom was all separate. Each team had 45 minutes to shop with a $400 budget for each designer. Team Warm was first up. We finally started seeing a glimpse of a theme, the idea of going out, dinner and a show. It was a celebration of color in the return of going out, hope in the future, post the pandemic craziness. Christian kept reminding them of being cohesive, which actually was a good thing.

Team warm still felt a bit more frantic, while Team Cool in Mood, there was a bit more calmness. As team warm was first at Mood, they too were first to begin working in the phenomenal work space. Christian stopped by for a visit later on Day 1. Even though the idea of the concept was coming together, Christian was doubting that in the looks he saw. Team Cool had slightly less drama, really just some tension over the sewing machines. Christian liked what he was seeing, but doubted this bow concept into the collection.

At the start of Day 2, the team warm designers gathered in their living quarters to kind of recap the first day. Bones stepped into a leadership role, which seemed to be a group decision. As they got to the workroom the model fittings began. Christian was still around for advice, but Bones was quick to jump in and say his team was doing great and they should do them and not listen to outside opinions, ie in this case, Christian. This was not a group decision, but it did come off very offensive and Christian didn’t stick around as long.

Team cool then began their 2nd day. As the models came in, it seemed as if Chastity and Caycee were struggling the most. It was quite evident for both teams that each had some designers who had it together, while others were appearing to be the weaker links. Team Warm was still having a lot of tension and doubts by the morning of the runway. Bones appeared now to not want the leadership role and Aaron was over it. Team Cool never discussed a leader for their group, and still with this bow confusion, some designers were doing it, while others were not.

By the morning of the runway, many designers were still hard at work. They had to get their models in full glam mode, so using the Tresemme hair salon and Maybelline makeup studio. Bones took a moment to apologize to Christian, but it felt very insincere IMO. Team cool had some clear strugglers, but Darren was most out of sorts for Team Warm. With very little time left, he was in full freak out mode, even trying to sneak a smoke break instead of working. Darren had nothing. Bones really stepped up and virtually created an entire new look for Darren.

It was time for the final judgments. Joining the judges panel as this week’s guest judge was acclaimed designer Jason Wu. The final runway for each team certainly included pops of colors, all standing out, but for some, standing out was not the best idea.

The judges did have to choose one winning team. I do agree with the winners being Team Warm. It was not by much, but overall, their collection was slightly better. I believe there was more cohesion and overall some strong, stand out looks. I do not however agree with the top 3. Bones being in the top for 2 looks was very confusing to me. I actually feel the look he did for Darren was far superior to his own look, which was quite odd since he spent more time on his own look .

I was shocked Coral, Kenneth or Aaron didn’t make the top. Each had super strong looks. The bodice on Coral’s dress was amazing.

Kenneth had such a bold look, including a fitting cutout in the mid region that was super eye-catching.

And Aaron also had a strong top for his look, including a separate jacket. He did a lot and it was very impressive.

I get why Octavio was in the top. I did not love his look, just not my taste, but it was still a strong streetwear look, very well constructed and a strong look.

Darren and Shantall were very lucky their team won. But out of luck was team cool, who did have some strong looks despite being the losing team. We really only got to hear about the weak links of the group, but I really loved some of the looks here and wish the top looks could have been highlighted. Katie had such a fun and flirty look. The intricate details really made this look. The hand-painted areas really stood out.

Kristina’s look moved so well on the runway, very eye-catching. But my favorite of this team was Anna. I mean such a stand out look, so luxe, very regal. It was a minimalist look, not overworked, very tasteful.

The bottom 3 was quite obvious — Sabrina, Chastity, and Caycee. Even though Sabrina had a sloppy look, it was even more clear the bottom was 2 were Chastity and Caycee.

This was a tough choice on who to go. I felt it could have gone either way. Chastity really had no direction in this look. She lacked creativity here and got lost in the bow concept. Her construction was also very poor.

But it was Caycee who was the first eliminated. It really was not a great look. She created a coat dress, working with a plus size model, but I don’t think she knew how to construct well for plus size. I felt as if she just put a lot fabric on her model rather than creating a look. Very unfortunate, but as the Project Runway story goes, someone must go home each week.

Next week looks like more drama and some stunning streetwear creations.

Best Dressed 2019 — the Oscars of Fashion aka The Met Ball & Some Oscars Looks

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A look back at my favorite looks from the 2019 Oscars, some of the afterparties, and the Met Gala. Looking at the Met Ball, the 2019 Met Gala theme was inspired by Susan Sontag’s legendary 1964 essay, “Notes on Camp,” in which she describes camp as the “love of the unnatural: of artifice and exaggeration…style at the expense of content.”

NINA DOBREV

Met Gala — wearing Zac Posen & Christian Louboutin heels

LAUREN SANTO DOMINGO

Met Bala 2019 –– Proenza Schouler

JOURDAN DUNN

Met Ball 2019 — Zac Posen

CORAL CHUNG

Met 2019 — Sebastian Gunawan

MADELAINE PETSCH

Met 2019 — Jean paul Gauliter

SARA SAMPAIO

Met — August Getty

ALEXIS REN

2019 Oscars Elton John afterparty

KATIE HOLMES

Met 2019 — Zac Posen; Lorraine Schwartz jewelry

SOFIA SANCHEZ DE BETAK

Met 2019

WENDI MURDOCH

Met Ball 2019

EMMA STONE

Oscars 2019 — Louis Vuitton

Faves of 2019

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2019 & 2020 were whirlwinds of years for me personally. But I still took note of fashion moments I loved on various red carpets throughout 2019. It might take a few posts, but I am now set to share some of my faves, and then get onto 2020 looks and into 2021!

MICHELLE YEOH

Attending the SAG awards

MILLICENT SIMMONDS

FIONA XIE

Attending the SAG Awards

OLIVIA HAMILTON

KRISTEN BELL

ELLE FANNING

At the iHeart Radio Awards

CONSTANCE WU

at the Isn’t It Romantic premiere

KELSEA BALLERINI

At the Grammy Awards

CAROLYN MURPHY

Attending the Save Venice Gala

THOMASIN MCKENZIE

MARTHA HUNT

at the Time 100 Gala; wearing Jason Wu

AMANDA ANKA

Attending the SAG Awards; Wearing Valentino

JADA PINKETT SMITH

At the Grammy awards, Lorraine Schwartz jewelry

OLIVIA SANABIA

At the Dumbo premiere, Wearing Kelly NG

GWENDOLYN CHRISTIE

Game of Thrones premiere Wearing Iris van Herpen

JOANNE CLIFTON

Olivier Awards

REESE WITHERSPOON

Morning Show premiere

HEIDI KLUM

Angel Ball — wearing Iris van Herpen; Tyler Ellis Clutch

EVAN RACHEL WOOD

Frozen 2 premiere — Oscar de la Renta

JESSICA HART

Attending the Save Venice Gala

2019 Best Dressed Round-Up

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Been a minute. Busy with work, life, etc. So compiling some top looks that caught my eye. Even in the past, no reason to not share now! Going back to 2019, here is an array of looks, primarily the Cannes Film Festival & the amFar Gala!

GUAN XIAOTONG

Cannes — wearing Georges Hobeika

XU KE-XI

CANNES — Wearing Dior

JESSICA JUNG

Cannes

IZABEL GOULART

amfAR gala Cannes — Julien MacDonald

ELLE FANNING

Cannes — Reem Acra

Chopard Trophy Event on Monday, May 20, in a strapless Prada gown

JASMINE TOOKES

amfAR gala Cannes — Georges Chakra

Cannes Film Festival — 2019

CINDY BRUNA

amfAR gala cannes — Balmain

SRIRTA JENSEN

Cannes — Wearing Michael Cinco and Avakian jewelry

PEECHAYA WATTANAMONTREE

Cannes

HELEN MIRREN

Cannes — Elie Saab; Chopard jewelry

ARAYA HARGATE

Cannes

JOSEPHINE SKRIVER

amfAR gala Cannes

HOFIT GOLAN

Cannes

ELSA HOSK

Cannes — Etro gown & Grisogono jewelry

MADISON BEER

Cannes — Style me Maeve; Georges Hobeika

SARA SAMPAIO

amfAR gala Cannes — Armani prive

Natalia Vodianova

Cannes — Versace

PAOLA TURANI

Cannes — Tony Ward

Who Won Project Runway, Season 18!?!

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So as we left from the last episode, the final 4 were waiting to see who got to show at NYFW. I was not surprised the judges allowed all 4 to go! With only 48 hours until the show would begin, there was still a lot to do though. Going to the next morning, the designers awoke to a text from Christian, to meet him at the CFDA. He was there with Sara Kozlowski, Director of Professional Development for the CFDA and Rachna Shah, a partner with top PR firm KCD Worldwide. Each designer would get time with both important women in the world of fashion to look at branding and go thru their collections.

With Victoria, they were seeing some signature work, but questioned her use of the logo, as did the judges and Christian. For Nancy, they felt she should go with an empowerment message for the collection versus her mission statement as a designer of inclusivity. With Geoffrey, they thought he needed to lead with his Purple Heart story and that his collection didn’t need much by way of styling. And finally, for Sergio, they thought he shouldn’t box himself into one idea of a style, to always think younger and fresher. After their CFDA consultations, the designers were off to Mood for a final bit of shopping to finalize their collections. The would have an extra $400 and 45 minutes to shop. Christian also announced the designers would have help from seamstresses on the last day to help make the necessary alterations for their looks. He urged them to not then feel they could only make small changes. Victoria decided to make an entire new look, something less busy. Sergio also decided to work on a new piece. And Nancy was trying to make her collection more light, less dark.

Next up on this very busy day was model castings. It was a pretty seamless process for the designers. After castings the designers would fit half of the models with the other half coming the next day. We saw Nancy was planning to use a stunning prosthetic piece with one of her looks, very Christian Cowan. Sergio saw that he would have to make a lot of alterations on top of creating part of a new look. The designers then met with Grace Lee of Maybelline for makeup consultations. Nancy remembered the judges giving her advice to create fresher beauty looks, not so dated. And for Geoffrey, the goal was to not distract from his looks with the facial studs he wanted to use, at least for the women. He wanted to use them for his male models. For the remainder of this first of 2 days, everyone was knocking out more work. But they all decided to enjoy a little down time with a couple of drinks before bed.

It was the last day of work, the final 12 hours in the workroom, and there was no time to spare! The seamstresses arrived and then the rest of the models for their fittings. Karla Welch returned to give the designers some styling tips for their looks. Nancy didn’t need much by way of accessories because her clothes are that good; she didn’t need gimmicks. For Geoffrey, there was a similar line of thinking. His clothes were larger than life so he needed to think less, not more. Actually most of the designers needed to think edits, including Victoria in that her collection also didn’t need all the bells and whistles. And for Sergio, she was giving some advice to him making a t-shirt to freshen up his collection per the judges’ advice. He reluctantly agreed. Next up were the hair consultations with Justine Marjan of Tresemme. Christian then wanted a final chat, which got the designers nervous, but there was no twist, just some final words of encouragement. He also announced the guest judge would be tennis superstar Serena Williams. It was then the final 2 hours, still a good bit to do for all. Sergio was showing some signs of stress and was making his t-shirt. Geoffrey was also stressing some, in tears, just needing to get everything done.

The morning of this final push to fashion week was very chaotic, as to be expected. The designers went to their fashion week show spot, Spring Studios, new home of many NYFW shows for the past few seasons. Each designer was reflecting back on their growth. Sergio still had to do some alterations. Geoffrey was in a tizzy about finding his facial studs, but couldn’t. Call it fate, but I don’t think the jewelry facial embellishments were needed. And close to the last minute, one of Sergio’s looks had a hole in it, but Sergio quickly repaired. Chaos aside, it was time for the runway show to begin!

This was certainly an exciting finale to say the least! I had my winner of choice, but I will say, each designer at least offered something worth the runway. Victoria was probably my least fave, but I could see a real discussion happening between the other 3 as possible winners. Last season, I felt it was beyond obvious who would win. The level of competition certainly elevated this season, and it was a real competition for who should win. Nancy’s collection, Sustain-Our-Ability would have been my choice to win. It encompassed so much positivity lacking in fashion presently, zero waste, sustainability, and inclusivity, but this collection was still fashion at the highest level. Nancy truly creates wearable art, and makes fashion for all, amazing seeing her wheelchair look, on the runway, for NYFW!

There was a shimmer and shine you couldn’t miss in this collection. She included a stunning faux fur outerwear piece. I felt these were all statement pieces that any woman would want to be in. It was hard to note what the judges felt by way of negative because there wasn’t much shown on that. They mentioned something about not seeing a lot of form fitting pieces, but that was perplexing since she had a few of those pieces in the collection. In fact, my favorite look, seen below, I am still in awe over this look. This was so cool and just really demonstrated the range Nancy can do.

It was actually Geoffrey who won. I don’t hate on this too much. He didn’t do a horrible job. I didn’t find his collection to be my personal taste and found it to be less universal in terms of the range of customer who could wear these types of looks. But Geoffrey did have some really cool, standout looks. I saw the inspiration clearly in this Purple Heart collection, focusing on survival and bravery. I was impressed he was able to reign in all of his ideas and presented a collection that was fairly cohesive.

The opening of his purple bomber look was amazing. I still didn’t like the sleeve dress or all of the looks with just randomly hanging sleeve-like embellishments. His outerwear pieces are probably what won the day for him. His trenched black look was very strong. I thought his menswear was nothing overly inventive and many of his looks felt repetitive. And especially those 2 weird neckline shaped dresses back to back, very similar and not his strongest points. But there were some great details to see throughout the collection, especially the ones with sheer cutouts. My favorite piece from his was this look below, sheer stop beyond stunning and then these ultra chic, very cool, hip pants.

And the final oversized egg cocoon coat look was certainly a show piece that definitely closed the show as strongly as it was opened!

Geoffrey would have been my 2nd choice, outside of Nancy. As much as Sergio really slayed with quite a few truly knockout looks, overall, I wasn’t a fan of his confused messaging and fringe craze throughout this Ocean Anthem collection. I felt such a Western motif vibe from this collection, smashing together with this high-end, more elegant, high fashion feel, and the 2 styles didn’t come together for me. The judges were right to say Sergio is probably the most technically skilled, but this is not who can sew the best competition. The competition is about the design, the voice, and what comes out of that.

I felt Sergio with this collection was just a little too all over the place, too many details, too many ideas, and not all were amazing. His beadwork and more eveningwear looks, I am very much impressed with, but the fringe rest, not so much.

And of course one of Sergio’s best runway moments, proposing backstage, so sweet!


And last but not least to review, again, my least fave collection, Victoria with Revelation. Her looks certainly were culturally inspired, encompassing a very sporty, chic woman. It was a collection based with a soft, nude palette, but with some electric pops of color. I definitely was not a fan of the logos she still decided to use. I ultimately felt the collection was too underwhelming compared to the rest. It wasn’t elevated enough. And some of the details were odd, such as the smock over lace look. The shoulders on certain looks were too exaggerated.

I don’t think the collection was very cohesive, and it didn’t cater to any sort of same level of clientele. I felt overall, the collection tried to be cool, but wasn’t all that cool.

So again, it was Geoffrey for the win. And here is the rundown on what winning entails by way of prizes!

  • $250,000 courtesy of BluPrint, and creating a design series
  • Feature in Elle Magazine
  • $50,000 courtesy of Pilot Pens
  • and a mentorship with the CFDA

Project Runway — It’s the Road to the Finale

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It’s that time for Project Runway, the road to the finale, where we see the final collections of the designers shown during NYFW! We at this point are left with the final 4, Nancy, Sergio, Geoffrey & Victoria. Each designer would have 5 months to work on their collections, with a $10,000 budget. Each collection would consist of 10 looks. The designers were sent home to get working! The first part of the episode consisted of Christian visiting each designer to check-in.

First up, Christian was in Philadelphia, visiting Nancy. She had a really nice setup for a studio right next to her apartment. During this season, we saw Nancy a little all over the place at times, but I guess given more freedom in a work environment and parameters, we see a different Nancy, one who is really scheduled and organized. I love that she had a cardboard popup of Christian to keep her work spirit up! Nancy had so much completed for this visit with Christian. Her collection was all zero waste. It really did look like a lot of wearable art. She was also being all inclusive with her looks, even creating another look to work for a wheelchair model. I really loved what I was seeing here. There was a lot of detail and intricacies. Christian’s advice was to make sure to edit, not overwork the looks. And a nice parting bit of fun for Christian, he and Nancy ran up the steps in Philadelphia, like Rocky, how cool!

Next up for Christian was visiting Sergio in NY. He lives in a stunning apartment and his studio was actually in the apartment. His take for the collection was to look at global warmings’ impact on the planet. Sergio was trying to create glaciers melting into ice caps. He had some stunning fabrics chosen, and had decided to use upcycled fabrics. He also decided to grow leather in his bathtub, which actually looked pretty gross! We saw a lot of the middle part of his collection, but I was with Christian on his thoughts here and that the message wasn’t reading clear. And another bit of athleticism for Christian as he left Sergio, playing a little soccer!

Christian was then off to L.A. to visit with Victoria. She had a lot completed for this visit with Christian. She had decided to create a logo, which she put on some of her looks. I didn’t care for this, it read cheap, and let’s be real, she is not LV or Coach, not at a point yet where she needs that level of branding! There were a few interesting pieces, but I wasn’t seeing a lot of cohesion. I saw a lot of RTW, nothing very high-end. Looking at what I was seeing overall was underwhelming. After their studio visit, Christian was able to meet Victoria’s family, her husband and son.

And last but not least for Christian’s visits was seeing Geoffrey, going back to NY, Brooklyn. Geoffrey had a rocky start to working on this collection. He had pulled his meniscus, so was working thru that injury while trying to work thru this collection. He really hadn’t completed much. Lots of sketches and fabric swatches, but not any completed looks. He was thinking futurism for this collection, working on specific details for the collection, fabric manipulations, texture, quilted chainmail, and more. I was intrigued by what he was saying, but Geoffrey really had his work cut out for him to pull everything together and to do so very quickly. We also later learned Geoffrey had gone thru a break-up and was having some financial woes from closing his business. So he had been thru a lot and hopefully it wouldn’t keep impacting the work on his collection.

With all of the visits done, everyone finished their work over the next couple of months and were then back to NY. Victoria had an entire new hair look, big ball of curls gone to straight locks of blonde. Before getting back to work on their own collections, the designers went to Christian’s show at NYFW. But not too much downtime for fun, as the very next day, they were all back to their new workroom to get back to work! And since Christian had a lot going on after his show, Karlie was there to welcome the designers. The designers started unpacking their collections, Nancy literally inside one of her boxes making sure everything made it out! We saw Nancy actually used no horsehair in this collection and didn’t seem to be showing much repetition from what she created on the show. I really loved this liquid like fabric she had chosen. Geoffrey had clearly gotten to work and completed everything. He looked to have created some interesting outerwear pieces. All of the designers were of course curious as to what each other had done. Victoria changed a lot of her collection from Christian’s visit. It definitely looked better than what I had seen previously!

Of course Karlie being around was not just for a warm welcome, she had a little surprise for the designers. The judges were apparently throwing out the rulebook. It was not set in stone how many could show at fashion week. It could be all 4, just 3, or even just 2. The designers had 48 hours to pick 3 looks to show the judges. It could be their 3 strongest looks, or 3 favorites or looks they wanted critique on. The designers then had to look at the model cards and pick upon themselves who would get each model. Geoffrey naturally went into panic mode, not sure what to show the judges. He did have color in his collection, but really loved his all black looks.

The next day back in the workroom, Christian returned. We saw a little more insight into each collection. Geoffrey was honoring his Dad’s purple heart, creating a collection based around armor and protection. I worried about seeing Geoffrey’s cohesion, but also just any sort of mass appeal to his work. I wasn’t seeing a lot of super wearable pieces, but there were some really cool looks. Victoria was still about some branding and accessories, but Christian warned her about distracting focus from her looks. For Sergio, Christian advised him to make the looks feel as modern as he could. Christian didn’t seem to have much feedback for Nancy, really loved what she had created, which actually brought her to tears. It was such a genuine moment of appreciation and joy to see from her. But what was also pretty cool to see was one fun accessory she had created, a bag that dubbed as a boxed wine cover, genius!

Model fittings were up next. Christian provided some final tidbits of advice. He was not going to be with the designers the day of the runway because he was preparing for the Oscars. And with that, the designers finished off their night’s work, Geoffrey making a new skirt for one of his looks and Nancy treading very delicately because one mistake with her fabric could be endgame. For the morning of the runway, Sergio was having an issue with a visible panty line. Geoffrey decided to use stud embellishments for his makeup look, but was having a freakout moment because of the beading placements. And Victoria had decided to use all of her accessories. The guest judge for this runway was President and CEO of the CFDA, Steven Kolb. The winner would be receiving a mentorship thru the CFDA so Steven’s input would be great to have.

It was certainly hard to see where exactly the judges fell with this 4 because they really did have critiques for all. In my opinion, they seem to have the least amount of critique on Nancy and I would be floored if she were not chosen to show at NYFW. I really feel that the judges will let all 4 go thru though. But Nancy really delivered here. She did strive to make an all-inclusive collection, and really doing more than most by creating a look for a person who is in a wheelchair. I loved the feathered bodice on this look, great transitory moment from skirt to cape.

The print she used for her suit-esque look was stunning. Such a great fit on the model. And then seeing this liquid metallic look, such a lovely color and really a high end look anyone would love to be in. I do agree with the judges she should go a little more modern on the styling, less with the makeup. And she should also think of some breathers, so not everything is so print heavy or detailed focused. But editing down versus having to edit up is certainly where one would want to be at this point!

Sergio and Geoffrey both have some work to do, but I did find what they have done so far intriguing. I guess because of some stunning fabric choices, and just knowing Sergio’s technical skills are going to be beyond top notch, I did find his work a little more appealing. This first all white look, did look great, a little off from the panty issue, but did look amazing.

He had one look that weighed 45 lbs, I am sure hard to wear, but it was just so stunning. This look just screams so regal and luxe, I feel it is certainly one standout show piece for him and something a lot of women would want to wear.

I didn’t love all the fringe. And the judges were right that some of these looks did read more dated and he needed to get messy with the editing, think less is more. Sergio seemed to be very receptive of the criticism, but the question is, can he really take this super high end escalated collection and take it from that classy somewhat dated feel to something more modern.

With what Geoffrey showed here and snippets of what we have seen in other looks, I just don’t see cohesion. I don’t see him catering to the same customer. I see a lot of the coolness factor, but not sure how it might come altogether and if he can streamline focus on some of these ideas. There is almost too much going on. This first purple look was probably the only one I liked. A very cool puffer jacket look with a new chainmail skirt he had actually just made, so he was already making changes!

This dress look again was really cool with the metal mesh, but the bodice shaping was odd to me. The silhouette was also very ill-fitting as the judges pointed out.

And while it was nice to see menswear, I did not care for this mustard look. It was a lot of layers, very heavy handed. I think the judges felt underwhelmed by this and so did I.

Victoria was my least favorite. I do see she is going for a certain look, a certain customer. As the judges mentioned, it was great to see separates, you can do a lot of mixing and matching. The judges liked the hats, I really didn’t, but I guess the point was you don’t need to have all of the hats and bags, which is what Christian told her and she did not listen. On this first look, I liked the pants, very cool, but the embroidery print work was not appealing to me.

Then you jump to this suit look which really fell out of place for me, felt dated.

I really did love this jumpsuit, although the judges did not and felt it looked cheap. Go figure the one look I like, the judges don’t! she also had some technical issues up close and some fit issues here and there.

I think some of the designers have a lot of work to do if they want to be in the running. I am really hoping Nancy pulls of this win though!

PR Designers Take on Avant-Garde — Time to go Big or Go Home!

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This is it! It is the final challenge before we find out who is going to NYFW! And what better way to make that determination than by having the designers take on creating an avant-garde look. The judges would be looking for something extraordinary, going beyond the norm, a fashion first where innovation and originality would be key. And given that nobody went home last week, on this challenge, 2 designers would be getting axed. For this huge task, it really called for a larger than life runway! Instead of the regular catwalk, the designers would show their looks at NYC’s newest, innovative architectural feat, The Vessel.

Since Nancy won last week, she was able to choose her model. She then selected another designer to choose, and it was so on and so forth after that, with Victoria choosing last. This would be a 2-day challenge, with the sketching happening right then and there. The challenge itself wouldn’t start until the next day with the trip to Mood. During sketch-time, Marquise expressed comfort with this type of challenge, Victoria felt just okay, but Brittany was not feeling great at all. Sergio was planning his next big piece, but also his next big political statement, women empowerment.

So for the first full day of work, the designers began at Mood with a budget of $600. The designers were excited, but also happy to have a little extra shopping time. Geoffrey was feeling ready, although found himself working with familiar fabrics. Christian had already warned everyone to mix it up, so Geoffrey decided instead to work with latex. This is not new territory for him, but would be on this show. It was then time for the designers to get to work. We saw at Mood Brittany was thinking butterflies, but also thinking pink! Victoria was aiming to create 100s of small, faux leather pieces, to create her own fabric, looking to be some very tedious work. And Marquise was getting into work with all of his chains!

Christian was around later for Siriano sessions. Christian was okay with Brittany’s butterfly vision. Geoffrey was thrilled to show Christian his abilities to work well with latex. For Nancy, Christian urged her to go ahead and figure out her silhouette. But with Victoria, he wasn’t sure what direction she was going. For the remainder of day 1, Sergio expressed he only saw himself as competition and that everyone is always watching him. Not sure about that one, but everyone looked tired after a full day’s work, but still ready to go the next day for round 2!

The designers began their 2nd day of work with a surprise from Christian. They thought it was bad news, but it was more positive! Christian had it all set up for the designers to see every look they have created this season. It was a lovely walk down memory lane. But of course, it was more than just looking at their past work! Each designer would choose 2 prior looks to show with their avant-garde look. They would also get to work with a seamstress to tailor their looks for the new models. Next up was model fittings. Seeing what Geoffrey was creating with his latex work, I wasn’t sure what was going on. Sergio was working away with his Samurai look. Christian cautioned Marquise to relook at his jacket. And the designers also began work with their assigned seamstress.

Justine Marjan from Tresemme then came by to consult with each designer on their hair look because this avant-garde creation needed to truly sync with the hair & makeup. Toward the end of the day, Geoffrey accidentally cut himself, what a crazy end to a hectic, filled day! Since the designers had to be on location for this runway, their day of runway had to begin much earlier! Geoffrey was still reeling from his finger injury the day before, and looked to be hurting himself all over again! But injuries aside, the looks were getting finishing touches, the designers were off to The Vessel.

The judges were also arriving on location. We saw that Brandon was really afraid of heights, so he would be taking in the show from a lower level. This week’s guest judge was actress Rachel Brosnahan. Seeing this space with the runway show going on, it looks to be a stunning spot for a fashion show! And this runway did not disappoint. I feel most of the designers really stepped up to the plate, and I do imagine the choice to send 2 designers home, so only 4 making it to fashion week, it was a tough call!

My sense from the judges was that there was no question Geoffrey and Victoria were going thru. Nancy maybe more in the safe zone, with the final decision coming down to for that 4th spot between Brittany, Marquise and Sergio. I think the final decisions all made sense to me, and I was okay with, but this is not how I would have broken up this group. I don’t think there should have been any debate over Nancy going thru. She was definitely one of my top picks. Her look was so artistic, so sculptural, such a vision. I can’t say this is something overly unique from her, but it was clear everyone loved it. Nina mentioned something about better color choices, but I thought that was nonsensical. You could tell Brittany was fuming over the good critiques Nancy was receiving, but that is pretty petty that she felt her look was better than Nancys’. Not sure in what world that made sense in her head!

I am not usually a Victoria fan, but on this look, I can see why the judges put her thru over some of the rest. I wasn’t sure about the colors when I first saw it, but looking at it now, it makes sense and I do really like the look. I don’t think the ear attachment was needed. I wish it had been a little longer in the front. But this look read better to me the more I got to look at it, and she really stepped up from work she has created all season. It was nice to finally see something truly different from Victoria.

Geoffrey nabbed that definite fashion week spot as well. The judges were in awe, but I still just don’t get it. Geoffrey has done great work all season, and I am happy he was given the chance to go to fashion week, but this look was not a knockout. I can’t recall which judge said something about him being on such an upwards trajectory toward the last part of the season, but I guess they forgot how poorly he did just the week before this with that tacky short red dress he created! I don’t think this met the level of avant-garde. The latex was cool looking, but it was a long train over a body suit with exaggerations on the top. He said he makes stage looks for singers and this is exactly what this look was. I don’t get the over exaggeration of positives here.

I think the bottom 3 should have been Geoffrey, Marquise and Brittany. And in that instance, I don’t know if I would have put Geoffrey thru based on just this one look. But it was actually Sergio in the bottom pack, which I was confused on. I thought comparing his look to that of the other 2, I don’t see how there was any debate he should go thru. His work always is high quality, technically superior, so regal, so luxe. There is a flare for the drama. Yes, his makeup and hair were not very original in this Asian influence aesthetic. But I don’t think his look itself was referential in the examples they showed of McQueen or John Galiano. His Samurai look is not the same as a geisha look. Yes, they both reference the same culture, but are 2 different things and I feel it was very ignorant of the judges to not get that. To be fair, nothing in this lineup was overly innovative or totally original!

It was the right call for Sergio to go thru. Brittany’s look was not perfect, but was the only one I felt might could have gone thru, but didn’t. However in my book, if Brittany goes, then Geoffrey wouldn’t have. I do like this butterfly aesthetic. The judges weren’t thrilled with the butterfly dress, but I actually love it. It’s not avant-garde though. Obviously it was the oversized, long train jacket that was her avant-garde work, and it wasn’t anything overly spectacular. The execution wasn’t fully there, but as much pink as this look was, I still didn’t hate it. What I do hate is Brittany and her pouty attitude. I think she is such a poor sport. Yes it sucks to not make it, but to be fair, her and Marquise were both given 2nd chances in this competition. I don’t think Brittany has made the most of that 2nd chance. And her body of work compared to Geoffreys, it just isn’t as strong.

But Marquise going out on this look, I can’t say it is surprising. I do think Marquise made good use of his 2nd life in this competition. But I have always found him to be inconsistent in his work over the course of the season, and this look was not strong for him. Yes the chain pants were cool. But I know a few designers personally that work with chain metals all the time. It is not this brand new concept. The top part was just not good at all though. It was basic thoughts on hologram and futuristic vibes, but not in a good way. I think I had seen some comments from fans here and there that he was robbed. That is absolutely untrue in regards to this look. He was only brought back to the competition because another designer had to drop out due to illness. He has to prove himself just like everyone else and I don’t feel he did that. I like Marquise, but I don’t think he was ready to create an entire collection for fashion week. He has potential in the future, but he is not quite there yet!

I am eager to see how everything plays out on this road to the fashion week finale!

Project Runway Designers Make Dreams Come True!

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This next Project Runway challenge was all about designing for real women, not models, and giving them a chance to be celebrated. It was to give them a dream outfit for a victory night celebration. And what was so nice to see from this final set of designers, was that truly each client felt like a million bucks in their looks, grinning from ear to ear! The designers were paired with athletes, who would be competing in either the 2020 Olympics or Paralympic games. A few of the clients have really had to overcome some major hardships, and it was such a touching moment to see how excited these women were with their final looks.

I can’t say all of the looks were really knockouts in terms of traditional runway standards and technical abilities, but the clients were happy, and there was no arguing with that! But let’s jump back to the beginning and lead back up to the runway. So Karlie matched the designers with their clients by use of the button bag, but it was actual medals this go round instead of buttons! This would be a 1 day challenge, aka major time crunch! The designers first took some time to sketch with their clients. I definitely felt Victoria didn’t understand the difference between customizing to a client’s wishes versus just inserting your own wishes onto the client. And all of this talk about repetition this season, Victoria even says herself, she only does asymmetrical looks! How much clearer does it need to be stated!

Next up, shopping time at Mood with a $400 budget. Christian was not loving seeing so much red. But to be fair, if the clients did want a red dress, it probably is best to at least give them the color they wanted. Everyone was then back to work in the workroom. Sergio gave some advice to Brittany on some of the technical aspects for her look. You could tell Nancy really felt a lot of passion in this challenge. She really wanted to deliver for her client and was not planning to take a safe or easy route.

It was then time for Siriano sessions. Christian was urging Sergio to do a bit more with his look, give it a little more excitement. In between talks, Christian was having fun doing some ribbon gymnastics! He urged both Brittany and Marquise to not lose their voices in their looks. And finally, for Nancy, he cautioned her on time management. Most of the designers didn’t seem ready for model fittings, but it was that time. Victoria’s client was really feeling her look, ready to dance! Nancy’s client is in a wheelchair, and Nancy was being super functional in the creation of her look for her client. She actually used Vel-cro to make the look’s use easier. Marquise planned on making another matching outfit for himself, to go with what he was creating for his athlete. And Geoffrey, all we saw there was trouble! He didn’t seem to get that low boob, a short dress, a slit, it was tight, like these were all the wrong elements to combine!

As the rest of the day winded down, Geoffrey re-started on his look and was freaking out! Marquise was doing a bit more mannequin rolling, having a little fun in the workroom. From the morning of the runway, we saw another potential short look to keep an eye on, that was coming from Victoria. The client actually seemed a little worried, but Victoria was quick to quip that she had given the client exactly what she wanted! We then of course had this big iron incident. It seems in Nancy’s quick use of the iron, something of her black fabric got on the iron. In Geoffrey’s then quick use of the iron, that black residue got on his dress. Of course production tried to make this a big blame Nancy moment. But really, good lord! Is there only one iron? It is a communal iron, so yes, things like this can happen! Geoffrey could have also checked the iron. I would hope Nancy later offered apologies, but let’s be real, that little stain was not even close to the biggest issue with Geoffrey’s look, so in reality, chill pill please!

Iron drama aside, it was time for the runway! This week’s guest judge was fellow athlete and Olympian Lindsey Vonn. As I mentioned at the start of my post, all of the clients were happy, so yes, that was a positive. But not all of the looks were that amazing. And yes, nobody went home, but as we saw in previews for next week, someone not going home this week means that 2 designers go home next week! That makes me nervous! And the judges can try to force on us that all of the bottom looks were hard to debate between. Or that the top 2 looks were really hard to choose between, that of Victoria and Nancy. Both notions were laughable. I think it was abundantly clear Geoffrey had the bottom look. I would have hated to see him go, but he did struggle this week. And even more abundantly clear, Nancy was the hands down winner!

It seemed as if it was mainly Elaine trying to discuss Victoria being the winner this week. She tried to question Nancy’s color choice, really grasping at straws to not just give Nancy this much deserved win. Let me start by reminding everyone that the designers were given a $400 budget this week. Nancy’s dress was the only one that look remotely close to $400 worth. If anyone would have paid $400 for Victoria’s look, I caution you to have your eyes checked! But back to Nancy, this look was a real dream come true for her client. She had such a moment with this dramatic train, the falling sleevelets were gorgeous, and there were just so many great details for this look. The fabric was stunning, such a great shine, but was not doing the work to make the look great, that was all Nancy!

I didn’t love Victoria’s look, but it wasn’t a bottom look either. It just annoyed me that the judges could even compare this red salsa dress to Nancy’s utterly divine gown. I reiterate again, this dress looked cheap, not like $400 went into it. One of the judges even pointed out her poor fabric choice, which I immediately made note of as well. It read cheap and it was so wrinkly on the runway. It was funny seeing her called out on poor fabric choices, when just earlier in the episode, she said the same thing about Marquise! I did really like the work she did on the top portion of her look, but it was very short. You would think that high of a budget, there was more you could have spent on fabric to make it somewhat longer!

To me, there was no real top 3 or top 2, but if I had to put another designer as safe or more towards the top than the bottom, it was Brittany. From the judges’ view, I guess it was a 4-way tie for the bottom between her, Sergio, Marquse and Geoffrey. I don’t see how they came to that conclusion and very much disagree that Brittany or Marquise were in that spot. I will admit, Brittany’s fabric choice really did make the dress. Brittany’s voice and work wasn’t there. It did read very traditional bridal or even to some extent prom. That said, it’s not like Brittany didn’t put work into the look and I didn’t note any technical or quality issues.

I also don’t think Marquise was deserving of a bottom spot. Up close, I kind of loved his look less. The overlay on the bodice didn’t look as great. But I did like his braiding work and the flow with the skirt portion was beautiful. I think he lost his voice here, but it was still a great dress. Not top or bottom worthy, just safe.

I still contend that Geoffrey’s look was the true bottom look, but I do think Sergio could have done a bit more with his dress. I loved the color. I loved that it wasn’t form fitting. I don’t get why there was so much emphasis on a maternity look needing to be tight?? But it seem as though there was some technical issues and it did read a little basic. This is what the client wanted, but Sergio kept it super simple and did play it very safe.

But Geoffrey got his look all wrong and it did not read at all as Project Runway worthy. It read cheap. I didn’t see anything of Geoffrey in this look. Sure it could be a sexy club dress, but with PR, there should be a little quality, a little more than something you could buy cheaply online. And I used the word cheap a lot in my critiques or basic because once again, I was flabberghasted remembering the budget was $400 and these were the looks produced to match that budget.