PRAS This Week — 2 Worlds Collide

And just what are those 2 worlds? Duh! — Fashion & Commerce. So this week each designer had to create a RTW look, which would be sold to benefit a charity — Save the Garment Center. The look would be sold as part of the Milly Spring/Summer 2014 collection. This was a true test for the designers, to create a stunning design that would would encompass their own design aesthetic, but to also work within Milly’s collection’s theme, Urban Tribal. But also, the design needed to be commercially feasible, so made for under a budget of $400.

Examples of Milly Dresses

The designers were off to sketch for their 2 day challenge. No mood trip this week because the designers would work with Milly’s custom made fabrics. Michelle Smith, Milly designer, was there to meet and greet. She made sure to remind the designers about keeping within the price/cost structure. She also provided a bit more details for designing in that the look needed to be for the Milly customer — feminine but with edge. Before any fabrics could be cut though, the President & CEO of Milly, Andrew Oshrin, had to 1st approve each design.

Elena was all about these Milly fabrics, NEON!! During her consultation, the major adjustment was keeping the white leather to smaller portions. Korto also felt she best fit the Milly aesthetic in working with the tribal aspect. Her consultation was probably the most drastic — she chose the most expensive materials so she had to shorten her look from a maxi to above the knee! Seth Aaron’s consultation focused on an expensive zipper, but he agreed to edit it down. And finally, there was Chris, whose consultation seemed to go the most smoothly, but clearly that didn’t work so well for him this week!

The designers were off to work! Korto felt some early struggles since she was only working with a small amount of her expensive fabrics. We saw an early Elena freakout as well because she ripped her leather while working on a sleeve. It was then time for the 2nd work-day and this week, Zanna time also included Michelle.

Seth Aaron’s visit probably went the best. Elena had started work on a possible 2nd dress because of her leather rip, but that concept was quickly struck down. Michelle was unsure if with Korto’s look, if the 2 very bold prints were really working well together. Chris had gone from a dress to trying to make separates work. Michelle’s concern was this would be over-budget because you are working with 2 samples, 2 zippers, etc. So how did each designer fare then on the runway?

This week was so odd because we had all 3 of the regular judges (yes! Georgina was finally back!), plus 3 guest judges. The three guest judges were the lovely Kristin Chenoweth, the comedic Nick Cannon, and Milly designer Michelle Smith. Could 6 minds really come together? Duh — NO! I don’t think any were completely on the same page. But ultimately, for this week, the winning look had to be the one that Michelle most wanted as part of her collection. I think from the critiques that it was most clear she loved Seth Aaron’s look, making him the winner this week.

I agree! I think this look best fit with the Milly aesthetic. I do wish between the 4 designs, there was a bit more color or enjoyment with a fun print, but Seth’s look did at least have a small pop of color. I also thought with this look that I could see Seth’s aesthetic in it as well. It’s clear that since his original PR win, he has learned the business side of fashion. Job well done! Seth will be in the finals!

The look is available for purchase now, $398!

The next finalist is Elena. I don’t think this look was horrible, but I didn’t think it would have worked well with the Milly vibe. I was also very upset that we heard all during the 1st part of the episode about Elena’s love of neon, but she didn’t really showcase that with this stark white look. And no, I don’t count working with neon when you can unzip the garment to see it! But she is a clear judges’ fave this season so it came as no surprise that she made the finals.

This left us with Korto and Chris. But before the judges could make a final decision they had them do one more challenge. The judges couldn’t decide who to send home with the Milly creations. The judges loved the back of Korto’s dress, but the front left them disappointed. I agree. I wish that she had just made the dress out of the belted and back portion and then belt it with maybe a solid black or bright color. But the back was gorgeous. The judges liked Chris’ look, but Georgina said something strange about not knowing who Chris was as a designer? That is kind of odd since you brought him back as an All-star and also, Georgina has been absent most of the season. Maybe if she had been there she would know more! The bodice area also had some fit issues so that worked against him as well. This left these two to battle it out with a final challenge.

The final challenge was to select 3 looks from previous challenges and remix them to create 1 new outfit. This new outfit had to be a dramatic new look. The sucky part was they only had 1 hour! Only Alyssa, Georgina and Isaac would make the elimination decision this time around. And so Korto & Chris were off to work, while Seth and Elena were cooped up in the waiting room, going stir crazy!

Korto’s new look consisted of the following — the pants from the menswear challenge to make her skirt; the back of her jacket from the punk challenge; and the neoprene & details from the insect look challenge. She created a structured vest with a pencil skirt. The skirt had a zipper going down the front. My major issue with this look is that it didn’t read Korto. I also thought it was kind of boring, nothing special. But I knew deep down the judges would not send her home so I’m not sure why they went thru this extra hassle this week. The judges didn’t even discuss the decision, they just wrote a name down. So all in all, just a very odd way to send Chris out this week!

Chris’ look consisted of the tulle from his eveningwear look, to make his fitted & tethered skirt; the belt & clutch from the Bonnie & Clyde challenge; and the top portion of this look was from the black fabric used from his punk challenge look. The look was not perfect, but he only had 1 hour! But it definitely read as a Christopher Palu design. I was sad to see him go, but we are finally at the last episode now, the finals! So who will win PRAS season 3? I know who I think the judges will pick, but I want to see if it’s at least well-deserved!