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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

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.

Designers Go for a Modern Take on a Tuxedo

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This week on Project Runway, the designers were tasked to put their spin on the classic tuxedo. The inspiration was looking at the modern tuxe look Christian Siriano created for actor Billy Porter for the Oscars 2019 red carpet. Each look would need to incorporate satin. And the models this week would be a mix of male, female and non-binary. The designers were thrilled to hear this would be a 2-day challenge. And because this task would involve some extra work due to tailoring, all of the eliminated designers would be back to lend a helping hand.

The twist here was that the eliminated designers would choose who they wanted to work with, chosen at random draw, from the button bag. I think the remaining designers would have preferred choosing their help, but for the most part the pairings ended up looking pretty well. Not surprising, but Victoria was selected last, by Alan, and she didn’t even have him help that much. The designers were paired off and went to sketch. Brittany had never created any sort of menswear and was already starting to worry. The designers were then off to Mood, given a $600 budget. I feel like that is one of the higher numbers of the season.

While Brittany was in panic mode, Marquise felt super comfortable, in his element. Delvin originally migrated towards a powder blue fabric, thinking bad prom tuxe, but thankfully Christian saved him from that! With lots to do, it was back to the workroom for the rest of day 1 of this challenge. Delvin bragged on how his skillset would create for smooth sailing on this challenge. Brittany was still in panic mode, maybe having bit off more than she could chew. But at the end of Day 1, the designers were given a little break, having some fun, playing cornhole, and drinking cocktails.

The start of Day 2 also provided some treats for the designers, last season’s winner Sebastian Grey, and he brought them breakfast, with a side of advice. Next up with some advice, Christian with his Siriano sessions. He cautioned Nancy on fit, questioned Delvin on his fabric choice, and gave Brittany food for thought about maybe changing up some on her design. We later saw Delvin’s helper Tyler assisting Nancy with a bit of a pre-model fitting. Delvin was upset, but I guess was unable to act with any maturity and just ask Tyler to just focus on him. Instead he bashed Nancy because I guess that 15 minutes Tyler was away would be such a make it or break it moment for Delvin’s look!

The actual model fittings were up next. Everyone loved seeing some abs in the workroom! Victoria had some behind the scenes comments about Nancy’s work being somewhat derivative. This was laughable coming from the queen of repetition this season, who was just called out for that last week! Many designers overuse common elements, but Nancy has certainly created a variety in her looks. Some of the designers weren’t using their helpers as much as others, as mentioned above, Victoria with Alan, but also Sergio with Veronica. I can’t blame someone for trusting their own skillset versus designers who were eliminated for not the best skillsets.

The morning of the runway produced some true deplorability from a few of the designers. It was like a real life version of Mean Girls! Honestly though, it was abundantly evident these 3 cowards bashing Nancy were just trying to mask their own insecurities. But that is no excuse. Victoria was in the bottom 2 weeks prior, so who is she to throw shade? Delvin has been up and down from week to week, clearly seeing his skillset is not all he thinks it is, but rather than focus on himself, he chooses to tear others down, so sad! And Brittany knew she had a bottom look this week, knowing how hard it was, and yet also joined in on this nonsense. This is nothing but pure jealousy and very disappointing to see! Nancy overheard all of this and took the high road to not say anything. This is the difference between someone with class and those who act like immature children!

Rant aside, the rest of the morning was par for course. All of the designers were rushing to finish their looks. Britt was having some major last minute glitches (KARMA!), Marquise was trying to get his fit nailed down, and Alan decided to help Brittany since Victoria wasn’t using him. Delvin after already going in on Nancy all episode had another childish moment. Nancy was using a button machine, I guess there is only one and it broke. Of course Delvin blamed her, as if she did it on purpose. Thank God for Christian who provided Delvin with a dose of reality in that he could still just do the work himself and that those machines weren’t always around! He also had a helping hand in Tyler, so just make it work and stop whining!

After all of this drama, I was ready for the actual runway. This week’s guest judge was menswear designer Thom Browne. As this week’s runway was a little more menswear based, I looked at the looks a little differently than I do from other weeks. So not so much what I would wear, but focus on the technique, could I see that look on a red carpet, and did it meet the challenge, really taking the tuxe to a new, modern level. All of the designers received critiques this week, making it to a top 4/bottom 3. My top 2 would have been between Marquise & Geoffrey, but Marquise winning made sense.

I really liked the jacket he created, and doing the skirt/pant bottom was certainly one of the more innovative features I saw on this runway. There was a lot of great attention to detail. Given he was eliminated and came back, I am sure this win felt great for him. I do think it was justified in his elimination, but he should be very thankful for 2nd chances!

Geoffrey also did some great work making a tuxe into a jumpsuit silhouette. I could see a lot of people wanting to wear this. He made some great color choices.

I think Victoria was given more consideration from the judges for a top spot, but not for me. She didn’t have the best or worst look, but I wasn’t blown away. I did like the open back, but I felt the bodice area looked very bunchy. I also agreed with Thom Browne that this wasn’t really a next level tuxedo.

Sergio also received some positive commentary, and that was deserved. He created a very polished look, superior technical quality. The problem was that it did seem super similar to a well know Celine Deion red carpet look. I actually don’t think Sergio had that in mind when creating this. He didn’t intentionally break the rules as Victoria has done in the past. It was still a great look, very well made, and would have been hard to send him out on this look. I also wondered why Christian didn’t bring this reference up?? The hard part with Sergio was hearing his political message related to this look. I don’t think anyone wishes we were back in the 50s!

This left Delvin (KARMA), Nancy, and Brittany as the bottom 2. I hated seeing Nancy be in the bottom 2, but ultimately it didn’t matter. There was no way Brittany shouldn’t have gone home over her look. The other 2 looks were at least finished well, and it was just a matter of subjective liking. But Brittany’s look had so many construction issues, and was just such a hot mess! She kept saying she was trying something different and used that as an excuse for her poor look. I actually didn’t buy that. She created a shorts tuxedo look, which actually doesn’t even meet the challenge requirements. This has been done, so there was no real innovation here, just a poorly created look because Brittany doesn’t do menswear.

It was great Karma seeing Delvin in the bottom. Not just because of how he treated Nancy, but also because he was so overconfident all episode; it grew tiring! Supposedly being Mr. Tailor, I actually thought his look didn’t have a great fit, it looked super tight. The judges were correct to point out he had too much going on and should have streamlined his focus to what he does well.

I’m a huge Nancy fan, so seeing her in the bottom was a little nerve-wrecking. You can tell the judges like Brittany more, so it did worry me that they would choose someone they liked more, even though that person clearly had the worst look! I liked that she used a print and I would see a ton of people going with a look like this. I’m glad the judges hadn’t lost all of their marbles though and Brittany was eliminated. I get eliminations are tough, but I felt the judges were a little over the top on how bad it was that Brittany was being eliminated. She is a great designer, but she hasn’t had the most consistent work. Not many bottom looks, yes, a couple of wins, but also a lot of safe looks. I think we all knew though that Christian would use his save if he needed to for a few designers, Brittany being one of them. She was saved, good for her, hopefully next week she can focus on being a designer instead of taking part in mean girl antics!

PR — Go Sheer or Go Home!

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So our episode began with Victoria still whining. Delvin was completely correct in this situation, Girl needed to get over being in the bottom! Someone who actually had some room to be concerned, Dayoung. Dayoung was still not feeling great, very clear her body was giving out on her. It was hard watching her go because I do think she has talent, but seeing her be in this state, it was hard. I think she made the right call to go home.

But the show, alas, must go on….. I was actually very excited about this challenge. I love a sheer look, so it was exciting to see what the designers would create! Brandon actually joined the designers for the challenge assignment. The designers would have to use sheer fabrics to create a sheer editorial look. The look still needed to be tasteful, celebrating a woman’s form, to make them feel good, but not be all about exposure. This would be a 1 day challenge, which had a few designers shook!

Since Brittany won last week, she chose her model first. Very random is this season with model assignments. This week, the button bag was the way to assign. So as a designer’s name was drawn, they got to select the model of their choosing. It was also announced this would be the last immunity handed out for the season. The models actually would be working with their designer during sketch time, to ensure they would be comfortable with the design, as there would be some exposure. You could see lots of passion with the designers, but Sergio was calling the win!

As the designers got to Mood, they were surprisingly joined by one returning designer, Marquise. Since Dayoung just left, Marquise was brought back. The designers would have a $300 budget. I never understand what Victoria is doing, except trying to get away with just designing whatever she wants, and blaming any faults on anything else but herself. She says she doesn’t understand what sheer meant? It was clearly explained and shown to her, but yet she still designed something that would not work for a sheer look? Confusion aside, it was time to get to work! Christian quickly joined the designers, teasing a twist, but really it was just time for Siriano Sessions, what a prankster!

Christian expressed concern over Chelsey and Victoria. All of a sudden, Christian finally decided to let Victoria know she designs very derivatively. She doesn’t get it still, but clearly everyone else does! Christian should have said this to her 3 challenges ago though! And I will still never understand when a designer gets lost, how it seems they lose all elements of design, from the look itself, to fabric, to even technical skills?? Still not being a fan of negative criticism, Victoria was close to quitting. I don’t see why the designers even bothered with her on this. This attitude, this behavior is disrespectful to the process and to the other designers.

This being a 1 day challenge, the day of work really flew by. And of course the Victoria drama took up a good part of the day. So the morning of the runway, many designers were still working away. Victoria was giving Christian the silent treatment and Sergio decided to help Nancy with her final look details. This week’s guest judge was model and activist Paloma Elsesser. But the question remained was which designers felt the sheer joy for this week!?!

Brittany and Delvin were the safe designers. I get the desire to win, to be on top, but these two were actually highly delusional to think they should have won. Third to last, these 2 in safe, and even Marquise being 3rd, it could have gone a few different ways. But it was abundantly clear who the bottom 2 were this week, and who were the top 2. So hearing these 2 complaining, it was hilarious. And to make matters worse, showing true shades of jealousy and talking poorly about Nancy, let’s just say green with envy isn’t a cute look! I want to like Brittany, but seeing her childish side, I can’t support that. Last week, she was saying Nancy was her friend, her roomie, but now she is saying unnecessary and nasty comments. I don’t care for being 2 faced and petty.

Back to her & Delvin’s looks though, they were just okay. Good elements, but not knock outs. Delvin’s top was sloppy. And Brittany’s shorts were a hot mess, and not everyone wants to look like a poster child for Pepto Bismol! As for the top 3, Marquise, Nancy, and Sergio, I was mostly in agreement. Marquise did come back with a bang, but you could tell his look still had many imperfections. I just still don’t see his technical skills and work measuring up for the long haul.

I would have given Nancy the win over Sergio. I think Sergio did too much in his look, the fringe placement was off. Nancy however struck all the right balances. The top, the embellished neckline was divine.

Aside from Sergio’s random fringe placement, I did love this look. A little less fringe, it would have been an A+. This flower lace work was stunning!

The bottom 3 consisted of Geoffrey, Chelsey, and Victoria. I was surprised seeing Geoffrey in the bottom. I loved this color choice. The look felt different from the rest, very modern, sporty, and very editorial! Maybe up close the exposed bodice looked different, but I didn’t see it as all that bad. A lot of sheer work exposes breasts. The judges were clearly not sending him home and sang a bit of a different tune once giving the look a full evaluation.

Chelsey and Victoria were the clear bottom 2. The judges still seem obsessed with Victoria. For the sheer fact she told them she wanted to quit, I would have sent her home just for that. It is a slap in the face to then send someone home who got lost, but really wanted to still be there. Victoria only seems to thrive when everything is positive, going her way, almost as if life is all rainbows and sunshine. But sadly, the real world doesn’t work that way. You have to sometimes endure failure and take in some tough criticism. If you don’t fail and get back up, if you can’t work thru criticism, you can’t grow. I can’t support a designer being in this competition who is against growth. And not to beat a dead horse, but this look was horrible! Not understanding sheer, to me doesn’t translate to the fact that you forget all of your technical capability!

Unfortunately it was Chelsey paying the price for the judges’ unwarranted obsession with Victoria. I still don’t know if Chelsey could nab the ultimate win here, but I would have much preferred seeing her continue than Victoria. Chelsey isn’t derivative, she has a unique voice, she is open to growth, and she has fight, not a quit spirit. She unfortunately got lost in this challenge. Her look wasn’t great; it needed more. I have read people think Christian could save her? I feel we would have seen this if that were the case. I just hope Christian doesn’t drink the same judges’ Kool-Aid on Victoria and that in the future he wastes his save on her!

PR — When Art & Fashion Collide!

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And this week, this is exactly what would happen when the worlds of fashion and art merged together! The designers were off to Bergdorf Goodman to get all of the challenge details. Once there they met with Christian and painter Ashley Longshore. Also joining them was fashion director of Bergdorfs Linda Fargo. They met in the Bergdorf café, which is actually filled with Ashley Longshore works of art. For the challenge, the designers would have to work in a collaboration between designer and artist. The end result would be a high fashion look, the designers’ voice in the look, but with the use of an original Ashley Longshore print.

Ashley was thrilled to do these collaborations as it would be her first time seeing her work on apparel. As Chelsey was the winning designer last week, she would select her print first. Each next chosen designer would then choose another designer to select after them. I guess certain designers might have wanted certain prints, but really, all of the prints were amazing. I don’t see anyone being at a loss here based on print selection! This would be a 2-day challenge. The designers would have a $175 Mood budget, so they would be able to use other fabrics, but the Longshore print needed to be the focal point of each look.

During sketch time, Ashley checked in on each designer. It was then off to Mood, where we saw Victoria hiding from Christian and Geoffrey was all about the nipple focus since his print contained nips. As shop time was done, the designers were back to the workroom for the start of Day 1. Chelsey asked Delvin for some help, and Sergio tried to offer his assistance as well. Delvin was clearly not feeling Sergio’s advice. Ashley rejoined the designers to continue the collaboration. She expressed concern for Geoffrey in that his focus was too much and too literal about the nipple. Her artwork had an err of mystery on that aspect. She also expressed concern for Victoria that she was not using enough of the print. In case anyone missed it during the episode, I believe Victoria only said it about 50 times, but she is not a fan of prints!

Ashely would also be providing accessories/trims for the designers to utilize within their looks — feathers, beads, jewels, etc. After her sessions with each designer it was a race to grab some items! As the rest of the day winded down, you could see Delvin felt like he was back to his normal self, that he would finish his work early. Before the designers went home, they were treated with some apps and drinks to enjoy! Celebrating a little bit of down time, the designers decided to put on a runway walk competition!

As day 2 began, Dayoung felt sick, again. Throughout most of the day, you could see she was struggling, no energy and couldn’t eat. Seeing her not feeling well a few times now, one has to wonder if this competition environment is too much for her? But for now, Dayoung decided to push thru. During Siriano sessions, he mentioned being excited about seeing all of the color; I was excited too. Christian was worried about Nancy’s oversize coat, however she wasn’t. Christian expressed concern for Victoria too, still not using her print as much. Victoria hasn’t followed the challenge guidelines in my opinion 2 times before, so it’s not a surprise she was doing that again here because her past rule-breaking has been rewarded with her being given a top spot.

Later in the day were model fittings. For Delvin, his look began as a bit pj-like has Christian expressed, later some shortening edits were made. Christian felt Geoffrey’s look was too oversized, looking a bit like an oven mitt. For the rest of the day, of course it was clear Dayoung was behind. The morning of the runway was filled with normal craziness. Victoria did help Dayoung finish her look, which was nice, but as we later saw, perhaps she should have been more concerned with her own look. Marquise had some construction issues with his look and was hoping to hide them with his jacket. I have to give a product shout-out on the Maybelline matte lipstick being used for a few of the models, this product is amazing, works so well!

I was very excited to see this runway! Ashley, being this week’s guest judge, was excited as well! The safe designers were Chelsey, Sergio, and Geoffrey. Chelsey’s medley of words and artwork print was not my favorite, just felt a bit sloppy. Sergio did much better than he has the past couple of weeks with this look of a butterfly focused print, very chic. I actually didn’t care for Geoffrey’s very junior-like look. As for the top 3, Brittany, Dayoung, and Delvin, I was mostly in agreement. It was great seeing Delvin so happy, but his portraits and lips printed power suit was all print and too much for me. I know the print was to be the focal point, but the entire look in this print was just a lot!

My winner would have been Dayoung. I know she had some help finishing her lips centric look, but it was still her voice and I have loved so much of what I have seen from her. I loved she matched her print with this stunning purple fabric. The look felt very fun! And it was very kind of Dayoung to actually credit Victoria for the help she was given. I don’t know if all designers would have given this credit.

But it was basically known from the jump Brittany was winning this one. Her look was great, so still deserving of the win. We heard all episode how much she was a fan of Ashley’s work, and that passion/enthusiasm, you could see in her floral/butterfly look. The 3d butterfly embellishments were great. I thought it was a very hip and chic look.

This left the bottom designers as Marquise, Victoria, and Nancy. I was very annoyed Nancy was in the bottom, let alone the bottom 2. This was not a bottom 2 worthy look! Yes, her jacket was oversized, but I feel plenty of woman would like that oversize feel. And, even if they didn’t, this jacket could have been taken in some. The rest of her look was beyond amazing, especially the pants! I feel as if the judges had a hard time sending Marquise home over her, but I just view these 2 bottom looks as vastly different and it should have been no question or hesitation who to send home!

Even though Victoria wasn’t in the bottom 2, at least she finally wasn’t undeservedly rewarded by being in the top. I don’t think Victoria is a bad designer, I just think she has been overpraised all season. And because of that overpraising, she now feels she doesn’t have to follow the challenge guidelines, and can do almost anything she wants and not be in the bottom. Her look this week lacked her normal great technical quality, but the design itself was not great, very derivative of she has done in the past with asymmetrical silhouette work. But it also didn’t meet the challenge requirements. I don’t think her entire look should have been the print, but she could have utilized the print more cleverly on both the pants and the top. But she seems unwilling to compromise at all and clearly doesn’t like criticism.

This left Marquise going home. I like the guy, but the judges did seem really sad about this decision. And I get that, they are human. But Marquise has not performed consistently well. Yes he had 1 win, but most of the time was safe or in the bottom. I think it is great how far he came being a self taught designer, but his skillset is nowhere near some of the top designers in this pack. I think he has a voice and over time, his skills, the added value of real time, it will all work itself out.