The designers were off to the Hard Rock Cafe in Time Square, to meet Alyssa, but this would not be any fun dining NYC experience! Along with Alyssa was the VP of Merchandise Development for Hard Rock, Kitsy Phillips.This week, the designers were tasked with a first for PRAS, to create a dazzling performance outfit for the stage. The performance-wear creation was not the only challenge though. Each designer would face-off against another within a given musical genre. The lower score of each pair would be at risk for elimination.
To figure out the pairings and genres, the designers were left to the fate of a Jukebox! The face-offs were —
- Anthony versus Ken for Pop
- Helen versus Fabio for Country
- Stanley versus Edmond for Rock
Kitsy then announced that the winning designer would create a new hard rock T-shirt, which would be sold at select Hard Rock Cafes. Additionally, the designer would be whisked away, all expenses paid, for a trip to the Hard Rock Hotel in Cancun! Naturally, everyone was ready to go for this 1-day challenge, starting with spending their $250 budget at Mood.
Anne Fulenwider was still away, so taking her place this week as guest mentor was designer Rebecca Minkoff. She did a fantastic job. She pointed out to the designers about making sure their looks were recognizable within their given genre. She also wanted to make sure each designer created a look that stood out.
Joining the judges this week was model Olivia Culpo. And now onto the runway to see who survived their face-off!?!
Overall, I loved this runway. I thought each pair really provided amazing looks. I had a hard time selecting my faves. The weakest pair was Helen and Fabio though. And although Edmond has not done very well this season, I did really love his look this week, and happy for his win so close to the end here.
Shout-outs All-Around — Rodial glam, Umberto BH for the wavy locks, killer black booties from Intermix
His look screamed Rock! A little cliche perhaps, but compared to Stanley, it fit the Rock mold very well. The leggings he made were cool and the vest was a great touch. He didn’t rest on his laurels, really pushing himself, creating a lot for his overall look.
Shout-Out — Umberto BH on the straight locks
Stanley lost out in the face-off, actually landing in the bottom 2, but was safe at the end of it all. His look wasn’t all that bad, it was just a little too polished for Rock. I liked the print he created, but it needed more edge.
Next up was Anthony and Ken. This was a hard choice!! I loved both, but if I had to choose, I would have gone with Anthony. His choice of royal blue is personally one of my favorite colors. His fringe work was amazing. There was a great deal of mixed media, so much to catch the eye.
The judges went with Ken for the top look of this pair, but both really did a standout job here. His sheer jumpsuit was stunning! The judges seemed to disagree about the coat and I sided on not liking it so much myself. I don’t think it was needed to make the look better.
Shout-out — Another standout hair look from Umberto BH
And finally, there is Fabio versus Helen. I don’t think either particularly did a great job for the country music genre. I didn’t love Helen’s look, but I think she was closer to the mark than Fabio on a performance look. I actually liked Fabio’s romper creation, but it didn’t fit the challenge. I could not see the judges getting rid of Fabio though, so sadly, it was Helen who was out this week.
Shout-outs — Umberto BH for all of the curls; Intermix for the sexy strappy heels
With Fabio’s look, my main issue, besides that it didn’t read country, was that I don’t think it was enough for a stage or performance look. And then with Helen, her silhouette was great, but the full on black sequin concept didn’t work. Had she made use of a print or design to put with the black, or maybe having used another color, it could have worked with more of an impact. But the solid black was not the right direction to go!
