PRAS Designers Get Personal this Week

Posted on November 23, 2014 by SMM

That’s right! The designers got very personal this week, wearing their hearts on their sleeves. Everyone was off to the Hearst Building, home of PRAS partner Marie Claire, to receive the challenge details. To provide these details, Alyssa was joined by creative director of Marie Claire Nina Garcia and Zales VP of Marketing Scott Davies.

Davies introduced Zales’ past, present, and future jewelry collection. In fact, the winner of the challenge would win a $10,000 Zales gift card and a diamond pendant from this collection, worth $15,000. The “past, present, future” element carried over into this week’s challenge. The designers had to create a colorful party dress inspired by their personal relationships, their own journey with love. Each look needed to incorporate an element representing the designers’ past, present, and future with regard to love and relationships.

You would think with such a pricey prize package at stake PRAS could have afforded a little more than a mere $100 Mood budget. With that in mind and only a 1-day challenge at hand, I was very impressed by what the designers created. At Mood, we quickly knew we would be in store for lots of red looks! And of course with the challenge being so personal in nature, we would hear many designer tales about their love lives. There were stories of happiness, such as with Kate’s marriage to a life-long friend and companion. But there were also some quite sad memories being brought back up, such as with Helen’s on & off again boyfriend struggles, or Gunnar trying to work thru a recent split.

It was then time for Zanna-time. She reminded the designers to add surprising elements into their looks, there needed to be a Wow-factor! We got to see how creative Justin was being with his hand-prints painted treatment. I was impressed, just as Zanna was. As Zanna was departing she let the designers know she still felt as if their looks could be a little more representative of their personal journeys; there needed to be more vulnerability.

Generally it’s after Zanna-time that a designer might be prompted to change up their look. But for Kate, this happened after her model fitting. She wanted to create a more sexier outfit so she began making changes. But with the morning of the runway, Kate was not the only one still scrambling away with last minute changes and work.

The judging panel this week consisted of Nina Garcia, filling in for Georgina Chapman who was missing again. But we also had 2 guest judges, fashion blogger Danielle Bernstein of WeWoreWhat, and last season’s PRAS winner Seth Aaron Henderson.

The designers put on a fairly impressive runway and Zales took note of that as well. In addition to an already amazing prize for the winner of the challenge, each designer would receive a $1000 gift card — SUPER NICE & KIND OF ZALES! While the runway put a smile on my face, the judges baffled me somewhat this week, so let’s just get right to it, looking at the top 3 and winner for the week.

Helen being in the top this week was confusing for me. I wouldn’t have put her in the bottom or have sent her home, but this dress seemed kind of boring to me, so for me, a safe look should be just that, Safe! But the judges flipped over Helen’s red dress and not only was she in the top 3, but she also won. Hearing the judges and Helen talk about the elements of her dress and how it reflected the “past, present, future” part of the challenge sort of began making sense. I found her dress to be a little more interesting. But I still don’t think this look was enough of a wow-factor to make it a winning number.

Chi Hair Care shout-out — this is such an exquisite and gorgeous up-do!

I was even further baffled that there was so much debate between Isaac and Nina over who should win this week. I guess I just didn’t get it with Helen’s look. But I will give a shout-out for the Mary Kay beauty look, love this bold, deep red lip!

Once again, the judges were in a heated debate over who should win between Helen and Sonjia. And with that, I would have picked Sonjia. I’m not sure that right when I saw this look that I was totally head over heels for it, but the way the burgundy lace worked with the cobalt blue under-garment, there was something very eye-catching about it. Zanna gave Sonjia some great advice about making sure her look wasn’t too matronly. I think she turned it around very well, but I still felt as if there was a slight matronly vibe in play. The judges flipped over the back of the look, but I’m not sure why.

Chi hair care shout-out for another stunning up-do!

Sonjia created a very intriguing look this week. She was very smart, picking such an interesting lace fabric with eye-catching details, and then taking that eye-catching appeal even further by pairing the burgundy lace with the cobalt blue. QVC shout-out for these perfectly coordinating cobalt blue heels. Also, Mary Kay makeup shout-out for another gorgeous bold burgundy lip.

But once again, all in all, Dmitry would have been my winner this week, just as I pegged him as my winner last week. Come on judges, two times now, let’s show Dmitry some love! But thankfully, he’s at least still making top 3 so that is good! When Dmitry first said he was working with vinyl, and that it was his first time ever doing so, I was a little scared. But his work with it was freakin’ awesome. The incorporation of vinyl panels made his dress stand-out; I was intrigued. This look had such an impeccable fit. It was sexy, but still tasteful.

The debate between Nina & Isaac over the flounce, I’m not sure what side I land on. Is it my favorite aspect of this dress? No. But I think if it were to not be there, the dress might have been more hoochie, or like another bodycon dress you could find at Bebe. Chi hair care shout-out, love this side-swept braided look, gorgeous!

So for the most part, the top 3 made sense, exception being the winner. I will also say the bottom 3 made sense, with the exception of Benjamin being a part of it. I loved his flowy gold dress. First off, in a sea of red, pink, and purple, it was commendable he went with gold. I also thought his work was very much the epitome of a party dress. This should not have been in the bottom 3, especially over some other questionable looks that came down the runway.

We have to also do a minute love-fest on this back detailing. I mean come on, this is stunningly gorgeous! I got what Isaac was saying about not wearing chains then, but those can easily come off.

Thankfully though, Benjamin was not in the bottom 2 so the judges at least got something right after wrongfully placing him in the bottom to begin with. He was thinking outside of the box by not going with red like so many others did. I love this dress so I say to Benjamin, Great job!

I’m going to move onto the designer who went home, Kate. Because as much as I disagreed with Benjamin being in the bottom, I too fully disagree with Kate being sent home. I knew Kate was going to be in trouble this week. She changed up her design last minute. And then there were some obvious execution issues since she was running low on time. The judges also didn’t love her use of a neutral color.

Chi hair care shout-out, lovely up-do.

The bottom was messy, but the top beading work was beautiful. I think this should have been enough to save her this week. Gunnar was the other bottom 2 look this week and I just didn’t see a saving grace with his look. I also think his execution issues by far surpassed that of Kate’s issues. QVC shout-out, killer gold sandal heels.

I do love Gunnar, just not this dress. He spent so much time on these details of his dress, the flaps, but it all just came across as messy. The backside was even worse than the front, just so sloppy looking. Gunnar was trying to convey chaos and this look was chaotic, just not in a good way.

I think the slight popping out of the printed fabric he chose was a commendable element, but I was disappointed this dress just had so much wrong going on. And again, I love Gunnar and didn’t want him to go. But over Kate, he should have been out.

Kenley Collins — This Thriving Designer Marches On!

Posted on November 19, 2014 by SMM

The lovely Kenley Collins is a long-time friend of Fashion Nexus so I’m very pleased to continue to show my support of her outstanding work! So here I am now to feature her latest collection launch, “American Geisha.”

Fans a Blossom crop top & skirt, and Geisha Garden Party dress

First though, just as a quick recap, here is a brief bio on the insanely talented Kenley. She made a huge name for herself by appearing in 2008 on the hit competitive realty TV show, Project Runway, season 5. A few years later she made a stint on the 1st season of Project Runway All-Stars. Since then, she has been working diligently as a fashion designer, creating collections that not only I love, but that truly speak to the heart of any burgeoning fashionista. Her collections make me smile, touch my heart, and make me feel so nostalgic. She takes an inspiration and really makes it come to life. She’s gone “As if” with Clueless

said it’s Grease lightning with her Pink Ladies line

taken us back in true fashionable style with her Marilyn Monroe inspired collection

and gave us her take on PopArt!

Her current holiday collection is once again entitled “American Geisha.” This line has all the Kenley touches that I have come to know & love! As always, I can see Kenley’s unique designer POV & hand in each piece. Her amazing work is ever-present and more captivating than ever. Her work is vintage, an era of long ago, but as with any Kenley piece, there is still a modern vibe.

Hummingbird party dress & Cherry Blossom Fan Wiggle dress

Her looks are always playful and full of character, demonstrating a genuine spirit for whatever underlying inspiration she is creating from in her mind. She is doing again with these American Geisha pieces what she does so well — fully embodying a given concept and making it come to life in true Kenley form & fashion. She designs for the masses and it’s so hard to not instantly fall in love with every print, style, silhouette, and piece.

Land of the Rising Sun dress

As always, you can make this collection work for you in a dress or separates piece. Here are some more amazing pieces from the American Geisha line!!!

Birds a Humming crop top & pencil skirt, and Land a Rising crop top & pencil skirt

Geisha Garden Swing dress

Cherry Fan Mandarin dress

Hummingbird Mandarin dress on left

You can now shop online for these amazing pieces! And yes, there are still some fun menswear and accessories pieces to peruse as well!

You can also shop for Kenley at Slapback in Brooklyn. And check out Slapback’s owner having a great time in Collins’ American Geisha pieces!

Besides designing imaginative and stunning collections, Kenley has achieved other great feats as well. A huge success for Kenley is her custom design work for major pop star Ariana Grande. Since I’m obsessed with both Kenley & Ariana I have to share Kenley’s crazy cool pieces for Ari!

Most designers are generally pleased if a major celeb dons one or two of their pieces, but clearly Ariana loves her some Kenley originals just as Fashion Nexus loves to feature them! Until the next collection launch……eagerly awaiting…….can’t wait!

PRAS Designers’ Showdowns — Good v Wicked

Posted on November 16, 2014 by SMM

Well the set-up was all there. The challenge was couture inspired fashion. The underlying inspiration was the Broadway hit musical Wicked. We had the drama, huge showdowns between equally talented designers with “Good v Wicked”. But all in all, I was somewhat underwhelmed this week. I wasn’t WOWED by many of the looks. I was expecting some touch choices to be made between pairings on who had the best design. Instead I witnessed a battle of who had the worst look. The episode wasn’t all terrible, so first let’s backtrack a bit and get all the details on this week’s challenge.

Alyssa descended upon the Wicked stage to greet the designers and provide the challenge details. Joining her were Wicked’s stars, Christine Dwyer (Elphie The Wicked Witch) and Jenni Barbour (Glinda the Good Witch). A major theme for Wicked is that every story has 2 sides. So as a tribute to the musical and the witches’ rivalry, this week, the designers would too rival one another by facing off and presenting a couture look representing the concept of “good” or that of “wicked.”

The pairings were set —

Justin (wicked) v Fabio (good)
Kate (wicked) v Sonjia (good)
Ben (wicked) v Helen (good)
Chris (wicked) v Michelle (good)
Samantha (wicked) v Jay (good)
Dmitry (wicked) v Gunnar (good)

Part of the issue with the designers’ work this week I think could partly be blamed on the challenge details & parameters. Couture work means so much more work than a mere 2-day challenge. That is PR though and even in short time frames we’ve seen some stunning work come down the runway in the past. I did feel as if a $250 budget for Mood seemed a bit low for such a high stakes challenge. I’m looking for a bit of blame though because I still feel as if something was off with the work this week. I felt with many of the designers I didn’t dislike their entire look. There were aspects I very much enjoyed and was impressed by. Some had a decent start and I’m not sure whether it was a lack of time, a bit of nerves, or maybe not enough of a budget, but somewhere, somehow, things went off course a bit.

As the designers headed back to the workroom for their 1st day of work many recognized some stiff competition for themselves with who they were paired against. I think head games might have been a factor with lackluster looks. Gunnar seemed to be the only one with a diehard spirit on wanting to truly beat out his competition — Dmitry. The 2nd day of work brought us Zanna-time and model fittings.

Zanna announced a prize for winning the challenge. The winning look would be on display for all to see at the home of Wicked, the Gershwin Theatre. Sadly though, this incentive nor were Zanna’s encouraging words enough to boost many of the designers’ looks. Zanna encouraged the designers to think couture, replace crafty with exquisite details. Samantha & Fabio were likely given the harshest critiques. Samantha was told her original look was a snooze-fest so she started over. Fabio’s dress/pant combo had Zanna worried so he hesitated on moving forward. But ultimately he stuck with his gut and his original look that he loved.

The morning of the runway saw a few designers working away, lots still to do. But for others, there was confidence and a ready-to-go spirit, such as with Chris, Dmitry, and Jay. Of course, not all of these designers had true reason to be so confident! The judging panel was sans Georgina this week, but there were 2 guest judges — eclectic designer Betsey Johnson and star of ABC’s hit comedy Modern Family Ariel Winter. Betsey was a little on the nicer side, but Ariel, to be so young, I was very impressed by a lot of what she had to say. She knew what she was talking about and what she liked. Not sure why Georgina was out, but it was probably best because we didn’t need 5 judges, let’s keep it at 4 every week!

The only designer I want to give a side shout-out to is Kate. I think the Kate/Sonjia pairing was the only one where both designers went all out. For every other pairing I was able to pick the high score, except this one. This was certainly no white dress or bridal type look this week. I love this skirt, the vine detailing and the tons of tulle covering up the skirt. Also, Mary Kay shout-out, great call being dramatic with the make-up. A lot of the designers for “Wicked” went with a bold, dark lip and a dark, smoky eye. But Kate mixed it up and was wise to try out this “white-out” eye. Gorgeous!

From here, we can easily transition to discussing Kate’s face-off partner, Sonjia, who was also this week’s winner. Sonjia wasn’t my pick for the winning look, but she definitely did a good job.

The judges loved this cover-up skirt over a shorter fitted dress. I was not a fan of this aspect. It took the luxe, couture factor down a notch for me. The reason I think I disliked it was actually because of how much I loved what Sonjia was doing with the under-dress, the lacier portion.

The neckline, the sleeve detailing were all just insanely gorgeous. I think a dress going more in this direction, all of this type of work, would have been a total knockout and a winner for the night in my book.

Shout-outs for QVC, love the metallic gold sandal heels, & Mary Kay beauty look, subtle smoky eye & semi-dark lip combo worked beautifully together and with this look!

You can see above Sonjia’s winning look on display, but my winning look for the week and more fitting for a Wicked display was Dmitry! This dress was full on wicked and it was stunningly eye-catching. The feather detailed work, the cut-outs at the waist, sheer tulle overlay, the stunning back, I mean WOW! I can’t believe Dmitry wasn’t even in the running for the win, so yes top 3, but to then not be top 2, really?!?

Michelle said you could see the model’s cooter in this dress, yet then we saw Isaac & Betsey wanting more skin. Not sure about more skin here, I think we can see enough! I’m not sure I could rock such a high slit, but it’s definitely a red carpet trend right now and Dmitry was smart in knowing many celebs and starlets would love this aspect.

The back and the neckline did it for me with Dmitry’s very wicked-esqe dress. So sad it was not the winner, but had it not been in the top 3, that would have been a true travesty!

No disrespect to Samantha this week, but I in no way believe she even thought she would be in the top 3. Actually she was in the top 2, very near winning this week, which is still a bit mind-boggling to me. We as viewers got see her many troubles over the 2 days in creating this look. But even had that not happened I still wouldn’t have pegged this look as a near win. The entire back side is very disappointing, poor execution, nothing special going on.

Chi hair shout-out for this gorgeous fishtail braid though! I’m just not sure how the judges overlooked the entire back side of this dress. I will say her showdown pairing with Jay wasn’t as much of a slam-dunk as Jay thought it would be. Jay’s dress was not amazing at all so Samantha being the higher score made sense. But top 2, still scratching my head on that one.

Even the front had execution issues to me, but I think the judges called this “raw” or “organic.” The sequins are gorgeous, but really are Samantha’s saving grace this week. They did all of the work to make this dress sparkle the little bit that it did. The dress had potential so Samantha going this direction made sense. And I’m sure with more time it could have been so much better. But maybe since so many dresses this week were safe or lackluster, the judges decided to grade on a “Potentials” curve. Mary Kay beauty shout-out, beautiful cat eye and deeply bold wicked lip color!

Fabio was the first of the bottom 3, being saved from near elimination. The judges said this dress/pant combo was not couture and I agree. He clearly has an aesthetic, but his style has a way to transition into a couture look and this was not it. If the printed pants weren’t enough to catapult this look into a non-couture zone, the harnessed back certainly did the piece no favors.

Fabio already won a challenge and I think the judges took that as well as couture work not being in his wheelhouse into consideration. But he can’t let his work be so confined into one box or one type of design work. He needs to be able to show growth and development.

Mary Kay shout-out for this sweet & delicate beauty look and QVC shout-out for these cute black sandal heels. Great choices to help in some way for this look!

During this episode we saw Helen working tirelessly away on ruffle details. I was super-excited to see where she was going, but this end result was not great. I knew she would be in for some trouble. The ruffles didn’t marry well with this embroidered fabric. Also, the ruffle placement was too much for the look. It made the garment really heavy feeling. The judges were spot on in saying just because something takes you so long to do, it doesn’t mean it will be the best part of an ensemble.

Helen works with eveningwear so this letdown was a bit of a surprise. I’m not sure what she was thinking here. It’s clear she really wanted to do these ruffles so the only way I think she could have made it work was maybe to make use of them at the bottom of the dress? And then even as gorgeous as the vines on the shoulder were, I’m just not sure how all of these elements were supposed to combine and work together harmoniously.

Love these QVC ivory sandal heels though, so QVC accessories shout-out!

So with Chris rounding out the bottom 3, sadly this meant it was goodbye Chris. I know Chris has talent, but something did veer off course here. It was not his best work. The judges expected more from Chris on this challenge, and coupled with his bottom appearance last week, were reasons leading to his ouster this week.

It was no surprise Betsey loved his dress. In fact, the bottom portion looked very Betsey Johnson-esque. But to me, it kind of felt costume-y. Chris didn’t want his “Wicked” look to be black, guessing like a few others. But there are tons of colors you can go wicked with, really anything dark, browns, blues, purples, reds, etc. Being wicked is not all about color! Color aside, this shredded detailing didn’t help either.

The fabric, the shredded detailing, it just didn’t feel couture or high red carpet quality. Sad to see Chris go so soon, but I’m sure that will be a constant sentiment for many designers on this season of PRAS. Another QVC shout-out though over another pair of heels, dying over these silver sandal heels!

Kate Pankoke for Elaya Vaughn — “Behind The Gilded Veil”

Posted on November 11, 2014 by SMM

Kate Pankoke should most definitely ring a bell when it comes to the fashion industry. She was on season 11 of Project Runway, aka the “dreaded teams season.” Fortunately she was then back in action on PR for season 12 as a redemption designer winner. And now, she is ready for “third times a charm” as she is competing on PR All-Stars, season 4. Kate was kind of enough to provide Fashion Nexus with an exclusive quote regarding her current time on PRAS —

“I’m not going to lie, I was very reluctant to go on Project Runway All Stars. This is my third time in a row and it is a big emotional roller coaster, not just for me, but my family as well. Everyone was very supportive of my decision to go back on. I think that All Stars was great because it felt less like a competition and more like a design conference or something. You will see the occasional catty remark, but for the most part, everyone was pleasant to work with.”

I know I can’t wait to see how Kate does on this season of All-Stars. But reality competitive TV aside, she has also launched and been focused on her burgeoning luxury bridal and accessories brand — Elaya Vaughn.

Since the line’s launch in 2010, it has gained international prestige, earning praise for its high quality materials & construction, luxurious embellishments, and unmatched fit. Elaya Vaughn caters to brides around the world who want a couture experience without having to pay couture prices. All of the gowns are made-to-order and manufactured in the United States. In addition to highly praised collections, Elaya Vaughn gowns are frequently featured at red carpet events & galas (including the Oscar’s red carpet), charity functions, and acclaimed media publications.

It was such a pleasure speaking with Kate and featuring her exquisite work for her 2014 collection last year on my fashion blog. And now with the most recent launch of her 2015 line and some amazing accessories, I am more than happy to showcase this recent stunning work with my Fashion Nexus readers! The 2015 collection is entitled “Behind the Gilded Veil.” It features clouds of light-as-air tulle, crystal encrusted illusion necklines, and brushed gold accents.

Pankoke describes the collection as being the “first collection where I feel that we didn’t have to compromise on anything! I had so much fun selecting all of the textiles for this collection from the delicate beaded Chantilly to our custom beading along the necklines and trains of the gowns. As a designer, it is so exciting to see your vision come to life.” Eleven gowns comprise the collection, but here are some of my fave standouts. Make sure to check out the entire line here!!

Lanier is a voluminous silk taffeta A-line gown. The skirt is generously bustled in the back. Intricate beading highlights the illusion neckline and the train. The back of this dress, the way it lays, STUNNING! I also am a fan of the intricate beadwork seen throughout this collection, amazing work!

Ella is an ethereal tulle ball gown. The strapless sweet-heart neckline is draped in silk organza that continues into a delicate peplum. This silhouette is a classic style with some Kate touches. The fit, every subtle detail is gorgeous!

Bella is an ethereal tulle ball gown. The Kate Pankoke signature corset bodice is draped in tulle that falls delicately off of one shoulder. I enjoy this off the cuff twist on bridal, with that of nude coloring — always great to have more than just white options!

Alana is an elegant lace gown. The delicate scallop of the Chantilly lace accents the strapless neckline and the wrapped drape of the skirt. Very understated, yet elegant option. And of course the lace detailing is divine!

Ana is a brushed silk charmeuse column gown. The sloped-shoulder illusion neckline is covered in intricate beading. Flawlessly executed gown, very angelic and breathtaking work! I love the back, a little sheer, but open, still with a hint of beading.

Georgina is a classic A-line tulle gown. The signature Kate Pankoke corset top is covered by a beaded lace bodice. The romantic sleeves are fastened with brushed gold stud buttons. The delicate lace grows into a keyhole in the back.

So again, make sure to check out the entire 2015 collection, “Behind the Gilded Veil”, online! But a recent development with Elaya Vaughn, is that now, the brand also carries bridal accessories! This is a great extension of the bridal line and I hope you all are as excited as I am to see what additional Elaya Vaughn touches a bride-to-be can add to her bridal look!

April Veil

Aubrey Belt

Darla Belt

Evangeline Veil

Kate Garter

Kate Veil

Luelle Belt

Marianne Veil/Cape

Theresa Comb

Here are a few stellar press recognitions for Elaya Vaughn —

“off-the-charts phenomenal” – Style Me Pretty
“timeless and classic” – Eric Daman in COSMOPOLITAN
“simple yet still completely feminine and never boring” – theknot
“a signature point of view with a fundamental understanding of tailoring, structure, and essential femininity” – The Glass Magazine

For various information on where you can purchase Elaya Vaughn pieces, click here. For the USA, there are locales in CA, GA, IL, IN, IO, NY, & OH. Purchases can also be made internationally in Japan. To contact the Elaya Vaughn team, check out this page, or you can check them out across various forms of social media — Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, & LinkedIn.

I can’t wait to again see how PR All-Stars plays out, especially with how Kate performs. And of course, I eagerly await Elaya Vaughn’s future collections!

PRAS Designers Are on a Runway to the Danger Zone!

Posted on November 9, 2014 by SMM

Well so the runway was not quite a danger zone, at least for some of the designers. The danger zone was in fact the inspiration for this week’s challenge. The designers met Alyssa at the Skylight at Moynihan Station, which serves as a runway for many major designers.

Currently it’s under construction, leaving the designers with tons of construction related materials for their challenge. The designers were to create feminine looks from the masculine materials at the construction site. So yes, check mark for the cliche PR group challenge, and now it’s time to get another one out of the way, the unconventional materials challenge!

The designers had 15 minutes to gather the materials for their 1 day of work. As the horn blew everyone began crazily running about, grabbing as many materials as they could. PR often highlights who might be in danger of elimination for a given week. And this week we saw a somewhat Alexandria-centric episode, beginning with her intensity as she was gathering her materials. She was clearly not around to play nice!

Everyone was back to the workroom, which for this week can be rightfully dubbed as the “new danger zone”! The designers had traded in their sewing needles & machines for toolboxes filled with screwdrivers, glue guns, and wire cutters. Jay began ripping to part the tarp he was planning on using, driving some of the designers bananas! But a clear issue soon became about designers working with similar ideas/concepts, or with this week being all about unconventional materials, it was really the use of the same materials.

Earlier on, Ben & Justin feared their looks might be too similar as both would be working with zip ties. As we later saw, both wanting to use zip ties was where the similarities ended. But Chris & Dmitry passed a mere similarity fear with Chris straight up calling Dmitry a copycat! So Dmitry was working on a green garment, but was not loving it. We didn’t really see this, but he apparently went by Chris’s work station, and all of a sudden wanted to work with ropes, just as Chris was doing. I’m not sure why Dmitry wanting to use ropes makes him a copycat, materials were limited this week. And if Dmitry gathered ropes to use, why shouldn’t he be able to use them. Just as we saw with Ben & Justin, the looks could have ended up being distinct, but Chris decided to change his look up. More on this later, but for now, let’s get to some Zanna-time!

Zanna made it clear from the get-go, she didn’t care what materials the designers were using, she still wanted to see feminine and dreamy fashion forward looks. She thought a few of the looks were going in one wrong direction, Michelle — sporty, Alexandria — goth, and Kate — bridal. But only one designer actually went with a completely new direction, a new look, Sonjia.

It was soon time for the the model fittings, many of the designers poking fun at Alexandria’s crazy use of a wire for the bottom portion of her look. But no time for poking too much fun because the morning of the runway was quickly approaching, and as per PR usual, many designers were still frantically working away.

The guest judges this week were reality TV stars, Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi and Jenni “JWoww” Farley, as well as acclaimed fashion designer Elie Tahari. But wait, what was PRAS thinking this week — did we really need 6 judges?!? There were way too many cooks in the kitchen, way too many voices and styles in the mix. And what we were left with was a major lack of agreement on the top and bottom, and ultimately who should go home. I’m always intrigued by the unconventional challenges, just to see what looks the designers put down the runway made from these odd materials. I could definitely discuss a few other designs, but let’s stick to the judges’ “top” and “bottom.” The top made the most sense, not as much disagreement, so let’s begin there.

At first glance, Justin’s look this week did kind of take me back to his finale collection during his season on PR. He used a lot of white, the completely adorned dress of test tubes, and his work with 3-d fashion printing was clearly re-visited in this look. I don’t think this is a bad thing, but clearly this area, the use of non-traditional materials, is where Justin thrives, leaving him with a well-deserved win! His look came up short last week so I applauded his bouncing back so strongly. Regardless of a reminiscent type look, I was still intrigued and pleasantly surprised at how intricately crafted this look was. It was also positively shocking it was mainly made of zip ties.

Even though the judges, namely Isaac, found a way to nit-pick just a bit, I felt this look was the most well executed considering the unconventional materials being used. The black ombre into the white was beautifully done, very black swan-esque. I almost want to give a beauty shout-out for the make-up here, but it was a little too over-bronzed, or orange-y for my taste. But hair shout-out with Chi, love this chic up-do!

Jay was the other contender for the win this week. I think the main criticism came from Isaac over the use of nails to make this statement necklace. I didn’t love the sleeves as much as the judges did. For me, they were way too crinkly, just not showing the best craftsmanship. But we are dealing with tarp here, not fabric, so that aside, Jay did a commendable job this week. And caution aside, this necklace of nails was pretty eye-catching! I thought it was smart of him to mix textures, giving him an extra special element. A tarp dress with over-sized sleeves wouldn’t have been enough and it’s great Jay recognized that.

Snooki had a few interesting comments as she critiqued the various looks. I think she meant them as compliments, but they didn’t seem that way to me. Jay was the recipient of one such critique-pliment — “this reminds me of a dress made of garbage bags”? Apparently her & JWoww attempted a garbage bag dress, failing to do so as well as Jay did. Either way, great work from Jay & lots of shout-outs from me. Hair shout-out from Chi with this perfectly chosen structured ponytail. Make-up shout-out from Mary Kay, making use of more pops of blue and burnt orange, great bit of color on both the eye and the lip here respectively. And also, QVC shout-out, great way to coordinate more with burnt orange with these heels!

Kate rounded out the top 3, despite some slight criticism from Mr. Tahari. He thought the dress should have been longer, which is odd since all episode Kate’s goal was to steer away from being too bridal. Wouldn’t this dress, being longer, have been way more bridal than the shorter version?? Discussing this bridal point, I’m not sure why it’s such a big issue. Yes, this dress, I could see some bridal qualities. But last week, just because she made a white dress, doesn’t mean it was automatically bridal. If that’s the case, then I guess the white dress I own is bridal too right! Ahhhh, NO! I say get over it.

I think Kate landed in the top because Snooki might have been having some bridal fever. But a couple of other judges had some great comments to add. Even if Snooki’s scoring wasn’t the reason, I didn’t see this look being anywhere near the bottom. The bodice was intricately crafted and it was stunningly gorgeous. She was right in keeping the length shorter. Even though the top knot bun didn’t make this look any less bridal, I still loved it, so hair shout-out for Chi! But also Mary Kay shout-out, the more edgy, bolder eye worked here!

Chris landed in the bottom 3, but I am super excited he was in no real danger of going home since he was not in the bottom 2. I agree with the judges and am happy they were able to see Chris had more to offer. But Chris did mess up this week. He changed his design and it threw him off. I would say next time, if that were to happen again, just screw it. But here is why I am not so sure if that statement should be made. The top portion of Chris’s look this week, from my understanding, was what Chris was working on when the “copying” issue popped up. This is the part of the garment the judges took most issue with though. Because Chris decided to change up his design, this is how the skirt came about. The judges loved this. So I think Chris making the change actually helped him a bit this week.

But we wont’ know because Chris didn’t fully do what he wanted and that’s never best for any designer. What he ended up with, with this top & the bottom, it wasn’t harmonious. But a couple of shout-outs, QVC shout-out, love these black booties! A little too much on the Curly Sue-esque hair, but great, subtle beauty look, so make-up shout-out for Mary Kay!

Michelle was in the bottom 3 last week, but not the bottom 2. This week though, she barely escaped elimination, not only landing in the bottom 3 again, but actually the bottom 2. I’m shocked this wasn’t given more consideration. I think the judges rolled around the concept of this being a basic, safe dress, which sort of was an issue last week. Neither look had much going on design-wise to really stand-out. And bringing up the “safe” aspect, generally a designer who does too little goes home. That was not the case this week. I guess what really helped with Michelle staying was maybe the fact she won her season??

Michelle got one of Snooki’s critique-pliments, comparing this dress to duck tape. I actually thought the exact same thing and I know I didn’t mean that thought as a good thing! And one other perplexing thought for me on this look was why was there was no discussion on the chevron points, that of the same colors, being so way off, not meeting up properly. I’m not a designer, so I’m not sure what the proper terminology is, but I’m fairly certain on almost every other look I’ve ever seen on PR that had points meeting such as this, if they were off, even just the slightest, it was brought up. So why not here?? Also, what was Michelle doing with this model’s hair, trying to blind her so she couldn’t see the runway. It’s called a bang trim people!

I’m not the hugest Alexandria fan so her being eliminated didn’t bother me so much. But I hadn’t seen any dreaded drop crotch pants and I liked her look last week so I think she should have stayed this week. The wonky wiring on this look was crazy & not needed. I agree with the judges in that it was way too 80s, but I would just call that dated. It was also too costume-y. I think Alexandria would have benefited more from trying to do something with this wire on the neckline.

Poor JWoww tried her best to make a case for Alexandria, but she was never going to outweigh Isaac’s vote. And Isaac did not like this look at all, so I think that was what led to Alexandria’s elimination.

Can’t wait for next week, Wicked, good v evil, and showdowns!

Goodbye PR Season 13 & Hello PRAS Season 4!

Posted on November 2, 2014 by SMM

So this week, with the whole Project Runway franchise arena, we are bidding farewell to PR season 13, all the ups and downs. But no worries since it’s also time to welcome back PR All-Stars, season 4! Before season 4 officially kicked off there was a special reunion episode with the outgoing PR season. I could really do an entire post on that alone! Drama was re-visited. Disputes were settled. Indeed, a great deal was in store as the designers sat back down with each other. We did learn that Amanda received a $5000 cash prize for using the Aldo accessory wall the best during the season. I remember often giving her an Aldo shout-out on my recaps so congrats to her! But all in all with the reunion, it was great to watch and see how everyone was doing. Very happy to know Korina is going to be having some pieces at Lord & Taylor — that’s AWESOME!! But moving on now to PRAS, I’m excited to blog about this upcoming season and it looks like we will be in for some drama, spectacular creations, and much more! I’m excited & can’t wait!!

The episode kicked off as all of the designers came together at Grand Central Terminal in NYC. From season 12 we had Justin LeBlanc, Alexandria von Bromssen, and Helen Castillo. Some tensions were revisited between Helen & Alexandria. Will there be more of that this season?!? Only time will tell, but of course more designers were ready to make their entrances. Kate Pankoke was on both season 12 & 11. So she was reunited with the group above, but also with fellow castmates from season 11, what I dub as “the dreaded groups season”, which included for this all-star cast, Benjamin Mach, Patricia Michaels, and Samantha Black. We also saw quite a few designers from Season 10, Fabio Costa, Gunnar Deatherage, and Sonjia Williams. Oh, and then one designer, having to go a bit further back seasons-wise, we have Chris March.

Returning host & judge Alyssa Milano was there to greet everyone with a few surprises. One being that she was expecting, which fits perfectly with PR & PRAS’s theme of “expect the unexpected”!

But another huge surprise was that these designers would also be working with 2 previous winners, Dmitry Sholokhov and Michelle Lesniak. So note, if the competition was not already tight, they would now have to all step up their game even more! This goes for the winning designers too as they have titles to defend. The designers also were reminded to always be on their game as there would be no immunity, yikes! There would however be some prizes along the way. Gotham West would be the designer’s new home.

The challenge this week was all about NYC, to create a collection inspired by the uptown or the downtown scene. The collection aspect of course meant group challenge. And with an equal number of men and women, what would make better sense than to pit the girls against the guys. The designers had to think collection, think cohesion, but ultimately, each would be responsible for their own look. Being in Grand Central, a subway token decided the fate of the teams. Dmitry called gold-side on the flip, he got it, and the guys chose downtown, leaving the women with the uptown girl. There would be a losing team and a winning one. From the losing team, a designer would go home, and from the winning side we would of course have a winner. Each team would have a $1500 budget and it was up to the groups on how to split it. And no surprise, there would only be 1 day to accomplish this all!

The groups were off to their locations with an hour to chat and find inspiration. The women went uptown and were thinking of a classy girl, but with some edge. They were creating for a socialite party girl. Hanging around The Plaza Hotel provided a great deal of inspiration with colors and the vibe. The men went downtown and were thinking of a raw, edgy girl. It was surprising to see from the guys’ team the first bit of tension as some of the men were worried about Ben’s outfit looking more uptown than downtown. Everyone was then off to Mood with 30 minutes to shop. I would have loved to see more on the decisions of how the budget was divided up — was it equal? Oh well, back to the workroom we go!

The workroom was dope — decked out with the QVC accessory wall, Brother sewing room, relaxing lounge, and kitchen area. It was nice to take in some luxe workroom aspects, but it is still a workroom so quick to work went the designers. As the guys were unpacking, Fabio learned his fabric was missing. There was no clue as to what exactly happened, but a plan was put in place and everyone handled the situation professionally. As the men were starting to gel, the women then seemed to show some tensions. Just as the guys were worried about Ben, Alexandria was concerned Kate’s look didn’t fit with their collection. Some of the ladies were concerned about Patricia and her working process, as we saw many times during Patricia’s first PR stint. Next up, Zanna-time!

I thought her comments were spot on. She reminded a few to keep their theme of uptown or downtown in mind. She too reiterated some of the guys’ concern with Benjamin’s piece and from that, he knew some changes were needed. Also with a couple of the guys, Zanna wanted to make sure the looks were not too short! Zanna reminded the designers of how important styling was. She introduced to them that Chi Hair Care and Mary Kay cosmetics teams would be on board for this season to help with all of their styling needs!

As the first day came to end, many thought it was over way too soon, another no surprise moment for the episode! The morning of continued with a little more last minute craziness. The designers were off to receive their styling help. The ladies went for the same beauty look, thinking of spring, so going fresh and sunny, with a citrus lip from Mary Kay. The guys gave us the inside scoop on their hair look regime, wanting a stylized look, but something that looked as if the girl did it themselves, all courtesy of Chi hair care. It was soon time for the runway where Alyssa introduced to the designers what would be in the store for the winner. It is a truly phenomenal prize package consisting of

the chance to create their own capsule collection with QVC and appear during QVC’s Spring Fashion Week programming;
a fashion spread in Marie Claire and a position at the magazine as Contributing Editor for one year;
CHI Haircare will send the winner to stay in a luxury spa resort as a special guest at their International conference in Cancun, Mexico, plus product and staff for entire year of runway shows;
from Mary Kay, an entire year’s worth of beauty products for their fashion shows and professional makeup artist services for their debut show;
a cash prize of $150,000 and
a complete custom sewing & crafting studio to launch the designer’s winning line from Brother Sewing and Embroidery.

The designers were also introduced to returning judges, talented designers Isaac Mizrahi & Georgina Chapman of Marchesa. This week’s guest judge was Ivanka Trump, successful businesswoman, and too a designer, with her own apparel and accessories brand. After the runway, it was announced that Ivanka would don the winning look.

As far as which team won this week, I really thought it could go either way. Both teams had some hits and misses. I thought the ladies had a more cohesive collection, but the men had more innovative designs. I did like a few more of the women’s looks though, more my style. Both teams had looks with execution issues though so a few will have to step it up or they will be out sooner rather than later! Let’s start with the winning team, drumroll please, THE GUYS!

The judges were right with their top 3 choices, Fabio, Chris, and Benjamin. Fabio was the ultimate winner, but I think Benjamin had the winning piece.

I think from where Benjamin was originally at, no asymmetry, the more ladylike neckline, this was a drastic turnaround and he really made it work. I think it was the piece that maybe didn’t fit quite so well in the guys’ collection, but as a standalone, it was a knockout. Most of the guys thought downtown, and went literal, lower east-side or east village. Benjamin rightfully remembered in downtown there is also Soho, Tribeca, FiDi. Great back, wonderful movement, a great piece from Benjamin indeed! Also, love the black bracelet, great choice from the QVC accessory wall!

The judges however selected Fabio as the winner. He also had a stunning look from the back! And don’t get me wrong, I was very much impressed with this jumpsuit. This was far better than anything I remember from Fabio during his season of PR. But for this look, I could have done without the cinched waist and dangling piece on the front. And to also mention for the guys, shoutout for the distressed, yet chic look with the hair, courtesy of Chi hair care. But I think both teams got it wrong with beauty/make-up looks this week. So for the guys, the eyes just had way too much make-up on them. It looked more like morning after eyes than the original “going out” look.

I also loved Chris’s work this week so I was happy to see him land in the top 3. I want this skirt! I loved the layers, the safety pin detail, the leather, just everything about it, I’m a fan. I can’t say this leather top was deserving of such a rave, but he still very much deserved his top 3 placement. He also gets a QVC shout-out for perfectly pairing his look with these knee-high black boots. So funny, I really wanted a pair of these myself this week for my Halloween costume!

So with the ladies dubbed as the losing team, we had a bottom 3 consisting of Kate, Michelle, and Patricia.

But because the ladies as a whole were on the bottom, no standout looks from their team received any praise. No worries! I can take care of that. First, for Helen, I mean WOW! She could have won with this look. The fit, the execution, such clean lines, it was all spot on perfection. Breathtaking!

I can almost guarantee this was a split-type look when it came to the judges’ scoring. Some will love it. Others won’t. That point of debate is likely over this iridescent fabric. Personally, I’m a fan. I love the pairing with this faded green. I think the back was cut beautifully. Also, shoutout for the QVC heels!

And a surprise for me, I really loved Alexandria’s top this week. I wasn’t a fan during her season, but this top was spectacular. I don’t think its pairing with this ivory floor-length skirt works with the collection’s vibe of an uptown girl, but shout-out nonetheless is owed for this top. My thought is if the women had landed on top, this would be the top 3, likely Helen winning! I will also mention now the styling choices for the ladies’ team. Just as with the guys, shout-out for the hair, very chic up-do by Chi hair care. But the beauty look, not right for the uptown girl at all. The citrus lip, bad choice. I would have gone with a nude lip or light pink, but I guess the ladies were trying to insert a bright pop of color. Something just looked off with this color choice though.

But alas, the girls were the bottom group this week so let’s discuss the bottom 3. Michelle was a surprise with ending up in the bottom. She won her season. And all episode all we heard was how much she didn’t like Kate’s look, yet her look was just so luxe, with high priced suede. And for her girl, she just had so much money to spend. The problem, this wouldn’t be a dress a girl would want to spend her loads of money on. Ivanka was a fan, but I agree with the other judges. This fabric didn’t look so high quality and expensive.

This left Kate & Patricia in the bottom 2. I was also surprised Kate landed in the bottom. I’m a fan of Kate and her work. I’ve followed her success since her time on PR. She creates such beautiful bridal gowns. But this look did have a bit too much going on. The slit in the back, the overworked bust, etc. I know she can bounce back though so I think it was the right decision she stayed this week. Shout-out for the QVC metallic silver heels!

Patricia was unfortunately the first to go. She had many issues going on. If you look back at any of her previous work, you would have no clue as to how this look below would fit in that aesthetic. It didn’t read Patricia at all. During the episode, all we saw Patricia working on was some leather detailed work, which was nowhere to be seen on this piece. All she had was a plain boring ivory A-line dress trimmed in black. This bottom 2 represents what many PR bottom twos consist of, a look of too much and one of too little. The look of “too little” generally goes home and that, in a nutshell, is why Patricia was out.

Very much can’t wait to see how this season plays out!!

PR All-Stars Season 4 Intro, Let’s Go…..

Posted on October 30, 2014 by SMM

Season 4 of PRAS starts back this week, and we will be in for some high designer talent and dramatic action. I’ve seen the preview once and I do feel we are in for a good season, some great looks, exciting challenges, and more! I always still have a teensy issue with why for only 13 seasons of PR that we are already at such a high # of all-star seasons. Generally, all-star seasons for reality shows are every once in awhile, truly encapsulating the best of the best. I think PR gets a pass, it’s the exception to the rule. In any given season of PR, great talent can go home too early. And even by the time we reach the finale, there is only 1 winner. This means there are still so many in the top 2 or 3 that were worthy of the title. But really, PRAS is a great fix for all of us true, diehard fans of PR. I am one of them and am very much ready to see what Season 4 has in store for us!

Returning as this season’s host and judge, we have the very talented actress, Alyssa Milano. Also returning as judges, two very amazing designers, Isaac Mizrahi & Georgina Chapman of Marchesa. And one other familiar face, returning as this season’s mentor, the female Tim Gunn, we have Senior Fashion Editor at Marie Claire, Zanna Roberts Rassi.

What’s in store for Season 4? Well of course we don’t know all of the fun details quite yet. But what we do know is 14 of the most talented “Project Runway” designers are returning to compete in the biggest and most competitive “Project Runway All Stars” season ever! In this cut-throat season, former standout designers come back to New York to compete for runway gold (#PRAllStars), premiering Thursday, October 30, at 9pm ET/PT. The designers will be in for a little surprise since 2 former winners are joining the mix, Dmitry Sholokhov and Michelle Lesniak, making for an even tougher competition.

Some of the biggest names in fashion and entertainment make up this year’s A-list celebrity guest judges including Emmy® Award nominee Laverne Cox of “Orange is the New Black,” Emmy winner Debra Messing, “Modern Family’s” Ariel Winter, Academy Award® winner Mira Sorvino, singer Nicole Scherzinger, Emmy nominated host Cat Deeley, reality stars Snooki and JWoww, celebrity photographer Nigel Barker, QVC® Program Host Lisa Robertson and many others. Designers appearing this season include Betsey Johnson, Michael Bastian, Elie Tahari, and Ivanka Trump, and special appearances by “Project Runway” judges Nina Garcia and Zac Posen.

This season’s highlights include a surprise visit to London for a challenge featuring British royalty, a collaboration with Broadway’s “Wicked”, and the first ever wedding ceremony live on the runway. And this year’s prize package, not disappointing at all! I mean at least compared to the actual season of PR we just had, a Red Robin fashion accessory, still SMH on that on!

the chance to create their own capsule collection with QVC and appear during QVC’s Spring Fashion Week programming;
a fashion spread in Marie Claire and a position at the magazine as Contributing Editor for one year;
CHI Haircare will send the winner to stay in a luxury spa resort as a special guest at their International conference in Cancun, Mexico, plus product and staff for entire year of runway shows;
More Mary Kay!!, With an entire year’s worth of beauty products for their fashion shows and professional makeup artist services for their debut show;
a cash prize of $150,000 and
a complete custom sewing studio to launch the designer’s winning line from Brother Sewing and Embroidery.

Here is the full list of this season’s contestants, what they’ve been up to and some recent work! ENJOY!!

Kate Pankoke

Kate is a great friend of Fashion Nexus. I’ve been happy to cover her bridal collection for Elaya Vaughn in the past. In fact, I will soon be getting another piece out very soon!

She’s been doing a lot of bridal, which I’m sure will translate nicely to eveningwear or red carpet looks if need be. But I’m also ready to see her back to doing some great RTW, such as what she showcased during her redemption season.

Dmitry Sholokhov

Dmitry is a PR winner, from season 10, seeing if he can take home the title twice! On top of winning PR, he does host a great many other award recognitions — GenART Award, Saga Furs Design Competition Award, Gap Design Competition Award, showcase at Debut, winner of 24 Hour Cat Walk (lifetime), amongst others.

With winning PR, he designed a capsule collection for Lord & Taylor. I was able to attend, meet him, and gaze at all of his amazing looks! I loved them all!

Helen Castillo

Helen was on season 12, eliminated right before making it to the finale, likely one of the worst feelings for anyone on this show. The judges weren’t sure she was quite ready. She is now back to prove them wrong! Some redemption maybe?

As seen above, the talented singer/songwriter Mary Lambert loves her some Helen Castillo!

Michelle Lesniak

Michelle is another winner coming back for this PRAS season. She won the dreaded groups season of PR, season 11. This was a task certainly worthy of commending!

Michelle is committed to staying in her native hometown of Portland. Dedicated to local manufacturing and ethical business practices, Michelle is undoubtedly playing a key role in shaping and growing the Portland Fashion Industry.

Benjamin Mach

Poor Benjamin was on the dreaded group’s season of PR, season 11. I think he got lost working in this capacity. I saw plenty of his work before PR and I expected him to be on the show for quite awhile. I’m thinking sans group we will see more and better work from him!

He officially launched his own line earlier this year. His capsule collection is influenced by the art deco era and takes inspiration from the chic and timeless style of Halston in his heyday and the urbanely sensual approach of Vionnet and her technical innovation.

Chris March

March was a finalist on PR way back when, like way back to the Bravo days, Season 4 to be exact! But he has certainly kept himself busy. Many major celebs have donned his garments — Beyonce, Madonna, & Meryl Streep, just to name a few.

He developed and starred in his own show on Bravo in 2011, Mad Fashion. He’s also had an exclusive Halloween partnership with Target!

Justin LeBlanc

Justin hails from my hometown, good ole’ Raleigh, NC. I’ve attended NYFW, the PR show once, and I was so glad to see many great pieces come down the runway, including some from Justin!

Samantha Black

Samantha has kept quite busy since season 11 of PR, putting out collections, dressing celebs such as Keri Hilson, and more.

She is all about feminine, modern, sexy urban appeal. How will this translate to her work on PRAS, can’t wait to see!

Sonjia Williams

Sonjjia has been designing, blogging, and more since PR, season 10. She seems to have focused a great deal on outerwear, very luxe looking and tons of layers!

She also creates pieces for Annabelle NY.

Gunnar Deatherage

Season 10 has quite a few familiar faces, Gunnar included. He definitely brought a little sass to his season, very interested to see what all he will bring to PRAS! His 2014 RTW collection launch coincides perfectly with premiere of PRAS, what a kawinkydink!

Jay Sario

Going back to season 7, Jay worked great with prints, as well as with bold pops of color!

Alexandria von Bromssen

Alexandria was a force to be reckoned with during her time on PR. Here are some of her pieces from her fashion week collection as a finalist on PR Season 12. She was a tough cookie. I’m looking to see how she’s grown in the last year, so no more drop crotch pants!!

Patricia Michaels

Patricia was quite an interesting character on her season of PR, again, the dreaded groups season. Being on stronger groups definitely helped this lady out. She won’t have that on PRAS, so can she step it up solo?!?

Jesse Tyler Ferguson, of TV’S hit show Modern Family and longtime fan of Project Runway, was so impressed with Patricia’s performance on the show, he asked her to be a Guest Designer for his line of JTF Bowties. She’s also taken in part in numerous speaking engagements and designing away since her 1st stint on PR.

Fabio Costa

Fabio was a finalist on season 10, creating looks with a very distinct and unique POV. He co-founded a brand, NotEqual, which has been donned by celebrities such as Chris Brown and America’s Next Top Model star Allison Harvard.

He creates looks for both men and women. PRAS is a bit more on the high fashion side, where it seems Fabio is more RTW, streetwear. It will be interesting to see how the judges take to his work, if it will need to be amped up some or accepted as is.

Project Runway – The Best of the Rest

Posted on October 29, 2014 by SMM

Project Runway season 13 has come to an end, with Sean Kelly being the winner. NYFW is where the finalists show their final collections, MBFW at Lincoln Center to be precise. Fashion Week happens a little before the finale airs. In order to maintain secrecy, other designers will too present collections so that the finalists will remain unknown. As I’m sure many of you have already done, I am now perusing the other designers’ presentations and of course ready to discuss! So here is what I call “The Best of the Rest”!

Korina for sure had my fave collection amongst the fellow eliminated designers. I’m still holding onto such a grudge that she was eliminated early and unfairly. I think she could have done great work in the last challenge, thus securing a spot for herself in the finale. I really dig the vibe and attitude her looks are giving off. The pieces exude such confidence and have the capability of being worn by either chic fashionistas or bad-ass women who dare to be feminine and sexy.

Based on the finalists we saw, I think the judges would have given great feedback to Korina. She clearly demonstrated she was far more than just an “ethnic” designer as Nina so annoyingly dubbed her. I think she showed a greater range than one other finalist for sure. And I also think she wouldn’t have needed quite as much direction as at least 2 of the finalists. She had a clear concept here and stuck to it. She’s demonstrated such growth this season within her own aesthetic.

Korina is another contestant this season who did have a clear vision, a focused aesthetic. And because of this, and what was created at hand, I think she could have done well in the finale. I saw growth from her, right at the same level or pace as that of Amanda or Sean. Too bad the judges were sippin’ on some crazy kool-aid and made the poor choice in sending Korina home before she had the chance to present as a finalist! And as crazy as the judges & I were about Amanda’s jewelry, I am the same level of love-fest craziness for Korina’s booties, which I’m pretty sure she had a hand in creating! I know they are not from Aldo and they fit too perfectly with her looks to not be a part of her design-work.

This look above is one of my faves. Honestly there are too many faves to pick just one! But this one represents so well what Korina’s collection is about. She works well with leather. Her jackets or outwear are TTDF! She works well with texture, mixing of various fabrics. She can do more than just dresses, her separate pieces are divine, such a great fit. She also had a great use of color, bold red, sunshine yellow, soft teal, and royal blue. All of the colors worked well together and were paired nicely with basics in black and white.

Other great facets to her collection, the color-blocking, excellent fits, and good proportions. Other finale collection pieces certainly had some execution issues, but I didn’t see that with Korina’s looks. Poor fit and execution should not be issues a PR finalist has. And really, by that point, a designer’s clear voice should be heard. And we have all of this with Korina!

There is always a question about what cohesion means. Generally it’s a multitude of things, but cohesion shouldn’t mean 1 fabric throughout a collection or the same colors. There should be more. And with Korina, we have connective colors, similar vibes, ultimately having the same girl wanting all of the pieces. I see that here. There can also be a story. Unsure of Korinas’ since we didn’t hear her thoughts, but there are still other cohesive points to discuss. There is color-blocking, patterns, styling, and more. This was more than I saw from another finalist!

To Korina, great job. I want your pieces and will keep an eye out. I would proudly don any of these looks. I know we will see more from you in the future and I can’t wait!

fäde’s collection was too quite impressive overall. I don’t think his intricate work with prints was truly able to flourish during his time on the show. He is really about pushing the creative bounds, being innovative with his print work. And more often than not, a day or less is just not a sufficient amount of time to really develop this type of work.

Now this is the way to incorporate words or phrases into looks! For the runway, you can’t just stick a word on a boring top and expect that to cut it. Is it wrong to make a sweatshirt or basic tee with words and put it down the runway? Absolutely not! Wildfox, Desigual, and other brands do it all the time. But the point is to still be exciting; you still must amp it up somehow. And fäde did just that!

He of course is a master with prints, but really showed he could work well with his great use of color. It was the perfect idea of a graphic print work to incorporate a teal or burnt orange, and just play around with those colors – various shades, mixing textures, etc.

He also showed a great deal of versatility. He not only made some stunning dresses, but really worked well with separates too – jackets, shorts, pants, and more!

When you can tell a model is having genuine fun rockin’ a look, I think that speaks volumes! So either these girls can add “great actress” to their resume, or they were authentically having a fun time!

These are just a few of my fave looks, but really I had so many to choose from so you will have to forgive my lack of ability to pick only 2 or 3!

fäde also gets shout-outs for Philip B. hair, a little chic yet messy distressed hair-do; it really worked with the streetwear vibe, but also Mary Kay for beauty – very clean, natural make-up look, spot on with the bronzed cheek!

Alexander had some great looks, but my main issue was cohesion. I remember when Tim told Sean during the finale, part 1, that his collection seemed like it was divided; there were 2 different presentations. I think I saw this with Alexander’s 10 looks. I saw pieces that were more sportswear-oriented and then ones of a more refined, elegant level. I’m just not sure I got the connective thread, except that both were still executed in a simplistically minimal manner.

This is not to say I didn’t like the various pieces, but I’m still not sure Alexander has developed a clear vision for where he wants to go as a designer. I’m not sure if he would be ready to make a brand for himself. But I have no doubts he can get there and I would look forward to seeing his development and growth as a designer!

I think this was a decent start for Alexander though. Over time, I’m sure he can work with a great foundation in the basics he already has at his disposal, and just work with developing some “Alexander” signatures to add to his pieces.

It was great seeing the versatility though, lots of separates and beautiful dresses. I’m interested to see where Alexander can go from here for sure!

Next up, Emily, who too was cut right before the finale, barely missing her chance at being a finalist. I think she is another designer this season who had a clear voice, a clear vision. I think with her final collection we saw her aesthetic, but with a bit more sophistication; it had a more luxe feel or quality to the various pieces.

Emily made use of some great work with sheer pieces. This stunning turtleneck sheer top above was immaculate! I don’t think the judges showed much love for Emily over the season. But I wonder how they would have reacted to her work, but turned up a notch as she did with this presentation.

The vibe was somewhat luxurious, but still youthful and chic street. There was a wide range for her type of girl to choose from — shorts, great tops, day dresses, or even some more elegant night-time looks.

A lot of her fabric choices caught my eye, especially the sheer printed tops. I would love to know if she screen-printed her own design on them, but definitely would be intrigued to learn more!

There was a little flare with her show, some volume, some structure in the pieces. So that was great to see RTW, but also with a little dramatic umpf.

Upon my first few glances for Sandhya’s looks, I was quite confused. This was a different side of her work as a designer with more understated looks. Sort of as with Alexander’s more basic vibe, I’m not sure I was over the moon about Sandhya’s more simplistic looks. I think they were executed just fine, but I wasn’t sure how much I was seeing Sandhya in them or that they stood out, being memorable. This was just such a new facet of her work so it was a bit perplexing, nonetheless intriguing.

But later with her collection, the more DIY side of Sandhya came back. I understand the desire to go avant garde, to create a bit more show-y pieces. As we saw from our 4 finalists, this was not their direction and it made sense based on their aesthetic. But for Sandhya, going with this more dramatic flare route made sense. I still feel her looks read very DIY though and not high fashion.

There were a few looks though where I might have thought differently or could have changed my mind if I had seen them in person. And these are looks I wouldn’t mind getting a more up close and personal visit with to better gauge my reaction! Let me be Zac Posen, who always made sure to get really up close and personal when doing his final judge’s critique! Actually, I really commend him for caring. He judged from his seat, but when it came time to really study the looks up close, he was right there, looking so closely. Other judges tended to hang back some, their prerogative, but I was glad to see Zac with genuine care or concern!

All in all, I’m still not the biggest Sandhya fan, but I did see some improvements with her work since she had more time. I think she still needs a bit more time to work out some kinks though!

Until next time ………….. but stay tuned as I will also be blogging about PRAS!!

Project Runway, Definitely a SMH Kind of Season!

Posted on October 5, 2014 by SMM

I wanted to opt for a cutesy or cliche title this week, like “Project Runway Meets Storage Wars”, or something like that. But by episode’s end, I just couldn’t. I’ve been livid & frustrated with this season since episode 1. There has been a lot of discussion about the season being more about the drama than the fashion. It’s been clear to me that the focus was more production-oriented than on the designers and their talent. So as a result of this, forgive me then if my recap is more focused on the edited drama we get to see! Also be warned, this vent-session, my soapbox, has only just begun as I’m still SMH!

But before getting to all of that, let’s set the backdrop and see what the designers had in store for their challenge this week. The designers woke up to a surprise Samsung tablet, watching Heidi teasing a bit with the challenge details. She was saying the key was to unlock creativity and imagination. The group was then off to the Brooklyn Navy Yard to meet Tim to find out more details They enter a huge warehouse and see Tim standing in front of 5 storage bins, the mind being left to wonder….

This was going to be another team challenge, pairings being Kini/Amanda, Char/Sean, & Korina/Emily. Each team was given $500 in order to bid on the various storage units. Other specifics, 2 day challenge, 2 looks, which had to be cohesive. Emily & Korina picked up 2 bins, the first for only a whopping $25! They would be able to make use of some upholstery from furniture and another bin, which had a variety of pieces, including an old wedding dress. Char & Sean also lucked out with 2 units, one that seemingly only had a long blue tablecloth and a couple of dressers. This left Amanda & Kini with sadly only 1 unit, not filled with really any fabric, just a bunch of kids’ toys and all things perfectly fitting for a playroom.

The designers were left with only 30 minutes to collect what they could use for their looks. Later, it was learned that the winner of the challenge would win a full year’s supply of hair care products & styling, all courtesy of Philip B. hair. The teams were off to work for Day 1 of this 2-day challenge. Kini and Amanda were very in sync, having a lot of fun popping soccer balls & what not! Emily & Korina also were working well, agreeing on their vision. It was Sean & Char who were having a little difficulty early on, Sean being worried about what Char was going to be able to accomplish on her own.

Day 2 began with a early Tim visit. The designers knew something was up! And of course, it was. He dropped the surprise that each team would be responsible for another cohesive look. In knowing they might need some fabric, a Mood trip was in order with a $100 budget. As both team members didn’t have to go, Sean, Amanda, & Korina decided to make the trip for their teams. Tim time came later in the day. He was not so sure about Emily’s use of a chair cushion as he thought it was clear it was in fact a cushion. He also had some doubts about Char’s look. But it was Amanda & Kini’s looks that Tim was most concerned with. He thought, wow, is this for a teenage hooker?!?

This left Amanda & Kini to rework a lot within their collection, and they did just that. I was vastly impressed by the turnaround so I give major props to them! Enough with the background, let’s get to this heated & tension-filled runway! This week’s guest judge was former PR winner, a huge success story from this show, probably one of the most successful, if not the most, yes, none other than Christian Siriano!

Let’s discuss first, the easiest pairing of the week, the designers who were in no danger of going home, the clear winning group — Kini & Amanda. This pair had the least amount to work with in their bins. They also had the least amount of fabric or even fabric-like items to choose from. They then suffered a harsh critique from Tim. All of this aside, they still managed to deliver a vibrant, colorful, creative, and fresh mini-collection.

**Side note, loved the Aldo jewelry here, perfectly coordinating jeweled bracelet & earcuffs. The 2 really worked well as a pair. Their pieces had a great story. With what little they had, they made it all work so well and really presented some strong pieces. This is their combined look above, Kini w/ the black full skirt and Amanda with the graphic top.

Above is Kini’s solo look. I’m actually not a fan of the look with the jacket. But hey, as you will see me say again later, if you don’t like a jacket just take it off! But the dress, made of soccer balls, was quite spectacular. I get the judges love-fest over it, but for me, this piece wasn’t so cohesive with the other looks, but standing alone, it was fine. I’m not sure the winner here was so clear-cut, but I’m happy for Kini and another win for him!

But Amanda for sure deserves some kudos as well. She was the lead on wanting this unit because of a psychedelic yetti painting. She created some great pieces for the runway and I loved both of her tops this week. Also, more shout-outs, love the many bangles from Aldo, the luscious curly waves from Philip. B. hair, & bold make-up look by Mary Kay, the cat-eye, slightly red lip.

Discussing everyone else is not quite as easy since the judges strayed from their traditional norm of a top, safe, & bottom group this week. It’s happened before, but whenever PR doesn’t stick to its traditional norms, I’m left to question why & SMH. PR is known for team challenges. Heck, they even had a full season dedicated to just working in teams. We’ve seen time and time again that a given team might have a weaker designer, but because the team had a higher score, that team was safe. The clear bottom team this week should have been Char & Sean, so again, with this not happening, just picking a bottom team, I do wonder why! It would have been so surprising were the bottom group to have been Emily & Korina over Char/Sean.

There was a lot to take in with these 3 pieces, a great deal going on, but it actually works! If you don’t like a cape or jacket, again, take it off. Guess what, there is still something under that is creative and wearable. Many of these looks could be mixed & matched, very versatile. Who wouldn’t want a mini-collection with some options. In fact, having only 3 looks, for me, wouldn’t be enough at this point. So with this pairing, and even with Amanda/Kini, the outerwear could come off or be paired with another look. This combo look above of Emily & Korina I thought was great for their story. You could see it in any colder weather area, NYC, London, Paris, and more! Nina clearly had something up her butt with this collection and I’m not sure why. I question her take on fashion that she can’t separate the higher level of creativity and practicality in this collection versus that of Sean & Char. And Korina’s leather leggings here were great!

Shout-outs also to the chic updo by Philip B. hair & the Aldo accessories, boots & yes, even the hats! This is a runway show, give us a little drama and that means if you can amp it up with beauty accessories, do so! And again, questioning Nina, what was wrong with the red lip here, but it was okay the darker, somewhat red lip with Amanda & Kini?? The Mary Kay beauty look was great, less dramatic eye paired with a bold red lip works for me!

The judges have been so illogical and wonky with their critiques and resulting decision-making this season. I’ll get to that more later, but Emily was very much deserving of safety this week. I agreed with Tim earlier on, worried about the shoulders, but on the actual model, the issue didn’t seem as apparent. This was a great outerwear look, paired perfectly with fashionable, chic separates. I’m still not sure why this outerwear piece was so well received, but not the others in this collection. I guess that is just one of the many questions I’m left with after this episode.

So again, I feel very sure and fine in saying Sean & Char should have been in the bottom this week. I in no way felt Sean should have gone, which means, yes, Char would have been out of the two. What bothers me about this 1 hour “Save Me” Challenge, which we’ve seen on PR before, is that I don’t think we would have seen it had the judges just picked a bottom group, which is what they should have done. And yes, the judges loved Sean’s jacket, but he was also responsible for the not so impressive sheer mesh looks, and has fluctuated between the top & bottom all season. But again, I don’t think this 1-hour challenge would have happened between Sean & Char, and I think it was very much unfair to force it upon Korina & Char.

And were these 3 looks not too similar?? We all remember an earlier challenge this season where Hernan, Carrie, & Sandhya were slammed for creating 3 similar looks, hmmmm, and this wasn’t almost the same thing! Another reason, leaving me SMH!

In looking at one of Sean’s solo looks, I’m still just SMH as to how the judges just didn’t pick a bottom group. Think back to the fact that this pairing won 2 storage units, one of which Sean dubbed as the best of the bunch. There seemingly bare unit, in fact, ended up having more than what met the eye. Poor Alexander was eliminated last week, in part, because he had 2 days, a decent budget, and the judges weren’t impressed. Where was that train of thought for this group of pieces. I just don’t think there was enough here to justify 2 days worth of work. And yes, you could say fashion is not all about bells & whistles, sometimes more minimal looks work. But this is not simplicity at it’s best! And models not being able to walk down the runway, or at least struggling a great deal, really?? This isn’t enough to justify the judges being able to clearly distinguish between a safe group & a bottom one!! Come on Project Runway producers, if you are at least going to show your heavy hand, be a bit more discrete about it!

So as much as I am coming down on Sean & Char’s team, I do think Sean shouldn’t have gone home this week. Had Char’s one piece been a knockout, then it could justify sending Sean home since his lampshade gown was not great. But the judges gushed over his blue jacket so really, he would have never gone home over the 2. I’m not sure why there is so much love over this jacket. It’s not one of Sean’s stronger pieces for me.

Going back to Korina’s solo look, I again feel shout-outs are justified for another chic updo by Philip B. hair & the Aldo accessories, namely here, YES, the hat! But looking at the entire look, I don’t think, again, that the Korina/Emily pairing should have been the bottom group. And the groups & resulting elimination should have been judged as a whole team. But clearly the judges wanted to sing a different tune for some reason this week, and they singled out one designer from I guess 2 bottom teams — Korina & Char. I think back to bottom looks of PR seasons past and I’m not sure why this look would be in that realm. I’m not sure what was up with Nina this week because it was only her coming down so harshly on Korina. If the you don’t like the cape, fine, take it off, the look is still great. And Korina works with a signature Southwestern, cultural vibe. That is her aesthetic, one of her signatures. When all of a sudden on PR is it not okay to be who you are a designer. Amanda’s aesthetic is very boho-chic, 70’s throwback, and the judges don’t feel the need to chime in for her continued use of that signature; so why Korina?? Still SMH!

The 1-hour challenge I would give to Char. But I don’t think that was even needed. Comparing Char’s original challenge look to Korina, Char should have been eliminated. The reason I question the 1-hour challenge is unfortunately based off of Char being in the bottom 2. I’m not sure that she reads my blogs, so I mean no disrespect to her as a designer, but this is a competition show, and one must go home each week. I think PR should not continuously save someone. No designer should have that many chances and Char has had a few this season. Tim saved her. The Tim Gunn save is fine in my book, but at that point, why the judges would feel the need to offer her another chance, I mean really?? It makes no sense! Last week, with the whole Zippergate issue, Tim sort of stepped in to save her again. The judges might have had a whole different mindset looking at Char’s look come down the runway with a busted zipper. Another issue I had with the Char/Korina face-off is that in every other group, each designer had a solo look and took part in a combo look, all except Char.

So as much as I disagree with the 2nd twist this week, Korina & Char were then forced to face-off in a 1-hour “Save Me” challenge. Each lady had 1 hour to create a look of their choosing. They were to use the remaining fabrics leftover in the workroom. Also, they could make use of their partner from this week. Korina clearly let frustration takeover and she bit off more than she could chew.

Korina clearly was throwing some shade & an attitude, but I’m sorry, it was understandable in my book. Go back thru my comments for this episode, the judges stray off course, were not making any sense with their comments, and then have you to face off against a designer who has been given like 9 lives in the competition. I’d be pissed too!

Char’s 1-hour look was way better, but had the judges not played a bit of the favorite game, we wouldn’t have seen this look. I’ve mentioned my mind being left to wonder all throughout my post and here is what I think. Char & Emily have yet to win a challenge, whereas Korina has won twice. She could have been the dark horse to make it to the finale. I think the powers that be really want it to be Amanda, Kini, & Sean in the finale. I don’t have a problem with this, but at least let it happen fairly, naturally. Emily & Char, I wish y’all the best of luck in breaking thru this force-field, but basically reiterating what Sean said, I think it might be easier now to make one’s way to the finale facing off against Char. If the designers are saying it, again, it makes me wonder if someone else wanted things to go this way as well!

And yup, you got it, still SMH! This is a major Shame, shame for me with PR this week!

Project Runway Firsts this Week

Posted on September 28, 2014 by SMM

There are 2 firsts worth mentioning — Zippergate & a really stern critique from Tim Gunn. Before getting to those specifics, let’s set the backdrop with this week’s challenge instructions. The episode was all about creating a makeover. Keeping a “make”over in mind, Tim Gunn had global makeup artist and Mary Kay makeup consultant Luis Casco alongside to further discuss the challenge details for the week.

The designers were off to Washington Square Park in search of a muse. They had to look for the average, everyday woman, not a model. Working with their client, the designers were to create a look that would give their muse a makeover. The prize for the winning designer/muse pairing was a feature for a Mary Kay ad in Marie Claire magazine. Finally, a challenge with an actual prize! Was this the first for the season??

They had 30 minutes to find someone and then 30 minutes to chat & sketch. It is NY, so at first we were seeing a great deal of “NOs”! Sean seemed to be having the most difficulty, but was finally able to locate a winner. It was then off to Mood to begin this 2-day challenge, with a $200 budget. Later in the 1st day, Luis Casco would make a consultation visit with each designer & muse to figure out a beauty look for the makeover.

Getting back to the workroom, an early focus was set on Kini, who was having another case of designer’s block. It started while at Mood and continued on as Day 1 endured. Luckily for Kini, this was a 2-day challenge and he had plenty of time to get back on track. It was Alexander who was out of luck this week and with the 2-day challenge not being of much help. His bad news was delivered on Day 2, not leaving much time to re-focus and re-work his look. This situation was also the 1st of two Project Runway firsts in this episode.

Tim time was certainly par for the course in most aspects. But when it came time for Tim’s talk with Alexander, it was definitely a PR first. Tim said this was one of the most “hideous garments he had ever seen.” This was quite shocking to me! Tim should be very honest in his critiques. But I can think of many other times such extreme words could have come out of his mouth. I 100% disagree that out of every PR look we’ve ever seen in the workroom and during Tim time that this was the most hideous! In fact, this statement even could have been uttered a couple of times this season!

Alexander’s major freakout moment was certainly warranted. But he soon shook it off and was back to work. He was not quite ready for model fitting time, but he was able to explain his new vision. Mostly we saw a lot of happy models during their fittings. There were some great pairings made, lots of fun interactions between the designers and their muses.

The morning of the runway brought us the 2nd PR first for the week, now being dubbed as “Zippergate”! The designers were running around with last minute adjustments and fine tuning as per norm. Somehow as Char’s model was getting dressed, the zipper popped all of the way off, leaving the model’s entire side exposed. The problem — it was time to go to the runway so the designer’s work time was up! We have seen plenty of times where Tim has had to give stern warnings about time running out. Tim said had this been any other week, with regular models, the dress would have been left as is. The model would have walked fully exposed on the side.

But this week, with non-models walking the runway, he didn’t feel it would be fair to this young lady as she was a guest. Char had an extra zipper she could easily put in so Tim presented to the other designers a question, if it would be okay if Char were given 10 extra minutes to insert the new zipper. Of course the other designers, being put right on the spot, in front of all of the models, said “Yes.” As soon as they got to the holding room though, they were all soon quick to question their decision. They knew it would have been awkward to have made a fuss in front of everyone. And they couldn’t take back their decision, but it was a question of fairness as all are given the same amount of time each week. It’s a PR mandate that when Tim says “Let’s go to the runway” that time is up! Char coming back to the holding room was certainly AWKWARD!

The judges also took notice that the runway started late. Heidi asked Tim about what was going on, but he requested to discuss it after the runway and initial critiques were given. Two lovely guest judges joined the panel this week, actress Michelle Monaghan and TV host/model Asha Leo. The top & bottom 3 seemed fairly obvious. But even with 3 clear looks for the bottom, it was still a bit difficult as all of the model muses seemed to love their makeover looks.

I did want to give a quick shout-out for Sean’s look, still sticking with the season of fringe! I thought he really listened to his muse Lelia. She is an actress and singer. This black fringed dress could work as an upscale performance look or at an industry premiere of some sort. She looked elegantly stunning. I loved the sheer neckline. It was as if Sean had channeled old Hollywood retro glam to create this delightful number.

I’m not sure why this look wasn’t given any top 3 consideration, especially since Emily’s look wasn’t unanimously loved for a top 3 spot. Also Mary Kay shout-out for Sean’s beauty look — great pop of red for a bold lip!

As mentioned, Emily’s flamenco styled look made the top 3. The judges at first seemed to not all be in agreement about this placement. But Emily’s muse, Julia, was certainly a fan! She may have even helped in changing a judges’ mind or 2 about this look. Emily & Julia had an instant connection over a French fashion designer Thierry Mugler. Their amazing bond led to this dramatic creation and it was clear Julia loved it!

The judges still thought it was a bit too costume-y. Many were not a fan of the ruffles, but thought the use of red was a great choice. However they did agree since Julia was so in love with the look that this was a positive. Nina said it was Emily’s best work so far this season. Shout-out for Emily’s Aldo shoes selection — perfection with these black heels.

Even with early onset designer’s block, Kini still managed to gain another top 3 placement. A full on jeans look is not my cup of tea. I’m not sure if I would wear this look, but it works for his model muse. Originally she was not a fan of a jean on jean look, but soon changed her tune.

There was still some mixed judges reviews. Most thought the look was cool, but maybe a bit too serious for a date night. I’m not sure where that train of thought was coming from. It’s not as if this look was super formal. In fact, it was fairly casual, which is quite fitting for date night. I wouldn’t see it being out of place at a regular, everyday restaurant or bar. Maybe the heels gave it some sort of escalated appeal, but the heels were for the runway. This look would work and be just fine with flats as well.

This left Korina rounding out the top 3 and being the clear winner for the week. Her model muse was Shelby, a ballerina. And in this look Korina created for her, she was definitely a bad-ass ballerina. Let’s first just dedicate a full on lovefest for how great this royal blue leather/houndstooth mix jacket is. I mean who would not want this jacket! The whole look was just so chic and really worked for Shelby!

But the greatness doesn’t just end with the jacket. When the jacket comes off, there is a super cute, feminine frock. It was a LBD with so many nice touches — razorback and crinkle pleats. Job well done Korina and very much well deserved win! Shout-outs also for Korina’s choices with Philip B. hair, super chic & sleek, & Mary Kay, another great bold red lip!

I hated seeing Amanda in the bottom 3, but she was having an off week. I knew she wasn’t in danger of going home and not all of the news was bad for the look. The judges didn’t think the length of the black leather vest worked with the dress, but all loved the vest nonetheless. Another great aspect with this look was just how much Amanda’s model muse Eva loved the look. The judges also agreed the direction was right, but the execution was off.

The dress was very short in the back and Nina mentioned the hem was off. Zac thought the look was a little outlet mall-ish. Shout-outs though for Mary Kay makeup look with a great smoky eye & Philip B. hair for luscious waves!

The bottom 2 was quite obvious. Being that it was Char & Alexander it does leave the mind to wonder how Zippergate impacted the results. Say for instance Char’s model had walked the runway fully exposed. Would she have gone home instead of Alexander with some clearer execution issues? My guess is no. The judges didn’t know about the zipper issue when placing Char in the bottom 3, but seemed to know about it before making their decision on sending Alexander home. They knew she was given 10 extra minutes to insert a new zipper, but the zipper wasn’t their issue.

The judges didn’t think Char paid much attention to who her client was. Her model muse is a pre-school teacher and this look didn’t seem quite fitting. Char mentioned her muse’s husband being a rock musician and her needing looks for his shows. But Nina was quick to pipe in that there is a way to look cool, look sexy, but still be sophisticated and appropriate. The judges also added in the fit was off, it was too short and had too much going on with the peplum jacket. I agree! I will say I love these sexy heels from Aldo, but not for this look. It kind of made her look a little hoochie-ish.

Ultimately, the judges had more issues with Alexander’s look and it being too plain, not matching of the $200 budget given. This left fan fave, designer Alexander, going home. He went a wrong direction this week and then ran out of time trying to re-work a new look. This new ensemble had some execution issues and was very blah. His model muse Marisa seemed to be okay with it, but the judges were not letting that impact their decision. They also learned about Tim’s harsh words and that Alexander had to start over.

The judges were also not a fan of this new look being so Spring-like, but with wintry, heavier fabrics. I wonder though had Alexander stuck with his original choice would he still have gone home? I get Tim was not a fan of the look. And yes, some of the shapes on his original piece did resemble amoebas. But the reason I ask is because at least there was something to his original piece; it might not have come off as so boring, too plain. Another PR mystery left unsolved!

Next week, it seems we are back to many types of challenges we’ve seen numerous times this season — unconventional & teams!

Fashion Nexus

A fashion blog for anything & everything fashion, including fashion law topics

Tag Archives: Project Runway

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