THE CHALLENGE:
Be inspired by your surroundings at a press party to design a cocktail look.
 
I had no idea why a lot of the designers struggled with this – cocktail dresses are kind of design school 101, and the room where their press party was held was filled to the brim with things to be inspired by, so I don’t know what the deal was. As always, some designers were extremely successful and others were massive failures.

My Top 3:

1. Laurence Basse
WINNER. WINNER. WINNER. This might honestly be one of the best dresses I’ve ever seen anyone make on this show. Ever. The leather work in the shoulders and the yoke of the neckline is impeccable, the open back is completely stunning, and SHE MADE IT LONG ENOUGH SO ANY WOMAN CAN WEAR IT. I want it. I need it. UMPH.

2. Erin Robertson
I have no freaking idea why Erin almost got sent home for this. It was one of the few looks that actually fit the challenge: it was unmistakably a cocktail dress, she took the inspiration of her surroundings literally and seriously, and she created a unique look that played with textures and textiles. Maybe she could have gone a little lighter on the feathers, but she was going for drama, and I’d rather she give us too much drama than not enough. I thought the copper color was gorgeous, and she made an effort to create something more structured, which should be applauded.

3. Roberi Parra
Roberi has, overall, been a really unappreciated designer in this competition. I thought this dress looked like a Rothko painting, and the idea of using a painterly knit for a cocktail dress is really unique. He probably could have accessorized it with a little more glitz to bring it into the cocktail arena, but overall I thought it was creative and beautiful.

My Bottom 3:

1. Tasha Henderson
Tasha fell into the ever-present “streetwear-designers-can’t-go-outside-their-box” trap this week. She was so caught up with making a traditional cocktail dress that she made a really basic dress and threw a sparkle belt on it, and anytime you throw a sparkle belt on your look, you’re doomed. And no one said she had to make a dress! She could have gone Kelly Dempsey’s route and made a cool jumpsuit, she could have stuck to her roots and made a slouchy, sporty dress. But she didn’t, and as much as I love Tasha’s personality and wish she could have stayed in the competition for longer, she deserved to go home for this.

2. Dexter Simmons
I know Dexter had immunity and couldn’t be sent home, but I wish they could have broken the rules and sent him home anyway. Tube dresses do not show the world that you can design clothes, and they’re a big no-no for Project Runway in the first place. Then he added freaking FRINGE to it. I love fringe. Fringe is fantastic. I even liked when Dexter used fringe in the black light challenge. But this cocktail fringe situation just looks like a bad haircut. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: if you can’t do fringe like Sean Kelly, don’t do fringe at all.

3. Mah-Jing Wong
Mah-Jing’s inspiration was pretty weird (condensation on cocktail glasses? ummm...) and his lack of success in executing his inspiration led to him having to create a new look halfway through the design period. As much as I’d like to excuse his final look because he made it in a few hours, the taste level was startlingly bad. The fabric choice was horrendous, the sweetheart neckline was too exaggerated, the slit made it unwearable, the illusion top was rumpled weird, and the overall fit and construction was dreadful. I would say it looked like a $20 homecoming dress, but that would be an insult to $20 homecoming dresses.

Honestly, now that we've established that most of the designers can't make swimwear OR cocktail attire, I'd like us to speed the process along and just eliminate, like, five designers at a time. Is that cool? No?

Okay. Let's buckle up.

...this is going to be a rough ride, kids. If you saw the episode, YOU KNOW WHY.

THE CHALLENGE:
In a team of 6, design a 4-piece collection to pitch to a group of "investors" (who happen to be Heidi, Zac, and Nina) who will give you the money to spend on your collection based on how well they like your pitch. The collection would be accompanied by customized makeup looks from Mary Kay.

"Team Unity," comprised of Mah-Jing, Cornelius, Ric, Nathalia, Roberi, and Alex, pitched an elevated line of work-wear for the woman who wants quality and detail but also wants a mid-range price point. Because Alex owns a business and has pitched in professional settings before, he gave the team pitch and, in my opinion, did a PHENOMENAL job. He sounded like he knew exactly what he was doing, he had answers to every one of the questions from the "investors," and they definitely would have had my money.

"Team Button Bag," which featured Laurence, Brik, Tasha, Jenni, Erin, and Dexter, was quite clearly a team of misfits. As a group of creative artists, they each were coming at the pitch from their own aesthetics and weren't committed to cohesion at all. In the end, they also pitched work-wear to the "investors," but their angle was to create a work-wear line for the woman who is edgy and doesn't work in a traditional office setting.

I thought their pitch was a mess, but in the end they ended up getting the majority of the money ($2,200!) leaving "Team Unity" with only $800 to work with.

"Team Button Bag" definitely didn't use their money wisely.  They invested in a lot of embellishment that they didn't end up using and some quirky yellow fabric that only fit Erin's aesthetic.

The first look was their "work suit," which was supposed to be edgy because it was high-end denim, but at the end of the day, if the embellishments weren't on the sleeves and the ankles, this suit would be nothing. They sketched an asymmetrical jacket, which is not what they made, and I've definitely already seen similar suits like this on the market.

Then Brik made this way-too-short-for-any-work-environment dress. The fur around the collar made it just plain weird, and the color and cut was completely unflattering.

The third look was solely in the collection so Laurence could make her signature leather jacket. Did her leather jacket look phenomenal? Of course. Did it go with any of the other looks in the collection? Nope. It might have actually been acceptable over Brik's dress or with a denim skirt to match the suit, but instead they created this bumblebee costume.

Then Erin made this lovely coat; it's a little weird, but it worked and I enjoyed it. HOWEVER. If you watched the episode, you know that they threw together the look under the coat in about 5 minutes, and it was horribly executed; there's a reason the model didn't take the coat off.

Other than color cohesion, the four looks were disjointed.

"Team Unity" decided, per the judges' critique, to elevate their fabrics to create a line that could translate from work into an evening soiree.

Their first look was a sculptural dress with a printed crop jacket. While the dress wasn't the most work-appropriate, the jacket was excellent.

The second look featured a structured vest by Mah-Jing. I enjoyed the juxtaposition of the fit in the vest to the looseness of the pants, and I think it would fit very well into the Marie Claire market. This was by far the most work appropriate, and a favorite of the judges.

Things started to go a bit downhill from here. I personally adore the pants and the coat, but they probably shouldn't have been paired together, and Roberi's top with the wonky hemline wasn't appropriate for the collection or with the outfit as a whole.

Alex's dress looked wonderful from the front, but the back had construction issues, and while I understood their desire to take their collection into a work-to-evening direction, this wouldn't be appropriate for many work environments.

The judges thought that "Team Unity" over-designed their collection and thought the color palette was dark and too formal/evening. I understood some of their criticism, but "Team Button Bag" had more issues with cohesion and construction. I was stunned when "Team Unity" was put in the bottom, and even more upset when the team was forced to pick someone to send home. They worked together so well as a team and it was obvious in the workroom that their collection was a true collaboration. Even ego-monster Cornelius was bawling his eyes out on the runway when it came time to decide who should go home.

In the end, since Alex made the pitch and took the lead in the design aesthetic, he took responsibility for the team's failings and sacrificed himself for the others. The judges sent him home, and on his way out he told his team members to have integrity.

WHO IS THIS SAINT AND WHY HAS HE NEVER BEEN ON PROJECT RUNWAY BEFORE?!?

Every team challenge winds up with everyone fighting and someone getting thrown under the bus. I was so proud of all the contestants for owning what they made and sticking up for each other.

And now I'm crying again.

So this post is dedicated to ALEX.

You may have been sent home, but you were the winner in all our hearts.

...yes, I know how sappy that was. No, I will not apologize for it.

I was shocked at how many of the designers totally fell apart in this challenge. There were a lot of poorly made, ill-fitting looks walking down the runway; if you've never made a swimsuit before I can understand a bit of a struggle since swimwear fabric is difficult to work with and proportions can be confusing, but it's not like these people have never seen a swimsuit before. Then there's the matter of the prints - there were a lot of crappy, crappy prints. Taste level was definitely called into question, and a lot of the designers will have to redeem themselves next week.

My Top 3:

1. Roberi Parra
I was SO hoping Roberi would win this challenge! I don’t think his print really fit with Heidi’s line, so in that way I understand why he couldn’t win, but it was definitely the most flattering suit on the runway and his styling was flawless. I want Anthropologie to pick him up for next summer’s swim line because I WANT THIS.

2. Rik Villa
I was thrilled that Rik was able to redeem himself after last week’s horror show. I’m not 100% into the neckline (I mean, can you picture those tan lines?) but his print is graphic and unique, and I loved the ease and transformative power of his cover-up.

3. Nathalia JMag
Nathalia’s print was really lovely, and her bikini proportions were the best in the bunch. The cut of the top was proportional to the waistline of the bottoms, and her cover-up was beachy and beautiful. The smaller scale of her print made it workable for the suit and the cover-up, since it wasn’t so overwhelming, and overall it was a really successful look.

My Bottom 3:

1. Sarah Donofrino
You all know how I’ve felt about Sarah’s looks this season. She’s created nothing but basic and boring looks, and while a novelty print swimsuit can be cute in the right context, the cut of her suit didn’t work with the print and her cover-up was childish and poorly made. I’m glad she’s out of the way so the real designers can compete.

2. Jenni Riccetti
The fact that Jenni ever thought her print would work as a swimsuit simply baffles me; the scale of the design is WAY too large and the color (even if it had been what she saw on the computer screen) read WAY too junior. Her cover-up was like a weird skirt-cape, and the fact that she liked it and defended it makes me worry about her taste level.

3. Cornelius Ortiz
I was pissed at Cornelius' pompous vanity last week, but this week he pulled a 360 and adopted a completely defeatist attitude. I can't count the number of times he said "I just can't do this," after last week when he basically claimed to be the be-all and end-all of fashion design humanity. Gotta love when someone's ego can be brought down to earth. But really, his print was hideous, the proportions of his suit were weird, and his cover-up was basically a black bed sheet wrapped around his model's waist. Not good.

Overall, it was kind of a disappointing episode - nothing makes you lose confidence in your favorite designers like a swimwear or a lingerie challenge! I'm hoping for better things next Thursday.

THE CHALLENGE:
Create a day-to-night look that's impactful in daylight and under a black light, inspired by Transitions lenses.

This was definitely a fun challenge and put the designer's artistic creativity to the test, but also a little weird that Transitions lenses decided to sponsor the challenge...who has Transitions anymore?

My Top 3:

1. Erin Robertson
Erin was the obvious winner. I can’t get over how the three looks she has created this season are so different, and yet you can tell they came from the same designer and her aesthetic is the strongest of the bunch. I loved her fabric choice and her ability to create such a beautiful textile in one day is remarkable. With a little more lining I would definitely wear it. SO GOOD.

2. Dexter Simmons
I haven’t been a huge fan of Dexter’s work so far, but this was a stand-out look for the challenge and I can’t believe it was only safe. His all-white look had great runway impact in the natural light, but he managed to get some of the white to read negative in the black light, which allowed for really unique contrast. He showed the best use of fringe that I've seen since Sean Kelly, and I'm interested to see what he'll design in the coming weeks.

3. Roberi Parra
Tim Gunn always says that a challenge is won or lost at Mood, and Roberi made one of the best fabric choices of the bunch. The effect that the fabric distress had under the black light was remarkable, and while it all may have been a happy accident, sometimes the best designs aren't what you meant to create. I'm into Roberi's ethereal aesthetic, and I'd love to see him make it to Fashion Week.

Honorable Mention: Cornelius Ortiz
The transformative nature of this dress from daylight to black light was impressive, and the emoji concept was culturally relevant and cute.  THAT SAID. Cornelius is really lucky I'm giving him an honorable mention because his attitude is crap, his ego is DOUBLE CRAP, and I want someone to bring him down to earth and tell him that he's not the be-all and end-all of the world. I mean, he said that Erin's look was just a box-pleat dress with "stuff" glued on it. GET REAL. Your dress is just a shift dress that you taped and spray painted. You are not the most talented designer in the universe. He gets an honorable mention because the design was good, but he's on my very. last. nerve.

My Bottom 3:

1. Kimber Richardson
While I didn't think Kimber's look was the absolute worst last week, it wasn't the best either, and after two not-so-successful looks in a row, I was fine with her going home. This dress was pretty average under the normal light, and in the black light it just didn't do anything, so she completely missed the mark of the challenge. At the end of the day, her design aesthetic simply isn't up to the level of competition.

2. Rik Villa
The judges were right to put him in the bottom for this 80's raver nightmare. I think that's really all that needs to be said.

3. Sarah Donofrino
I am so unbelievably bored by Sarah's looks. This definitely wasn't the worst look of the week, but I've had her in the bottom each week because her looks are SO FREAKING BASIC, and while I'm all about quirky vintage ModCloth style, her skill level simply isn't up to par with everyone else, and since she's clearly not going to win the competition I don't know why we're bothering with keeping her around.

But let's give Erin another CONGRATULATIONS!

Quite honestly, I'd be fine with skipping ahead and just declaring her the winner of the whole competition, because at this point, no one can hold a candle to her. Is that possible? Can we just have a super short season? No? Okay.