AKA The Super Fan Challenge
Previously on Project Runway 8 super-fans were flown to NYC from all over the country to get makeovers (hair, make-up and outfits) done by the designers. Why I wasn't among the bunch I don't know (I must have missed the entry period when I was moving overseas).
During this episode Ken's temper flared again when Alexander and Bradon were moving into Ken's room. From what we could see, Ken was ironing his clothes in front of the door as Alexander and Bradon were trying to enter the room and Ken refused to step aside to let them in so Alexander bolted in and tossed Ken's iron on the floor. As expected, Ken lost his sh*t and called for the producers, and the next day Tim Gunn rallied the designers in the break-room to discuss what happened. Everyone agreed that Ken and Alexander should make up and that they should NOT let the fans know about the incident.
Anyway, back in the work room the designers transformed their super fan's. Let's take a look at the designs.
Safe
Surprise, surprise! This week
Kate was just safe. I thought her look was quite interesting and modern, although I'm not quite sold on the hem of her top.
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| Kate |
I'm glad
Dom learned her lesson in the previous challenge and stuck to a printed fabric. However her outfit seemed a bit average- like something I could purchase in a department store.
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| Dom |
Top
I think
Bradon lucked out because his super-fan was almost runway ready to begin with.
She wanted to be made to look "intimidating, powerful, and classy" and wanted to fit into the NYC vibe so Bradon gave her a little black dress and a leather jacket. I thought the look was nice, but I wish it was a little more "out-of-the-box"
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| Bradon |
I think
Justin did the little black dress up right. Not only is his dress classic, modest and versatile, he made it extra special by incorporating his super-fan's signature into the design. I thought Justin's look should have won this week, but the judges picked someone else.
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| Justin |
Well,
Helen's super-fan definitely had the most drastic change of the make-over. She started out with glasses, super long hair that she hadn't cut since high school, and an outfit to match and she wanted a red carpet look. While I think this look achieves that, I felt that the hair and make-up made for the most drastic change and the outfit wasn't my favorite. But the judges awarded Helen the win.
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| Helen |
Bottom
Alexander really struggled with timing and construction on this challenge and his ended up not being able to add the sleeves and finish his suit. The judges commented on his poor construction and he even admitted to not finishing and I thought he would surely be sent home, but the judges had someone else in mind.
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| Alexander |
Alexandria's model was a 20 year old college student who wanted something that she could wear to a job interview. Alexandria tried to create a suit with pieces that the super-fan could mix and match but the pieces didn't seem cohesive together and Zac Posen called it "maternity librarian".
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| Alexandria |
Ken went against his better judgement and decided to create a look with some pea green fabric that his super-fan was in love with and some leather accents. But the judges did not like the pea green fabric, nor did they like the placement of Ken's leather accents and they sent him home.
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| Ken |
The judges threw me for a loop this week as I felt that Justin's look was clearly better than the winner, Helen's, dress and although Ken should have been kicked off for his attitude several challenges ago, I thought that Alexander's was definitely the worst this week.
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Episode 11
AKA The Print Challenge
Previously on Project Runway, the designers were visited by Rob Le Bras-Brown, Senior VP of HP and Intel where he introduced the HP and Intel Print Challenge. The twist was that this time the designers would be paired with a next-generation innovator and thinker and the designers would base their print on their meeting with their innovator. The innovator pairings were:
Bradon- Nigel Sylvestor, professional BMX rideer
Alexandria- Ilana Greenberg, creative Director at graphic design mag GD USA
Alexander- Tiago Silva, pastry chef at Catch restaurant
Kate- Maria Gonzalez, a 17 year old who works with Girls Who Code, a nonprofit that teaches computer science skills to women.
Justin- Nana Meriweather, 2012 Miss USA and non-proffit co-founder
Dom- Premal Sha, co-founder of croud-funded lending network Kiva
Helen- Ryan Keeley, abstract artist and photographer.
Let's take a look at the designs.
Safe
Alexandria was the only safe designer this week. And how Alexandria landed in the safe-zone instead of the bottom, I do not know! I thought her look appeared sloppy and didn't really match the sophistication that her up-and-comer presented, or represent any graphic quality from her innovator's company.
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| Alexandria |
Top
Bradon created a plaid print that was inspired by imagining his innovator biking on the city streets. I loved his bomber jacket, but I would have loved to have seen more of the print.
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| Bradon |
I thought
Helen was going to be in the bottom or safe at best. I didn't see the connection between her print and her artist muse at all and I thought her design looked like a Miranda outfit (on a good day). However, the judges thought that Helen's combination of white and ecru strangely worked, but she wasn't the winner.
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| Helen |
Dom created a print inspired by the photographs of tribal entrepreneurial women that her innovator shared with her. I agreed with the judges that Dom was the clear winner for this challenge as this challenge seemed to have been made for her.
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| Dom |
Bottom
I was initially really surprised to see
Justin's look in the bottom because I thought that his print was really interesting and the top of his dress looked well constructed. It wasn't until the judges pointed out the lower section of the dress that I noticed that anything was wrong, but once I saw it I couldn't look away.
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| Justin |
I thought
Alexander should have been able to create a MUCH better print than he did. This was the wrong day for Alexander to decide to jump out-of-the-box as he decided to create a dress inspired by his last name, Pope. The judges said "she looks like a cult leader...of chocolate". This week Alexander was sent home.
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| Alexander |
Kate created a print that utilized binary code to play on her innovator muse's website. But then Kate covered her print up in fabric and created a silhouette that wasn't very flattering. Kate picked the wrong time in the competition to have a miss-step as Kate was also eliminated.
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| Kate |
This week I agreed with the judges decision to put Dom on top and kick off Alexander, and although I agree that Kate shouldn't have covered her print in the print challenge and her silhouette was awful, I wish the judges would have held onto her a bit longer since she's been consistently at the top until recently. In my opinion, if the judges were going to send 2 off, they should have eliminated Alexander and Alexandria or Alexander and Justin as both have been rather inconsistent lately.
After watching the last elimination I now think that it'll be Dom, Bradon and Helen in the final. Who do you think will be the final 3 (or 4)? Let me know in the comments below.
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