Last week:
Read my recap/review
Challenge: It's the HP print challenge! My favorite PR challenge. This season they have to create prints inspired by next generation innovators. Here are the innovators: a HS student who created a program called Girl Code that helps give girls the computer science skills needed to bridge the gender gap in that field, the creator of Kiva.org, a crowd sourcing website for budding business owners/entrepreneurs, a pro BMX rider, Editor in chief of some magazine, an executive pastry chef, a mixed media artist, & Miss America who created an non-profit organization in Africa.
Prize: Winning designer & their muses will get HP technology including the program used for the print challenge, the Rove & the flip. All the muses got the flip.
Guest Judge: Designer Peter Som
Judges: Designer Peter Som, Nina Garcia, Zac Posen, Heidi Klum
I love how Heidi always matches the challenges. This print is adorable. I love those burgundy shoes paired with that print. Here's a quick tip for matching: You can pair the same shades of different colors (powder blue with baby pink) together or different shades of the same color family (like the bright red & the burgundy red of Heidi's outfit).
It's nice to see Nina in print. I rarely see that. I think this outfit as a whole tho looks a little businessy for this show. Peter's outfit is like the suit version of a mullet haircut: Business up top, party on the bottom. Weird. This would've worked if the pants had been trouser jeans. I do not care for Zac's suit. That color does not suit his skin-tone, and that contrasting collar with the same color tie makes it look like he was running late and tied his tie over the collar of the shirt.
Thank you Tim for brightening my mood about the guy's clothing so far with this amazing purple. He takes what would be a drab suit and adds pizzazz with different tones of purple in the shirt in a plaid pattern, the tie, & and a pocket square. I wonder if I could ever get away with a pocket square cuz I want one.
Now for highlights form Peter Som's NYFW Spring 2014 Collection so you can all see why he's a guest judge. Overall feel: A Sense of Ease. Graphic prints and structured pieces are given a rebellious feel with fluid shapes and cropped/cut off hems & cut outs.
Work Room and Mood
I love navy & yellow together. Very yacht club. Yellow is so difficult to pair with neutrals cuz u can look like a bumble bee when paired with black or like something dropped in a toilet paired with brown. Navy & grey are your best bets or olive which is a pseudo neutral.
I love her curly hair. It makes me happy when she wears it natural & down. That shade of red is stunning on her. I love that big watch too. I have one in silver that I love!
Poo you put ur hair up Dom. I love this outfit as something I'd wear lounging around the house, not with a camera following me around.
That skirt thingy looks like a juniors department skirt-those ugly drawstring, peasant mini skirts.
Those look like ginkgos or maybe that's a maxi skirt. Why do all her clothes look like active wear or lounge wear?
Ughh need I say more.
Bradon loves pattern and so do I. I love this hounds-tooth paired with khakis but upped with those fabulous green shoes.
Python can look edgy or can look chic. This is the later.
The shoulders on this cut down on the crazy "sleeves" she has. This is actually a cute outfit. I don't say that often about Helen cuz she's usually in something boring.
Those ruffles make a boring black shirt interesting.
There's that hat again. PRRW needs to produce a bunch and sell it on the lifetime website. They'd sell like hot cakes.
Kate has such a cute vintage but sassy style. It suits her design aesthetic & personality well.
I would like to know how many caddy caps you have Justin.
Muses
All of the muse/designer pairings:
Runway
That little tuxedo inspired collar makes this flattering wrap dress a little more luxe.
Unflattering grandpa sweater gives Justin a little belly. I like the look itself. The fit is just an issue.
It's those amazing shoes making another appearance this episode paired with plaid of course. That green patterned bow tie works paired with the teal plaid top because teal is a blue-green so the prints are in the same color scheme. The green shoes work cuz the teal & green are similar color families, and they are the same saturated shades of different colors.
Those bowling shoes do belong with this outfit.
First of all, did she rip her shirt in the work room? 2. Are those clogs? Uggh. Why on runway day would u wear this? If you got kicked off would u really want this outfit to be your swan song?
LOL the model's shoes & Kate's match. I don;t like these shades of nude/tan on Kate but the overall effect if pretty chic.
Designs
Alexander
"ust because my last name is McDonald doesn't mean I make garments out of french fries." Bradon said that about Alexander making this papal inspired get up because his last name is Pope. The print is inspired by the chocolate ribbons made on the top of the cake im the picture above with his muse. I get the inspiration. It didn't need to be colorful to me to be inspired by cake, but that cross just doesn't belong here at all. It came out of left field. Not all instincts are good ones. It's a shame too cuz I like the dress otherwise.
Alenxandria
Uggh. This is awful. The print is inspired by the white washed brick in a building the magazine editor muse is writing about & working on renovating after Hurricane Sandy destroyed it. It doesn't look like it fits the inspiration at all, I hate the sloppy raw edges, and that throw away top gives her a belly. She looks 3 months preggers in this.
Bradon
As Zac says sometimes, "less is more". You don't have to have bells and whistles all over your outfit, especially when the print is supposed to be the star. He made the print the star. His muse was the NYC BMX biker. The print is a bird's eye view of NYC with the greys, blacks & whites representing the city architecture & the blues representing the rider on his bike. I totally see it, but it's still Bradon. The top of the dress is also deceptively innovative. It changes up. You can take the top part of the dress entirely off and wear it strapless or you can wear it sleeveless.
Dom
People on the forums talked about not liking the pink fingers on the model's nipples. I see the pink fingers- Heidi always calls out that stuff- but, with this design those black bands underneath take the emphasis off that and her nipples might be lower than where people are seeing them. Also the vag Vs people are talking about are called chevron stripes, and because there are multiples of them going all the way down past that area of her body, it's not pointing there anymore. It's pointing to her knees. If the dress was short and the chevrons ended above her vag, I would agree. Now off the weird forum obsession and onto the design. I love the print. Her muse was the man with the crowd-sourcing website. He talked about how it connects people all over the world and showed her a picture of some African women who used the site to fund their small business. They make beautiful handmade dresses and bags, etc. They were in bright tribal prints. She took that as inspiration. It fits her like a glove. The only thing I don't like about it is the shoulders and the quilted material make the model look like a linebacker. She looks wide from the front even with those side panels. It's much more flattering from the back I think because of the vback.
Helen
Yeah the midriff thing is big now, but you also have to think they didn't film this episode today. The print is supposed to be the star of the design in this challenge. It is here. It's not just stars: If you look up close the big ones in the middle are actually pentagrams. I don't see modern occult, or Celtic, etc. designs on an outfit (I'm not Pagan, but I grew up in New Orleans so I know a lot about it).The ecru panels does make it look vintage and is a lot more unique than some other stuff she has made. I'm seeing a more unique voice come from her. It does fit her muse, but it's a subtle reference. Her muse was a mixed media artist that would paint on canvas than print photos over it. She used the idea of mirror imaging, which is something that he does in his art, and used it here in a print that's personal to her. She was wearing a pentagram ring in this episode so I'm assuming there's some personal connection there. I like the placement of the print, the panels, the vintage appeal, those shoulders are really interesting, and the styling is perfect as usual. I love this and would wear it in a heartbeat. It's like grunge meets pinup which I think is a perfect marriage of her style, and she really seems to be coming into her own. At the beginning of the season she tried to make classic things, but it never felt like her. As a result, she was getting in the bottom (other than the challenge with Kate), and then she blossomed and started merging her own personal style with classic. I could see Lana Del Rey rocking this. BTW wouldn't she make a fabulous guest judge?
Justin
Justin's muse was Miss America. She & her mom started a charity organization that helps kids in Africa and other places. They build schools, purify drinking water, etc. His print is actually the ASL sign for love which he felt from Miss America and her love for these children. It's an interesting idea for a print but it looks as if the hands are grabbing at the breast area. He's done this silhouette before with similar material, and the bottom half looks exactly like the bottom half of the dress that got him eliminated befor the Tim Gunn save was used. Why would he do that? He's a nice person, but I have yet to see a true voice from him. He has such an interesting perspective of life and can literally see the world differently from the other designers in the competition since being deaf (or mute or another missing 5th scent) actually heightens all of your other senses. His visual capacity but be amazing, but he only ever uses blacks and greys. He only ever does knitwear with the occasional awful gown thrown in. He needs to learn who he is cuz he can express the world of a deaf man through his designs, and I think it would be beautiful.
Belk-
G by GUESS $50
Lauren Ralph Lauren- $48
Kate
Poor Kate had the hardest muse, but she picked it. It was the girl who made the Coders club for computer science girls. Kate used the idea of binary code to make this print that you can't see. She got so obsessed with doing a dress that she lost her way in the challenge. She does so much better when she let's the challenge inspire her. She decided what she wanted to do before the challenge was presented and just kept with it. The print is ugly and doesn't represent her muse, the print is covered up when it's supposed to be the star, and there are fit issues. That dress itself might be cute in a different color of it didn't have a drop waist. Not flattering. The color palette also doesn't work with the inspiration. It's not cool enough for a tech girl.
Order: Alexander, Alexandria, Bradon, Dom, Helen, Justin, Kate
Safe
Alexandria
I was like WTF when they said she was safe. This is wretched in every conceivable way. The print is cool but doesn't look like her inspiration, the fit is awful, and it looks unfinished. She has been phoning it in the last couple of weeks. She's made some really cool things and has this unusual European aesthetic that I love. Snap out of it.
Bottom
Alexander, Justin, Kate
I understand these for bottom 3. Alexander's had that weird cross on the front that made no sense, Justin's print was weird (the judges liked it tho) with fit issues and a throw away bottom that's similar to a past challenge that he lost. Kate missed the whole point of the challenge and has fit issues to boot.
Top
Bradon, Dom, Helen
These were all great. All the prints were amazing, were the stars of the designs, and fit their inspirations.
My winner pick:
Helen
This was a beautiful print that matched her muse, but still retained her aesthetic as a designer that has blossomed throughout this show. I'm a believer Helen. Bradon's was cute, but the print still somewhat resembled plaid which he uses a lot. Dom's had some fit issues cuz of the weird shoulders and use of quilted fabric more suited for a duvet or outerwear.
Winner:
Dom
The judges seem to go for the edgier designs. I don't want them to start picking the edgier collection at Fashion wk. Edgy doesn't always mean new. Stuff that isn't edgy doesn't always mean old. You can have a unique voice in fashion without making your models look like villains from a scifi movie. All in all I like this design tho and can see why she won, but Helen's is just my personal preference. I've; noticed last season the winner was edgy (though I loved Michele's collection and thought it was very interesting). The year before Demitri won. Also an edgy collection that was beautiful but not a original as Fabio's. He had that pastel artistic collection. Very original. Why didn't he win. I hope that's not the start of a trend. They've been doing a good job of picking winners each season that seem different from the previous winners in terms of aesthetic.
My elimination pick:
I see nothing salvageable in this outfit whatsoever. SO disappointing coming from such a chic, European woman that showed such promise. Out of the judges bottom 3, I'd say it's time for Justin to go cuz he hasn't been able to show any diversity or point of view.
Eliminated:
Kate & Alexander
I'm disappointed, but maybe they were harder on Kate for the fact that she was already on PRRW
just last season so being on this show already was her second chance. She needs to go on All Stars now. She
really should've
only been able to do that from the beginning
. There was an inherit unfairness in letting her come back this season, but she won me over with her designs. Maybe that's also a reason they eliminated her. Maybe they thought viewers would think it's unfair.
I liked Alexander's design
other than the cross that just didn't go with it. The print and
the silhouette
were beautiful
. I know they had to eliminate 2 at some point because
of the Tim Gunn
save from earlier. He really should've
save it and used it on Kate. Alexander
has had some great moments
on this show (that purple plaid number for example
) but he struggled
with balancing his dramatic costume design
background with wearable
fashion. I'm very interested
in seeing all the eliminated
designers collections
at NYFW
. The season didn'
t match up with NYFW. I
n order to prevent spoilers they had all the eliminated
designers from that point on and the finalists
all make collections.
Next week: The final five go to a butterfly exhibit to get inspiration for an avante garde
outfit that will determine who will be going to NYFW
. But, there's a twist.
