So, unfortunately for all of us Project Runway fans who love good fashion and designers with a sunny disposition, Ken survived yet another week to complain about everything while at the same time maintaining that he is better than everyone else in the competition. Womp womp. RIP all the other designers who we would rather be watching.
Brunch in New York
Heidi sends the designers to a nice relaxing “Southern brunch” somewhere in New York City that is definitely not the South. They all know that something’s up. Project Runway designers do not simply eat brunch.
Their suspicions are confirmed when Tim Gunn shows up to rain on their parade and tell them about their next challenge. They are to create a day or evening look for the modern Southern woman inspired by the restaurant and by Belk. He says the modern Southern woman is vibrant, expressive, loves to accessorize and embraces anything with color and femininity. So basically, Phaedra Parks. The designers have one day and a suggested budget of $250.
John from Belk comes to visit them in the work room where he tells them that the winning look will be sold on Belk’s website and in stores. Dom and Ken think they have an advantage for the challenge because they are both from the South. They may be right, considering that Helen thinks that Southern women have quinceaneras and Alexander thinks they picnic in the forest. Yikes. These are some damn uninformed Yanks.
Vibrant, Colorful… Plaid?
At Mood, Alexander, Alexandria, and Bradon all choose plaid fabrics. Bradon is especially worried once he sees the other two fabrics but he doesn’t have time to change his fabric. Dom and Ken (the expert Southerners, remember?) both say that no one in the South would ever actually wear the plaid dresses their fellow designers are creating.
Kate found a great pink and orange print that she is very inspired by. She drapes a silhouette to feature the print.
Justin was creating a coral and black cocktail dress, but decides to ditch the black once Tim warns him it’s too Halloween-y.
After creating two completely separate looks and incredibly harsh critique from Tim where he called her skirt “hideous,” Alexandria decides to continue on with her first idea which is a blue plaid dress. She’s still worried about going home because she has never designed for this kind of woman before.
Alexander and Bradon are both making plaid cocktail dresses. Alexander’s looks a bit more young and chic while Bradon’s techniques are making his dress look a little old and heavy.
Helen found a bright yellow fabric and a white floral lace to make a maxi dress from and Dom is doing something similar with a multicolored maxi. She bought a great black and white print, but decides to go with something simpler because she wants to show the judges she isn’t over-designing her looks. I’m not sure what kind of logic this is, but okay.
Jeremy has very little done by the time Tim comes around for his critique. But he tells him he plans on a floral dress with a well-tailored red jacket.
Ken’s making a plum evening gown. I don’t know. It’s boring. Like most of his designs.
Runway Belles
Our usual fabulous runway judges are back, but also joining Nina Garcia and Zac Posen are Stacy Keibler and John Thomas from Belk.
Top
Alexander- Heidi says that it’s sexy and sophisticated she would love to wear it. Zac says it has great movement and John says it’s a modern interpretation of an old silhouette.
Bradon- Everyone loves the fabric, and Nina loves that it’s so unexpected. Stacy says the dress makes her happy and John says that he thinks it’s a modern country club look.
Kate- Of course the print is a big hit among the judges. Heidi doesn’t particularly care for the silhouette. Zac is Kate’s biggest fan and defends it even more than Kate does.
Bottom
Ken- The judges like the plum color of Ken’s dress but they say it looks too bridesmaid. Zac says it’s boring and it’s not a wow-piece. John says he’s seen it before and Nina says it’s very safe. Ken has a terrible attitude and even has the audacity to stare down Heidi Klum. The nerve!
Jeremy- Jeremy’s dress makes his model look ancient. Heidi says there’s nothing sexy about it and Zac says it looks like a casino jacket.
Dom- The judges are disappointed by Dom’s under-designed piece. Nina hates the color and Zac says it lacks imagination.
Bradon is named the winner of the challenge and for his third win, his look will be produced for Belk stores. But before they announce who is out, Heidi wants to give the bottom three a chance to re-work their looks with a better understanding of the challenge. She sends them all back to the workroom for one hour and with one of the fellow designers to help them to come up with something better.
Runway Re-run
Dom’s new look is a huge hit with the judges. They love the black and white print she had previously ignored. They all say that if it were her first look, she would have been in the top.
The judges think that Jeremy’s look is a vast improvement on his first look, but it’s a slip dress with a boring print so they recognize that it wasn’t exactly fashion-forward.
Ken was the only person to simply re-work his look instead of creating a new one. He changed it to an asymmetrical sleeve and cut the skirt to make it shorter. The judges thought it was too short, but a definite improvement on his first look.
The judges not only decide that Dom’s look is the best of the three, but John Thomas also wants to sell this look for Belk. So she becomes the co-winner of the challenge.
The judges decide to eliminate Jeremy for the lack of fashion in his new look. He maintains a good attitude about it, unlike Ken does in anything in his life.
Next week, a superfan (no one contacted yours truly, what’s the deal?) and of course, more Ken drama. Sigh.
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(Image courtesy of Lifetime)
Contributing Writer, BuddyTV
