Wow, these designers truly have it made this season. For week 7 the challenge is at Universal Studios?! The inspiration is to go on a giant roller coaster based on the movie King Kong?!
I mean seriously?!
Where were all these amazing challenges when I was a contestant?! Can PR alumni just come along on some of these challenges for fun?! I will be a decoy!
The downside of all these exciting challenges is that it requires a huge amount of effort. The designers have to go to Mood, then back to the workroom, only to learn that they have until midnight to finish this challenge! Yikes, these designers already seem exhausted, and their work certainly showed it last week. I hope that the continued tight schedule doesn’t mean more disappointing garments. These designers are due for a two-day challenge!
Luckily, the goal is to take this inspiration and make an urban streetwear look, which seems to be a strength of a lot of the designers. I have yet to see an amazing gown from this group, but the jackets and mini dresses have been killer.
All the designers left are very talented and a glaring mistake could be a ticket home. Thus, I am worried about Dexter. His confidence is down and his sketch is not looking too inspiring. I am hoping he can pull it together. He has become a favorite of mine.
The look I am most excited about it Roberi’s, which is surprising. I would not think this genre is his strength. I love the fabric that he choose, and I love what he is doing with it. I am also excited after Mah-Jing’s great critique. He is definitely due for a good result after his stressful critique/restart last week.
I am quite concerned about Brik. He is making pants again and his fabric choices…oh my. It will either look really cool or be a total flop, and off he goes.
Possibly my biggest concern for a the number of designers is that they did not have anything to try on their models. That is dangerous territory on a one-day challenge.
I don’t know why, but I am not too concerned for Erin. She always produces great looks. (I don’t think she deserved to be in the bottom last week. I think it was more producer-driven to shake things up a bit.)
But in the end, the look that scares me the most, as the designers hurry up in hair and makeup, is Cornelius’s look. The top is just so ill-fitting, and all the design elements he tried do not compensate for that.
On to the runway:
Brik – I am actually torn on this look. I am not a huge fan of the two pieces together, but I love the two pieces individually. The shirt is pieced together perfectly and shows a lot of skill. I think that it would look great with a pair of jeans or a suede mini skirt. The pants are also really cool and better constructed then the previous pants he made. I would love to see these with a black oversized hoodie for a hip-hop feel.
Rik – I LOVE this look! WOW! He did a great job of making a streetwear look both innovative and something that Ms. Klum would wear. He styled it perfectly. I know it is early but, I think this could be the winning look! Can I get one, Rik?
Nathalia – This look turned out super cool, as well. I knew this was going to be a great genre for the designers, and three looks in, they have not disappointed. I love the jacket, and while the other garments are basic, they fit the look well. I would have tried to incorporate more color into the look and for a little more excitement in some detail work.
Laurence – This was a safe look coming from Laurence. The pants did not bother me that much, nor impress me. I am not sure how she could have cut them differently to eliminate the bunching at the drop crotch. I like the jacket but, it does not stand out, especially compared to some of the amazing jackets she has done in the past.
Roberi – He did not go quite as far with the jacket as I would have liked, but I loved the androgynous feeling the look had. The jacket was super cool (wish the model would have kept on longer for a better look). The tee and shorts were simple but cut perfectly in the perfect material. I would like to see this look in the top.
Mah-Jing – I like that he took a different approach to streetwear. Using a clever mix of dressing up and down, utilizing the fancy dress, and laid back jacket. It was a nice juxtaposition, unfortunately stymied by the material of the dress, it could have been cut a little better, and the jacket could have been pushed a little further.
Erin – This is an interesting look. While I admire the creativity, it is clear that she did not have a model fitting, which is too bad. I think this look had the potential to be really cool had the shorts fit better and the top a little longer. It just needed a little more TLC. I do think that this shows what a great designer she is and that she was able to pull this look together, yet still make it look cool.
Dexter – Wow! Another great look! I love that he really went for it and yet stayed true to himself. He made a crazy silhouette look cool and wearable. I love the detail work that he did, as well as the color. You could really see the inspiration of the King Kong roller coaster. He did streetwear in his own signature style. He is another candidate for the win!
Cornelius – I think this might be the look that sends Cornelius home. The top is completely ill-fitting and not especially unique. The pants are cool but also not extremely unique.
Jenni – I like were she was going with this look. Sweatsuits are very much the rage right now in streetwear. I do, however, think that she could have pushed it further with better fabric choices, as well as a better cut.
Ultimately Laurence was the winner. I think she did a great job, but I was surprised. This was not her strongest look and there were other designers, Roberti and Dexter, who I thought had more unique looks. Brik was declared the loser of this challenge. Too bad, I thought Cornelius was the one who should have been sent home.
