Last week’s episode ended with a “to save or not to save Edmond” silence. I, along with anyone else watching it with a pulse, guessed correctly what was going to happen. This episode had the designers going home to create their collections, the much anticipated Tim visits, a freezing beach (in San Francisco?!), a tortilla making party, and the most cramped restaurant booth known to man. And then there was the collection preview judging that didn’t go so well. Lots to discuss.
We begin with Edmond waiting for his goodbye hug from Tim. We all knew what was going to happen, but Mr. Gunn did some of his best acting to date in an attempt to heighten the emotional drama in the room and drag out the moment as long as he could. Tim saves Edmond and all four are going to NY Fashion Week. They all meet up back at the runway stage where Heidi tells them that they have seven weeks and are getting $9,000 to create a 10-piece collection back at home. Heidi also makes a point to advise Ashley to consider creating a plus size collection, something she’s wanted to do all along.
Five weeks later and Tim visits the designers in their homes, otherwise known as “time for Tim to rack up his frequent flyer mileage points.” He begins in San Diego with Ashley. For some reason, Ashley has set up her makeshift studio at her sister’s home. (You gotta do what you gotta do!) She informs Tim that her collection is inspired by Mexico City in the 1950’s. Throughout the show she makes it a point to repeat this, over and over again, almost becoming fodder for a drinking game: take a tequila shot any time Ashley says… She’s hand-dying her fabrication and doing flower headpieces. Afterward, Tim dons an apron and makes tortillas. God bless him.
Next on the West Coast tour is Candice in San Francisco. For some reason, Candice chooses a freezing beach in the Bay Area as the backdrop for her meeting with Tim. With so many gorgeous sights in San Francisco, a random fog-engulfed beach is the decided location? Finally after one too many hot chocolates by a cold beach, Candice puts Tim out of his misery and takes him to her studio. She was inspired by a visit to the Met Museum’s “China: Through the Looking Glass” exhibition and is doing a Far East collection. It’s all very Candice, but I am afraid of that huge petticoat. And more importantly, it’s overt references to those gorgeous Guo Pei hoop-skirted designs at the exhibition.
Tim now is in Springfield, Massachusetts visiting Kelly. She tells Tim that her inspiration is Studio 54 meets “new age” streetwear. Kelly has made piping, zipper details and fanny packs. Tim thinks there’s potential for “a real show.” Afterward, we finally get the moment we’ve all been waiting for: THE DELI! At Bob’s Italian Foods, proprietor Rob presents Tim with his very own sandwich: the Big Gunn Milanese. Gunn takes it to go. Let’s hope he ate that on his plane ride to the final designer visit destination: Atlanta, Georgia.
In Atlanta, Tim checks in on Edmond. He tells Tim he wants to show the “glamorous side of fashion” (as opposed to the hoochie side?) with a mixture of voluminous as well as architectural shapes. Tim advises Edmond to beat back the latter. Inexplicably, Edmond then takes Tim to a restaurant that has what could possibly be the tightest, most-cramped booth ever. Between having to don an apron to make tortillas, sitting in a fogged-in beach in SF and the most claustrophobic restaurant booth ever… Tim’s Season 8 Hawaii fish farm visit is looking more and more like a stay at the Four Seasons.
The seven weeks are up and the designers all return to NYC, or Long Island City, to be precise, where they are staying at the Paper Factory Hotel. Back in their workroom, they begin the ritual of removing their garment bags and unveiling the designs. Kelly is basically the only one who is almost done with her collection while Edmond says he is not even close. Why do the finalists, season after season show up with incomplete collections? I understand having a hem unfinished, or hook and eye closures not sewn…but entire looks not made and/or half-made? It’s especially baffling since they all know that there is almost always going to be an EXTRA assignment and that they will have to make something else.
Tim welcomes the designers back to the workroom and predictably informs them that they will have to present three looks from their collection to the judges, one of which has to be brand new and made today. This brings sighs of pain and sorrow, especially to I-still-have-a-lot-to-do Edmond.
Runway day and it’s time for the three look preview. Edmond is on the “design chopping block” first with his black and white looks. It’s never a good idea to show an all black-and-white collection on “Project Runway,” and the judges tell him so. They also wonder what happened to the sexy? It was all but gone. Speaking of gone: the ruffle on that black column gown. Rip it off Edmond. ASAP!
Kelly’s designs are next. The judges tell her that it doesn’t look luxurious enough and seems as if they were all made in a day. You can almost see the proverbial knife being thrust into her gut. Here’s what I think of Kelly’s finale collection and why she’s at a disadvantage: her quirky design aesthetic skews towards designers like Jeremy Scott and Moschino. This design style needs the HIGHEST level of runway presentation. It needs to be “A SHOW.” I would want the runway turned into Kelly’s Deli and the models in “Kelly hair” chomping gum with 80’s new wave Kajagoogoo soundtrack. She won’t get it. Instead, it will be a sterile white NY Fashion Week tent. And I fear the impact of her “kooky” style will be lost. So with that being said, I concur with the judges. More is more Kelly! She needs to turn up the volume as much as possible.
Ashley’s designs have the promise of a beautiful collection. I see the thread and theme. Unfortunately, her construction and fit are not so pretty. People may argue that it might be more difficult fitting on plus-size models but in actuality, it is not. As long as Ashley gets EVERY SINGLE measurement of her models and properly adjusts her garments to match, she shouldn’t be at a disadvantage. I appreciate Ashley pushing her designs to the next level, but unfortunately I fear that her construction skills aren’t up to par with her vision.
Candice’s Asian-inspired grouping was dealt a blunt instrument (as Tim would say) as the judges let her have it. The red look was universally disliked. It looked dated and costume-y. When Nina told Candice that she had “seen this show…Alexander McQueen can do Alexander McQueen, and you cannot. I want to see you,” it was a definite nail in her Asiana coffin. Personally, I think Candice got too tied up in that Met exhibition and instead of putting on a FASHION show, she went for a THEATRICAL show. So for Candice, it should be less show and more FASHION.
So here we are. The four final designers have a lot of work to do and only two days to accomplish it. Maybe the producers can bring in assistants (winky winky!) from already auf’ed castmates. With New York Fashion Week just around the corner, they will need all the help they can get! Will they be up for this final challenge?
