Dumpster diving meets vintage technology. Who knew that could create some great fashion? I would have never guessed it. But then, that’s why we have “Project Runway.” This week’s episode was the second Unconventional Challenge this season. A lot of the creations were transformative, forward-thinking and yes, fashionable. And, as usual, some not so much. Allow me to dive right in…
The remaining ten designers wake up, get ready and “find” an 80’s boom box on their kitchen tables. There’s a cassette tape (Gosh I miss those!) with a note to “Play Me.” Heidi’s voice comes on, telling the designers that Tim and a guest will meet them in a location where they will get to “dive into” their next challenge. Wonder what that’s all about? Are they designing 80’s hip-hop style for 2015…with a swimsuit twist? As they arrive at their challenge destination, they find a dilapidated outdoor junkyard with graffiti on the walls and loads of 80’s/90’s technology such as floppy discs, VHS tapes, CDs, Polaroid’s, vinyl records, etc…
Tim is there with Marie Claire Editor-in-Chief Anne Fulenwider. She announces, “We love fashion [and] the people that are moving it forward,” adding that “we also love smart innovative people moving the tech world forward.” The challenge this week is to marry the two and create a modern fashionable look using outdated technology from the items provided in this “techno junkyard.” After Tim gives the ready, set, go, the designers go dumpster diving, grabbing as much as they can and placing it in a shopping cart. Once done, they pushed their carts all the way back to their workroom. Not sure how much “pushing” they did, but long enough to be filmed…then the poor PAs took over, hauling all that stuff back up to the designers’ workroom.
Back in the workroom, Tim walks in reminding the designers that they must transform the unconventional materials into modern, wearable fashion. Soon after this, Jake asks to talk to Tim. He found out that his beloved dog had to be put to sleep and, understandably, he is distraught. I am a dog owner and dog lover. My partner David and I rescued our little Benny over seven years ago and we can’t imagine our lives without him. Needless to say, I would be inconsolable if I had gotten that kind of news. Jake subsequently announces that he has to drop out of this season’s competition.
For a minute, I thought, “Oh God, are they bringing back Princess Blake as a replacement?” Gracias a Dios, no. After some work time, Tim checks in and the designers show him what they are working on. Highlights from the visit include “Kelly from the Deli” not knowing what paillettes are (French for flat sequins) and Swapnil getting an, “Oh no!” when he tells Tim his skirt will be all muslin. Upon exiting, Tim makes one of his classic overly-effusive statements saying that this has the potential for being THE BEST UNCONVENTIONAL CHALLENGE EVAHHH! Tim has said these sweeping statements before, so…we’ll see. During the workday, Swapnil is taking a lot of smoke breaks and procrastinating. The fact that the cameras are monitoring his procrastinations means one thing: this may come up during judging. For sure.
Day of runway and gorgeous actress and former Mrs. Robin Thicke, Paula Patton, is the guest judge, along with Anne Fulenwider. The Unconventional designs come out and here are my Faves and Techno-Fails:
Edmond’s design, made of mouse pads, computer keys and wires, was a definite wow! I thought it looked very high-end and editorial, and I especially loved the Toreador-like fringed shoulders. Candice’s computer cable dress was a very good one–modern, strong, futuristic, and reminiscent of something from Alexander McQueen. She definitely has a defined aesthetic and never strays from it. This can take her to the finals for sure. Kelly’s aluminum duct tubing silver dress was, as the judges said, polished, clean and wearable, yet still super haute. And I appreciated that she did a perfect side zip since she didn’t want to “break” the horizontal placements of the silver tubing.
And finally, there was Ashley’s Polaroid film creation, This was one of those dresses that you knew immediately would become a “Project Runway” unconventional classic. The silhouette was super cute and flirty but the unique use of the Polaroid film was definitely the star. If I was a judge, I would have given it to Ashley with Kelly’s coming in a very close second. But I’m not a judge and the win was eventually given to Kelly. After seeing these top designs, I wouldn’t go as far as to do a Tim and say that it was THE BEST UNCONVENTIONAL CHALLENGE EVAH, but it was a strong one, for sure.
And now, to the “techno fails.” Swapnil’s design was interesting, especially the computer and phone cable bustier. But that micro-mini painted muslin skirt was a fail. The judges called him out on how unpolished it looked and asked him if he had run out of time. From the way Swapnil’s laissez-faire attitude was edited in this episode, we knew this would be a hot topic during the judging and quite frankly, I was shocked by his behavior. We’ve seen designers in the past crank out multiple outfits and then sit back and relax, but to not even have one complete design finished and still be so arrogant is quite surprising. It will be interesting to see if he shapes up after this runway beat down.
The two on the bottom, however, were Lindsey and Joseph. I didn’t think Joseph’s mouse pad/computer cables dress was as bad as the judges thought. I liked the color blocking effect and while, the silhouette wasn’t so creative, it still looked good, Plus he finally showed the judges that he can do anti-madame. What wasn’t good was Lindsey’s computer keys and CD sleeves dress. It was a yawn and a half. Zac was correct in comparing it to bathroom tiles and a shower curtain. Not only was it not original, it lacked finesse and refinement. It was very high school arts and crafts project. She had to be out. Shockingly, she was not and it was Joseph who received the dreaded auf from Heidi. Once again, the judges are frustrating me with their decisions. I definitely was at a loss at how and why they decided to keep Lindsey over Joseph. I am only assuming that this season they are basing their decisions on “potential of the designer” vs. “worst design.” If anyone else has another reason for their questionable decisions, please enlighten me. I hope next week the judges get their sanity back. Crossing my fingers.
