This week’s challenge was to design a look for JustFab, the online fast-fashion retailer and one of the sponsors of this season’s “Project Runway.” Easy, right? Nope, not so much as it turned out. I think the actual challenge suffered from an unnecessary “high fashion” directive which then lead to contradictory expectations and critiques from the judges and somewhat perplexing creations. Eventually, there were some super-cute JustFab designs amongst all that, but it felt like we had to go through tooth surgery to get there. Let’s delve deeper…
The episode begins with the remaining designers in their apartments finding a tablet on their kitchen tables with Tim Gunn making an announcement, “Good morning designer. Get up and get ready. Class starts in one hour and you don’t want to be tardy. Today is going to be JUST FABULOUS!” While the contestants mulled over a possible “school” inspiration, I knew better.
Tim and Yuchin Mao, fashion director for JustFab are in the workroom, which has been redecorated to resemble a mini classroom. Mao tells the designers that JustFab had recently expanded their business beyond accessories and is now selling apparel. There is a blackboard with five JustFab member style personas: Bombshell (sexy, not shying from the spotlight), Trendsetter (risk-taker, edgy), Girl Next Door (casual, easy spirit), Modern Classic (tailored look), and Femme Nouveau (a romantic at heart).
Candice, who won last week’s challenge, gets to pick first which persona she wants Trendsetter. Consequently, she also chooses for her fellow designers: Ashley receives Girl Next Door, Kelly gets Trendsetter, Swapnil and Edmond ger Bombshell, Laurie is given Modern Classic, and Merline received Femme Nouveau. Each designer uses these personas as the inspiration for the JustFab challenge: To create a “high fashion” look at an affordable price that would be mass produced on JustFab.com with a Mood budget of $100.
I have a couple things to say regarding the challenge. It’s always a bit dicey when announcing that the designers must create a “high fashion” look for a mass-produced fast-fashion online site with a price point of $39.95, the average retail price for a dress on JustFab. I understand adding “high fashion” to the challenge’s directives because of course, it “looks” better on TV and for a fashion show. But that term “high fashion” probably means something different to the JustFab merchandising team, as opposed to Nina and Zac. I argue that it shouldn’t have been there because in essence (and as we find out), it made for a confusing runway.
Post-Mood shopping and back in the workroom, Tim checks in. He comments on some of the designers not taking enough of a “risk,” as well as saying that “we’ve seen this before,” adding to the high fashion or sellable confusion. At the end of Tim’s visit, he informs the designers that in addition to their challenge, they must create a label using the Brother garment printer. They’ll print their label on a t-shirt which they will wear on runway day.
Runway day andafter a failed attempt at making a dress, Laurie is creating yet another see-through top. When her model is putting on the outfit minutes before she’s off to the runway, she asks Laurie if it’s okay that her bra straps are showing. Laurie’s response almost made me hurl something at the TV screen: She said, “Oh I forgot!” Forgot what? That the top you just made was BACKLESS? That you will send a model for a second consecutive challenge with her nipple pasties showing through? I. Just. Can’t.
Runway: Ciara and the JustFab fashion director are the guest judges. Speaking of the judges, it was evident that they did not have a cohesive vision of what’s most important: sellable vs. creative. They disagreed a lot. Personally, I think they should have had a pre-judging pow-wow where they agreed on what the point of this challenge was. It was not a surprise when–post runway–Heidi announced that there were no highs or lows. In addition, the more comments I heard from Zac and Nina, the more I wondered if they themselves, had even looked at the retailer’s website and what it carried in terms of apparel. If they had, they would have known outright who’s on top and who’s on the bottom. It would have been a no-brainer.
My favorites: Ashley, Edmond and Kelly. Their looks were the best, and most JustFab appropriate. Kelly, even though some of the judges were not fans of her Trendsetter look (Nina, Zac), I could see the hipster JustFab girls wearing the printed top and leggings (sans the faux fur chubby) on a hot NY summer weekend on the High Line. Ashley’s Girl Next Door look was super-cute and super-girly. The JustFab fashion director said that Ashley “nailed it” on the jacket. Totally. In contrast, Zac was “disappointed” and thought it lacked originality. One point for Yuchin, zero for Zac.
Zac also was not a fan of my other favorite: Edmond’s Bombshell. He said that it was a “miss,” adding that “this is a fashion show…we want to see innovative and creative…if you want to be the next fashion designer.” But then in the end, he goes back on his own critique saying that it was “100 percent gold!” In addition, Nina chastised Edmond for sending “just a red dress down the runway” and didn’t like his styling. (Someone may want to remind her that the accessories came from the JustFab wall.) #OhTheseJudges
Edmond won for making a simple sexy red dress (check!) using inexpensive fabric (for an inexpensive online retailer: check!) and adding just one fun detail, the woven spaghetti. Was it Nina Garcia editorial? Nope, was it “high fashion”? Nope. It may not have been right for a highfalutin Manhattan designer and editor, but it was right for JustFab.
My Not-so-Favorites were Candice, Swapnil, Merline and Laurie. Candice’s Trendsetter missed the challenge mark in my eyes, but I don’t fault her for being confused. Instead of making a trendsetting look for a young hipster millenial, she created a tricky, “high-fashion” design. Not surprisingly, Zac said her look was one of the most fashionable and even Yuchin and Ciara applauded her for pushing the envelope and doing something unexpected. Swapnil’s wasn’t as “tacky, tacky, tacky” as Zac said. It was more, “Why a Gown?” JustFab doesn’t sell gowns. (Side note: shouldn’t someone have told him (Tim perhaps?).) Merline and her Feminine Nouveau design, fell into the “high fashion” trap instead of thinking of the fast-fashion site’s client. And guess who really liked it? Zac, of course. Yuchin said it was not right for JustFab. Sorry Zac, but it’s still zero for you and two for the JustFab fashion editor.Finally, Laurie. Her look was supposed to be Modern Classic. That’s arguable. More importantly, she got bitten by the see through pasties bug. The top wasn’t JustFab material, but perhaps the pencil skirt was. Unfortunately, both were unfinished and too mature for the online retailer’s customer. Laurie was out. This was a roller coaster of a judging, all stemming from the rather confusing challenge. I hope the judges, producers and challenge creators, learn something for the future: keep it simple. Wouldn’t it have been nice if the designers were given a basic directive of “design an outfit for the JustFab customer,” accompanied by a field trip to the JustFab showroom for the designers AND judges to see the product and price point?! I think we would have had a much better fashion show and a less stressful judging. Done and done.
