If last week’s team challenge left a bad taste in your mouth, you’re not alone. We all need a fashion palate cleanser, and the Mary Kay challenge this week just might do the trick. The designers meet Tim and Mary Kay Global Makeup Artist Luis Casco in Long Island City, Queens, where they have a spectacular view of the New York City wrapped in a dreamy fog. Luis is low-key killing a Charlie Chaplin-esque look.
The Challenge: Inspired by New York and the Mary Kay Modern City Collection, the designers must put a modern spin on an iconic design. Honestly, this should be an easy one. Even more incentive to do well: the winner will receive immunity in the next challenge, the opportunity to appear with their design in an exclusive Mary Kay ad in Marie Claire, and last but not least, $5,000 in cold hard cash from the benevolent gods at Mary Kay.
The designers sketch by the water and then head to Mood for the first time this season. These poor souls have been deprived of time with the cutest puppy in fashion, Swatch! My heart goes out to them. They’re given $250 and 45 minutes to shop, which is generous by “Runway” standards.
In the workroom, Blake reveals that he has never learned to tell time. Candice says under her breath, “It’s not attractive to pretend to be dumb,” and I nod violently in agreement. At least this time he’s not offending an entire culture?
Meanwhile we cut to Gabrielle, who we’ve heard relatively little from until now. She explains that she’s super organized with her time and careful not to make the same mistakes twice. Then she spends I don’t know how long twiddling her thumbs and waiting for Tim to critique her look because she’s lost. I wonder if “waste any chance of being in the top” was on her schedule.
Amanda is also having trouble. She doesn’t like the fabric she chose, she’s not sure of her design, she overanalyzes what the judges have asked from her in the past, she gets hung up on having been in the bottom, and she criticizes previous looks from other designers. To say she lacks focus in this challenge might just be the understatement of the century. She then goes on to criticize Candice’s strong, confident, we-can-do-it attitude. (Keep in mind that this is the same Candice who Amanda often looks to for advice.)
Candice does seem to be on top of things. She loves her garment and tells Tim so, which is a breath of fresh air. Self-doubt can be such a buzzkill for artists (see: Gabrielle during this episode, or Amanda at literally any time).
Lindsey explains the story behind her garment to Tim as a “date with New York after having been away for three years.” The idea is romantic and sort of Woody Allen-esque. Edmond can’t decide between a jumpsuit and a statement jacket. Swapnil is doing a twist on the little black dress, but with all those ruffles it doesn’t feel so little. Amanda is doing an updated wrap dress. Kelly is giving a basic white t-shirt a “modern, industrial New York feel.” Jake is creating a basketball jersey dress. This inspires my favorite line of the episode/season so far, from Amanda: “Push yourself, friend!” Joseph is creating a peplum dress out of scuba material, presumably for the modern grandma. Blake can’t describe his look at all.
On the day of runway show, Gabrielle is a disaster. No one will help her thread the serger and she can’t finish her white dress, which was supposed to be the easy, effortless part of her outfit. Uh-oh.
The rest of the designers express a real concern that in terms of construction, Blake’s garment is lacking, but he’s running out of time. He makes some anxious dolphin noises but stays focused – that is, until he cuts his finger and bleeds on his dress. He may not have sweated or cried but he’s certainly bled for his look this week.
Runway:
Heidi is wearing some pretty significant black hoops. Is she drinking the Kelly Kool-Aid? And can I have some? She introduces the judges perched on their thrones: Zac in a rust-colored suit, Nina in some sort of tribal mosaic top and “Mad Men’s” Kiernan Shipka, all grown up. She’s not your mama’s Sally Draper anymore.
The Top:
Blake, the winner: A ’50s-inspired billowy blue look with a strappy racer back. He added a statement necklace to cover up his bloodstain and Luis from Mary Kay did a very cool bright blue cat-eye liner on the model. The judges praise the look’s innovation. A great perk of this look is that if someone pushes you out of a plane while wearing it, you’ve got a built-in parachute! Fashion saves.
Swapnil: A “Breakfast at Tiffany’s”-inspired black dress, it’s made up of tiers of black ruffles and is nearly backless. It’s dramatic and bold but also kind of sweet.
Candice: First let me say, oh my god! It’s a good “oh my god” though. She plays with the princess seam dress in faux leather, and it hugs the model’s silhouette beautifully. She adds a white blouse that ties in the front with black piping.
The Bottom:
Lindsey: A crop top and high-waisted maxi skirt made from a black-and-white floral fabric, plus a long, dark orange jacket. The judges don’t like the heaviness of the material used, or the proportions, or the styling. It really feels like something Lindsey might already have in her closet. It is well made but the judges are not feeling it.
Gabrielle: A white tank dress and black coat with oversized ruffled sleeves. She put a teeny tiny little piece of pink fabric on the sleeve of the dress to reference Mary Kay. The proportions are off and technically speaking, it’s a mess. The hem of the dress is torn to bits and Gabrielle claims that it’s because she’s dropped her scissors so many times they don’t cut anymore. She might as well have said her dog ate it.
Amanda: A play on the wrap dress made from a black-and-white print with one all-white sleeve. It kind of gives the effect that half of the dress is falling off and the model’s bra is exposed. Zac calls it “Miss Muppet Meh.” Amanda explains that she didn’t want to do something “crazy” because she didn’t want to be called out again, but this feels like a cop out. Push yourself, friend!
No one can overlook the problems in Gabrielle’s design or construction, so she is sent home. I was a little surprised at the decision because the judges seemed to like the coat when Kiernan tried it on over her adorable dragonfly dress. We really didn’t get to hear much from Gabrielle and we never found out who she is as a designer, which ultimately was her downfall.
