Brush off that pixie dust guys, dolls, and everyone in between! We’re not in Neverland anymore.
Laurie reflects on the last runway, her low point of the season so far, and vows to do better this time around. My eyes are still burning from last week. I’m weary of her lofty promises, but I’m willing to give her a second (or third) shot.
In the workroom, the designers seat themselves in chairs with desks attached – you know, the kind that trigger crippling flashbacks of composition notebooks, graphing calculators, prom queens, and crushes on any boy with facial hair and a little guy-liner that’ll bring anyone to their knees. Or is that just me?
Tim introduces us to casually chic JustFab Fashion Director Yuchin Mao, who explains that JustFab has expanded beyond accessories and into the apparel game. She and Tim walk us through how the challenge assignments will work using an old school blackboard.
The Challenge:
Create a high-fashion look that can be manufactured at an affordable price point, inspired by one of five JustFab style personas. The winning look will be reproduced and sold on JustFab.com. The winner of the last challenge, Candice, will assign one of five style personas to herself and her fellow contestants. She assigns the following:
Trendsetter: Candice and Kelly
Girl Next Door: Ashley
Bombshell: Swapnil and Edmond
Modern Classic: Laurie
Femme Nouveau: Merline
After the critiques, Tim adds that each designer must use the Brother garment printer to design and create a label on a t-shirt that they must wear on the runway.
Everyone is comfortable with his or her personas except Edmond, who would have preferred to work with the Trendsetter. Merline is excited for her Femme Nouveau look but almost immediately tries to redefine what it means. “Does romantic have to be soft? Could it be hard? Could it be hardcore? Could it be intense?” she says. Oof. No need to reinvent the wheel here, Merline!
With $100 burning holes in their pockets, the designers head to Mood hoping to find material that looks expensive but isn’t. Kelly grabs a fluffy blue fur that she says she’ll be making a vest from and oh, okay, it’s going to be one of those episodes. Buckle up, y’all.
Swapnil chooses to go in the Jessica Rabbit direction for his Bombshell look but doesn’t want to use an obvious color like red, so he chooses…leopard print. I’m feeling very Miranda Priestly in her “Florals for spring? Groundbreaking” mood right now.
In the critique Tim drops the following truths:
Merline’s look needs to be executed perfectly because of the white fabric she’s chosen. Swapnil has designed something everyone has already seen and he had better refocus. Laurie’s sheath dress is nothing new. Candice’s peplum is messy. The aspects of the print that Edmond likes are disappearing in his design. Kelly’s fabric looks like a “Muppet bathmat,” but Tim appreciates that she is keeping true to herself. Ashley’s gold motorcycle jacket is awesome but her dress textile looks like a hospital gown. Tragic!
During the fittings, Merline, Laurie, Swapnil and Edmond all realize that they have to remake major elements of their looks. Crunch time, kids.
Candice offers some of her material to Laurie so that Laurie can send her model down the runway with a top. I can’t tell if Candice is just that nice or if she thinks Laurie is not enough competition to worry about. Either way, Laurie throws something resembling a top together with black organza in 20 minutes. The only issue is that she hasn’t accounted for what sort of undergarment her model will need to wear on the runway.
On the day of the runway Swapnil makes a careless mistake and sews the wrong zipper into his dress. Has he completely lost focus? Now he is forced to sew his model into the dress.
Runway:
Heidi introduces Zac, a sparkly Nina, and guest judge Ciara. Yuchin Mao from JustFab returns, along with our friend and mentor, Tim. There is no top or bottom this week as none of the judges could agree on the looks.
Kelly: A two-piece jumpsuit made from a sort of color-splattered movie-theater-carpet-esque print material paired with leggings. Over top she’s added a blue faux fur vest. This is the look PeeWee’s female sidekick would have if the show was on today. Her brand name is Rack Addict, which is cute and fitting. Heidi loves the pun.
Loved it: Heidi, Ciara, Yuchin (though it’s too junior for JustFab shoppers)
Hated it: Nina, Zac
Candice: A nearly all black top with large layered striped black and white lapels and a three-tiered layered skirt. It’s a little busy but certainly something we’ve never seen before.
Loved it: Zac, Nina, Heidi
Hated it: Ciara, Yuchin (likes the skirt, hates the top)
Merline: While it could be executed better, this is my favorite. It’s an all-white dress with netted details at the sleeves, on the back, and on an asymmetrical hem. It may not be femme nouveau, but it’s not boring. Her brand name – Provoke Style – is very Merline.
Loved it: Zac, Ciara
Hated it: Heidi, Nina, Yuchin
Ashley: An adorable (and well-made) gold pleather motorcycle jacket, a crop top with a lovely teal back, and a circle skirt. I’m not convinced that Ashley was successful in losing the hospital gown vibe, but it’s definitely wearable and sellable. Ashley is chastised for not being more assertive and asking to remove the jacket to show the back of the garment, as she clearly spent time and effort on it.
Loved it: Heidi, Ciara
Hated it: Nina (though she admits the jacket is sellable), Yuchin
Edmond, the winner: A red fitted knee-length dress with a crisscrossed detailed neckline and back. She’s certainly a bombshell. There’s no reason why this shouldn’t sell.
Loved it: Heidi, Nina, Ciara, Yuchin
Hated it: Zac
Laurie: A fitted high-waisted blue pencil skirt and black organza backless top with a ruffle-y neckline. Her model’s chest is exposed and Laurie explains that she was under the impression that her model would wear a see-through strapless bra. The judges see through Laurie’s excuse.
Loved it: Ciara, Heidi (says the model looks polished apart from the lack of a bra), Yuchin (likes the concept)
Hated it: Nina, Zac
Swapnil: A floor-length fitted leopard print dress. It’s backless with a high cowl neck and a white balloon-y cover up made of organza. He added a piece of jewelry to the back of the dress that looks sort of like a bedazzled tail.
Loved it: Yuchin (although she admits the cover will not sell), Ciara, Heidi
Hated it: Nina, Zac
After a lot of arguing over whose look was worst, the judges reach the decision that Edmond deserves the win and Laurie, whose look was uninspired, is out.
