I thought Jillian’s dress was nice. The color looked good on the client, and I liked the way the black stripes gave a slimming illusion. However, the dress really wasn’t all that. It was just a nice dress. Given that she didn’t really follow the rules of the challenge, I wouldn’t have put her in the top three. I may have put her in the bottom.
I think Elisa’s jacket and dress would have worked if the dress had been longer (none of that layering over a slip type thing) and she hadn’t gone with those boots. Those small changes would have avoided the “chopped up” problem Michale Kors was getting verklempt over and would have made the outfit a bit more conventional. Even so, while I agree the outfit had problems, I don’t agree that it was too “out there” for the client. It was a bit of a stretch, sure, but I would love to try a whole new look and style after losing a ton of weight. When I was 20 lbs heavier, I dressed a lot more conservatively. Losing weight gave me courage to try looks I never dreamed of when I was heavier–and this woman lost a lot more than 20 lbs.
No idea what Stephen could have done with the wedding dress, but almost anything would have been better. If he was going to use the dress only for collar and cuff fabric, he should have made the dress itself have some style and gone with a different color.
Chris (I love Chris really blew this one. Lucky for him, Stephen’s was beyond fug. But Chris had a big miss here.
Christian’s was well made and kind of intriguing, but I picked Rami for the win. What do I know? Rami wasn’t even in the top three.
[QUOTE=StGermain]
I think Steven got a raw deal. I know it was luck of the draw, but what exactly could he have done with yards of beaded poly satin? Especially as day wear? I could see maybe dying it (can they dye?) and remaking some sort of party dress, but for everyday clothes, I can’t imagine what could’ve been done. I think that the models should’ve been told to bring their favorite everyday outfit. Although his dress was seriously fugly, and he didn’t use the wedding dress as inspiration or fabric.
StG
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Cut the skirt off and tighten it up a bit with a slit in the back. Use the lightest shade of the model’s favorite color for the top. Use the parts of the dress with the bangles and burbles for the collar and sleeve cuffs. Wouldn’t have won but wouldn’t have lost.
I agree that Steven got screwed in that the models should have brought their favorite everyday clothes with them - but when you get the judges raving about a dress that used mere square inches of the original material and who by all rights should have been eliminated because she didn’t really do the challenge, then someone is going to be screwed.
[QUOTE=Viridiana]
At first I was going to throw up my hands at the prospect of another janky challenge - the constant alternating unorthodox models/guest judges with too much power/group challenges were really getting on my nerves. But I suppose restyling real women who’ve lost weight and need a confidence boost is somewhat noble.
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I love the unorthadox models. Not that it should should focus solely on that, but I think that the Tiki Barber episode really brought out some of the designers’ major flaws. Yes I know that designing for men is different than for women, but some of the outfits bordered on complete incompetence from a technical standpoint.
Two groups of models I’d like to see to challenge the designers is Plus-size models and children, like desgning for some pre-teen girls for a fancy Chrismas party based on what their mom will wear (i.e. not to similar and not too different and definately age appropriate).
I definitely think that Steven’s dress looked like something a 6th grader would make for a Thanksgiving play. Terrible. I haven’t liked a single thing he’s made, so I was glad to see him go.
[QUOTE=gwendee]
I think the only one I haven’t mentioned is Ricky…It looked like an outfit you could buy in a mall…not too inspired, but at least it looked better constructed than preivous showings from him. I won’t miss his designs (or his steamer trunk full of caps)when he’s gone, though.
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I’m sure I’m biased because I really like Ricky, but I thought that was the point of the challenge, to find something the “average” woman would wear. To me, that would be something commercial in a mall.
[QUOTE=Mama Tiger]
Yes, Ricky cries a lot, but it’s gotten to the point where it’s just funny. And wow, could he work those strappy sandals!
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I was thinking the same thing. Damn, he is working the heels better than most women I’ve seen.
I thought Jillian’s dress was pretty bad, and she should have been taken to task for pretty much ignoring their direction. The piping seemed like a cheat to me, the dress was so poorly fitted. The bad fit took away from any detailing or good lines. It also seemed too young for her which made her look like a grandma pretending to be Marilyn Monroe ready to walk over the sidewalk grate.