Season 4: Episode 7 “What a Girl Wants”
Here’s the deal, I missed the new episode last week because I had a fashion show meeting and I was expecting to catch a rerun, but no luck so far.
So… I thought I’d try something new this time. I grabbed the pictures from BPR and read just enough comments to know that Victorya won, Kevin is out and it was some sort of prom theme (obviously for clients since the models aren’t the usual selection). Other than that, I don’t know anything about the episode. I’m going to assume that the designers were asked to work with their clients to make the “perfect” prom dress?
Just keep all this in mind while reading… there’s a chance I missed some important twist to the challenge, but for now (I might have to update this after I see the episode) I’m basing my comments PURELY on the pictures.
Hopefully this works out. If not… oh well. ☺
*UPDATE:* So I finally caught a rerun tonight and actually got to watch the episode! Whoo Hoo! Anyways… I don’t think my opinion of the designs have changed much, but I’ve added some more thoughts all in italic.
Thanks to BPR for pulling the photos together!
Victorya (WINNER): Victorya’s dress isn’t awful, but I’m not exactly sure how it ended up in the top 3 AND won over Chris’s or Sweet P’s… The blue color looks nice on her model, but it doesn’t really say “prom” to me (same thing with the bubble skirt). I like the concept of the gem/stones at the top, but the neckline looks a bit uncomfortable and the triangle shape somehow makes the rest of the bodice look droopy. Obviously I can’t see her model’s body, but based on how thin her legs and arms are, I think the dress adds too much bulk to her frame.
Kevin (OUT): Okay… so please help me out here since I’m completely thrown off… how is Kevin out? On this dress? There are only 2 options I can think of:
A: I’m missing something important from the episode, like his model said; “I only want a strapless, floor length dress and I HATE red.”
OR (and probably the right answer)
B: The judges were full of B.S.
Sure, it’s definitely not one of my favorites and I could even see it in the bottom 3 (although I have 3 others that I would have put below it), but the worst? I’m totally not buying that. The color looks great on his model and for the most part the shape is flattering. The bust area looks like it needs a bit more support, but a halter shape is typically pretty good on a fully endowed girl and the banding gives her a teeny-tiny waist. I’m not a huge fan of the length, but I think the soft layers are more flattering on his model than Victorya’s bubble hem. For the most part, I’ve been okay with the judges’ decisions this season, but this seems to fall back into the Vincent vs. Alison “trash” episode decision… deciding to “auf” someone who has been consistently strong over someone who’s been consistently in the bottom. Boo to them. So I know there was all this issue with Kevin’s choice of hem finishing… but did it really look that bad? Even when they showed it close up, I don’t think it looked unfinished. There weren’t threads hanging and it looked evenly cut.
Chris: At first glance, Chris was my pick for the win this week and looking closer I’m going to stick with that. I love the pear green color and think it looks great on his model (not a color for every women, but a great choice here). I also really like the gathering on the bust and the drape in the front, both details are very flattering and having the drape would hide any tummy issues (although it doesn’t look like this girl has any!). Also, I know it’s “modern” to have a short prom dress (and you’d think that of all people, I would be for short dresses!), but I’m really not a fan of short dresses for prom/evening events. They can be done well, but I like that Chris & Sweet P chose to go with the longer hem. Chris wasn’t even in the top 3? Seriously? I liked his dress in the photo and loved it even more after seeing it move on the runway. The slit in the front was sexy without being too obvious and I liked the ring detail on the back. I’m really surprised he wasn’t in the top 3.
Jillian: Jillian’s dress has a few minor issues, but overall is very pretty and has a nice youthful “prom” feeling to it. The aqua colors are gorgeous and I like how she mixed different shades into the bodice. I also really like the shape/length of the hem and I bet it moves really nicely (great for dancing). The bodice looks like it has a few fit issues, but its really not that bad. I’m also not a fan of the tiny straps and would have liked to see something that felt more integrated into the style of the dress. I don’t usually get much into the “styling” the designers do, but Jillian did a great job this episode keeping it age appropriate and pretty. I think Jillian might be in my top 3 with Chris and Sweet P. I liked Jillian’s dress a lot more after seeing how it moved on the runway. I also didn’t catch all those great seam lines in the photo and think those really added an interesting element to the dress.
Kit: I’m really sorry, I like kit a lot, but this dress is not working for me. I’m not sure what is going on in the bodice, but the colors, shape and fit are all kind of weird. It also looks poorly constructed, which is too bad since Kit’s stuff usually seems well made and finished. The shape at the waist is giving her model wide hips and doesn’t flow very well (in comparison, Kevin’s dress has a similar shape from the waist, but is more flattering). The halter neckline and the length of the skirt work well, but bust is such a distraction that it takes away from the positive aspect. So I read a lot of the blogs and other peoples opinions AFTER I write these recaps, and I have to say I’m pretty surprised that so many people really liked Kit’s dress. I give her credit for working with her client who wanted something edgy, but I’m still can’t get behind the dress…
Ricky: Ricky has to be my “out” for this week. I keep hoping (and waiting) for something really exciting from Ricky, but at this point, I guess it’s not happening. Unless I’m missing something (maybe cool details in the back?), Ricky’s dress looks very basic and pretty boring. On the plus side, out of all the short dresses in this episode, I think Ricky’s length is the most flattering on his model… she has great legs and the length shows that off nicely. Ricky wasn’t in the bottom 2? I assumed he was in the bottom with Kevin. Technically the judges thought he did better than Christian, Rami and Kevin? I was really surprised.
Sweet P: To be honest, when I first looked at the pictures, I didn’t know who designed what and I don’t think I would have ever guessed that this was Sweet P’s dress! It’s gorgeous and very flattering on her model. The ivory color is great without looking too “wedding” (although it would be a pretty wedding dress) and the overall style looks “modern, not tacky” prom to me. Sweet P also did a great job using satin in a very flattering way, it shows of her girl’s shape, but isn’t clingy. I’m really excited that Sweet P. pulled out such a great look and she’s definitely in my top 2 this episode. I really liked the movement of Sweet P’s dress and totally disagree with Nina saying that it was “too mature.”
Christian: I have definitely grown to like Christian a lot more than I expected and I’ve been a big fan of his designs so far, but I can’t get behind this dress. I love brown (it’s one of my favorite colors), but for some reason it’s not working this time… it might be the black details or possibly that it’s too close to her skin color, I just don’t think it “pops” on his model. Also, the gathering on the bodice is not very flattering and makes his girl look lumpy. Overall, it doesn’t really feel like a “Christian” design… so far he’s been very tailored and structured. Aha! I thought it didn’t really look like Christian’s style! I do think he probably had the most difficult “client,” but I also have to agree with Nina that he shouldn’t have blamed his girl so much. He is really young, and while he’s SUPER talented, he probably doesn’t have a ton of work with clients yet, so he wasn’t sure how to steer her in the “right” direction.
Rami: I like Rami’s inventiveness (is that a word?) on his “prom” dress, but I’m not sure if it’s totally working. The bodice is fun how it twists and wraps around, but the gathering around the hip and where the line of the skirt hits might not be the most flattering. I would have loved to see Rami work the drape from the top and make it flow into a longer gown (although I guess that might have been too similar to his first dress). I’m also not too excited about the color. I think Chris’s green works a bit better and Rami’s green looks a bit drab. Hmm… I like the dress a lot more than it probably sounds… sometimes it’s easier to have criticism of things you like than the stuff you don’t. Weird right?
15 January, 04:38
15 January, 16:02