Season 4: Episode 11 “The Art of Fashion”
What a drastic switch from the last episode. Loved that they finally took the designers to the MET! What a fantastic place for inspiration! I love the challenges that give the designers a choice in their inspiration rather than forcing a product placement. I also really liked that you could get a sense of each designers’ personality in the actual artwork that they picked.
Sadly, for the last and final time this season, thanks to BPR for the photos (I hate the end of PR!)
Chris: I’m not exactly sure if I like Chris’s dress or not… I liked his concept and where he was going with it, but I can’t get past the “it’s too similar to the couture challenge dress” issue. I know that they aren’t the same, but in PR world, you run into the fact that your design is going to be compared to any vaguely similar previous design. I remember when Mycheal’s coffee filter dress was compared to Chloe’s ice skating dress (which I thought should have won!). Although the 2 were similar in shape, they were both very unique and stood on their own. I think the comparison is even stronger with Chris’s dress because he designed the couture dress and it was only a few episodes ago. Anyways… like I said earlier, I can’t decide if I like the dress because each detail I like always has a “but” after it: I like the colors, but I think the gray looks a bit like a trash bag bunched up. I like the weight of the fabric, but think it looks wrinkled. I like the pleating/wrapping at the waist, but think it looks a bit like he threw some fabric on the form and tied a bow. See my dilemma? Anyways, I wouldn’t have picked Chris over Rami, but I’m glad they tied and both ended up getting to show at Bryant Park (winning would be nice, but showing is a GREAT prize!).
Christian (WINNER): Okay, another dilemma that I’ve had all season is that the judges pick on Rami for draping, but don’t pick on Christian for making puffy sleeved jackets and tight pants. I’m not saying his designs are bad in anyway, but I don’t get how they pick on one and not the other? I thought this outfit was dramatic and interesting, but it was definitely too costume-y for me to pick for the win. I liked the cape and the shape of the pants (although probably not too flattering for most of us out there), but I thought there were too many layers on the top and overall it was a bit too puffy for my taste. I give him credit though for always producing really well made, expensive looking garments in such a short time! He also has one of the most defined styles out of all PR designers and it’s definitely working well for him.
Jillian: I LOVED Jillian’s outfit and it was definitely my pick for the win this week. She is so talented with jackets and tailoring. I thought the whole outfit worked well with her inspiration, but didn’t go too literal. The gold piping was a great graphic element to the black jacket and really highlights the details and shaping (which you can’t really see in such a dark garment). I also like the flirty gold dress underneath and thought it added a nice girly touch to the very structured jacket. I can’t think of anything bad to say about this outfit other than I hate those shoes and am really tired of seeing them this season!
Rami: I know Rami has been criticized for his draping a lot this season, but I really liked this dress and personally would have picked Rami over Chris to stay in. I thought the draping was very well controlled and not overly done or too heavy. I don’t normally like purple too much, but I thought the color worked great with his models skin tone and red hair. I also liked that he was able to keep the dress fairly simple looking, but still interesting enough to keep it unique and new. I thought the open back was a surprising touch and made the dress feel younger. Part of me really wanted him to go a bit overboard and do a great red carpet draped gown, but I thought this was a good interpretation into something that would be really wearable.
Sweet P (OUT): As much as I like Sweet P, unfortunately I can’t disagree with the decision to “auf’ her this episode. Looking at all the designs lined up, hers is the only design that doesn’t look well finished and definitely stands out as the bottom runner. With that said (and I hope that wasn’t too harsh), I really liked that she used bright colors (something needed this season!) and thought the color blocking was interesting, but I wish it had turned out a little more refined looking. I also liked that she incorporated a print into the design and thought it worked well and didn’t take her inspiration of the peacock too literally (unlike the feathers on her head which really bug me!).
