Katherine Gerdes

Episode 1: Wall-to-Wall Challenge

19 July, 09:23 - thus far 10 insightful comments have been made

Okay, I was thinking I’d write a recap of each episode, but my guess is that you’ve all seen the show, and there are a million and one recaps right here and they are WAY more funny than mine would be. What I would like to write each week is my thoughts on the challenge, designers and the designs! Yeah, sounds exciting!

First off, the challenge dun dun dun (evil music playing): We got 15 minutes to tear anything and everything out of our apartments to create a garment. I’m going to be honest and say that I had NO idea what I was going to create when I was stuffing things in my laundry bag. At that point it was like what Stacy said in the show, you’re grabbing things you think you’d like to use, but you’re also grabbing anything you see just so other designers can’t have it!

I was hoping that they would have an “innovative” challenge this season, those are the ones that really stretch your creative thinking. Any designer can take a piece of fabric to make a dress (cough*Keith*cough), but it takes creativity and skill to take something like a rubber mat (Kayne) or coffee filters (Michael) and make a dress that looks wearable and fashionable!

Well, on to the good stuff… I did really think that either Michael or Kayne should have won that challenge. To be honest I was shitting bricks (mind my French) when I was called out into the same group as the two of them! I thought for sure that was the winning/losing group and I was terrified when I was called out. Guess I was wrong!

Alison: I thought Allison’s dress was much cuter than what appeared on TV (is the case for a lot of designs!). Sadly the gathering on the side was giving the model a bit of tummy, but I liked it overall and thought she showed her style well.

Angela: Angela’s outfit was very funky and very Angela (you could tell that right away!). I think people have been distracted by the flowers, but if you took them away, there was a cool funky top and very wearable leather skirt!

Bonnie: I felt so bad for Bonnie! She got a very pretty model, but unfortunately let’s just say that the model’s “girls” were way bigger than Bonnie expected and not very even… I thought her Asian/kimono dress was very intricate and layered and fit the dress form pretty well!

Bradley: I actually liked Bradley’s cape a lot. It was very artsy, but I thought it was pretty innovative (thought that was the point of the challenge!)…He tore up his bed and used that to make a fabulous cape! I think he should get more credit than he did.

Jeffrey: Hmm…I wasn’t a big fan of Jeffrey’s outfit to begin with and now that I’m watching what he says on the show I’m even less of a fan! I like the whole “deconstructed” thing sometimes, but it still has to look good and I don’t think his fit that description! Like the judges said, it was just too much!

Katherine: I thought Katherine’s was perfect! (Just kidding!) The first thing I thought about making was the coat. I really wanted to make a “fashion” version of a down filled puffer snowboarding jacket to give a sense of my style. I knew that the coat was the main focus of the garment and wanted to do something simple and colorful underneath.

Kayne: I LOVED Kayne’s dress! I thought that he was one of the most innovative designers of the bunch. He was the only one to tackle the rubber floor mats, something that was left in my apartment because none of us thought you could use them!

Keith (WINNER): I liked the dress (yes, I did), but it was not innovative! And for him to say that his use of buttons from the comforter cover was innovative doesn’t pass for me…they’re BUTTONS! I don’t think his was the worst design, but it shouldn’t have even been in the top 3.

Laura: I’m confused about Laura’s coat…I honestly think it looked like something you can buy any winter at JC Penny’s or even Target (not to put down Target!). That coat was not really that innovative and I thought the stuff on the bottom was tacky. I do understand that it was her style, but I’m confused as to why everyone loved it so much! Guess it’s just not my taste…

Malan: Malan’s design turned out pretty well. I think it wasn’t as cute and “young” looking like other designs, but it definitely had that “art curator” look that he seemed to be going after and didn’t look like crap from an apartment!

Michael: Michael’s coffee filter dress was another one I thought should have won, or at least been in the top 3! I think he used some of the most innovative materials to create something that was cute and wearable! I think it’s silly that people are saying he copied Chloe’s dress from season 2… haven’t you ever seen a flapper dress before?

Robert: I thought Robert’s dress was cute…maybe a little Barbie-esqe, but that’s kind of his style right? His use of the trim to make the straps and be the jewelry was pretty inventive and took what could be a boring dress to something that dazzled (literally!).

Stacey (OUT): I was sad to see Stacey go, she seemed very sweet, but I didn’t like her dress very much. I wasn’t sure if she’d be out, but there were definitely problems with the fit. I actually didn’t have a problem with the panties underneath! They weren’t blaringly obvious and I actually thought it helped take a dress that could have been “matronly” and made it a little naughty…oh well…

Uli: I thought Uli’s dress could have been another contender for the top 3. It had a great Miami; summer dress feel, which is what Uli, seems to be all about. It was well constructed and had some innovative materials in it (I think the yellow trim was a terry cloth towel).

Vincent: I have to say that Vincent’s hat was not the problem for me! Before he put the metal chain on it, I think it could have been pulled off as a pillbox hat. I did not like the pockets on the dress! The actual shape of the dress was kind of cute. It had a nice tuck in the center front that gave it a good shape, but the crap on the pockets was pretty bad! I think Vincent is lucky to still be in (which is good, because I actually like Vincent a lot!).