Katherine Gerdes

Episode 3: Designer’s Best Friend

27 July, 23:30 - thus far 21 insightful comments have been made

Just a warning…I’m sorry that this is so short. I’m a bit burnt-out on talking about this episode (as you can imagine) and I’m having a hard time writing this recap for some reason. I’m going to a cabin for the weekend and wanted to get something up before I left…I might come back and add some more thoughts when my head isn’t mush…until then, you can read my goodbye interview on blogging project runway. There’s a lot more info there!

Alison: Alison’s “Japanese – Space” outfit was awesome! It had some fit problems, but I think that was more due to her model then her construction (which was fantastic). Alison obviously has a unique and wonderful point of view.

Angela: Angela had a vision and she went for it. I don’t get the story with the outfit at all though. It’s definitely not my style, but she came into this with a “crafty” feel to her clothes and that’s why they picked her. It wouldn’t be interesting if everyone had the same style. With that said, and I don’t want to be mean, but between Angela and myself, I don’t think I should have gone home.

Bonnie: Bonnie’s outfit was okay, but I think it was a bit heavy or maybe too much. I got the look she was going for and appreciate it because she has a different style than anyone else and I like that.

Bradley: I don’t know how Bradley pulled this one off and I’m not sure what Nina was looking at because I didn’t get it! I was honestly worried that he’d be going home and I was SO wrong! It wasn’t constructed well, I didn’t like the colors or the shape…don’t get it at all.

Jeffrey: I thought Jeffrey’s dress was really cool. I loved the proportion, shape and the colors! I was very impressed with this dress.

Katy episode 3 design

Katherine (OUT): Okay, like I said, my head is mush and I’m burnt out on this so here is a excerpt from my blogging project runway interview that gives all my insight and thoughts on my outfit…oh yeah, my other thought: DAMN! I WAS NOT READY TO GO HOME! Sorry, I’ll control myself. Here you go:

Q: The key for you seemed to be not having the matching hoodie for the model. You told Tim you would do it. Was it simply a matter of not having enough time?

A: I know you’re supposed to listen to Tim! I took his opinion and criticism much more to heart than any of the judges, but sometimes you’ve got to do what feels right as a designer. When Tim and I were talking, his main concern during the day was that the dress looked to “evening” because I hadn’t hemmed it and left it extra long. The hoodie conversation came around more because of that, rather than how simple it was. He wasn’t super excited about it, but he seemed to like the dress, he was just concerned that it wouldn’t be “sporty” enough. That’s why I offered up the suggestion of making a hoodie. I actually made a hoodie and just had a few trims left to finish when I tried it on with the dress the next morning. It just didn’t make sense to me… if it had been my intention from the beginning, the judges would question why I covered up all the details on the dress. I was happier without the hoodie and was concerned that if I showed it, they would say it looked like an afterthought. Yes, hindsight is 20-20 and I could have been more ambitious for this challenge from the beginning, but with what I designed, I wouldn’t have been happy with the hoodie and I stand by my decision to not send it down the runway.

Q: Bradley barely finished, Angela’s design was way out there and Keith didn’t do anything for his dog. Did you agree with the judge’s decision?

A: Of coarse not! I didn’t want to go home! Without sounding bitter or mad, because I had a fantastic time on the show and loved being a part of it, I didn’t agree with the judges at all. I don’t think mine was a contender for the win, but I firmly believe that my dress was not the worst designed up there. Angela’s outfit got much harsher feedback then mine did, Keith didn’t even follow/finish the challenge and I just didn’t get what the judges were seeing in Bradley’s (although I’m glad he didn’t go home, what a crappy birthday that would be!). I also was pretty surprised that they called me out for being to simple, but they didn’t mention Vincent’s dress. It was about as simple as a black dress can be with leggings underneath. I also have to defend myself with what Heidi said at the end. If their opinion was that it was simple and lacked inspiration, then fine, that’s their opinion, but I do not agree with the comment that it was poorly constructed! Like I said on the runway, between the straight stitch machine and the serger that we had, the serger was the only good way for me to hem the stretch fabric. I did a bunch of tests with different hems and stitches and that was the cleanest. The hem was cut at different lengths to show the layers and was pretty even. I’m not sure if it was the angle or how it had fallen after Amanda walked that made it look uneven, but I was pretty upset when they said it was poorly constructed because that is something I pride myself on when making clothes!

Kayne: Kayne’s outfit was fantastically “Miami” and he did a great job! Again, it’s not my style, but he put his mind to it and made it perfectly and it needed no explanation.

Keith: I just don’t get it. I wasn’t a big fan of his dress, but why do the judges keep letting him get away with breaking the challenge “rules.” I think a lot of the designers would have preferred to not make a doggie outfit, but that’s the challenge! How does he keep getting away with this?

Laura: I understand Laura’s style, but I’m I the only one who noticed the similarity between her first coat with fur collar and cuffs and this coat with cur collar and cuffs? It was well constructed, but I didn’t think it was too original.

Michael: I loved Michael’s crisscross dress and thought it was severely under looked at for it to not be in the top 3! That open section in the front was very sexy without being too revealing and as always his construction was great!

Robert: Robert’s gets an “ehh” in my book. It was well made and fits his style, but I didn’t care for it much and don’t really remember much about it.

Uli (WINNER): Uli’s wasn’t my pick for the winner, but it was really pretty and I’m glad she won. She has this amazing sense of how to put patterns together that no one else would think of and somehow it doesn’t look crazy when she does it!

Vincent: I like Vincent, I honestly do, but I don’t understand how the judges didn’t call him out on this one. How could they think mine was simple and not feel that way about Vincent’s? It was just a basic black dress with leggings…Oh well.

Comments

Join the discussion.

i’m bummed you were auffed. :( we were rooting for you! have a great weekend at the cabin and relax!

#1 cori wilbur
28 July, 00:30

I was very sad to see you go. I didn’t expect it. Once again, the judges made a mistake. Frankly, I don’t understand their decisions this season. How bizarre!

I burst out laughing when I saw Angela’s outfit. That EXACT SAME bubble skirt she’s been wearing all this time! I can’t believe she escaped…yet again. Clown clothes, indeed!

Keith flagrantly broke the rules. He refused to design the doggie outfit, and he got away with it. It’s baffling. And he had the nerve to lie about making three outfits. I love Ivanka Trump for demanding to see the tapes. It looked like he tried to lie about the collar too. He’s so dishonest, and quite ethically-challenged. I also think his dress resembled his cotton sheet dress from the first task.

I was SHOCKED when the judges singled out Bradley’s outfit for praise and accolades. His garment was ugly, unfinished and extremely unflattering. It was also a copy of Daniel V’s tulip dress. I lost all respect for Nina Garcia when she declared that Bradley’s hideous monstrosity was fit for ELLE. Obviously, the standards at ELLE have dropped. I will never buy that magazine again.

Michael’s design was my favorite, and I agree that it was severely underlooked.

I’m so sorry you were auf’ed while OBVIOUS choices like Angela, Keith, Vincent and, yes, Bradley too, were given yet another chance!

I was so angry last week when they booted Malan, but kept that horrible Angela. And this week, I’m baffled and shocked AGAIN!

What is wrong with these judges.

You are a very talented and wonderful designer. I’m looking forward to seeing both you and Malan on the reunion show!

#2 Nick S
28 July, 01:41

I don’t agree with the judges’ auf AT ALL and I’m sorry we won’t see more of you and your work on the show.

All the best of everything to you, Katherine. You’ve got the personal vision, talent and stamina for a successful fashion career. Carry on!

#3 desertwind
28 July, 01:41

Katy you were prey to them. You are too nice and too honest and were sacrificed as a result. Keith, Santino, Zulema, Vincent etc. have fought and lied to the judges and moved on, it’s something they respond to.

I agree completely with your analysis. And Bonnie, I hope her model has been able to get out from under that pile of clothes. I have no idea what she was thinking. Vincent “Teflon” Libretti somehow escaped again.

#4 John Doe
28 July, 02:17

just remember that it’s a tv show and ultimately they are looking for the most drama and not necessarily the best clothing. i really like your designs and if i were going to buy some clothes for me to wear, it would be from your collections.

#5 HJ
28 July, 09:32

I loved your choice of color, and honestly- know that I know your dress was made of knit, I wish it had been mentioned since it seems like even with the experience of the designers on all the seasons of Runway, a lot of designers are afraid of knit materials, because patterns on the show are always draped, and draping with muslin/constructing with knit is always a challenge. Your use of challenging, wearable materials should have been made more of. I’m so glad you’re not disappearing.

#6 lap
28 July, 09:40

You being auf’d was pretty ridiculous, and I feel like the early eliminations are not really fair—producers probably influence these a LOT, and eliminations based only on design come later in the season.

I’ve really hated seeing both you and Malan eliminated in favor of Angela, of all people. ugh

In summation, you would still be on the show if you acted like a crazy bitch. I hope you’ve learned your lesson. Don’t make that mistake again!

#7 Isabel
28 July, 09:45

Katherine, I liked your dress. What did Vera Wang say? I mean, hello, simple and clean design! That’s what you did! I liked your dress a lot. I really did.

BTW, you should definitely show your designs and have a website for them. They’re cool!!

#8 Ruth L.
28 July, 10:43

While I don’t agree with all of your opinions on the various outfits, I do agree that you should not have been in the bottom three. It simply doesn’t make sense.

#9 Bruce
28 July, 12:08

quoting Nick S.

I lost all respect for Nina Garcia when she declared that Bradley’s hideous monstrosity was fit for ELLE

I’d love to know what drugs that woman was smoking to make a statement like this. Because they’re obviously ones that should be illegal!

That hideous orange nylon bag and granny skirt shouldn’t make the pages of ‘Swill’, let alone ‘ELLE’. If I were that model, I’d have refused to be seen in that thing. My hat’s off to the brave one who did.

#10 ingrid
28 July, 12:17

I wasn’t ready to see you go! I can’t wait to see more of your stuff.

Also, thanks for the awesome how to on illustrating!

#11 cecily
28 July, 13:09

Hey Katherine,
It’s Tallulah’s ‘mom’, Vanessa. I was so sorry to see you go! I agree with those who have said that it wasn’t your design that got you “aufed”, it was your lack of insanity. If you had been a screaming bitch, or a drooling whackjob, you’d be there still.
But Tallulah had a great time with you. I felt safe putting her in your hands and her outfit was adorable. If you ever design a line of dog clothes, we’ll buy them.
I was hoping someone would call Michael to task. His dog outfit had a half dozen straight pins in it, jabbing at the dog. The owner was horrified and did complain to somebody, but nothing happened.
Harumph.
And hey, if you have any photos of Tallulah, I’d love to see ‘em.

#12 Vanessa Brown
28 July, 14:34

I had a dream that you got to come back for some reason.

I woke up and thought to myself, what the heck am I dreaming about Project Runway for? Have fun at the cabin!

#13 Adam
29 July, 05:09

Hi Katherine!
How in the world you had to go and Angela got to stay is beyond me. How in the world you had to go and Bradley got to stay is beyond me. I don’t get it. (Maybe I do: Nina Garcia has lost her mind.) The top (bodice?) of your dress was a work of art. I don’t think it was simplistic at all. I think your instinct that a hoodie would have been wrong was right on. (Sorry, Tim!) And I thought Tallulah’s hoodie was darling on her. It worked well with her fabulous hair. Along with Tallulah’s mom, I’d buy doggie clothes for my bulldog from you if you design a doggie line!

I’ve got migraines other seasons from some of the decisions; I guess this is just another one. Where’s the Advil?? Anyway, I’ll miss you on the show!

#14 Mary
29 July, 11:30

Oh Katherine!

We were screaming such profanities at the judges. Malan’s auf’d broke our hearts, but yours broke our faith in the judges.

Hello basket hat with CHAINS? Slut skirt for French day-campers? Caramel poof frock? Talk about ‘Nightmare of my life.’

I loved your work at Voltage. I can’t wait to see you on the MPLS runway again.

-Jaime

#15 Greengirl
29 July, 17:06

Hi Katy, I like your dress (and would wear it) and was very disappointed to see you go. I hope to own a piece of one of your future collections! I love your creativity when it comes to comfort and style combined. Best wishes (and hang in there with the media frenzy)!—Kathryn

#16 Kathryn
30 July, 09:16

We were screaming such profanities at the judges. Malan’s auf’d broke our hearts, but yours broke our faith in the judges. – Jaime

I very much agree. I’ve never really seen Project Runway before this season, so I can’t put the eliminations in the context of designers from seasons past as some here can do, but I can say that I have been consistently stumped by just how the judges can come to these weird decisions.

The one I came closest to actually understanding was the aufing of Stacey, but I still believe that cut belonged to Vincent and his stupid basket.

Malan’s auf was heartbreaking. Angela should have gone there. For too many reasons to name besides just not getting along with Vincent. I mean, I’m not sure I could get along with Vincent, but I damn well would have had a design of my own to pitch. I don’t see where she gets off saying she didn’t ‘feel inspired’ by Vincent’s design. Obviously, she wasn’t inspired enough to come up with her own, either.

After that episode, though, I was really hoping to see what you would do on your own, because you were also in the ‘well, it’s not really my vision’ position, which, by the way, I think you handled very admirably. I think you did a fabulous job on this challenge and I *LOVED* your dress and that adorable hoodie for Tallulah. I was on the phone with my friend gushing about how much I loved it. I think there were plenty of other good candidates for elimination, your combo was far too pretty to go.

I very much like Bradley, but that outfit was HIDEOUS. His dog did look cute, though. Keith made a beautiful dress but that dog was naked! :( Having seen Tallulah’s owner post such incredible praise, I’m sort of wondering what Morgan’s owner thought of Keith not designing for her dog.

And then, there’s Angela and Vincent again. Angela’s dress was insanely inappropriate for her story, which didn’t make much sense anyway. Neither does the copy writing for most of her website, incidentally. And I mean, did she not make the EXACT same type of skirt she’s worn on like, every episode? She stood on the runway in a skirt matching that of her model and remained in. And Vincent… well, his dog was actually pretty cute, but his model was in just a black shift and leggings as far as I could tell. And story? What story?

So… yeah, excellent candidates for auf-ism. You really should not have gone. And um… I should probably shut up now, because I can no longer see this box and my preview bubble at the same time anymore. I seem to have inadvertently written a bit of an essay here.

In the interest of not being any more long-winded, I’ll sum up the rest of my thoughts with the following sentence: I love Ivanka, agree with you completely about Michael, think you are great, wish you the best, and I’m really looking forward to seeing what you do for the rest of the challenges…umm…. kthxbye. buggers off

#17 Andiyana
30 July, 14:25

Angela could have stole clothes off a prostitute, and had her model walk down the runway with more class. I understand great construction in garments, but a fabulously constructed sack is a sack nontheless.

Everyone could tell Bradley was shocked to hear his outfit praised. I felt bad for the guy, and didn’t want him to lose, but there’s no way his outfit deserved to be in the top 3. And I couldn’t help but notice his background architect story was strikingly similar to that of someone else on Project Runway.

How did Keith make it to the next round? I was shocked that he didn’t make an outfit for his dog and was able to move to the next show. Clearly there was something amiss with the judges on this episode.

You deserved better.

#18 Sabrina
31 July, 06:18

There has to be some explanation for this all. How could nearly every poll have Angela’s dress at the bottom choice, but the judges not see it themselves? Perhaps clothes just look different up on the runway and under the lights? I don’t know. I just can’t see how such an adorable green dress lost over Angela’s Jubilee Jumbles mess. I also just don’t see what the judges saw in Bradley’s dress either. Maybe it’s just some runway phenomenon. Runway blindness, which causes you to not like good fashion, and to think that crappy fashion isn’t all that bad?

#19 krmatte
2 August, 10:06

We actually BOOed out loud when you were asked to go. The judges erred badly by not saving our nation by asking Angela and her hellacious pimple accessories to go. Ug. We love Katy at our house!

#20 Deborah
2 August, 21:03

Ugh! The Judges were obviously sellouts here. I agree that Bradley is entertaining to watch and an overall nice and funny guy, but all of his designs have been unimpressive. Great, it was his birthday, but the only reason you should have immunity is because of winning a prior challenge, not because the Judges feel bad about it being your birthday. He really should have gone. Angela.. well obviously her’s was trash, I’m not sure if the Judges are allowed to take previous weeks into consideration, but seriously, she’s just crappy. I can’t believe she won immunity tonight and wont be kicked off next week either. Gr.

After seeing the preview all week for tonights show, I was hoping the kick-auf would have something to do with last weeks challenge and you’d be allowed back on to replace the rule-breaker. I seriously thought that would be the case until about 5 minutes into the actual episode. I don’t even LIKE TV but all week I was anticipating your return. The Judges were sellouts. Someone was dead on by saying the early judging is heavily influenced, if not finalized by the Producers.

I’ve had a consistant artistic interest throughout my life, and have utilized this interest in every element of my life. I’ve never taken any thoughts about fashion design seriously but I feel incredibly inspired after looking around your website, and plan to shop around the idea and strongly look into it as a possible career choice. After seeing your hooded jacket in the first episode you became one of my favorite designers on the show, allong with Allison and Jeff. Anyway, not to dwell too much on the show. Thank you for the inspiration. I hope to see more from you in the future.

#21 Drew
2 August, 21:47

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Episode 3: Designer’s Best Friend

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