Katherine Gerdes

Episode 8: High Flying Fashion

2 September, 13:05 - thus far 15 insightful comments have been made

A “makeover” challenge! I’ve been waiting for one of these. I love to see how the designers would dress themselves or each other (season 2!). I don’t know about other designers, but for me, I have the hardest time dressing myself compared to dressing other people! I’ve been wanting to make something for me to wear to the final runway show, so I’ve decided that this week of my “AUF’d Runway” I’ll make my “jet-setting” outfit the one that I’ll wear to at OFW! Well… unless it totally sucks…

I do have to say that I loved the concept of making them travel to test the outfits, but I think it was pretty crappy to fly them out there, only to send someone home the very next day! I know it makes for some dramatic TV, but that sucks. Oh well. I’m also sad that I didn’t stick around long enough to make it out to Paris, but I think it would have been worse to be the very last one out (Robert) right before they left!

Angela (OUT): I’m sad to say it, but I think Angela was the right “out” this week (Sorry Angela!). I think ultimately it came down to the poor fabrication choice. Had the shorts been made out of a sturdier fabric (twill, denim, etc) I don’t think they would have been much of a problem. They did have lots of “fluerchons” on them, but that’s Angela’s style and the shorts looked well constructed… wrinkled, but well constructed. I think the other problem for Angela might have been the styling of her whole outfit (that’s usually my downfall too…I’m no good with styling!). She didn’t appear too comfortable in those heels, so maybe some cute flats or trainers would have worked better and made the whole outfit a bit more casual. I think there was a bit of confusion in the outfit on whether or not it was casual or dressy. The fabrication of the top and heels made it look dressier, but the shorts and bag were casual. I’m sad to see Angela go, but I’m happy for her because she really stepped it up with the Macy’s win and doing so well in the Icon challenge.

Jeffery (WNNER): Okay, I’ll try to not let this taint my opinion on Jeffery’s design, but I have to get it out of the way first… I’m SO tired of Jeffery’s attitude on the show! Whether or not you thought Angela’s mom was annoying, he needs to get over it and stop talking about it. I felt so bad for Angela having to be there and listen to him talk about the last challenge… and who wouldn’t take that personally if he were talking that way about their mom? Ugh. He reminds me of the kids in High School who were mean to everyone, but in reality they were insecure and really wanted everyone to like them. Anyways, that said, I thought he did a pretty good job on his outfit. I don’t think he should have won (that seat is reserved for Mr. Knight), but I understood his point of view and it looked well made. Personally I don’t think pants that tight would be comfortable on a plane for x-amount of hours, but he seemed to like them. My one complaint would be the crap on the crotch area. Every time I see the photo or the runway, that’s the first place my eye goes and it’s really the last place I want to be looking (although I bet that is exactly what he was going for).

Kayne: Maybe I’m crazy, or maybe I just like Kayne too much, but his outfit didn’t really bother me. Yes it was a little Elvis-y (but when did Elvis become a bad thing?) and yes it was a little costume-y, but so is Kayne (and I don’t mean that badly)! I’m not sure if they made it on the show, but I remember a pair of jeans he had one night that were literally covered in rhinestones! That’s not something your average American would wear, but it’s totally Kayne and they worked on him. I’m telling you this to explain why I thought his crazy “Versace” print shirt worked. It’s over-the-top, costume-y, flamboyant… it’s KAYNE. Did you see the belt buckle? That’s what I’m talking about! I thought the outfit looked nicely made and fit him pretty well. To be honest it ended up not being as crazy as I had expected it to be when I first saw him picking out the fabric. I also thought his story about his outfit worked and was completely him.

Laura: Thank you. Thank you. Thank you Laura! You stepped out of your design “comfort zone” and tried something new… and looked what happened! Your dress was beautiful, elegant and interesting. Thanks again! Okay…seriously now though… I was really happy that Laura tried something new and even as she said, tried not to be boring. While I question traveling SO dressed up (although I guess I can see Laura traveling in 4” heels!), I thought her dress traveled well (no wrinkles) and I can picture the design looking great on all different body types. The wrapping around the middle was constructed (perfectly, no surprises there) in a unique and interesting way, and it looked good knotted in both the back and front. I think that wrapping would also be very flattering on most women. My only complaint would be the color of the dress. I know that it works into Laura’s neutral color palette, but I don’t think it was the most flattering on her skin tone. That said, I’m happy she didn’t make it in black or white and I can’t picture what color I would have put her in… so it’s really a small complaint.

Michael: I thought Michael had the win again in this episode. I was a little nervous about his outfit during the episode because they didn’t show much other than Tim being concerned with it. That scared me a bit, but as soon as Michael strutted his stuff down the runway I knew he was not only safe, but might even win it! The use of seersucker fabric for the cargo pants was genius and you’ll probably see that in stores sometime in the near future! It was (as Michael said) a perfect combination of classic Americana and urban street wear. As always, his construction and fit looked beautiful and his styling was spot on with the little hits of bling. I also thought Michael should have won this episode because his outfit not only looked great after traveling, but it also managed to look both comfortable (something I know I want/need when traveling) and it looked like he could go to a party or event when he got to his destination.

Uli: I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I never ceased to be amazed with how well Uli is able to pair crazy, wild prints together! I’ve also said it before, but I feel like we’ve been seeing the same dress a lot. I thought the judges were a little harsh on Uli this week, but I’m sad to say I do agree with them for the most part. I think the dress was very pretty, but it was a little over the top for traveling in. I can’t really imagine lugging bags through the airport in that, but then again, if you’re a jet setter, you probably aren’t carrying bags? I also agree with M. Kors that I would like to see what else Uli can do. I know she can create amazing party dresses, but can she design other things? Although then the next question would be, does she have to design other things? Those dresses would sell like hot cakes and maybe that’s what her line should revolve around? Who knows… all I know is that I’d like to see something different from Uli, but I’m still very impressed with what she does!

Vincent: I agree with M. Kors that this is a design competition, but I actually liked Vincent’s outfit for this challenge. I think it fit the “challenge” that they were given, which was to design an outfit for themselves as a “jet-setter.” I can perfectly imagine Vincent wearing that to travel in and going to a party or dinner in it afterwards. It was very simple, but not everyone is going to want to travel is some crazy, over-the-top outfit like Jeffery’s. The simplicity fit Vincent’s personal style well. From what I could see, I can’t tell if it was constructed poorly or not (as Nina said). I thought it fit well and looked good on him. I do think it would have been nice to have some more creativity involved, but major designers create “simple” things all the time (Calvin Klein anyone?).