Katherine Gerdes

Episode 10: Black and White

24 September, 11:50 - thus far 6 insightful comments have been made

While I don’t think it’s practical in the real world, I like the concept of using all the fabric for this challenge! It’s something that has got to be really difficult to do and I’m pretty sure none of the designers have ever done that before, so they all needed to be really creative and couldn’t fall back on something they’ve done in the past. Personally I thought there was going to be a lot more gathering, rouching, pleating, etc because those are all techniques that you could get away squeezing some excess fabric into. I hadn’t even thought about making a purse until I saw them working on them. I think that’s a pretty good idea to get rid of the extra fabric, although I’m glad they didn’t all go that way. I also liked that they defined the color palette for the challenge. By making everyone work in black and white, it really makes you focus on the design styling and silhouette and you can compare the dresses side-by-side more easily.

Angela (OUT, part deux): Okay, so I don’t know what everyone else thinks, but I kind of liked Angela’s shrug/bolero piece. I thought she took a big risk with it (and in their position, she and Vincent needed to take big risks) and while I don’t think it worked that well with the black dress, I thought the shrug was pretty cool. I could see it on a runway with some jeans and a fairly simple top. I think the contrast between easy/casual and over-the-top would be nice. Maybe I’m crazy? Who knows. It’s hard to see all the details in the photos of these black dresses, but the silhouette of Angela’s looks pretty nice and it seems to fit well. I think there might be a bit too much embellishment, but I like the little ruffles around the hem. I don’t like the arm cuff things very much, but they might have been an effort to use the excess fabric? Speaking of which, I didn’t like the way she stuffed the fabric in the purse, but my guess is that she ran out of time to actually make a purse with the scraps and this was a last ditch effort to follow the challenge rules?

Jeffery: After last week’s challenge win, I guess I was expecting a bit more from Jeffery, but this outfit didn’t do it for me. I think it was Heidi who said it looked a little cheap and I agree. I do like how he tried to use multiple geometric prints, but I think they ended up looking more like fabric you’d find at a quilting/crafting store rather than high-end designer fabric. Plus the styling was a bit to 80’s for me and while I know that’s really “in” right now, I just can’t jump on that bandwagon! I did however like the concept of the leggings, and think they would have been really cool had he made them more like tights rather than thigh highs. If they went all the way up under the skirt, it might have helped keep the short skirt from looking a bit too risqué.

Kayne (OUT): As sad as I am to see Kayne go, I have to agree with the judges; the point of the challenge was to use black AND white and I think Kayne took a big risk using so little white. I also have to agree that it almost seemed like it was 2 different dresses. I thought the front was beautiful and elegant, but I’m not a fan of the back. I think the “spider web” concept was pretty cool and new, but it seemed so “industrial”…is that the right word? I’m not sure if that’s the best word for it, but I thought where it connected to the dress looked too heavy and strong for the design. I do think Kayne should get a lot of credit for really listening to the judges and trying to restrain himself in his design though. It was obvious that he really thought about what they have been saying and for the most part I think he showed them that he’s not just about “tacky” pageant dresses. I’m sad that’s he’s “auf’d” but I think he really got to show the world his talent!

Laura (WINNER): I thought it was a toss up between Laura and Michael for the win this week and I think Laura really deserved it. She’s done a pretty good job at being in the top a lot, but had yet to get a win and I think she stepped out of her “zone” enough with this design that you’ve got to give her credit! I’m not a huge fan of lace, but I really like how she layered it to get the black and white in the design without looking so solid, color-blocked. I also have to say I’m not a huge fan of how the feathers on the bottom looked, but it was very “Laura” and I don’t think it was bad. I did like her use of sparkle on the bottom though and was happy that it wasn’t overdone, which is easy to do with sparkly stuff! I’m sure this goes without saying, but her construction and fit looked dead on (as always). Congrats Laura!

Michael: I might have said this before a few times, but I think Michael’s design could have been the winner this week… again! The shape was simple and elegant, but still happened to be fresh and new with the one shoulder look. I think it was that one little off-the-shoulder shape that took it from being a boring white, one shoulder dress to something that was stunning! Amazing how that works isn’t it? I also liked the black cummerbund-esq belt and how it broke up the solid white dress. My only complaint (and it’s fairly small) is that in the photo, it looks like there are some construction problems on the skirt and hem of the dress. I’m not going to be too critical though, because I know that the Parsons work room has a lack of machines that hem jersey well (dog challenge anyone?) and it’s not an easy thing to do with a straight stitch machine.

Uli: I’m surprised to say this, but I really didn’t like Uli’s dress this week. While I think she tends to do the same printed silhouette a lot, I think they are beautiful and always well done, but this week it just wasn’t working for me. I liked the shape of the dress and the trim and “frog” closure at the top. The opening in the front is a bit too revealing for my taste, but it is a cocktail dress. I didn’t like the sleeves at all, but agree that it looked a lot better when Uli shortened them on the runway. The necklace was pretty bad, but it seemed that even Uli knew that! I do want to give her some credit for trying to use the rest of her fabric in a way that wasn’t making a purse though. Actually, the more I look at it, I could even see the necklace working on some other outfit (jeans and a wife-beater tank possibly), but it was too much and over the top with the matching dress.

Vincent (OUT, part deux): Two words for Vincent’s downfall… shawl and proportion. I really like his use of pleating on the dress and agree with the judges that had the skirt been longer (therefore using the excess fabric, rather than making a shawl), the design would have been pretty good. I think the shape was fairly simple, but it was also clean and elegant (with a longer skirt that is) and the pleating added some fun detailing. I also like his usage of layering the black textured fabric over the solid to give it a bit more interest. I’m not sure he would have won even if it was longer, but he might have been a contender? You also have to give him some credit for making the dress fit so well after getting a new model at the last minute (poor Jia! I’m so glad she’s better!).