project runway recap: race to the finish

andy south couture & rtw

finally squeezed in a viewing of last week's episode of project runway! the challenge was to whip up a couture fashion look to accompany a makeup palette finish from show sponsor l'oreal. except the producers decided to throw in a last minute, complementary ready-to-wear design that also needed to walk the runway the very next day. a bit unfair to the designers, if you ask me. did anyone else wish one well-made style had been presented rather than half-done couture and slapped together rtw?

after last week's brutal runway crit, andy south rose to the challenge and sent out head-to-toe warrior chic separates rocking muted metallic accents accompanied by a sexy little black dress with a subtle dose of shimmer. on the other end of the rainbow, ivy higa opted for bright and whipped up a gown and cocktail dress translating hawaii's gorgeous ocean waters into chiffon waves.

more peeks, links & a spoiler (fair warning!) after the jump below.

ivy higa couture & rtw

designers' sketchbook

andy: make it work! | judgement day | video diary

ivy: make it work! | judgement day | naeem kahn's take | nina garcia's take | video diary

the designers dish is a little less dish-y since only two were deemed safe enough to skip the judging in this round.

do you think it was time for ivy to be auf'd? or would you have sent home another designer in her place?

{photo credit: barbara nitke, lifetime television}

Comments

[Kristin L]

As much as I wanted to support local talent, and as much as I really like Ivy's non-PR work, I thought it was time to let her go. Her sketches showed so much potential, but both dresses were disasters. Too bad.

Andy, on the other hand totally rocked it and I'm rooting for him to make it all the way to the finish!

So here's something I've been thinking about: it seems to me that a large part of PR is making it to Fashion Week at the end. It's great exposure for all three designers, not just the one that ends up winning the $$$. But this time 10 designers made it to Fashion Week so that the identity of the final three wouldn't be spoiled. That's presumably great exposure for all those designers (Ivy included), but I wonder if it doesn't diminish the accomplishments of the final three and specifically the two who make it to the end but don't win the big prize since they are thus no different than the designers who'll be packing their workstations in the coming weeks.

[leigh]

aloha kristin! fwiw, project runway has always thrown in a few herrings in the fashion week show to keep attendees guessing the identities of the final 3. and, even though the online media coverage includes all the designers who show at fashion week, there are lots of fans who just tune into the tv broadcast and remain unaware of the designs edited out of the finale.

plus, the top 3 have almost two months of additional screen time to sink into the pop culture consciousness. either way, designers with talent will always enjoy the glow of being a PR contestant even if they got booted off too early.

[Kristin L]

Thanks for the insight Leigh. That does make sense. :-)