Under The Gunn Ep 5: Show Peace

This is the week for the designtestants to work with a real client, and create an outfit that can be worn on stage by Disney star, Zendaya; don’t know who she is? Neither did I, but then we met her, and watched her sing and dance and it became clear: think JLo, decades younger and with talent. As always the winner will get $5,000 and Zendaya will wear the winning look on stage!

M’kay ….Let’s rip …

THE SAFES — from the left

MICHELLE — Team Mondo

This was more Pink than Zendaya and the black and silver isn’t a good combination to be seen from the nosebleed section.

NICHOLAS — Team Anya

I think Nicholas needs to go; he doesn’t seem to understand the challenges, especially if he thinks sheer housecoat is a stage costume.

SAM — Team Mondo

Sam was sure he had this because he dresses the tom-boy girls, but this is too cute and too street and not at all performance, unless it’s a Lawrence Welk Show performance. In other words: dull.

TEAM NICK

Nick reverted back to form, and instead of mentoring, began telling his designers what they should do. Metallics! Flowing! Nosebleed worthy!

I was actually kind of happy that Isabelle asked him to be quiet, though later in the show I wanted him to bitchslap her.

NATALIA

She really wants to talk to the judges, but when she tells Nick and Tim that her take will be kind of a football look — because football is a performance? — I get worried she’d be better off staying safe.

Plus, she wants to put a ‘Z’ for Zendaya on the back. Oh, honey … No.

WHAT SHE SAID

I am very proud of my look going down the runway. It’s really well constructed; it fits the model perfectly.

WHAT I SAID

I didn’t get performance costume out of this, I got what someone changes into after a stage performance; and the little ‘Z’ on the back was too small and cheap looking.

WHAT THE JUDGES SAID

Jen Rade said it looked more back-up dancer than star of the show, while Zanna called it unglamorous and not at all sexy. Zendaya, who seems very sweet, played nice and said she liked it, liked the ‘Z’ but called it too casual.

OSCAR

I guess when he thinks show piece he thinks Copacabana because he rocked the glitter, the mesh, the fringe and the CFM pumps.

He had a specific point-of-view that Nick called more Liza than Zendaya.

WHAT HE SAID

I am so happy to see my model rocking that magnificent outfit.

WHAT I SAID

I, too, got a mix of Liza-Beyoncé-Tara Lipinski with this. It wasn’t at all urban or edgy, which is what Zendaya showed. It was Vegas showgirl … at one of the cheaper hotels.

WHAT THE JUDGES SAID

Zanna said it looked like Zendaya on Ice! But she was amazed that Oscar can do so much, so well, in such a short amount of time. Jen Rade loved it, called it fabulous, and probably wants it for Cher. Zendaya said it was perfect … for Beyoncé … and her parents wouldn’t let her wear it. She said it was made for going ‘Aah’ not for going ‘Ah-ah.’

STEPHANIE

She chose a fabric called “waxed denim” and the name alone seemed like it would be trouble. When Nick and Tim stopped by, though, they seemed to push her into making the pants out of the waxed denim, but make sure they fit properly. Uh oh.

Stephanie struggled with the pants all episode long.

WHAT SHE SAID

I think the concept reads well and I hope the judges like it.

WHAT I SAID

It looks like a reject of a Tina Turner costume for Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome. There seemed to be a lot of talk about the bad fit of the pant, but no one mentioned the bad fit of the top, or those stupid Gremlin Ears on the top. Plus, gray doesn’t translate well to the cheap seats.

WHAT THE JUDGES SAID

Zanna loved that Stephanie thought even of the look to insert mesh pieces so the outfit could breathe, but felt that on a whole it missed the mark. Jen Rade simply muttered that waxed denim is a hard fabric to use. Zendaya liked the idea but hated the execution.

ISABELLE

As usual she was a mess all episode long. She told Nick to zip it so she could think; while everyone else was working, she sat on a couch sipping Starbucks. She cut her fabrics wrong; she sewed the fabrics wrong; she lost all sense of time; she cut her finger; Tim had to kidnap her model just to get her on the runway.

The best part was the looks on the faces of Nicholas and Stephanie when she says she thought “Ten minutes” meant ten minutes till the model comes in, not be done, and dressed and out the door in ten minutes. Nicholas and Stephanie were like, Whatever bitch.

WHAT SHE SAID

Such a beautiful design. It’s a shame not to have it done.

WHAT I SAID

It looks like it’s on inside out, upside down and backwards all at the same time. This is the worst thing I’ve seen since Emilio sent down a bunch of strings as a bikini on the PR.

WHAT THE JUDGES SAID

After listening to Isabelle explain her look — as if she could — Zanna says that what Isabelle described doesn’t look at all like what they’re seeing. She dubbed it “unacceptable.” Jen Rade, however, was pissed off; she said if she pulled juts one of the many loose threads, it would fall apart, and called it “atrocious.” When Isabelle started defending her look as a great design, Jen cut her off at the knees. Zendaya simply called it home-made. Ow.

TEAM MONDO

Mondo seems to be the most consistent mentor, reminding his team to make sure their aesthetic comes though in the design. He asks questions, or makes a hint, without seeming to direct his team.

That may be why he’s been so successful.

ASHA

Asha says she designs for her younger sister and that she has the perfect look for Zendaya. I immediately get worried. But she says she’s going ‘glam tomboy’ and comes up with something new and edgy and urban. Mondo’s only critique was that she needs to push it.

WHAT SHE SAID

I feel like my look is fabulous and I just hope Zendaya loves it.

WHAT I SAID

I loved the kind of urban grunge about it, though it was meticulously crafted. It was cool, and stage-worthy, without being slutty.

WHAT THE JUDGES SAID

Zendaya loved that it was tomboy chic but still very girly. Zanna loved the grunge glam of it all, and especially loved all the detail in the top, but she wondered if Zendaya could dance in it—she said she’d rock it. Jen Rade said that every girl would want it and called it “kick ass.”

TEAM ANYA

Anya pulled way back after last week when she told Brady what to do, he did it, got reamed and then she sent him home.

She’s learning to suggest without commanding.

SHAN

Shan is one of the few that comes up with a design and then is able to fully execute it completely. Little drama; no problems. And fast. That leather jacket was made in the first half of the first day—while Isabelle was sipping her Latte.

WHAT HE SAID

I’m extremely proud of the look I made. She’s working this and it’s looking really good.

WHAT I SAID

I was not a fan of the fringe—they seemed too wide to me—but I love how Shan is a genius with prints.

WHAT THE JUDGES SAID

Zendaya called the jacket dope; I think that’s what the kids say when they like something … ? She liked that there was a little something to show in the back, but was happy it wasn’t crazy. Zanna is a sucker for a good leather jacket, but wasn’t as fond of the fringe, though she called the pants a ‘Wow.’ Jen loved the print, and said the outfit was a little reminiscent of Sandy Becoming A Bad Girl, AKA Olivia Newton-John in Grease.

BLAKE

This was not his week. He seemed lost and out of sorts, though the glimpses of his sketch looked very cool; wide strap winding around the torso and some harem pants.

Trouble was, he couldn’t do the harem pants without them going kinda diaper, and then he decided, for some reason, to cut the straps thinner.

WHAT HE SAID

I love my look. I’m definitely happy with how it turned out.

WHAT I SAID

His original sketch seemed to show the black straps wider, and that would have given them more presence. As it is, this is a T and shorts with a thin black 80s belt wrapped around and around and around.

WHAT THE JUDGES SAID

Jen said she would start with the positive: she loved the earrings. Waa-waa-waaa. But she felt the look seemed too much like a cotton sheet turned … something … and she doesn’t get the straps. Zanna reminded him that he called the look ‘graphic, strong and modern’ then she said she saw none of that in the look. Zendaya liked it, thought it was cool, but was worried something would show with the short-shorts.

WHAT HAPPENED

Team Anya had Blake in the Bottom and Shan in the Top, but didn’t lose anyone, and didn’t have a winner, either.

Team Nick had four in the Bottom — though I think Oscar got a pass for making something so fast and so finished. Isabelle, sadly … who am I kidding … was sent packing.

Team Mondo had just one person in the Crit, with Asha taking home the win for Team Mondo.

MY TAKE

Nick has no idea what a mentor does. He thinks it means tell the designers what to do, not work with them, support them, direct them.

I’m so glad Isabelle was gone before Tim Gunn literally smacked her. Though that would have been fun, too.

Natalia should be going home soon if that football-Z is an indication of what she can do. I pasted better Z’s on a jacket with gum.

Shan and Oscar are machines, though Shan is the Quiet Storm and Oscar is the Show-stopper.

Did I mention I’m glad Isabelle is gone?

My top designers are shifting again, to Asha and Shan, with Blake and Natalia and Stephanie falling way down. Michelle is the Dark Horse and Sam is, well, he bugs me.

What did YOU think?