PR 16 Ep 6: Model Clients ... Not So Model Designers

Model’s have a hard life. No, really; they have to watch what they eat and stay in shape so they can work. And now that models—thanks to social media—are also celebrities, they must also be aware of how they present themselves to world each day.

And, designing for a model has to be tough, too, since they know what works on their body, what they like and dislike.

All that will make this a tough week, maybe? See, this week not only are the designers creating looks for the model to wear, the model is also the client, and so she needs to be satisfied as well; she is not, as Amy said, just a coat-hanger.

The designtestants meet Tim atop a Brooklyn rooftop, if for no other reason than it’s a rooftop, I guess, and he spills the beans about this week’s challenge: to create a street style look that the models can post on social media to boost their careers.

Then the models pick their designers: Jazzmine selects Samantha; Meisha picks her Japanese buddy Kentaro; Sanita chooses Kenya; Christina pairs with Margarita. Colleen picks Brandon; Liris chooses Michael; Marsha goes for Amy; Monique chooses Batani. Lena selects Ayana.

Claire and Shawn are not being picked; well, at least Bottom Claire, because Shawn gets picked before her, by Janine, and finally the last model standing, Sian, gets Claire, and she acts like it was meant to be.

The designtestants and their model-clients then take a stroll through Brooklyn and toss about ideas before heading off to Mood with $200 and one day to work.

Let’s rip ...

THE SAFES

Clockwise from top left

AMY I like it; well, I like the reversible jacket; the rest is just a basic Little Black Dress.

AYANA I hate to agree with Shawn, but that pink thing does look like  a bathrobe. And, I’m with Tim about the stars! Why??

BATANI Her client, Monique, wanted African prints and Batani really gave it to her ... and not, in my mind, in a good way. It’s literally too literal.

MICHAEL I like the technique he used to create the slits in the fabric, but, in the end, it’s just a nice dress with slits.

BRANDON He vowed to give us something different and yet we got another wide-legged pant and cropped top, layered upon layered look with straps. I like it, but ... c’mon!

TOPS AND BOTTOMS

SAMANTHA

Her client is Jazzmine, whose fashion sense is Grunge-Glam and Samantha, whose style is something called Lolita—modest but edgy—thinks they’ll have this. Sadly, every time Samantha thinks she “has it” she doesn’t.

When Tim sees the look, along with Jazzmine, he likes it, though Jazzmine seems worried it might read too Goth, and not as Glam. But Samantha soldiers on, and at one point, even suggests to the room that she might keep the look she’s making and give Jazzmine something from her own closet.

Uh oh.

WHAT SHE SAID

It’s an equal balance of cute and tough.

WHAT I SAID

I don’t know from Lolita, but this reads a bit too Little Girl Goth to me.

WHAT THE JUDGES SAID

Guest judge, The Beautiful Georgina Chapman™ starts off saying the look is verging on costume; it’s not fresh or modern, and she feels Samantha needs a bigger voice.

Zac Posen says it’s too literal Lolita, too one-note, and he’d like a more runway version of it.

Guest judge, singer Kelsea Ballerini likes it without the vest and loves the work and the details.

Heidi Klum also loves the details, the lace and corset and straps, oh my, that went into the piece.

Nina Garcia, however, once again wanted what Samantha’s wearing because it has a presence on the runway.

But the best part is when Zac notes all the layers and Heidi asks why; he explains that the layers become evident when the model sits, but Heidi again wonders why, since models don’t sit on the runway. Nina stops them all with:

“She could be standing on her head and it would have no effect. I really could care less about this look.”

Bam! Mean Garcia strikes again!

CLAIRE

She is not at all bothered at being picked last because this will be a week of redemption ... with a sweatshirt and jogging pants in basic black. No ... seriously. Now, to be fair, her client, Sian, wants something comfy, but aren’t there other options besides an oversized sweatshirt?

Tim and Sian do like the direction Claire is headed, though when she suggests putting some words on the garment—Twins Rule? Somebody Save Me From My Sister? I Have No Real Talent?—Tim puts the kibosh on that at once. 

What he cannot stop is Claire stopping her own work because Shawn needs help with a pocket or a measurement or a stitch or a stroke of her massive ego. In fact, Claire spends so much time helping her sister, that she cannot make jogging pants and instead gives Sian short ... short  ... shorts.

WHAT SHE SAID

Sian is rocking this look ... she’s strong and confident.

WHAT I SAID

Basic boring black and blue with butt cheeks.

WHAT THE JUDGES SAID

Nina Garcia liked the idea of sportswear, but thought it was missing a pop of color and said it photographed like a black blob; she’s also seen it before and before and before.

Zac Posen reminded us all that social media is the public’s form of editorial—go figure—and this look, while well-executed, was making no fashion statement.

Heidi Klum said the look did nothing for the model’s figure, though she liked the top ... up close.

Kelsea Ballerini stayed positive and said she liked the top.

The Beautiful Georgina Chapman™ said if you’re doing all black, then the silhouette is very important, and this silhouette gave the model no waist and made her look pregnant—which isn’t good when you’re not pregnant.

At the Up Close Look, Tim tells the judges that Claire wanted pants, but spent so much time helping Shawn craft her look that she could only make the shorts; while this isn’t against a rule, Zac doesn’t like it, but Kelsea made a good point, though, that Claire could have, and should have, told Shawn ‘No’.

KENYA

Kenya’s girl, Sanita, wants something simple and sleek, and Kenya thinks menswear. Then she also thinks emerald green fabrics and a Dalmation print, so I don’t know if that’s where this went off the rails for me but it seems like a good start.

When Tim and Sanita come by for a look and a fitting, Tim calls the emerald “a lot” and worries that Sanita will look like a “green bean.” Of course, Kenya spins out because she doesn’t know how to fix it and all she has is green fabrics and the Puppy Print.

WHAT SHE SAID

She looks great ... sophisticated.

WHAT I SAID

She looks like Cruella DeVil after being arrested and forced to pick up garbage along the highway in a green prison jumpsuit.

WHAT THE JUDGES SAID

Zac Posen calls it “Debbie Harry meets Peter Pan meets 101 Dalmatians” ... and he likes it.

The Beautiful Georgina Chapman™ says it has an ease and a confidence, and is both strong and quirky.

Kelsea Ballerini calls it stunning and says the model has legs for days.

Nina Garcia believes it looks mysterious, chic, retro, French.

Heidi loves the green and the petals, but isn’t a fan of the print.

SHAWN

Shawn likes what her model, Janine, has on at their consult, and Shawn likes what she’s wearing, so she basically takes her look and the model’s look and makes another version in the same colors and very similar fabrics; yes, she is that talented ... and that was sarcasm in case you missed it.

Tim also notes that the look is very similar to what Shawn is wearing, but lets it end there because Shawn needs to get busy having Claire do a vast majority of her work, from opinions and thoughts to actual cutting and sewing.

WHAT SHE SAID

I’m in awe ... she looks so confident ... effortless ...easy.

WHAT I SAID

Um, yeah, because she’s wearing basically what she wore the day before.

WHAT THE JUDGES SAID

Zac Posen points out that the pants look slick—thanks to Claire, no doubt, though Shawn says nothing—and loves that the look can got day to night.

Heidi Klum thinks it’s fantastic, and notes that this all black number works better than Claire’s black hot mess.

Nina Garcia says feminine and pretty always sell, and she loved the bow detail on the back—which Shawn actually may have done.

Kelsea also likes the bows and calls the look adorable.

The Beautiful Georgina Chapman™ says it has an elegance and an ease.  I think Claire did that, too.

KENTARO

Meisha selects Kentaro mainly because they both speak Japanese, but that provided a good jumping off point for them. Kentaro wanted to make something that reflected both Japanese and American styles: a Kimono style short over denim pants, with a sexy crop top.

Tim loves how they are meshing their ideas together to create a look that represents them both. There are no problems with this look, though Kentaro says something about the top looking like ... and I think this is what he said ... mayonnaise; even Michael thought he said mayo.

WHAT HE SAID

Meisha looks great because she has natural beauty ... edgy and beautiful.

WHAT I SAID

It’s cool and urban and sexy and modern and different. I.Love.It.

WHAT THE JUDGES SAID

Heidi Klum called it the coolest look on the runway, and loved the shorts over the jeans.

The Beautiful Georgina Chapman™ called it samurai dangerous, and both masculine and feminine. She says it has a personality and a direction.

Nina Garcia called it haphazard in a way that works.

Zac Posen called it crisp and easy and loved the draping of the top. Up close, though, he noted that the jeans weren’t pants at all, but just leggings, and all the judges agreed that was a great choice.

MARGARITA     

Christina picked her, and since they are both Latina and both had the same sense of style and flair, this was a match made in heaven ... at least until the runway.

When Christina said her style inspiration was Aaliyah. Margarita loved it ... loved it ... and ran with it. She went for baggy, saggy white pants, a tight, barely there halter top, and a bomber jacket. It was a lot, and she was worried, but Tim could see that both women ... both women ... loved the idea and o he urged Margarita to “make it work.”

WHAT SHE SAID

She looks hella cool.

WHAT I SAID

She’s a Fly Girl from In Living Color ... Google it youngun’s.

WHAT THE JUDGES SAID

Kelsea Ballerini loved the jacket but was indifferent about the pants; Margarita said she made the pants her client wanted even though she wasn’t a fan ... huh, what?

Zac Posen then dubbed Christina a “picky” client, and said he hated the fit on the pants ... a woman’s crotch made him uneasy ... go figure. Margarita missed her second chance to say she was behind the look, huh ... what?

Heidi Klum called it cheesy and not modern, and said it looked like a back-up dancer; Margarita nodded ... huh ... what?

Nina Garcia loved the jacket but felt the look was too Miami ... which is a bad thing I guess ... ?

The Beautiful Georgina Chapman™ loved the street style but said she thought Margarita had no voice ... unless it was throwing her client under the bus. She also said it was dated dated dated; three times as bad, you know.

Well, it’s a no-brainer that Kentaro won;; I loved his shock when Heidi asked if he thought he was in the Top or Bottom and he said Top, and giggled when she agreed. This was a surefire win.

Now, I think Margarita should have gone for her silly look that wasn’t really fashion ... or Claire should have gone for The Blob and then we could have seen how Shawn flails next week having to do her own work.

But, in the end, Samantha’s Lolita was crushed and Auf’d.

I am over Claire helping Shawn and Shawn being such a demanding bitch. I want a Claire-Shawn Meltdown-Bitchfest-Smackdown, please? Otherwise, just send them both home because they bug me.

That said, why aren’t the other designers calling them out on the runway? Stop being so nice! This is reality TV and in reality people aren’t nice ... are they?

I loved Brandon’s nervous little giggle when asked if he had a crush on any model; he really is adorable. That said, when he got the call home, and then didn’t really step out of his comfort zone in his look, I was worried there’d be repercussions ... even if he has immunity.

LINES OF THE NIGHT:

Liris:

“I’m kinda like Beyoncé in concert, but on the street.”

Beyoncé should be so fierce!

Kentaro, to his model:

“I wanna make you look dirty ... homeless ... but clean, modern, beautiful homeless.”

Now that would be a look ...

Kenya, on starting her look over:

“If I even think about it, or even try to recreate something right now, I won’t get finished. We don’t all have a sister on Project Runway.”

Ding.Ding.Ding. We have a winner.

I fear for Margarita since she threw Christina under the bus and acted like she didn’t want to design what she designed. Christina was pissed at the critiques and if she and Margarita work together again, it might just go south.

I loved having The Beautiful Georgina Chapman™; I lovelovelove her. That said, why a singer as a judge? I mean, they didn’t even suggest she had a fashion line or blog and what she was wearing was bo-ring.

And Kentaro asking if saying “African look” is racist was kinda everything.

So, The Tents? Brandon and Kentaro. Kenya redeemed herself, at least to the judges if not to me. The Twins? Not if there is any justice left in this world at all! Batani? Maybe. Amy? She needs a win because she’s going unnoticed as hell. Michael also needs another Top Look, as does Ayana. Margarita may have reached her pinnacle ... which is really a tiny pebble about a quarter way up the hill, so she should go soon.

Brandon, Kentaro, Kenya, and Michael are who I want to see.

Next week, a duo challenge with the Twins on one team. And so, I’m’a need someone to step up and call out the bull shiz!

What did YOU think?