PR 18 Ep 5: Girls Just Wanna Have Fashion

Another celebrity challenge! Another team challenge! It’s drama, y’all. The designtestants are called back to the runway where Karlie meets them with Very Special Guest, actress, singer, icon, LGBTQ+ ally, Cyndi Lauper. And the challenge will be to create cohesive mini-collections inspired by the Cyndi’s '80s style. Oh, and yeah, that whole split the designtestants into two teams thing. But, since there’s an odd number of designers, Victoria, as last week’s winner, will choose which team she joins.

Team 1, which will become Team Chaos, is Geoffrey, Brittany, Delvin, Dayoung, and Nancy. Team 2, Team Stripes, for reasons that become obvious, is Sergio, ShaVi, Chelsey, Melanie and Marquise. Victoria looks at both teams and picks chaos; go figure.

They will be given two days, $300 each at Mood—Cyndi’s looks apparently aren’t cheap—and then another $200 to make their own accessories.

It’s a hot mess of hot messes, so let’s rip …

TEAM CHAOS

They decide, or not, to organize themselves around Delvin’s choice of print… because Delvin wants a print, okur? But at Mood, they are a mess; or maybe they’re channeling Geoffrey’s every experience at Mood. Brittany, manic and bitchy, is running amok, and shrieking at Delvin, who is calmly picking notions and rolling his eyes at Britany.  Geoffrey, though, this time, quickly finds what he needs—though he chooses blacks only—and stops to marvel at Christian:

“Look at me! I’m done and together!”

To which Christian says:

“Are you really? Y’all don’t know what you’re doing at all.”

Geffrey replies:

“We do—”

Christian:

“No. You don’t.”

Christian finds Chaos huddled around swatches—not the dog—and calls their fabric choices “real crazy.” Britany, AKA Captain Obvious, mutters, “We’re on the road to getting f*cking eliminated.”

ShaVi sums it up best:

“It’s a mixed bag of nuts on that team.”

Delvin and Brittany are annoyed by Nancy, while Nancy is annoyed that Delvin and Britany won’t listen to her. At the penthouse, the entire team—oh, except Nancy, pow-wows about makeup and then tell Nancy it wasn’t a “team” meeting.  In other words, they mean girl’d her. But, then again … no one on Chaos knows what Nancy is making … because Nancy doesn’t know what she’s making, so, yeah, there’s that.

TEAM CHAOS looks, left to right:

GEOFFREY idolizes Cyndi Lauper and wants to do right by her. But then he forgoes all the bold colors and tulle and mishmash if styles she rocked, for a basic black jacket over pants.

BRITANY uses a dusty rose to make a suit over which she’ll put a corset because that says Cyndi Lauper? No, Brit, that actually was Madonna, who rocked the corset over a suit look on the Truth or Dare Tour.

DELVIN  also goes corset, though he pairs it with a hippie handkerchief skirt in one of the most boring and staid and un-Cyndi patterns I’ve ever seen.

DAYOUNG gives us a little black boring dress that even had Christian worried. In the end she accessorizes it with chains and studs and safety pins, but it’s still kinda boring and not at all Lauper.

VICTORIA once again gives us asymmetry with cut-out, though this time she adds thigh high boots and a ruffle. Ooh, daring.

NANCY, who was treated badly by the group, and treated the group badly, gave us bigger ruffles and sheers and shredded pants and tops. It’s cool, but it doesn’t read 80s or pop or punk.

TEAM STRIPES

Sergio instantly takes charge because, as he says:

“I’ve always been in a leadership role in my company, naturally I’m the leader of my team."

Uh, Serg-ego? Shouldn’t you take a leadership role in your own company because it’s your own company?

But the designtestants on Team Sergio Stripes quickly fall in line as he basically tells them what they’ll design; ShaVi? Cocktail! Marquise? Jacket! Chelsey? Big pants! Melanie? Try to fit in! Sergio? The showstopper finale look because, of course.

At Mood, unlike CHAOS, they work together, though there was smidgeon of dissent when Sergio held up a plaid and said it was a Marc Jacob’s plaid and ShaVi instantly shoots it down. It began a series of moments where Sergio’s face looked incredulous that people were disagreeing with him. But, in the end, they chose a stripe—hence the name—and some hot pink fabric because that screams Cyndi Lauper; actually, it was screaming WTF are you people thinking? It’s Beetlejuice At The Circus!

Christian is concerned because there aren’t a lot of fabric choices other than stripes and pinks; he doesn’t want them to be too similar while trying to be cohesive.

TEAM STRIPES looks, left to right

SHAVI created a perfect little cocktail dress; fun, pop, kinda punk, though perhaps not Cyndi; a big bundle of pink tulle under the skirt might have helped.

CHELSEY went full clown; that’s what I got. All that was missing was the big red nose. I hope this doesn’t mean she’ll be doing big pants all season, because while it won’t get you to The Tents, it might get you to the Big Top. See what I did there?

MELANIE is worried her personal Scandinavian aesthetic doesn’t jibe well with the pop-punk challenge; it doesn’t. And so, she scrapped her initial idea of an asymmetrical striped skirt to make this hot pink tube dress under window screening. Big mistake; huge.

SERGIO created the 80s version of Cyndi as a Lady Who Lunches; and I don’t mean 1980s, I mean, an eighty-year-old woman desperate to hold onto her youth might wear this mess.

MARQUISE was going to follow the team and use the stripe for the shorts, but after they all felt it was a lot of Beetlejuice, he switched to a plain—read: boring—white short with a black zipper and that seemed odd to put it mildly.

TOPS AND BOTTOMS

VICTORIA: CHAOS

WHAT SHE SAID

I feel good about my look, but I don’t feel it’s the most punk style.

WHAT I SAID

Sorry, this is basically the same look she’s done before. Scroll down and see …

WHAT THE JUDGES SAID

Cyndi likes the black with the splash of color, and said the boots made it “modern” and “wonderful.” Nina loved the “contrast” with the zippers—she pronounces it ‘sippers’ and I love her for that—and the rings and grommets; it’s a “nod to the ’80s” but still “feels now.” Brandon loves “the sliver of skin in the back” and called it new and fresh; he praised Victoria for staying true to herself as a designer.

GEOFFREY: CHAOS

WHAT HE SAID

It’s nerve-wracking, with Cyndi critiquing my work.

WHAT I SAID

I love it; edgy and punk, though the all-black isn’t Cyndi.

WHAT THE JUDGES SAID

Cyndi called it “beautiful” and “bold” and “confidant,” and loved the pants. Karlie wanted to wear it. Brandon loved the hair and makeup and called the tailoring “great” but felt he had seen it before. Elaine thought it was a “nod to the ’80s” but not “costumey or dated.” Nina thinks it “looks expensive” and “refined” and loved the matte and shiny fabrics.

BRITTANY: CHAOS

WHAT SHE SAID

[My model] is snatched and rocking it.

WHAT I SAID

The dusty rose is old; the corset is badly made. I hate to say it, but … Madonna … wore … it … better.

WHAT THE JUDGES SAID

Nina loved the “details” and the belt, the pop, the punk, the pink, but up close she realized it was badly tailored. Cyndi thought it was “spectacular” because “young people would wear this”—like Madge, when she was young. Brandon, however, as not impressed:  “The cheese stands alone on this one.” says Brandon. Elaine said that as far as being a top look, it failed to compare at all to Geoffrey and Victoria.

MELANIE: STRIPES

WHAT SHE SAID

This is so far from what I envisioned.

WHAT I SAID

Maybe you should have stuck to your vision and not used a screen door and some hot pink tubing?

WHAT THE JUDGES SAID

Karlie says she thinks Melanie has “skidded by” and now that she stands out, her work is a little flat.  Brandon thinks the accessory is “totally fine” but the look? Not so much. When Melanie says she hasn’t gotten a challenge that she feels is a good fit for her, Cyndi says, “Don’t blame it on the ’80s.” Cyndi thinks the garment on top has no structure and swings like a car wash; she adds that she wouldn’t even wear it if she was dead. Ouch. Elaine didn’t get a sense of any ’80s concepts fin the design or the fabrics or the execution, while Nina says she has no memory of any of Melanie’s work. Ouch, again.

SERGIO: STRIPES

WHAT HE SAID

I love what I created. It’s indicative of the 80s.

WHAT I SAID

Does he even listen to himself? This was a total miss; not punk, not pop, not Cyndi. But it was a whole lot of ugly.

WHAT THE JUDGES SAID

Nina thought the look didn’t “connect in any way shape or form.” She didn’t understand the ruffles or the pants or the decoration; she called it “puzzling”. Cyndi thought there was a lot going on and said she would “never wear it, ever.”

And Sergio snaps; he gives his spiel: he usually works with an older clientele, so his work is “more sophisticated” and if they don’t like it, “that’s not my problem.” Trouble is, Sergio, that Cyndi is over 40 and she’d never, again, EVER, wear it.

Brandon says “it’s all over the damn place” and that Sergio came to the show knowing what it was and that he doesn’t appear to want to learn anything. He finished by saying the look was all over the place, every decade, every country , every area code. Elaine did not like the look but was especially annoyed at Sergio’s arrogance.

MARQUIS: STRIPES

WHAT HE SAID

Everything about my look looks punk.

WHAT I SAID

It looks like  punk might wear it, and by punk, I mean punk girl who sells cookies door-to-door, because this isn’t punk or cool, and that Vagina Zipper™ gave me nightmares.

WHAT THE JUDGES SAID

Elaine said it wasn’t a modern take on the 80s because of the lace anklet and pink heels. Karlie did give the jacket props, though when on the runway with Geoffrey’s it pales in comparison. Cyndi hated the shorts and the shoes, but liked the top, while Brandon also pointed out the Vagina Zipper™ and noted that if the model “sweat through that white satin short, we’re in hell.” He did note that Marquise did have some ideas in place.

The judges didn’t like Brittany’s look as much as they did up close, so she’s not winning. It comes down to Victoria and Geoffrey;  Brandon thinks Victoria’s look is more new and fresh, and Nina says it would be in Elle Magazine in a minute. But perhaps they remember something similar last week, and so the win goes to Geoffrey!

As for the loser, it really is a no-brainer, though the judges seemed to make it a toss-up between Marquise and Melanie. In the end, since Cyndi would literally not want to be caught dead in Melanie’s look, she’s out.

Melanie cried backstage, saying she was disappointed the judges only saw a “dull version” of what she had to offer, and how she’s “too scared” to put herself out there. Honey, that’s what gets you kicked off.

During a meltdown in the workroom, Geoffrey said that one of his first memories was being hit in the face with a baseball and his dad telling him that he wished he had a boy. And he said he learned from Cyndi and her music that “it was fine to be yourself.” My heart broke for him, and then lifted because of Lauper.

LINES OF THE NIGHT

Victoria, in confessional, says she only knows one Cyndi Lauper song:

“’Girls Just Wanna Go Cry’. No. Fun. It’s fun." 

When Nina said she liked Victoria's look and said it would be in ELLE Magazine in a minute, Cyndi Lauper says:

"Aren't you the editor?! Put it in!"

Geoffrey says he’s been inspired by Lauper’s art and has even dressed as Lauper in drag:

“I am a girl that likes to have fun sometimes.”

Dayoung, backstage, during Sergio’s runway ramble:

“I think he should stop talking.”

Permanently.

ShaVi, as the group struggles to help Melanie:

“We’re giving her all kinds of suggestions, but she’s swiping everything left.”

Sergio, after his look was trashed:

“When you do things people are confused about, you are changing the world.”

Quick question: how many production people help Sergio carry his big fat ego back and forth from workroom to penthouse to runway?

Though he was on the losing team, I liked ShaVi's striped dress the best.

Victoria finds that she’s using the same silhouette she has used before. Really? Take a look:

I loved when Christian told the designtestants they had to make their own accessories, and then went around the workroom picking up the ones they’d taken from the wall. He’s a mean little elf at times.

Britany is kind of a bitch and was especially nasty to Nancy. When her team met outside, she tried to play it off like it wasn’t a group meeting: “We were outside, some outside.” Except, hon, no one told her.

On the other hand, Nancy was not at all receptive to anyone, save the judges maybe, critiquing her looks.

The Tents? Clearly Victoria has an edge; and I still like ShaVi, though he does fumble occasionally. Geoffrey could be good if he stays sane. Marquise is struggling, Chelsey is a one-trick pony, Dayoung is not there yet, and neither is Nancy. Britany? Gosh, I hope not. Sergio? It’s be fun to see him eliminated right before The Tents and watch his head implode. Delvin? He should take the lab coat and get a job in a pharmacy.

Next week the designtestants get to make any kind of look they want based on their heritage. This could be good, or it could be epically bad,

What did YOU think?