PR 18 Ep 10: Fit To Be Tied

As we open the show Brittany is still on Cloud Christian after his Siriano Save™ last week.

 “I still can’t get over what happened … Final four is where I want to be.”

Hold up, gurl, you’re not there yet, and, thanks to some research, I discovered that in the PR’s former incarnation when Tim Gunn used his Tim Gunn Save™ that designtestant always made it to The Tents, but they never won.

Check yourself, Brittany; and then head to the runway where Karlie comes out to discuss the challenge, and then shows a Nina Garcia photo shoot with Nina wearing a tie-dyed look. This week the designtestants must erase all the old ideas about tie-dye and elevate it, make it modern, make it chic.

And to help them along, there will be tie-dye “experts” to give them hints and lessons. All things they need because this will be a one-day-overnight-no-sleep-sleepover challenge.

No sleep? Let’s rip …

SAFES

BRITTANY took notes and so she knew what to do, but she might have pushed herself further than this basic knock-off of her Ashley Longshore look in pastel tie-dye.

MARQUISE made what Christian rightly called “ice skater-y.” There were supposed to be pants under the skirt, but I guess you can’t wear jeans on the ice.

TOPS AND BOTTOMS

SERGIO

Thankfully Sergio isn’t speaking much this week, though when he does … I can’t right now; we’ll talk later.

He did pay attention during class and knows that silks take the colors better so he’s avoiding anything cotton. He wants to do the ‘ring tie’ and the ‘ombre’ effect in a kind of riff on a 50s poodle skirt. What he won’t do is try and create a political message about the look and I thank the Goddess Chanel for that.

Christian likes his idea for the dress but wonders if ombre and ring burst will work well together.

WHAT HE SAID

My look looks like a million bucks.

WHAT I SAID

It’s a beautiful dress, but the yellow tie-dye is so light it’s hard to see what it is exactly.

WHAT THE JUDGES SAID

Leslie Jones says she didn’t think it was tie-dyed but was an actual printed fabric; she called it fabulous. Elaine could see Meghan Markle or Michelle Obama in this stately, elevated dress. Karlie called it a refreshing, smart take on tie-dye while Brandon said it was chic and a difficult dress to construct. Nina loved the ombre and the ring burst effects and said creating the twelve godets that make up the skirt must have been hellish, but it paid off.

NANCY

Nancy is from the 60s, or in her 60s, or both, so she has an edge? I don’t think so, because she gets lost as she travels her own road a lot. Instead of testing tie-dye patterns before going to Mood, she works on the look; so, in a tie-dye challenge she’s gonna wait to tie-dye? Not a smart move.

Not so smart either is her desire to make another pair of pants despite getting reamed last week for making another pair of pants. But she thinks they’re “totally different” from the pants she repeated last week  and the week before and the week before so there’s no stopping her.

In the middle of the night she finally decides she’s ready to tie-dye and I’m sure she’s gonna end up with a disaster, but her grid pattern really turned out well, so what do I know?

I know Christian will ream her for the pants, and the fact she’s spending so much time on them that the top for her look is basically s draped piece of tie-dyed fabric pinned and sewn while the model wears it.

WHAT SHE SAID

The garment is flowing exactly how I want it to …

WHAT I SAID

I love her tie-dye but is the same pants with a scarf thrown over top.

WHAT THE JUDGES SAID

Leslie thought it was “cute but basic,” and called the head tie a distraction. Nina thought Nancy’s tie-dyeing technique was “impressive” but wanted a simpler top than a scarf thrown over boobs.  Elaine called “modern” and “elegant,” and while the pants are familiar, she says Nancy “reinvented” them and gave them a “romantic and poetic” movement. “I’m a fan of this.”

GEOFFREY

Geoffrey doesn’t care much for this tie-dye business and thinks it’ll bomb like the print challenge. Still, he soldiers on—See what I did there? Well, you will in a minute—to create a more simplistic and feminine gown.

But he struggles with the tie-dyeing and the colors; he has one swatch to show Christian who is less than thrilled, but then suggests it might be the “new” camo and take on that military vibe Geoffrey likes to do.

Now, do you see what I did there? Soldier on? Soldier? Military …okay, I’ll stop.

Geoffrey goes on with his dyeing, but the fabric stays in too long and turns almost black; he’s going down faster than Dayoung without a meal. But Nancy convinces him to dry it, and when it comes out it’s no longer black, but a gorgeous olive green with hints of orange … a new camo.

WHAT HE SAID

This is the first challenge where I’m confident I have a top look.

WHAT I SAID

It’s gorgeous and slinky and very cool.

WHAT THE JUDGES SAID

Leslie says, “I literally wrote, ‘That’s my dress'” when it first appeared; she loved the orange details and the exposed leg and called it a “tall glass of sexy Pam Grier.” She finished with, “If you don’t win, you win with me.” Nina thought the simple silhouette was “flattering” and said the sleeves make her “crazy”—in a good way. Karlie calls it “refined,” “elevated,” “effortless” and “chic,” and Brandon could see many different women wearing it. Elaine said the use of the tie-dye ring burst draws you in.

VICTORIA

She’ll be a mess because, again, this is outside her comfort zone and she doesn’t work well over there. But she gets props for not doing her sexy dominatrix high-low power-suit … again. And then she gets points off for the flouncy bubble shirt in her sketch and the idea of pairing Daisy Dukes worn over denim pants.

She gets dinged again, because she tells Christian that she wants to do a bleach effect on her denim pants and he instantly goes Britney and Justin in 2002. Not a good look. It’s also a bad look when she spends the day dyeing her cotton fabrics and then put them in the dryer; a half hour later and there is no tie-dye, just all green cotton.

Victoria starts again …with silks; this time the pattern holds, but the look falls apart. And so, she tries to fix it by splotching paint of the Daisy Duke Denims Pant Shorts.

WHAT SHE SAID

The design is not the most amazing.

WHAT I SAID

It looks like a bad nightgown-housecoat mashup over a bad jeans and shorts mashup with paint spilled all over.

WHAT THE JUDGES SAID

Victoria starts off:

“I’m not crazy about tie dye, I’ll be honest."

Nina rolls her eyes. She has had it. The shorts with the jeans are a “mess”  and she wonders what happens if you remove the flounce; it comes off and Nina shakes her head, “Yeah, all right.” Elaine says it looks like  a baby threw up on the pant-shorts, or maybe a lava lamp exploded, and wrote one word on her card: “Why?” Karlie called the tie-dye “sloppy,” and said she thought Marquise’s look was Victoria’s, to which she snaps: “That’s not my style.” Leslie Jones says, But Marquise is safe.” Brandon was no fan of the denim diaper but did think there were ideas in the look.

DELVIN

Delvin is a mess this episode; the tie-dye concept he doesn’t like; the one-day, overnight challenge, he does not like. The fact that he can’t wear his lab coat, he really does not like. He doesn’t like it all so much, that he really doesn’t pay attention to the lesson in dyeing, and so he opts for cotton, too, which is the wrong choice for a vibrant color.

And he wants to do a vibrant color, or colors—red and orange and pink—to represent him, as a Phoenix, rising from the ashes of bad design. And yet he opts to do a coat dress, which, as Victoria, who knows a thing or two about being a one-tick pony, warns him is very similar to what he’s done before.

And even Christian tells him that the coat dress is similar to what he’s done before, so maybe he should change it up …no sleeves … hidden button …top stitching.

Sadly, Delvin’s cotton didn’t take kindly to the colors, and after a quick confab with Brittany, who gave him advice and the right fabric for dyeing, he’s trying to get himself in the game …with a small break for workroom onesie dancing and a pizza party.

Luckily, his second stab at tie-dyeing came out much better but the design seems a little safe, and safe at this stage is not good.

WHAT HE SAID

I hope the judges see my usage of the tie-dye.

WHAT I SAID

Is it me, or is this really just a sleeveless tie-dyed lab coat?

WHAT THE JUDGES SAID

While Leslie Jones was rather vocal as other looks came down the runway, with Delvin’s piece she is quiet as a church mouse; that can’t be good. She wants to like it but hates the colors and calls it a “cheap church dress.” Karlie said it was all the bad things about tie-dye, including the colors, while  Elaine thinks it’s dated; something she’s knocked Delvin for in other challenges. Brandon, however, didn’t mind the tie-dye but hated the silhouette, while Nina agreed, saying it should have been more.  When Nina questions the buttons, Leslie went off about the buttons belonging on a trench coat worn by a cartoon dog … and we all knew what she meant.

The judges agree that Nancy’s look is not a winner, so it boils down to Geoffrey and Sergio. They loved Sergio’s construction and his use of tie-dye—which I still find bland—but felt that, as Karlie said, Geoffrey’s look was “show-stopping but tasteful.”

Geoffrey gets the well-deserved win.

As for who goes home? Should it be the bold tie-dye in the bad silhouette, or the denim diaper with the exploding lava lamp pants?

Nope, the diaper stays, and Delvin goes home.

Clearly, the producers want Victoria on the show, because she has made the same look several times, she has not followed the rules others, and at least twice has made something both hideous and ridiculous. Yes, she has a couple of wins and Delvin had none, but her look last night was a Diapered Denim D-i-saster and she should have gone home.

I liked that Brittany was a team player when everyone came to her for advice on dyeing and fabrics and such. I seriously thought she’d go mean. I’ll give her props …this time.

Sergio; seriously? He spewed this ridiculousness:

“What I created last week was so beautiful, but  I don’t think the judges understand my message fully. They’re always telling me, ‘Just keep it about the clothing.’ So, I feel like the judges are afraid of me.”

Bitch.Please. First off, the “message” last week was created after garment, so there was no message. Plus, it’s a fashion design show, so, yeah, make it about the fashion. Thirdly, afraid of you? Little man, you better start running now, because if Nina Garcia hears this bull shiz she’ll be coming for you.

I know Karlie’s tall, but Nina next to her is as funny as Christian next to her.

LINES OF THE NIGHT

Nina Garcia, on her look at the beginning of the challenge:

“If Prada can do tie-dye for me, you guys can do it too.”

I would imagine that Prada would do anything Nina commands. She’s NinaFuckingGarcia after all.

Delvin, on the overnight challenge:

“I’m not going to sleep in this workroom!”

Seriously, the first few challenges he slept in the workroom.

Geoffrey, to Brittany, on the challenge: “This is by far the worst challenge.”

Brittany: “Ya think?”

Geoffrey: “Yeah, which was your worst?”

Cut to Karlie, last week: “I’m sorry Brittany, you’re out.”

Brittany to Geoffrey: “We’re not on speaking terms for the next hour.”

Victoria, about her look:

“The most what I’m worried about is everything.”

Truer words …

Christian, to Nancy, about her look:

“You work so hard on the pants they’ve seen ten times? You know what doesn’t look the same? The nonexistent top.”

Nancy doesn’t see it … at all.

Leslie Jones, as Geoffrey’s look walked:

“Girl, take that dress of, that’s mine! I don’t appreciate you wrinkling my dress! If I die and come back, I’m coming back as that dress. And I want you to wear me just like you wearing … that dress."

Geoffrey, to the judges, after he’d won:

“This was the hardest challenge by far, so … stop it!”

The Tents? I’m seeing Brittany and Marquise, and maybe Geoffrey if he keeps this up. Then it comes down to Sergio or Nancy or Victoria. The Ego, the Same Old Pant, or the I Don’t Understand Challenge.

Next week the designtestants will create unique victory dresses for special clients: Olympic and Paralympic athletes. And Christian is seeing red.

What did YOU think?