PR 14 Ep 3: And You Thought The Titanic Was A Disaster

If there’s one thing PR designtestants loathe more than last week’s Unconventional Challenge, it would be a Team Challenge. And this week? Team Challenge!

After a brief PR commercial message for Celebrity Cruises new celebrity Summit ship, the designtestants find themselves facing Tim Gunn and President and CEO of Celebrity Cruises, Lisa Lutoff-Perlo.

The challenge this is week is that, in teams of two, decided by the Dreaded Button Bag™, the designtestants will choose from one of seven suitcases, each with a cruise ship destination attached. Then the teams will create high-end day-to-night looks in just eight hours … or, as Tim says, since there are two designers, 16 hours.

In addition to their suitcase full of fabric inspirations the designtestants will be able to visit the Mini Mood in the workroom for additional textiles.

Sounds good? Yeah, then you don’t know the PR so let’s rip …

THE SAFES

BLAKE and KELLY

They chose the Greek Isles and went literal with a Greek Goddess inspired look. It was simple, though the added blue-and-white print to the sides made the model seem a little wide, and then the back was an entirely different look. Safe, I guess.

THE TOPS

JAKE and LINDSEY 

Hong Kong

Ouch. This was painful. Talk about two people who shouldn’t work together, they shouldn’t even be on the same show. Jake seems tame, but he stars off bossy — because he’s trained in Hong Kong — and nixes the idea of a Kimono-esque jacket that Lindsey suggested. He nixed her color palette, to, and then continued to piss her off by calling her ‘dear’ and ‘honey’ in a most condescending way.

Lindsey’s response was to take on all of the work and belittle him at every turn by giving him simple tasks. This turned out, though, to be a smart move because Jake just basically gave up and, as Lindsey pointed out on the runway, she did the vest, the dress, the shorts, the seams, the sewing, while Jake made a halter top.

Again. Ouch. But, in an amazing turn of events, for, what I think might be a PR first, a team that worked so horridly together actually ends up Top Three.

WHAT THEY SAID

Jake: I don’t love it, I don’t hate it.

Lindsey: She looks lovely.

WHAT I SAID

I don’t get the vest … it looks a little office-y. And the shorts? No. I did like the dress though.

WHAT THE JUDGES SAID

Tracee liked the fabrics, but she also hated the shorts, while The Adorable Zac Posen™ thought it had movement and color and great prints. Nina also liked the color, though Heidi thought it was a little Chinese Christmas and wondered how Jake spent three hours making a halter top.

WHAT HAPPENED

They’re safe, and they’re enemies, too.

SWAPNIL and LAURIE

India

I thought it kind of a safe choice for Swapnil to choose the India suitcase, but then realized much more would be expected from him in doing so, so, maybe he’s brave … or crazy?

He and Laurie, though, worked well together, to create a pant and a crop top and then a sari-inspired cape. And while they could have gone bold and bright and big in their color palette, they kept it semi-dark and subdued, but elegant. The only criticism Tim had was that they choose a different fabric for the sari and ditch the paisley; smart call by Mr. Gunn.

One great surprise was that during the time in the workroom, Laurie said she was inspired a great deal in her designs by Tracee Ellis –Ross, and she nearly broke down when she saw Ross in the judge’s chair.

WHAT THEY SAID

Swapnil: The drape is going beautifully.

Laurie: Which part will Tracee wear?

WHAT I SAID

This was my favorite. It said India right away, but in a more classic, timeless way. Sexy and chic.

WHAT THE JUDGES SAID

Nina loved the silhouette of the sari, and the effortlessness of the fabrics; she also loved the modern color of the look. Heidi loved the sari and the detail on the shoulder, as well as the crop top, but called the designers out on the bad fit of the pants — The Adorable Zac Posen™ asked if they were on backwards, though also pointed out the beautiful simplicity of the sari. Tracee loved the drop-crotch pant, though, which I imagine made Laurie squee with delight.

WHAT HAPPENED

They were robbed of the win, in my opinion. But Safe is okay, too. Sidenote to Laurie as to which piece Tracee would wear ... sorry, it was the sari.

CANDICE and ASHLEY 

Venice

These two got along swimmingly, although there were some vagina-related issues … with the pants, I mean. And they opted to skip Mini Mood and just use the fabrics in their suitcase, which, well, I was worried about. Tim, on the other hand, loved the mix of textiles.

WHAT THEY SAID

Candice: There’s movement … there’s life … there’s a story.

Ashley: It worked out amazing.

WHAT I SAID

I hate the print and the cowl neck is so oversized and loopy it seems like a bad costume.

WHAT THE JUDGES SAID

Nina said ‘Wow’ and declared that the look took her breath away; she called it eccentric and chic. She loved it even better when viewed up close. Heidi thought every piece looked special, and loved the gondolier striped top. Guest judge Tracee Ellis-Ross said the mix of patterns was courageous, and loved the pants though she would have gone with a flat shoe since the pants seemed short.  The Adorable Zac Posen™ said “Bellísima!” He also thought the mix of patterns was a risk, but one that paid off, and loved the kooky 70s print.

WHAT HAPPENED

The judges couldn’t pick just one, so both Candice and Ashley get the win, and both get immunity for next week.

THE BOTTOMS

AMANDA and GABRIELLE

South of France

This was a case of Chip and Dale … After you … No, after you … they were both so nice to each other and both so sure they shared the same aesthetic, that neither one questioned the look at all.

And there should'a been questions, even after Tim came by and said he liked it.

WHAT THEY SAID

Amanda: I was actually pretty confident

Gabrielle: I think it leans more toward [my aesthetic] than hers.

WHAT I SAID

I like the top from the front, but from the back it looks like it was cut off.

WHAT THE JUDGES SAID

The Adorable Zac Posen™ loved the asymmetry, but not the use of the stripe beneath, which created a more lopsided effect. He called it a throwaway look, and I think he meant it literally. Tracee thought it was just too much, and thought they’d have been better served to lose about half their ideas. Heidi, too, thought it was a lot, with the high neck and the crop top, and the bell bottoms and the bad fit; and she thought it looked worse close up. Nina thought the asymmetrical top was more of a side-mullet and Nina don’t like the mullet, y’all; she labeled the back ‘tragic’.

WHAT HAPPENED

Safe. But, again, a team that got along so and well ends up in the bottom. I blame Chip and Dale.

JOE and MERLINE

St. Petersburg

If you thought Jake and Lindsey were a mismatch, then you really must have love JoeLine.

Joe took over and assumed that part of the challenge was to keep Merline in check. No dancing. No singing. No talking. No ideas of your own. So the look was all Joe and he has no one to blame but himself.

But Merline doesn’t get a pass because she basically did what Joe said. When she wanted to create a 3d effect on the cape, he nixed it and she said nothing; when she wanted to do a cut-out on the back of the cape and he nixed it, she said nothing. When Tim calls the look Mumsy, Joe nixes the critique and Merline says nothing.

Worst of all: when Merline wanted the chicken for lunch and Joe nixed it, she said nothing.

WHAT THEY SAID

Joe: I feel really good. It’s a modern interpretation of MY classic style.

Merline: Not a lot of creativity came out of me.

WHAT I SAID

Bo-ring.

WHAT THE JUDGES SAID

Heidi called it matronly right out of the gate, and declared the cape an afterthought. The Adorable Zac Posen™--after Joe said his clients were older women—said designing for an older client is fine, but this looked like an oversexed grandma; he also called it sparkly and atrocious. Nina called the cape a side bib and demanded it be removed to show the ill-fitting dress beneath. Tracee also had doubts about the cape and wonky neckline of the drab dress.

WHAT HAPPENED

Joe wanted Merline gone, but the judges nixed that idea. Both are safe.

EDMOND and HANMIAO

Caribbean

Man, I almost couldn’t watch this car wreck. The only thing that saved me was cutie Edmond and the fact that, in the chat clips, you see he’s trimmed his beard and looks even hotter.

But he and Hanmiao are not on the same page. Their styles are very different and when he asks her to talk, she doesn’t speak at all except to say, ‘Shut up.’ She’s lucky he didn’t stuff her into that Caribbean suitcase they picked and send her to the airport.

Edmond suggests a swimsuit; she says No. He suggests the print, she says No. He wants a flowy skirt and top; she wants a structured garment. He tried to compromise, and then she turns into a Little Bitch.

After Tim says he likes the idea of a swimsuit, they decide to go that route … except she asks the model’s opinion on the color … and she wrestles the mannequin to the ground … and in a final desperate act, she actually hides the model in the bathroom so she can sew her into the swimsuit and not use the better suit Edmond made in about a minute.

Now, to be completely fair, Edmond, even with all the HanCrazy, spent the entire day making a floor-length wrap skirt that never got hemmed.

WHAT THEY SAID

Edmond: It could have been an amazing swimsuit.

Hanmiao: It’s too much.

WHAT I SAID

Had they worked to their strengths, Hanmiao could have made a very structured cover-up over a very feminine and body-conscious Edmond-style swimsuit. Instead, we got crap.

WHAT THE JUDGES SAID

The Adorable Zac Posen™ told Edmond he was lucky to have immunity and questioned why he’d take the time to make a second swimsuit rather than finish the skirt. He called it frightening and unflattering and ill-fitting. Heidi, to the chagrin of both Nina and Zac who may have stormed off the set, loved the print. Nina summed it up as ‘Hideous,’ and finished it off with a ‘Why a swimsuit? Why so literal?’ and an 'It looks like a Hawaiian Punch Pina Colada'. Tracee was most disturbed by the horrendous fit of the bikini bottom … which was more bottom than bikini.

WHAT HAPPENED

Edmond had immunity so Hanmiao took her big attitude and tiny body and hit the bricks.

When Joe picks St. Petersburg Merline begins speaking with a French accent. I’ve ordered an atlas and some stick pins for Merline so she can find St. Petersburg … in Russia.

The idea that Lindsey hated being called ‘deary’ and ‘sweetie’ whilst wearing Granny-Glasses-On-A-Chain was kinda funny.

Lines of the Night:

Merline: I’m under house arrest.

Kelly, on Joe’s Merline-free look: it looks like something one of the Golden Girls would wear … to bed.

Laurie, on the way Jake works: he looks like a little old lady knitting.

I know the designtestants hate the Team Challenges, but they really bring out the stronger designers and the ones who will soon be gone … Jake, Joe, Merline, Gabrielle, Amanda.

What did YOU think?