By CJ Bomb
Hello everyone and welcome to Project Runway week ELEVEN! Wow, I feel like this season went so went so fast. I would like to thank TT and the rest of you for letting me get my fashion Ya-yas out each week. Our awesome guest Leslie could not be with me tonight, but we texted back and forth and I will be sharing her take on this episode as well.
Mah-Jing tells Cornelius he is proud he won and that he deserved it, because he is a nice person. Cornelius says he was sad to see Nat go, but thrilled Dex left, because he is a wee bit less nice. Erin is thrilled she wasn’t in the bottom and ready to ride the momentum to the finals. Hopefully that momentum will not include a cocoon coat.
Heidi walks out onto the runway rocking a fabulous white jumpsuit and tells the designers they need to buckle up and be ready for a thrill of a ride. It’s time to stand out, be bold and go big or go home. Rik thinks they are possibly going to Rome, or Paris! I think they are getting shoved into another helicopter or roller coaster. But nope, they are sent to an industrial warehouse where a representative from Lexus announces that the next challenge will be…..UNCONVENTIONAL MEETS AVANT-GARDE! Wow! That’s quite a combo. It’s a two-day challenge (thank GOD). The designers have five minutes to collect as much metal wire, tubing, nuts and bolts…..etc they can grab. They frantically start grabbing as much crap as possible except for Laurence who calmly picks out what she will use, because A. She’s Laurence and she is too cool to rush and B. When she rushes she gets a lot of stuff she winds up not being able to use. She likes metal so she is inspired. Cornelius says he is not an “industrial designer” so he is worried. MJ is grabbing anything he can sculpt.
The wild and crazy ride is just a ride to the store in a Lexus. At Mood the designers have $150 to buy fabric. Watching Tim interact with Swatch made my night. Erin buys very bright yellow leather and yellow fabric. Leslie texts me a pic of Maggie Simpson. MJ is buying denim because he is the self-proclaimed “King of Denim.” Cornelius is buying lots and lots of colors because he thinks bold colors are avant-garde. Sigh.
Ok, after last week and the confusion over what an editorial look is, for all of you non-fashion nerds and/or future contestants I want you to google these names: Rei Kawakubo, Viktor and Rolf, Alexander McQueen, Thierry Mugler. These are designers who have produced amazing avant-garde fashion. Look at their work, soak it in….ok, got it? We are going for extreme fashion that is somehow not completely costumey. As Leslie points out, a very tricky thing to do.
The Workroom
Cornelius wants to do a butterfly design. He says that he is inspired by the fact that butterflies look very beautiful far away, but up close they are scary. I text Leslie that I don’t think Cornelius knows what the hell he’s talking about. MJ is weaving copper tubing into copper wire for a “galaxy queen in space.” Or if you prefer, a “galaxy bitch, space goddess.” Erin is creating metal flowers with glue for a “paper doll” dress. MJ tells her to be careful using that particular glue because it expands when it dries. She doesn’t listen. Rik appears to be tiling his model with a backsplash. Roberi is cutting large metal shapes. Perhaps a fashion suit of armor?
Tim’s Critique
Rik: Rik is creating an A-line dress with multiple textures. I think it’s too simple. Leslie thinks it’s too simple. Tim tells him the safety pins he has applied cheapens the impact. Rick says he doesn’t want to go overboard.
Roberi: Roberi is doing a sexy dress! He says he is trying to “disrupt the body” with the metal shapes he’s created working them into the dress. Sexy Robocop! Tim is intrigued.
Mah-Jing: MJ starts talking about coral reefs and loses me. What happened to the space galaxy bitch? Tim points out how heavy copper is and that he should be careful it doesn’t come off too costumey. MJ is confused. He looks around the room and all he sees are costumes. I have a bad feeling about this. I love MJ and think he has grown tremendously, but he is in over his head here.
Erin: Erin’s flowers have bubbled glue, just like MJ told her they would, but she is soldiering on. She has a cage with flowers on it to wrap around her model’s torso. Tim and Leslie are worried for the model’s safety. Tim tells her she needs to recalibrate her ambition for her time frame. This is either going to be awesome, like the first yellow dress she did, or awful because she runs out of time. Embroidered hay shorts, remember those?
Laurence: Laurence is doing a LBD with her signature shoulder and a “stairway skirt”. I know TT is over Laurence and even Tim is worried she isn’t pushing herself far enough, but Les and I agree that even though this is safe-ish, it is exquisite. She is worried it’s too short, but that actually helps with the Avant-Garde aspect.
Cornelius: Tim points out that Cornelius has made a womb dress as the big pink circle on the front looks like “insert baby here”. He thinks the look is schizo and Cornelius, being Cornelius freaks out. Les texts me one word: Sucks.
Cornelius decides to change his butterfly into a parasite. He grabs tubing and starts placing it in very, um, odd places on the dress. Laurence says it’s on her “pom-pom” and I find myself googling french slang for the word vagina. I guess we are all learning new things today.
Cornelius points out the state of mind of all the designers and says it’s the same every week. He is a nervous wreck, Laurence is chill, Rick and Roberi are quiet, Erin is twiddling her thumbs and MJ is crying about something. What is find interesting is that each designer tells us who is their main competition. Rik, Laurence, Erin and Roberi are mentioned by each other. Cornelius and MJ are not mentioned by anyone. FORESHADOWING.
The Runway
Heidi walks out in a simple, elegant dress. Who is this woman? What has she done with the Heidi that wore the Jolly Green hooker outfit a few short weeks ago? The guest judge is Cathy Horyn! Sigh, no, only in my dreams. The guest judge is Shiri Appleby. I had to google her. She was on Roswell, remember that show? Neither do I. She is now on a show called Unreal (on Lifetime!) about what goes on behind the scenes of a reality show. And now she’s judging one. That’s too meta for me right now, I’m still recovering from hosting Thanksgiving.
Cornelius: Leslie: Feeding tubes are not sexy. Me: Zak Posen’s look of abject horror pretty much sums up how I feel about this Borg dress.
Mah-Jing: Leslie: Dolly Parton’s boobs couldn’t hold that dress up. Me: It looks like he glued a bunch of stuff to one of his regular dresses. Not avant-garde and not good. Worried for sweet MJ.
Rik: Leslie: She’s looking for backsplash options and this dress is giving her ideas. Me: It’s got a lot of amazing contrasts, but it’s still a basic shaped dress.
Roberi: Leslie: Jetsons! Love it! Me: Robocop sexycool.
Erin: Leslie: Best one. She really blended the materials and pushed the edge. She also writes Star Wars. Me: She nailed it. The combo of hard and soft and the cage element work. The pants flow beautifully.
Laurence: Leslie: She wrote too basic, and then I can’t read her handwriting. Me: Incredible construction, top: too basic, bottom: amazing.
Leslie and I both agree this is a 4-2 decision with MJ and Cornelius being in the bottom. We both pick Erin to win and Cornelius to go home.
The Judges
Roberi: Heidi loves the beautiful, futuristic shape. Zak says is has a cubist quality that reminds him of the artist Braque. Shiri said something but I tuned her out. Nina says it looks less like a costume and “more like you.” They love the veil he designed.
Mah-Jing: Zak says the tubing didn’t feel incorporated. Shiri liked the contrast of copper to denim. Nina says he used the material as a mere decoration. Heidi says it just looks “stuck on”.
Rik: Zak says he did so well with the blend of materials, especially the tiles. Shiri doesn’t think it’s exciting. Nina says it’s the most well-integrated and polished look. Heidi says it’s bold, but wearable. He wanted it to be wearable, so avant-garde off the rack works, I guess.
Cornelius: Nina says tubes are a cliche for something futuristic, but that this is disturbing. Zak says it’s not his strongest work. Shiri thinks it’s provocative. Heidi thinks the tube coming out of the womb is freaky.
Laurence: Heidi loves the look, but wishes Laurence would be more vocal about her work. So Laurence says what she says in English in French to make it sound more awesome. Zak loves it too. Shiri wished it had more color and starts talking about red carpets and standing out and she’s sucking up to Zak. I guess she wants him to dress her. Hopefully he’s a Roswell fan. Nina loves it, but tells Laurence she stayed in her safe zone.
Erin: Shiri, The Red Carpet Wonder Woman, loves it. Heidi thinks it’s sexy, sheer and bold. Zak thinks it’s futuristic Ziegfeld Follies. Nina thinks the effect is bold and it would photograph incredibly well. They welcome her back from her ride at the bottom of the PR roller coaster.
Erin wins. Cornelius’s Borg dress is safe? WHAT?? Mah-Jing is auf’ed. He is proud he made it to the final six. He is happy and gracious. He reconnected with his mom, rode in a helicopter and made amazing friends. His self-worth is more important than winning at the end of the day. I love you MJ. You are my pick for fan favorite. I hope you go on to great things.
Do you agree with the judges this week? Do you think there should have been a double elimination? The fashion share of the week: What is the most glamorous thing you have ever worn? Mine is a tie between a gold beaded Kaufmanfranco one shoulder dress and a Vera Wang bronze couture dress I wore in my friend’s wedding which was photographed for Martha Stewart’s magazine.
As always, have a fabulous weekend!
I did not like Cornelius’ dress at all and can’t imagine him making it to fashion week or what his collection would even look like. I think the most glamorous thing I have ever worn was a white and silver beaded backless gown from cache that I wore to my sorority formal. Not exactly designer but $500 was a lot to a broke college girl.
I suspect that because “Lady Cornelius from the Land of Shade” is the recipient of the Tim Gunn save that he has received his golden ticket to the final runway.
(great recap, thank you)
Roberi was robbed AGAIN. Extremely difficult construction. Met the LEXUS part of the challenge in a way that nothing else did. The mask/veil thing was inspired. He did exactly what the challenge demanded. These judges are assholes.
So MJ was sent home because his backside looked “glued on.” Fine. His was the worst. But the reasons were ridiculous.
Especially because ERIN WON FOR A LOOK THAT WAS ONLY FINISHED FROM THE FRONT! The back was just wads and wads of visible GLUE? Who the hell is Erin sucking off to keep winning?
Rik was praised for bathroom/kitchen tile hanging over a shoulder that was completely crooked in the back.
I liked Corny’s parasite dress more than some of the others. It was well constructed. Since when are uterine parastites not avant garde? He had no business in the bottom.
Laurence made a lovely black dress. But she really seems to have about five things she just rearranges on each challenged. I loved her dress. If she had put a white stripe on her tire she might have one. If I was normal sized I would wear her dress, and pretty much everything she makes. But she seems to have a limited range.
Shiri Appleby is the greatest thing since sliced bread. UnReal is one of my all time favorite TV shows. Not sure what qualifies her to be a judge though.
Thanks for another great recap, CJ! xo
it’s so interesting how people can look at the same thing with totally different perspectives. I absolutely loved Erin’s look, and I love her as a designer.
yes, I was getting sick of her with the repeat coats and moss shorts catastrophe, but then she creates this bright, whimsical, completely on-brand paper doll look and TOTALLY REDEEMS HERSELF!! I just love her point of view as a designer, and I admit that though one could hate for the repeated use of yellow, it’s my favourite colour and I’m just so excited to see it on the runway. I think the unfinished back is sort of the whole point; a paper doll dress has no back because its once dimensional. the glue in the back was an unfortunate oversight but totally understandable considering her inspiration.
oops, a paper doll is TWO dimensional. My bad. must be careful not to feed any petty internet trolls who may lurk, although this discussion is generally good 🙂
Unreal is a summer favorite for me. I’d be happy if Tamara would pick it up and guide us through it in a way only she can do. Thanks CJ, Runway is almost always a classy show and I enjoy your view.
Thank you for the recap. Just watching now as I read. I’ve never worn anything worthy of bragging; you must have looked fabulous. Waves at Leslie. I don’t know why I like this show as I’m about as fashionable as a toad.
Is Roberi under the radar? I like both him and Rik. If there is a fan favorite it will be MJ.
I love the Project Runway recaps. My closet is filled with clothes that are ink resistant. So sadly I do not have have designer clothes, unless the Jaclyn Smith collection counts. A girl can dream. Great recaps! Thanks Tamara!
Thanks for another fantastic recap CJ!
So, MJ’s model had to “hold up the dress”, how heavy could it possibly be, clearly the girl can’t hold a sandwich.
I have I said this recap that I hate Erin with the burning fire of 1,000 sun? No? I am going to totally enjoy her chin drop when she loses at Fashion Week.
The thick copper wiring he used is VERY heavy, actually! He was completely stupid not to do a copper cloth sheath underneath to protect her naughty bits and not make a complete dress out of the thinner mesh with the copper wire as a frame (with straps of course!)
Don’t shoot me…. but I liked how out there Cornelius’ dress was! I wish some of the tubing had really over emphasized the shoulder as one judge suggested, but it was unique, and I appreciated it.
This was the first runway that I did not find one dress that was hideous. I liked Roberis the best and Cornelius the worst with the odd placement of the tubes. I had no idea that the actress from Unreal was so into fashion.
I thought shiri’s critiques actually seemed surprisingly insightful, like she knew what she was talking about! She seemed to be one of the most vocal guest judges in a while that doesn’t work in fashion.
MJ WAS ROBBED! There’s no way in the world he deserved to go home when Cornelius stayed. Cornelius’ dress looked like something a student would cobble together – nothing talented about it at all. MJ’s dress should have had at least one strap – it would have taken away from the fact that it looked like it was going to fall off the boob-less model. The decorations were pretty and unique – nothing about Cornelius’ design was. Usually can’t stand Erin but really thought her dress was creative and attractive. Laurence is getting a little smug – she’s a fabulous designer but she needs to show us something new. Liked Roberi’s dress a lot – it was cleverly constructed and definitely avant-garde. Rik’s dress was good too – liked his embellishments very much. LOVE this show, but sometimes they do get it wrong.
Wonderful recap – thank you! Roberi is my favorite designer since his looks always retain some semblance of elegance, regardless of the challenge. I also appreciate Laurences’s skill level. I can’t believe how beautiful her construction is in such a short period of time. Project Runway is refreshing escape from most of Bravo’s shows, although I do enjoy Ladies of London (which I’ll watch today) if for nothing more than the seeing the glorious locale and wishing I was there.
Do you think they’re bashing this season out quickly so they can stop using Chiquita Crybaby’s winning show on the promos?
Poor Man-Jing. I adored him. Love your recaps, CJ, and appreciate your friend’s contributions. I am a fashion nerd, but that doesn’t stop me from having an uninformed opinion. 😉
I was fine with the winners and losers this time around.
I’m so happy that Roberi is finally getting some of the recognition that he deserves. He was the one I chose at the beginning of the season as “the one to watch out for”. I think there were many weeks when he should have been in the top three, but was merely safe. I’m hoping he makes the final three.
The most glamorous thing I ever wore? Hmmm…I guess I’d have to say the Versace Couture outfit I wore to a black-tie event. Dinner jacket, formal shirt and pants. The jacket was bright fuschia. That night several strangers on the street stopped me to tell me how incredible I looked. A lifetime ago. Sigh… For that and other reasons, that outfit was worth every penny it cost me!
As much as I love Laurence’s style, I wish she could loosen up a little. Working with color would be a welcome change. Yes, MJ is lovable, but most of his stuff is fugly. I liked Erin’s outfit, minus the pockets. They reminded me of a kids cowboy outfit. On the other hand, I am so unfashionable, all my comments should be ignored.
Roberi should have won. He met all the parts of the challenge. Rik’s was okay, but I too, thought backsplash with that particular tile. As a matter of fact, a good friend has that backsplash tile.
Erin’s wasn’t bad. I’m tired of yellow. I like yellow, but I’m tired of her using it. Erin seemed like a mean girl around Dexter. I can’t forget that.
MahJing: I loved the way the copper and denim blended. I wish he took that to an extreme level and made like a biker jacket and pants, maybe copper sleeves or use the the copper screen in place of stitching.
Erin: I have been hating on her for a while, but she did well. I’m just tired of yellow.
They will need to let four people go to fashion week because of Erin’s golden ticket,,,I would like to see what 3 others would do.