By CJ Bomb
Hey guys! First of all a big thank you to Tamara for handling last week’s episode. I am EXTREMELY annoyed I didn’t get to recap it as the avant-garde challenge is always one of my favorites. I do think the right person went home and I ALSO think that Joshua needs a bitch slap of reality. You cannot be an enfant-terrible unless you are a genius. Joshua is many things, a lover of lingerie, eyebrow maintenance fanatic and enthusiastic user of hair gel, but a genius worthy of the attitude last week? No. Just no. And may I say how much I now love Stanley?
THe designers arrive at the Jewish museum where there is an Isaac Mizrahi exhibit. Alyssa is wearing a housecoat from a 1972 JCPenney catalog. Isaac pops out and talks about “Isaac Mizrahi, an Unruly History”. I wish I could see this. I’m going to watch Unzipped tomorrow. If you haven’t seen that documentary, drop everything you are doing (after reading this recap) and watch it. Alyssa goes on to say that he is well known for his powerful use of color, including the coat she is wearing. Only Alyssa could make that look so dowdy. Isaac is going to assign them color palettes for this challenge. He gives Ken red, but wants him to show a red he hasn’t shown before. He gives Fabio green. Fabio isn’t happy but he fakes it. Isaac gets Audrey Hepburn from Stanley, so he’s getting the pink palette. Merline gets blue and Helen purple. Edmund gets my favorite color (other than black) orange. Our sunny Anthony gets yellow and Isaac saves the teal palette which is “deep and rich” and can be “great or awful” for Joshua. He should have given him a spanking. Joshua would have probably enjoyed that too much though…. He says that Joshua is good at walking a delicate line. Maybe he just wants him gone.
The designers have their assigned color, but in a twist Alyssa tells them they have to pick a complimentary color for their design. They are designing party looks for spring. They have $150 and one day and Isaac has a surprise for the winner which will be revealed on the runway. Joshua pulls Isaac aside and tells him that he knows he was too “feisty” and Isaac responds graciously by saying that sometimes you think your work is awful and people think it’s brilliant and sometimes you think you have designed the best thing ever and people think it’s hideous, you have to accept those opinions and let it go. Joshua should watch Unzipped. It is about how a collection of Isaac’s in 1995 comes together after a previous collection received a scathing review. (and the REAL supermodels are in it) Joshua realizes he needs to do work on himself.
Everyone is inspired by the incredible work and gets down to sketching. Anthony is doing lavender with yellow. I’m not sure how I feel about that. Helen thinks Isaac gave her purple because her work is intense. I’m not sure how I feel about that either. Merline is doing blue and yellow.
Ken is going to show that he can do detail work with a corset gown with a cut-out and a choker. Anthony is doing a gown. Shocker. Merline is already pinning shapes on her form. Anthony points out what I am thinking which is that as awesome as last week’s work was, the judges want to see something different from Merline. Ken and Anthony sound like church ladies gossiping. Merline tells Anthony she has her eye on him.
In walks Anne to give some useless advice. She loves Helen’s purple but wonders where she is going to put the blue accent color. Helen is worried that if she uses too much it will be overwhelming. Anne tells her she needs MORE. Hmmmm. She loves Edmond’s orange and berry color combo (as do I) but tells him not to make his dress short for the sake of being short. Merline thinks she is doing something totally different and Anne points out that she is doing the exact same thing. Again. An architectural short dress. Merline doesn’t get it. Because, Merline. Joshua shows Anne some sort of chain thing he’s attaching and she tells him it looks like a tiara. She thinks Fabio’s looks like the 1950’s and is worried it’s not going to be fashionable. Fabio’s face looks like he gives zero fucks what Anne has to say. She tells Ken he needs to “put all his money on the table”. He assures her he’s going for it. Stanley is building a hip pad. She is impressed with his ingenuity but tells him that he needs to make sure that pink is his dominant color. Anne tells Anthony he needs to go beyond just elegant. She tells him it’s a party, not a red carpet. She tells them all to let loose and have fun.
Merline has scrapped her first dress and is now folding triangles. Stanley is very nice in calling her an artist, but points out that she will actually have to construct the garment. In one day. Edmond has decided to go floor length. Anthony is getting nightgown. What happened to that cool fitted sketch he had? Stanley and Helen are happy. I want to shop on the Intermix wall. Ken is now freaking out that he doesn’t have time to add the detail work he wanted to do. Anthony is rethinking his design. Ken is sitting down and eating chicken.
On the day of the runway Helen is trying to take Anne’s advice. Uh-oh. Ken knows he has a “basic bitch” dress and he’s in trouble. Joshua is WAY behind. Oh Edmond. What the hell happened. A bow on the butt??? Merline is running laps per usual. Joshua thinks her dress looks like a “couture cheerleading outfit”. He’s not wrong. Zen Ken has taken one too many Xanax and Anthony is yelling at him to pull it together. He adds his complimentary color at the last minute and I am just hoping it works as I like Ken’s work and don’t want him to go.
Ok the guest judge is CARMEN FREAKING DELL OREFICE. This woman is still modeling in her EIGHTIES. She modeled for CHARLES JAMES. She is a LEGEND. Can you tell I am excited? She is the embodiment of a swan. I just know Isaac asked her personally to do this. And Alyssa…..doesn’t look terrible this week. That neckline is nice on her. At least she’s moving towards the right shape for her figure? I want Georgina’s earrings. Badly.
I actually don’t mind Ken’s dress. I do think the construction isn’t great but he certainly didn’t put all his money on the table. He needs to send Anthony a fruit basket. Fabio’s is cute. And boring. I love the concept of Stanley’s look, but I’m not sure how the judges are going to react to the way the underpinnings hit the skirt. It’s very noticable. The color and top is fabulous. It would be hard to dance in this. Beautiful shape. Anthony’s came out better than I expected but it’s also not very exciting. Pageant dress in South America. I actually like Helen’s a lot but I’m worried about the blue accent. Edmond’s color is stunning but there isn’t much design in this dress. Merline, on the other hand, please Lord let this be it. Only Joshua could make a full length gown look slutty.
I choose Ken, Helen and Stanley for my top picks with either Stanley or Helen to win. Please just send Merline home already.
Georgina thinks Helen’s look is unexpected and playful but she thinks the eggplant color is depressing. Oh Honey, you better prep yourself for depressing….. Isaac loves that he’s getting a disco era vibe but it’s still modern. Carmen thinks the cut off leg is a fun surprise. Alyssa is thrilled she took a risk, but she’s not sure about the color.
Isaac is made happy by Anthony’s dress but thinks the lavender gets lost and looks a little gray. He does think the lines are a little wonky. Carmen likes the dress very much but her favorite part is that it would be easy to go to the bathroom in it. Everyone laughs but when you hit 40 and have had kids? Trust me, this is something you think about. She says Fashion and function. Alyssa likes the way the shoulder was done, but hates that she can see the models toes in a floor length dress. Georgina tells him he has had such a light hand all season and this feels tortured.
Georgina thinks that Ken’s is perfection in the front and Isaac love the bright happy red. He wished the pink was a stronger shade. Carmen loves it but hates the exposed zipper in the back because it draws her eye away from the complementary color. Georgina thinks he is finding a softness in his design.
Georgina tells Edmond that she loves the color but the dress is a throw-away. Isaac and Carmen also love the color but both think it looks like a nightgown. Alyssa loves it and gave a high score. Please don’t try to wear this Alyssa. Please.
Isaac loves the shape of Stanley’s dress and loves the hip pads and the fact that it almost creates two colors in the skirt. Carmen loves the dress period and tells Stanley it reminds her of old couture, but she disagrees with Isaac and didn’t think it needed the structure underneath. Alyssa loves the angles that were created.
Isaac thinks that Merline chose a good blue, but he doesn’t like the yellow. Carmen is ok with the yellow and thinks the construction is interesting but weird. Georgina tells her she needs to make better fabric choices because when they work, they really work and when they don’t it’s really bad. Alyssa tells her to make an origami dress collection.
The winning designer gets to collaborate with Isaac on a capsule collection for Lord and Taylor. Wow…good prize. Stanley wins! He hugs Isaac. I cannot wait to see what these two would come up with. Merline is going home. It was time. Do you agree? As always please share! Love the comments! Next week we are in Zac Posen’s studio and there is an evening gown challenge. I have to work on Thursday but I WILL NOT MISS THIS ONE. Have a wonderful weekend everyone!!
OMG! My plan was to leisurely enjoy this doing the dreaded cleaners visit but they bailed last minute and I could not be happier! It is a beautiful day outside and I want to go to Publix during the day when it is less busy.
I have so much to say. Ken on Xanax eating chicken is hysterical. Then when he said he had a “clot” when what he was trying to stay was he was blocked, I immediately though his dress looked like the inside of someone’s heart “throws a clot” as my mother would say and has a heart attack.
I rarely LOL for real. But Anthony had me cracking up this episode talking about Merline. When those two were in the bottom I ALMOST THREW A CLOT worrying about Anthony going home. They ALWAYS seem to save Merline and then say, “Please show us something different next time.” Lather rinse repeat.
I didn’t think Fabio deserved to be lumped in with Joshua. I loved Fabio’s look.
I could not believe they had the nerve to stand Helen’s one legged pantsuit next to my Stanley.
That’s two in a row for my Stanley! I hope he wins the whole thing!
I have more to say later. I just want to get out of the house and into the sunshine. THE SUN IS OUT! THE SUN IS OUT! THANK GOD ALMIGHTY THE SUN IS OUT!
I may have heard it wrong, but I thought Ken said he had a “block”. As in creatively.
Though my mind immediately flashed to a bowel blockage caused by the chicken.
I may have heard it wrong as well. I thought he said clot, and I immediately thought it looked like a blood clot.
Well, as a sewer, I know Merline’s choice of buckram was not fashion . It’s used underneath things to stiff them up. Mom and I used it underneath lampshades we made
Happy to see her gone..
I thought Stanley’s colors were good, but the hips were too much for me. I would have given Helen the win i think. Merlines was definitely the worst.
Yes! I loved Helen’s pantsuit, including the colors.
I agree! It was an overall underwhelming runway show. But I agree with your choices. The winning look was too fussy, especially with that weird belt with the dated-looking fake pearls or whatever they were on it. Fashion-backward!
I thought Ken’s the superior piece, because that corset was everything — and the pop of color was great. I am not sure Stanley’s was Isaac’s personal favorite, but I know damn sure (given the prize) that he’d rather work with Stanley than Ken or Helen.
The front of Ken’s dress was lovely. The back of Ken’s dress was a disaster. I love Ken buy Fabio should have had Ken’s place in the top.
Finally, she is gone.
Maybe she should make lampshades. Or maybe not.
I do not want to see an origami collection by Merline!
Poor Stanley, his model was skeletally thin – no wonder he had to put a form around her hips. I thought there was a movement away from such unhealthy looking women, but apparently not. Didn’t actually like his dress that much, but I might have liked it better if I hadn’t been so stunned by the gauntness of the person wearing it.
Anthony looked absolutely stunned to be in the bottom two, but glad he didn’t go home. Merline’s problem with choosing appropriate fabrics, plus the “origami” (polite way of putting it) look of her design was horrible. Really nice lady, but she deserved to go.
I was really surprised they didn’t like Helen’s offering – I thought it was attractive and unique, especially compared to Edmond’s “nightie” look. The back of his actually didn’t look bad, but there wasn’t really much to it. Looked like something an old time movie star (Joan Crawford?) might have worn for a photo shoot many, many years ago.
Didn’t really care for any of the others at all, and you know what? I didn’t like any of Isaac Mizrahi’s designs either! Perhaps you have to be rich and skinny to get him. Or have fashion taste. Well, I’m 0/3 on those requirements.
Glad I’m not the only one that thought Stanley’s model looked scary skinny…
I didn’t realize they were rotating models this season until Stanley told Fulenwider that his model THIS WEEK was very thin. It seemed like Stanley felt he had no choice but to try to manufacture a shape for his model. I don’t think we would have seen that understructure on anyone else. I don’t think he wanted to explain all of that to the judges he seemed to be trying to be delicate about her extreme thinness in much the same way he might make changes to his designs if he had a plus sized model.
In other news, I loved when Fulenwider told Ken he had not put all the money on the table regarding his designs and he shot back with something like, “Well if I had more than 8 or 9 hours to create a garment I could do that. It seems like the designers are starting to really wear out with the fast pace of filming. Josh responds with losing his temper during the judges critques and Ken sits down and eats fried chicken.
Actually liked the color choices of Helen and thought her dress was pretty ok. Episode, to me, was all about the interaction between Isaac and Joshua. Lovely to see people growing and trying to help one another. Kudos to Isaac for respecting Josh’s plea for guidance in life and for Josh for putting aside pride and asking for it from someone whom he obviously admires. I mean, Mizrahi has done a lot with his life and come far from the misbehaving youth he once was.
Poor Anne. She’s like that one girl in high school that thinks it’s super cool to be a bitch and it will make her popular, but it just falls flat.
I WANT TO BE CARMEN DELL’OREFICE WHEN I GROW UP.
Me too!!!
I had never heard of Carmen, but she exudes class and it was a pleasure to see her on the show.
I thought Helen’s outfit was good and certainly liked it better than her usual creations.
I love This report..yes, only Alyssa could make that cost look dowdy.!
ME TOO!!
Unzipped is a wonderful film. I love Mizrahi more than ever.
Welcome back CJ. I enjoyed this episode and wasn’t as frustrated as I’ve been with previous episodes. I am frustrated with myself, I’ve never been to NYC and I know I would love it. Just watching the designers walking to a museum in the city (I love museums, any kind!) I need to make real effort to get there soon!
I love the concept of this challenge a lot. I believe Isaac did think about the colors he picked for each designer, that alone makes this challenge really special.
I don’t know if Joshua is really understanding of any critique. He has his own vision and really sticks to it. That said, I don’t think Anne was a good choice in the workroom as a mentor or critic. Interaction between Joshua and Isaac was amazing! I’m actually proud of him for seeking out advice from an expert in how to learn from bad feedback. I’m guessing it’s part brown nosing up to the teacher but on the other hand resulted in very, very good advice. Anyone in the art’s knows you have to have a thick skin AND be vulnerable! It’s a balancing act and some artists truly need someone between them and their work.
I’m realizing I have a lot more to say. I’m going to take a break and eat. I haven’t talked workroom, designs, judging etc…!
Anthony is such a great friend to take the time to go to Ken and say, “ GO AND SEW YOUR FRIGGIN’ DRESS!!” Love Anthony!! Thank goodness he is still in the competition!
Thank goodness Merline the origami-science-fiction costumes-out-of-tissue-paper designe is finally gone! Could not take one more week of seeing another one of her (same) dresses.
I didn’t really like Helen’s look. Liked Stanley’s. Liked Joshua’s. Didn’t understand Fabio’s fit. Liked Ken’s, especially the front. Did not understand that orange nightgown!
Someone please get Alyssa a stylist. Please!!
I forgot about the orange nightgown dress.
Don’t tell anyone, especially CJ, but I liked it.
I kno everyone likes to throw shade at Edmond but it was a beautiful fabric choice.
I like Edmond! I haven’t seen anyone not liking him but I think some people didn’t like his dress this week. I loved it. I’ll just sit over here with Alyssa Milano in the category of chicks who can’t wear it though. I’m plenty tall enough but my old lady batwings need sleeves and my gut would jut out.
I liked the orange dress too. The bias-cut fabric looked beautiful. I’m not gonna miss Merline’s fashion don’ts. Just no sense of style whatsoever. Gotta hand it to her for lasting as long as she did. I hope she has a plan B.
I was fine with it and LOVED the color, I just don’t think there was enough design in it. I would have worn that in a skinny minute.
I liked it. Edmond designs well. The colors were beautiful, and the fabric flowed like a butterfly…
I just think the dress looks more like a really cool nightgown than a dress to wear to a party.
I kno everyone’s glad to have Merline gone but I was soooo looking forward to seeing josh pack up his tweezers after last weeks ahole behavior. Although his look wasn’t as offensive as usual I was shocked when I heard he was safe. His “heart to heart” with issac seemed like BS to me.
Yep, in retrospect, he knew he fucked up big time and went into ass kiss mode.
Well put. It’s beyond what happened on the show though. It’s speciially fake cos it was filmed a while ago and there he was last week posting the most hateful stuff.
I love Carmen DelOrifice. This is a women who is pencil thin as a result f not having anything to eat as a child. She should have retired to a life of luxury but an ex husband then Bernie madoff took her savings. She picked herself up, dusted herself off and went to work. I so admire her not just because she is gorgeous but because she never let life defeat her.
Sit still and listen Alyssa. Who thought the idea that Alyssa should host this show?
I’m a huge Isaac Mizrahi fan and have followed his career since his rise, fall…or perhaps stumble is a better term, only to rise again. I still have a couple of pieces from his Target Collection. Heck, I even remember how he and Omarosa butted heads on The Apprentice when she just refused to pronounce his name correctly.
Unzipped is a great movie. I need to see it again! Thanks for the reminder of the original super model era.
Alyssa is always the worst dressed on this show. Is she there just to make the other designers feel better?
Are any f the producers even watching?
Producers, if you’re reading:
1. Get Alyssa a new stylist. It’s embarrassing to you that we critique her look worse than the losing designers.
2. Stop with the one-day challenges. It’s no fun to watch these all-stars run around trying to design with time constraints.
3. GET RID OF USELESS ANNE. Her comments are useless at best, damaging to the designers at worst.
Also. The mole on that model’s face? Surprised nobody mentioned it. “I have a giant warty mole on my face – I know! I’ll go be a model on TV!”
Lol.
Couldn’t agree more. One day challenges are ridiculous and seem like a cheap production move.
Isaac is just adorable and very real. I actually liked his dress that Alyssa wore. Most of her dresses don’t suit her body type or coloring. Finally, a guest judge with legitimate industry experience.
Merline has talent, but needs to develop serious construction skills. Bad color choice. I think I had a cotton suit in those colors in the 80’s from Penneys and thought I looked sporty.
Anthony is hilarious. Basically, the review was spot on.
I don’t love Helen but I really liked her colors this week.
Give me more Anthony and Ken. Fun guys.
Helen is talented but I get a little tired of her constant critiques of everyone else and her “over confidence”
Awesome recap.
Georgina thinks Helen’s look is unexpected and playful but she thinks the eggplant color is depressing. Oh Honey, you better prep yourself for depressing…..
Omg-hysterical!?
What do you mean by that?
I got distracted by my phone and doing random stuff around the house while playing this, so I missed most of the episode, including the end lol. Thanks so much for an awesome recap! I laughed really hard at the Xanax line, that is one part I saw was him eating chicken and thought it to be weird.
For the love of all that is Holy, can they please give them more than a day to create a gown next week? I remember back in the old Project Runway days only every now and then did they do a 1 day challenge, now it’s the norm. Is my memory wrong on this? Either way it’s getting annoying.
EDub, I think they made that change when PR went to Lifetime. Cheapskate production. Wondering what will happen with sale of Weinstein’s production company.
I dont dislike any of these designers, but don’t have a handle on a clear winner at this point. Edmond has been riding in the middle for much of the season, so unless he can rally, I think his aufing is in the offing.
I liked his orange dress, but as everyone has noted, there wasn’t anything original about it.
I thought it was marvelous how Ken was waning and complaining and then, voila, a beautiful dress, albeit with a wonky zipper. I hope he rejuvenates for the rest of the competition.
Stanley and Anthomy were my favs this week.
Please send Helen and Joshua home in a double elimination !! That is all I have to say about them.
I loved Edmunds dess the color was pretty just have seen that dress before. Ken;s dress liked it too I didn’t think the zipper was a big deal.
It was time for Merleme to go but there are 2 others who should of gone with her.