I was glad they did a recap of the previous episode, I had forgotten so much. It was a busy week for me, but then maybe it’s that it’s just plain forgettable? Is that uncharitable or just honest?
The challenge: make a streetwear look that consists of three separate pieces. A few of the designers were put out by that - - oh dear Lord, THREE separate pieces! Such a big ask! How on earth will I do it!
They got more details on the challenge from the guest judge, Tik Tok star Wisdom Kaye. I’m not on Til Tok but he’s super cute and his look is rad fresh. An expression I just invented, dawg. The designers will be working with male, female, and non-binary models. Right on cue, one of the designers says, “I’ve never done menswear!”
So much cigarette smoking this season. Is PR sponsored by the Philip Morris Agency? Later in the episode Darren was out not the patio using spray paint while smoking. Um, hello! Do they have a fire safety coordinator on this show? If not, do they need one?
Meg was the drama queen in this episode, it was Real Housewives of the Project Runway Workroom. She started by having a “Look how woke I am about racial issues” conversation with Prajjé. Ill advised. You can have that kind of conversation with your white friend Becky - - you do NOT have it with a Black man from Haiti.
In the workroom. Prajjé mentioned to Christian that he was disappointed that he ended up with a white model. Christian spoke with Coral and she was OK with trading models, so everybody was happy.
Meg had a little meltdown when Christian expressed his worry that her bland color palette would be a yawn in the midst of all the zippy colors and prints the other designers were wearing. She assured him that she could do something that didn’t read Old Man. This meltdown was a mere aperitif for the coming meltdown.
Kenneth saw Prajjé and Coral trading models and decided he wanted to trade models with Meg, so he could have an Asian model. She ended up saying yes but oh wow did she have a lot to say about it. From my point of view, either you say Yes and shut up or you say No and stand your ground. The drama got major, Meg dropped the F bomb to Kenneth about five times. It turned into a shouting match between Prajjé and Meg about their “woke” conversation that morning. Part of this shouting match happened over Zayden’s head at his sewing machine. Awkward!
Meg left the workroom, said she wanted to take off her mic and go home. Then Kenneth was crying. Oy. The next day Christian had a Gather ‘Round moment and announced that Meg had decided to extract herself from the competition. She said the intensity of the show was not good for her mental health. She made this realization in the second episode!
Kenneth wanted to honor the love and support he got from the other designers - - he did this by incorporating fabrics from the other designers in his design.
A propos of nothing, I realized last week that PR no longer has a host. Did Karlie Kloss decide to auf herself? Did the producers need to save money? It seems like Christian and the judges (welcome back, Nina) will be picking up some of those duties.
The runway was full of ideas this week so I decided to write about each of them.
Darren: Christian said to him (and I quote), “You’re gonna make your own look this time, right?” Didn't turn out so good for him.
Katie: Christian was concerned that her look was too costumey. I say cue the clown music! Yikes.
Prajjé: bravo, very strong. Very street but still sort of high fashion.
Chasity: I know very little about streetwear, but her look didn’t seem like street to me, it felt more MTV Video Music Awards Red Carpet.
Aaron: I liked it, especially the jacket.
Sabrina: I didn’t like the wacky straps.
Kenneth: he said early on he wanted to do “luxe street.” Well honey, that look was sloppy and dull, neither luxe nor street.
Kristina: more than anyone else, her outfit had a silhouette and an attitude. I loved it.
Shantall: very strong and sexy.
Octavio: oh yes, he took a big gamble with the mask and the unusual shapes but I thought it paid off.
Anna: what the hell was that? It was like Alexander McQueen doing ready-to-wear. But the reveal of the skirt coming off, that was exciting.
Coral: maybe too understated? She specializes in evening wear, maybe she didn’t quite know how to pivot to the street.
Bones: rather sloppy but probably safe.
Zayden: he said he was inspired by growing up on the south side of Chicago and more than anyone, his model really looked like a real person who was walking on a real street!
ON THE TOP
Zayden, thank you. Nina said that each piece could stand by itself, which says a lot. Zayden got emotional, clearly this challenge meant a lot to him.
I got the feeling that Aaron didn’t know if he was on the top or the bottom. He was relieved! Elaine said she wanted the whole thing. Aaron impressed the judges with the reversible jacket and convertible pants.
Nina loved that Prajjé used so much of his culture and his artistic sensibility in his outfit. It was stellar. But Elaine thought it was a little less wearable.
I was thrilled to see Kristina on the top, her look was so fresh and unexpected.
ON THE BOTTOM
Elaine asked Darren if he was proud of his look and you could tell she was perplexed when he said yes. But then guest judge Wisdom Kaye said he liked it, so clearly he was going to be safe.
Of course Katie was on the bottom. Brendan felt like it lacked modernity. Nina felt like it was a confusing silhouette, that the proportions were off. Elaine used the word “kitschy,” which was spot on.
Brendan asked Kenneth if he was proud of his look - - Kenneth said he was proud of the story but not proud of the overall look. His answer was evasive, it felt like he didn’t really want to tell the story. He started crying, Prajjé started crying, the judges definitely wanted to hear the story. The story came out. It was refreshing to hear Kenneth say that he agreed with the judges about being on the bottom, but the judges were touched that the other designers had been supportive of him, and sorry that he had been belittled by Meg.
The winner was Prajjé. I was surprised by that, he was my least favorite of the top four. I would have given it to Zayden or Kristina. Actually, I liked Aaron better than Prajjé too!
And our first cop out of the season: the judges couldn’t decide who was the worst of the three, so since Meg had auf’d herself, they didn’t send anyone home. I have my eye on Katie and Darren to go home soon. Watch, they’ll both end up in the final five.
Comments