The Challenge
Make a dress and a fabulous accessory with materials sourced from the hardware store. I thought this was potentially one of the more interesting "unusual material" challenges, simply because while clothing materials generally aren't found there, other crafting materials sometimes are.
Episode Highlights
There was a very amusing sequence of interviews interspersed with Seth Aaron hammering. Unfortunately, for all that hammering... well, I'll get to that down in the dresses section. Let's just say that this week, things basically fell into the "wow" and "OMG WTF" categories overall, and picking a favorite or three was hard.
Aside from that the most interesting thing to me was Emilio's behavior. From bitching about the challenge materials (honey, have you ever seen this show?) to his inability to do math such that he had to put back half his materials (though I still don't know how that's possible) to sneering at everyone trying to make "normal" dresses to outright lying on the runway about how he came up with his idea, it was a non-stop bitchfest in all sorts of senses of the word "bitch". I guess he's officially this season's "villain", though really he's just sorta whiny.
The second most interesting thing I'll cover down in Jay's section.
Dresses by Designer
Amy
While she was in the hardware store, Amy noted that sandpaper was interesting because it came in all sorts of colours and had some texture variance. I thought that was a clever choice, although she didn't use as much colour variance as I'd expected from that.
The dress overall is tan and black (although some of the black looks very very dark brown), with a really interesting fan detail along the top of the bodice, which is a left-side-taller assymetrical shape, reminiscent of a sweetheart neckline otherwise. The bodice also features some alternating elongated pentagonal shapes in tan outlined with black, and overall is very visually striking. Under the larger of the fans is an overlapping set of circular cut-outs in which grommets are set.
I think she spent most of her oomph on that bodice, as the skirt itself is one of those really sharp-angled slightly-ruffly A-lines ending mid-thigh as is typical for many cocktail dresses. There's some of those circles on it, but they're difficult to spot due to the fact that they're the same black as the rest of the skirt. I think her accessory was the belt, which is in alternating tan and black rectangles, although it ends up looking like just part of the dress. This was overall my favorite.
Anthony
I don't know what Anthony was thinking. He picked up what I believe is duct tape in a bright purple, then covered it up with... window screen material? I think that's right. With that, he created a really typical and slightly boring cocktail dress.
The bodice is... I'm not sure what the right term for it is... it's split down the middle with a thin line showing some cleavage, not really a keyhole since it's not really joined at the top except at the circular neckstrap, but not exactly a halter due to the coverage. The back of the bodice has some funky slightly triangular thing going on. It's not looking so hot. The skirt is the only part with some interest; he fashioned some screen leaves coming down from his accessory belt, a wide strap of metal, possibly aluminum, which is joined in the back with a cutesy bow. Not a great outfit, although I'm not sure it was one of the worst, either.
Ben
I thought this challenge would be right up Ben's alley since he clearly likes the superhero armor thing, but what he made is just a tortured mess. I'm sorry, Ben, I love your stuff normally, but I can't get behind this one.
The front is just this hideous crinkled mess of copper sheeting, with some pockets made of what looks like strapping tape, which is the only part of the front that I find interesting. It's got wide straps and a narrow V neckline. From the back it's a bit better, with a big cutout in a shape I think of as typically Ben, a wide but sorta squared off teardrop shape. I'm not sure if the materials just defeated him or if this was really his idea, but either way, it's not working. His accessory is a bracelet made of some sort of metal fasteners or maybe hinge pieces. It's small and easily overlooked.
Emilio
Oh, good Lord. So, Emilio decided to do something with washers and cord, and somehow these were so expensive that he ended up with a tiny amount. And he's got a really, really tall model. I don't know if his original idea would've been interesting or not—it really kinda looked very macrame-ish, which, eh—but what he ended up with was so little material that he ultimately decided to make... well, he calls it a bathing suit, but I can't imagine getting in the water with it on.
Kudos to his model for not just killing him for this.
The thing as a whole is this hideous mess of washers connected by bright pink cord, with no shape or rhyme or reason. There's absolutely nothing attractive or interesting about it. At first a lot of viewers thought he also didn't make an accessory, though she is wearing some sort of barely visible bracelet. I can't tell what it's made out of other than "not washers and pink cord", and I admit to being a little dubious that he actually made it, but, whatevs.
Jay Nicolas
When Jay said "trash bags", I was like "No! Don't do it!" Little did I know he would pull out an amazing outfit that looks so little like trash bags—even the really heavy-duty kind you can find in a hardware store—that it's astounding.
He also picked up some bright blue electrical tape, which he used to make a top with a striped pattern. The top is strapless and comes down to some slightly bubble-skirt-like ruffle fold noodle thingies. I know, that's a great description, but that's what it is. It's cinched in by this fabulous braided belt that I love, which is also made of trash bag material. The pants are skin tight black capris with a dark grey diagonal striping. They look very much like the leather he was trying to invoke, and I'm totally impressed by the work he did.
So, about those pants: apparently, he layered the trash bags with some other material, I don't recall what it was. And as he was working with it, it shrunk. When his model came in with the fitting, they could not get the pants above her ankles. Instead of freaking out or starting over or crying in a corner, he just cut the sides open and put an inset panel in, which ended up looking totally natural. It still was a pretty tight fit and he was talking about having to ask his model to not, y'know, do anything like try to go to the bathroom, so kudos to both him and his model for a real "make it work" result.
Jesse
Oh, man, Jesse. Like Ben and Jonathan, he picked up copper, which because of the use of it by others he ultimately decided to paint over with a silvery paint, thus rendering it simultaneously shinier and duller.
Like Ben, the front of his top is totally tortured. It's an asymetrical bodice cut in a way I really don't like. Some people have praised the asymetrical racer back, but, honestly? I don't really like it that much. It's sorta interesting, I guess, and it's less tortured-looking than the front, but even in fabric I don't think it'd be to my tastes.
The skirt is a huge grey bubble skirt made of what I'm pretty sure is more window screen material, a popular choice I guess. Yawn, though, on the silhouette, and I hate bubble skirts anyhow. Ultimately it was just neither interesting (which is the whole point of these challenges IMO) nor a good result. His accessory was a hair piece, which I guess was kinda cute.
Jonathan
Jonathan used a combination of copper and brown and black electrical tape, I believe. The actual shape of the dress is relatively simple: a halter dress with a middling-low neckline, backless, mid-thigh. He put a slit in, though, which you don't see on this sort of dress as often.
The body of the dress is mainly brown, with diagonal copper insets at the bottom and on the other side of the slit. The top has some copper inset between the breasts, and a bodice treatment that on one side looks a little sloppy-floppy, but on the other is a rigid overlapping set of tape-backed copper that's actually quite interesting, sort of like a very stiff ruffle. The dress and some of its highlights are trimmed in black. Overall I think I rather like it, even if it's very difficult to describe. His accessory was a matching clutch made of copper and tape, and was one of the better choices of the night.
Maya
The dress itself is a simple, beigeish-grey sheath dress that I think someone said was made of window screen, presumably over muslin given the look. This is because she didn't want to detract from her high-necked stiff-cord cage jacket, which everyone was drooling over. I have to admit something here: I've seen a couple things like that before, and I've never liked them. So while I'm happy to concede that she made something interesting and fashionable and did a great job with her materials, it's not at all to my tastes. It's really well-made, though. Her accessory is a chain of keys interspersed with screen triangles, and it's pretty nice. Also, her model's styling was really suited to the outfit.
Mila
I know people are sick of her working in black and white colour blocking, but me? I'm not. She does different things with it and usually puts together something interesting, and this was no exception. Her primary material was paint tray liners, which she cut out and made into an amazing dress.
The bodice is tight-fit with a neckline that rounds up and attaches to a strap that goes to a wide collar. I think I'd find that hideously uncomfortable to wear but it's interesting visually. The sides are black and the strap and collar are alternating white and black. In the back, it drops down in a shallow V instead of being curved, and the collar is also attached there.
The skirt is a white-and-black checker pattern of layered "ruffles" (if you can call them that when they're made by overlapping rigid bits), hitting around mid thigh. Her accessory was a paint can label bracelet or cuff with some sort of plastic sticking out of it, and suits the outfit perfectly. I only wish she'd done one for each side. It's got writing on it which you can't really read from a distance but which lends it some visual interest. Were it not for Amy, this would be my favorite look.
Seth Aaron
I really thought that Seth Aaron would do a great job with this since he likes working with hardware but then he sent something down the runway that I really wasn't impressed by. However, now that I'm giving it another look, I think it's a little less awful than my initial impression.
Okay, so... the dress looks like it walked straight off a 1950s science fiction movie. It really looks like he made it of heat foil. In fact, I'm not sure he didn't in part, even though I know the bodice is hammered metal (aluminum, probably). Actually considering that it looks like the skirt actually does fold, it probably was another material. I wish I knew what now.
Anyhow, the bodice, as I said, is hammered metal, and it's a really odd shape with a forward-leaning flap at the top. The skirt is a very wide-angled mini in that other mystery material edged in a darker colour. In the back, there's a kinda interesting series of straps which look a lot like black leather belts. One comes over from her right shoulder, the others are midway down her back and just above the skirt, and they all connect. The skirt is actually a lot cooler from the back, leading me to think the thing that really killed this was the bodice front. His accessory is a humongous metal bracelet.
Overall, with the odd styling, it looks like he really was going for a 1950s robotic feel, and again, now that I've had more time to study it, I think he did a better job than I originally thought and had a good idea.
Judging
My picks for top 3: Amy, Mila, Jay
Judges' picks for top 3: Maya, Mila, Jay
Honestly, I'm not at all unhappy with the top three. I think that if Amy's accessory had been more obvious, or if she'd added a matching bracelet in the belt's pattern, she would've had a stronger shot at the top. And while Maya's outfit is not to my personal tastes, the fact is, it's pretty interesting, and I can see why they included her. Jay belongs there just for the transformation of materials into a hot and chick outfit (and for doing pants at all). And I think Mila's was very visually interesting.
My pick for winner: Jay
Judges' pick for winner: Jay
I know some people think Maya got robbed, but again, my taste? Not theirs. For me, while I'm happy to see her in the top, it was between Mila and Jay (although in my top 3 it would've been between Amy and Jay). Mila's was neat and interesting but Jay just put out something amazing, so no problem at all with him winning. Originally I wasn't so sure I would've picked him but the more I look at the pieces the more it seems like it was the best choice.
My picks for bottom 3: Emilio, Jesse, and *gulp* Ben
Judges' picks for bottom 3: Anthony, Emilio, and Jesse
I'm sorry, Ben, but... yours was worse than Anthony's, which just was boring, not tortured. Emilio obviously belongs there with his hideous string contraption, and of the rest, I think Jesse's showed the least imagination and was one of the less visually interesting.
My pick for auf: Erm. See below.
Judges' pick for auf: Jesse
I go back and forth on this. I can't really disagree that Jesse made something boring in a silhouette that was done with only one really interesting feature, that being the asymmetrical back, and you already know I don't really care for that. His body of work also hasn't been very impressive overall. On the other hand, Emilio made something that was totally crappy and tried to pretend it was his idea to make a "bathing suit" all along, and while he's had some good looks in the past, he's been slowly going downhill. I don't like either of them personally so that wasn't a factor for me (and shouldn't really be a factor in judging, but I'm not a judge). Ultimately I think it was perfectly fair to send Jesse home, but I can't help but think that Emilio did something worse... and I'm not entirely sure he wasn't kept at the producers' request. So... yeah, there's that.
Sorry, Jesse. You're probably nicer than I think you are, but I didn't like you on the show and I didn't like most of your work (or most of your Bryant Park collection), so I think it was probably time for you to go.
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