Project Project Runway Challenge #8 – The Rainway

Welcome to season 13 of Project Runway and a new season of Project Project Runway! If you want to join in the fun this season get all the details here. Let’s jump right in…

Challenge – The Rainway
Create an avant garde look that can stand up to rain. The look needs to be cutting edge and forward thinking. Can your model handle the rain?!
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Time Limit – 24 hours

Budget –  $30

Accessories – Choose your accessories from the Aldo Accessory Wall.

Runway Day – Runway day is Thursday, September 18th.
Just a reminder, only in-progress photos should be posted to the Flickr group before Runway Day. Save the big reveal for next Thursday. Please tag your photos with PPR13 and ProjectProjectRunway.

Ok, let’s talk about this episode. Warning spoilers ahead….

Kathy’s take: I know some people will probably thing the rainway thing was silly, but I think it was interesting for an avant garde challenge and forced the designers to use some different fabrics. Plus, they got two days, woohoo.

I LOVED Kini’s look. It was the most striking thing on the runway. His fun play on the umbrella was great and the construction looked amazing. I am so glad they did a joint win, because his designed deserved to win over a gimmick in my opinion.
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Sean’s idea was really clever for this runway. The dye was the whole design though. The dress itself other than the waterproof slip was just a little sundress. I mean, it was cool and it was a moment, but was the whole design great?
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Sandhya’s look was just silly in my opinion, pinwheels? I’m surprised the judges liked it so much. It didn’t look high end or designed to me. It was stuff stuck on plastic. I still don’t get their love of her.

Korina’s look was more like a crafty costume than a design. Come on, it was taped together!

fäde, oh yawn. That is so not avant garde. It is just a boring dress with a little bit of bright graphics on it. Just dull. Last week, he gave us a dull dress too. He seems to be over it. I couldn’t believe Heidi said Emily’s look didn’t look like it took two days, if anyone’s looked like they didn’t have time, it was fäde’s. I do feel like he was ready to go.

Finally, I just can’t with Amanda anymore. I just don’t get it. I thought her dress was ugly, not avant garde and it fell apart on the runway! How is something that falls apart on the runway not end up in the bottom three?!

Susi’s Take:

I was blown away tonight. I was cheering when the dye in Sean’s dress started to show. Even if you have watched every season of PR, this was a surprise, and that was really special. What a thrill.

I cannot help but think how similar Sean’s dress was to one I created (Aug 2011, Come as You Are, Challenge 1)
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I made that dress from a handkerchief. I feel pretty good about that.

I do not know WHAT is up with Sandya and the LOVE. Her jumpsuit was BAD. And the pin wheels with the zip ties… what was that about? Next “garage” challenge and I will be ALL set.
Amanda has me worn ragged. Every look is something that a worn out rocker would wear. And again with the heavy beading at the neck.
In contrast to Kat, I think Fade was a real talent and I am sorry to see him go. What he does when he is on a roll is AMAZING, and I think, overlooked. Luckily, we will be able to see his collection anyway, even though it is a dummy. I am sad that the pace of the show sometimes eats designers alive.

Next week, it’s dolls! Hey, that is our runway every week!

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5 Comments to Project Project Runway Challenge #8 – The Rainway
    • DrRuss
    • If I may be allowed:
      (usually I watch it on repeat since I don’t have cable but I NOW HAVE CABLE):

      We are all adults here right? I loved Kini’s look but that hat made her look like a walking penis. The construction was amazing and should have won (solo) hands down.

      Sean’s dress was pretty and well made but it was solely a gimmick. The imagination is amazing and I would love to wear some of his menswear if I was 6’2″ and skinny.

      Sandya’s look I didn’t mind. Very Betsy Johnson-ism which is why I think she is a favorite of the judges–color and imagination. Execution and editing aren’t her strengths though and when it gets down to the final four I am hoping she will be out (although, this is where she might actually shine). I am over the editing of her. I don’t know if she is really that self-absorbed in reality but the editing is making her the victim.

      Fade’s look wasn’t necessarily planned out well. It would have been very Tron-like if he had LED string lights or LED ribbon to use (wasn’t there a lighting/fiber optic challenge once)? I would have like to have seen his final runway show, though.

      Amanda is the judges/editor’s darling because she is the “voice of experience” and was brought back from the previous season. Char is as well. I think they will get preferential treatment by all.

      I hated Emily’s look and thought that she should have gone home. It was dated (as are most of her looks) and wasn’t very experimental. Fade’s was at least interesting and he made his own piping/textiles.

      Just my two cents worth.

      • Kat
      • Of course you are allowed! I didn’t mind the hat, perhaps it could have been a little better made, but the idea of it was good. I agree, Sean’s was a fun gimmick. I think Sandhya does probably have some interesting ideas but the girl needs to learn to edit, that is for sure. She throws so much crap on stuff that they look like craft projects!

        You can see fäde’s Fashion Week show here. Everyone that is still on did a decoy collection. I found it to be a little dated, I’m just not into his look.

    • Ros
    • I loved this episode! I thought the rainway was actually a really cool challenge – because we all have to wear clothes out in the rain, and yet it also gave them something very different to deal with. Kini’s look was really terrific and I’m glad that he got his much-deserved win. I agree that Sean’s actual dress isn’t that amazing, but creating a dress which worked with the rain to create colour was pretty spectacular. And although we always moan that the designers just aren’t as good as they used to be, I thought this week showed that (with a TWO DAY CHALLENGE THANK YOU HEIDI) some of them could produce looks that would have wowed in any series of the show.

      I am going to defend Sandhya a bit. One of my very favourite designers is Agatha Ruiz de la Prada, and I think Sandhya has a similar aesthetic (without being derivative!). They are clothes that are meant to make you smile and have fun. Her look was for a grown up who wanted to recapture the joy of stamping in puddles on a rainy day. As far as the judges are concerned, she’s not boring, she has a clearly defined voice, and mostly she makes things that they haven’t seen before. Plus, having looked at the finale shows, to me her collection stood head and shoulders above all the others. I suspect that her construction techniques aren’t well-suited to the time constraints of the challenges and that, with more time to execute them really well, they would look a lot more sophisticated.

      I’d have had Alexander, Amanda and Korina in the bottom three and sent them all home.

      • Kat
      • That said with Sean’s look, once it has had it’s moment in the rain what are you left with? A plain cotton sundress that has been dyed. It has a fleeting moment.

        I need to go back and look at Sandhya’s final collection. I try not to study them too hard until we get closer to the end of the season.

        I agree with your bottom three!

        • Ros
        • I agree, it is a one-time, one-moment dress. I kind of think that’s okay in the fashion world and especially for an avant garde challenge. The dress you end up with is just okay, but the spectacle is the point.

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