I always roll my eyes when designers whine about a) unconventional challenges and b) team challenges. It’s season 13, you know it’s coming and in the last few years, it’s come early and/or often. So make it work.
My only question was how were the teams chosen? It seems a huge coincidence that they all chose to sit in threes, especially with people they didn’t like or respect. But that’s competitive reality TV, I guess. [ETA: I noted on a rewatch they are given tickets with assigned seats.] Most of the teams worked pretty well together and the ones that didn’t suffered from gender and culture issues in my viewing. That’s competitive reality TV, too, I guess.
But anyway, fashion!
SAFE:
This looks exactly like what it is: a collection of dresses made out of film strips. The most interesting piece is the top of Samantha’s — it mimics armor and if the skirt was shorter she would look like an extra in Gladiator (which is a compliment). Emily’s has ideas but they don’t hang together or maybe the execution isn’t there. Alexander’s is the most boring of a generally boring trio.
Someone called this collection “Barbie Dream House” and that is totally accurate but also a compliment in my viewing. It is super over the top but so are blockbuster movies. Char’s dress got screen time in the promos so I was expecting it to make more of an impact. It looks like a dress made out of tickets and as such is a novelty piece, but it’s cute. Kini’s is…fine. And Mitchell’s is probably the most Barbie, but I really like it. Would wear.
This is my favourite collection. I totally see the Cruella DeVille and Darth Vader inspiration in Sean’s and Fade’s but I also see really cool and fun dresses. They had ideas and they executed them well. Angela’s is too simple but it’s a cute, sweet dress. I wish someone had encouraged her to push her “fairy” idea more — fairies can be villains (Maleficent!) and if this dress just had a little more oomph the collection might have won.
LOSERS:
This team was a mess. They started out a mess but Carrie’s right that the collection they were making pre-critique would probably have been better off than what they ended up with if only because they wouldn’t look “the same”. And that is Hernan’s fault. He forced his vision on Sandhya and Carrie and I think he should have gone home for that. Maybe Carrie should have stood up for her ideas more during the challenge instead of on the runway but Hernan’s dress isn’t any better than hers and he’s responsible for the team’s downfall. But Carrie it is and I am unsurprised, as I said last week she seemed chosen only to be cut early.
WINNERS:
Whut. I guess I like this collection better than Red’s or Green’s but it really relies on the color pop. The designs are super simple. Kristine’s top and bottom don’t look like they are supposed to be on the same dress and all I really get from her’s is “I guess Sandhya should have stuck with the letters on the skirt idea!” Korina’s I like (also, Korina was never the Mean Girl this week and Mitchell was actually a sweetheart to Sandhya, things to make you go hmmmm). If this is the top collection, I choose Korina to win. Amanda was voted to winner by her team, and she did drive it, so I don’t disagree (if this is the winning team, which I DO disagree with). But her dress is whack. If she’d been able to hide all the white (or if it was a different color maybe?) I would be more on board but it looks unfinished. And I like Sean’s, Fade’s, and Mitchell’s dresses, and Samantha’s top, better than all three of these.