Ah the dreaded team challenge. It takes a certain amount of narcissism to be on a reality TV series and pairing up all these divas is guaranteed dramaz. Ngl, I love the chaos and this episode had plenty of chaos. But also mean-spiritedness and that’s a lot less fun. At the end of the hour I was more sad and disgusted than entertained and inspired — and it’s only the third episode of the season. Not a good sign.
Two person teams on Project Runway go one of four ways: besties who succeed, besties who fail, enemies who fail, and enemies who succeed. We got examples of all four here. Sort of. Let’s discuss.
The Challenge: Working in teams of two, create a day-to-evening look inspired by a Celebrity Cruise destinations.
SAFE:
Team: Besties who succeed. Blake got less screen time and as a result I found him less annoying, meanwhile Kelly was so supportive/simpatico with Blake and his diva behavior it was the first week I didn’t really like her.
Look: It’s fine. Very resort wear which, cruise ship! so, yeah. I agree with the safe placement.
LOSERS:
Team: Besties who fail. They were so upbeat and then so sad and {insert sad face emoji here}. I finally know who Gabrielle is, though I still don’t know who Gabrielle is besides a self-proclaimed “warrior” (awesome and memorable but idk what she’s gonna design). Amanda is starting to wither under the pressure; she needs to get tough and become an underdog champion or she’s not long for this competition.
Look: I honestly don’t hate this. I think it’s interesting. That top is insane but still: interesting. And I do get ‘south of France’? Oddly? But I do? Idk, maybe I’m blinded by how much the model is rocking it despite the insane.
Team: Enemies who fail. I also know now who Joseph is. An overbearing jackass. He was whining about his partner from the get go and decided the best way to deal with the situation was to place her “on lockdown” meaning no singing or dancing or chattering — basically shut up and listen. And then he blamed their failure on her because he had to spend all the time explaining how to fashion and his dress “suffered” because of it. Merline clearly needs to babble her way through designing because she completely failed to bring any vision to her task and made exactly zero sense when trying to defend it, the team, and herself. And she ended up in the bottom two for it because Project Runway prefers Jerks to Quirks.
Look: Objectively awful BUT I feel like Deanna Troi would wear this so I can’t completely hate or dismiss it.
Team: Enemies who fail. Edmund had immunity so Hanmiao was always gonna lose. She definitely falls under ‘quirks’ and to be blunt, was hired to be a weirdo early casualty (so was Merline, lbr). This team was a disaster, completely unable to communicate and they both came off poorly.
Look: This look is also a disaster. Like Swapnil, I feel sorry for the model. There is nothing, at all, redeemable here. Nina is right: it’s hideous. That said I wish Joseph or Jake went home for their horrible attitudes.
WINNERS:
Team: Enemies who succeed. OMFG Jake is the worst! Lindsey has been getting a villain edit but in this episode literally everyone’s testimonials and the editing portrayed her positively in comparison to her partner. Jake decided Lindsey is bossy and proceeded to have a challenge long tantrum about it at one point actually saying he was actively trying to get in the bottom. WHO DOES THAT? He failed anyway — because Lindsey did all the work from design to construction to presentation. If this was a romantic comedy they’d fall in love and I want to vomit now.
Look: It’s kind of Hong Kong Barbie? Possibly (as Heidi said) Hong Kong Holiday Barbie? But also maybe Captain Hong Kong the model-turned-superheroine and y’all know I am all about that.
Team: Besties who succeed. First of all it was ADORABLE how heart-eyed and happy Laurie was to meet her fashion hero, guest judge Traci Ellis Ross. These two were already on my radar but this epi helped them secure a top spot — especially Swapnil who played to his strengths but also listened to his teammate.
Look: I love it, my fave on this runway. I also love that Laurie dressed to match the look’s color palette. Go team.
Team: Besties who succeed. Yay, Candice a personality! These two, this episode, were like tumblr come to life. Feminism! Body positivity! Pattern mixing! Opposites attract! Flower crown! They both won because the judges couldn’t tell who put in the most winningest work.
Look: Could walk a resort wear runway and you know I love a cape.