Project Runway 9 - Off The Track

Although for some last challenge seemed like a team challenge, this is the official second team challenge of the season. This episode eliminated an entire "team" because Cecilia decided to quit joining Julie, who she helped finish her outfit last challenge. The four team captains were determined by a race around a track and the first four to finish the race would choose in the order they finished. The teams were all picked and it ended up being Josh M., Anya, and Becky as the first team, Anthony Ryan, Laura and Bert as the second, and Viktor and Olivier as the last team but since the teams were uneven Heidi decided to bring back an eliminated contestant and is it was Josh C. I wonder how he will do in the competition now that he has a second chance and I want to see how far he can get. The challenge was to create a three piece cohesive look that used denim and suede that would fit along with HKNB shoes, the winning look would be sold as part of Heidi's collection on Amazon. Let's see how they did this challenge:

Anthony Ryan, Bert and Laura

I don't get this team's concept at all, they are just three looks that barely have anything in common. I like Anthony's top but his shorts just look terrible and totally unflattering on any woman, I get that he was trying to make it more like something you'd wear with sneakers but this was just bad, disappointing because he's one of my favorites and has so far done so well. Bert's looks like she's going out on the town almost like a cocktail party but after work, this almost seems like something for last challenge but not. I don't get how this outfit works with sneakers at all, so once again I feel Bert is just throwing challenges. Lastly, there is Laura which I actually like her top, well the front at least, and vest but don't like the shorts at all. I think Laura's is the best in her group but damn those shorts look so strange, almost like it's the same as the shirt fabric but added something above it.

Anya, Becky, and Josh M.

I think these three have elements that bring together a cohesion. I think Josh M.'s outfit brings it together because it has piece of Becky's short with the print of Anya's maxi dress. I'm not as big of a fan of Anya's maxi dress for one reason and that's the pink strip down the front, I felt it could have done without that but other than that it is a great dress but it's a casual one that would fit with the sneakers. Becky's outfit was iffy, I don't see this being good at all because the shirt is kind of boring and the skirt just looks so strange with the blue stripes but it's not a terrible outfit. I like Josh's outfit as well, I just think that the print is just great and probably why I like Anya's and Josh's. I like the cut vest yet it all works together as on outfit. Although they had a team mishap it came together to produce some pretty good outfits.

Bryce, Danielle, and Kimberly

This is the least cohesive of the bunch, I don't see how all of these go together, it seems like each just went their own point of few an used similar fabrics. I actually really liked Bryce's dress, it's casual yet has interesting details to it that it isn't just a simple boring dress, especially love the darts and shoulders, it looked better on the show than it does in this picture. Danielle's outfit looks like what she has done throughout the competition and it's just not cutting it since it's so simple/basic that it just has no wow factor, it's pretty much just boring but I like the color of the top. I think Kimberly really had a step down this challenge because this just isn't great at all but at least the jacket is really good and it saves the outfit from being a huge snoozefest.

Joshua C., Olivier, and Viktor

This group I believe had the most cohesive collection. I see one idea going from one look to another that it's soft yet has an tough edge to it. Josh C's first challenge back and he didn't suck, which is a good thing because he was a trainwreck the first time around he actually produced a good look, especially the modern shirt. I like Olivier's top but once again he creates such mundane clothes that aren't modern at all, even after Heidi tells him he should change it, he sticks to his guns and it was a mistake. I like Viktor's look especially the jacket, the dress is nice and cute but I didn't like the fabric when I saw it on the runway, it just looked so cheap but the overall look was a bit more expensive.

My choice for the winner of this challenge is..................

Josh M.! This was a very modern look, I liked he print and the cut vest. I believe he styled this very nice and it totally works with those sneakers. 

My choice for the worst design and the designer that should have been out this challenge is................

I had to agree with the judges on this one. It just looks so boring, this is not something new or exciting and if I just saw this for the rest of the competition, I'd really just rather take a few naps.

~Anthony

Posted in: Critiques, Project Runway