S19.E09: The Last Straw

[FormerMod-a1]

Quote

The designers are asked to create an elegant cocktail dress from an actual cocktail bar; one of fashion's most exciting designers, Christopher John Rogers, is the judge on the guest list for this VIP party.

Original air date: December 16, 2021

[WaltersHair]

I thought Shantall's look was a little too Mad Max beyond Thunderdome, but she did sew her heart out. Kristina's was beautiful and so was Aaron's.

I can't help but think if popcorn fell off the dress in the old days, that would have been an instant AUF.

[Ms Blue Jay]

Watching it delayed.  The highest and lowest aren't revealed yet but I am personally blown away by:

Shantall (I just didn't need the sleeve, though.)
Bones (And I am so happy to say it!  And I loooooooved the purse.)
Coral. (I mean, wow.)
Aaron (who I still don't like as a person)

Oh god, are they going to put Kristina in the top AGAIN!?!??!!?!  LOL.  I'm guessing Nina likes her look, because she likes anything that looks light and fragile like that.

Edited December 17, 2021 by Ms Blue Jay

[T Summer]

Bye Prajje! That was a hot mess. Was this the first time he dressed a plus sized model? Hmm.

 

Shantal's look was tight! Aaron's was too and Kristina's. I think I liked Bones too, with the brief look we got. Did you see Brandon's face when Shantal's walked? His mouth was open like the whole time.

 

After Aaron's critique and before Chasity's  when they showed her face,  what was she reacting to? She did not seem thrilled with something about him or his responses to his his critique.

[susannot]

What a surprise-NOT-that the looks on the two largest models were in the bottom.  To be fair, Praaje's look was awful.  If I may be gross, I told my TV that it looked like menstrual blood had leaked down onto it.

 

Shantell's look was amazing mainly because of her sewing skill, but I liked Bones' the best.  Man, did Mimi sell that Bond girl look.

[CraftyHazel]

Honestly, I have known ever since Nina gushed to whichever guest judge it was that “she (Chasity) almost went home last week!” that Chasity would make the finale.  That dress was a hot mess without a single redeeming quality and she still slid through.  I like Chasity’s personality a lot, and I have liked her designs more often than not, but that mess deserved a ticket home!!  Prajjé’s was not great, either, and I’m not so fond of him, so it’s not that I’m upset he’s gone, but Chasity’s was purely ugly to me.

[jacksgirl]

Bye Prajje. You were a class act. Hhhhmmmmm. The bottom three were the 3 biggest models. Coincidence? Read a lot in the past few threads about how it's harder to properly fit a larger model.  Makes sense here too. Didn't love Christina's. Don't like pasties. Shantel and Aaron were amazing. 

Edited December 17, 2021 by jacksgirl

[charming]

I really loved Chantal, Cristina, Coral, Aaron and Bones’ looks. I’m happy for Chantal her dress looked incredible. 

I’m sorry for Prajje but like Cristian said it’s going to be hard because everyone is good. I loved his dry humor and putting champagne in his bag.

i enjoyed the light hearted moments in the workroom. The interaction between Cristian and Bones was adorable.

[Straycat80]

The arts and craft challenge. The judges were right, everyone did a really, really good job. Shantal deserved the win, would have looked nice without the one sleeve but still wow. Aaron and Kristina’s were really stunning too. 
Praaje’s giant doily dress was a mess. And this was the same model from last week that Zayden went home on. Maybe these guys don’t know how to work with curvy models? 
 

[jacksgirl]

Seems to be a lot more gushing love directed to the female designers. 

[susannot]

Just now, Straycat80 said:

The arts and craft challenge. The judges were right, everyone did a really, really good job. Shantal deserved the win, would have looked nice without the one sleeve but still wow. Aaron and Kristina’s were really stunning too. 
Praaje’s giant doily dress was a mess. And this was the same model from last week that Zayden went home on. Maybe these guys don’t know how to work with curvy models? 
 

That model is more than curvy; she is fat.  Sorry, everyone.  The other curvy model, Grace, is gorgeous and is the one on whom Bones displayed the winning look in Ep. 1.  It is telling that the same model sends two talented designers home in a row.

[Ms Blue Jay]

Shantall has one good challenge (It was great, but they keep talking about the great fit.  Those two straps didn't fit on the model's body.  They were floating away from her) and Elaine says she's a frontrunner?  LOL.  Why are you so transparently creating this narrative out of nowhere already?  And the crying?  What the fuck?  

If Prajje goes home.   I might lose it.  

I like Anna, but did she create a print?  Didn't she just simply....... use one?

Ok, I'm happy Shantall won this one.  That was deserved.  If it was Kristina again, LOL.  Good god.

Oh my god NOT PRAJJE NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OH MY GOD.  I thought he was going to win the whole show!  There were several early challenges where he had the best design.  And I still think he is the most creative.  Who takes more risks than Prajje?  It's hard to say.

I hope he comes back for All Stars.  I'm really sad.

Edited December 17, 2021 by Ms Blue Jay

[BlackberryJam]

Christian told Prajje he had fit issues, and Prajje did nothing to fix it. It looked like it was choking her. Lower that neckline 2”, and create some sort of belt to emphasize the waist and that dress would have been safe. Instead he painted doilies. 
 

 

Edited December 17, 2021 by BlackberryJam
Typo

[littlebennysmom]

That capelet Aaron made out of parchment paper -- whaaaaat?!  Incredible as well as the silver dress.  And guest judge Christopher John seemed offended by the fact Aaron even made it -- "unnecessary"?!  Really?

Chasity should have gone home for that off-off-key singing at the top of her lungs alone.

[Ms Blue Jay]

20 minutes ago, WaltersHair said:

I can't help but think if popcorn fell off the dress in the old days, that would have been an instant AUF.

I think so too.

[T Summer]

2 minutes ago, Straycat80 said:

The arts and craft challenge. The judges were right, everyone did a really, really good job. Shantal deserved the win, would have looked nice without the one sleeve but still wow. Aaron and Kristina’s were really stunning too. 
Praaje’s giant doily dress was a mess. And this was the same model from last week that Zayden went home on. Maybe these guys don’t know how to work with curvy models? 
 

Fitting curvy to plus size models is inherently difficult. Plus everything doesn't look well on curvy models, so you can't necessarily put forth a light color stretchy jumpsuit or a midriff baring 3 pc look with billowy harem pants and a  flowing robe. I know if I was going on Project Runway I'd breathe a huge sigh of relief if the model I was assigned had Didi's proportions and I'd be awfully nervous if I was assigned the model that Prajje and Zayden couldn't fit properly in one short fitting session.

You can't tell me the skill level fitting a garment to one is the same as fitting a garment to the other.  There are bust darts that need to be made properly and be at the right level on the garment which is what mainly hung up Zayden last week. Plus that  light color stretchy jumpsuit that Zayden conceived looked the way it looked on the plus size out of shape model... so what was he supposed to do then, scrap it and design something more flattering and go fabric shopping all over again?

On the other hand  for the contestant who draws DiDi  as a model there is zero concern about whether any lightness of color, stretchiness of fabric,  amount of fullness such as draping or ruffles or  skin showing  will look poorly on the runway.  Not exactly fair in my eyes. Maybe they should all have to dress models with the same proportions. Traditional models one week, plus size the next.

 

 

[backgroundnoise]

Bones should have been in the top rather than Christina.  What does she have on the judges?

Aaron had a great day.  Too bad for him Shantal had a spectacular one.  My face looked like Brandon's when I first saw the whole thing completed.

 

[Ms Blue Jay]

6 minutes ago, backgroundnoise said:

Bones should have been in the top rather than Christina.  What does she have on the judges?

I wish Bones or Coral was in the top instead of Kristina.

Her outfit looked like fish or stuff caught in a net - like Waterworld.

Imagine a size 12 or 14 woman in that?  A C cup?  Wearing those pasties?  Forget it.  At least with Aaron and Shantell's looks I could imagine the translation.

And Elaine crying was just......... insane.   I wonder if she faked it.  Did anyone see tears?

[Madding crowd]

Bones made my favorite look of the night but I have to say it was one of the better unconventional challenges overall. I didn’t like Kristina’s dress, it looked uncomfortable and most women have breasts that wouldn’t look good under that netting. I thought Chasity had the worst outfit, the popcorn and uneven spray paint looked very crafty. 

[Cotypubby]

The top 3 plus Bones were all incredible! I was so impressed by all of those looks, any one of those could have won, just wow! Shantal doing all of that by sewing without gluing anything is unbelievable. 
 

I really think it is incredibly unfair to the designers to have models of such widely different proportions. All of this virtuous talk from the judges about “real women” and “different body types” or whatever they mentioned when they first said why they decided on this group of models is bullshit when they are being judged against one another. Making a garment for Mimi or DD vs making a garment for the heavier model that Praaje had are completely different things and the designer who gets the larger model is at a disadvantage, full stop. Sorry if people don’t want to hear it, but it’s true. I have no issue with them having larger models, but only if they all have them at the same time, it’s simply unfair otherwise. It’s extremely telling that the designers who have this model keep going home. 

Edited December 17, 2021 by Cotypubby

[Passing Strange]

39 minutes ago, T Summer said:

Fitting curvy to plus size models is inherently difficult.

Truth. I was the plus sized daughter of very skilled sewer. Whether she was altering something off the rack for me or making something from scratch it took multiple fittings and adjustments. And this was someone who knew what she was doing. These designers simply don't when it comes to bodies with curves. Maybe if we say this often enough Bravo will get the message: No more token big models. Use all small or all big and the big need to have similar height and weight proportions, just as the small do. To be clear, I'm criticizing the designers' lack of skill, not the models.

I'm tired of the judges complaining about a design not showing off "her beautiful curves." It wasn't that long ago some of them were screeching, "No woman wants her [whatever body part] to look bigger!"

I loved the winning dress but agree with those who thought Bones should have been in the top.

Does Christopher really have enough design expertise to be making the critiques he did? And he's a stylist? You can mix stripes and prints and have them look fabulous. Or you can mix them and have them look the way Christopher's did.

I can't with Elaine.

Edited December 17, 2021 by Passing Strange

[30 Helens]

Elaine really, really is too much.

1 hour ago, WaltersHair said:

I thought Shantall's look was a little too Mad Max beyond Thunderdome,

I was thinking Blade Runner, but yeah. A little more industrial looking than I would expect from a cocktail dress, but I guess maybe it depends on the cocktails. (Molotov, maybe?) But I can’t deny it was a beautiful dress. I think she also got bonus points from the judges for sewing, not glueing.

1 hour ago, susannot said:

 If I may be gross, I told my TV that it looked like menstrual blood had leaked down onto it.

Then I guess I’m gross, too, because when I saw Chasity’s dress I said, “I guess she raided the sanitary napkin cabinet in the ladies’ room.” And then for Prajje, “Oh, now I know who got the tampon side.” So odd that there were not one, but TWO dresses that screamed messy period to me. And that none of the judges mentioned it. (WHERE ARE YOU, MICHAEL KORS!)

I would have traded Bone’s dress for Christina’s in Top 3. Hers was fine, but I wasn’t blown away by it. I have a thing for fringey flapper dresses, though, and his was a lot of sparkly fun.

I agree that Prajje was at a disadvantage with the model he drew. Nothing against her, there’s nothing wrong with the way she looks, but her particular proportions look like they would be hard to fit quickly. However, he compounded the problem with the materials he chose.

First of all, his base layer was pleather, which sounds like a nightmare to drape. So he is trying to attach crinkly doilies to a stiff surface that cannot readily adapt to the curvy shape below, and nooo. I think he was so intent on doing something with lace, because it reminded him of home, that he forgot to focus first on what would suit his model. His look was terrible, but it was his own fault. And I say this as someone who likes Prajje.

Chasity’s dress was definitely crafty looking, but I think she was saved by its flouncy movement. But Anna’s? Her grocery bag dress looked like grocery bags. With crafty pasted on letters. The judges seemed to give her a pass because she was reflecting her culture (which Prajje was, too, by the way), but I would have sent that mess home to Daddy.

 

[Bluesky]

2 hours ago, susannot said:

What a surprise-NOT-that the looks on the two largest models were in the bottom.  To be fair, Praaje's look was awful.  If I may be gross, I told my TV that it looked like menstrual blood had leaked down onto it.

 

Shantell's look was amazing mainly because of her sewing skill, but I liked Bones' the best.  Man, did Mimi sell that Bond girl look.

Because the models are such different sizes I wonder, how would Shantell’s design look on the plus size model.   Would Aaron even be able to do his design on a plus size model?  And how fair is it that the plus size models forced their designers to do more work because of their size?  Maybe Chasity would have finished if she didn’t have to cover as much.  

[Cotypubby]

Oh and wtf was the guest judge wearing!? Are we really supposed to be getting a fashion critique from someone who thinks those patterns go together? He looked like someone who grabbed two random mismatched pieces from a lost & found box because they were the only things that would fit. 

[Koalagirl]

I wonder when this was filmed. Because if it was early in Elaine’s pregnancy then hormones might be the cause of her being emotional. 

[DEL901]

The designer with the curvy model is usually at a disadvantage if they aren’t experienced with this body type, but any designer is doubly disadvantaged in the unconventional materials challenge since they have to create their own materials which takes time. 

[LennieBriscoe]

8 hours ago, Straycat80 said:

The arts and craft challenge. The judges were right, everyone did a really, really good job. Shantal deserved the win, would have looked nice without the one sleeve but still wow. Aaron and Kristina’s were really stunning too. 
Praaje’s giant doily dress was a mess. And this was the same model from last week that Zayden went home on. Maybe these guys don’t know how to work with curvy models? 
 

Ditto to all the above. 😇 And when Shantall explained how everything was sewn and not glued anywhere, she sealed that victory for her sleek and unique LBD. 

One addendum: PR can just stop with the "curvy" models, IMO. It's a fashion design show, and as such doesn't have to replicate the population at large, pun not intended but I'll go with it. 

Oh, brother. Next week we get a super-duper-special cross-over with some "Real Housewives" cast or other. Will the challenge be "Dressing Mutton to Look Like Lamb"? 

Edited December 17, 2021 by LennieBriscoe

[MuMuGuy]

Anna should win an Emmy for her performance during critique. She went in full force while trying to play up the cute and demure Chinese woman stereotype while explaining her design. That crap looked like something Ms. Frizzle would’ve worn in The Magic School Bus after she had her students make a dress during an arts and crafts activity.

Edited December 17, 2021 by MuMuGuy

[LennieBriscoe]

Prajje was doomed the minute he decided to use doilies. Nothing screams "Grandma" more loudly than a doily. And head to toe? Gack! Pass the stale striped mints!

As for Christina's netting dress with pasties: A more endowed woman would wear, were that dress to be produced in RL, the version with a nude-colored bodice underneath. 

Edited December 17, 2021 by LennieBriscoe

[cinsays]

7 hours ago, susannot said:

That model is more than curvy; she is fat.  Sorry, everyone.  The other curvy model, Grace, is gorgeous and is the one on whom Bones displayed the winning look in Ep. 1.  It is telling that the same model sends two talented designers home in a row.

Yeah, that model is a curse for whoever gets her in this competition.  I think Prajje's look would have been better if the skirt was shorter and maybe flared a bit from the waist, but though that model has a lovely face, her body is very hard to design for.

I thought Chasity's was actually quite nice, fancy and fun looking. 

I would have sent Anna home because I think that print THAT CHRISTIAN TALKED HER INTO USING was awful and too casual looking.

I really, really dislike Aaron but his garment was lovely, as were the other ones the judges liked best. And I loved Bones' too.

Was happy for Shantal after that disaster last week that almost sent her home.

Time to replace Brandon and Elaine.

[backgroundnoise]

6 hours ago, Bluesky said:

Because the models are such different sizes I wonder, how would Shantell’s design look on the plus size model.

I was thinking about how if Shantell and Prajje had drawn each other's model.  I honestly believe Shantell would not have won if she had made the exact same dress for Prajje's model, even if it fit perfectly.  It just would not have looked as good, sorry.  And she would have needed time to make at least a third again as much textile.

And Prajje may have been safe.  His design was a mess but may have looked okay enough to get past Chasidy's disaster.

This really brings home to me how unfair the model differences are and they should stop it.

[LennieBriscoe]

13 minutes ago, backgroundnoise said:

I was thinking about how if Shantell and Prajje had drawn each other's model.  I honestly believe Shantell would not have won if she had made the exact same dress for Prajje's model, even if it fit perfectly.  It just would not have looked as good, sorry.  And she would have needed time to make at least a third again as much textile.

And Prajje may have been safe.  His design was a mess but may have looked okay enough to get past Chasidy's disaster.

This really brings home to me how unfair the model differences are and they should stop it.

Shantall would have been found expired over her sewing machine, her last words' being, "Straws.....more straws...."

[LennieBriscoe]

8 hours ago, susannot said:

That model is more than curvy; she is fat.  Sorry, everyone.  The other curvy model, Grace, is gorgeous and is the one on whom Bones displayed the winning look in Ep. 1.  It is telling that the same model sends two talented designers home in a row.

I always appreciate the one brave enough to bell the cat, in this case a fat cat! 🐈

I say this as the proverbial little teapot, short and stout. 🫖

Edited December 17, 2021 by LennieBriscoe

[SuprSuprElevated]

8 hours ago, T Summer said:

Traditional models one week, plus size real women the next.

 

[Bluesky]

3 minutes ago, SuprSuprElevated said:

 

Or we can just leave out the “real” women and focus on the design.  

[SuprSuprElevated]

6 hours ago, Bluesky said:

Would Aaron even be able to do his design on a plus size model?

I believe the challenge isn't to create a design that would fit anyone, but one that fits your assigned model.  

1 hour ago, LennieBriscoe said:

It's a fashion design show, and as such doesn't have to replicate the population at large

Because the 'at large' population doesn't deserve to be fashionable.  Got it.

[LennieBriscoe]

25 minutes ago, SuprSuprElevated said:

I believe the challenge isn't to create a design that would fit anyone, but one that fits your assigned model.  

Because the 'at large' population doesn't deserve to be fashionable.  Got it.

No. Because a TV show doesn't need to please, show, or include every type of human being. 

Edited December 17, 2021 by LennieBriscoe

[dleighg]

9 hours ago, T Summer said:

You can't tell me the skill level fitting a garment to one is the same as fitting a garment to the other.  There are bust darts that need to be made properly and be at the right level on the garment which is what mainly hung up Zayden last week.

yeah, and for a skinny model, all you need is a couple of pasties

 

8 hours ago, Passing Strange said:

You can mix stripes and prints and have them look fabulous. Or you can mix them and have them look the way Christopher's did.

 

oh man, that was SOME outfit, wasn't it?

[Ms Blue Jay]

2 hours ago, LennieBriscoe said:

As for Christina's netting dress with pasties: A more endowed woman would wear, were that dress to be produced in RL, the version with a nude-colored bodice underneath. 

And you're saying that would look good?

[vibeology]

7 hours ago, 30 Helens said:

I agree that Prajje was at a disadvantage with the model he drew. Nothing against her, there’s nothing wrong with the way she looks, but her particular proportions look like they would be hard to fit quickly. However, he compounded the problem with the materials he chose.

First of all, his base layer was pleather, which sounds like a nightmare to drape. So he is trying to attach crinkly doilies to a stiff surface that cannot readily adapt to the curvy shape below, and nooo. I think he was so intent on doing something with lace, because it reminded him of home, that he forgot to focus first on what would suit his model. His look was terrible, but it was his own fault. And I say this as someone who likes Prajje.

In addition, a woman with breasts needs support. Prajje had a backless dress with no support built in. He was never going to be able to fit her properly because her breasts weren't going to be in the same place as the form. That was a Prajje error in the initial design. And it's not fair that he has to factor designing a look that would allow for undergarments when Kristina can stick pasties onto her model, but Prajje knew the hand he was being dealt before he designed a single thing and made bad decisions.

If the show wants to go forward with models of different sizes, I think they need to be available for more fittings (two or three every workday and for longer periods of time) and the show should be providing every model with sets of undergarments (strapless bras, thin strapped bra, thongs etc) that match their skin tone that the designers know about and can have the models wear at fittings and on the runway. It wouldn't make things perfectly fair but it would at least help move things in the right direction.

[Lassus]

I'm sad for Prajje, because he seems like an awesome human and he has a lot of good designs.  It would have been fine for EXIT girl to go instead because that was almost equally bad; but this auf was justified.

[Lassus]

9 hours ago, Passing Strange said:

Does Christopher really have enough design expertise to be making the critiques he did?

We missed his intro and were constantly saying after his comments, "Who the fuck is this guy?"  EDIT: His comment about Aaron's cape was especially stupid.

Edited December 17, 2021 by Lassus

[Fellaway]

The right three in the bottom and the right three in the top? Color me surprised. Those bottom three looked like arts and crafts projects, bad arts and crafts projects. I would've sent Anna home, because hers was the worst and Prajje's at least had thought behind it, but I can't argue with sending him home instead. There was no way they were sending Chasity home, even if hers had been the worst.

No surprise Shantall won. I liked the top three about equally, but I have no complaint on this win. She really kept her head down and worked it this week. And, of course, PR loves a redemption story.

I like Christian a lot better than Tim as a mentor for the designers, but he is really pushing the line this season from merely offering advice to outright giving them the idea for their designs. This week it didn't work for Anna, but I'm gonna play devil's advocate here and wonder if the producers are pushing him to do this because these designers are mostly just not that good on their own. PR wants to look legit, after all, as a place of good design.

Color me surprised again that the unconventional challenge wasn't a total trainwreck this season, as I was expecting, but these designers did have way easier materials to work with than usual, some outright material, too, that they would've gotten dinged for using in previous seasons. The devil's advocate in me is gonna say this was producer induced, too, because of the lackluster talent in the group. I mean, that couch? Totally looked like a last-minute addition to that bar.

[backgroundnoise]

3 hours ago, SuprSuprElevated said:

Because the 'at large' population doesn't deserve to be fashionable.  Got it.

No, because the parameters in a competition should be equal.  I'd have no problem at all having a challenge where they all had the same size model, regardless of size.  

[Cotypubby]

3 hours ago, SuprSuprElevated said:

Because the 'at large' population doesn't deserve to be fashionable.  Got it.

🙄 Stop looking for offense. No one has said anything about “larger people should not be fashionable.” This is a competition, not designers making an actual fashion line for the public to wear. They are being judged against one another. If the parameters of the challenge are widely different for different people, then you can not fairly judge them against each other. It takes more time to properly fit and sew for a larger model. Do they give the designers who get the larger models extra time? No they don’t. So they start the challenge at a disadvantage. 

[BlackberryJam]

45 minutes ago, Fellaway said:

 

I like Christian a lot better than Tim as a mentor for the designers, but he is really pushing the line this season from merely offering advice to outright giving them the idea for their designs. This week it didn't work for Anna, but I'm gonna play devil's advocate here and wonder if the producers are pushing him to do this because these designers are mostly just not that good on their own. PR wants to look legit, after all, as a place of good design.

 

Ultimately, each designer puts down the runway what they want to put down the runway. Christian was right that Anna's dress look like tinfoil. He just asked her what other materials she had and suggested she do something with those materials instead.

As to Prajje, I'm just going to repeat myself. A belt. He needed to belt the damn dress. If he had cut off 7 inches of that pleather from the bottom, and twisted it into some sort of belt, the dress would have fit the model's body so much better, he would have had to do fewer doilies and he would have saved himself so much time. Even before he started adding doilies, Christian told him he needed to spend his time on the fit. But NO, he spent his time cutting out doilies.

Also, if you look around the workroom many of the dress forms had additional padding added to the backsides to account for the form not being exactly to the shape of the particular model. 

Yes, it's easier to make a dress for a stick thin, flat chested, tall woman. Yes, it's a good thing to use different size models to chip away at the stereotype of good models having to be tall, stick then and flat chested. Yes, designers need to learn how to design for all types of bodies. Yes, the time constraints can make it seem unfair. 

Prajje's offing wasn't about any of that though. This was a failure because of Prajje not listening to good advice, poor time management and poor of basic design skill. 

Edited December 17, 2021 by BlackberryJam

[carrps]

Agree with most things said, and I'm still watching, but I just have to say when Christian compared Bones and his scarf to Edie Beale. OMG. I died.

[pasdetrois]

Finally, a healthy dose of pretty fashion. I loved Aaron's, Kristina's and Chantal's looks.

I wonder if Christian telling some designers how to improve their designs is because the producers aren't happy with the results otherwise.

Once again we have Elaine trying to pull the camera's focus.

[BloggerAloud]

I think Prajje's outfit could've worked if the length had been shorter with a more intense amount of gradient coloring.

[seacliffsal]

Although my thoughts about Tim Gunn changed drastically after watching his show (Under the Gunn?), I prefer his mentoring to Christian's in that Tim identified an issue and then let the designer rectify it.  In this version of the show Christian identifies an issue and then redesigns the outfit.  I would watch a show in which each episode they give Christian a different challenge and then he meets it but, alas, that is not supposed to be this show.  Yes, the designers can either take his direction or ignore it, but I think he gives way too much direction.  If this is a design show, then let the designers sink or swim based on their designs, not Christian's.

As for the model whose designers have been eliminated in these last two episodes, she is a very difficult fit.  Elaine talks about "gorgeous curves" but the model carries her weight in her mid-section/stomach which is very hard to fit and design.  Plus size models who have their weight more evenly distributed are easier to fit and design than those who carry excess weight in the mid-section.  This is all my opinion of course, but I am overweight myself and know various based on where my weight is and how overweight at any particular time that I am.  I have made adjustments when sewing from patterns as well as when shopping.  There is a similarity in models who are all size 0 or 2 that is just not found with plus size models as they tend to have "gorgeous curves" in different places.  Okay, my rant is over (well, for now...).

I think there were a lot more options for different materials than there have been in previous versions of this challenge.  

Oh, and I was shocked at Elaine's outfit and styling for a cocktail dress challenge.