S14.E02: It's All In The Cards

[yeswedo]

An unconventional materials challenge tasks the clothiers to create high-style looks by integrating Hallmark cards into their designs. Singer and actress Ashley Tisdale is the guest judge.

[msburg]

For the love of Pete!  This could've been an INCREDIBLE challenge... if the designers had two days.  There were glimpses of brilliance and beauty that went completely unfulfilled for lack of time.  What will it take Lifetime??  It's worth the $ for a few extra days of production to let the designers really complete their ideas.

 

I'm really happy I had "manatee penis" on my PR drinking game card.  BINGO!

 

Yay Edmond!  Liked this one a lot.  Funny how he didn't even want to share his idea with the producers in the talking head filming.

 

And can I say I don't blame bottom two manatee girl (Amanda?) for getting angry for being in the bottom? Some other dresses were horrendous in comparison, especially the bottoms.  I am a little flummoxed about the judging so far.  For a change....

[susannot]

Happy for Edmond!

[atir]

Manatee girl wasn't in the bottom. As much as I liked David, he didn't fulfill the requirements. Did Ed use the shopping bags for the skirt?

[meligator]

So happy for Edmond - thought there were many things worse than what was in the bottom.

[pigs-in-space]

Edmond's concept was good, but I didn't think his execution was great, especially compared to some of the other outfits.  To my admittedly unfashionable eye, his top just looked like he randomly threw pieces of the cards on it, rather than actually creating an attractive or thoughtful pattern.  And I guess the skirt being made out of paper that presumably was not cards was okay, because it was still paper?  

 

I felt like Ashley Tisdale's HSM character would have worn Blake's glittery creation.

[Madding crowd]

Edmond's dress was beautiful and it really did tie in with the Hallmark aspect. Didn't like pissy Blake's dress and thought it was mostly muslin too. It looked like he scraped the glitter off the cards and then used some of the cards to line the skirt; not much more work than what David did.

 

I really hated the dress with the skirt that can out really far and looked like a garbage can (can't remember all of the designers names). Also didn't like the all silver dress or the manatee looking one. Of course we knew David would be going home after seeing him calling his husband. Swapnil had a lovely dress too. 

 

I don't have a problem with them having one day. If they had more time, they still wouldn't have more materials and they would be second guessing themselves all over the place. Edmond did just fine by concentrating and not letting the other contestants sway his opinions.

Edited August 14, 2015 by Madding crowd

[Nidratime]

Was Blake's outfit truly made out of only cards? Didn't seem like it.

[Lamb18]

I'm enjoying this season so far. The designers are nice to each other so far. I like how friendly and warm they are to Ashley since it would be easy for the group to unite and marginalize the fat girl.

 

I'm kind of glad the judges eliminated David since he really used minimal unconventional material. On the other hand, I think he would have been a good candidate for Tim's save. I think some had worse designs than Amanda. The red and pink furry caterpillar was ugly and one was really boring--dull color, no shape, just neutral institutional wallpaper shapeless design. Edmond's was pretty amazing, but reminiscent of Leanne Marshall's petals from her runway collection. I didn't think Blake's was that great.

 

I hope they can go to Mood next week. I'd like to see what fabric they'd pick.

[CherryMalotte]

*sigh* There goes my eye candy.  What a shame, I would have been really interested to see David get farther in the competition so we could see even a Fashion Week decoy collection from him, he's got some cool ideas.  

 

I agree with Pinata Amanda - there were a smattering of designs that deserved bottom status, more than hers.  I will now be using manatee penis in at least one conversation or posting about PR for the rest of the season.  I would love to hear Tim say manatee penis, then click his heels three times so Under The Gunn is erased from my memory.

 

Swapnil had the right observation - Blake's concoction was very shiny Vegas flotsam, which meant that it was catnip for Heidi.  Loved loved loved Swapnil's outfit, so charming and so pretty.  

 

I don't even know who Ashley Tisdale is.  No clue whatsoever. 

[atir]

So Blake sorta scraped the glitter from the cards onto fabric that had glue on it?

[ExplainItAgain]

Ugh. I can't believe they liked Blake's dress. Travesty. I personally didn't see anything great about David's dress either. It looked like a hot mess. He seems sweet though.

 

What was Edmond's skirt made out of? The outfit was perfect and it did fit in to that "signature moment" thing Hallmark's got going on. Interesting that the two Hallmarks that were closest to me both closed within the last year.

[BloggerAloud]

The judging felt sort of out of whack because I feel like in another season they would've knocked Blake's outfit for looking too junior. I literally have seen similar designs for prom dresses. 

 

And I hope we're not starting a trend of a "racially insensitive remark per episode hurled at Swapnil" because that's gross. 

 

So this year, taking the unconventional material and making it look like fabric is fine? Because I remember them getting mad during the duct tape challenge for someone doing that exact thing.

[magpye29]

Nina sounded more pretentious than usual tonight critiquing Edmond's look.  I'm paraphrasing, but, "He's the only one who has the branded, signature Hallmark logo. It's about the event and it speaks to what Hallmark cards are all about."  She made it sound like everyone should have used the Hallmark logo.  Maybe it was just her turn to shill the sponsor tonight?

 

I loved Edmond's look, but I could have sworn there was a gap in the back of the skirt where you could see through the skirt, although it went by so fast I didn't see beyond the gap, just that it was there.  It's just so frustrating to see what they could be creating if given enough time--Edmond's look was clearly the best thing out there, but imagine if had had several more hours to refine it and attend to details. 

[Lopethina]

I thought Joseph and his stiff, extra-hippy, construction-paper skirt were the clear losers. I'm sad to see David go.

[atir]

Oh, goddesses! Joseph's dress! Is that the trash can one someone upthread referenced?

[ursulaandress]

I knew David would be an early departure since I was obsessed with him from the get go.  Happens every season, very frustrating.  He was a sensitive artist-type (my favorite over the pompous artist-types) and struggled with self-esteem, so I think he psyched himself out.  I actually loved his look but even he knew he was self-sabotaging himself.  I really wanted to see more out of him, his design sense was more edgy and just different.  How many strapless cocktail dresses are we going to see?

Speaking of, Blake's dress was straight out of Barbie's Vegas wardrobe.  I preferred Swapnil's look over Edmond's, it fit perfectly and was fanciful and sophisticated, truly enchanting.  

The arrogant Texan girl's dress should have been in the bottom along with the big trashcan skirt look.

[Lamb18]

Oh yeah, Joseph's cupholder skirt, or magazine holder skirt.

 

At least no one put candies on a string as their model's outfit.

[grumpypanda]

I loved Swapnil's dress and was hoping he would get the win. I'm confused at how Blake ended up in the top and Amanda in the bottom. Blake's dress looked like a hot mess and Amanda's was definitely middle of the pack.

How Joseph and that god awful pink skirt escaped the bottom is beyond me. I also thought Candace's dress looked tortured and was way worse than Amandas. Manatee Penis dress could have easily made the bottom also.

On a positive note, I still love Kelly. Her personal style is cray cray but I'm finding her very adorable in a weirdo kind of way. I liked her outfit tonight and I'm happy that she got some positive feedback. I enjoyed the segment about her fanny pack. Maybe she can bring it back in style but with fringe and sparkle.

[slothgirl]

Was Blake's outfit truly made out of only cards? Didn't seem like it.

When a judge questioned the fabric, Tim said it came out of the cards too.

 

But in the workroom, he was playing with a piece of cloth far bigger than would have been in any card.

 

I'm calling foul (until I have a chance to watch it again)

[Scorpiosunshine]

I agree with the top two--Edmund and Swapnil were my favorites.

I love all kinds of styles,but while I'm not usually drawn to too much busyness in clothing, I would absolutely wear Swapnil's design. I loved it much more than I thought I would. (I've checked out his work, and if he's able to navigate the confines of the show, I think he'll go far and possibly win it. I think he will be fine even if he doesn't win.)

Edmunds dress was lovely. I also thought I saw a gap, but I still thought it was a beautiful dress and a deserved win.

If Swapnil had won and Edmund been in second, I **think** I would have been OK with that, too.

I thought Kelly and Blake were safe, not winners.

IMO, there were much worse than Amanda, though I didn't like her skirt.

My heart went out to David, but he used too much muslin and not enough cards. I would like to have seen more from him, but as someone said, I knew he was toast when they showed his phone call to his husband.

[slothgirl]

She made it sound like everyone should have used the Hallmark logo.  Maybe it was just her turn to shill the sponsor tonight?

That was my impression

[rlc]

So far I feel like Edmond is the emperor, and his clothes, well...

Swapnil was robbed. Blake is in the top? David didn't follow the rules, but I really would have liked to see more of what he could do.

[Gbb]

I call foul on Blake being in the top when his dress was 2/3 muslin. We saw him with huge pieces of fabric when he was putting the glitter on them. No way they came from the cards. If David was in the bottom, Blake should have been too.

And what was Blake's line after he insulted Swapnil? Something like "I don't have a filter. People think I'm naive or uneducated. They don't realize I'm adorable." I realize you were probably Mommy's specialest little snowflake, but you are NOT adorable.

Jake(?) (of the black glittery dress) was robbed. He should have been in the top 4, especially over that hideous Jersey Shore halter-hoodie outfit.

I loved, loved, loved Swapnil's outfit. But I might have fallen under the spell of his incredible eyes...

[Scorpiosunshine]

The more I think about it--and upon a second watching of the runway-- the more I love Swapnil's design.

On another note, I do wish they would give them more time. I understand fashion is a high-pressure environment, but I'd love to see what some of these designers could do with even a little more time. I think it would be worth the extra production costs.

[mansonlamps]

I don't know who Ashley Tisdale is but she couldn't have looked more bored during the runway show if she tried. Maybe that's her normal demeanor.

Though I was okay with Edmund's win, I much preferred Swapnil's design. It was really beautiful and fun at the same time. And I agree that Amanda's was far from second to the bottom, there were lots worse, particularly that boxy thing from Joseph, ugh.

[Knuckles]

I would wear the glittery black dress in a heartbeat...but the Vegas outfit by Blake looked good because the model sold it...the same model who did such a great job for Edmond last week with the black tube dress and color pop train. Props to her.

The silver dress was well done, and I like the designer.

The cupholder dress by Joseph? deserved to lose, and Amanda's skirt was hideous. 

Poor Ashley...lucky she was saved.

David seemed to have a lot of design ideas...give the man some fabric to work with, and he would have been fine. But crazy Merline get to stay...and that annoying child from Texas with the attitude, both their efforts should have hit the shredder, not the runway. Yes, they followed the rules and used paper but to what end...neither fit, neither was remotely flattering, neither suggested any sense of style. 

[slothgirl]

I would wear the glittery black dress in a heartbeat...but the Vegas outfit by Blake looked good because the model sold it...the same model who did such a great job for Edmond last week with the black tube dress and color pop train. Props to her.

But crazy Merline get to stay...Yes, they followed the rules and used paper but to what end...neither fit, neither was remotely flattering, neither suggested any sense of style. 

Merlaine's was a hot mess that should have been on the bottom.

 

They're switching models? The way the designers all hugged their models when they came in, I assumed they were working with the same ones as before.

[Rahul]

I loved, loved, loved Swapnil's outfit. But I might have fallen under the spell of his incredible eyes...

 

Swapnil is wearing grey color contacts and a whole lot of kohl, but its all good.

 

Totally did not agree with the judges on the worst designs--the pink trashcan and manatee penis were hideous.

 

Blake is not adorable. He is insufferable. I literally paused my DVR to hurl insults at my screen when he said "I don't speak Indian." There is no language called Indian you fucking dolt.

[Vermicious Knid]

These unconventional challenges too often devolve into 'glue shit to muslin'. Remember the corn husk dress and the coffee filter dress? Garments actually made out of the materials. There were at least three people I would have disqualified from this runway. Where did Edmund get the large pieces of paper? He should have been dinged for having more than half a dress made from something that wasn't cards. Sunil also had a ton of muslin showing on that skirt. If they are going to allow them to use a muslin base they should be required to cover it 100%.

Edited August 14, 2015 by Vermicious Knid

[CoyoteBlue]

I call foul on Blake being in the top when his dress was 2/3 muslin. We saw him with huge pieces of fabric when he was putting the glitter on them. No way they came from the cards. If David was in the bottom, Blake should have been too.

 

He managed to line the skirt with envelope guts, probably because he ran out of glitter to cover it all. That's the only thing that kept it from being a muslin dress with a really fat card belt.

[Brookside]

What is the problem with these people's voices?  They all sound as if they've been inhaling helium.

[English Teacher]

Aside from Blake whom I hate, this seems like a very sweet group of designers.

[Muffyn]

When the designers were commenting that Blake's dress was showgirl and all glitter, I immediately thought "Heidi will like it".  To create the lining he attached the large glitter panels from cards to the muslin.  The woman with the black "lace" top created her fabric out of the cards.  I am calling shenanigans on the praise for  Blake's look.  I do want to give a shout out to the editor that showed the designer wearing the shirt that said something like there's never too much glitter right after the comments about how Blake's outfit was just all glitter.  

 

Edmond's look did show gaps when the model walked.  He seemed to have put a muslin mini underneath, just in case. It really was a toss up between Edmond and Swapnil for me.   Both looks were beautiful.  I might have given the win to Swapnil because of the impeccable fit and workmanship.  

 

Bottom two for me were the hoodie of missing the point of the challenge and the pink waste basket skirt.  Manatee penis may have kept herself out of the bottom with the trick of having the model pull a card out of the envelop on her chest while on the runway.  Zack seemed quite amused by that. 

 

ETA: I forgot to mention the Bada Bing Gel.  Really?  You want her hair to look like someone just splooged on it?  Or is it more like someone emptied a grease trap on her head?  She had more than shine going on. 

Edited August 14, 2015 by Muffyn

[sinkwriter]

I liked the top two looks. I would have been okay with either one of them winning. But I think Edmund was a good choice because not only did he create a cool and visually interesting design but he thought about all the details that go with it (everything from the flowers in her hand to part of her jewelry which I think I heard him say he created as well).

I can understand why they sent David home (and it grieves me that he was repeatedly told by everyone that the judges will probably say "not enough card material" and he still didn't heed their warnings), but at the same time I do think Amanda's outfit was ugly (as was her attitude throughout this episode) so I had hoped maybe David would still be safe because his design was more fashion forward than hers. I thought Amanda should have gone home instead.

And I agree -- there were some other "safe" designs that should have been in the bottom or the top. Jake's black sparkly dress was pretty impressive; that should have been in the top over Blake who seemed to use more muslin than was appropriate for the challenge. Joseph's dress was not attractive at all. And I thought the "vagina" dress was not attractive either, but at least she got points for using the card materials, I suppose.

Edited August 14, 2015 by sinkwriter

[sinkwriter]

Manatee penis may have kept herself out of the bottom with the trick of having the model pull a card out of the envelop on her chest while on the runway.

 

 

I thought "Manatee penis" was Merline's. The one whose model pulled a card out was Hanmiao.

Edited August 14, 2015 by sinkwriter

[GaT]

Interesting that Ashley thought Duncan was her biggest competition, I still don’t understand how he got eliminated.

 

Did Amanda say the front of a dress looked like a manatee penis? I’ll take her word for it, I’m afraid to Google “manatee penis”

 

Liked Jakes’, Kelly (for going to a club), Edmond, & Swapnil, I would have been OK with any of them winning.

 

Blake's dress looked like it was designed for Barbie, I expected Heidi to like it, but I’m surprised the other judges did too.

 

No surprise David got eliminated, he was the only one who didn’t really do the challenge.

[Phebemarie]

I hate to bring this up, but didn't Tim dissuade David from his first design?  It seemed like he was paper piecing together something that Tim called constipated.  

[JasmineFlower]

Thrilled Edmond won, think he was the clear choice. I did like Swapnil's dress, but in the past at least, unconventional means just that and Swapnil's was fun and played with colors and textures, but it looked like a regular outfit at the end of the day. It was great that it did and was super cute and not something you see everyday, but they have always tended to go with whatever the challenge is plus something unique, something that plays with volume and almost couture given the materials. Edmond's fit that 100%. I would have been disappointed if they hadn't chosen his to win for that reason.

 

Just like I'm disappointed with Blake in the top 4. I totally agree with someone upthread saying in seasons past they would have mentioned that it was too junior. I also call bullshit on him using cards. He was using a TON of material that wasn't cards. And he was drawing a blank, couldn't come up with an idea, was in the other room. So, he covered every stitch of that material in cards and didn't run up against a time crunch? Has it been established that he's super duper quick or something? Because the designer making the pink and red dress could barely finish and she definitely was covering her much smaller amount of fabric completely in cards and didn't have the delay of not having an idea to start and taking a break. And all the other designers were calling BS on this not being a material and glitter challenge.

 

I also love how secretive Edmond is. Like, it seems over the top that he didn't want to even tell the producers in the confessional, but then Blake was openly watching everyone closely trying to come up with an idea when he couldn't come up with his own and I just so wouldn't have put it past him to listen near the door if he knew they were shooting if it could have given him an idea.

 

I'm also confused by Amanda in the bottom 2. It feels like they put her there because there were interesting enough comments to make about her outfit, whereas a few others were too boring. You liked what she did with her top a lot, but was there anything about a few others that were safe that you liked at all? Because I'd love to know the positives of a few of them. While I didn't love her skirt, I'm wondering if she had done an all hot pink skirt if they still would have been as harsh. If no, they needed another person in the bottom with David. Seems to me there were 3 other choices just waiting to be there.

 

Since it seems like they were dying not to cut David and he seems sweet and likable, I'd look for him to return later in the season if they have the bring back the cut contestant at some point.

 

Truly annoyed with Heidi's critique of I think her name is Kelly, she was in the top 4 with the crop top and crinkled skirt. Follow Zac Posen's lead and realize that not every look has to be one you'd wear for yourself. "That looks like something Katy Perry would wear???" That sounds fantastic! Because I can't imagine Project Runway wouldn't brag about one of the designers they "discovered" was being worn at the Grammy, Billboard, or American Music Awards, or on stage at the freaking Super Bowl. Sounds like a successful designer to me.

[Aulty]

ooh goody, the 'lets glue gun stuff on musselin' challange. I remember the seasons when glue guns were frowned at - on the other hand, there was hardly another way if the material are cards ...

 

Shame about David, I liked him - his dress in the first challenge was gorgeous - and I like to chime in on the 'why wasn't Blake called out for showing that much musselin'. Although there were others that should have been in the bottom, I  think it would not have changed the overall result.

I was really disappointed by Ashley. Girl, you are save, you could've gone completely bonkers with your cards and your poncho.

 

Surprising absence of cat fights so far, but I will hold judgement on that until after the team challenge.

[Lnmop]

I loved the montage of the designers burning themselves with hot glue and exclaiming "Ow!".

[Julia]

Is there some way I missed that Tim wasn't lying through his teeth when he told the judges all the material for Blake's dress was from the cards? Yes, Nina, it does look just like fabric. Funny, that.

 

And speaking of Blake, the speaking indian thing wasn't even the most offensive part of that exchange. Swapnil was helpful enough to point out to the designers working with the heavy materials that there were machines specifically for that in the workroom, and Blake responded with "Did you set those up for us?" as if Swapnil was the help. That wasn't a language barrier excuse me. That was a Did you seriously just say that? excuse me.

 

Which, Amanda also gets one of. I'm not as familiar with sea mammal dick as she appears to be, but the longer in the front and back thing was the signature feature of Helen's show at Fashion Week, the place you eventually get to if you aren't kicked to the curb for being inadequate. She may have seen it on TV. She may see it again on TV.

 

I can't believe the editors wasted a week on giving boring Lindsey the asshole edit when they have material like Blake and Amanda to work with.

 

I agree with the winner. I'm a little confused about where the paper for the skirt came from.

Edited August 14, 2015 by Julia

[BusyOctober]

I wish the "rules" were spelled out for the contestants and for viewers.  It's so arbitrary!

- Did they have to use the Hallmanrk brand?  Edmond is the only onw who did

- Is fabric OK or not OK?  Ashley and David got dinged for muslin showing, but Blake's entire skirt was muslin (I guess if a unicorn with diarrhea shits glitter across the muslin, it's cool?)

- Piecing cut up cards in a pattern is good design or bad design?  Kelly & Blake were praised for it, but David's was crap per Tim

 

Blake needs to go ASAP.  He is insufferable.  Filter or no, you do not speak to others the way he spoke to Swapnil.  And stop telling us how fabulous you are, because not really.

 

I never get to see previews b/c my DVR has a mind of it's own despite being programmed to record "5 minutes late".  So I don't know if they've showed any glimpses yet, but I predict pinata skirt girl will have a melt down soon.  She seems...fragile.

 

The hi-lo thing is beaten to death.  Its still in stores and in magazines, but I'm over it.  As a non-model sized, 5'2" person I just can't carry it off.  The "lo" is too long most of the time.  Same for maxi dresses.  And most of the things I like have complex patterns on the bottom, so getting them shortened is a waste of money if I have lose the design by lopping off 6 inches.

 

Swapnil's eyes are amazing.  He's a good looking guy overall, but those eyes are magical!

[terrymct]

Manatee girl wasn't in the bottom. As much as I liked David, he didn't fulfill the requirements. Did Ed use the shopping bags for the skirt?

 

What about Blake?  Nina said that the dress looked like fabric....yes, because it was muslin with glitter and paint on it, then a few bits of paper glued on.  Why didn't he get called out on having a mostly muslin dress?   That glitter wasn't even scraped off cards from what I could tell.

 

Bad skirts was the overall theme for the evening.  

 

Amanda:  Dear God I hated that skirt.  It DID look like a pinata.  The top was fine, cute even, but it was totally overwhelmed by the hideous skirt.  I honestly think of the two in the bottom, she should have gone home for a serious lack of taste and style.

 

Ashley:  OMG, was she ever lucky she had immunity.  A mustard colored monstrosity that looked like something from the 60's you'd use to cover an appliance in the kitchen or maybe put over those couple of rolls of toilet paper sitting on the back of the commode.  Horrible.

 

Blake:  Yes, it was a cute dress BUT IT WAS MOSTLY MUSLIN that he'd painted and glittered.   The waist and hips were covered in paper cut outs, then there was card material glued underneath.  The majority of what we were looking at was painted and glittered muslin!  That is frickin ridiculous.  He should have been in the bottom for violating the rules.

 

Candice:  The silver dress was fine, cute even.  It used lots of card/envelope bits but in the end was a fairly standard dress.  Then again if it's all metallic silver, how wild should she have gone?  Any other step would have been piling on.  

 

David:  He deserved to be in the bottom for using mostly painted and glittered muslin (looking at YOU, Blake) but I don't think he should have gone home.  His dress/coat was interesting and certainly showed a point of view, something the judges say they want.

 

Edmond:  I loved this outfit.  I say outfit because he even made the flowers and necklace.  Bravo.  A well deserved win.  I suspect Edmund, with all his previous tries at making the show, has come to the contest well prepared.  A contestant should really have a series of dress, jacket, pant, top shapes that they can make very well.  Then when a challenge is announced, pick one of your shapes that you do well and vary it based on the challenge.  I have a feeling that he's dedicated enough to have done this.

 

Gabriella:  How did Nina or Heidi not call this dress out for looking like a giant salute to the vagina?  When Tim saw it, it had a lot of potential.  I agreed with him.   Then, as she continued along....holy crud.  Why was there a stiff tongue sticking down in front of her knees?   I wish she'd have done the pattern only the top of the dress, then gone with something else from the waist down.

 

Hammaio/Pistachio:  This looked like a high school craft project.  The collar/yoke was nice.  The colors coordinated.  That's the best I can say really.

 

Joseph:  This should have been on the bottom right beside Amanda.   The bodice had potential, but the skirt was stiff, unflattering, and just plain ugly. 

 

Jake:   Cute, but standard little black slip dress.  It was fine and he deserved to move on.

 

Kelly:  I wouldn't wear this, but I did like it in the context of this challenge.  She took the materials and made something interesting that flattered the model for the most part. Her patchwork on the top was very nice.   Deserved to be in the top but I'm glad she didn't win.

 

Lindsay:  Another Star Trek alien ambassador dress.  Nicely done but a little ho hum once you get beyond the idea that she looks like she's about to have a fling with Captain Kirk.

 

Laurie:  This was fairly ugly and deserved some comment by the judges.  I'm trying to think of something good to say about it.  The shades of gold coordinate well maybe?  Other than that, it was a weak offering but not the worst thing on the runway.

 

Merline:  Why wasn't this on the bottom?  The model had a manatee dong on the front AND the back.   It looked like Merline just took sheets of construction paper out of the package and glued them directly to the muslin on her model.  The bodice could have been saved with a more interesting skirt.

 

Swapnil:  Very cute, but it bothered me that the top was coming apart.  It was gaping badly along the seam down the model's front just above the waistline.  Maybe that's expected in an unconventional materials challenge.  Good effort over all and a lot of thought went into this.  Glad he was on the top but glad he didn't win.

I'm enjoying this season so far. The designers are nice to each other so far. I like how friendly and warm they are to Ashley since it would be easy for the group to unite and marginalize the fat girl.

 

I was thinking similarly while I was watching.  Edmund has a tough attitude, but the rest are being sociable and gracious to each other.   There isn't a pit bull person this season who is looking to attack a weak person.  If there WAS such a person, we might have seen him or her last week when Merline was singing so much.

[Julia]

Filter or no, you do not speak to others the way he spoke to Swapnil.  And stop telling us how fabulous you are, because not really.

 

Yeah, I'm going to go with if you need a Don't be a racist jerk filter? You should really use one.

Edited August 14, 2015 by Julia

[larapu2000]

I definitely thought Edmond deserved the win.  That was such a great look!  I don't think his skirt came from cards, I think it came from just rolls of paper they provide the designers with if the designers don't want to use muslin as a base?  At any rate, he chose the more unconventional of the two materials between paper and muslin.

 

I loved Lindsey's response to Candice's question about too much silver.  "I'm not really sure how to answer that...we're making dresses out of cards and glitter" or something to that effect.  

 

I totally agree that this should have been a two day challenge.  They had to break down their materials in order to work with them, then start putting it together, and didn't have nearly enough time to re-fabricate anything after their critique from Tim, which is really unfortunate.

 

Kelly and her fanny pack are hilarious, as is Heidi's obvious enjoyment of finding out its contents.

[Empress1]

Yep, hate Blake. He's not adorable, he's insufferable. And if Twitter is any indication, lots of people agree with me. Tom and Lorenzo called him an "ignorant thing" and a "racist little twink."

 

We're early enough that there are too many designers, so I forget about some of them. I was like "Jake? Gabriella? Whodat?" But I agree with the winner. And I really like that Edmond just puts his head down and gets to work - that tends to be my MO as well. He's been trying for this forever so it stands to reason that he'd be hyper-focused once he got there. 

 

I knew David was going home when he called his husband. Calling home means you're either winning or losing, and it was clear that he was losing.

 

Ashley Tisdale looked bored the entire time.

[mansonlamps]

And speaking of Blake, the speaking indian thing wasn't even the most offensive part of that exchange. Swapnil was helpful enough to point out to the designers working with the heavy materials that there were machines specifically for that in the workroom, and Blake responded with "Did you set those up for us?" as if Swapnil was the help. That wasn't a language barrier excuse me. That was a Did you seriously just say that?

As much as I hate Blake with his delusions of grandeur, and believe me I do, I didn't read that comment that way at all. I thought it was originally intended to be a "that was nice of you" kind of comment that went awry when he apparently didn't understand Swapnil's response. Instead of pursuing it he just thought his adorableness would get him through the exchange which obviously didn't work at all.

And I can't agree with those who thought David's outfit should have stayed over the other one in the bottom two. He didn't follow the rules of the challenge AT ALL, and if they gave him a pass because of future potential, they may as well toss the unconventional challenge altogether IMO. And it's not like plenty of the other designers didn't warn him.

[DrivingSideways]

As much as I hate Blake with his delusions of grandeur, and believe me I do, I didn't read that comment that way at all. I thought it was originally intended to be a "that was nice of you" kind of comment that went awry when he apparently didn't understand Swapnil's response. Instead of pursuing it he just thought his adorableness would get him through the exchange which obviously didn't work at all.

And I can't agree with those who thought David's outfit should have stayed over the other one in the bottom two. He didn't follow the rules of the challenge AT ALL, and if they gave him a pass because of future potential, they may as well toss the unconventional challenge altogether IMO. And it's not like plenty of the other designers didn't warn him.

I agree.  I think calling him racist is going a bit far and implying he thought Swapnil was the help is a bit much.  Swapnil does have an accent and I think Blake thought he was making a funny joke in that he couldn't speak 'Indian' so he was stuck trying to translate Swapnil's English.  I don't like Blake at all, and he's too 'on' all the time, but I didn't think he was racist, just annoying.

[Wootini]

Ugh. Add me to the list of people who don't like Blake. Although I don't think he was probably being racist, as others have mentioned, he was probably just being his usual insensitive inconsiderate self. (It actually reminded me and my husband of the "Fat Fighters" skits in Little Britain where every time the Indian woman in the group speaks, Marjorie is like "Say again?") And the minute he said that everyone finds him adorable, I was like, "Think again, kid." When he first showed up I thought he was cute. But then he opened his mouth. Pretty on the outside does nothing if it doesn't extend to the insides as well.

 

Also, I do NOT understand how the judges dinged the poncho and the coat for being painted muslin with a little bit of card on it and not do the same for Blake's glitter vomit dress. The top and bottom were just painted muslin with glitter sprinkled generously all over it. The middle of the bodice was the only part with cards glued to it. I don't even care that he lined the inside with cards since from the outside I'm still seeing a dress that is 2/3 painted muslin. My husband also thought he got the glitter off of the cards, but I seem to recall him pouring TONS of glitter on it, so I assumed there were actual containers of glitter like the bottles of paint they were also using. I can't imagine he was able to get that much glitter off of a bunch of cards. (Although after browsing any greeting card aisle and coming away covered in annoying glitter, maybe it IS possible!)

 

I also rather liked the black glittery dress (I forget the designer's name) that ended up looking like sequined fabric instead of the roof tiles Tim was concerned about. It had nice movement and looked like fabric. So of course, he was just safe. What do I know about fashion? (I didn't like the white straps, though. They seemed out of place. I get that he probably couldn't have made it strapless and hoped it would stay up, but maybe pick a different color for the straps?)

 

I have no problem with Edmond's win, although Swapnil's outfit was also quite good. I really liked his skirt a LOT. But Edmond's brought the drama, and was clearly going to win. I don't know exactly where the paper for the skirt came from (way to fall down on the job, editors!), but at least it was paper and not muslin. If it came from shopping bags, great. But even if it came from some paper roll in the workroom that they can use instead of muslin, I don't have a problem because it's still paper.

 

I would've rather had Amanda go, though. The top was okay, but that skirt was awful. It really did look like a piñata. She shouldn't have looped the paper like that. Also, pick the pattern or the pink, but not both. And make the hem even. David didn't follow the rules, but at least he made something someone might want to wear. Poor guy. He seemed to give up, but at least he still put in the effort to make something nice. Even if he knew he'd given up on doing the challenge correctly and would be going home for it.