Photos
Video
RSSProject 'Top Design'
On a scale of one to ten, tonight's episode of Top Design goes all the way up to eleven. Is it because of the makeover the show received? The new contestants? The sparkling designs? Not so much, in this case. Tonight's episode was legend-waitforit-dary simply because it featured some of my favorite former Project Runway contestants!
Unfortunately, this week's challenge is yet another team challenge. Are we ever going to be able to get to know these designers individually? They'll be designing window displays for a new exclusive boutique, and their clients are the aforementioned Project Runway designers. I am seriously SO EXCITED for this. So excited! Sweet P (aww), Daniel Franco (YES!), Andrae (What happened to Andrae? He's on Top Design, that's what!), Jeffrey (MOUSTACHE), and Santino (Santino!) are here to shake this show up. They've each designed a garment to inspire a team's window display.
Eddie/Teresa are paired with Santino, and couldn't be happier. The garment they're working around is black, with leggings, a belted trench coat, and a dramatic hooded cape. Eddie hits it off with Santino, and is the leader. They're going with a Venetian, tattered elegance theme, and Eddie really emphasizes communication and planning. However, he thinks Teresa is moving too slowly, and says as much to Santino.
The Venetian theme definitely comes across, with a dark purplish red wall, black furniture, broken mirrors, heavy curtains, tattered ribbons, and a fabulously antique-looking mannequin. Santino loves it.
Wisit/Kerry get Jeffrey and his handlebar moustache. His garment is themed around Blade Runner--a totally post-apocalyptic power suit in a dark blueish purple. Neither of the designers have seen Blade Runner or even heard of it. CRAZY. Kerry will take the lead since Jeffrey has zero confidence in Wisit. Fair enough--Wisit is totally incapable of getting over his previous Rococo idea and going with Jeffrey's preference for a minimal theme with lots of overlapping mirrors. Wisit is also apparently incapable of performing the simplest tasks. (Also pretty darn weird, no?) Jeffrey hates Wisit's big contribution (ornate wallpaper), and Kerry kicks himself for letting Wisit even do it.
The finished design is very Urban Outfitters. As in, I'm pretty sure I've seen a similar window display there. They blacked out half of the windows to force the viewer to peer in, which is an interesting choice, and a bright yellow wall is offset by the overlapping mirrors, with additional transparent globes and pebbles on the floor. Jeffrey isn't down with it.
Ondine/Natalie are working with Sweet P, who is possibly the greatest partner evah. The garment is an adorable sleeveless dress with a cocoon theme, with panels in different shades of red and pink. Ondine will be leader, and goes very literal with the butterfly idea.
The finished design does a great job spotlighting the garment (literally), and Natalie was very smart to pin the skirt of the dress to the wall, showing how gorgeous it is as it falls. The rest doesn't really stand out...cheesy fabric butterflies everywhere, and weird dark brown panels on the pale blue walls. Sweet P says she loves it (can you imagine anything else?), and the judges seem pleased.
Nathan/Shazia score a bouncy Andrae. The garment is a grayish blue, rather blah dress. Short hemline, beachy neckline, crazily conceptual political theme that doesn't at all reflect the dress. Oh, Andrae. Nathan is the leader, and he's totally not into Andrae's political uncertainty concept OR his partner. Andrae, for his part, orders all the awful wicker Nathan has chosen thrown out. I knew I loved Andrae!
The finished display is very...gray. Shattered mirrors glued to a gray wall, scattered over the gray ground, with some gray furniture. Basically about as blah as the dress, and very hard to read in terms of the political theme. The judges don't get it at ALL, and Andrae is very diplomatic in saying that it's not what he imagined, but that's the purpose of collaboration.
Preston/Andrea are granted the dubious honor of working with Daniel Franco. His garment is a dramatically long, surprisingly gorgeous chartreusey yellow dress with a full skirt, low neckline and some strappy pieces on the top. And, of course, Daniel has an inspirational poem for them about the dress in the woods at night. Preston will take the lead, and he uses Daniel's inspiration as an ironclad plan.
The final window is more minimal than I expected, with a dark gray wall, spare winter-looking trees, and bare lighting. It all makes the dress really pop, and is incredibly well-executed. Daniel loves it, and basically takes credit (rightfully so, I guess).
Judging: The judges name Preston/Andrea and Ondine/Natalie as the top teams, and Ondine/Natalie wind up as the winners. Really??? Shows what I know, I guess... The judges think that Eddie/Teresa did a fine job, but that the outfit didn't pop and the execution was a bit sloppy.
They call Kerry and Wisit's window a "mess," and say it totally hid the gorgeous suit. Kerry says, when prompted by the judges, that Wisit's vision was very different from Jeffrey's, and it was a mistake for Kerry to allow his vision to stray to accommodate Wisit's. Wisit says, again prompted, that Jeffrey was a demanding client who made it hard for them to execute their vision. Unbelievably enough, Kerry accepts responsibility for their failure. What a Southern gentleman! Wisit says he disagrees, and that Kerry did his best. Well, props for that.
Nathan and Shazia get dinged for having basically an awful window that hid the dress, even though it satisfied Andrae's crazy vision. Nathan comes right out and says he hated the dress. Dude, you're a professional--sometimes you're going to have to design around stuff you don't lovelovelove. Shazia says they didn't quite bring the concept to fruition. The judges are all, um, yeah, but first you should make the window look good. Shazia refuses to choose between she and Nathan going home, and Nathan says he doesn't want to throw her under the bus but really doesn't want to be eliminated.
And tragically, Kerry is sent home! UNCOOL. I mean, yeah, the window was all kinds of lame and hideous, but he was trying to arbitrate between Rococo and Blade Runner. Which is basically an impossible task. And at least their window wasn't all gray, right? And at least he did something (unlike certain useless designers I could and will name, Shazia). Sigh. And double sigh, it looks like next week is another team challenge. I'm trying to love you, new version of Top Design, but you're making it pretty darn difficult!
Do you think Kerry deserved to be eliminated? Did this episode make you yearn for a Project Runway: All-Stars season?
Post a comment
Zap2it Twitter Talk 
No way Kerry should have been out before any of the others in the bottom four. I really liked his personality and he'd done better in other challenges, I think. I blame Jeffrey. Still the same anti-social, cooler-than-thou jerk.
I too thought the butterflies were cheap looking. But the rest of the window was done well.
Kerry should have stayed. Dipsit was the one that dragged the window down with his awful wallpaper. The "client" did not even want that - why he insisted on it is beyond me.
Shazia or Nathan should have gone home.
Definitely thought Preston and Andrea deserved the win.
I'm very sad that Kerry was the one to go ... Wisit, Nathan, or Shazia deserved to go before he did. [NOTE: Remember how Shazia told Nathan she didn't think Andrae was a wicker type guy? I LOVED it when he tossed it all!] I am annoyed by the judges's failure to recognize that it was really Wisit's fault that their window flopped. He and Nathan should have received MAJOR negative points for bashing their respective clients.
i was so horrified kerry was cut i seriously considered not watching anymore. i mean come on, but then i thought well look who they kept wisit nathan and shazia who can bring much more drama than kerry. that's what it's about. they had designers left who could design, but they needed to keep drama. i'm so disappointed in the judges. weaky wisit or shazia never contributes should have gone. i'm half checked out on this show as i am with other shows like this - hello hell's kitchen - when they don't respect the viewers for caring more about quality than drama.