Project Runway: It May Be Evil, But It’s Still Genius

This week, the designers were let loose on New York City as they scoured the neighborhoods in search of divine inspiration.

For this challenge the designers are paired in teams of two and sent to look for inspiration in the boroughs of New York. At random the team leaders are chosen. At the end the pairings are this: Anthony/Maya, Amy/Jonathan, Emilio/Seth, and Jay/Mila. All of the designers take note of this last pairing as the animosity between these two is well known. While Jonathan thinks this move is evil genius on Emilio’s part, Emilio bashfully laughs away any deleterious motivations. Jay and Mila are, of course, very displeased but resigned to make the best out of it.

In reverse order the designers choose what neighborhood they will be inspired by. Jay/Mila have the East Village; Emilio/Seth get Harlem; Amy/Jonathan choose the Upper East Side, and Anthony/Maya are left with Chinatown.

Chasing inspiration, the designers head off to their neighborhoods. Emilio, as a resident New Yorker and native Harleminian (don’t check the dictionary for that one), is ecstatic to be back to the place where he grew up. Seeing the abundance of jeans on the city streets, Emilio and Seth decide to focus their pieces on denim. In Chinatown, Anthony and Maya have fun looking at the colorful atmosphere and structures. They decide to translate this detail and structure in their pieces. The Upper East Side finds Amy and Jonathan examining the high end fashions, the two focus on the starkness of wrought iron gates as their inspiration piece. And finally, in East Village Mila and Jay are enraptured by the rock and roll environment. They decide to take their inspiration from graffiti on a wall.

In the design room, Tim reminds the designers to keep in mind that the team leader may not be the one to go home. So everyone has to bring their best. Designing, Anthony decides to focus his piece on a dragon, deciding not to make this translation too literal he chooses fabric with the somber shades of black and grey. Yes, I don’t understand that either. Because Seth Aaron is so fast in his sewing and so quick to change ideas, Emilio finds it hard to keep him on track. Jonathan, for his look, wants to play with texture and volume. He later becomes worried because the ambitiousness of his and Amy’s designs leads him to question if they can finish on time.

The partnership of Jay and Mila is static. The two don’t communicate, and in fact physically distance themselves from their partner as they are working on their designs. They don’t talk, at least not to each other. Mila doesn’t like Jay’s pants and thinks he spent way too much time on them. And Jay wonders about the direction of Mila’s outfit. This, of course, they never say to each other. Jay worries if, at the runway, Mila will throw him under the bus. This is a valid concern as in her confessional Mila prepares to throw him under the bus.

Day of the runway dawns and Jonathan and Amy’s looks are still far from completed. Emilio doesn’t think that they have time to finish and the two are officially in panic mode. Maya is worried that her and Anthony’s looks are too black considering the colorfulness of Chinatown. Anthony worries that Maya’s daytime look is too old. And Mila hates Jay’s ill-fitting last minute tank top.

Runway, guest judges on the runway this week are Francisco Costa filling in for Michael Kors and Molly Sims.

My least favorites:
Jonathan – For as much effort as Jonathan put into his dress it was just trashtastic. It just looked cheap and did his model no justice.

Amy – her design washed her model out. The color was weird and the outfit looked more like a karate uniform.

My favorites:
Anthony’s dress was cute, and I totally dug the pop out design representing the dragon scale.

Emilio’s dress was classy, chic and edgy with a zip that went completely up the front and a little risk factor as well.

The judges:
Emilio/Seth Aaron – The judges loved both of these looks. Heidi liked that both pieces were beautiful and related well, while Nina thought they were well done but could have used a little editing.

Anthony/Maya – Nina found this pairing to be a really great collaboration and loved the subtle details of the design. Michael loved the day look (Maya’s) a bit more than the night look.

Jay/Mila – Nina loved the night look (Mila’s) while Heidi found a problem with Jay’s tank. In Molly’s words, “the tank tanked.”

Amy/Jonathan – Another bottom look. Nina thought the daywear (Amy’s) didn’t look polished, while Heidi merely though it was an eyesore. Jonathan’s look fared slightly better with Nina who loved the look of the front.

Winner: Emilio and Seth Aaron both take the prize on this.
Going home: Amy.

Season 7, Episode 9: Takin’ It to the Streets (originally aired March 18, 2010)

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