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TASK 5 PROTECTIVE FASHION
Welcome to the fifth task of LidlTerm season 3!
I believe fashion represents political, economical and cultural times - sometimes in overstated ways and sometimes in subtle ways. It seems to me we are living in a new Cold War. I also recently watched the finale of Project Runway Season 6 in which Irina Shibayeva won with an armor inspired collection. Michael Kors stated that the women in the collection looked shielded and protected, but not like they were hiding or like the clothes were wearing them. That is what I wanted to see this week.
For this week, the designers were randomly given a certain type of historic armor. They were tasked with designing an outfit that features a type of armor that is inspired by the armor that they ended up with.
LORICA SQUAMATA
BUYARTPOP & gnge
BUYARTPOP
I'm a bit torn about this outfit. On one hand, it has that inexplicable runway show quality to it: it's a perfectly polished look that relates back to some past fashion trends in a very neat way. It's very 2007-2009 when a certain mixture of military and equestrian elements were trendy in the fashion world (see Christian Siriano's S4 collection and Irina Shibayeva's S6 collection). On the other hand, it's just a bit uncreative. To me, it feels like you approached this task without challenging yourself, it's very bare minimum regarding the whole armor aspect. Don't get me wrong, this is a very chic outfit that I love to look at - I just have to judge you in relation to what the task is. The feathered cowl is a bit of a shamed item in the PR world due to it's overuse in 2020 but I think you use it with a lot of integrity here: you're not relying on it completely, instead you're utilizing it to bring texture which is really nice to see. The red fabrics you chose are so rich in the texture, you couldn't have chosen a better color for the skirt. It's also really great to see the equestrian helmet used, it feels like one of the most forgotten Habbo items. Overall this is a great designs that has the BUYARTPOP DNA in it while there is also that Mediterannean, monumental feeling to it. Good job Sonny!
gnge
Your approach to this task is a bold and confident one, it's like you're saying ''here is the armor - and here is me''. It's like you focused on making half an outfit that replicates the Lorica Squamata as much as possible, only to then add an original gnge piece. Not that the skirt is that original (really, creating anything original on Habbo after 15+ years of PR is difficult) but it looks fabulous. I love that the skirt both comes off as fabric but at also as the illusion of steel. The blue addition is nice and I like that you're mixing historical fashion with modern touches, the shoes for example. There are two things I love about this, the first is that it's not overdesigned in any way - you didn't slap on an earring just because ''why not'' which has become the norm in the PR community (no shade intended), the look doesn't need anything else than what is already on display. The other thing I love is that this is a design consisting of separates, and I love it when separates have a life of their own and yet in combination they compliment each other, it's rather an exception rather than a rule that separates go together this well.
MYCENAEAN ARMOR
Snawl & Uhu
snawl
Perhaps it’s just me and maybe it wasn’t intentional on your part, but it looks like the arms are made out of mesh fabric, I’ve never seen it before and it excites me a lot. I knew the golden armor would be a challenge because it’s difficult to design using gold without the design ending up looking tacky or like a big gold bar. I find that you utilized gold in this look both carefully and tastefully, and the touches of red are quite beautiful and leaves me wanting more, which means it’s a teasingly good amount. In your Tim Gunn critique I told you that I had a hard time with the color palette and instead you came up with a pretty great one. It seems like you’re trying something new here while you’re also maintaining your personal, unique style. I might take it a bit too far with what I’m about to say but I’ll try to keep it respectful. You haven’t felt your best lately and I think your emotional state has shown in your work in the best of ways, art is at its best when we apply ourselves and what’s inside of us. The message to you is that I hope that moving forward you try to use designing as a medium in which you release and make yourself relax, rather than forcing the design process to happen. I’m not saying that has been the case but it could happen. I find that this design has a celebratory aura to it, but at the same time it’s also a bit solemn.
uhu
Unexpected - but do you ever design anything that looks expected or predictable? No. The white metal consruction youv'e come up with is to die for and I am clueless as to how you achieved it. I really enjoy the contrast of having a shiny and clean metal structure for the base against the decision to use yellow for the arms renders the armor in a dirty way. This entire design is a bit chaotic and almost messy, and yet it all works somehow. Perhaps due to the fact that this is a slightly war-themed task and wars are never tidy. I'd say this design falls under the category of retro futurism which is something we rarely see in the PR world. The overly proportionized red accessories are very 60's MOD and I'd say they are comical fashion, which is a compliment. That is fashion which doesn't take itself too seriously. There's an extravagance in the Mycenaean armor that I am also able to find in your design. You took my Tim Gunn critiqiues and applied them in the best way possible. The other design you came up with at first just felt contrived and uninspiring.
AMERICAN WORLD WAR I ARMOR
Zoetic & LC22
ZOETIC
You went with a ready-to-wear approach to the task. Sure, the veil and the tiny face details are editorial but the overall composition looks like urban streetwear in a fall/winter setting. This combination interests me. Below the scarf there isn't really anything new or inventive going on, it's rather you showing that you have a great eye for styling and that you know how to come up with a flattering silhouette for a model - there's a lot of different proportions but it all works together which is never a guarantee. Sadly, I don't believe that you brought out the full potential in having the American World War I armor as your inspiration - I would've liked to see something more conceptual and experimental, or at least something more original with the ready-to-wear route (I misspelled it as ready-to-war, perfect for this task).
lc22
In relation to your armor, I was sure I'd see something a bit more robust from you. As I'm looking at this, I realize this is you staying true to yourself as a designer and applying yourself to the task rather than trying to change who you are for the task. I both admire and respect that and it's refreshing to be proven a bit wrong. The original armor you were given is genuinely scary, while yours is scary in a bit of a conventional, Blockbuster-movie way - I wish you had dug a bit deeper with the horror aspect. Having said that, the metal textures from the shoes to the skirt to the headpiece are just brilliant. The entire design shows that you had a thorough design process and that you worked on each detail and yet nothing looks overworked or like you're trying too hard - perfect harmony all around. One fantastic thing about this outfit is that it's shielded and it's protecting the model but in a way that the armor integrates with the model: the model doesn't seem to be drowning or be weighed down by the armor - instead there's synergy with the model's body and the armor. The model is covered up in many places and yet we get to see a decent amount of skin - the balance of covered up/exposed you've got going on creates the idea that your model is free. Amazing job!
O-YOROI ARMOR
Razzing & alydaman
alydaman
Your armor looks incredible, they sort of look like scales that go from small to bigger pieces. It's truly an original creation. That's why it's so difficult for me to say what I'm about to say: I hate the red dress. I'm not sure why, perhaps because it reminds me of medieval dresses I've seen in history books. I don't find that orange, red and green are a color palette that is aesthetically pleasing. I really want to like this but I just don't and it wouldn't be fair to lie to you. I believe that your design process was very inspired this week which shows in your overall design, it has your artistic integrity written all over it. Props to you for creating a certain piece that is unique, new and fabulous.
razzing
This is a very conceptually abstract and experimental way of portraying armor: this isn't armor in a conventional sense but instead it's pieces that look like they've naturally grown to protect the person wearing it. It looks like the armor has grown on the gown after time, like mold on a fruit (in a good, fashion-forward way). This design is romantic and yet there is a certain feeling of sorrow to it, which isn't easy to achieve by using mainly orange. We've seen plenty of voluminous gowns throughout the longterm years and what separates the good ones from the bad ones are that the good ones have a mening or some greater depth to them, I'd definitely say that about yours. The armor is avant garde in the best of ways and I find that this is one of my favorite things I have ever seen in a PR context. This dress has a majesticness to it, it could easily fit into a museum somewhere in Italy. I adore the way the armor looks like silver waves stuck in motion. This is one of the best designs that you've ever made.
KIRIBATI COCONUT ARMOR
Cinthia & Fierce.Needles
You got the most unusual and the most playful looking armor - there is so much potential in it as a source of inspiration and it's probably the one armor that instantly puts you in a good mood. I could totally see it being used as an inspiration for a video game character in the future. Your design feels very uninspired and it just lacks that certain joy that is present in the Kiribati coconut armor. It just looks like slightly generic fall/winter outerwear: where is the warrior in this? I will commend you on one thing: it's a statuesque design, which isn't an easy thing to achieve, and most armors are statuesque. You showcase that you have great taste and good instincts for styling - you've actually done that every single week. The problem is that your design is just dull to look at, nothing about it really intrigues me or keeps me from looking at something else. The best aspect is the silver belt in contrast to all the earthy colors and the gray earrings.
fierce.needles
cinthia
If I were to ignore what the task was about then I'd praise this design: it's really unusual and divine in many ways - mainly because it plays with iconography of Christianity. If Madonna did Like A Prayer in 2022 she'd probably wear something like this in one music video scene. The Kiribati coconut armor has an innocence and a joyful spirit. It just confuses me why you'd invole a pope's hat and three Christian crosses? Fashion and various artforms that take inspiration from the past of Christianity usually do so by utilizing European aspects/details (mostly because protestantism, catholicism and orthodoxism were born in, as well as blossomed, in Europe). Kiribati is a place in Oceania - not that the task was about recreating the armor and commit cultural appropriation - I just don't really understand why you went with this medieval/early modern times in Europe route and I don't think it paid off. You are an absolute professional at creating designs that are cheerful and still soulful - your LidlTerm S1 collection that you won with is one example. I believe it was necessary for you to utilize that strength in this task due to the armor you ended up with and sadly that didn't happen. On a positive note, the top is really cool and I like that you put your own quirky spin on the pope's hat.
verdict
This entire longterm has a ridiculously high level of quality submissions for every panel, which has forced me to put good designs up for elimination. Interestingly, this task seemed to have challenged many of you and it lead to a variety of results this week, some of you stumbled and some of you shined.
Well done to Snawl for making it to the top 3 this week, your work this week came across as very authentic while it also showcased a technique I've not seen before. LC22, half of the cast predicted that you were the next one to be eliminated and yet you almost won this task. Your creation is amazing. Keep it up like this, please!
Congratulations Razzing, you are the winner of this task. You've worked hard to reach the top, I can tell. Your creation is both beautiful and sentimental. You pushed the envelope this task, hats off to you. You've come up with crazy, experimental, romantic and fresh designs several times before, I want to see you do that every week. As a rewarding for winning this task, you will have immunity for the next one.
The bottom three consists of:
- alydaman
- Zoetic
- Fierce.Needles
Razzing didn't pick up the phone, probably busy doing something fabulous, so I (Filip/Lidl-Wayne) are in charge of eliminations this week.
filip's decision
I am a big fan of all three of you as designers and I wish I didn't have to send anyone home, but due to the schedule of this longterm I must make this a double elimination. I feel like all three bottom outfits are on the same level this week, more or less. I therefore want to go by track record. Zoetic and alydaman have been in the bottom before, while this is the first time for Fierce.Needles - based on that fact I have decided to save him.
Zoetic, your instincts for utilizing colors and styling are incredible and you have truly impressed me. It shows in all of your designs that you have immense potential as a designer and an artist overall. Thank you so much for taking part.
alydaman, to keep it a tiny bit professional I won't talk about how I feel about you as a person overall but rather as a designer. You always come up with new ideas and concepts, even many years after several PR shortterms and longterms, and yet your innovation comes from a place of genuine creativity and inspiration instead of a desperation to succeed. Nothing will ever take away the fact that you are a LidlTerm winner and that you have one of the best longterm collections ever. Thank you for contributing so much to this season.
Task 6 is now available
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